Communications of the ACM
Spies in Our Pockets
Electronic eavesdropping is becoming ever more nefarious in the age of smartphones and digital devices.
From ACM NewsAn 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
How the Internet Kept Humming During 2 Hurricanes
At one node of the industrial backbone that keeps the internet running, employees sheltered from the worst of Hurricane Irma in a stairwell of a seven-story building...
From ACM News
Infrared Signals in Surveillance Cameras Let Malware Jump Network Air Gaps
Researchers have devised malware that can jump airgaps by using the infrared capabilities of an infected network's surveillance cameras to transmit data to and...
From ACM News
Chips Off the Old Block: Computers Are Taking Design Cues From Human Brains
We expect a lot from our computers these days. They should talk to us, recognize everything from faces to flowers, and maybe soon do the driving.
From ACM Careers
Conservatives, Liberals Unite Against Silicon Valley
The days of unqualified praise from Washington are over for the country's biggest tech companies, whose size and power are increasingly drawing attacks from both...
From ACM TechNews
Congressional Redistricting Less Contentious When Resolved Using Computer Algorithm
Researchers at the University of Illinois have proposed a computer algorithm that could ease congressional districting and make the process fairer for constituents...
From ACM TechNews
Inside the Equifax Hack
The Equifax breach, attributed to a server flaw disclosed by Cisco researchers that went unpatched, has potentially exposed an estimated 143 million Americans'...
From ACM News
Wanna Stop Distracted Driving? Make Cars That Watch Their Humans
Everyone knows that distracted driving is a problem, but it tends to fall in the "other people/not me" category of personal risk assessment among drivers.
From ACM News
Treating Cancer, Stopping Violence . . . How AI Protects Us
For some, the spread of artificial intelligence and robotics poses a threat to our privacy, our jobs – even our safety, as more and more tasks are handed over to...
From ACM TechNews
Fitness Trackers Could Benefit From Better Security
A security analysis of two wearable fitness trackers revealed a technique for intercepting messages transmitted between the trackers and cloud servers.
From ACM TechNews
To Improve Smartphone Privacy, Control Access to Third-Party Libraries
Researchers suggest controlling access to third-party libraries will help limit the undesired exposure of personal information by smartphone applications.
From ACM News
U.S. Moves to Ban Kaspersky Software in Federal Agencies Amid Concerns of Russian Espionage
The U.S. government on Wednesday moved to ban the use of a Russian brand of security software by federal agencies amid concerns the company has ties to state-sponsored...
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Devise Hopeful Defense Against Credential Spear-Phishing Attacks
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and collaborators have proposed a method for detecting credential spear-phishing attacks.
From ACM News
How Apple Is Bringing Us Into the Age of Facial Recognition Whether We're Ready or Not
A whiff of dystopian creepiness has long wafted in the air whenever facial recognition has come up. Books, movies and television shows have portrayed the technology...
From ACM TechNews
Pacemaker Recall Exposes National Need for Research and Education in Embedded Security
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's first major recall of pacemakers due to a cybersecurity risk highlights a national need for research and education on embedded...
From ACM TechNews
Voting-Roll Vulnerability
It is relatively easy for hackers to buy enough personal information to potentially rig online voter registration information in as many as 35 states and Washington...
From ACM News
Operational Limits Played Key Role in Tesla Crash on Autopilot: NTSB
The chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Tuesday "operational limitations" in the Tesla Model S played a "major role" in a May...
From ACM News
Will Quantum Computers Surpass Encryption?
The fundamentally different paradigm of quantum computation will require fundamentally different security.
From ACM News
As Amazon Pushes Forward With Robots, Workers Find New Roles
Nissa Scott started working at the cavernous Amazon warehouse in southern New Jersey late last year, stacking plastic bins the size of small ottomans.
From ACM TechNews