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
China's Quiet Experiment Let Millions View Long-Banned Websites
China allowed millions of its citizens access to long-banned foreign websites like YouTube and Instagram in a two-week experiment of the Tuber mobile browser application...
From ACM TechNews
Hackers Infiltrated Many Washington State Agencies
At least 13 of Washington State's departments and commissions reportedly have been hit by a sophisticated malware attack.
From ACM TechNews
Hacker Accessed Network of U.S. Agency, Downloaded Data
The U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency says an unnamed federal agency has been the victim of a cyberattack in which a hacker accessed its network...
From ACM TechNews
Singapore to Pay Citizens for Keeping Healthy with Apple Watch
Apple and Singapore's government have partnered on the two-year LumiHealth initiative, which will monitor and reward user behavior via the Apple Watch and an iPhone...
From ACM TechNews
Googling for Gut Symptoms Predicts Covid Hot Spots, Study Finds
A study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that online searches on gastrointestinal symptoms can forecast a spike in coronavirus cases weeks...
From ACM TechNews
Rock Star, Web Founder Teaming Up on Technology
The Interspecies I/O forum last week announced the $1-million Coller Prize for Interspecies Conversation, whose backers include rock artist Peter Gabriel and former...
From ACM TechNews
India Seeks to Limit Facebook, Google Dominance Over Online Data
An expert committee appointed by the Indian government has called for the creation of a new data regulator to oversee the sharing, monetization, and privacy of...
From ACM TechNews
Siri, Alexa Targeted as E.U. Probes Internet of Things
The European Commission is mounting an antitrust investigation into the Internet of Things, targeting voice assistants such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa. ...
From ACM TechNews
Google, Amazon, J&J Join WHO to Fight Covid-Era Smoking
Google, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson have joined the World Health Organization effort to combat the global Covid-19 pandemic's threat to smokers, partly with artificial...
From ACM TechNews
Bill Gates-Backed Company to Hunt for Cobalt Near Glencore Mine
Kobold Metals, a startup backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and others, aims to search for cobalt near a nickel mine in northern Quebec using data analytics.
From ACM TechNews
Japan Is Figuring Out How to Deliver Goods Untouched by Humans
Japanese companies are developing next-generation logistics technology to deliver goods untouched by humans, driven by worker shortages and the Covid-19 pandemic...
From ACM TechNews
National Security Agency Exposes Tool Used by Russian Hackers
The U.S. National Security Agency last week accused Russian hackers of exploiting a software vulnerability in Linux computers.
From ACM TechNews
UPS to Fly Medications by Drone to Florida Retirement Area
UPS will use drones to make prescription deliveries to residents of The Villages in Florida, one of the biggest retirement communities in the U.S.
From ACM TechNews
Satellites Are Helping to Track Food Supplies in Coronavirus Era
Demand is on the rise for alternative data that show how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting industries and trade worldwide.
From ACM TechNews
France Says Apple Bluetooth Policy Is Blocking Virus Tracker
France said Apple's Bluetooth policy is delaying a government contact-tracing application designed to contain the coronavirus.
From ACM News
YouTube to Limit Video Quality Around the World for a Month
YouTube has reduced the quality of video streaming to standard definition around the world in an effort to ease Internet traffic during the coronavirus outbreak...
From ACM TechNews
Location Data to Gauge Lockdowns Tests Europe's Love of Privacy
Officials in Austria and Italy are using location data transmitted by mobile phones to determine the effectiveness of their coronavirus lockdown policies.
From ACM News
Silicon Valley Is Listening to Your Most Intimate Moments
How the world's biggest companies got millions of people to let temps analyze some very sensitive recordings.
From ACM News
Tesla’s Autopilot Could Save the Lives of Millions, But It Will Kill Some People First
The complicated ethics of Elon Musk's grand autonomous vehicle experiment.
From ACM TechNews