A Reasonable Digital Future
Articles:
January 29, 2021
The Password To Your Empire
We need a cultural revolution in information security -- education programs that help the average person better understand data security and help establish norms of sensible practice.
January 24, 2021
The Great Storm Never Arrived: QAnon Conspiracists Face A Sobering Reality
To the 17% of Americans who believe in QAnon conspiracy theories, it was a disappointing week. Donald Trump did not declare martial law in his final minutes in office. He didn't unveil a secret plan to secure and remain in power forever. Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi were not sent to Guantánamo Bay. The military did not rise up and arrest Democratic leaders en masse.
January 19, 2021
Turkey's Ultimatum To Social Media Platforms
The Associated Press reports the Turkish government slapped advertising bans on Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest over their non-compliance with a controversial new law that requires social media platforms to appoint legal representatives in the country and to host data within Turkish borders.
January 18, 2021
Social Media Cleanup Is Reducing Misinformaiton
The Washington Post reports online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73 percent after several social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies last week, research firm Zignal Labs has found, underscoring the power of tech companies to limit the falsehoods poisoning public debate when they act aggressively.
January 17, 2021
Conspiracy Without Theory
Repeat a conspiracy assertion enough times and it becomes true. A theory is now optional.
January 15, 2021
No Shoes, No Shirt? No Service, No Privacy.
If a shopkeeper posts a sign in their store indicating they reserve the right to refuse service based on a set of terms, that right is indeed reserved. If you’re threating other customers or acting inappropriately, the shopkeeper can kick you out and ban you from returning. They can also keep the camera footage of you in their store. Social media is exactly the same. This has nothing to do with the first amendment.
January 12, 2021
The Absurd PsyOps War Against The People Of the United States
Modern psychological warfare against the US population can be targeted at specific groups, to influence their decision making to the advantage of the infiltrators, but there is a broader pattern at work: accelerating, funding and promoting the cracks and schisms that already exist in culture in order to undermine and disrupt democracy and the normal operations of the country.
January 11, 2021
Crash Override Successfully Downloaded over 70TB of data from Parler servers - Parler sues AWS
A hacker who calls herself "Crash Override" has infiltrated Parler servers and downloaded over 70TB of data before AWS shutdown the site for violation of their TOS. The dump includes posts by users including messages, images, videos, and users location data during last week's insurrection at the Capitol.The FBI and government agencies may now analyze the data and potentially use it to expose and arrest rioters.
January 11, 2021
FBI Alert on Growing Egregor Ransomware Threat
The FBI issued a warning late last week over the growing threat from the operators behind the Egregor ransomware variant. The Egregor network claim to have compromised approximately 150 corporate networks in the U.S. and other countries with extortion demands up to $4 million.
January 10, 2021
Can We Fix the Internet? Could Revising The Communications Decency Act Build a Better Online World?
How do you regulate a domain of communication that is virtually impossible to moderate and regulate without fundamentally crippling the value of the technology in the marketplace?
January 09, 2021
$740 Billion Defense Funding Measure Includes 77 Cybersecurity Provisions
Cyberspace Solarium Commission co-chairs Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., called the legislation, which provides $740 billion for defense spending, "the most comprehensive and forward-looking piece of national cybersecurity legislation in the nation's history.
January 08, 2021
The NCBI Report on Social Media's Impact On Mental Health
[External link]
Social media are responsible for aggravating mental health problems. This systematic study summarizes the effects of social network usage on mental health. Fifty papers were shortlisted from google scholar databases, and after the application of various inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 papers were chosen and all papers were evaluated for quality.
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