Centennial Man

Monday, May 17, 2021

Sort of a ‘Streisand Effect” attack. Try NOT coming to a hacker’s attention, for any reason.

https://www.databreaches.net/cyberinsurance-giant-axa-hit-by-ransomware-attack-after-saying-it-would-stop-covering-ransom-payments/

Cyberinsurance giant AXA hit by ransomware attack after saying it would stop covering ransom payments

Graham Cluley sets the stage nicely:

Ouch.

One week after the French branch of cyberinsurance giant AXA said that it would no longer be writing policies to cover ransomware payments, the company’s operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Phillippines have reportedly been hit… by a ransomware attack.

Read more on GrahamCluley.com.

[MORE]

A real ethics question.

https://www.bespacific.com/the-new-digital-extortion/

The new digital extortion

Axios: “If you run a hospital, a bank, a utility or a city, chances are you’ll be hit with a ransomware attack. Given the choice between losing your precious data or paying up, chances are you’ll pay.

Why it matters: Paying the hackers is the clear short-term answer for most organizations hit with these devastating attacks, but it’s a long-term societal disaster, encouraging hackers to continue their lucrative extortion schemes.
Driving the news: Colonial Pipeline paid hackers almost $5 million in ransom to restore its systems and get gasoline flowing again after a ransomware attack held the country’s largest pipeline hostage, which resulted in widespread disruption of gasoline supply.
The big picture: “This creates a collective action problem — the bad guys win so they’ll go out and hit someone else,” said Betsy Cooper, director of Aspen Tech Policy Hub at the Aspen Institute…”

Privacy any utility are often considered separately. “We can do this, therefore we should do this!”

https://thenextweb.com/news/apple-airtags-find-my-app-work-because-massive-covert-tracking-network-syndication?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWeb+%28The+Next+Web+All+Stories%29

Apple AirTags and the ‘Find My’ app only work because of a massive covert tracking network

… For the uninitiated, an AirTag is a small device (similar to a Tile) that can be attached to personal items such as keys, wallets or luggage. The tag periodically sends messages that can be used to track its location, letting you find any lost or missing items with the help of an app.

While clearly useful, AirTags can also potentially be misused. Concerns have been raised they might facilitate stalking, for example.

And there’s also a more fundamental issue with this technology. Its euphemistic description as a “crowdsourced” way to recover lost items belies the reality of how these items are tracked.

What you won’t find highlighted in the polished marketing statements is the fact that AirTags can only work by tapping into an Apple-operated surveillance network in which millions of us are unwitting participants.

We need answers, not more questions.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-is-getting-smarter-fast-when-do-we-start-worrying-about-whether-software-should-have-rights/

AIs are getting smarter, fast. That's creating philosophical questions that we can't answer

… Currently, AIs are narrow in nature, performing tasks like image recognition, fraud detection, and customer service. But, as AIs develop, they will become increasingly autonomous. At some point, they're likely to do wrong. Who's really at fault when AIs make mistakes is a question that's set to trouble businesses and excite lawyers as they struggle to work out who could, and should, be held responsible for any resulting harm.

It strikes me that this is similar to failures in training your dog or your children.

https://venturebeat.com/2021/05/16/4-of-the-worst-ways-to-use-ai/

4 of the worst ways to use AI

As the pandemic further accelerates our digital transformation, companies are relying even more on automation and particularly on artificial intelligence. Two-thirds of CEOs surveyed last year by a major consulting firm said they will use AI even more than before for the creation of new workforce models. Even higher numbers plan to digitize operations, customer interactions, business models, and revenue streams. This huge acceleration and shift will surely bring massive failures, leaving companies — and in some cases even critical infrastructure — vulnerable to loss as critical decision-making is handed off to AI.