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 to Launch National Blockchain Network in 100 Cities
An alliance of Chinese government groups, banks, and technology firms plans to launch one of the first blockchain networks constructed and maintained by a central...
From ACM TechNews
Screening Technique Finds 142 Malicious Apps in Apple's App Store
Researchers have developed a method of detecting malicious apps that sneak through Apple's App Store screening process and onto some users’ phones.
From ACM TechNews
The Bioacoustic Signatures of Our Bodies Can Reveal Our Identities
Researchers in South Korea have developed a biometric system that uses a transducer to generate vibrations and sound waves that can be used to identify individuals...
From ACM TechNews
The Top Programming Languages 2019
IEEE Spectrum's 2019 roster of leading programming languages once again ranks Python in the top slot.
From ACM News
Three Small Stickers in Intersection Can Cause Tesla Autopilot to Swerve Into Wrong Lane
Security researchers from Tencent have demonstrated a way to use physical attacks to spoof Tesla's autopilot.
From ACM TechNews
Sandia's Robots Pull Apart Warheads to Recycle Thousands of Micro-Grenades
Researchers have developed robots that can demilitarize up to 21 warheads in an eight-hour shift, which equates to 13,524 bomblets being recycled per day.
From ACM TechNews
Circuit Secures the IoT Against Quantum Attack
A new encryption system performs schemes that classical computers can use, but quantum computers cannot crack.
From ACM TechNews
The Challenges of Predicting Mob Behavior at Political Rallies
A new model can better predict social contagions that occur at political rallies than previous methods.
From ACM TechNews
How to Encode a Secret Message in a Fingerprint
Researchers have developed a method for constructing digital fingerprints that encode secret messages into the spiral points on the prints.
From ACM News
How Political Campaigns Weaponize Social Media Bots
In the summer of 2017, a group of young political activists in the United Kingdom figured out how to use the popular dating app Tinder to attract new supporters...
From ACM TechNews
This Tech Would Have Spotted the Secret Chinese Chip in Seconds
Researchers have developed a semiautomated system that could have identified in seconds malicious chips reportedly inserted into computer systems by the Chinese...
From ACM News
The Desperate Quest for Genomic Compression Algorithms
Have you had your genome sequenced yet? Millions of people around the world already have, and by 2025 that number could reach a billion.
From ACM TechNews
Colorado Prepares to Install 'Smart Road' Product by Integrated Roadways
A startup plans to install four slabs of concrete with embedded sensors at an intersection in Denver, CO.
From ACM TechNews
Big Data Shows Women Engineers Downplay Coding Skills
Female engineers contributing to open source software websites are less likely than males to self-report their coding skills in job candidate profiles.
From ACM TechNews
This AI Hunts Poachers
Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security is an artificial intelligence program that uses machine learning algorithms to predict where poaching is likely to occur...
From ACM TechNews
To Secure the Internet of Things, We Must Build It Out of 'patchable' Hardware
The security of the Internet of Things could depend on its constituent hardware being "patchable" so it can adapt to future threats, write several experts.
From ACM TechNews
The Ridiculous Amount of Energy It Takes to Run Bitcoin
Keeping bitcoin running via the process of "mining" consumes a staggering amount of electricity, and experts are investigating energy-saving solutions.
From ACM TechNews
A True Random-Number Generator Built From Carbon Nanotubes
Researchers say they have built a true random number generator from a static random-access memory cell printed with a specialized carbon nanotube ink.
From ACM TechNews
Robots Could Act as Ethical Mediators Between Patients and Caregivers
Researchers hypothesize that robots that understand ethical issues would be able to observe interactions between patients and caregivers, and intervene when needed...
From ACM TechNews
Can We Quantify Machine Consciousness?
The argument that consciousness is computable--and instillable within machines--cannot be verified or refuted until a measurable theory of consciousness becomes...12