Category: Technology

FBI Warns Smartphone Users…

Posted on by esimantiras

FBI Warns Smartphone Users—Hang Up And Create A Secret Word Now

source: forbes.com (contributed by Artemus founder, Bob Wallace)  |  image: fbi.gov

 

Update, Dec. 07, 2024: This story, originally published Dec. 05, now includes details of innovative technological solutions for smartphone users looking to protect themselves from the kinds of AI-generated scams the FBI has warned about. An update on Dec. 06 added details on reporting smartphone crime to the FBI along with additional input from security experts.

The use of AI in smartphone cyber attacks is increasing as recent reports have revealed; from tech support scams targeting Gmail users to fraudulent gambling apps and sophisticated biometric protection-busting banking fraud to name but a few. Now the Federal Bureau of Investigations has issued a public service announcement warning of how generative AI is being used to facilitate such fraud and advising smartphone users to hang up and create a secret word to help mitigate these cyber attacks. Here’s what the FBI warned you must do.

FBI Warns Of Generative AI Attacks Against Smartphone Users

In public service alert number I-120324-PSA, the FBI has warned of cyber attackers increasingly looking to generative AI to commit fraud on a large scale and increase the believability of their schemes. “These tools assist with content creation and can correct for human errors that might otherwise serve as warning signs of fraud,” the FBI said. Given that, as the FBI admits, it can be difficult to tell what is real and what is AI-generated today, the public service announcement serves as a warning for everyone when it comes to what to look out for and how to respond to mitigate the risk. Although not all the advice is aimed directly at smartphone users, given that this remains a primary delivery mechanism for many AI deepfake attacks, especially those using both facial and vocal cloning, it is this advice that I am focusing on.

Continue reading “FBI Warns Smartphone Users…” →

Phone Scanner That Detects Spyware

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A New Phone Scanner That Detects Spyware Has Already Found 7 Pegasus Infections

source: wired.com (contributed by FAN, Steve Page)  |  image: unsplash.com

 

The mobile device security firm iVerify has been offering a tool since May that makes spyware scanning accessible to anyone—and it’s already turning up victims.

IN RECENT YEARS, commercial spyware has been deployed by more actors against a wider range of victims, but the prevailing narrative has still been that the malware is used in targeted attacks against an extremely small number of people. At the same time, though, it has been difficult to check devices for infection, leading individuals to navigate an ad hoc array of academic institutions and NGOs that have been on the front lines of developing forensic techniques to detect mobile spyware. On Tuesday, the mobile device security firm iVerify is publishing findings from a spyware detection feature it launched in May. Of 2,500 device scans that the company’s customers elected to submit for inspection, seven revealed infections by the notorious NSO Group malware known as Pegasus. Continue reading “Phone Scanner That Detects Spyware” →

Say Goodbye to Passwords

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Say Goodbye to Passwords

source: fastcompany.com  |  image: pixabay.com

 

Passkey adoption is up, and problems are being fixed.

It’s been a couple of years since Apple, Google, and Microsoft started trying to kill the password, and its demise seems more likely than ever.

In 2022, all three companies embraced an alternative called passkeys, which sync securely between your devices and are protected by face recognition, a fingerprint, or a PIN. The thinking goes that if you don’t have to remember a password—or even create one in a password manager—you’re less likely to fall prey to phishing scams. And if websites don’t have to store their customers’ passwords anymore, security breaches won’t be as disastrous. Continue reading “Say Goodbye to Passwords” →

Winning the AI Race

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Winning the AI Race

source: axios.com (contributed by FAN, Bill Amshey)  |  image: unsplash.com

 

The Biden administration’s AI directive is a green light to the Pentagon, intelligence agencies and their eager suppliers.

  • The documents enshrine the technology as a defense imperative. Expect greater investment, including in energy and workforce, with check-ins along the way.
  • It also validates the high-risk, high-reward work of early movers.

Why it matters: This signals a more a hands-off approach, which should help allay private-sector worries about cumbersome guardrails.

What they’re saying: If the U.S. fails to deploy AI more extensively and at a quicker pace than its adversaries, advantages earned over decades in land, air, sea, space and cyber could be erased, national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned Thursday.

  • “Even if we have the best AI models, but our competitors are faster to deploy, we could see them seize the advantage in using AI capabilities against our people, our forces and our partners and allies,” he said at the National Defense University.
  • “We could have the best team but lose because we didn’t put it on the field.”

What we’re hearing: Defense industrial base players are generally pleased.

  • Contractors already embrace a software first, hardware second approach.
  • The White House messaging clarifies what’s fair game — and what’s out of bounds. Guidance should boost experimentation and adoption.

The bottom line: There are few “precedents for a document such as this one, which seeks to comprehensively state U.S. national security interests and strategy toward a transformative technology,” Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at CSIS, told me.

  • “NSC-68, which defined U.S. early nuclear strategy, comes to mind.”

A “City Within a City” Is Coming to Phoenix

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A “City Within a City” Is Coming to Phoenix

source: nicenews.com  |  image: unsplash.com

 

Things are getting meta in Phoenix: Plans are in the works to build a $7 billion “city within a city” and drive value in the local economy.
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Called “Halo Vista,” the project in the Arizona capital would span 2,300 acres, with 28 million square feet dedicated to residential, retail, office, and industrial spaces. All of that will surround a semiconductor chip manufacturing complex, Newsweek reports, citing The Arizona Republic.
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“As historic as this is, it’s maybe just the beginning,” Richard Mack, one of the developers of the project, said at a launch event. Three other plants are planned for the site and are projected to create 10,000 total permanent jobs, not to mention another 80,000 jobs for the surrounding development.
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The team behind Halo Vista reiterated that it’s more than structures they’re seeking to build: “I really hope people understand this is a community we are trying to develop, and not any one thing,” Mack added.

The Era of Flying Cars…

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The Era of Flying Cars May (Actually) Be on the Horizon

source: nicenews.com  |  image: unsplash.com

 

You might soon hear your cab driver say: “Clear skies ahead and ready for takeoff.” Air taxis, along with other electric-powered aircrafts, are closer than ever to getting permission to fly.
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Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration published a much-anticipated 880-page document on the final regulations for pilot training and operating requirements for “powered-lift” vehicles. That means an aircraft designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter (or the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future), but with fixed wings like a plane, per The Verge.
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“Powered lift aircraft are the first new category of aircraft in nearly 80 years,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement, calling the new ruling “historic.” According to the agency, the vehicles can be used for cargo delivery, emergency rescue efforts, and simply taxiing people from point A to point B. While the rules aim to maintain safety and rigor, they also seek to address the realities of this nascent industry without setting overly strict standards.
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No air taxi company is currently certified for commercial operations, but some startups, like Joby Aviation and Archer, are in the process of making our sci-fi dreams a reality. Watch Joby’s aircraft fly over New York City last year.​

China’s Satellites Are Dodging US Eyes In Space

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China’s Satellites Are Dodging US Eyes In Space

source: defenseone.com  |  image: pixabay.com

 

The Pentagon doesn’t post location data for its secretive GSSAP satellites, but Chinese spacecraft are maneuvering to avoid their gaze.

The Pentagon has long been closed-mouthed about a family of U.S. spy satellites that since 2014 have kept an eye on foreign spacecraft in geosynchronous orbits. That hasn’t stopped Chinese satellites from dodging them.

U.S. officials declassified the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program a decade ago to show that they had eyes on high-Earth orbit, but they have rarely discussed the the six GSSAP satellites themselves, and they do not publish the standard location data meant to reduce collisions. Now, a new paper from the U.S. Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute explores what the Chinese know about GSSAP—and what they’re doing about it. Continue reading “China’s Satellites Are Dodging US Eyes In Space” →

This Brain Implant Lets People Control Amazon Alexa With Their Minds

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This Brain Implant Lets People Control Amazon Alexa With Their Minds

source: wired.com (contributed by Artemus founder, Bob Wallace)  |  image: pexels.com

 

Neuralink rival Synchron is connecting its brain–computer interface with consumer technologies to allow people with paralysis more functionality.

Mark, a 64-year-old with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, uses Amazon Alexa all the time using his voice. But now, thanks to a brain implant, he can also control the virtual assistant with his mind.

ALS affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control over time. Mark, who asked that his last name not be used, has limited mobility as a result of his condition. He can walk and talk but has no use of his arms and hands. As part of a clinical trial, he received a brain-computer interface, or BCI, made by startup Synchron in August 2023.

Synchron is developing a BCI that decodes brain signals to allow people with paralysis the ability to control digital devices with their thoughts alone. On Monday, the company announced that its BCI can now be used with Alexa without the need for voice or physical interaction with a touchscreen. Synchron says Mark is the first person to use Alexa with an implanted BCI. Continue reading “This Brain Implant Lets People Control Amazon Alexa With Their Minds” →

Apple Dives Deeper Into Med Tech With Focus on Hearing Health

Posted on by esimantiras

Apple Dives Deeper Into Med Tech With Focus on Hearing Health

 

source: cnet.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

An Apple a Day…

There’s nothing quite as thrilling as the chaos and hype of an Apple event day. Granted, as a longtime Apple user, I’m a bit biased. But the launch of the new iPhone 16; the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch; and the release of the next generation of Watches and AirPods warrants that kind of excitement. While our tech experts are knee-deep in all things iPhone and Watch, I want to highlight one important bit of news from yesterday’s Glowtime presentation: The AirPods Pro 2 earbuds will have over-the-counter hearing aid capability.

Anyone who’s experienced hearing loss, or who knows someone who has, understands the challenges associated with it. Traditional hearing aids are designed to help ease confusion, but they tend to raise the volume on all sounds, not just people’s voices. On top of that, they can cost thousands of dollars. With the new AirPods Pro 2, you’ll be able to give yourself a hearing test, and the earbuds will use “personalized dynamic adjustments” to boost sound in real time, Apple said. They’re expected to be available this fall.

It was hard to pick which of our Apple stories to include this week. Make sure you check out our other Apple event coverage, including a comparison of the iPhone 16 specs and commentary on why Apple’s hardware-focused event was so refreshing.

Safeguarding Secrets From Quantum Spying

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Safeguarding Secrets From Quantum Spying

source: axios.com (contributed by FAN, Bill Amshey)  |  image: pexels.com

 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released its highly anticipated standards for protecting encrypted data from future quantum technologies.

Why it matters: China and other foreign foes are likely already collecting encrypted U.S. secrets with the hopes of breaking into them once quantum computing technology catches up.

What’s happening: NIST this week formally approved three post-quantum cryptography standards, marking an important first step in protecting government and critical services from encryption-breaking quantum.

  • IBM researchers developed two of the three standards in collaboration with industry and academic partners.
  • The third standard was developed by a researcher who has since joined IBM.
  • Apple, Meta, Google and some other companies are already implementing these standards.

What’s next: These standards will serve as a blueprint for governments and private-sector organizations around the world.

Go deeper.