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The ‘Dead Internet Theory’ Makes Eerie Claims About an AI-run Web. The Truth Is More Sinister
Is most of the content on the internet fake? Here’s what the dead internet theory really means – and why we should be warier of how we’re manipulated for profit and political gain.
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Discovery Highlights ‘Critical Oversight’ in Perceived Security of Wireless Networks
Researchers have uncovered an eavesdropping security vulnerability in high-frequency and high-speed wireless backhaul links, widely employed in critical applications such as 5G wireless cell phone signals and low-latency financial trading on Wall Street.
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China Turns to Private Hackers as It Cracks Down on Online Activists on Tiananmen Square Anniversary
Chinese authorities restrict the flow of information online by banning search terms, scanning social media for subversive messages and blocking access to foreign media and applications that may host censored content. Control of online activity is particularly stringent around the anniversary of the protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989 that ended with a bloody crackdown on demonstrators by troops on June 4 of that year.
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Sounding the Alarm: Exposing Audio Deepfake
Audio deepfakes are becoming ubiquitous – blurring the line between fact and fiction – but researchers are working to develop methods to help the public navigate this new technological terrain.
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ARPA-H Announces Program to Enhance and Automate Cybersecurity for Health Care Facilities
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced the launch of the Universal PatchinG and Remediation for Autonomous DEfense (UPGRADE) program, a cybersecurity effort that will invest more than $50 million to create tools for information technology (IT) teams to better defend the hospital environments they are tasked with securing.
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O-RAN Is Overhyped as Avoiding Chinese 5G Influence
In recent years, countries have faced a stark choice between Chinese and Western suppliers to develop their 5G cellular network infrastructure. While Chinese suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE are not trusted because of their ties and legal obligations to China’s party-state, Western suppliers have struggled to compete on cost. The emergence of Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) technology has some promised, but the idea that O-RAN is a viable alternative to Chinese suppliers seems hollow.
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Study Sheds Light on Shady World of Text Message Phishing Scams
Researchers have collected and analyzed an unprecedented amount of data on SMS phishing attacks, shedding light on both the scope and nature of SMS phishing operations.
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China's Digital Silk Road Exports Internet Technology, Controls
A Chinese initiative known as the “Digital Silk Road” is helping Southeast Asian nations modernize their digital landscapes. But rights groups say Beijing is also exporting its model of authoritarian governance of the internet through censorship, surveillance and controls.
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Analyzing the Characteristics of AI-generated Deepfakes
Most of the deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence (AI) that spread through social media feature political representatives and artists and are often linked to current news cycles. The findings of a new research are applicable to different fields, from national security to the integrity of election campaigns.
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Major Gaps in Cybersecurity at Auto Workshops
Many auto workshops do not know enough about how to keep our cars safe from cyberattacks, a new study reveals. “A large proportion of the vehicle fleet could practically be entirely open to attacks or already breached,” says a cybersecurity expert.
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European Tech Law Faces Test to Address Interference, Threats, and Disinformation in 2024 Elections
The European Union (EU) began implementing the Digital Services Act (DSA) this year, just in time to combat online disinformation and other electoral interference in the dozens of elections taking place in Europe’s twenty-seven member countries and the European Parliament elections taking place June 6 through June 9.
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Militia Extremists, Kicked Off Facebook Again, Are Regaining Comfort in Public View
When journalists sounded alarm bells in early May 2024 that more than 100 extremist militia groups had been organizing and communicating on Facebook, it wasn’t the first time militias had garnered attention for their online activities. As a scholar of militias, I’ve seen extremists get kicked off Facebook before.
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Extremist Communities Continue to Rely on YouTube for Hosting, but Most Videos Are Viewed Off-Site, Research Finds
After the 2016 U.S. presidential election, YouTube was so criticized for radicalizing users by recommending increasingly extremist and fringe content that it changed its recommendation algorithm. Research four years later found that while extremist content remained on YouTube, subscriptions and external referrals drove disaffected users to extremist content rather than the recommendation algorithm.
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University Students Tackle Adventure in CyberForce — Conquer the Hill Competition
University of Central Florida’s Cameron Whitehead wins CyberForce Conquer the Hill: Adventure Competition 2024. Whitehead was one of 112 students from 71 accredited U.S. colleges and universities who competed virtually to complete work-based cybersecurity tasks and challenges during a full day of energy sector-related adventure.
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Chinese Nationalist Groups Are Launching Cyber-Attacks – Often Against the Wishes of the Government
China is often presented as a monolithic entity, entirely at the whim of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, the reality is more complex. Many Chinese cyber-attacks and other kinds of digital interference are conducted by Chinese nationalist groups.
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The long view
Our Online World Relies on Encryption. What Happens If It Fails?
Quantum computers will make traditional data encryption techniques obsolete; BU researchers have turned to physics to come up with better defenses.