Tips for Phishers
August 31, 2021
I spotted “AI Analysis Unveils the Most Effective Email Subject Lines for the Holidays.” My hunch is that a “real” news professionals wanted to provide helpful tips to those who engage in email marketing. The write up includes “tips” from professional email marketers. Here’s one example:
email subject lines that are direct or evoke curiosity or friendliness are the most likely to get opened
Gee, I wonder what other group of email marketers might benefit from such advice?
What about phishers? These are the bad actors who seek to compromise a user’s or an organization’s security via malicious email. With some cyber security solutions relying on rules, database look up, or the human recipient for blocking phishing attempts, the write up is likely to be quite useful. Just in time for the holidays: AI-derived tips for getting someone to open an email. Super thinking!
What bad actor can resist taking this advice?
Including empathy in your messages for your customers helps you make them feel that you are on their side.
Helpful, right?
Stephen E Arnold, August 31, 2021
Why Big Tech Is Winning: The UK Admission
August 31, 2021
I read “UK’s FCA Say It Is Not Capable of Supervising Crypto Exchange Binance.” This is a paywalled story, and I am not sure how much attention it will get. As Spotify is learning from locking up the estimable Joe Rogan, paywalls make sense to a tiny slice of one’s potential audience.
The story is an explanation about government helplessness when it comes to fintech or financial technology. The FCA acronym means Financial Conduct Authority. Think about London. Think about the wizards who cooked up some nifty digital currency methods at assorted UK universities less than one hour from the Pickle. Think about the idea that a government agency with near instant access to the wonks at the National Crime Agency, the quiet ones at Canary Wharf, and the interesting folks in Cheltenham. Now consider this passage from the write up:
… the Financial Conduct Authority said that Binance’s UK affiliate had “failed to” respond to some of its basic queries, making it impossible to oversee the sprawling group, which has no fixed headquarters and offers services around the world. The admission underscores the scale of the challenge facing authorities in tackling potential risks to consumers buying frequently unregulated products through nimble crypto currency businesses, which can often circumvent national bans by giving users access to facilities based overseas.
Hello? Rural Kentucky calling, is anyone at work?
Let’s step back. I need to make one assumption; that is, government entities’ have authority and power. What this write up makes clear is that when it comes to technology, the tech outfits have the authority and the power.
Not good in my opinion for the “consumer” and maybe for some competitors. Definitely not good for enforcement authorities.
Who finds sun shining through the clouds after reading this Financial Times’s story? I would wager that tech centric outfits are thinking about a day or more at the beach. No worries. And look. Here comes Snoop Dog handing out free beer. What a day!
Stephen E Arnold, August 31, 2021
Amazon: Can the Bezos Bulldozer Pull Off a JEDI Play in the EU?
August 31, 2021
The Bezos bulldozer is a wonderful construct, and it is uniquely American. For those who do not follow the path of the machine as it grinds forward, Amazon made a case to rip from the grasp of Microsoft the JEDI contract. Now the mom-and-pop seller of books has an opportunity to rework the landscape of an EU fine in the neighborhood of a billion dollars. My goodness, it takes less than a day for the ecommerce store to generate one billion in cash. Painful? For sure.
You can read about this fine in “Europe: Amazon Slapped with Record-Breaking Privacy Fine.” The article characterizes the levy as an “enormous bite.” Yep, one day of revenue is painful indeed. Game changer? Nope.
The question is, “Why not?” With each “punishment” it becomes more and more clear that there is little incentive for certain large technology companies to change their business strategy or practices. After decades of business as usual, change becomes more and more difficult for both regulators and the business constructs. Who’s running the show? Obviously not the regulators.
Stephen E Arnold, August 31, 2021
Enterprise Search: What Is Missing from This List
August 31, 2021
I got a wild and wooly announcement from something called The Market Gossip. The message was that a new report about enterprise search has been published. I never heard of the outfit (Orbis Research) in Dallas.
Take a look at this list of vendors covered in this global predictive report:
Notice anything interesting? I do. First, Elastic (commercial and open source) is not in the list. Second, the Algolia system (a distant cousin of Dassault Exalead) is not mentioned. Weird, because the company got another infusion of cash.) Three, the name of LucidWorks (an open source search recycler) is misspelled. Fourth, the inclusion of MarkLogic is odd because the company offers an XML data management system. Sure, one can create a search solution but that’s like building a real Darth Vader out of Lego blocks. Interesting but of limited utility. Fifth, the inclusion of SAP. Does the German outfit still pitch the long-in-the-tooth TREX system? Sixth, Microsoft offers many search systems. Which, I wonder, is the one explored?
Net net: Quite a thorough research report. Too bad it is tangential to where search and retrieval in the enterprise is going. If the report were generated by artificial intelligence, the algorithm should be tweaked. If humans cooked up this confection, I am not sure what to suggest. Maybe starting over?
Stephen E Arnold, August 30, 2021
Big Tech Ignores Pigeons: Solution? Eliminate Nature?
August 30, 2021
I read an amusing post called “Starlink Dishes Apparently No Match for … Pigeons, But There May Be Hope.” The write up states:
… apparently the Starlink terminals or the dishes at users’ places are seemingly vulnerable to pigeons, perhaps among other animals, as the birds’ interference with the dishes apparently could disrupt the connectivity.
My first thought is that massive solar arrays, super-sized windmills, and power generation for electric vehicles and always-on devices will solve the problem.
Elon Musk-infused Starlink has another approach to try. I learned:
According to a recent license filing in the FCC, the company seems to be working on a more “high-performance (HP)” “rugged” version of the dishes that are being built for “use in harsh environments”. These new “rugged” terminals may be able to handle such nuisances from animals like pigeons, if they are deployed for households too.
My thought is that the big-tech entities which are largely unregulated should take offensive action. Birds, squirrels, and possibly agile chipmunks could be bioidentified and terminated via EMP pulses launched from an Amazon or Google drone. What do you think?
On the other hand, maybe the whiz kids should think about antenna design and orientation before learning about blights on high school science club infused ideas for the real world.
Stephen E Arnold, August 30, 2021
Google: Business Planning at the Highest Level Revealed
August 30, 2021
Here’s the recipe. Hire people who were spark plugs in their high school’s science club, on the math team, and participated in quick recall competitions with other like minded people. Then create teams and when something generates money, “put wood behind it.” This is a high school science club sports reference because everyone knows about baseball. Playing it? Sure, on the softball fields adjacent El Camino.
What’s the result?
The answer is brilliantly presented in “A Decade and a Half of Instability: The History of Google Messaging Apps.” The write up runs about 24,000 words. For reference, a “real book” is usually in the neighborhood of 100,000 words. This article is definitely in the Kindle self published target zone. But the inclusion of nifty graphics like the image illustrating the old and new approach to one of Google’s chat services; namely, a different icon:
The write up is an excellent summary, and it illustrates Google’s number two approach to innovation: Just put stuff up and see what gets clicks. No clicks, no problem. Try, try again. (In case you have not read my previous Google write ups, the company’s number one method of innovation is “me too.” Example: Inspiration from Yahoo and Overture monetization methods. As I say, “Google made lots of money; therefore, live with it.)
Please, read the source document in its entirety. I will offer a few observations:
- Gee, Google has been trying to get sustainable traction in the chat space for a long time
- Some of the ideas were good but suffered a remarkable deterioration under Google’s stewardship; for example Transformics’ technology which inspired Wave.
- Clear evidence that high school science club management methods were the inspiration for the film “Animal House.” Boy, does this product/service run down make Googzilla look confused, indifferent, distracted, or (maybe) dissociated.
I am waiting for “Animal House II: The Google Years.”
Stephen E Arnold, August 30, 2021
Intel: The Horse Collar/Ridge Whatever Outfit Does Alder Lake
August 30, 2021
I read “Intel Unveils Details of 100B-Transistor AI Chip and Alder Lake Hybrid Processor.” Interesting. The write up explains a chip with 100 billion transistors. Like IBM’s latest, the chip will include artificial intelligence. Like Lego blocks, “plates” can be snapped together.
Here’s the passage in “Alder Lake Extravaganza: Intel Unloads Details on its Next-Gen CPU” I found somewhat sobering
After six years stuck on 14nm, Intel needs to demonstrate that it can recapture process and performance leadership.
Who will fab these chips? Intel’s planned facilities in water-starved Arizona. TSMC? Existing facilities owned by Intel? An acquisition’s facilities?
When will these chips become available? After Horse chip leaves the stable?
Stephen E Arnold, August 30, 2021
Facebook: Controlling Behavior Underscores Facebook Insecurity
August 30, 2021
Misinformation was running rampant long before the pandemic hit its stride. No one knows if the misinformation wave that currently plagues the United States and the world has hit its peak. Experts, like social media researcher Laura Edelson, are investigating the how misinformation spreads, but social media platforms do not like it says Vox Recode in “‘People Do Not Trust That Facebook Is Healthy Ecosystem.’” Edelson works at the NYU Ad Observatory and focuses her current research on Facebook’s role in spreading misinformation.
She believes that misinformation encourages COVID anti-vaxxers and is eroding democracy. Unfortunately Facebook decided to block Edelson and her colleagues’ Facebook accounts. They use their accounts to study political advertisements and misinformation. Facebook stated that the Ad Observatory violated users’ privacy through its Ad Observer tool. Edelson replied that only volunteers download the tool.
Lawmakers, free speech advocates, and the FTC condemned Facebook. Edelson states that Facebook wants to bury her research, because it exposes its part in spreading misinformation. On Facebook, users share misinformation more than any other content and the company refuses to disclose who pays for political ads. It demonstrates that Facebook does not like Edelson’s research and wants to stop it, because it hurts their bottom dollar.
Facebook, of course, denies the allegation and it points to larger problems:
“But Facebook’s effective shutdown of the Ad Observatory raises larger questions about whether the company is trying to limit outside interrogation of the company’s business practices in the name of protecting its users’ privacy. At the same time, the social media network has good reason to be worried about privacy as it faces intense regulatory scrutiny for past missteps that led to it having to pay the largest penalty ever imposed by the Federal Trade Commission.”
Edelson states that Facebook is an unhealthy misinformation ecosystem. Facebook and other misinformation platforms could be doing irreparable damage to society. Because this is a current problem, Facebook should be working with Edelson and other researchers who want to combat the misinformation plague.
Facebook and other companies, however, are more concerned about losing control and revenue. The good news is … Wait. There isn’t any for those researching the world’s most stabilizing and refreshing social media system.
Whitney Grace, August 30, 2021
Palantir: A Blinded Seeing Stone?
August 27, 2021
I try to keep pace with the innovations in intelware. That’s my term for specialized software designed to provide the actionable information required by intel professionals, law enforcement, and one or two attorneys who have moved past thumbtyping.
I am not sure if the article “FBI Palantir Glitch Allowed Unauthorized Access to Private Data” is on the money. The “real news” story asserted:
A computer glitch in a secretive software program used by the FBI allowed some unauthorized employees to access private data for more than a year, prosecutors revealed in a new court filing. The screw-up in the Palantir program — a software created by a sprawling data analytics company co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel — was detailed in a letter by prosecutors in the Manhattan federal court case against accused hacker Virgil Griffith.
Please, read the source document. Also, my personal view is that such an access lapse is not good, but if the story is accurate, I am less concerned that other FBI officials may have had access to content in Gotham or whatever the system is branded these days is less problematic than oligarchs snooping or a Xi Jinping linked tong IT wonk poking around FBI only data.
My thoughts went in a different direction, and I want to capture them. Keep in mind, I don’t know if the access revelation is “true.” Nevertheless, here’s what I jotted down whilst sitting in a lecture about a smart bung for booze lovers:
- Was the access issue related to Microsoft Windows or to the AWS-type services on which some Palantir installations depend? Microsoft is another “here we go again” question, but the AWS question puts the Bezos bulldozer squarely in the security breach spotlight.
- How many days, weeks, or months was the access control out of bounds? An hour is one thing; the answer “We don’t have a clue” is another.
- If — note the if, please — the access issue is due to a Palantir specific feature or function, is there a current security audit of LE, military, and intel related installations of the “seeing stone” itself? If the answer is “yes”, why was this access issue missed? Who did the audit? Who vetted the auditor? If the answer is “no,” what are the consequences for the other software vendors and IT professionals in the “fault chain”?
The article points out that a royal “we” is troubled. That’s nice. But let’s focus on more pointed questions and deal with what might be a digital Humpty Dumpty. Just my opinion from the underground bunker in rural Kentucky.
Stephen E Arnold, August 27, 2021
Management Moments: Googley Decider Methods
August 27, 2021
We wonder whether writer Bernard Marr has been watching the same Google we have. His piece at the SmartDataCollective declares “Analytics at Google: Great Example of Data-Driven Decision-Making.” Who looks at the company’s handling of the Timnit Gebru matter, the series of employee protests, the discontinued Town Hall meetings, and the management transition at DeepMind and thinks these are indicators of an intelligent company?
Without a shred of irony, Marr uses an example from the HR department to illustrate his point. Google once wondered whether managers were actually necessary and implemented Project Oxygen to find out. Using data from performance reviews, employee surveys, manager interviews, and employees’ “Great Managers Award” nominations, the company discovered the mind-blowing reality—bad managers make for bad results, but good managers can make a positive difference. Imagine that. Google assessed what made for bad or good managers and implemented certain policies based on the results. Marr summarizes:
“An Intelligent Company
Google is a great example of how good decision-making should be supported by good data and facts. Google clearly followed the five steps I outline in my book ‘The Intelligent Company: Five steps to success with Evidence-based Management’:
1. Defining the objectives and information needs: ‘Do managers matter?’ and ‘What makes a good manager within Google?’
2. Collecting the right data: using existing data from performance reviews and employee surveys and creating new data sets from the award nominations and manager’s interviews.
3. Analyzing the data and turning it into insights: simply plotting of the results, regression analysis and text analysis.
4. Presenting the Information: new communications to the managers
5. Making evidence-based decisions: revising the training, measuring performance in line with the findings, introducing new feedback mechanisms.”
All that is true as far as it goes, but that scope is quite narrow. Surely Marr could find a better company to hitch his book’s wagon to. Perhaps one with a reputation for making good decisions regarding its workers.
Cynthia Murrell, August 27, 2021
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