Category: Communications

Denmark helps the USA to spy on Merkle via undersea comms cable

Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Business, Communications, Countries, Data Management & Networks, Digital Systems Technology, Europe, Government, Regulation News, Technology, USA

Denmark is not the first country you would usually think of when naming countries likely to be involved in underhand spying affairs, but recent revelations prove otherwise. The nation’s sweet image as one of our friendlier Scandanavian countries with happy people and high standards of living has been abruptly smashed in the global media sphere this week. Recent reports have accused Denmark of collaborating with the United States of America (USA) in order to help spy on European leaders, specifically Germany’s Angela Merkel. 

The National Security Agency (NSA) of the USA is well known for its meddling in spying, politics and international affairs. Edward Snowden famously revealed leaks that proved the NSA was spying on American citizens via their mobile phones and computer microphones and webcams. The story broke and left Snowden being persecuted continually by the NSA to this day. In its goal to ‘defend vital networks’ and ‘save lives’, the NSA takes action through proactive moves to monitor political leaders around the world and follow international geopolitical affairs. 

France and Germany are just some of the bigger European countries to come out and demand answers from Denmark as to the claims made on Danish Public Television in late May 2021. The broadcast focused on the report, commissioned in 2013, that was to investigate Denmark’s role in NSA monitoring of phone calls and other media from Merkle and other European leaders. The report says Denmark acted as an outpost for the US, from which they could wiretap their chosen subjects. It accuses the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS) of collaborating with the US based NSA. 
The NSA used cables running under the Danish sea to wiretap the phones of those included in their investigations. The risk of ill-favoured public opinion for the moves seems to have been worth the risk by the Danish authorities, who are believed to prize the political cooperation of the US global power more than the affections of European citizens.

Key trends in cybersecurity 2021

Business, Communications, Data Management & Networks, General, Software, Technology

Since the birth of the digital age in the late 20th century, cybersecurity has been a growing trend. The term ‘hacker’ first emerged in the late 1960s and first referred to an individual disrupting telephone communication systems at the time. The cyberpunk image of a hacker we are more familiar now came a little later in the 20th century as computers became more widespread. Hackers became known as ‘technological hackers’ before the ubiquity of computer technology meant the prefix ‘technological’ was dropped entirely. 

These days the majority of us internet users are familiar with icons in our browser such as the padlock to demonstrate a site is secure. Banks and other businesses with transaction needs that have moved online are at the forefront of protecting our digital data with multiple security checks for users to log in or make a purchase. 

With the ongoing global crises of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no surprise to hear that an estimated 83% of enterprises worked on improving their cybersecurity last year. With more people stuck inside due to coronavirus social distancing lockdown restrictions, more of us than ever looked for retail therapy and safety from outdoors by shopping online. For businesses receiving this increase in users and customers, cybersecurity remains a key focus point for ensuring a successful online future for their endeavours to grow. 

  1. Work online platforms 

Moving to secure platforms to communicate with a workforce that has been staying at home has been a crucial step for many businesses to take. Platforms such as Asana and other online team management software allows for efficient and reliable communications between employer and employees. 

  1. Employee cybersecurity training

Following a workforce that has been working remotely more than ever this past year has come with its own challenges alongside a global pandemic. As a result, employers have been more keen than ever to make sure their staff have sufficient training in all online and digital protocols.

Tom Cruise deep fake goes viral

Artificial Intelligence, Communications, Social Media

Tom Cruise has surprised everyone by going viral online recently – most of all Tom Cruise himself! In a bizarre twist of events, videos of the famous celebrity acting star emerged of him perfecting his golf swing, telling strange stories and even doing magic tricks. And yet it turned out to be a hoax! The videos all came from a single TikTok account playfully called @deeptomcruise, which turned out to be a project set up to raise awareness for the potential of deep fakes. 

Deep fakes have been around in technology since the early 1990s and the beginning of computers. Deepfakes as we know them now however have only begun to expand their reach in the last few years. It wasn’t until 2018 even that deep fake technology moved away from its previous focus on the face and into translating full body movements. 

It was a manipulation of Jimmy Falon’s 2016 Donald Trump sketch on NBC’s The Tonight Show in 2019 when deep fakes really came to the public’s attention. In the original short video clip, the host is seen dressed and acting as Trump in the sketch, while in the 2019 version, digital manipulation has made the whole scene far more convincing. 

Speculation around deep fakes has for a long time suggested we should fear its possibilities for manipulation. Many worry about the implications for fake news and alternative truths that could infiltrate the depths of the internet as a result, all in a time before we are quite sure how to regulate such things. So far however, most deep fakes have been used to subjugate women further with slut shaming and revenge porn. 

The creator of this latest deep fake however says he thinks there is not so much to worry about yet. For right now at least there is a significant skill set and technological understanding necessary to make such convincing fakes.

Chinese tomb sweeping festival goes online due to COVID-19

Asia, China, Communications, General, Government, History, Technology, Technology News

The chinese festival of Quingming is a day each spring set out for tomb sweeping. The practice is an ancient tradition to honor one’s ancestors, and rejuvenate the grave space after the new year for the upcoming months ahead. 

The practice first started roughly 2,500 years ago amongst the cultural elite and the wealthy classes as a display of luxury and money. It started under the Zhou Dynasty and would be a chance for people to honor their ancestors with impressive sacrifices at their grave site. In return the ancestors were believed to be able to bring on a good harvest, as well as peace and prosperity for their descendents. 

Despite its ancient origins and ongoing popularity, the festival was only fully recognised by the Chinese government as a public holiday in 2008. It is common in these times for people from all over China, as well as neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand amongst others to also celebrate the widely recognised Quingming Festival. 

The festival is usually held between the 4-6th April, on the first day of the fifth solar term in the year. Though usually it involves visiting older loved ones or gathering at the graves of the deceased, social distancing restrictions that persist due to the continuing coronavirus COVID-19 global pandemic mean that this year, more and more people are considering taking their celebrations online. 

As the pandemic was starting last year, a small number of people conducted their ceremonies online, and now as the crisis continues into a second year, it seems more people are once again considering their online options. 
As an alternative to visiting in person, families are now being offered ‘cloud tomb sweeping’ services by local governments. The service includes a live streaming of the tomb sweeping event on the government platform WeChat, that people can watch from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Czech chimps learn the art of zoom

Communications, Europe, General, Main, Technology News

In the past year of ‘strange and unprecedented times’, it’s hard to believe there is anything surprising left that could be newsworthy. Never fear though, because Czech chimps are here to save the day with their noteworthy introduction – and mastery – of the now commonplace zoom call. 

Zoo keepers in the Czech zoo Safari Park Dvur Kralove, which is 135km east of Prague, joined forces with a fellow zoo in Brno, 150km to connect their two troops of chimpanzees by using digital conference software. Whilst even the least tech savvy amongst us has had to get to grips with video call technology, so have the chimps been introduced to what is being called the ‘zoom lifestyle’. 

The zookeeper’s came up with the idea after coronavirus global pandemic lockdown restrictions saw them needing to close their zoos to the public. As highly sociable and intelligent creatures, the zookeepers worried that the chimps were becoming bored with the lack of visitors to watch and keep them entertained. 

While we all may be experiencing the much dreaded zoom fatigue, the chimps on the other hand seem to be loving every minute of their new found online connection. In an uncannily human behaviour, the chimps have even been seen to enact similar behaviours to ourselves such as grabbing a snack to watch the TVs with. 

This fevor of interest surrounding the TV was initially one of caution, with the chimps showing fear of the large lit up and moving image boxes. After a period of time however, the chimps became more familiar with the screens and have started to interact with the other chimps on the call. 

Gabriela Linhartova, ape keeper at Dvur Kralove, said of the chimps: “At the beginning they approached the screen with defensive or threatening gestures,” before they eventually warmed up to the screens.

Australia media bill close to a decision with Google and Facebook

Australia, Business, Communications, Countries, Digital Systems Technology, Government, Info Tech, North America, Politics, Regulation News, Social Media, Technology, Technology News, USA

Google and Facebook have been making headlines in Australia, as well as around the world, thanks to the media deal currently in discussion with the Australian government. The deal, which has been in the works since the end of 2021, would require big tech giants such as Google and Facebook to pay local media publishers and online outlets for their news content. 

If successful, the deal would set a precedent around the world for the future of online news. It has faced controversy and resistance from the Big Tech firms who say such rules would run counter to the free hyperlink principles the web was built upon. 

The deal has been dubbed the ‘news media bargaining code’ and first introduced into Australian parliament in December 2020. It would require the larger search engines such as Facebook and Google to pay smaller news outlets for their content or event to appear in search results. 

If the Big Tech firms are unable to come to a deal with smaller, local publishers, the Australian government is set to step in to decide the terms that could see current digital giants expelled from Australia’s online network. In lieu of a commercial deal, government officials would be instrumental in setting a price for such linking. 

Google currently holds an over 94% market share of all online searches in Australia and it is unclear what would replace it if it were to pull out of the Australian market. Facebook likewise has threatened to reduce services on its network and other platforms such as Instagram for Australian users if they feel the deal to be unfavourable to their business. 

This is not the first time the Australian government has gone up against Silicon Valley’s Big Tech firms. In 2018 there was a brief period Amazon restricted access to some of its products due to conflicts with local tax laws before a compromise was reached.

Instagram turns 10 years old!

Communications, General, Networking, North America, Social Media, Start Ups, Technology, Technology News, USA

As the widely used social networking site Instagram turns 10 this year, we take a look at where Instagram started and how it has gone on to become a dominating tech player in the social media market. 

Humble beginnings

Originally started by two Standford graduates, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, it first launched in 2010 with an image posted of a dog and foot by Systrom. The dog in question was a stray in Mexico during a visit, and the featured foot was his girlfriends. Its grainy appearance hued by the dark edges of its filter epitomise what Instagram was for: finding a place for creativity in everyday life thanks to the rise of the mobile smartphone. Since then the founder has gone on to joke he might have ‘tried a little harder’ had he known that it would be the first photograph on the mega-popular social media giant that Instagram went on to become. 

Facebook buy-out

Instagram was barely a toddler and only 18 months old when it was acquired by Facebook in 2012 for an impressive price of $1 billion. The price tag was a talking point for many especially considering the young age of the company. For Instagram’s current 13 workers at the time, the news came as a relative surprise as their humble office migrated to Facebook’s famously large campus office site in California, USA. Facebook has since faced criticism for the acquisition and had to defend itself in the courts where it was accused of anti-competitive mergers and violation of trust laws amongst other tech giants, Google, Amazon and Apple.  

Turning the big 1 – 0 

Since its launch, Instagram has found a way into our daily lives – so much so that many agree they would be lost without it, and many others making their full income from the site. What started as a simple photo-sharing application has gone to become a site for commerce, activism, art, politics and more, with many people still engaging with the site’s primary mission to inspire creativity in its users.

16 year old Miami highschool student hacks school system

Big Data, Business, Communications, Data Management & Networks, Digital Systems Technology, Education, Government, North America, Politics, Regulation News, Software, Technology, Technology News

It’s every kids dream for school to be cancelled, but for many students 2020 has already been stressful enough. Students in Florida, USA however were shocked to find themselves locked out of their online classrooms come the first day of term this September. Having to adapt to new online learning environments already, students found themselves rightfully confused by their failed attempts for online access. 

So what happened?

Miami-Dade Schools’ online classes were brought down, a crash of the entire school system that saw students locked out of their online classes for the first three days back to school. Students and teachers alike however were taken a back to find out this was not the result of a complex hacking attack or situation: it was a 16 year student from the same school district. An unlikely teenager to carry out the attack, the result made national and international news headlines.

The 275,000 students in the school’s districts who tried to log on that morning found the system to be overloaded by data. The 16 year old junior in high school – who’s personal details have not been released – was called ‘polite’ and ‘intelligent’ by his neighbours. One neighbour, a Ben Herrera was quoted by the Miami Herald as saying: “He’s an awesome kid, […] What saddens me is how he’s going to be portrayed, and we’ve got to realize with this pandemic that kids are bored, isolated, stuck with too much time on their hands and maybe they do something irresponsible.” 
While neighbours might be showing sympathy for the boy, the school district is persuing their multiple charges of Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks. The boy claims his attack was constituted from a free and easily available free software download, which begs the question: why was the My School Online learning platform so vulnerable to an amateur attack?

Trump pooh-poohs potential TikTok deal

Big Data, Business, China, Communications, General, Government, Info Tech, Main, North America, Social Media, Technology News

The TikTok saga continues in the US, with Donny Trump expressing a lack of enthusiasm over the prospect of American tech company Oracle taking over the popular video app (or at least part of it). Details of Oracle’s bid are expected any time now, but Trump has already poured cold water on the idea.

“I’m not prepared to sign off on anything. I have to see the deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday.“It has to be 100 percent as far as national security is concerned.”

Trump, along with many others in Washington, maintains that TikTok represents a threat to US national security. The argument is that ByteDance has a sort of 2 way radio going with the Chinese Communist Party, collecting data from American TikTok users (there are reportedly 100 million of them) and then handing it over to Beijing.

ByteDance denies that such a relationship exists but, needless to say, Washington isn’t convinced. In August Trump has announced that he will ban the app in the US unless ByteDance sells it to an American company. In addition to the privacy concerns, Trump alleged that TikTok “censors content that the Chinese Communist Party deems politically sensitive.” It also serves as a platform for political disinformation, he charged.

At first it appeared that Microsoft would save the day, but talks with ByteDance fell through, opening the door for Oracle.

The word now is that Oracle is seeking a minority stake in the Chinese company, rather than taking it over completely. AP reports that, according to the terms of this deal, ByteDance would give control of user data to Oracle and allow the US corporation to review—but not author—code and updates.

Trump stated he would be against such a deal.

“Conceptually, I can tell you I don’t like that,” he said. “If that’s the case, I’m not going to be happy with that.”

Trump was apparently hoping the US government would get a piece of the deal, and was distraught to be told otherwise.

“Amazingly, I find that you’re not allowed to do that,” he told reporters. “If they’re willing to make big payments to the government they’re not allowed because … there’s no legal path to doing that. How foolish can we be?”

The deadline for a deal is 20 September. Whether or not that can be extended is unclear.

Australian police take a page out of the Gestapo playbook

Australia, Big Data, Communications, General, Government, Health

There’s nothing worse than being rousted by the fuzz when you’re in your pajamas—and pregnant to boot. Zoe-Lee Buhler, a 28 year old from Ballarat, knows what that’s like. On Wednesday Buhler was confronted in her home by Victorian police who arrested her for encouraging Australians to protest the government’s lockdown policies on Facebook.

She has been charged with the crime of incitement, which means Australian Federal Police (AFP) police checks aren’t not going to be her friend going forward.

Here is what “incitement” looks like in 2020: “Anyone from Ballarat please join us in our fight for freedom and human rights!” Buhler posted that on Facebook 30 August.

Footage of Buhler’s arrest was livestreamed on Facebook and has been viewed millions of times. The video begins with Buhler, who is clad in pink flannel pajamas, asking the officers to produce a search warrant, which they subsequently do.

“You’re under arrest in relation to incitement,” one of the officers says.

Buhler expresses shock and, as she is handcuffed, explains that she has an appointment for an ultrasound in one hour.

When the officer tells her that she is being arrested for posting about anti-lockdown demonstrations on Facebook, Buhler protests that she wasn’t violating any laws by doing so.

“You are, actually,” the officer replies. “You are breaking the law. That’s why I’m arresting you.”

Buhler and her husband both suggest that the police allow them to remove the offending Facebook post rather than take her to jail, which they maintain is “unfair” and “ridiculous.” But that doesn’t deter the officer, who states that, in accordance with the search warrant, they will be seizing any computers or mobile devices they find in the house, regardless of who they belong to.

Reminder: this took place in Australia, not Bahrain.

Police later announced that “Those still thinking of attending the protest in Ballarat on Saturday can expect a swift and firm response from police. We will have no hesitation in issuing $1,652 fines to anyone who is breaching the restrictions on the day, or making arrests if necessary.”

Reporters caught up with Buhler the following day. She expressed regret and accused herself of suffering “a bit of a bimbo moment.”