Probably not too unusual. What might the implications be?
Service NSW unable to notify 54,000 customers impacted by cyber attack
Service NSW has been unable to reach more than half the 104,000 customers who had their personal information stolen in an email compromise attack against 47 staff members last year.
The data breach, which exposed 736GB of data between March and early April 2020, is also now likely to cost up to $35 million to remediate, more than five times as much as first estimated.
In an update on Friday, the one-stop shop for NSW government services said it had been unable to reach approximately 18,500 customers for whom it had sent a notification via registered mail, but that had not signed for it.
The agency has only used registered mail to notify customers to date in a bid to reduce the prospect of scammers impersonating the agency.
… But the agency has also revealed that a further 36,000 people were never contacted because it was unable to source a current residential mailing address, even after working with Transport for NSW.
Is there such a thing as a “surveillance free zone?” Is it too late to create one? Could we at least require notification/subpoena to use the data for anything other than its original purpose?
Partnership created to expand use of AI video analytics across the US
MIT-spin-off Derq has teamed with US distributor of traffic signal control and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) equipment, Control Technologies Group (CT Group), for a multi-year distribution agreement in a move to help accelerate road safety and smart infrastructure.
CT Group will be distributing Derq’s artificial intelligence (AI) video analytics solutions for connected roads and vehicles as well as traffic and safety insights across its network in the US.
(Related)
'Missing from desk': AI webcam raises remote surveillance concerns
For anyone concerned that an era of home working could also become one of remote surveillance, the training video for Teleperformance’s in-house webcam security system, called TP Observer, is the stuff of bad dreams.
Explained by “Anna”, a desk-sitting avatar complete with an artificial voice, the video introduces TP Observer as “a risk-mitigation tool that monitors and tracks real time employee behaviour, and detects any violations to pre-set business rules”.
Anna explains that this means home workers will have an AI-enabled webcam added to their computers that recognises their face, tags their location and scans for “breaches” of rules at random points during a shift.
These include an “unknown person” detected at the desk via the facial recognition software, “missing from desk”, “detecting an idle user” and “unauthorised mobile phone usage”.
(Related)
https://www.makeuseof.com/governments-requested-record-data/
Governments Requested Record Amounts of Data in 2020. Should You Be Worried?
… In the six-month period between July 1 and December 31 2020, Amazon received an 800 percent increase in user data requests. The e-commerce giant was contacted by organizations both in the US and abroad.
Overall, 27,664 cases of requested data sharing were processed by the company.
Amazon said in its report that queries related to using data related to shopping searches. They were also associated with the company's Echo, Ring, and Fire services.
In a separate part of the report, the company revealed that 523 data requests had been made in relation to Amazon Web Services, which offers various cloud-based products.
Every ‘feature’ is a potential ‘flaw.’
Isn’t it ironic: Exploiting GDPR laws to gain access to personal data
… Under the sweeping legislation, individuals can use a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) to access information that an organization is processing about them.
However, as Hx01 found, many of these organizations are exposed to DSAR vulnerabilities and exploits “ranging from lack of email confirmations to an SSTI affecting multiple organizations”, meaning that an unauthorized attacker could gain access to private data.
… Added to this, companies accepting DSAR requests through email channels would often process the request without vetting it, allowing an attacker to spoof emails on behalf of the victim and send a DSAR request due to a lack of email authentication.
Here we go again.
https://www.law.com/therecorder/2021/03/26/the-case-for-ai-as-named-inventors/
The Case for AI as Named Inventors
On April 6, Ryan Abbott of the University of Surrey School of Law will be arguing an appeal of the USPTO's rejection of a patent application that named only a machine as the inventor. Abbott says if the legal system doesn't allow AI-generated output to be protected, people will not be encouraged to develop innovation using artificial intelligence.
We’ve heard some arguments against the idea of allowing artificially intelligent machines to be named inventors on patents. This week I’m giving equal time to Professor Ryan Abbott of the University of Surrey School of Law and author of The Reasonable Robot: Artificial Invention and the Law. Abbott will be representing Stephen Thaler in the Eastern District of Virginia on April 6. Thaler is appealing the USPTO’s rejection of a patent application that named only Thaler’s inventive machine, DABUS. (Thaler’s motion for summary judgment here, PTO opposition here, Thaler reply here.)
Using the hype for fund raising? If so, smart!
Here’s why UF is going to use artificial intelligence across its entire curriculum | Column
… UF will likely be the nation’s first comprehensive research institution to integrate AI across the curriculum and make it a ubiquitous part of its academic enterprise. It will offer certificates and degree programs in AI and data science, with curriculum modules for specific technical and industry-focused domains. The result? Thousands of students per year will graduate with AI skills, growing the AI-trained workforce in Florida and serving as a national model for institutions across the country. Ultimately, UF’s effort will help to address the important national problem of how to train the nation’s 21st-century workforce at scale.
Have we been frying brains for a generation? No one reads the user manual…
https://www.makeuseof.com/right-way-make-calls-using-mobile-phone/
The Right Way to Make Calls Using Your Mobile Phone
… Nearly all cellphone manufacturers advise a distance of at least a quarter of an inch away. In fact, Apple even advises you to keep the cellphone at least ½ inch from their body or brain when in use. Other factors that influence radiation levels when using mobile phones are signal strength, distance, and connection time.
… Start by avoiding taking calls when your phone has a weak signal. When you only have one or two bars, your phone must emit more energy to connect to a tower. Similarly, the moments when you are trying to connect to a call also generate more radiation than the actual call itself.
To minimize exposure, wait for the line to connect before putting the cellphone close to your ear.
Interesting.
https://physicsworld.com/a/alan-turing-50-note-is-unveiled-how-to-get-a-mortgage-on-the-moon/
Alan Turing £50 note is unveiled, how to get a mortgage on the Moon
The Bank of England has unveiled the final design of its new £50 polymer banknote that features the mathematician and wartime codebreaker Alan Turing. The new £50 – the last of the bank’s notes to go from paper to polymer – will come into circulation on 23 June, which is the 109th anniversary of Turing’s birth. “He was a leading mathematician, developmental biologist and a pioneer in the field of computer science,” says Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey. “He was also gay and was treated appallingly as a result. By placing him on our new polymer £50 banknote, we are celebrating his achievements, and the values he symbolizes.”
No comments:
Post a Comment