The US has boundaries? What a concept!

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/3/22655880/us-commerce-shutter-security-unit-monitored-americans-social-media?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4

Feds to close unit that monitored Americans’ social media for Census disinformation

The ITMS unit in the Commerce Department overstepped its boundaries, an internal review found

The US Commerce Department said Friday that it will eliminate an internal security division after an investigation found it had overstepped its authority when it launched criminal investigations into Commerce employees and US citizens. The Investigations and Threat Management Service division had no “adequate legal authority” to conduct criminal investigations, according to an internal investigation by the Commerce Department’s Office of General Counsel.

So when will we change the law? Did the court (or the court’s AI) even read my AI’s Amicus brief? My AI claimed that its oath, “so help me Bob,” was equal to that sworn by any other ‘individual.’

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/3/22656039/ai-inventor-patent-copyright-uspto-federal-court-ruling

AI computers can’t patent their own inventions — yet — a US judge rules

Should an artificially intelligent machine be able to patent its own inventions? For a US federal judge, the larger implications of that question were irrelevant. In April 2020, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ruled that only “natural persons” could be credited as the inventor of a patent, and a US court decided Thursday that yes, that’s what the law technically says (via Bloomberg ).

… Oh, and the court says it can only overrule a US agency’s decision if it’s arbitrary, capricious, or obviously illegal — but in this case, the USPTO already laid out its entire reasoning why it plans to stick to the status quo last April. It also asked for public comment in 2019, before it made its ruling.

Perspective. When laws conflict with other laws, regulations and rules... (And it probably violates the GDPR!)

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/09/texas-abortion-snitch-website-kicked-off-godaddy-for-invading-peoples-privacy/

GoDaddy boots Texas abortion “whistleblower” site for violating privacy rule

The Texas Right to Life group will have to find a new hosting provider for its website that encourages people to report violations of the state's restrictive new anti-abortion law.

GoDaddy took action after Gizmodo reported that Texas Right to Life's new website, prolifewhistleblower.com, seems to violate a GoDaddy rule that says website operators may not "collect or harvest (or permit anyone else to collect or harvest) any User Content or any non-public or personally identifiable information about another user or any other person or entity without their express prior written consent." GoDaddy's terms of service also say that customers cannot use the web hosting platform in a way that "[v]iolates the privacy or publicity rights of another User or any other person or entity, or breaches any duty of confidentiality that you owe to another User or any other person or entity."

‘cause I’m old fashioned. (Okay, ‘cause I’m old!)

https://www.makeuseof.com/best-websites-listen-to-radio-in-browser/

The 5 Best Websites to Listen to the Radio in Your Browser

Tools & Techniques. Something for the AI class to play with?

https://thenextweb.com/news/if-you-thought-a-self-driving-tesla-was-cool-here-is-a-kit-to-build-and-program-your-own-self-driving-car?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWeb+%28The+Next+Web+All+Stories%29

If you thought a self-driving Tesla was cool, here is a kit to build and program your own self-driving car

This Wheelson AI Self-Driving Car kit not only guides users through building a self-driving vehicle, but also doing the programming to make it get moving and stay on the road all by itself.

… With the Wheelson Self-Driving Car ($107.99, 10 percent off, from TNW Deals), learners get an inside look at exactly how autonomous transportation actually works. Best of all, this training truly takes root with students because they’re actually doing it all themselves.

Powered by four small electromotors with a rechargeable Li-Po battery engine leading the way, users actually assemble their own four-wheeled vehicle that looks like a car…but it’s actually just as much robot as vehicle.

Does Tesla know why its AI is failing?

https://apnews.com/article/business-7f8233589a3ae31bee32a1a939ac5e20

US asks Tesla how Autopilot responds to emergency vehicles

The U.S. government’s highway safety agency wants detailed information on how Tesla’s Autopilot system detects and responds to emergency vehicles parked on highways.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made the detailed request in an 11-page letter sent to the electric car maker that was dated Tuesday.

… In the crashes under investigation, at least 17 people were injured and one was killed.

Worth reading the entire article…

https://www.pogowasright.org/what-does-it-actually-mean-when-a-company-says-we-do-not-sell-your-data/

What Does It Actually Mean When a Company Says, “We Do Not Sell Your Data”?

Another long but read-worthy article/

https://www.databreaches.net/juniper-breach-mystery-starts-to-clear-with-new-details-on-hackers-and-u-s-role/

Juniper Breach Mystery Starts to Clear With New Details on Hackers and U.S. Role

… The story here, for those who may have forgotten 2015 (it was a long time ago!) is that the NSA inserted a backdoor into a major encryption standard and then leaned on manufacturers to install it.

Something is “off” here. Since when has HPE been a leader in the surveillance business? Is $2 Billion spread over 10 years a contract for cutting edge AI or back office tools?

https://interestingengineering.com/hewlett-packard-just-got-2-billion-ai-surveillance-for-nsa

Hewlett-Packard Just Got $2 Billion to Make an AI Surveillance System for the NSA

Domestic surveillance programs may be in for an AI upgrade.

The National Security Agency of the United States just awarded a $2 billion contract to Hewlett Packard Enterprise to develop high-performance computing power that the agency will use to reach its data analytics and artificial intelligence needs, according to a Wednesday statement from the company,

Perspective. Does the phrase “tossing out the baby with the bath water” apply?

https://www.protocol.com/policy/the-texas-abortion-ban-could-force-tech-to-snitch-on-users

The Texas abortion ban could force tech to snitch on users

… the law's construction creates a far broader surface area of risk than even that, enabling anyone to be sued for — knowingly or unknowingly — aiding and abetting the "performance or inducement" of an abortion. As some have pointed out, that tie could be as indirect as an Uber driver giving a woman a ride to a clinic.

Uber is not alone among tech companies in having to figure out a response to this bill. Because now, the tech sector's many social media platforms, messaging platforms, fundraising platforms and more will also have to decide what they will do if, in the process of one of these lawsuits, they receive a legal request for user data.

Perspective. An often repeated theme.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2021/09/02/air-force-chief-software-offer-knocks-dod-as-he-departs/

Air Force chief software officer knocks DoD as he departs

The Air Force’s chief software officer Nic Chaillan announced his departure in a blistering online post Thursday that criticized senior leaders for not taking IT modernization seriously and hamstringing senior IT leaders.

Perspective. Perhaps they need to add an AI to control the machines?

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/02/1033715465/mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-mcflurries-ftc-investigation

Feds Are Reportedly Looking Into Why McDonald's Ice-Cream Machines Are Always Busted

I scream. You scream. We all scream ... out of sheer rage that the McDonald's ice-cream machine is busted again.

By now it is well known among connoisseurs of the fast-food giant's frozen desserts that McDonald's ice-cream machines often break down. The technical problems that regularly befall the contraptions can make McFlurries, shakes and other treats unattainable.

McDonald's has acknowledged the issue, But customers are not lovin' it.

The problem has gotten so widespread there's even an online tool that lets you track malfunctioning machines across the United States.

Now, the feds are reportedly on the case.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the Federal Trade Commission contacted McDonald's franchise owners over the summer looking for information about the broken ice-cream machines.

McDonald's franchisees have long griped about the machines, the newspaper reported, which require a nightly cleaning cycle that can fail and require a technician to fix.

Perspective. This is going to get worse...

https://www.bespacific.com/an-app-called-libby-and-the-surprisingly-big-business-of-library-e-books/

An App Called Libby and the Surprisingly Big Business of Library E-books

The New Yorker: “Increasingly, books are something that libraries do not own but borrow from the corporations that do… The sudden shift to e-books had enormous practical and financial implications, not only for OverDrive but for public libraries across the country. Libraries can buy print books in bulk from any seller that they choose, and, thanks to a legal principle called the first-sale doctrine, they have the right to lend those books to any number of readers free of charge. But the first-sale doctrine does not apply to digital content. For the most part, publishers do not sell their e-books or audiobooks to libraries—they sell digital distribution rights to third-party venders, such as OverDrive, and people like Steve Potash sell lending rights to libraries. These rights often have an expiration date, and they make library e-books “a lot more expensive, in general, than print books,” Michelle Jeske, who oversees Denver’s public-library system, told me. Digital content gives publishers more power over prices, because it allows them to treat libraries differently than they treat other kinds of buyers. Last year, the Denver Public Library increased its digital checkouts by more than sixty per cent, to 2.3 million, and spent about a third of its collections budget on digital content, up from twenty per cent the year before…”

Perspective. It used to take only fuel, air and spark. Now it’s fuel air spark and computers.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/2/22654357/gm-factory-shutdown-chip-shortage-truck-suv?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4

GM temporarily shuts down North American factories because of chip shortage

… Four of GM’s US-based plants will be affected: Fort Wayne, Indiana; Wentzville, Missouri; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Lansing, Michigan. Four other factories in Mexico and Canada will also go dark for several weeks as GM works to shore up its supply of chips. The halt in production will affect GM’s most profitable vehicles, including pickup trucks and SUVs.

Beware of users bringing their own devices.

https://www.makeuseof.com/anyone-can-be-windows-admin-razer/

Anyone Can Be a Windows Admin by Plugging In a Razer Mouse or Keyboard

… When you plug your Razer mice or keyboard into the system, Windows will automatically fetch and install the Razer Synapse software. It's a cloud-based device configuration tool that lets users customize RGB lighting, keyboard hotkeys, and Alexa profiles.

Windows will then execute the RazerInstaller.exe file to install Synapse. However, as with other system-level tasks, this will also be called with admin privileges. So it doesn't matter which user has plugged the component; the installer will run as admin.

Having security procedures is not enough, you need to ensure they are followed!

https://www.databreaches.net/fired-ny-credit-union-employee-nukes-21gb-of-data-in-revenge/

Fired NY credit union employee nukes 21GB of data in revenge

Sergiu Gatlan reports:

Juliana Barile, the former employee of a New York credit union, pleaded guilty to accessing the financial institution’s computer systems without authorization and destroying over 21 gigabytes of data in revenge after being fired.

“In an act of revenge for being terminated, Barile surreptitiously accessed the computer system of her former employer, a New York Credit Union, and deleted mortgage loan applications and other sensitive information maintained on its file server,” Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis said.

Read more on BleepingComputer.

[From the article:

Even though a credit union employee asked the bank's information technology support firm to disable Barile's remote access credentials, that access was not removed. Two days later, on May 21, Barile logged on for roughly 40 minutes.

The defendant deleted over 20,000 files and around 3,500 directories during that time, totaling roughly 21.3 gigabytes of data stored on the bank's share drive.

This seems rather quick to me. Something here I’m not seeing?

https://www.databreaches.net/wawa-paying-9-million-in-cash-gift-cards-in-data-breach-settlement-nov-deadline-to-file-claim/

Wawa paying $9-million in cash, gift cards in data breach settlement; Nov. deadline to file claim

WPVI reports an update to the 2019 WaWa breach covered on this site in a number of posts:

Wawa is paying out up to $9-million in cash and gift cards related to a data breach that exposed customers’ credit and debit card numbers and names.

The breach happened between March 4, 2019 and December 12, 2019.

If you can show proof that the breach cost you money, you can be reimbursed up to $500.

“The Settlement Class consists of all customers who reside in the United States and who used a credit or debit card at a Wawa convenience store or fuel pump at any time during the Period of the Security Incident,” the Wawa Consumer Data Security

Read more on WPVI.

Another brick in the privacy wall?

https://www.pogowasright.org/illinois-protecting-household-privacy-act-was-signed-into-law-now-what/

Illinois’ Protecting Household Privacy Act Was Signed Into Law. Now What?

Odia Kagan of Fox Rothschild writes:

On August 27, 2021, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Protecting Household Privacy Act into law. It goes into effect Jan. 1, 2022.

House Bill 2553 prohibits Illinois law enforcement agencies from obtaining household electronic data or direct the acquisition of household electronic data from a private third party.

This includes any information or input provided by a person to any device primarily intended for use within a household that is capable of facilitating any electronic communication, excluding personal computing devices (like a personal computer, cell phone, smartphone, or tablet) and digital gateway devices (like a modem, router, wireless access point, or cable set-top box serviced by a cable provider.

Read more on Privacy Compliance & Data Security.

Ya gotta ‘splain it gooder!

https://www.pogowasright.org/whatsapp-fined-266-million-over-data-transparency-breaches/

WhatsApp Fined $266 Million Over Data Transparency Breaches

Stephanie Bodoni and Katharine Gemmell of Bloomberg report:

Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp was ordered to pay a 225 million-euro ($266 million) penalty for failing to be transparent about how it handled personal information, its first fine under beefed-up European Union data protection law.

The Irish Data Protection Commission — Silicon Valley’s main privacy watchdog in Europe — said it found violations in the way WhatsApp explained how it processed users’ and non-users’ data, as well as how data was shared between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies.

Read more on Bloomberg.

Long but worth reading…

https://www.pogowasright.org/ftc-bans-spyfone-and-ceo-from-surveillance-business-and-orders-company-to-delete-all-secretly-stolen-data/

FTC Bans SpyFone and CEO from Surveillance Business and Orders Company to Delete All Secretly Stolen Data

Today, the Federal Trade Commission banned SpyFone and its CEO Scott Zuckerman from the surveillance business over allegations that the stalkerware app company secretly harvested and shared data on people’s physical movements, phone use, and online activities through a hidden device hack. The company’s apps sold real-time access to their secret surveillance, allowing stalkers and domestic abusers to stealthily track the potential targets of their violence. SpyFone’s lack of basic security also exposed device owners to hackers, identity thieves, and other cyber threats. In addition to imposing the surveillance-business ban, the FTC’s order requires SpyFone to delete the illegally harvested information and notify device owners that the app had been secretly installed.

… This is the second case the FTC has brought against stalkerware apps, and the first where the FTC is obtaining a ban. In a complaint, the FTC alleged that Support King, LLC, which did business as SpyFone.com, and its CEO sold stalkerware apps that allowed purchasers to surreptitiously monitor photos, text messages, web histories, GPS locations, and other personal information of the phone on which the app was installed without the device owner’s knowledge.

Something new, for my students involved in privacy.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3631409/cdpse-certification-requirements-exam-and-cost.html#tk.rss_all

CDPSE certification: Requirements, exam, and cost

The Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) certification is new on the scene, but the privacy-focused cert is already in increasing demand.

The Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) certification focuses on the implementation of privacy solutions, from both a technical and governance perspective. It is offered by ISACA, a nonprofit professional association focused on IT governance with a number of certifications in its stable, including CISM.

… Overall, a CDPSE certification is meant to demonstrate expertise in three main areas, which ISACA refers to as work-related domains:

• Privacy governance, which includes governance, management, and risk management

• Privacy architecture, which includes infrastructure, applications and software, and technical privacy controls

• Data lifecycle, which includes data purpose and data persistence

ISACA breaks down what's covered under each of these domains in more detail on their website.

How about automatically filing them under “Humor?”

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/1/22652764/facebook-twitter-censor-ban-texas-republicans-abbott?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4

Texas is set to pass a new law banning Facebook from censoring conservatives

Texas is one step closer to enacting a law that would make it more difficult for social media companies to moderate political content. Both Texas’ House and Senate approved the bill earlier this week, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

The bill would make it unlawful for social media companies with more than 50 million users, like Facebook and Twitter, to censor users and content based on political views or geographic location. This includes moderation actions like banning, deplatforming, or demonetizing users and removing posts.

Perspective. Have we all gone mad?

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-gop-leader-mccarthy-threatens-companies-cooperate-jan/story?id=79772460

House GOP Leader McCarthy threatens companies that cooperate with Jan. 6 probe

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday warned dozens of communications companies against cooperating with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, saying that Republicans "will not forget" it if they retake the House.

His broadside was immediately criticized by Democrats and ethics experts, who accused him of violating House ethics rules and likened the statement to tampering with the congressional investigation.

Tools & Techniques.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02346-4

Drowning in the literature? These smart software tools can help

Every time Eddie Smolyansky had a few moments to himself, he tried to stay abreast of new publications in his field. But by 2016, the computer-vision researcher, who is based in Tel Aviv, Israel, was receiving hundreds of automated literature recommendations per day. “At some point the bathroom breaks weren’t enough,” he says. The recommendations were “way too much, and impossible to keep up with”.

… But change is afoot. In 2019, Smolyansky co-founded Connected Papers, one of a new generation of visual literature-mapping and recommendation tools. Other services that promise to tame the information overload, integrating Twitter feeds and daily news as well as research, are also available.

Instead of serving up a daily list of new articles by e-mail, Connected Papers uses a single, user-chosen ‘origin paper’ to build a map of related research, based partly on overlapping citations. The service recently surpassed one million users, Smolyansky says.

The maps are colour-coded by publication date, and users can toggle between ‘prior’, seminal, papers and later, ‘derivative’, works that build on them. The idea is that scientists can search for an origin paper that interests them, and see from the resulting map which recent papers have made a splash in their field, how they relate to other research, and how many citations they have accrued.

Beware the amateur psychologist.

https://dilbert.com/strip/2021-09-02

Silly me, I thought things couldn’t get any worse…

https://www.dnaindia.com/science/report-massive-solar-storm-may-hit-earth-likely-to-cause-internet-meltdown-2908945

Massive solar storm may hit Earth, likely to cause Internet meltdown

Another solar storm is coming which could potentially destroy the infrastructure and cause an 'internet apocalypse'. According to a new research paper published by Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi of the University of California, Irvine, and VMware Research, if this massive upcoming solar storm does happen then it can cause an internet blackout and will transform our digital world completely.

In her research, Abdu Jyothi revealed that local and regional internet infrastructure would be at low risk of damage during extreme solar storms as they mostly use fiber optic.

… It is important to note that for the undersea cables that connect continents, things are dangerous even if most of them are connected via fibre optic cables because the repeaters that amplify the current at regular intervals are highly susceptible to failure and hence pose a risk during a solar storm.

Let’s hope that “nobody knew” included all those hackers who constantly attacked Azure.

https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/microsoft-warning-to-customers-azure-cosmos-db-cloud-databases-may-have-been-exposed-for-years/

Microsoft Warning to Customers: Azure Cosmos DB Cloud Databases May Have Been Exposed For Years

Microsoft is warning customers of a devastating vulnerability in one of its cloud database products, used by thousands of organizations, that appears to have been present for years without anyone being aware of it. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB cloud databases have had their read-write keys exposed by the flaw, allowing an attacker to not just access the contents but also to change or delete them.

The vulnerability was discovered by security researchers and reported confidentially to Microsoft, which sent an email to customers indicating it has seen no evidence that outside parties have exploited it. However, the company is advising its Cosmos DB customers to create new keys via the “Keys” menu in the Azure portal.

The same thing could happen with a ransomware attack.

https://www.databreaches.net/dallas-police-data-loss-nearly-triple-initial-estimate/

Dallas police data loss nearly triple initial estimate

The Associated Press reports that the amount of data missing from Dallas’s computer database is almost triple the initial estimate of files lost during a data migration involving Dallas Police files.

About 15 terabytes of police data are missing besides the 7.5 terabytes initially thought to be lost, city spokeswoman Janella Newsome said.

Read more on The Herald Sun.

We have already seen one defendant released from jail because of the data loss incident while they needed to verify whether any files in his case had been lost in the incident.

Will some prosecutions have to be totally abandoned? We have yet to learn.

Another concern for CEOs and another selling point for CSOs. This will expand beyond brokers...

https://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/2021/09/01/sec-charges-investment-advisers-and-broker-dealers-with-deficient-cybersecurity-procedures/

SEC Charges Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers with Deficient Cybersecurity Procedures

On August 30, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it had settled three administrative cases involving a total of eight registered broker-dealers and investment advisers for failures in their cybersecurity policies and procedures. These failures led to email account takeovers that exposed personal information of thousands of customers at each firm. The cases are In the Matter of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Release No. 34-92800; In the Matter of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., Release No. 34-92806; and In the Matter of KMS Financial Services, Inc., Release No. 34-92807, August 30, 2021.

… This series of cases is the latest in a string of recent SEC enforcement cases (which includes the Pearson plc penalty ) involving deficient cybersecurity controls and procedures. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has signaled in recent speeches and congressional testimony that cybersecurity will be a priority of the agency during his tenure. Commenting on the case, Kristina Littman, chief of the SEC Division of Enforcement’s Cyber Unit, remarked, “It is not enough to write a policy requiring enhanced security measures if those requirements are not implemented or are only partially implemented, especially in the face of known attacks.”

More privacy?

https://www.pogowasright.org/ohio-introduces-ccpa-like-consumer-privacy-bill/

Ohio Introduces CCPA-like Consumer Privacy Bill

Delonie A. Plummer of JacksonLewis writes:

Consumer privacy issues are as a hot as ever, and on the radar of the state and federal legislature alike. Following in the footsteps of California, and most recently Virginia and Colorado, Ohio introduced a comprehensive consumer privacy bill, the Ohio Personal Privacy Act (the “Act”). By introducing the Act, Ohio follows the growing nation-wide trend towards stronger state privacy laws related to consumer rights.

Read more on Workplace Privacy, Data Management & Security Report.

Perspective. Game changer?

https://thenextweb.com/news/pentagons-probably-drooling-over-age-of-empires-4-launch

Why the Pentagon’s probably drooling over the upcoming Age of Empires 4 launch

Microsoft, a company with numerous military contracts, has brazenly admitted it intends to train an artificial intelligence agent to become “unbeatable” by humans in war simulations.

Feel free to run amok in a fugue state of panic at your own discretion, but I should point out it’s for a video game.

Tools & Techniques. Mr Zillman’s collections are always worth investigating.

https://www.bespacific.com/academic-and-scholar-search-engines-and-sources-2021/

Academic and Scholar Search Engines and Sources 2021

Via LLRX – Academic and Scholar Search Engines and Sources 2021 – Marcus P. Zillman’s new guide provides a wealth of information to enhance your efforts in conducting expert research on a wide range of subject matters. The guide is also another reminder that Google should not be your go-to subject search engine by demonstrating how choosing to use reliable topic specific sources can deliver greater scope, breath and depth of information for your analysis and reporting. These sites include metasearch, semantic and Deep Web search, with many sources offering advanced search functionality, unique and comprehensive data sets and repositories, dashboards and tools from around the world, all of which are updated and curated effectively and consistently. These sources represent the work of academic, government, consortium, firms and industry.

(Related)

https://www.makeuseof.com/tips-tricks-to-use-google-search-effectively/

10 Tips and Tricks to Use Google Search More Effectively

Features and failures. Sometimes it depends on the application.

https://thenextweb.com/news/excel-autocorrect-errors-plaguing-gene-research-syndication?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWeb+%28The+Next+Web+All+Stories%29

Excel autocorrect errors are plaguing gene research

Auto-correction, or predictive text, is a common feature of many modern tech tools, from internet searches to messaging apps and word processors. Auto-correction can be a blessing, but when the algorithm makes mistakes it can change the message in dramatic and sometimes hilarious ways.

Our research shows autocorrect errors, particularly in Excel spreadsheets, can also make a mess of gene names in genetic research. We surveyed more than 10,000 papers with Excel gene lists published between 2014 and 2020 and found more than 30% contained at least one gene name mangled by autocorrect.

Where would you draw the line? People you pay are different from people who pay you.

https://www.theverge.com/22648265/apple-employee-privacy-icloud-id?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4

APPLE CARES ABOUT PRIVACY, UNLESS YOU WORK AT APPLE

… Preston’s story is part of a growing tension inside Apple, where some employees say the company isn’t doing enough to protect their personal privacy and, at times, actively seeks to invade it for security reasons. Employees have been asked to install software builds on their phones to test out new features prior to launch — only to find the builds expose their personal messages. Others have found that when testing new products like Apple’s Face ID, images are recorded every time they open their phones. “If they did this to a customer, people would lose their goddamn minds,” says Ashley Gjøvik, a senior engineering program manager.

Apple employees also can’t use their work email addresses to sign up for iCloud accounts, so many use their personal accounts.

The blurring of personal and work accounts has resulted in some unusual situations, including Gjøvik allegedly being forced to hand compromising photos of herself to Apple lawyers when her team became involved in an unrelated legal dispute.

Start surveillance young?

https://threatpost.com/army-facial-recognition-child-care/169036/

Army Testing Facial Recognition in Child-Care Centers

Live video feeds of daycare centers are common, but the Army wants to take their kid-monitoring capabilities to the next level.

… The request for bids on the project, called Installations of the Future: Technology Pilot for Child Development Center, explained that the CCTV feeds aren’t constantly monitored by humans and the pilot program will explore whether AI could fill in the gaps.

Resource. Training an AI?

https://www.bespacific.com/unpaywall/

Unpaywall

Unpaywall – “An open database of 29,928,647 free scholarly articles. We harvest Open Access content from over 50,000 publishers and repositories, and make it easy to find, track, and use.. Get started: research – OA researchers can use Unpaywall to answer research questions about the current and historical state of open access. There are several popular ways to access the data for research: you can use the REST API, the R API wrapper, the Simple Query Tool, or download the whole dataset. A particularly easy way to get started with research is to use Dimensions, Scopus, or Web of Science, which all have Unpaywall data integrated into their databases. That’s the approach used by this recent paper. You might also check out the the canonical reference paper for the dataset, which gives a good overview of the data as a whole. Of course, this is just a very quick overview…if you have any questions, or want to use Unpaywall in a way that’s not described here, please drop us a line and we’ll be happy to help!

Tools & Techniques. Keeping my beer cold...

https://thenextweb.com/news/the-gosun-chill-solar-cooler-means-no-ice-necessary-and-with-solar-panels-its-really-a-mobile-fridge?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWeb+%28The+Next+Web+All+Stories%29

The GoSun Chill Solar Cooler means no ice necessary. And with solar panels, it’s really a mobile fridge

With the GoSun Chill Solar Cooler, you can enjoy cool food and beverages anywhere, without the ice. And you can add on cool solar attachments to power the whole thing.