Friday, February 08, 2019

Unclear on purpose? There was a breach but nothing was breached?
Australian parliamentary network hacked; no sign data stolen
Australia's leading cybersecurity agency is investigating a breach of the country's federal parliamentary computing network amid speculation of hacking by a foreign nation.
Lawmakers and staff in the capital, Canberra, were made to change their passwords on the system after the overnight breach.
A joint statement from House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith and Senate President Scott Ryan says there's no evidence that data had been accessed in the breach, but investigations are continuing.




“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Clarke's First Law
“Any sufficiently poor disaster recovery is indistinguishable from managerial incompetence.” Bob's First Law
Wells Fargo customers are furious as 2nd service outage in a week means they can't use their debit cards or access accounts online
Wells Fargo customers were unable to use debit cards or access online banking because of a "systems issue" causing "intermittent outages," the company said on Twitter on Thursday morning.
The outage seemed to be nationwide, with customers taking to social media to express their concerns and grievances. Some said they were experiencing difficulty buying gas and getting to work, while others were unable to purchase food or pay bills.
… A Wells Fargo spokesperson sent Business Insider the following statement: "We're experiencing system issues due to a power shutdown at one of our facilities, initiated after smoke was detected following routine maintenance. We're working to restore services as soon as possible."




Law enforcement by intimidation? Forgetting your password could be very costly.
Australia Wields Vast Decryption Powers Before Planned Review
Australian security agencies have begun using sweeping new powers to access encrypted communications, even before a promised review to address concerns from the likes of Google, Apple and Facebook.
The powers were granted under a new decryption law which was rushed through parliament in December amid fierce debate, and was seen as the latest salvo between governments and tech firms over national security and privacy.
Under the fresh rules, refusal to grant authorities access to devices is punishable with up to 10 years in prison, and police told a parliamentary inquiry they had used that threat to compel two suspects to hand over their passwords.
Citing secrecy provisions in the law, police declined to say if they had used the new law to force device makers or telecommunications firms – including global giants like Apple – to break or bypass encrypted communications.
The same provisions bar industry from disclosing whether they have received such police demands, known as "compulsory notices".
Stanton warned the new law posed "an enormous threat" to export opportunities for Australian tech firms "because they can no longer provide any assurance that their gear hasn't been tampered with by Australian security".
"Even to say, 'no, it hasn't', is an offence" under the law," he added.




Is this everything we need?
Amazon weighs in on potential ‘legislative framework’ for facial recognition
Amazon supports the creation of a “legislative framework” covering facial recognition technology. That’s according to Michael Punke, vice president of global public policy at Amazon’s AWS division, who penned a blog post this week outlining proposed guidelines for the “responsible use” of face-classifying software by private, commercial, and government entities.




Does this really have that much of an impact on DUI apprehension? Isn’t it the electronic equivalent of flashing your lights to caution drivers?
NYPD – Google and Waze Must Stop Sharing Drunken-Driving Checkpoints
The New York Times: “Google’s navigation app Waze is known for providing real-time, user-submitted reports that advise drivers about potential thorns in their roadsides. But one feature has Waze in conflict with law enforcement officials across the country: how the app marks the location of police officers on the roads ahead or stationed at drunken-driving checkpoints. Over the weekend, the New York Police Department, the largest force in the nation, joined the fray, sending a letter to Google demanding that the tech giant pull that feature from Waze. In the letter, which was first reported on by Streetsblog, the Police Department said that allowing people to share the locations of sobriety checkpoints impeded its ability to keep streets safe.
“The posting of such information for public consumption is irresponsible since it only serves to aid impaired and intoxicated drivers to evade checkpoints and encourage reckless driving,” the department’s acting deputy commissioner for legal matters, Ann P. Prunty, wrote in the letter. “Revealing the location of checkpoints puts those drivers, their passengers, and the general public at risk.”..




Perspective. In 1890, the Census used paper punch cards to tabulate the data. That was far less risky than this.
The Challenge of America's First Online Census




I still have a gas powered car. Is it now a valuable collectors item or just an obsolete piece of junk?
GM is going 'all-electric,' but it doesn't expect to make money off battery-powered cars until early next decade
… GM is clear that its electric vehicles won't make money until "early next decade," Barra said.
Turning a profit from electric vehicles has long been considered a major challenge for automakers, which are pouring money into electric vehicle, EV, technology in the face of fluctuating oil prices, government initiatives to reduce carbon pollution and excitement over Tesla.




I see a student poll coming.
Is Reddit the Most Influential Site on the Internet?
Journalist and author Christine Lagorio-Chafkin discusses her new book about the history of Reddit.

Listen to the podcast:





Free to use!
Cleveland Museum of Art: 30,000 high quality digital images now available
Creative Commons Blog: “The Cleveland Museum of Art is one of the most visited art museums in the world, and soon it will become one of the most important online collections as well. Today, we are announcing a release of 30,000 high quality, free and open digital images from the museum’s collection under CC0 and available via their API. CC0 allows anyone to use, re-use, and remix a work without restriction. In line with the museum’s mission to work “for the benefit of all people in the Digital Age,” the Cleveland Museum is leading the charge for comprehensive metadata and open access policy. The museum sees its role as not only providing access, but also creating sincere partnerships that increase utility and relevance in our time.
Creative Commons CEO Ryan Merkley joined museum director William M. Griswold and Chief Digital and Information Officer Jane Alexander at the CMA to announce this release. “I hope this model of working closely together with visionary organizations will be one that we can replicate with other museums, and that this will become the new standard by which institutions share and engage with the public online,” he said. The museum’s leadership echoed the sentiment…”




You don’t often get this: A scifi vision of the (near?) future and a rebuttal based on today.
Mother of Invention”
A new short story by the author of Marvel’s Black Panther: Long Live the King.


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