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India’s Biometrics Raise Privacy Fears; Malware Slams Major Media Websites

Posted March 16th, 2016 at 12:32 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: India’s Billion-member Biometric Database Raises Privacy Fears Biometrics might prove to be one solution to cybersecurity intrusions, but it is a cause for concern, particularly in India. Citing national security interests, the country’s parliament is getting ready to pass a bill that would give government agencies access to the world’s largest biometrics […]

Bangladesh Cyber Heist Biggest on Record; Google AI Beats Human 4-1

Posted March 15th, 2016 at 11:52 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Manila Man Gets $30 Million Cash From Cyber Heist; Bangladesh Central Bank Governor Quits Bangladesh’s central bank governor Atiur Rahman resigned Tuesday, succumbing to demands for accountability after the bank lost $81 million to cybercriminals. About $30 million of the money was delivered in cash to a Philippines casino operator in Manila. […]

Google AI Wins Second Go Match; Future Hacks Could Cause Injuries

Posted March 10th, 2016 at 11:57 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Google’s AI Wins Pivotal Second Game in Match With Go Grandmaster AlphaGo, Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) program, won a second round in the ancient Chinese board game Go against grandmaster Lee Sedol. No machine has ever beaten humans at Go, a complex strategy game where players vie for more ground. AlphaGo needs […]

Computer AI Trounces Go Champ; UN Slams UK Web Snooping

Posted March 9th, 2016 at 12:40 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Computer 1, Human 0 as Google’s AI Wins First Game in Go Challenge And the battle is on. Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) program has soundly beaten professional South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol in their first face-off. Google’s DeepMind’s AlphaGo made a clean 5-0 sweep in the first round of the complicated […]

Giving Women in Tech Their Due; Wearable Mobility for the Blind

Posted March 8th, 2016 at 12:10 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Why Have We Always Dissed Women in Tech? Decorated rocket scientist Yvonne Brill’s obit in 2013 focused more on her cooking and her family culture than on the propulsion system she invented to keep satellites in orbit. And that’s just one example that reflects what writer Richard Nieva calls “society’s tendency to […]

Google Joins UNICEF Against Zika; African Tech Goes Global

Posted March 3rd, 2016 at 11:35 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Google Combats Zika Virus With Expanded Search Results, Mapping Tool Partnering with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Google Thursday announced a grant of $1 million to help the agency fight the Zika virus in Brazil. Google is also launching new initiatives to enhance Zika search results and maps to provide more […]

Virtual Reality: the ‘Drug’ of the Future; Data Privacy Extinction

Posted March 2nd, 2016 at 12:49 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Game Devs on VR Future: ‘People Will Fall for It Like a Drug’ Virtual Reality continues its advance amid considerable hype, with promising applications in gaming and perhaps even therapy. Game developers project the technology will become mainstream in gaming. But one developer warns that it will be so immersive that “people […]

Hack-proofing Connected Cars; Cities of the Future

Posted March 1st, 2016 at 12:00 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Three Years Until Connected Cars Are Cyberattack-proof? The world is becoming increasingly more connected with the proliferation of Internet of Things Devices and connected cars and appliances. That might be a boon for people seeking convenience, but it also opens all kinds of doors to hackers and cyber criminals only too eager […]

Android vs. iOS; Virtual Reality: Hype or Promise?

Posted February 25th, 2016 at 11:58 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Android vs iOS: The Great Security Debate Traditional thinking has it that iOS is the most secure of the mobile operating systems. That is no longer the case as more malware and other malicious software target that ecosystem. On the other hand, the fragmented Android operating system is, at best, a security […]

Apple Encryption Battle Could Boost Security; Tor Users Treated Differently

Posted February 24th, 2016 at 11:55 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Apple Encryption Fight Could Speed Development of Government-proof Devices Apple’s refusal to obey a court order to decrypt an iPhone belonging to a California mass shooter faces some public opposition, but also has the support of many like-minded tech firms. But the showdown has already triggered a move toward developing more secure […]