Monday, October 01, 2018

This will only grow worse.
Facebook’s stunning disclosure of a massive hack on Friday in which attackers gained access tokens to at least 50 million accounts—bypassing security measures and potentially giving them full control of both profiles and linked apps—has already stirred the threat of a $1.63 billion dollar fine in the European Union, according to the Wall Street Journal.
… Facebook has not said whether the attackers attempted to extract data from the affected profiles, but vice president of product management Guy Rosen told reporters they had attempted to harvest private information from Facebook’s systems, according to the New York Times. Rosen also said Facebook was unable to determine the extent to which third-party apps could have been compromised.
It remains unclear whether the attackers could have gained access to the most sensitive information stored on the network like direct messages. Facebook has said the attack was highly sophisticated, their response is in its early stages, and they may never know who was behind it.




Is a face not a face when it is used as a key? It’s hard to encrypt a face.
Feds Force Suspect To Unlock An Apple iPhone X With Their Face
It finally happened. The feds forced an Apple iPhone X owner to unlock their device with their face.
A child abuse investigation unearthed by Forbes includes the first known case in which law enforcement used Apple Face ID facial recognition technology to open a suspect's iPhone. That's by any police agency anywhere in the world, not just in America.
It happened on August 10, when the FBI searched the house of 28-year-old Grant Michalski, a Columbus, Ohio, resident who would later that month be charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. With a search warrant in hand, a federal investigator told Michalski to put his face in front of the phone, which he duly did. That allowed the agent to pick through the suspect's online chats, photos and whatever else he deemed worthy of investigation.
… "Traditionally, using a person's face as evidence or to obtain evidence would be considered lawful," said Jerome Greco, staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society. "But never before have we had so many people's own faces be the key to unlock so much of their private information."
… In modern iPhones, to hook the cellphone up to a computer and transfer files or data between the two, the passcode is required if the device has been locked for an hour or more. And forensic technologies, which can draw out far more information at speed than can be done manually, need the iPhone to connect to a computer.
It appears Knight didn't keep the device open long enough and so couldn't start pulling out data with forensic kits. He admitted he wasn't able to get all the information he wanted, including app use and deleted files. What Knight did get he documented by taking pictures.
But he wasn't to be frustrated entirely. In another revelation in the court filings, Knight noted he'd learned both the Columbus Police Department and the Ohio Bureau of Investigation had access to "technological devices that are capable of obtaining forensic extractions from locked iPhones without the passcode." The only two companies known to have provided such services this year are Cellebrite and Grayshift.
… the cops were now using boiler plate language in warrants to allow them to access iPhones via Face ID. "Law seems to be developing to permit this tactic," Nolder added.
31. The passcode or password that would unlock any device(s) utilizing biometric security features that may be found during the search of the SUBJECT PREMISES is not known to law enforcement. Thus, it will likely be necessary to press the finger(s) of the user(s) of any biometrically secured device(s) found during the search of the SUBJECT PREMISES to the device(s) fingerprint sensor, or to present the user’s face to the device’s camera, in an attempt to unlock the device for the purpose of executing the search authorized by this warrant. Attempting to unlock the relevant device(s) with the use of the fingerprints or face of the user(s) is necessary because the government may not otherwise be able to access the data contained on those devices for the purpose of executing the search authorized by this warrant.
… In previous rulings, suspects have been allowed to decline to hand over passcodes, because the forfeiture of such knowledge would amount to self-incrimination. But because the body hasn't been deemed a piece of knowledge, the same rulings haven't been applied to biometric information, like fingerprints or face scans. That's despite the fact that the use of passcodes, fingerprints and faces on an iPhone has the same effect in each case: unlocking the device.




For my Architecture students.
In the spirit of becoming more adaptive, organizations have rushed to implement Agile software development. But many have done so in a way that actually makes them less agile. These companies have become agile in name only, as the process they’ve put in place often ends up hurting engineering motivation and productivity.




Perspective.
Internet, social media use and device ownership in U.S. have plateaued after years of growth
The use of digital technology has had a long stretch of rapid growth in the United States, but the share of Americans who go online, use social media or own key devices has remained stable the past two years, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center data.
… A contributing factor behind this slowing growth is that parts of the population have reached near-saturation levels of adoption of some technologies. Put simply, in some instances there just aren’t many non-users left.




I have to assume everyone has noticed this trend. Cute word for it.
An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life
Rand: Truth Decay – An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life: Over the past two decades, national political and civil discourse in the United States has been characterized by “Truth Decay,” defined as a set of four interrelated trends: an increasing disagreement about facts and analytical interpretations of facts and data; a blurring of the line between opinion and fact; an increase in the relative volume, and resulting influence, of opinion and personal experience over fact; and lowered trust in formerly respected sources of factual information. These trends have many causes, but this report focuses on four: characteristics of human cognitive processing, such as cognitive bias; changes in the information system, including social media and the 24-hour news cycle; competing demands on the education system that diminish time spent on media literacy and critical thinking; and polarization, both political and demographic. The most damaging consequences of Truth Decay include the erosion of civil discourse, political paralysis, alienation and disengagement of individuals from political and civic institutions, and uncertainty over national policy. This report explores the causes and consequences of Truth Decay and how they are interrelated, and examines past eras of U.S. history to identify evidence of Truth Decay’s four trends and observe similarities with and differences from the current period. It also outlines a research agenda, a strategy for investigating the causes of Truth Decay and determining what can be done to address its causes and consequences.”




Some examples for my students.
What Is Deep Learning AI? A Simple Guide With 8 Practical Examples

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