Our picksForeign Hackers & COVID-19 Research | U.S. 5G Skirmish | Daily Extreme Floods. and more

FBI Official Says Foreign Hackers Targeting COVID-19 Research (Reuters)
A senior cybersecurity official with the FBI said on Thursday that foreign government hackers have broken into companies conducting research into treatments for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. FBI Deputy Assistant Director Tonya Ugoretz told participants in an online panel discussion hosted by the Aspen Institute that the bureau had recently seen state-backed hackers poking around a series of health care and research institutions.

“A Perfect Storm”: Extremists Look for Ways tTo Exploit Coronavirus Pandemic (Hannah Allam, NPR)
Already, monitoring groups have recorded a swell of hatred — including cases of physical violence — toward Asian Americans. Dehumanizing memes blame Jews for the virus. Conspiracy theories abound about causes and cures, while encrypted chats talk about spreading infection to people of color. And there is the rise of “Zoombombing” — racists crashing private videoconferences to send hateful images and comments.

ID Verification Key to Preventing Criminals Exploiting Vulnerable in the Wake of Natural Disasters (Stephen Ufford, SCMagazineUK)
Amidst the chaos following a natural disaster, the potential for fraud is substantial. In such climates, trust is vital to ensure that fraudsters don’t disrupt the flow of funds.

The Oklahoma City Bombing: Its Aftermath and the Evolution of Soft Target Protection (Maria Henriquez, Security Magazine)
Twenty-five years ago, a truck bomb detonated in front of a federal building, killing at least 168 people and injuring more than 680 people. How did enterprise security change after the event?

Cornell Helps Forge a New Field: Finance Sustainability (Blaine Friedlander, Cornell Chronicle)
Climate economists have long focused on governmental policies, economic welfare and the economy as a whole. Financial economists – who study corporate bottom lines – had no scholarly forum for examining the intersection of finance and climate change – until now. In a special climate change issue of the Review of Financial Studies, nine new research papers – including two from Cornell – have staked new territory for scholarly study: finance sustainability.

FCC Chairman Wants to Greenlight Ligado’s U.S.-Wide 5G Network (Reuters/New York Times)
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) circulated on Thursday a draft order asking FCC members to approve Ligado Networks’ low-power nationwide 5G network despite objections from the Defense Department and major U.S. airlines.

The FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate Keeps America Safe from Viruses (Marcia Wendorf, Interesting Engineering)
This little-known agency is keeping watch over biological hazards.

Alarms Ring as Greenland Ice Loss Causes 40% of 2019 Sea Level Rise (Marlowe Hood, AFP)
The kilometers-thick icesheet that covers Greenland saw a near-record imbalance last year between new snowfall and the discharge of meltwater and ice into the ocean, scientists have reported. A net loss of 600 billion tons was enough to raise the global watermark 1.5 millimeters, about 40 percent of total sea level rise in 2019. The Greenland icesheet—which, until the end of the 20th century accumulated as much mass as it shed—holds enough frozen water to lift the world’s oceans by seven meters.

Extreme Floods to Hit U.S. Cities “Almost Daily” by 2100 (Patrick Galey, AFP)
Coastal cities in the United States could experience “once in a lifetime” extreme flood events almost daily by the end of the century if sea levels continue to rise at current rates, new research published in Scientific Reports showed on Thursday