February 2021 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

The Decline of Computers as General Purpose Technology
by Antonio Vetro' Feb. 25, 2021

Feb. 25, 2021

Video di 2’01” abbinato all’ultimo numero di Communications of the ACM: https://vimeo.com/505327084 <https://vimeo.com/505327084> - Un punto di vista a cui non avevo ancora pensato. A.

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“Defund Big Tech, Refund Community: Another Tech is Possible” Report
by Norberto Patrignani Feb. 25, 2021

Feb. 25, 2021

segnalo la pubblicazione su "techotherwise.pubpub.org" del report in oggetto di Wolmet Barendregt, Christoph Becker, EunJeong Cheon, Andrew Clement, Pedro Reynolds-Cuéllar, Douglas Schuler, and Lucy Suchman https://techotherwise.pubpub.org/pub/dakcci1r/release/2 Norberto

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CfP TPRC49 September 2021 Washington, DC.
by Mauro SANTANIELLO Feb. 24, 2021

Feb. 24, 2021

Segnalo il Call for Papers, Posters and Panels della prossima edizione della *Policy Research Conference on Communications, Information and the Internet *(TPRC 49). Abstracts Due: March 31 Contest for Student Papers Due: April 30 Accepted Papers Due: July 26 Conference Date: September 24-25 Washington, DC. American University College of Law Full Cfp: https://www.tprcweb.com/tprc49-cfp Per i dottorandi: Student Paper Contest for a $1000 cash award and travel stipend. Cordiali saluti, Mauro Santaniello (PhD) *Internet & Communication Policy Centre * *Department of Political and Social Studies * *Università degli Studi di Salerno * *Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 84084 Fisciano (SA) - Italy * *E. msantaniello(a)unisa.it <msantaniello(a)unisa.it> * *W. http://docenti.unisa.it/mauro.santaniello <http://docenti.unisa.it/mauro.santaniello>* *Skype: internetpolicy * *T. twitter.com/webvoodoo <http://twitter.com/webvoodoo>* *Recent publications* M.Santaniello (2021) "From Governance Denial to State Regulation: A Controversy-Based Typology of Internet Governance Models." In Haggart B., Tusikov N., Scholte J.A. (eds.) *Power and Authority in Internet Governance. Return of the State? *Routledge. N.Palladino, M.Santaniello (2021).* Legitimacy, Power, and Inequalities in the Multistakeholder Internet Governance. **Analyzing IANA Transition*. Palgrave Macmillan.

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SolarWinds hack was work of 'at least 1, 000 engineers', tech executives tell Senate | Technology | The Guardian
by Alberto Cammozzo Feb. 24, 2021

Feb. 24, 2021

<https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/23/solarwinds-hack-senate-h…> Tech executives revealed that a historic cybersecurity breach that affected about 100 US companies and nine federal agencies was larger and more sophisticated than previously known. The revelations came during a hearing of the US Senate’s select committee on intelligence on Tuesday on last year’s hack of SolarWinds, a Texas-based software company. Using SolarWinds and Microsoft programs, hackers believed to be working for Russia were able to infiltrate the companies and government agencies. Servers run by Amazon were also used in the cyber-attack, but that company declined to send representatives to the hearing. Representatives from the impacted firms, including SolarWinds, Microsoft, and the cybersecurity firms FireEye Inc and CrowdStrike Holdings, told senators that the true scope of the intrusions is still unknown, because most victims are not legally required to disclose attacks unless they involve sensitive information about individuals. But they described an operation of stunning size. DoJ confirms email accounts breached by SolarWinds hackers Read more Brad Smith, the Microsoft president, said its researchers believed “at least 1,000 very skilled, very capable engineers” worked on the SolarWinds hack. “This is the largest and most sophisticated sort of operation that we have seen,” Smith told senators. Smith said the hacking operation’s success was due to its ability to penetrate systems through routine processes. SolarWinds functions as a network monitoring software, working deep in the infrastructure of information technology systems to identify and patch problems, and provides an essential service for companies around the world. “The world relies on the patching and updating of software for everything,” Smith said. “To disrupt or tamper with that kind of software is to in effect tamper with the digital equivalent of our Public Health Service. It puts the entire world at greater risk.” [...]

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Eredità digitale: il Tribunale di Milano contro Apple
by Antonio Iacono Feb. 23, 2021

Feb. 23, 2021

incipit dell'articolo: "L'illustre Maestro Stefano Rodotà, nel suo discorso di presentazione della relazione annuale sull’attività svolta dal Garante Privacy Italiano del 20 maggio 2003, annunciava la nascita di una nuova concezione della persona, alla cui proiezione nel mondo digitale corrisponde il diritto alla pretesa di non perdere mai il potere di mantenere il totale controllo su quello che egli definiva come un “corpo elettronico”, distribuito in una molteplicità di banche di dati, nonché sui profili che su questa base sono costruiti, in una dimensione spaziale e temporale che, almeno astrattamente, si presta ad essere pressoché illimitata. L’ordinanza del Tribunale di Milano del 10 febbraio 2021, relativa ad una vicenda successiva ad un grave accadimento che ha coinvolto un giovane chef, affronta alcune questioni connesse al sopramenzionato tema della morte digitale." il resto è qui; https://www.quotidianogiuridico.it/documents/2021/02/11/eredita-digitale-il… L'ordinanza è qui: https://www.quotidianogiuridico.it/~/media/Giuridico/2021/02/11/eredita-dig… Antonio

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A patent shows how facial recognition drones could identify you from above
by Giacomo Tesio Feb. 23, 2021

Feb. 23, 2021

An Israeli biometrics startup with a history of defense contracts has applied for a patent on technology that repositions drones to get a better shot of a person on the ground. [...] The patent application, titled “Adaptive Positioning of Drones for Enhanced Face Recognition,” describes a computer vision system that analyzes the angle of a drone camera in relation to the face of a person on the ground, then instructs the drone on how to improve its vantage point. The system can then send that image through a machine-learning model trained to classify individual faces. The model sends back a classification with a probability score. If the probability score falls below a certain threshold, the whole process starts over again. [...] “Facial recognition with drones is a technology that may be used in the future for package delivery,” AnyVision CEO Avi Golan said in an email statement to Fast Company. “Any major player in the delivery business is looking at ‘last mile’ solutions including facial recognition for fast and easy personal identification.” Golan says drone facial recognition technology might also be used in mines to keep track of employees for safety purposes. “AnyVision is not involved in weapons development and is focused on the many opportunities in the civilian market,” Golan wrote. But the company’s technology is being used in defense applications [...] Even though several tech giants have stepped away from selling facial recognition to law enforcement, a wave of smaller companies like AnyVision have been quietly but aggressively pursuing contracts with police, military, institutions (such as hospitals), and retailers. Biometrics is a quickly growing business, and its growth has been further accelerated during the pandemic as contactless identification has become very important. The research firm Markets and Markets (that’s really the name) reported in late 2020 that sales of biometric systems will nearly double from $36.6 billion in 2020 to $68.6 billion in 2025. [...] even if the system is accurate, critics say that it continues to push us toward a future of mass surveillance and could have a chilling effect on legitimate dissent and protest—especially when there is no transparency or accountability about how facial recognition systems are built, who gets to use them, and for what purpose. And after all, watching for suspected terrorists at the border is one thing, but it’s not hard to imagine AnyVision’s positioning system being used for drones that aim more than just cameras. https://www.fastcompany.com/90606400/facial-recognition-drone-patent-anyvis… Giacomo

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Whistleblowers: Software Bug Keeping Hundreds Of Inmates In Arizona Prisons Beyond Release Dates
by Giacomo Tesio Feb. 23, 2021

Feb. 23, 2021

According to Arizona Department of Corrections whistleblowers, hundreds of incarcerated people who should be eligible for release are being held in prison because the inmate management software cannot interpret current sentencing laws. KJZZ is not naming the whistleblowers because they fear retaliation. The employees said they have been raising the issue internally for more than a year, but prison administrators have not acted to fix the software bug. The sources said Chief Information Officer Holly Greene and Deputy Director Joe Profiri have been aware of the problem since 2019. The Arizona Department of Corrections confirmed there is a problem with the software. As of 2019, the department had spent more than $24 million contracting with IT company Business & Decision, North America to build and maintain the software program, known as ACIS, that is used to manage the inmate population in state prisons. One of the software modules within ACIS, designed to calculate release dates for inmates, is presently unable to account for an amendment to state law that was passed in 2019. Senate Bill 1310, authored by former Sen. Eddie Farnsworth, amended the Arizona Revised Statutes so that certain inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses could earn additional release credits upon the completion of programming in state prisons. Gov. Ducey signed the bill in June of 2019. But department sources say the ACIS software is not still able to identify inmates who qualify for SB 1310 programming, nor can it calculate their new release dates upon completion of the programming. “We knew from day one this wasn’t going to work” a department source said. “When they approved that bill, we looked at it and said ‘Oh shit.’” After repeated internal warnings, employees sent a report to department leadership in October, 2020, specifically detailing the software bug. Continua su https://kjzz.org/content/1660988/whistleblowers-software-bug-keeping-hundre… Il codice non è Legge, ma i bachi possono essere (trasformati in) giudici e carcerieri. Giacomo

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Europe looks to go it alone on microchips amid US-China clash – POLITICO
by J.C. DE MARTIN Feb. 22, 2021

Feb. 22, 2021

Europe looks to go it alone on microchips amid US-China clash Europe wants no part of a new Cold War and is seeking its own chip champions to avoid getting drawn in. https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-seeks-to-decouple-from-us-china-chip… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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Amazon set to launch its own Bitcoin rival
by Giuseppe Attardi Feb. 22, 2021

Feb. 22, 2021

L’ho detto che sarebbe arrivato. A quel punto Amazon si appropria di uno dei poteri di uno stato e diventa quindi autonoma. Addio per sempre alle tasse: gli scambi avvengono all’interno di un club privato, che già copre il 47% delle vendite online. https://www.techradar.com/news/amazon-set-to-launch-its-own-bitcoin-rival

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How To Kill Bitcoin (Part 2): No Can Spend
by Giacomo Tesio Feb. 22, 2021

Feb. 22, 2021

You use your limitless advantage to execute the following strategy: 1) Mine an empty block — i.e. a block which is perfectly valid but contains no transactions 2) Keep 10–100 unannounced blocks to yourself — i.e. mine 10–100 ‘extra’ empty blocks ahead of where the chain tip is now, but don’t actually share any of these blocks with the network 3) Whenever a rebel miner announces a valid block, orphan it (override it) by announcing a longer chain with more cumulative proof-of-work — i.e. announce 2 of your blocks 4) Repeat (go back to 2) The result of this is that Bitcoin transactions are no longer being processed, and you’ve created a black hole of expenditure for rebel miners. https://joekelly100.medium.com/how-to-kill-bitcoin-part-2-no-can-spend-66e5… Giacomo

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