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 News
Tor sage in Turkey Surges During Twitter Ban
Since Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan implemented a ban on Twitter late last week, Tor usage in the country has surged—with connections nearly doubling...
From ACM Opinion
Hackers Allegedly Stole $400 Million in Bitcoins. Here's How to Catch Them.
On Friday, what had been the world's leading Bitcoin exchange declared bankrutpcy, claiming that hackers had exploited a technical issue called "transaction malleability...
From ACM News
The Six Types of Conversations on Twitter
A new report from the Pew Research Center and the Social Media Research Foundation says that Twitter conversations have distinct shapes—at least six of them with...
From ACM Opinion
'a Fema-Level Fail': The Law Professor Who Coined 'net Neutrality' Lashes Out at the Fcc's Legal Strategy
Back in 2003, when he was a law professor at the University of Virginia, Tim Wu wrote the definitive paper on net neutrality.
From ACM News
Dogecoins and Litecoins and Peercoins Oh My: What You Need to Know About Bitcoin Alternatives
By now, most people have heard of Bitcoin, the peer-to-peer currency whose value has soared over the past couple of years.
From ACM Opinion
Edward Snowden, After Months of Nsa Rvelations, Says His Mission's Accomplished
The familiar voice on the hotel room phone did not waste words.
From ACM Opinion
The Head of Google X Thinks We're All Too Risk-Averse
Google X is responsible for some of Google's most literally fantastic projects: Google Glass, self-driving cars, gigantic inflatable balloons that beam Internet...
From ACM Careers
How a Grad Student Trying to Build the First Botnet Brought the Internet to Its Knees
On November 3, 1988, 25 years ago Sunday, people woke up to find the Internet had changed forever.
From ACM News
Who Tracks the Trackers that Track You Online? You Can, with Lightbeam.
When your browser landed on this article, it didn't just talk to the friendly servers at washingtonpost.com.
From ACM Opinion
Here's Why the Feds Didn't Have More Skilled Programmers For Healthcare.gov
HealthCare.gov, the Web site at the center of President Obama's federal health insurance exchange, has been plagued with problems since it opened for business Oct...
From ACM News
Here's Everything You Should Know About Nsa Address Book Spying in One Faq
A new report from The Washington Post, based on documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, reveals that the National Security Agency is collecting hundreds...
From ACM Opinion
Nsa Chief Defends Collecting Americans' Data
The head of the National Security Agency delivered a vigorous defense Wednesday of his agency's collection of Americans' phone records for counterterrorism purposes...
From ACM Opinion
Google Maps Trained S to Follow Directions. Now Its Former Developer Wants S to Explore.
It's not evident from the way his hair flops casually down and across, nor from his equally relaxed demeanor, but John Hanke is one of Google's most important idea...
From ACM News
Here's What You Find When You Scan the Entire Internet in an Hour
Until recently, scanning the entire Internet, with its billions of unique addresses, was a slow and labor-intensive process.
From ACM News
Nsa Growth Fueled By Need to Target Terrorists
Twelve years later, the cranes and earthmovers around the National Security Agency are still at work, tearing up pavement and uprooting trees to make room for a...
From ACM News
Court Says Skipping Ads Doesn't Violate Copyright. That's a Big Deal.
In 1984, the Supreme Court rejected Hollywood's argument that the record button on the Betamax VCR made its manufacturer, Sony, liable for copyright infringement...
From ACM News
For Nsa Chief, Terrorist Threat Drives Passion to 'collect It All,' Observers Say
In late 2005, as Iraqi roadside bombings were nearing an all-time peak, the National Security Agency's newly appointed chief began pitching a radical plan for halting...
From ACM News
Nsa Surveillance Program Extended By Court, Intelligence Officials Say
A secret court on Friday extended the National Security Agency's authority to collect and store the phone records of tens of millions of American cellphone customers...
From ACM Opinion
The Coming Political Battle Over Bitcoin
Given that Bitcoin first broke into mainstream attention when Gawker explained how to use it to buy drugs, perhaps the surprise is that it took federal regulators...
From ACM News