Imagine these guys in your systems. How would you catch them?

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3659001/chinese-apt-group-winnti-stole-trade-secrets-in-years-long-undetected-campaign.html#tk.rss_all

Chinese APT group Winnti stole trade secrets in years-long undetected campaign

The Operation CuckooBees campaign used zero-day exploits to compromise networks and leveraged Windows' Common Log File System to avoid detection.

Security researchers have uncovered a cyberespionage campaign that has remained largely undetected since 2019 and focused on stealing trade secrets and other intellectual property from technology and manufacturing companies across the world. The campaign uses previously undocumented malware and is attributed to a Chinese state-sponsored APT group known as Winnti.

"With years to surreptitiously conduct reconnaissance and identify valuable data, it is estimated that the group managed to exfiltrate hundreds of gigabytes of information," researchers from security firm Cybereason said in a new report. "The attackers targeted intellectual property developed by the victims, including sensitive documents, blueprints, diagrams, formulas, and manufacturing-related proprietary data."

Be aware, be very aware.

https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/avoiding-data-breaches-a-guide-for-boards-and-c-suites/

Avoiding Data Breaches: A Guide for Boards and C-Suites

Litigation against corporate board members and C-level executives for data privacy and security claims is on the rise. Specifically, the number of suits stemming from data breaches and other cybersecurity incidents has increased as such breaches and incidents have become more common. Recently, plaintiffs have targeted corporate board members and C-level executives alleging that their data privacy–related claims result from a breach of fiduciary duties. For example, plaintiffs may allege that the board’s or C-suite’s breach of fiduciary duties caused or contributed to the data breach due to a failure to implement an effective system of internal controls or a failure to heed cybersecurity-associated red flags. Even if a breach does not lead to litigation or enforcement action against board members or C-level executives, data breaches can tarnish a corporation’s name and lead to increased scrutiny from regulators. This year alone, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has recorded over 100 breaches of unsecured electronic protected health information, or ePHI. The department noted that most cyberattacks could be prevented or substantially mitigated by implementing appropriate security measures.

Is “Fair” the right goal?

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01202-3

To make AI fair, here’s what we must learn to do

Beginning in 2013, the Dutch government used an algorithm to wreak havoc in the lives of 25,000 parents. The software was meant to predict which people were most likely to commit childcare-benefit fraud, but the government did not wait for proof before penalizing families and demanding that they pay back years of allowances. Families were flagged on the basis of ‘risk factors’ such as having a low income or dual nationality. As a result, tens of thousands were needlessly impoverished, and more than 1,000 children were placed in foster care.

From New York City to California and the European Union, many artificial intelligence (AI) regulations are in the works. The intent is to promote equity, accountability and transparency, and to avoid tragedies similar to the Dutch childcare-benefits scandal.

But these won’t be enough to make AI equitable. There must be practical know-how on how to build AI so that it does not exacerbate social inequality. In my view, that means setting out clear ways for social scientists, affected communities and developers to work together.

(Related)

https://apnews.com/article/child-welfare-algorithm-investigation-9497ee937e0053ad4144a86c68241ef1

An algorithm that screens for child neglect raises concerns

Inside a cavernous stone fortress in downtown Pittsburgh, attorney Robin Frank defends parents at one of their lowest points – when they risk losing their children.

The job is never easy, but in the past she knew what she was up against when squaring off against child protective services in family court. Now, she worries she’s fighting something she can’t see: an opaque algorithm whose statistical calculations help social workers decide which families should be investigated in the first place.

“A lot of people don’t know that it’s even being used,” Frank said. “Families should have the right to have all of the information in their file.”

From Los Angeles to Colorado and throughout Oregon, as child welfare agencies use or consider tools similar to the one in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, an Associated Press review has identified a number of concerns about the technology, including questions about its reliability and its potential to harden racial disparities in the child welfare system. Related issues have already torpedoed some jurisdictions’ plans to use predictive models, such as the tool notably dropped by the state of Illinois.

According to new research from a Carnegie Mellon University team obtained exclusively by AP, Allegheny’s algorithm in its first years of operation showed a pattern of flagging a disproportionate number of Black children for a “mandatory” neglect investigation, when compared with white children. The independent researchers, who received data from the county, also found that social workers disagreed with the risk scores the algorithm produced about one-third of the time.

A different angle, same argument.

https://puck.news/the-hollywood-a-i-i-p-supernova/

The Hollywood A.I.-I.P. Supernova

Will the robots replace us all one day? Who knows, but chances are they will eventually learn how to create a superhero movie. Ergo, the start of one of the great legal debates in Hollywood history.

The A.I. Wars are almost here. No, I’m not talking about Terminator or even a crackdown on Twitter bots. Instead, we’ll soon be witnessing a series of extraordinary test cases designed to force the American legal system to reconsider the concept of authorship as artificial intelligence begins to write short stories or pop songs. It may sound like a Zuckerbergian fever dream, but A.I. could soon be creating blockbuster movies and life-saving pharmaceuticals, too—multi-billion dollar products with no human creator.

The legal battle has already begun. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, I’ve learned, a lawsuit will be filed that challenges the U.S. Copyright Office’s recent decision to deny an “author” identified as “Creativity Machine.” Then, a few weeks later, a federal appeals court will hear oral arguments in Thaler v. Hirshfeld, an under-the-radar but potentially blockbuster case concerning whether A.I. can be listed as the “inventor” in a patent application. Meanwhile, authorities in the European Union and 15 other countries are being asked to make similar determinations to properly credit the achievements of A.I.

… Abbott is obsessed with our technological future. In writings including The Reasonable Robot, he outlines how we should discriminate between A.I. and human behavior under the law. For example, if businesses get taxed on the wages of its human but not robot workers, he asks, do we incentivize automation? And if we hold the suppliers of autonomous driving software to a punishing tort standard (i.e. strict liability rather than negligence), will there come a time when we’re actually discouraging the adoption of technology that would prevent accidents on the road?

… This new case focusing on copyright protection for A.I.-generated work could become meaningful for the creative industry as studios and filmmakers explore A.I.’s potential. In recent years, for example, Warner Bros. has used A.I. to guide its decision-making about what projects to pursue. In Japan, a new film about a boy’s dislike of tomatoes, based on a script by A.I., is now hitting the festival circuit. There’s now an A.I. tool out there that, sensing the tone of any video, recomposes music for a score. Sony, in fact, has tried to use A.I. to make new music that sounds like The Beatles, and Spotify is experimenting too. And as anyone who has seen the deepfake “Tom Cruise” knows, A.I. can do a pretty good job of replicating actors (something that’s of increasing concern to actor unions). Put it all together, and we’ll likely be seeing A.I. acting soon as the auteur on a major motion picture. And not just for movies either. A.I. is increasingly involved in video game development, too.