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
France Embraces Google, Microsoft in Quest to Safeguard Sensitive Data
The French government says Google and Microsoft cloud computing technology could be used to store sensitive state and corporate data, providing it is licensed to...
From ACM TechNews
Top Educational Apps for Children Might Not Be as Beneficial as Promised
An analysis of the most frequently downloaded educational apps for children found such apps may not provide high-quality educational experiences.
From ACM TechNews
Study Explores Privacy of Prison Communications
The constant monitoring of people incarcerated in the U.S. extends to communications between inmates and their relatives.
From ACM TechNews
Amazon Blocks Police from Using Its Facial Recognition Software Indefinitely
Amazon has indefinitely extended its ban on police use of its facial recognition software, which lawmakers and company employees have said discriminates against...
From ACM News
Cryptography Experts Trash NFTs on First Day of RSA Conference
The experts have weighed in: Non-fungible tokens are dumb as hell.
From ACM TechNews
Microsoft Warns: Watch Out for This Malware That Steals Passwords, Webcam, Browser Data
Microsoft has issued a warning over RevengeRAT, a remote access tool that has been used to target aerospace and travel industries with spear-phishing campaigns....
From ACM TechNews
Police Departments Adopting Facial Recognition Tech Amid Allegations of Wrongful Arrests
U.S. police departments are adopting facial recognition technology, despite complaints of wrongful arrests as a result of its use.
From ACM News
The Pentagon Inches Toward Letting AI Control Weapons
Drills involving swarms of drones raise questions about whether machines could outperform a human operator in complex scenarios.
From ACM News
Pipeline Hack Points to Growing Cybersecurity Risk for Energy System
Energy infrastructure has increasingly come under assault, and analysts said the attack that cut off fuel supplies this week should be a "wake-up call."
From ACM News
New Initiatives Aim to Improve Diversity in Computer Science Department
Two Duke Univesity professors and a graduate student formed a group of researchers dedicated to identifying "strategies for making computing more equitable and...
From ACM News
Colonial Pipeline Paid Nearly $5 million in Ransomware Blackmail Payment
The payment was reportedly made soon after the attack began. It wasn't enough to stop the disruption.
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 News
Biden Signs Executive Order to Bolster Federal Government’s Cybersecurity
President Biden's order places strict new standards on software sold to the government.
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
Election Security: A Scientific View
Barbara Simons and the issues with Internet voting.
From ACM News
Online Cheating Charges Upend Dartmouth Medical School
The university accused 17 students of cheating on remote exams, raising questions about data mining and sowing mistrust on campus.
From ACM TechNews
Spotify Urged to Rule Out 'Invasive' Voice Recognition Tech
Musicians and human rights groups have called on Spotify to estop use of a recently developed speech recognition tool it developed for suggesting songs.
From ACM TechNews
60% of School Apps Are Sharing Kids' Data with 3rd Parties
A study analyzing 73 "utility" apps for school districts found that nearly two-thirds of them share some student data with third-party marketing companies.
From ACM TechNews
Where Should Our Digital Data Go After We Die?
A study by computer scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada considered ways for people to control their personal digital data after they...
From ACM News