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
Icann Hires Former Cybersecurity Chief as New Ceo
Rod Beckstrom, the former director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity Center, has been chosen to replace Paul Twomey as the CEO...
From Communications of the ACM
Are We Losing Our Ability to Think Critically?
Computer technology has enhanced lives in countless ways, but some experts believe it might be affecting people's ability to think deeply.
From ACM News
Rfid Examined as Shoplifting Prevention Technology
Shoplifting in retail outlets is an increasing problem that creates an estimated annual retail deficit of more than $30 billion, but RFID technology can help to...
From ACM TechNews
Safety-Critical Software Put nder Scrutiny
The Centre for Safety-Critical Software Certification, a new global research center based at McMaster University, will be dedicated to eliminating the possibility...
From ACM News
U.s. Creates Military Command For Cyber Battlefield
The U.S. military announced a new "cyber command" designed to wage digital warfare and to bolster defenses against mounting threats to its computer networks. Defense...
From ACM News
China Linked to 70 Percent of World's Spam, Expert Says
Nearly three-quarters of the Web sites advertised in computer spam studied by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Spam Data Mine so far in 2009 are tied...
From ACM TechNews
Futurephile: Knowledge Embedded in Everything
The day will come when everyone will wear glasses with a computer overlay capable of processing the faces of passersby and tell wearers if they have met someone...
From ACM TechNews
E-Mail Surveillance Renews Concerns in Congress
A National Security Agency (NSA) operation involving surveillance of American residents' communications, especially domestic email, is fueling debate in the U.S...
From ACM TechNews
Cheerleader For New Domain Names Defends Icann Plan
A pair of recently released reports, authored by University of Chicago professor Dennis Carlton, says that introducing new top-level domains (TLDs) will not force...
From ACM TechNews
Vinton Cerf: Outer Space Could be Next Frontier for Cybersecurity
NASA and Google Internet evangelist Vinton Cerf are currently testing an extraterrestrial Internet that could lead to technology for use in securing ad hoc networks...
From ACM News
China Says npopular Filtering Software Optional
China appeared to cave in to public pressure Tuesday (June 16) by announcing that computer users are not required to install Internet-filtering software — though...
From ACM TechNews
Experts Urge Federal Efforts on Cybersecurity
The U.S. federal government needs to step up its cybersecurity efforts, experts from industry and academia recently told the House Science and Technology Committee's...
From ACM TechNews
Software Liability Law Could Divide Open Source
The European Commission has proposed that software companies should be held liable for the security and efficiency of their products. Ovum's David Mitchell says...
From ACM News
Virtual Power Plants Could Tame Coming Grid Chaos
Fears over energy security and climate change have led to record investment in renewable energy. But a major problem threatens to stall progress towards a more...
From ACM TechNews
Is Internet Voting Safe? Vote Here
Arizona election officials demonstrated their Internet voting system at ACM's recent Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Conference in Washington, D.C. For the 2008...
From ACM TechNews
NIST Delivers pdated Draft Standards for Electronic Voting Machines
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently provided the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) with a draft revision to the 2005 U.S. federal...
From ACM TechNews
Department Tackles Visa Delay for Researchers
The U.S. State Department has added workers and developed new procedures in an attempt to speed up the visa process for foreign graduate students and post-doctoral...
From ACM TechNews
Craigslist Founder to Keynote Computer Policy Conference
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark will give the keynote address at ACM's 2009 Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy (CFP), which takes place from June 1-4...
From ACM TechNews
FCC Develops Strategy For Rural Broadband
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a broadband strategy for the rural United States that cautions against relying on a single technology...
From ACM TechNews