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Biologically inspired network protection software
Electrical engineers look to the human immune system for clues on how to best protect digital networks. It’s a concept that’s beginning to be explored more and more by researchers in a variety of fields: What does the human body do well and how can we adapt those mechanisms to improve technology or engineering systems?
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Securing blockchain technology for cryptocurrency and other applications
Cryptocurrency, or digital currency, was introduced in 2009 by Bitcoin, and the market has since expanded to include many other brands such as Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and Zcash. Because it is based on unique blockchain technology, a decentralized network that doesn’t require a third party to process transactions, cryptocurrency operates independently from the global banking system. The privacy that users of a network based on blockchain technology have, however, is a major drawback.
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Hate incidents are underreported. Now, there’s an app for that
Despite the FBI recording an all-time high in hate-motivated incidents in 2017 (the most recent year’s statistics available) the number is likely much higher. Low reporting from victims to police and inconsistent reporting from police to federal authorities have created a massive gap in how we understand hate in America. Researchers from the University of Utah want to fill that gap with an app.
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Making scalable on-chip security pervasive
For the past decade, cybersecurity threats have moved from high in the software stack to progressively lower levels of the computational hierarchy, working their way towards the underlying hardware. The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) has driven the creation of a rapidly growing number of accessible devices and a multitude of complex chip designs needed to enable them. A new DARP program focuses on addressing the economic and technical challenges associated with incorporating scalable defense mechanisms into chip designs.
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Making scalable on-chip security pervasive
For the past decade, cybersecurity threats have moved from high in the software stack to progressively lower levels of the computational hierarchy, working their way towards the underlying hardware. The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) has driven the creation of a rapidly growing number of accessible devices and a multitude of complex chip designs needed to enable them. A new DARP program focuses on addressing the economic and technical challenges associated with incorporating scalable defense mechanisms into chip designs.
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Online voting not ready for prime time
Online voting is often considered a way to improve voter turnout and security. But according to one expert, computer scientists have got a long way to go before they make it a viable alternative to pencils and paper.
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AfD Bunestag member under Russian influence: Report
Markus Frohnmaier, an MP for the far-right, populist AfD party, could be controlled by Russia, several European media outlets have reported. Frohnmaier has publicly sided with Moscow on practically each and every issue important to Vladimir Putin. The investigative report – the result of a joint effort by several leading European news organizations – concluded that Frohnmaier “stands under the influence of Moscow” and that his political and legislative actions aim to further Russia’s strategic interests.
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Nagging security concerns over using Huawei’s tech in Europe
New report urges NATO members to look to emulate Britain, which created an entire government office to scrutinize Huawei’s products for security problems.
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Attacks against elections are inevitable – Estonia shows what can be done
Kremlin-backed attackers are working to influence the upcoming European Parliament elections, according to cybersecurity firm FireEye. These new reports highlight rising fears of digital attacks on democracy around the world, including on the U.S. presidential elections in 2020. Russian interference in the West is not new. The experiences of Estonia – the first country ever victim to a clearly coordinated and politically motivated cyber operation – can inform American and European defenses to these complex threats.
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Hackers can dupe radiologists, AI software
Hackers can access a patient’s 3-D medical scans to add or remove malignant lung cancer, and deceive both radiologists and artificial intelligence algorithms used to aid diagnosis, according to a new study.
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Supporting global companies against cyber threats
A consortium of U.K. cyber security experts is to support global businesses to tackle online threats and protect themselves from cybercrime. The Cyber Readiness for Boards project has been launched to explore the factors shaping U.K. board decisions around cyber risk and develop interventions to provide guidance and support.
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Bigger than Huawei: U.S. broadens scrutiny of Chinese technology
A flurry of seemingly disconnected actions by the U.S. government to curb the involvement of Chinese technology firms in the U.S. economy over the past year reflects the Trump administration’s intensifying concern that those firms could — now or in the future — abet espionage by Beijing’s intelligence services.
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AI automatically detects disturbances in power supply grids
The grid is changing as the big, centralized providers of the past are replaced by smaller, distributed suppliers. Keeping such complex networks running stable requires high-resolution sensor technology – AI provides a way to make accurate predictions and automatically detect any disturbances or anomalies in real time.
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April Fools hoax stories may offer clues to help identify “fake news”
Studying April Fools hoax news stories could offer clues to spotting ‘fake news’ articles, new research reveals. Researchers interested in deception have compared the language used within written April Fools hoaxes and fake news stories.
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In disasters, Twitter users with large networks get out-tweeted
New study shows that when it comes to sharing emergency information during natural disasters, timing is everything. The study on Twitter use during hurricanes, floods and tornadoes offers potentially life-saving data about how information is disseminated in emergency situations, and by whom. Unlikely heroes often emerge in disasters, and the same is true on social media.
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More headlines
The long view
States Rush to Combat AI Threat to Elections
This year’s presidential election will be the first since generative AI became widely available. That’s raising fears that millions of voters could be deceived by a barrage of political deepfakes. Congress has done little to address the issue, but states are moving aggressively to respond — though questions remain about how effective any new measures to combat AI-created disinformation will be.
Ransomware Attacks: Death Threats, Endangered Patients and Millions of Dollars in Damages
A ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a company that processes 15 billion health care transactions annually and deals with 1 in 3 patient records in the United States, is continuing to cause massive disruptions nearly three weeks later. The incident, which started on February 21, has been called the “most significant cyberattack on the U.S. health care system” by the American Hospital Association. It is just the latest example of an increasing trend.
Chinese Government Hackers Targeted Critics of China, U.S. Businesses and Politicians
An indictment was unsealed Monday charging seven nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their involvement in a PRC-based hacking group that spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in furtherance of the PRC’s economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives.
Autonomous Vehicle Technology Vulnerable to Road Object Spoofing and Vanishing Attacks
Researchers have demonstrated the potentially hazardous vulnerabilities associated with the technology called LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, many autonomous vehicles use to navigate streets, roads and highways. The researchers have shown how to use lasers to fool LiDAR into “seeing” objects that are not present and missing those that are – deficiencies that can cause unwarranted and unsafe braking or collisions.
Tantalizing Method to Study Cyberdeterrence
Tantalus is unlike most war games because it is experimental instead of experiential — the immersive game differs by overlapping scientific rigor and quantitative assessment methods with the experimental sciences, and experimental war gaming provides insightful data for real-world cyberattacks.