Perspective.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-bec-scams-accounted-for-half-of-the-cyber-crime-losses-in-2019/

FBI: BEC scams accounted for half of the cyber-crime losses in 2019

The FBI received 467,361 internet and cyber-crime complaints in 2019, which the agency estimates have caused losses of more than $3.5 billion, the bureau wrote in its yearly internet crime report released today.

The FBI said that almost half of the reported losses -- an estimated $1.77 billion -- came from reports of BEC (Business Email Compromise), also known as EAC (Email Account Compromise) crimes.

[The report: https://pdf.ic3.gov/2019_IC3Report.pdf

(Related)

https://cyware.com/news/total-number-of-breached-records-increased-by-284-to-cross-15-billion-in-2019-3585faaf

Total Number of Breached Records Increased by 284% to Cross 15 Billion in 2019

… According to a report from Risk Based Security, the total number of records exposed due to data breaches has increased by 284% in 2019. In total, there were over 15.1 billion records exposed due to 7,098 breaches reported last year.

Where Health Insurance is more important than salary? Should I teach my students to not give a damn?

https://www.zdnet.com/article/average-tenure-of-a-ciso-is-just-26-months-due-to-high-stress-and-burnout/

Average tenure of a CISO is just 26 months due to high stress and burnout

Report: The vast majority of interviewed CISO executives (88%) report high levels of stress, a third report stress-caused physical health issues, half report mental health issues.

… In November 2019, internet and DNS security firm Nominet surveyed 800 CISOs and executives from companies in the US and UK in order to put the topic to bed and discover how much of a role stress plays for CISOs across the industry.

The survey's results paint a gloomy picture about one of today's most in-demand jobs. According to the numbers:

• 88% of CISOs reported being "moderately or tremendously stressed"
• 48% of CISOs said work stress has had a detrimental impact on their mental health
• 40% of CISOs said that their stress levels had affected their relationships with their partners or children
• 32% said that their job stress levels had repercussions on their marriage or romantic relationships
• 32% said that their stress levels had affected their personal friendships
• 23% of CISOs said they turned to medication or alcohol

Is this where the FBI got the idea?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-officials-say-huawei-can-covertly-access-telecom-networks-11581452256

U.S. Officials Say Huawei Can Covertly Access Telecom Networks

U.S. officials say Huawei Technologies Co. can covertly access mobile-phone networks around the world through “back doors” designed for use by law enforcement, as Washington tries to persuade allies to exclude the Chinese company from their networks.

Another try for the perfect Privacy law?

Arizona House of Representatives Proposes New Privacy Law

Kevin Heaphy of Ryley Carlock & Applewhite writes:

Last week, the Arizona House of Representatives proposed HB 2729, a new privacy law. HB 2729 is more narrow than the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in several ways, and has a few kinks to be ironed out. However, it shows that Arizona, like many states, has an interest in passing privacy legislation in 2020. Let’s take a closer look at HB 2729.

[…]

Similar to other privacy laws, HB 2729 would not apply to controllers collecting several specific categories of data, such as employment data, data subject to HIPAA, and data collected pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). HB 2729 also would not apply to state or local go

Read more on National Law Review.

As Cronavirus spreads, so could temperature checks.

Temperature checks at all Shanghai Metro stations

Privacy gets sacrificed when public health is at serious risk. Chen Huizhi reports on fever screenings at Metro stations in Shanghai:

Temperature screenings for Metro passengers have been introduced at all stations in Shanghai as of Wednesday, says the city’s Metro operator.

There are 751 temperature screening points at Metro stations, with 231 using thermal imagers and 520 using hand-held sensors, the company said.

Metro operators remind all passengers to wear masks when entering stations. Those not wearing masks will be turned away.

Read more on Shine.cn.

No surprise?

https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-protection/facebook-earnings-call-warns-investors-that-privacy-regulations-will-cut-into-profits-going-forward/

Facebook Earnings Call Warns Investors That Privacy Regulations Will Cut Into Profits Going Forward

… Facebook looked to downplay its strong Q4 earnings, warning that future quarterly reports would probably show reduced revenue growth. Part of the initial assessment included increased expenses due to operational changes mandated by the Cambridge Analytica decision. While the $5 billion fine (which Facebook paid over the first two quarters of 2019) is a very manageable amount for a company that has been pulling about $55 billion annually in revenue, that is not the final cost. Facebook is also required to implement improved privacy regulations and data security controls, more closely monitor third-party developers, and overhaul the upper levels of the company’s corporate structure. The company stated that it would need to put new technology in place and hire more staff to comply with all of these terms. Current compliance costs have already risen 66%, up to $12.3 billion annually.

For my Architecture students.

https://www.infoq.com/articles/book-review-agile-machine-learning/

Q&A on the Book Agile Machine Learning

Key Takeaways

• Invest in metrics - these are your customers
• The unknowns in data projects are different to those in traditional software engineering projects and so customers and sponsors need to learn how to understand progress and expectations
• Plan for mitigation - the only certain thing about data is that it will contain errors, so design for data mitigation from the start
• A data engineer or scientist needs to be an expert in communicating with data - invest in this skill

What would Siri have to do to influence voters? How subtle could it be?

https://www.bespacific.com/siri-will-now-answer-your-election-questions/

Siri will now answer your election questions

TechCrunch: “Apple’s built-in voice assistant won’t help you figure out who to vote for, but it will be able to update you on different races around the U.S. during election season, as well as deliver live results as votes are counted. The new feature, announced today, is part of Apple News’ 2020 election coverage, which also includes a series of curated news, resources and data from a variety of sources, with the goal of serving users on both sides of the political spectrum. With the added Siri integration, you’ll be able to ask the assistant both informational queries, plus those requiring real-time information. For example, you may ask Siri something like “When are the California primaries?,” which is a more straightforward question, or “Who’s winning the New Hampshire primaries?,” which requires updated information. Siri will speak the answers to the question in addition to presenting the information visually, which makes the feature useful from an accessibility standpoint, too. The live results are being delivered via the Associated Press, Apple says. The company is also leveraging the AP’s real-time results in its Apple News app in order to give county-by-county results and a national map tracking candidate wins by each state primary, among other things…”

Some day, an AI will teach this course.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/seattle-university-launches-public-course-to-bring-the-ethics-of-artificial-intelligence-to-the-masses/

AI is here to stay, but are we sacrificing safety and privacy? A free public Seattle U course will explore that

… Launched last week, the free, online course for businesses is the first step in a Microsoft-funded initiative to merge ethics and technology education at the Jesuit university.

… The course — developed by Colaner, law professor Mark Chinen and adjunct business and law professor Tracy Ann Kosa — explores the meaning of ethics in AI by looking at guiding principles proposed by some nonprofits and technology companies. A case study on facial recognition in the course encourages students to evaluate different uses of facial-recognition technology, such as surveillance or identification, and to determine how the technology should be regulated. The module draws on recent studies that revealed facial-analysis systems have higher error rates when identifying images of darker-skinned females in comparison to lighter-skinned males.

… The six-to-eight-hour online course is designed to encourage those on the front end of AI deployment, such as managers, to understand the ethical issues behind some of the technologies. Students test their understanding of the self-paced course through quizzes at the end of each module.

Can’t hurt.

https://fpf.org/2020/02/11/new-privacy-101-video-series-helps-school-district-leaders-protect-student-data/

New “Privacy 101” Video Series Helps School District Leaders Protect Student Data

In recognition of Safer Internet Day, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) today released a new “Student Privacy 101” video series that is designed to help school leaders better understand federal and state privacy laws and protect sensitive student data.

… The “Student Privacy 101” video series includes:

• An introductory video that previews the challenges and opportunities around collecting and safeguarding student data in the digital age.
• A short video on legal compliance, providing concise information about the requirements and role of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA);
• An brief overview of the most common privacy risks and how to avoid them.
• A discussion on transparency, including advice on collecting community feedback, and engaging and informing parents about a school’s data collection practices.

Could be useful even for non-lawyers.

https://www.hldataprotection.com/2020/02/articles/news-events/webinar-invitation-from-regulation-to-litigation-ccpa-litigation-defense/

Webinar Invitation — From Regulation to Litigation: CCPA Litigation Defense

The United States’ first comprehensive privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), took effect on January 1, 2020, creating significant new consumer privacy rights and significant obligations for businesses. Much of the dialogue to date has focused on compliance with this new law. Now, businesses need to focus on preparing to defend against CCPA-based litigation.

This webinar will explore the CCPA’s litigation impact and strategies for defending your interests.

… Thursday, February 27, 2020 01:00 – 02:00 PM ET To register, please click here.

Because some day I might want to be social…

https://www.bespacific.com/a-beginners-guide-to-reddit/

A Beginner’s Guide to Reddit

Search Engine Journal – A Beginner’s Guide to Reddit: How to Get Started & Be Successful – “In this Reddit guide, you will learn what Reddit is, why it is such an important social platform, and what makes it different than all the other social platforms. You will also learn what you need to consider in order to successfully get started on Reddit. Reddit is a social media platform, that allows any individual to create and manage their own community, which Reddit calls a sub-reddit. The entire platform is a social aggregation site, where individuals curate content they either find around the web or create themselves. They then submit it to their sub-reddit to allow other Reddit users to ability to comment, discuss, and ultimately vote on the content, pushing the most popular content up to the top of the page and moving less popular content down and out of view…”