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
Hackers-For-Hire Group Develops 'PowerPepper' In-Memory Malware
Kaspersky cybersecurity researchers revealed a previously undiscovered in-memory Windows backdoor for executing remote malware and stealing data.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Find Even 'Fair' Hiring Algorithms Can Be Biased
Researchers at Harvard University and Germany's Technische Universität Berlin analyzing how "fair" ranking algorithms affect gender uncovered inconsistent ranking...
From ACM News
Facebook Hit With Antitrust Lawsuits by FTC, State Attorneys General
Claims target social-media giant's past acquisitions, tactics against competitors.
From ACM TechNews
Critical Flaws in Millions of IoT Devices May Never Get Fixed
Internet of Things security firm Forescout uncovered 33 flaws in seven open source TCP/IP stacks that potentially leave millions of IoT devices vulnerable.
From ACM TechNews
In Battle Against Hackers, Companies Try to Deceive the Deceivers
Companies are attempting to trap hackers by enticing them with deception technology.
From ACM News
Spies with Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service Believed to have Hacked a top American Cybersecurity Firm, Stolen its Sensitive Tools
"We are witnessing an attack by a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities," FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia said in a blog post.
From ACM News
Global Losses from Cybercrime Skyrocketed to Nearly $1 trillion in 2020, Report Finds
IP theft and financial crime account for at least 75% of cyber losses and pose the greatest threat to companies, according to the report.
From ACM TechNews
Voice Assistant Recordings Could Reveal What Someone Nearby Is Typing
A machine learning system can be used with voice assistants to detect typing on touchscreens nearby, using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to determine what...
From ACM News
Cyberattacks Discovered on Vaccine Distribution Operations
IBM has found that companies and governments have been targeted by unknown attackers, prompting a warning from the Homeland Security Department.
From ACM TechNews
China's Xi Jinping Pushing for Global Covid QR Code
Chinese president Xi Jinping has called for a uniform set of policies and standards to ensure the "smooth functioning" of the global economy during the pandemic...
From ACM TechNews
Cheriton Computer Scientists Create Nifty Solution to Catastrophic Network Fault
Computer scientists have engineered a solution to partial network partitioning, which can cause catastrophic system failures.
From ACM TechNews
Software Stalks Malware in the Wild
A new tool can pinpoint online malware source code repositories with 89% accuracy.
From ACM News
U.S. Senate Passes Bill to Secure Internet-Connected Devices Against Cyber Vulnerabilities
The U.S. Senate this week unanimously passed the bipartisan Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act to strengthen the cybersecurity of Internet-connected...
From ACM TechNews
AI Research Finds 'Compute Divide' Concentrates Power, Accelerates Inequality in Era of Deep Learning
An unequal distribution of compute power in academia is exacerbating inequality in deep learning, say researchers at Virginia Tech and Western University.
From ACM TechNews
Disaster Apps Share Personal Data in Violation of Their Privacy Policies
Popular disaster applications are violating their privacy policies by continuing to track users' whereabouts, or providing personal information to third parties...
From ACM TechNews
Schools Struggling to Stay Open Get Hit by Ransomware Attacks
Schools struggling to stay open during the Covid-19 pandemic are being targeted by ransomware, as hackers threaten to post sensitive student information online....
From ACM TechNews
'Extremely Aggressive' Internet Censorship Spreads in the World's Democracies
University of Michigan researchers used an automated censorship tracking system to demonstrate that online censorship is proliferating in even the freest countries...
From ACM TechNews
How to Make AI Less Biased
Academic researchers and the technology industry are working to eliminate bias from artificial intelligence systems.
From ACM News
Future Series: Cybersecurity, Emerging Technology and Systemic Risk
Unless action is taken now, by 2025 next generation technology, on which the world will increasingly rely, has the potential to overwhelm the defences of the global...
From ACM TechNews