Group items tagged

""The problem," Leveson wrote in a book, "is that we are attempting to build systems that are beyond our ability to intellectually manage.""

"The algorithm, called Compas (Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions), is used throughout the US to weigh up whether defendants awaiting trial or sentencing are at too much risk of reoffending to be released on bail. Since being developed in 1998, the tool is reported to have been used to assess more than one million defendants. But a new paper has cast doubt on whether the software's predictions are sufficiently accurate to justify its use in potentially life-changing decisions."

"It's been said that software is "eating the world." More and more, critical systems that were once controlled mechanically, or by people, are coming to depend on code. This was perhaps never clearer than in the summer of 2015, when on a single day, United Airlines grounded its fleet because of a problem with its departure-management system; trading was suspended on the New York Stock Exchange after an upgrade; the front page of The Wall Street Journal's website crashed; and Seattle's 911 system went down again, this time because a different router failed. The simultaneous failure of so many software systems smelled at first of a coordinated cyberattack"

"Toyota's Lexus rolled out an update for some of its cars, including RX350, which broke the vehicles' navigation and entertainment systems leaving them stuck in a boot loop. Lexus confirmed that the software updates are routinely pushed out via satellite to cars and that a faulty application may be to blame."

"Dye told the Wall Street Journal that hackers increasingly use novel methods and bugs in the software of computers to perform attacks, resulting in about 55% cyberattacks going unnoticed by commercial antivirus software."

"re than a thousand British schools are monitoring pupils' online communication for bullying and self-harm using software that analyses and translates slang for teachers. The software uses a constantly updated dictionary which includes words that most adults would not understand. These include acronyms such as "gnoc" (get naked on camera) and "dirl" (die in real life) and words such as Bio-Oil, a commercial product which can be used by children who self-harm to reduce the appearance of scarring."

"Facebook and Twitter reported to have been blocked in run-up to protests, with people turning to VPNs to broadcast content"

Software developed to bypass Iranian Internet censorship has been scrapped, due to various reasons.

Software created to help Iranians escape government control of the web has been withdrawn over security fears.

"Sony Ericsson has landed in hot water over the way it advertised its Satio smartphone. The company "exaggerated" the handset's ability to access Facebook, according to the Advertising Standards Authority(ASA)." Gotta be careful with what ya promise =P