Such Nice Fellows. Such a Fine. Such a Trend Line
March 20, 2019
I read “EU Fines Google $1.7 Billion for Abusing Online Advertising.” The fine works out to about $1.7 billion US dollars. DarkCyber believes that further penalties may be forthcoming. The write up states:
It’s the third time the commission has slapped Google with an antitrust penalty, following multibillion-dollar fines resulting from separate probes into two other parts of the Silicon Valley giant’s business.
The old adage “the third time is a charm” is not applicable. The third fine simply puts a trend line in a regulator’s spreadsheet.
What adage applies? How about Willie Sutton’s apocryphal statement: “I rob banks because that’s where the money is.” Here is Harrod’s Creek people have been known to identify a piggy bank and take whatever money falls out when shaken.
Stephen E Arnold, March 20, 2019
Who Is Assisting China in Its Technology Push?
March 20, 2019
I read “U.S. Firms Are Helping Build China’s Orwellian State.” The write up is interesting because it identifies companies which allegedly provide technology to the Middle Kingdom. The article also uses an interesting phrase; that is, “tech partnerships.” Please, read the original article for the names of the US companies allegedly cooperating with China.
I want to tell a story.
Several years ago, my team was asked to prepare a report for a major US university. Our task was to try and answer what I thought was a simple question when I accepted the engagement, “Why isn’t this university’s computer science program ranked in the top ten in the US?”
The answer, my team and I learned, had zero to do with faculty, courses, or the intelligence of students. The primary reason was that the university’s graduates were returning to their “home countries.” These included China, Russia, and India, among others. In one advanced course, there was no US born, US educated student.
We documented that for over a seven year period, when the undergraduate, the graduate students, and post doctoral students completed their work, they had little incentive to start up companies in proximity to the university, donate to the school’s fund raising, and provide the rah rah that happy graduates often do. To see the rah rah in action, may I suggest you visit a “get together” of graduates near Stanford or an eatery in Boston or on NCAA elimination week end in Las Vegas.
How could my client fix this problem? We were not able to offer a quick fix or even an easy fix. The university had institutionalized revenue from non US student and was, when we did the research, dependent on non US students. These students were very, very capable and they came to the US to learn, form friendships, and sharpen their business and technical “soft” skills. These, I assume, were skills put to use to reach out to firms where a “soft” contact could be easily initiated and brought to fruition.
Follow the threads and the money.
China has been a country eager to learn in and from the US. The identification of some US firms which work with China should not be a surprise.
However, I would suggest that Foreign Policy or another investigative entity consider a slightly different approach to the topic of China’s technical capabilities. Let me offer one example. Consider this question:
What Israeli companies provide technology to China and other countries which may have some antipathy to the US?
This line of inquiry might lead to some interesting items of information; for example, a major US company which meets on a regular basis with a counterpart with what I would characterize as “close links” to the Chinese government. One colloquial way to describe the situation is like a conduit. Digging in this field of inquiry, one can learn how the Israeli company “flows” US intelligence-related technology from the US and elsewhere through an intermediary so that certain surveillance systems in China can benefit directly from what looks like technology developed in Israel.
Net net: If one wants to understand how US technology moves from the US, the subject must be examined in terms of academic programs, admissions, policies, and connections as well as from the point of view of US company investments in technologies which received funding from Chinese sources routed through entities based in Israel. Looking at a couple of firms does not do the topic justice and indeed suggests a small scale operation.
Uighur monitoring is one thread to follow. But just one.
Stephen E Arnold, March 20, 2019
Factualities for March 20, 2019
March 20, 2019
Our data rich world yields bounteous riches. Ponder these factualities.
0. Number of runaway hits among Amazon Alexa’s 80,000 apps. Source: Bloomberg
$0.14. Amount Amazon receives from each Lyft ride. Source: Twitter
30 percent. Decrease in Web traffic to Tumblr.com since December 2018. Source: Verge
33 percent. Percentage of youngsters in the US who are lonely. Source: Reddit citing a UPI story no longer online.
49 percent. Percentage of Israeli start ups purchased by American companies. Source: No Camels
67 percent. Percentage of Android anti virus apps which are non functional once installed. Source: Techspot
2. Hours per day spent searching for information. Source: IT Pro Portal
200. Android malware with SimBad removed from the Google App Store. Source: The Inquirer
4,000. The number of Facebook users who viewed the New Zealand live shooting. Source: Engadget
$5,200. Cost of 256 gigabytes of RAM for the new Apple iMac. Source: 9 to 5 Mac
1 million. Number of bad advertiser accounts Google removed in 2018. Source: VentureBeat
$1.4 million. Amount paid for a racing pigeon. Source: CNN
$23 million. Amount of the cash grant Amazon will receive from Arlington County, Virginia, over a five-year period. Source: Reuters
245 million. Number of people in India watching YouTube on a mobile phone each month. Source: Financial Times
$500 million. Cost of a new U S supercomputer. Source: New York Times
Stephen E Arnold, March 20, 2019
Thrilling Devices Begging for Strict, Punishing Regulation
March 20, 2019
Why are we not surprised? The Next Web reports, “Laws Can’t Keep Up with Sex Robots’ Ethical and Privacy Issues.” Whatever one feels about them, “sexbots” are already being sold overseas and seem destined to arrive here in the not-too-distant future. As laws are now, these products will probably fall under the category of sex toys, a market that is not heavily regulated for safety. There is one exception—legislators are already making laws to guard against sexbots that resemble children. That disturbing possibility aside, writer Francis X. Shen examines some potential hazards of these devices:
“For example, dangers lurk even in a seemingly innocent scene where a sex robot and human hold hands and kiss. What if the sexbots’ lips were manufactured with lead paint or some other toxin? And what if the robot, with the strength of five humans, accidentally crushes the human’s finger in a display of passion? It’s not just physical harm, but security as well. For instance, just as a human partner learns by remembering what words were soothing, and what type of touch was comforting, so too is a sex robot likely to store and process massive amounts of intimate information. What regulations are in place to ensure that this data remains private? How vulnerable will the sex robot be to hacking?”
See the write-up for more unanswered questions. No one knows what the future holds in this arena, but reportedly about half of us believe sexbots will be commonplace in 50 years. I suppose we had better decide how to deal with them before that time arrives.
Cynthia Murrell, March 20, 2019
Data Visualization: Unusual and Unnecessary Terminology
March 19, 2019
I read “5 Reasons Why Data Visualization Fails.” Most of the information in the write up applies to a great many visualizations. I have seen some pretty crazy graphs in my 50 year career. A few stand out. The Autonomy heat maps. Wild and crazy radar maps. Multi axis charts which are often incomprehensible.
The problem is that point and click options present data. The “analyst” often picks a graph that keeps a general, a partner in a venture firm, or a group of rubes entranced.
The article touches upon other issues ranging from a failure to think about the audience to presenting complex visualizations.
I do have one major objection to the article. From my point of view, the “phrase data overload” or “large flows of information” express the concept of having a great deal of information. The article uses the phrase “data puking.” The phrase is unnecessary and off putting to me.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2019
New CIA Chief Information Officer: Watson, Who Is It?
March 19, 2019
The answer comes not from IBM Watson. “CIA Announces New Chief Information Officer” reveals that Juliane Gallina, an IBM professional has landed the job. DarkCyber finds this interesting for three reasons.
Aurora, which means dawn and $500 million for one system, may be a new technology the CIA explores.
First, Amazon’s policeware found some traction in that government agency. IBM covets US government work. Amazon may find that Gallina may ask different questions in her tenure.
Second, IBM Federal Systems is the poster child for old-school government contracting. The idea within some sectors of the US government is to find a new-school approach. Gallina may have some interesting ideas about how next-generation systems are selected, shaken down, and made operational.
Third, Gallina has intelligence sector experience. Presumably that experience will make it easier to determine which units can best be served by specific technologies. Will that insight match the diverse community of interests within the CIA?
The appointment is going be one closely watched by those within and outside the Beltway. Perhaps there will be a new technology dawn at the agency. Aurora, it’s called.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2019
Elsevier: Raising Prices Easier Than Implementing Security?
March 19, 2019
Elsevier is a professional publishing company. The firm has a reputation for raising prices for its peer reviewed journals and online services. The challenge is that many subscribers are libraries and libraries are not rolling in cash. Raising prices is easy. One calls a meeting, examines models of money in vs subscribers out, and emails the price hike. No problem.
Security, however, works a bit differently. Elsevier may have learned this is the information in “Education and Science Giant Elsevier Left Users’ Passwords Exposed Online” is accurate. The write up asserts:
Elsevier, the company behind scientific journals such as The Lancet, left a server open to the public internet, exposing user email addresses and passwords. The impacted users include people from universities and educational institutions from across the world.
The article reports that Elsevier fixed the problem. The password security issue, not the burden on libraries.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2019
Google and Anti Disinformation
March 19, 2019
Lest anyone wonder what, exactly, Google is doing to fight disinformation on its platforms, the company has compiled that information in a white paper presented at the recent Munich Security Conference. Techspot tells us, “Google Presents Its Anti-Fake News System in Detail.” Reporter Greg Synek gives us the highlights; we learn:
“An important fact about Google’s algorithms are that they ‘do not make subjective determinations about the truthfulness of webpages.’ Instead, only measurable and verifiable data is used to give a trust score of sorts. The number of other websites linking to or referencing a page and authority rank are contributing factors. Once a web page meets enough of Google’s criteria to be considered legitimate and of good quality, it is given a boost in results. Google News imposes even stricter guidelines for what will be prominently featured because timeliness is a major factor in ranking. All of the news produced on any given day that Google crawls through can be used to determine when and which topics are considered important.
We also noted this statement:
“Following the automated filters in place, extra context is being given to ‘Your Money or Your Life’ pages. Google looks for medical, legal, financial, and public information pages that may be used to make critical decisions. These YMYL category pages receive special ranking consideration based on authority and user trust. For example, anti-vaccine campaigns may be moved down rankings considerably due to their provably false information being spread. Humans are involved in rating some of these pages, but do not determine the absolute rank of any site or individual web page.”
As for Google-owned YouTube, it can be a bit more complex to manage as we learned when the controversial New Zealand video surfaced and surfaced and surfaced.
Readers can download the full pdf here.
Cynthia Murrell, March 19, 2019
DarkCyber for March 19, 2019, Now Available
March 19, 2019
DarkCyber for March 19,2019, is now available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and on Vimeo at https://www.vimeo.com/324801049.
The program is a production of Stephen E Arnold. It is the only weekly video news shows focusing on the Dark Web, cyber crime, and lesser known Internet services.
This week’s story line up includes: Google search blockchain data; emojis puzzle lawyers; NATO soldiers fooled by social media come ons; big paydays for hackers; Dark Web search for marketers; and Iran’s hacker army
This week’s feature looks at the Beacon Dark Web search system. Developed by Echosec Systems in Canada, Beacon provides search and analytics for those interested in tracking brands, companies, and people in Dark Web content. The system’s developers enforce a code of behavior on licensees. If Echosec determines that a user violates its guidelines, access to Beacon will be cut off. Echosec offers a number of powerful features, including geofencing. With this function it is possible to locate images of military facilities and other locations.
The second feature in this week’s video focuses on Iran’s cyber warfare activities. One key individual—Behrooz Kamalian—has been maintaining a lower profile. Those whom he has trained have been suspected of participating in online gambling activities. Kamalian himself, despite his connections with the Iranian government, served a short stint in prison for this allegation. Iran has one of the large cyber warfare forces in the world, ranking fourth behind Russia, China, and the US.
The “Cybershots” for this week include:
- Google has made available a search engine for blockchain data. Those skilled in blockchain and digital currency transactions may be able to deanonymize certain aspects of a transaction.
- Emojis which carry meaning are creating issues for lawyers and eDiscovery systems. The colorful icons’ meaning are not easily understood.
- A social media test for NATO soldiers’ resistance to online tricks was completed by central command. The result was that soldiers can be easily tricked into revealing secret information.
- Organize hidden Web criminals are paying up to $1 million a year in salary and providing benefits to hackers.
A new blog Dark Cyber Annex is now available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress. Cyber crime, Dark Web, and company profiles are now appearing on a daily basis.\
Kenny Toth, March 19, 2019
Identification of Machine Generated Text: Not There Yet
March 18, 2019
“A.I. Generated Text Is Supercharging Fake News. This Is How We Fight Back” provides a run down of projects focused on figuring out if a sentence were written by a human or smart software. IBM’s “visual tool” is described this way by an IBM data scientist:
“[Our current] visual tool might not be the solution to that, but it might help to create algorithms that work like spam detection algorithms,” he said. “Imagine getting emails or reading news, and a browser plug-in tells you for the current text how likely it was produced by model X or model Y.”
Okay, not there yet.
The article references XceptionNet but does not provide a link. If you want to know a bit about this approach, click this link. Interesting but not designed for text.
Net net: There is no fool proof way to determine if a chunk of content has been created:
- Entirely by a human writing to a template; for example, certain traditional news story about a hearing or a sport score
- Entirely by software processing digital content streaming from a third party
- A combination of human and smart software.
As some individuals emerge from schools with little training in more traditional types of research and source verification, understanding the difference between information which is written by a careless or stupid human from information assembled by a semi-smart software system is likely to be difficult for people.
Identification of text features is tricky. Exciting opportunities for researchers; for example, should a search and retrieval system automatically NOT our machine generated text?
Stephen E Arnold, March 18, 2019
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