China Sends a Signal: Civilized Digital Behavior, Please or What? A Bad Social Score, Jail, or Re-Education?
October 29, 2021
I read “China Regulator Says Will Step Up Efforts to Build Civilized Internet.” The write up states:
China will strengthen its efforts to build a “civilized” internet with an eye on reshaping online behavior and use it as a platform to disseminate new party theories and promote socialist values, the country’s cyberspace regulator said.
With closer scrutiny of data and non-Chinese approved companies, China appears to be taking steps to:
- Prevent its technology information from unauthorized hoovering; that is, a different approach from the US and Western Europe
- A “disincentive” for Chinese citizens to wander off the digital reservation and into forbidden lands
- A signal that the CCP wants control.
Will Meta (the new name of the Zuckbook operation) be on the “civilized” list?
Doubtful.
Stephen E Arnold, October 29, 2021
Australia May Have a Good Idea
October 29, 2021
The Five Eyes may not be the same old friendly group. Nevertheless, each of the entities involved pay attention to what others do. Australia has taken a step which may give regulators in other group members’ countries a nifty new idea: Force Google to allow an Android user to install a different search system.
There you go. The ecosystem, not to mention, the Google ad game, would get a kick in the shin. “Australia Also Wants Google to Unbundle Search from Android” reports:
the ACCC wants Google to show a “choice screen” to Android users, allowing them to pick a default search engine other than Google Search. The commission also wants to limit Google’s ability to pay Apple and other vendors or platforms to be their default search engine.
Several observations:
- Chopping off data pumping components would be similar to slitting a vein, maybe not fatal but certainly a disruptor
- Other countries may find this approach one which sidesteps some of the yip yap served up in regulatory hearings
- Google will push back and the protestations will reveal exactly how quasi perpetual motion money machine works.
Google wants to be the Internet. Australia’s AMPing up of harsh requirements like losing a body part won’t be fatal. But if the search play works, what about other Google services. Gmail anyone?
Stephen E Arnold, October 29, 2021
British Cyber Boss Nails Why Ransomware Is a Growth Business
October 29, 2021
I spotted “Ransomware Has Proliferated Because It’s Largely Uncontested, Says GCHQ Boss.” The statement is accurate but the word “uncontested” may have a nuance not hitting the radar of some of the cyber wizards residing in Harrod’s Creek, Kentucky.
“Uncontested” means a bunch of cyber sailboats are floating around with their commanders thinking about a grilled chicken.
The write up says:
we have up until quite recently left a lot of this playing space to those criminal actors in effect to proliferate and to make a lot of money.
Stated in the lingo of Harrod’s Creek, I think the head of the British version of the National Security Agency means coordinated, aggressive action is needed on a consistent, sustained basis.
Will this ideal be achieved? The write up provides one view:
There’s suspicion in the US that Russia turns a blind eye to ransomware gangs operating in its territory. Following the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline last year, Biden said he warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that critical infrastructure should be off limits.
Stephen E Arnold, October 29, 2021
Let Us Not Forget Russia and Apple
October 29, 2021
In the midst of the employee who decided copying confidential documents as A-okay, and Big Tech’s wondrous earnings, it is easy to forget about Russia and Apple. Tass, the Russian news agency, has not. “Russia’s Anti Monopoly Watchdog Launches Case Against Apple” states:
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia has opened a case against Apple over its prohibition against application developers from informing customers about the possibility of paying for purchases outside the AppStore…
With the launch of super duper chips and a US$19 cleaning rag, Apple, according to the write up:
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia has opened a case against Apple over its prohibition against application developers from informing customers about the possibility of paying for purchases outside the AppStore.
This is probably a misunderstanding. Apple employees may want to consider vacation sites near Sochi and have good situational awareness.
Stephen E Arnold, October 29, 2021
SolarWinds: Three Is Allegedly Better Than One
October 29, 2021
Most organizations have one, generally semi-organized development approach. “SolarWinds’ CEO Wants To Give The Hackers Who Attacked It A Headache By Massively Multiplying Code” reports that the poster child for putting malware in a software distribution system has a way to thwart the 1,000 programmers bent on doing bad things to good American software.
And the solution? Forbes, the capitalist tool, reveals:
But arguably the biggest change—and the one that’s most likely to attract the attention of other CEOs and technology leaders—is his [Sudhakar Ramakrishna, the new SolarWinds CEO] decision to create three separate software development pipelines rather than the single one SolarWinds had before.
In bad actor land, one attack surface is okay. Three attack surfaces are, I suppose, more okay. SolarWinds begs to disagree.
The idea is that “hackers now have to break into multiple systems rather than a monolithic development pipeline.”
I did an analysis of the SolarWinds’ misstep for a financial outfit. A couple of members of my research team kept pressing me to emphasize that the breach may have been facilitated by an insider or by someone hired by a front company for a bad actor who had experience working in the SolarWinds’ digital vineyard. I mentioned the possibility and referenced several recruitment sites which say they can provide part-timers with experience in major enterprise software systems.
My question, “If the insider or the part time wizard is involved, maybe three development pipelines won’t work?” The possibility exists.
Stephen E Arnold, October 29, 2021
Facebook: A Fascinating Assertion
October 28, 2021
A Facebook professional named Monika Bickert, who is the “head” of global policy management is quoted as offering some insight into the Zuckbook’s approach to content. This information comes from “Facebook Exec Pushes Back on Whistleblower Claims,” published by US News & World Report, which I did not know was still in business.
Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of global policy management, says the social media giant does not prioritize engagement and user growth over safety.
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.
The write up states:
Facebook has pushed back on Haugen’s claims but hasn’t pointed to any factual errors in her testimony or in a series of reports that outlined massive shortcomings at the social network, identified by its own internal research.
The write up is an interview with the “head” of global policy management, and I found her summary of her background interesting; for example, the article quotes her as saying:
We do not and we have not prioritized engagement over safety. I’ve been at this company for more than nine years. I’m a mother. I also was a criminal prosecutor and worked on child safety for more than 10 years. And I can tell you I wouldn’t be at this company if we weren’t prioritizing safety.
The implication is that a former criminal prosecutor would know what algorithms are up to 24×7. I am not sure I am 100 percent confident in this “head’s” ability to address message amplification, the interaction of user inputs and content outputs, or the unexpected signals smart software makes available to other platform components.
How do I know this?
- Google knee jerked and dumped staff who were poking around the behavior of the vaunted Snorkel method
- Twitter said in effect, “Hey, we don’t know why certain messages are augmented. Mystery, right? Let’s grab a latte and do some thinking.”
- The interesting “drift” which manifests itself when Bayesian centric systems like the venerable Autonomy neuro linguistic programming black box chugs away. Retrain or get some fascinating outputs.
Your mileage may vary, but in lawyer speak, Facebook is nothing but a bunch of great folks producing outstanding products.
Believe that?
I don’t.
Stephen E Arnold, October 28, 2021
Crypto Currency and Social Media: Financial Heterocyclic Skeletons?
October 27, 2021
I read what seemed at first glance another rah rah crypto currency news report. The article is “NFTs Are Sinking Their Non-Fungible Claws in Even Deeper.” Here’s a snippet I underlined:
Just as crypto currencies are set to revolutionize the world of economics and finance, NFTs are going to rewrite how we think about digital goods.
This prose comes from the Reddit social media outfit’s job posting. Reddit is not alone. The Zen-manager wizard in charge of Twitter has perceived a similar signal from the future. The short message outfit wants to get into crypto.
Several observations:
- Existing oversight and financial controls are not tuned into the powerful interactions of social media, censorship/filtering, and digital currency and its artifacts
- Financial experts struggle to explain the Tesla phenomenon and strike me as in the dark about crypto currencies, NFTs, and financial reactions that are likely to be triggered among the young at heart and a taste for gambling
- Traditional financial firms spend big bucks to make sure their data streams are up to the demands of high frequency trading. Are these outfits ready for the 24×7 social media crypto currency reactions? My hunch is that the firms will generate words but the understanding thing may be on vacation.
Net net: Reddit and Twitter, two social media giants, are doing some experimenting with volatile financial chemicals. The reactions may be surprising.
Stephen E Arnold, October 27, 2021
Facebook: Making Money Is Job Two. Keeping Facebook on Top of Social Media Is Job One
October 27, 2021
Facebook cannot catch a break, but it is the company’s own fault. Information about Facebook’s nefarious actions keep surfacing, but the social network platform has not destroyed itself just yet. The Jacobin details how “Facebook Harms Its Users Because That’s Where Its Profits Are” and why the company is such a “nice” place.
Facebook has many benefits related to communication, news publishing, and economic activity, but another way to describe it is as an addictive, social media platform with greedy goals. Former Facebook employee Francis Haugen leaked internal documents about Facebook’s harmful activities. The Wall Street Journal did a news series on the leak, 60 Minutes interviewed Haugen, and she testified in front of Congress. All this attention pointed to the fact that Facebook purposely knows its social media platform is dangerous, but does not fix the issues because it would harm their bottom line.
Facebook employees have suggested solutions, but they are ignored. There is a simpler solution that is already taking affect:
“If a firm is publicly owned or simply a tightly regulated utility, it doesn’t need to work under the capitalist logic of growth and excessive profit seeking that’s fueled these issues, nor does it have to survive if its user base no longer needs or cares for it. The fact that the company is going out of fashion with the youth and is predominantly used by people over thirty might be a problem for Mark Zuckerberg, private owner of Facebook, but it’s not much of an issue for a utility that a government reluctantly nationalized because of how much its users came to depend on it. In fact, it sounds like a readymade solution for a platform that most of us agree is, at best, addicting and unhealthy.”
The rest of the article explains ways that Facebook cold be monitored, but it would lead to censorship. Another suggestion was for people to reduce the amount of exposure to technology.
Facebook created this tiny glitch. The other hitch in the social media giant’s git along is giving certain questionable actors a big megaphone. In the past, these political and intellectual influencers shared their opinions but were contained to a less digitally empowered corner of wonkiness. It is time for politicians and activists to step up and demand accountability. Facebook, however, is a company with a lot of money and that goes further in Washington DC than good intentions.
Whitney Grace, October 27, 2021
MIT: Censorship and the New Approach to Learning
October 27, 2021
MIT is one of the top science and technology universities in the world. Like many universities in the United States, MIT has had its share of controversial issues related to cancel culture. The Atlantic discusses the most recent incident in the article, “Why The Latest Campus Cancellation Is Different.”
MIT invited geophysicist Dorian Abbot to deliver the yearly John Carlson Lecture about his new climate science research. When MIT students heard Abbot was invited to speak, they campaigned to disinvite him. MIT’s administration caved and Abbot’s invitation was rescinded. Unlike other cancel culture issues, when MIT disinvited Abbot it was not because he denied climate change or committed a crime. Instead, he gave his opinion about affirmative action and other ways minorities have advantages in college admission.
Abbot criticized affirmative action, legacy, and athletic admissions, which favors white applicants. He then compared these admission processes to 1930s Germany and that is a big no-no:
“Abbot seemingly meant to highlight the dangers of thinking about individuals primarily in terms of their ethnic identity. But any comparison between today’s practices on American college campuses and the genocidal policies of the Nazi regime is facile and incendiary.
Even so, it is patently absurd to cancel a lecture on climate change because of Abbot’s article in Newsweek. If every cringe worthy analogy to the Third Reich were grounds for canceling talks, hundreds of professors—and thousands of op-ed columnists—would no longer be welcome on campus.”
Pew Research shows that the majority of the United States believes merit-based admissions or hiring is the best system. The liberal state California even voted to uphold a ban on affirmative action.
MIT’s termination of the Abbot lecture may be an example of how leading universities define learning, information, and discussion. People are no longer allowed to have opposing or controversial beliefs if it offends someone. It harms not only an academic setting, especially at a research heavy university like MIT, but all of society.
It is also funny that MIT was quick to cancel Abbot, but they happily accepted money from Jeffrey Epstein. Interesting.
Whitney Grace, October 27, 2021
Learning about Advertising Executives: A Google Lesson
October 27, 2021
I spotted a story about Google’s systems and methods for capturing advertising revenue. “Ad Execs Dismayed, But Not Surprised by Tactics Google Allegedly Used to Control Digital Ad Dollars.” The information about Google was not particularly interesting. The company has been operating in ways which make it difficult for those who just love free services and the Googley glitz to discern what’s shakin’ in the management meetings.
The write up states one point which I found intriguing:
Trade bodies are quiet while industry insiders shrug as if to say “what did you expect.” They’ve long accepted the harsh truths of online advertising in the platform era.
Notice the words “insiders,” “shrug,” “harsh truths,” and “platform.”
I interpreted these two sentences to suggest ad execs know the game is rigged. Why, pray tell? Commissions, the value of being Google certified, and getting the insider scoop on opportunities to help ad execs’ customers sell their products (at least one hopes something besides ad inventory sells).
This article adds little to the Google ad lore, but it says quite a bit about the brokers or facilitators of ad sales.
Commissions, consulting fees, and the lure of search engine optimization runways to for fee Google ads — yep, the ad execs are in the game.
Perhaps the hot topic of ad fraud will be discussed? Perhaps not?
Stephen E Arnold, October 27, 2021
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