Phishing, because it works!

https://www.securityweek.com/645000-clients-affected-oregon-department-human-services-data-breach

645,000 Clients Affected in Oregon Department of Human Services Data Breach

Oregon Department of Human Services officials say they are notifying about 645,000 clients whose personal information is at risk from a January data breach.

The Statesman-Journal reports state officials announced the notifications Tuesday and will start mailing them Wednesday.

… The breach happened during an email "phishing" attempt that targeted the department Jan. 8. Nine employees opened the email and clicked on a link that gave the perpetrator access to their email accounts.

What determines how (and how much) the police invest to solve a crime? If genetic matching is cheap, why not use it?

https://www.bespacific.com/should-the-police-be-able-to-investigate-your-genetic-family-tree-for-any-crime-no-matter-how-minor/

Should the police be able to investigate your genetic family tree for any crime, no matter how minor?

The New York Times – Want to See My Genes? Get a Warrant – Should the police be able to investigate your genetic family tree for any crime, no matter how minor? “…Genetic genealogy requires lots of DNA samples and an easy way to compare them. Americans have created millions of genetic profiles already. A 2018 study published in Science predicted that 90 percent of Americans of European descent will be identifiable from their DNA within a year or two, even if they have not used a consumer DNA service. As for easy access, GEDmatch’s website provides exactly this opportunity. Consumers can take profiles generated from other commercial genetic testing services, upload them free and compare them to other profiles. So can the police. We should be glad whenever a cold case involving a serious crimes like rape or murder can be solved. But the use of genetic genealogy in the Centerville assault case raises with new urgency fundamental questions about this technique…”

Imagine appeals based on the programming of the “judge.”

https://www.bespacific.com/developing-artificially-intelligent-justice/

Developing Artificially Intelligent Justice

Re, Richard M. and Solow-Niederman, Alicia, Developing Artificially Intelligent Justice (May 19, 2019). Stanford Technology Law Review, Forthcoming; UCLA School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 19-16. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3390854

“Artificial intelligence, or AI, promises to assist, modify, and replace human decision-making, including in court. AI already supports many aspects of how judges decide cases, and the prospect of “robot judges” suddenly seems plausible—even imminent. This Article argues that AI adjudication will profoundly affect the adjudicatory values held by legal actors as well as the public at large. The impact is likely to be greatest in areas, including criminal justice and appellate decision-making, where “equitable justice,” or discretionary moral judgment, is frequently considered paramount. By offering efficiency and at least an appearance of impartiality, AI adjudication will both foster and benefit from a turn toward “codified justice,” an adjudicatory paradigm that favors standardization above discretion. Further, AI adjudication will generate a range of concerns relating to its tendency to make the legal system more incomprehensible, data-based, alienating, and disillusioning. And potential responses, such as crafting a division of labor between human and AI adjudicators, each pose their own challenges. The single most promising response is for the government to play a greater role in structuring the emerging market for AI justice, but auspicious reform proposals would borrow several interrelated approaches. Similar dynamics will likely extend to other aspects of government, such that choices about how to incorporate AI in the judiciary will inform the future path of AI development more broadly.”

Wise, and therefore ignored?

https://thenextweb.com/podium/2019/06/18/eu-lawmakers-need-to-look-beyond-the-top-layer-when-regulating-the-internet/

EU lawmakers need to look beyond the ‘top layer’ when regulating the internet

Brussels policy makers could be forgiven for wanting to move quickly to regulate ‘the internet.’ Assailed by an avalanche of public opinion and a ‘techlash’ against many of the tech giants, politicians and legislators have quickly sought to target those that loom large. Unsurprisingly, this has meant a disproportionate focus on the well-known consumer facing technology platforms.

Outwardly, this may seem like a sensible move. But problems occur when policy makers see these large tech platforms as ‘the internet,’ when in fact they are nothing more than the ‘top layer’ — the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Policy ideas and initiatives that underestimate the complexity of the internet ecosystem, with all its different parts, players, and business models, are dangerous and can ultimately lead to unintended consequences.

Interesting, but nothing much new.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/06/the-revolution-will-be-roboticized-how-ai-is-driving-industry-4-0/

The fourth Industrial revolution emerges from AI and the Internet of Things

Big data, analytics, and machine learning are starting to feel like anonymous business words, but they're not just overused abstract concepts—those buzzwords represent huge changes in much of the technology we deal with in our daily lives. Some of those changes have been for the better, making our interaction with machines and information more natural and more powerful. Others have helped companies tap into consumers' relationships, behaviors, locations and innermost thoughts in powerful and often disturbing ways. And the technologies have left a mark on everything from our highways to our homes.

Perspective. Another step closer to the death of cash?

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/facebook-launching-own-cryptocurrency/

Facebook Is Launching Its Own Cryptocurrency

… Libra would allow you to send money to “almost anyone with a smartphone” quickly and at “low to no cost”. Over time, Facebook hopes you’ll be able to use Libra to pay for other products and services, just as you would with Google Pay and Apple Pay.

Libra isn’t all about Facebook. Instead, the Libra Association will oversee the digital currency independent of Facebook. Members of the Libra Association include Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, eBay, Uber, Spotify, and a host of venture capital firms.

Just like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Libra will be built on the foundation of a blockchain. However, Facebook is hoping to avoid fluctuations in value by pegging Libra to real-world currencies such as the US dollar and the Euro.

Tools.

https://insights.dice.com/2019/06/18/python-could-rule-the-machine-learning-a-i-world/

Python Could Rule the Machine Learning/A.I. World

According to a developer survey by JetBrains (which also introduced Kotlin, the up-and-coming language for Android development), some 49 percent say they use Python for data analytics, ahead of web development (46 percent), machine learning (42 percent), and system administration (37 percent).

… This data just reinforces the general idea that Python is swallowing the data-analytics space whole. Although highly specialized languages such as R have their place among academics and more research-centric data analysts, it’s clear that Python’s relative ease of use (not to mention its ubiquity) has made it many friends among those who need to crunch data for some aspect of their jobs.