Dark Web? Likely to Gain Traction
June 14, 2017
I completed a series of presentations at the TechnoSecurity & Digital Forensics Conference, June 5, 6, and 7. After my two presentations, two attendees spoke with me as I was preparing for my three hour invitation only tutorial on June 7. The two individuals told me that the most surprising point I made was that the Dark Web will become more important.
As we talked about their comment, I learned that after my talks a number of people were discussing the “knowledge gap” I identified in the existing cyber training programs. Specifically, the how to aspect of obtaining information about the Dark Web was a topic of considerable interest.
Stephen E Arnold fields a question about the impact of censorship, filtering, and surveillance on the Dark Web.
However, I learned from these professionals that the stepped up efforts to require Internet companies to perform filtering for hate speech and other information was moving forward in parallel with Theresa May’s call for more stringent content filtering in the UK. Egypt is following suit. Are the actions of Nokia Symbian and the BlackBerry OS smartphones an example of greater controls on WhatsApp?
The conclusion I offered was that activities possible on Surface Web services would force some activities to the Dark Web. As a result, as law enforcement, intelligence, and government efforts increased on Surface Web traffic, services, Web sites, and apps, the importance of the Dark Web would go up.
In my talks I offered this information in the context of squeezing a sponge or tube of toothpaste. The substance has to go elsewhere.
To sum up, the Dark Web is poised to become of more interest to those engaged in law enforcement, security, and intelligence activities.
For more information about the Dark Web, you can navigate to www.xenky.com/darkwebnotebook to get information about my handbook designed for professionals working in the LE and intel field. My earlier book about CyberOSINT is described at www.xenky.com/cyberosint.
Watch for information about my participation in the TechnoSecurity conference in San Antonio, Texas, in September 2017. We are considering an advanced Dark Web session as well as an invitation only training session about creating a legend for a false identity. These sessions are available only to those currently working in US or its allies’ law enforcement and intelligence entities.
Stephen E Arnold, June 14, 2017
What to Do about the Powerful Tech Monopolies
June 14, 2017
Traditionally, we as a country have a thing against monopolies—fair competition for the little guy and all that. Have we allowed today’s tech companies amass too much power? That seems to be the conclusion of SiliconBeat’s article, “Google, Facebook, and Amazon: Monopolies that Should be Broken Up or Regulated?” Writer Ethan Baron summarizes these companies massive advantages, and the efforts of regulatory agencies to check them. He cites a New York Times article by Jonathan Taplin:
Taplin, in his op-ed, argued that Google, Facebook and Amazon ‘have stymied innovation on a broad scale.’ With industry giants facing limited competition, incumbent companies have a profound advantage over new entrants, Taplin said. And the tech firms’ explosive growth has caused massive damage to companies already operating, he said. ‘The platforms of Google and Facebook are the point of access to all media for the majority of Americans. While profits at Google, Facebook and Amazon have soared, revenues in media businesses like newspaper publishing or the music business have, since 2001, fallen by 70 percent,’ Taplin said. The rise of Google and Facebook have diverted billions of dollars from content creators to ‘owners of monopoly platforms,’ he said. All content creators dependent on advertising must negotiate with Google or Facebook as aggregator. Taplin proposed that for the three tech behemoths, there are ‘a few obvious regulations to start with.’
Taplin suggests limiting acquisitions as the first step since that is how these companies grow into such behemoths. For Google specifically, he suggests regulating it as a public utility. He also takes aim at the “safe harbor” provision of the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which shields Internet companies from damages associated with intellectual property violations found on their platforms. Since the current political climate is not exactly ripe for regulation, Taplin laments that such efforts will have to wait a few years, by which time these companies will be so large that breaking them up will be the only remedy. We’ll see.
Cynthia Murrell, June 14, 2017
AI Decides to Do the Audio Index Dance
June 14, 2017
Did you ever wonder how search engines could track down the most miniscule information? Their power resides in indices that catalog Web sites, images, and books. Audio content is harder to index because most indices rely on static words and images. However, Audioburst plans to change that says Venture Beat in the article, “How Audioburst Is Using AI To Index Audio Broadcasts And Make Them Easy To Find.”
Who exactly is Audioburst?
Founded in 2015, Audioburst touts itself as a “curation and search site for radio,” delivering the smarts to render talk radio in real time, index it, and make it easily accessible through search engines. It does this through “understanding” the meaning behind audio content and transcribes it using natural language processing (NLP). It can then automatically attach metadata so that search terms entered manually by users will surface relevant audio clips, which it calls “bursts.”
Audioburst recently earned $6.7 million in funding and also announced their new API. The API allows third-party developers to Audioburst’s content library to feature audio-based feeds in their own applications, in-car entertainment systems, and other connected devices. There is a growing demand for audio content as more people digest online information via sound bytes, use vocal searches, and make use of digital assistants.
It is easy to find “printed” information on the Internet, but finding a specific audio file is not. Audioburst hopes to revolutionize how people find and use sound. They should consider a partnership with Bitext because indexing audio could benefit from advanced linguistics. Bitext’s technology would make this application more accurate.
Whitney Grace, June 14, 2017
Bitext and MarkLogic Join in a Strategic Partnership
June 13, 2017
Strategic partnerships are one of the best ways for companies to grow and diamond in the rough company Bitext has formed a brilliant one. According to a recent press release, “Bitext Announces Technology Partnership With MarkLogic, Bringing Leading-Edge Text Analysis To The Database Industry.” Bitext has enjoyed a number of key license deals. The company’s ability to process multi-lingual content with its deep linguistics analysis platform reduces costs and increases the speed with which machine learning systems can deliver more accurate results.
Both Bitext and MarkLogic are helping enterprise companies drive better outcomes and create better customer experiences. By combining their respectful technologies, the pair hopes to reduce data’s text ambiguity and produce high quality data assets for semantic search, chatbots, and machine learning systems. Bitext’s CEO and founder said:
““With Bitext’s breakthrough technology built-in, MarkLogic 9 can index and search massive volumes of multi-language data accurately and efficiently while maintaining the highest level of data availability and security. Our leading-edge text analysis technology helps MarkLogic 9 customers to reveal business-critical relationships between data,” said Dr. Antonio Valderrabanos.
Bitext is capable of conquering the most difficult language problems and creating solutions for consumer engagement, training, and sentiment analysis. Bitext’s flagship product is its Deep Linguistics Analysis Platform and Kantar, GFK, Intel, and Accenture favor it. MarkLogic used to be one of Bitext’s clients, but now they are partners and are bound to invent even more breakthrough technology. Bitext takes another step to cement its role as the operating system for machine intelligence.
Whitney Grace, June 13, 2017
Watson Enters Two New Fields
June 13, 2017
IBM’s Watson has been very busy, and it is no longer just generating recipes and curing cancer. A couple pieces from the company’s recent PR blitz illustrate two new hats the AI has donned: Endgadget shares, “Watson Could Be the Key to Smarter Manufacturing Robots,” while “IBM Watson Now Being Used to Catch Rogue Traders” appears at Silicon Republic. It looks like IBM is positioning Watson as the AI that can do anything.
Engadget reports that Watson is being tapped to perform quality-control for ABB, a firm that makes manufacturing robots and the software that runs them. Writer Rob LeFabvre describes:
Imagine an automotive assembly line, full of robots that build cars without any human intervention. Someone has to monitor and inspect the machinery for defects, ensuring their safe and efficient operation. ABB’s technology can gather real-time images and then get Watson to analyze them for potential problems, something a human previously needed to do.
Meanwhile, Watson now offers a tool for companies to catch rogue traders within their ranks. Reporter Colm Gorey writes:
Referred to as Watson Financial Services, the new product will become a monitoring tool within companies to search through every trader’s emails and chats, combining it with the trading data on the floor. The objective? To see if there are any correlations between suspicious conversations online and activity that could be construed as rogue trading.
While the service is being tested out on a few trading-sector companies, IBM intends to market it to the growing “RegTech” field.
IBM has pointed its famous AI in many directions, and will likely continue to work Watson into as many fields as possible. We ask, “Can she save IBM?”
Cynthia Murrell, June 13, 2017
How People Really Use Smart Speakers Will Not Shock You
June 13, 2017
Business Insider tells us a story that we already know, but with a new spin: “People Mainly Use Smart Speakers For Simple Requests.” The article begins that vocal computing is the next stage in computer evolution. The hype is that the current digital assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant will make our lives easier by automating certain tasks and always be ready to answer our every beck and call.
As to be expected and despite digital assistants advancements, people use them for the simplest tasks. These include playing music, getting the weather report, and answering questions via Wikipedia. People also buy products on their smart speakers, much to Amazon’s delight:
Voice-based artificial intelligence may not yet live up to its hype, but that’s not much of a surprise. Even Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said last year that the tech is closer to “the first guy up at bat” than the first inning of its life. But Bezos will surely be happy when more than just 11% of smart speaker owners buy products online through their devices.
Voice-related technology has yet to even touch the horizon of what will be commonplace ten years from now. Bitext’s computational linguistic analytics platform that teaches computers and digital assistants to speak human is paving the way towards that horizon.
Whitney Grace, June 13, 2017
Palantir: Outside In or In In or?
June 12, 2017
I try to keep up with Palantir Technologies’ news. I love the job openings; for example, a real estate person for the firm’s New York office. I noted a more substantive item called “Palantir Goes from Pentagon Outsider to Mattis’ Inner Circle.” General James Mattis is affectionately known by some as “Mad Dog.” In 2016, a real journalist described General Mattis as a “warrior monk.” For me, I will stick with General Mattis and ignore suggestions that he would only visit a monastery if it were stocked with certain essential items. I have heard these items include beer and possibly. Well, never mind.
The point of the write up is that on General Mattis’ watch, Palantir is a technology outfit which interests him. Perhaps a more accurate statement is that the functionality of Gotham matches his A to B thinking with regard to getting actionable intelligence.
The write up tells me:
Palantir’s startup mentality has led it to shun the way business is typically done in Washington and, as a result, made some enemies in the process, including some larger, more traditional defense companies.
I wondered, “Is IBM one of those traditional companies?” What’s a little out of court settlement between friends?
The point of the write up seems to be that three people working in the General Mattis’ unit had some involvement with Palantir. The 64 dollar question is, “So what?”
The write up put my mind at ease with this statement:
Byron Callan, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners, said he is “skeptical” that three staffers with ties to Palantir will cause the Pentagon to flip its position on the company or start doing business with it. But he said having these Silicon Valley voices on the inside could foster a continuation of some of former Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s priorities to build bridges between the Pentagon and industry in hubs of innovation. “It was debatable whether this whole push that Carter had when he was SecDef would survive,” Callan said. “When you have people at Palantir in the positions they are, you have to believe there are some voices that are not just standing in the visitors area waiting to get in and talk about it.”
My experience is that one’s work experience can be a plus. I snagged a gig while working at a well known firm with Craig Hosmer, then a Congressman and a retired admiral. Big time consulting firms and high profile government contractors flow into and out of the government in my experience.
Is Palantir now in or is Palantir sort of in? Of course, Palantir could be “in” but still on the outside? Other permutations are possible, but almost anything is possible when one catches Potomac fever even writing about employees’ work history.
Stephen E Arnold, June 12, 2017
DARPA Progresses on Refining Data Analysis
June 12, 2017
The ideal data analysis platform for global intelligence would take all the data in the world and rapidly make connections, alerting law enforcement or the military about potential events before they happen. It would also make it downright impossible for bad actors to hide their tracks. Our government seems to be moving toward that goal with AIDA, or Active Interpretation of Disparate Alternatives. DARPA discusses the project in its post, “DARPA Wades into Murky Multimedia Information Streams to Catch Big Meaning.” The agency states:
The goal of AIDA is to develop a multi-hypothesis ‘semantic engine’ that generates explicit alternative interpretations or meaning of real-world events, situations, and trends based on data obtained from an expansive range of outlets. The program aims to create technology capable of aggregating and mapping pieces of information automatically derived from multiple media sources into a common representation or storyline, and then generating and exploring multiple hypotheses about the true nature and implications of events, situations, and trends of interest.
‘It is a challenge for those who strive to achieve and maintain an understanding of world affairs that information from each medium is often analyzed independently, without the context provided by information from other media,’ said Boyan Onyshkevych, program manager in DARPA’s Information Innovation Office (I2O). ‘Often, each independent analysis results in only one interpretation, with alternate interpretations eliminated due to lack of evidence even in the absence of evidence that would contradict those alternatives. When these independent, impoverished analyses are combined, generally late in the analysis process, the result can be a single apparent consensus view that does not reflect a true consensus.’
AIDA’s goal of presenting an accurate picture of overall context early on will help avoid that problem. The platform is to assign a confidence level to each piece of information it processes and each hypothesis it generates. It will also, they hope, be able to correct for a journalistic spin by examining variables and probabilities. Is the intelligence community is about to gain an analysis platform capable of chilling accuracy?
Cynthia Murrell, June 12, 2017
Decoding SEO and Traffic Generation
June 12, 2017
Businesses are desperately trying to get noticed online. However, most businesses focus on generating traffic while sidelining the ultimate motive of generating sales.
According to an article published on Business 2 Community titled The Ugly Truth: Why SEO Isn’t Driving Better Website Sales, the author states:
Driving traffic to your website with SEO is only half the battle. It’s also important to make sure your website is designed in a way that converts those leads into sales. When you have a website that has a solid conversion rate, it ensures the investment you make in SEO will result in a guaranteed boost in sales.
What business owners fail to understand is that traffic is just one part of the equation in generating sales online. You need to keep your potential customers engaged, develop trust among them, and offer them incentives among many other things. With millions of websites being launched every day, these are some of the key factors that can set you apart from the herd. Focus on generating sales and not just driving traffic, or resort to Google AdWords Campaigns.
Vishal Ingole, June 12, 2017
Google and Its Learnings: Hiring, Meeting Productivity, and Product Failures
June 11, 2017
I am not too keen on podcasts. I did read a summary of a podcast called “What Google Learned Fighting Hiring Bias, Bad Meetings and Failing Products.” The information struck me as, well, remarkable and semi-interesting. Here are the highlights I noted:
- Google created a “hiring algorithm” that skewed to men. Wow, anyone who has been at a Google facility might have been able to figure out that men were plentiful. But now Google admits is has a “bias.” That should fire up some thinking among legal eagles worrying about possible actions on behalf of aggrieved Xooglers. Well, maybe not. Google doesn’t want “to be discriminating.” There you go.
- Make people participate in meetings by asking those who do not speak a question. Good idea. But what about Googlers in meetings who [a] don’t pay attention, [b] play with their mobile phone, [c] fool with their laptop computer, [d] all of the above. Asking questions can be useful. But what if the person is not paying attention or chooses not to answer? Hmmm.
- “Hope” cannot save a product from cratering. Now that’s an insight I find interesting. I thought data was behind Google decisions. I must have missed something as did the people responsible for some of Google’s most fascinating attempts to disrupt; for example, solving death.
Ah, Google. A management terrarium.
Stephen E Arnold, June 14, 2017
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