In The News

Microsoft to Build Planetary Computer: CBR

Ed Targett April 19, 2020
Microsoft is launching a program, Planetary Computer, to aggregate environmental data – mapping trillions of data points to monitor the Earth’s biodiversity, water tables, forestry data, carbon and waste to provide a searchable dataset. “The move is the company’s latest major environmental push, after promising in January to become “carbon negative” by the end of this decade,” reports Ed Targett...

Data Security in the Quantum Computer Age: RAND

Michael J. D. Vermeer, Evan D. Peet April 14, 2020
Analysts anticipate that quantum computers will readily break encryptions of any type within the next 15 years, and RAND researchers urge government action to develop standardized post-quantum cryptography and review archives of encrypted materials. “If adequate implementation of PQC has not taken place by the time capable quantum computers are developed, it may become impossible to ensure secure...

Face Mask Data: Ars Technica

Beth Mole April 5, 2020
East Asia quickly endorsed masks to fight spread of COVID-19, while the United States and Europe, following the lead of the World Health Organization, initially urged reserving such equipment for health providers. That thinking evolved, with health experts recommending cloth masks for citizens while maintaining social distance, washing hands, avoiding crowds and keeping a distance of six feet in...

Student Builds COVID-19 Tracking Website: GeekWire

Kurt Schlosser March 5, 2020
A new coronavirus for China emerged in early January, and a 17-year-old student in Mercer Island, Washington, worried about misinformation. Before the disease spread from China, Avi Schiffmann set out make a one-stop website that compiles official data. “The site’s simple homepage consists of quick facts that are updated every 10 minutes, including total confirmed cases, total deaths, countries...

Millions of Websites Face “Insecure” Warnings: BBC

Jane Wakefield March 4, 2020
Internet users value security. The internet security research group and Let's Encrypt issue certificates to internet websites assuring about security, but the organizations warn that 3 million will be revoked due to a flaw in the certificates’ security code, resulting in sites carry security warnings. Google has used the https ranking signal since 2014. “Digital certificates are basically...

EU Proposes Big Tech Data-Sharing: Financial Times

Javier Espinoza, Madhumita Murgia and Richard Waters February 20, 2020
The European Commission wants the world’s top tech companies – Amazon, Facebook, Google and others to follow the lead of financial services firms by sharing data with small firms. The commission released a “European Strategy for Data,” and proposes compulsory data-sharing in areas with market failure. “The commission said that tech companies were able to build huge advantages by guarding their...

The US Losing Fight on Huawei: Wired

Garrett M. Graff February 2, 2020
Despite US lobbying, UK officials will allow the Chinese firm Huawei to provide components to its 5G network. British officials suggest they can mitigate risks, but the United States expects Huawei to undermine security and privacy. “Over the past two years, the Trump administration has mounted a high-profile, high-stakes, high-pressure campaign to stop its key allies – including the so-called...