Thursday, July 18, 2019


I wonder what percentage of targets are not covered by any security services?
Microsoft Reports Hundreds of Election-Related Cyber Probes
Microsoft says it has detected more than 740 infiltration attempts by nation-state actors in the past year targeting U.S.-based political parties, campaigns and other democracy-focused organizations including think tanks and other nonprofits.
A company spokeswoman would not name or further characterize the targets. All subscribe to Microsoft’s year-old AccountGuard service. It provides free cyberthreat detection to candidates, campaigns and other mostly election-related groups.
Microsoft did not say how many infiltration attempts were successful but noted in a blog post Wednesday that such targeting similarly occurred in the early stages of the 2016 and 2018 elections.




Is there a problem beyond, “My God! They’re Russians!” (Or are they concerned that Bernie Sanders doesn’t look so good in 20 years?)
DNC warns 2020 campaigns not to use FaceApp 'developed by Russians'
"It's not clear at this point what the privacy risks are, but what is clear is that the benefits of avoiding the app outweigh the risks," Lord continued.




Probably even worse better next year.
Lucas Ropek reports:
Though it was hailed as a potentially groundbreaking bill, the New York Privacy Act (NYPA) failed to materialize during the state’s most recent session. Had it done so, the bill would have introduced a regulatory framework that rivaled or potentially even surpassed that of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the first major piece of data privacy legislation in the U.S.
Sen. Kevin Thomas introduced the bill earlier this year, quickly garnering a number of co-sponsors in the Senate, but failing to find any in the Assembly. The legislation received considerable media attention — with outlets calling it potentially “tougher,” “bolder” and more “sweeping” than legislation that had come before.
Read more on GovTech.




Put the blame where it belongs. (CEO does not mean Chief Ethical Officer… Should it?)
Want Responsible AI? Think Business Outcomes
The rising concern about how AI systems can embody ethical judgments and moral values are prompting the right questions. Too often, however, the answer seems to be to blame the technology or the technologists.
Delegating responsibility is not the answer.
Creating ethical and effective AI applications requires engagement from the entire C-suite. Getting it right is both a critical business question and a values’ statement that requires CEO leadership.




Interesting, but short on solutions.
How AI companies can avoid ethics washing
One of the essential phrases necessary to understand AI in 2019 has to be “ethics washing.” Put simply, ethics washing — also called “ethics theater” — is the practice of fabricating or exaggerating a company’s interest in equitable AI systems that work for everyone. A textbook example for tech giants is when a company promotes “AI for good” initiatives with one hand while selling surveillance capitalism tech to governments and corporate customers with the other. [Perhaps they don’t define “good” as I do. Bob]




Call for papers.
IN SEARCH OF IDEAS: THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMISSION ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WANTS YOU
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, which we co-chair, is an independent federal commission helping the United States government determine what actions to take to ensure America’s national security enterprise has the tools it needs to maintain U.S. global leadership. The commission includes four working groups and three special projects. The working groups focus on maintaining U.S. global leadership in AI research, sustaining global leadership in national security AI applications, preparing the national security workforce for an AI future, and ensuring international cooperation and competitiveness in AI. The three special projects address ethics, data, and public-private partnerships. We will produce two reports to Congress, both intended to elevate awareness and to inform better legislation.
The commission speaks with diverse groups, but we want to have as wide an aperture as possible. We need to hear original, creative ideas that challenge the status quo, shake our assumptions, and will cause us to reconsider the arguments we’ve already heard and hear new arguments in a different light. As with previous War on the Rocks calls for articles, we want detailed, realistic papers from qualified voices, but welcome radical ideas and recommendations.




Perspective. Half way to Christmas?
Amazon declares Prime Day its biggest shopping event in history, surpassing the combined sales of Cyber Monday and Black Friday
Amazon said it sold with more than 175 million items sold over the 48-hour event, which started Monday. Last year, the event lasted 36 hours, during which Amazon sold about 100 million items.




Perspective. Internet on the couch?
Psychology of the Internet
People under the age of Twenty don’t know a world without the internet. On The Point, our panel of mental health experts talk about "cyberpsychology": the study of the human mind and behavior, and the impact of the culture of technology, like virtual reality and social media.



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