Social Media Urged to Fight Political Bots; Most Web Apps Not Secure

Posted June 20th, 2017 at 12:48 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings:

FILE - A 3-D plastic representation of the Facebook logo is seen in front of displayed logos of social networks in this illustration in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Reuters)

FILE – A 3-D plastic representation of the Facebook logo is seen in front of logos of social networks in this illustration in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Reuters)

Oxford Professors Tell Twitter, Facebook to Fight Political Bots

Top academic researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute are urging social media giants to take action to limit the widespread use of algorithms and bots for political propaganda. After analyzing millions of posts in nine countries, the professors leading the team described the bot technology as “one of the most powerful tools against democracy.”  Lead authors Samuel Woolley and Phil Howard said in their report social media firms “need to significantly redesign themselves if democracy is going to survive.”

Report: 99.7 Percent of Web Apps Have at Least One Vulnerability

Researchers at information security firm Trustwave have uncovered at least one vulnerability in 99.7 percent of web apps. And according to their 2017 Trustwave Global Security Report, the average number of web app vulnerabilities is 11. The report also notes that it took an average of 49 days in 2016 to detect unauthorized activity, a drop from 80.5 days in 2015.

Google Launches AI-powered Job Search Engine

Google’s new AI-powered search engine gives job-seekers a new option to make their search easier and more relevant. The new search engine lets users hunt for nearby jobs or specific types of job listings and further refine their search. The idea is to make it easier for users to search for all kinds of jobs on one website.

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Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

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