Communications of the ACM
An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
From ACM TechNews
Security Researcher Successfully Jailbreaks Apple AirTag
German security researcher stacksmashing was able to break into, dump, and reflash the microcontroller of Apple's AirTag object-location product.
From ACM TechNews
96% of U.S. Users Opt Out of App Tracking in iOS 14.5, Analytics Find
U.S. users have opted out of application tracking nearly all of the time following Apple's release of iOS 14.5 in April.
From ACM News
Chipmaker Says It Will Ramp Up Production of Older 28nm Chips
Fourth-largest contract chipmaker aiming at supply problems for carmakers, others.
From ACM TechNews
Google Play Apps Steal Texts, Pepper You With Unauthorized Purchases
McAfee mobile researchers have discovered malware hidden in eight Google Play apps that steals users' text messages and makes unauthorized purchases.
From ACM News
New Android Malware Found with Full Range of Spying Capabilities
Despite its sophistication, the app can be easy for more experienced users to spot.
From ACM TechNews
The Bitcoin Blockchain Is Helping Keep a Botnet From Being Taken Down
Researchers found that a botnet they have been following disguised one of its IP addresses in the bitcoin blockchain to guard against a command-and-control server...
From ACM TechNews
Hackers Used Four Zero-Days to Infect Windows, Android Devices
Investigators with Google's Project Zero exploit research team uncovered a hacking campaign that used four zero-day exploits to install malware on Android and Windows...
From ACM TechNews
Kazakhstan Spies on Citizens' HTTPS Traffic; Browser-Makers Fight Back
Google, Mozilla, Apple, and Microsoft are partnering to stop Kazakhstan's government from decrypting and reading HTTPS-encrypted traffic between citizens and...
From ACM TechNews
Up to 3 Million Devices Infected by Malware-Laced Chrome and Edge Add-ons
Researchers warned Wednesday that up to 3 million devices have been infiltrated by malware-impregnated Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browser extensions that...
From ACM News
'A Damn Stupid Thing to Do'—the Origins of C
Today, C may be a lingua franca among programmers. This is its (abridged) history.
From ACM News
New RISC-V CPU Claims Recordbreaking Performance per Watt
Micro Magic's new CPU offers decent performance with record-breaking efficiency.
From ACM TechNews
Archaeologists with Drones Discover Pre-Columbian Earthworks in Kansas
Dartmouth College researchers discovered pre-Columbian earthworks in Kansas using drones equipped with LiDAR and infrared and thermal imaging.
From ACM TechNews
This Device Keeps Voice Assistants From Snooping on You
An international team of researchers has developed a Raspberry Pi-based device that eventually may be able to warn users when Amazon's Alexa and other voice assistants...
From ACM TechNews
Uncovered: 1,000 Phrases That Incorrectly Trigger Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant
Researchers have identified more than 1,000 word sequences that incorrectly trigger voice assistants like Alexa, Google Home, and Siri.
From ACM TechNews
Machine Learning Clusters in Azure Hijacked to Mine Cryptocurrency
Microsoft's Azure Security Center reported a cryptojacking scheme in which attackers hijacked machine learning clusters inside the Azure cloud computing service...
From ACM News
The Pandemic is Bringing Us Closer to Our Robot Takeout Future
"We saw that business double overnight," startup says of UK grocery deliveries.
From ACM News
Attackers Can Bypass Fingerprint Authentication with an ~80% Success Rate
Fingerprint-based authentication is fine for most people, but it's hardly foolproof.
From ACM TechNews
Windows Code-Execution Zero-day Is Under Active Exploit, Microsoft Warns
Microsoft has issued a warning that a Windows zero-day vulnerability is being exploited in "limited targeted attacks" to execute malicious code on fully updated...
From ACM TechNews
Study Ranks Privacy of Major Browsers
A study of the privacy protection provided by major browsers ranked upstart browser Brave at the top of the list.
From ACM TechNews