Centennial Man

Tuesday, April 06, 2021

It is always useful to know exactly how large a ransom you can demand.

https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/cyber-insurance-firm-suffers-sophisticated-ransomware-cyber-attack-data-obtained-may-help-hackers-better-target-firms-customers/

Cyber Insurance Firm Suffers Sophisticated Ransomware Cyber Attack; Data Obtained May Help Hackers Better Target Firm’s Customers

One of the largest insurance firms in the U.S. CNA Financial was reportedly hit by a “sophisticated cybersecurity attack” on March 21, 2021. The cyber attack disrupted the company’s employee and customer services for three days as the company shut down “out of an abundance of caution” to prevent further compromise.

… The insurance company posted a statement on its website notifying the public that it “sustained a sophisticated cybersecurity attack. The cyber attack caused a network disruption and impacted certain CNA systems, including corporate email.”

… CNA financial did not notify potential victims because it could not determine if the attackers stole any data. [No logs? Bob]

… Coalition CEO Joshua Motta said a nightmare scenario would be if the attackers stole policyholders’ data. He noted that accessing the data could help hackers determine which companies had applied for or acquired cyber insurance, the scope of coverage, and the limits of deductibles.

Ransomware operators could use that information during negotiations after compromising the cyber insurance policyholders. They could use the information to set optimal ransom demands matching the policyholders’ cyber insurance coverage.

It can’t hurt! Repetition is not a bad thing. Redundancy is not a bad thing. Reiteration is not a bad thing.

https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/new-wef-principles-for-cybersecurity-board-governance-address-expansion-organizational-scope-of-cyber-risk/

New WEF Principles for Cybersecurity Board Governance Address Expansion, Organizational Scope of Cyber Risk

Cyber risk climbs the organizational priority ladder every year, but it accelerated in a unique way with the pandemic conditions of 2020. The World Economic Forum’s newly-released principles for board governance of cybersecurity offer a base of best practices for dealing with this new reality, with a new element being a strong emphasis on organization-wide implementation of cybersecurity culture.

I am so…so... something or other.

https://thenextweb.com/neural/2021/04/05/can-ai-read-your-emotions-try-it-for-yourself/

Can AI read your emotions? Try it for yourself

Emotion recognition AI is bunk.

Don’t get me wrong, AI that recognizes human sentiment and emotion can be very useful. For example, it can help identify when drivers are falling asleep behind the wheel. But what it cannot do, is discern how a human being is actually feeling by the expression on their face.

You don’t have to take my word for it, you can try it yourself here.

Dovetail Labs, a scientific research and consultancy company, recently created a website that explains how modern “emotion recognition” systems built on deep learning work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=785eNqM3X8E

Time to regulate AI that interprets human emotions

… There is deep scientific disagreement about whether AI can detect emotions. A 2019 review found no reliable evidence for it. “Tech companies may well be asking a question that is fundamentally wrong,” the study concluded (L. F. Barrett et al. Psychol. Sci. Public Interest 20, 1–68; 2019).

… Countries around the world have regulations to enforce scientific rigour in developing medicines that treat the body. Tools that make claims about our minds should be afforded at least the same protection. For years, scholars have called for federal entities to regulate robotics and facial recognition; that should extend to emotion recognition, too. It is time for national regulatory agencies to guard against unproven applications, especially those targeting children and other vulnerable populations.

We will use these toys. How should we use them?

https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/94961-the-new-rules-of-security-how-ai-will-transform-video-surveillance

The new rules of security: How AI will transform video surveillance

The security industry is at a tipping point. For decades, we've relied on a trusted playbook that's guided how we deploy resources, design solutions and adopt technology. But AI and machine learning are quickly transforming the security landscape. And that means it's time for our legacy playbook to get a rewrite.

… We're all still building the playbook as we use it, but here are four new, unspoken "rules" for the new world of security - and how they'll continue to evolve thanks to AI.

1. Embrace flexible setups

… Smart systems can identify the difference between humans, animals, and objects and then trigger alerts based only on those identified signatures regardless of surrounding video noise like blowing leaves, headlights, inclement weather or other factors.

2. Maximize economies of scale

3. Look for behavior patterns, not faces

… we think the security benefits from smart video surveillance systems come from identifying specific behavior patterns, not faces. By analyzing common behavior patterns in retail environments, artificial intelligence and machine learning systems can learn to spot abnormal behavior — or suspicious activity that could indicate a problem without ever identifying the individual or inferring any unnecessary bias.

4. Focus on relationship-building, not bad-guy busting

Is this to support the same companies Congress rails against?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-05/u-s-forges-ahead-on-1-billion-tariff-plan-over-digital-taxes

U.S. Forges Ahead on $1 Billion Tariff Plan Over Digital Taxes

The U.S. is pressing ahead with plans to hit six nations that tax Internet-based companies with retaliatory tariffs that could total almost $1 billion annually.

Goods entering the U.S. -- ranging from Austrian grand pianos and British merry-go-rounds to Turkish Kilim rugs and Italian anchovies -- could face tariffs of as much as 25% annually, documents published by the U.S. Trade Representative show. The duties are in response to countries that are imposing taxes on technology firms that operate internationally such as Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc.

Perspective.

https://www.bespacific.com/a-comprehensive-guide-to-those-responsible-for-the-january-6-insurrection/

A Comprehensive Guide to Those Responsible for the January 6 Insurrection

“This primer by Seth Abramson also explains, in detail, how and why the attack on the Capitol occurred. The Department of Justice calls the FBI investigation into the January 6 assault on the United States Capitol one of the largest criminal probes in American history. One of the reasons the investigation is so historically vast and complex is that it encompasses five discrete yet overlapping classes of potential criminal defendants. This article details those five classes, establishes the key intersections between each, identifies a small number of key events in the lead-up to the insurrection, and presents an overarching narrative—confirmed by both testimonial and documentary evidence—of how the insurrection occurred…”