New researches

Friday, June 10, 2022

Hurricane Agnes, Editing Finding Aids, Yubo, More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 9, 2022

Hurricane Agnes, Editing Finding Aids, Yubo, More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 9, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Fox43: New website marks the 50th anniversary of Hurricane Agnes, highlights efforts to prepare for future storms. “As the 50th anniversary of the storm nears, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and emergency management leaders from several states affected by the hurricane have teamed up to create a new website that chronicles the history of Hurricane Agnes and highlights efforts to prepare for future storms.”

University of North Carolina: University Libraries releases guide to conscious editing for finding aids and catalog records. “The guide compiles practices that staff at the Wilson Special Collections Library have refined as they update, edit and create new archival finding aids. Finding aids are documents that describe the contents of archival collections. They help researchers identify materials of potential interest.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

ABC News: Yubo app allegedly used by Uvalde gunman adds new ‘safety features’ following shooting. “Representatives of the social media app Yubo said on Tuesday that the platform is adding new safety features and updating its usage guidelines following news that the accused Robb Elementary School gunman allegedly used the app to send disturbing messages that appear to have gone unnoticed in the days leading up to the deadly shooting.”

Engadget: Google adds auto-transcription and simplified grading to its education tools. “Many students have returned to in-person classes, but that isn’t stopping Google from making online education more viable. The company has updated Classroom and Workspace for Education with a host of features that improve life for teachers and students alike.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: 7 Apps That Let You Stream Local News for Free. “If you have cut the cord, accessing local news through your TV can be complicated. The good news is you don’t need a costly cable package to stay on top of what’s happening in your neighborhood. Nowadays, there are plenty of free sites and apps that let you stream local news directly to your TV or smartphone. Here are our top picks if you’d like to stream local news channels for free.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Rolling Stone: The Jan. 6 Committee Wants Twitter’s Internal Slack Messages. Twitter Is Fighting It. “Twitter is fighting a Jan. 6 committee request for its employees’ internal communications — including Slack messages about moderating Tweets related to the Capitol attack, three sources familiar with the matter tell Rolling stone.”

New York Times: How ‘Trustless’ Is Bitcoin, Really?. “In myth, the cryptocurrency is egalitarian, decentralized and all but anonymous. The reality is very different, scientists have found.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Ars Technica: Making blockchain stop wasting energy by getting it to manage energy. “One of the worst features of blockchain technologies like cryptocurrency and NFTs is their horrific energy use. When we should be wringing every bit of efficiency out of our electricity use, most blockchains require computers to perform pointless calculations repeatedly. The obvious solution is to base blockchains on useful calculations—something we might need to do anyway…. A paper released this week adds another option to this list.”

PR Newswire: Deep Analytics Opens EOD Data Hub for Beta Testing by Explosive Ordnance Disposal Experts (PRESS RELEASE). “Deep Analytics LLC, a leading developer of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for the DoD, has completed initial development of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) image data hub where experts can share photographs and details of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The EOD Data Hub is now open for beta testing by military ordnance disposal personnel and public safety bomb technicians.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

CFB Esquimalt Lookout Navy News: Electronics technician establishes digital library in the Congo. “The digital library employs [Nzolantima] Swasisa’s high-tech invention called Lokole – a tiny black box of computer components that harnesses free satellite internet signals available in Africa. It can provide web and email access within a 25-metre radius for 100 users. Swasisa notes only 18 per cent of Congo’s 90 million citizens have internet access.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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June 10, 2022 at 01:05AM
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Facebook Update, June 9, 2022

Facebook Update, June 9, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Axios: Meta reorganization aims to decentralize Facebook’s AI efforts. “Facebook parent Meta announced a broad reorganization of its AI efforts Thursday, a move that will embed more work within product teams and will also see a top AI executive leave the company. Why it matters: Like rivals Google and Microsoft, Meta is looking to make sure that machine learning and AI are used broadly throughout the company, not locked away in research units.”

Washington Post: Top executive Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Facebook. “Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg is leaving the company, she announced Wednesday in a post on the flagship site.”

CNET: Facebook Parent Meta to Change Stock Ticker Symbol to META on June 9. “Facebook parent company Meta Platforms said Tuesday its stock will begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol META on June 9, replacing the FB symbol it went public with a little more than a decade ago.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

CNN: Sheryl Sandberg’s complicated legacy at Facebook. “In the hours after Sandberg announced her planned departure on Wednesday, she was praised by a number of prominent figures in tech and media…. Other industry watchers, however, stressed the negative impacts from Facebook that emerged during her watch and pointed the finger at her for not doing more to prevent them.”

Axios: Sheryl Sandberg’s advertising jackpot. “Sheryl Sandberg grew Meta’s revenue from $272 million in 2008 to nearly $118 billion in 2021. That’s over 43,000% higher. Why it matters: Depending on who you ask, the corporate growth story she’s responsible for is one of the most impressive in history — or one of the most reckless.”

CNBC: Javier Olivan, who’s replacing Sheryl Sandberg at Meta, built his career on international expansion. “Sheryl Sandberg is one of the most visible figures in Silicon Valley. Javier ‘Javi’ Olivan, who’s succeeding Sandberg as operating chief at Facebook owner Meta, is a virtual unknown off campus.”

indy100: OnlyFans creator says she had sex with Facebook employees to get Instagram account back. “OnlyFans creator Kitty Lixo spilt the beans on the No Jumper podcast where she explained how she managed to get her profile (with over 196,000 followers) restored after she slept with Meta employees (previously known as Facebook).”

SECURITY & LEGAL

NBC News: Family sues Meta, blames Instagram for daughter’s eating disorder and self-harm. “The case was filed on behalf of Alexis Spence, who was able to create her first Instagram account at the age of 11 without her parents’ knowledge and in violation of the platform’s minimum age requirement of 13. The complaint alleges that Instagram’s artificial intelligence engine almost immediately steered the then-fifth grader into an echo chamber of content glorifying anorexia and self-cutting, and systematically fostered her addiction to using the app. The lawsuit was filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center, a Seattle-based group that advocates for families of teens harmed online.”

Gizmodo: Meta’s Updated Privacy Policy Is a Simplified (And Terrifying) Explanation of What Data They’re Constantly Capturing . “The company formerly known as Facebook wants you to know it takes your privacy seriously. Giving you the illusion of control with a flashy re-designed Privacy Policy that details the alarming amount of data Meta has access to. With your consent, of course.”

CNET: Peter Thiel Departs Meta Board, Shareholder Proposals Voted Down. “Peter Thiel, an early investor in Facebook, departed the board of social network’s parent on Wednesday, as Meta shareholders rejected most proposals voted on at the company’s annual meeting on Wednesday. Thiel’s departure was expected. A board member since 2005, he said in February he wouldn’t seek reelection to the company’s board.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

NBC News: Facebook’s 2018 algorithm change boosted local GOP groups, research finds. “A change to Facebook’s recommendation system likely accounted for a disproportionate boost in visibility and engagement to conservative political groups on the social media platform starting in 2018, according to research published Wednesday. The research, published in the journal Research & Politics, looked at posts from the pages of nearly every county party in the U.S. and found a marked increase in shares, comments and reactions to Republican posts.”

Phys .org: 1 in 5 state GOP lawmakers in far-right Facebook groups, study says. “In a year-long review of the 7,383 seats in state legislatures in the 2021-2022 session, the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights (IREHR) found that 4,011 seats were held by Republicans. Of those GOP lawmakers, 872—21.74%—had joined far-right Facebook groups, according to the report, ‘Breaching the Mainstream.'”

June 9, 2022 at 06:52PM
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Early Florida Parish Archives, Iowa Election Misinformation, Black Art of the PNW, More: Thursday ResearchBuzz, June 9, 2022

Early Florida Parish Archives, Iowa Election Misinformation, Black Art of the PNW, More: Thursday ResearchBuzz, June 9, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

University of South Florida: New “Lost Voices” exhibit translates and digitizes America’s oldest parish archive to provide rare insight into early Florida history. “A new online exhibit launched today by the University of South Florida’s La Florida: The Interactive Digital Archives of the Americas will provide the public with unprecedented insight into the daily lives and relationships of the multi-ethnic population that comprised St. Augustine, Fla. from the 16th-19th centuries. The Florida city is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the continental U.S.” This is part one of a two-part release. The second part will be released “later this year” according to the announcement.

KWWL: Secretary of State Paul Pate launches website to counter election misinformation. “Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has officially launched a new website today aimed at countering election misinformation ahead of today’s Primaries. The site contains a ‘Myth vs. Fact’ section that offers a breakdown of the security measures taking place to protect elections.”

Seattle Art Beat Blog: Crosscut launches Black Arts Legacies showcasing contemporary and historic Black creators in the Northwest. “Crosscut today launched Black Arts Legacies, a digital archive highlighting the roles Black artists have played in the Northwest’s cultural landscape. For its debut, Black Arts Legacies is featuring 26 creatives spanning decades and artistic disciplines.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The Verge: Education Chromebooks are getting Figma, a very cool set of design tools. “Google for Education has announced a new partnership with Figma. The companies will bring Figma’s design and prototyping platform as well as its collaborative whiteboarding app FigJam to education Chromebooks. Schools can apply now to the beta program, which will begin over the summer.”

Thunderbird Blog: Welcome To The Thunderbird 102 Beta! Resources, Links, And Guides. “The wait for this year’s major new Thunderbird release is almost over! But you can test-drive many of the new features like the brand new Address Book, Matrix Chat support, import/export wizard, and refreshed visuals right now with the Thunderbird 102 Beta. Better still, you might be directly responsible for improving the final product via your feedback and bug reports.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

The Guardian: ABC to abolish 58 librarian and archivist jobs with journalists to do archival work . This is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, not the American network. “Archivists and librarians at the ABC are in shock after management unveiled plans to abolish 58 positions and make journalists research and archive their own stories. Reporters and producers working on breaking news, news programs and daily programs like 7.30 will have to search for archival material themselves and will be expected to log the metadata of any new material into the system.”

The Register: Makers of ad blockers and browser privacy extensions fear the end is near. “Seven months from now, assuming all goes as planned, Google Chrome will drop support for its legacy extension platform, known as Manifest v2 (Mv2). This is significant if you use a browser extension to, for instance, filter out certain kinds of content and safeguard your privacy.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Bleeping Computer: US: Chinese govt hackers breached telcos to snoop on network traffic. “Several US federal agencies today revealed that Chinese-backed threat actors have targeted and compromised major telecommunications companies and network service providers to steal credentials and harvest data. As the NSA, CISA, and the FBI said in a joint cybersecurity advisory published on Tuesday, Chinese hacking groups have exploited publicly known vulnerabilities to breach anything from unpatched small office/home office (SOHO) routers to medium and even large enterprise networks.”

WIRED: Disinfo and Hate Speech Flood TikTok Ahead of Kenya’s Elections. “LAST AUGUST THE TikTok account @aironixon shared a video intercutting scenes from Netflix’s docuseries How to Become a Tyrant with videos and screenshots of Kenyan deputy president and presidential candidate William Ruto…. The video is one of 130 identified by Mozilla Foundation fellow Odanga Madung, who has detailed his findings in a new report. Altogether, Madung found hate speech and disinformation in videos that accrued over 4 million views after being shared by 33 TikTok accounts.”

NBC News: Hospitals are required to post prices for common procedures. Few do.. “The Hospital Price Transparency Law is intended to make the hidden costs of services such as X-rays, medical tests or colonoscopies clear to patients before they enter the hospital. But a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association added to mounting evidence that hospitals are largely ignoring the law.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Cornell University: Tear down academic silos: Take an ‘undisciplinary’ approach. “Solving societal problems such as climate change could require dismantling rigid academic boundaries, so that researchers from varying disciplines could work together collaboratively – through an ‘undisciplinary’ approach, a new Cornell study suggests. Instead of rallying around a specific mission, it’s best to incorporate a human approach and fixate on the process to find solutions. The work published May 16 in Nature’s Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.”

US Department of Education: Funding Available to Support Native Language Revitalization. “Advancing its commitment to maintaining, protecting, and revitalizing Native American languages – the U.S. Department of Education has announced approximately $1 million in grant funding available for Native American Language (NAL@ED) projects.” Good morning, Internet…

June 9, 2022 at 05:31PM
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Mobile Networked Creativity Repository, Minnesota Water Quality, EU Device Standards, More: Wednesday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 8, 2022

Mobile Networked Creativity Repository, Minnesota Water Quality, EU Device Standards, More: Wednesday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 8, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

North Carolina State University: Creativity as Survival: Crowdsourcing Unexpected Ways We Use Technology. “I’m part of a team of researchers that is collecting examples of how people are using mobile, networked technologies to accomplish unexpected things – from improving local transportation in low-income communities to sharing information about public health. To identify examples of these innovative efforts, we are enlisting the public’s help. We’ve created a website called the Mobile Networked Creativity Repository to crowdsource examples from around the world.”

State of Minnesota: State rolls out dashboard showing PFAS monitoring results for drinking water . “Minnesota residents who get their drinking water from a community public water system will now be able to find out if their system’s water has any level of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), through an interactive online dashboard unveiled today by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Engadget: EU reaches deal to make USB-C a common charger for most electronic devices. “Europe has reached a deal to make USB-C a common charger for all phones and electronic devices, with the aim to reduce e-waste and inconvenience with incompatible chargers.”

CNET: TikTok Adds Avatars Similar to Apple’s Memoji. “TikTok users can now animate themselves with the latest app feature, TikTok Avatars, the short-form video platform said Tuesday.”

USEFUL STUFF

Gizmodo: It’s Time To Clean Up Your Social Media Profiles. “Here we’ll take you through the steps needed to update your profiles on most of the major social networks, and guide you through the options that are available—some of which you may not be aware of. We’re going to concentrate on the web interfaces, where there’s more room to operate on a bigger screen, but these options are available on mobile too.”

Search Engine Journal: Tips For Avoiding Misinformation In SEO Resources & Conversations. “For every idea proposed, there are others in the SEO industry who disagree. Turning to Google for help isn’t always helpful because Google ranks information about SEO that Googlers themselves are on record saying is wrong. There is a way to cut through the noise and figure out which information is likely valid and which information is smoke and mirrors.” I can’t stand SEO because so much of what’s out there is garbage. This is a helpful article for cutting through the junk.

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

South China Morning Post: China and US locked in new infowar after Chinese social media claims American manipulation over Xinjiang. “Beijing and Washington are locked in another round of narrative wars over an unsubstantiated claim that US diplomats had admitted human rights issues in Xinjiang were made up to undermine China. In a statement emailed on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the US embassy urged China to stop attributing false statements to American officials that could make them targets for harassment.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

WIRED: The Hacker Gold Rush That’s Poised to Eclipse Ransomware. “At the RSA security conference in San Francisco on Monday, longtime digital scams researcher Crane Hassold will present findings that warn it would be logical for ransomware actors to eventually convert their operations to business email compromise (BEC) attacks as ransomware becomes less profitable or carries a higher risk for attackers. In the US, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has repeatedly found that total money stolen in BEC scams far exceeds that pilfered in ransomware attacks—though ransomware attacks can be more visible and cause more disruption and associated losses.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Concordia University: Government websites and apps use the same tracking software as commercial ones, according to new Concordia research. “It’s no secret that the commercial websites and mobile apps we use every day are tracking us. Big companies like Facebook and Google depend on it. However, as a new paper by a team of Concordia researchers shows, businesses are not the only ones gathering up our private data. Governments across the world are incorporating the same tracking tools and empowering large businesses to track users of government services, even in jurisdictions where lawmakers are enacting legislation to restrict commercial trackers.”

Vox EU: Mobile internet access and the desire to emigrate. “The mobile internet has changed how people live, work, and exchange information. Fast broadband can boost household income and affect political awareness. This column examines how 3G mobile internet rollout affects people’s desire and plans to emigrate. Increases in 3G coverage raise individuals’ desire and plans to emigrate, especially for those who do not have networks abroad, while it negatively affects perceptions of relative financial wellbeing and trust in the government. Internet access may be boosting the desire to emigrate while reducing the costs of finding information on opportunities abroad.” Good afternoon, Internet…

June 9, 2022 at 12:14AM
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WordPress Plugins, South London Gay Community Centre, Photogrammetry for Journalists, More: Wednesday ResearchBuzz, June 8, 2022

WordPress Plugins, South London Gay Community Centre, Photogrammetry for Journalists, More: Wednesday ResearchBuzz, June 8, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

WP Tavern: rtCamp Launches WordPress Plugin Compare Project. “The team behind rtCamp, a 125-person agency and a WordPress VIP Gold agency partner, has launched a new tool called WordPress Plugin Compare Project (WPPC) to help users extend WordPress with the right plugins for their needs. WPPC lets users search for plugins to compare and customize each selection displayed on [a] chart.”

Brixton Buzz (no relation): Revolting Gays: new website documents the South London Gay Community Centre and the Brixton gay squatting scene, 1970s – early1980s. “Telling the story of the South London Gay Community Centre and the Brixton gay squatting community from the 1970s to the early 1980s, the website documents a seemingly disparate group of gay men and their attempts to live together communally. Containing written text, photographs, podcasts, videos and art works, the Revolting Gays website will go live on June 24th this year.”

EVENTS

Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: Learn how to capture the world in 3D: Sign up for this free online course on photogrammetry for journalists. “Photogrammetry allows journalists to tell stories about the world around them by creating three-dimensional replicas from photographs. Learn more about the photogrammetric process and how it can be used for journalism in a new free online course from the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.”

USEFUL STUFF

PC World: Best remote desktop software: From casual use to business deployment. “The fascinating and incredibly useful remote-desktop software that allows you to operate another computer over a long distance as if it were your own is now two decades old. But while it’s not new, faster networking and broadband has rendered the remote desktop experience far speedier and more enjoyable. Under optimal conditions, it’s nearly as facile as being there in person.”

From MakeUseOf, for a given value of “Useful”: The 5 Best Free Random Decision Makers. “If you’re trying to make a light-hearted, a random decision maker can help you to more easily make an unbiased decision. It can save you time and prevent overthinking. Of course, they won’t be suitable for large, life-altering decisions–you’ll need to ponder over those, sorry!”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

New York Times: Don’t Believe Everything You Read About the Man in This Photo. “There is no ‘Bernie,’ he’s not a crisis actor, and news organizations are not behind the posts. And the photo? It is of a 36-year-old online gamer, Jordie Jordan. He’s alive, and he had nothing to do with the posts. Instead, the posts are part of a yearslong harassment campaign against him, taking place on online platforms like Twitter, Reddit and Discord.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNET: Crypto Scams Have Cost Consumers More Than $1 Billion, FTC Says. “Crypto scams have cost consumers more than $1 billion since the start of 2021, according to a new Federal Trade Commission analysis. The numbers, which are based on losses reported by consumers from January 2021 through March 2022, also show that crypto is becoming the payment of choice for many scammers, accounting for about one in every four dollars lost to fraud, the FTC says.”

Politico: Discord hires first lobbyists. “The popular online text, video and voice chat app Discord has hired its first federal lobbyists. Monument Advocacy’s Stewart Verdery, Ashley Hoy, Andrew Howell, Joseph Hoefer and Jeff Gary will lobby on privacy and content moderation issues for the platform, which initially found a huge base among gamers but exploded in popularity during the pandemic.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

WIRED: ‘Civic Fan Fiction’ Makes Politics a Dysfunctional Team Sport. “Stories bind us together, and woe betide anyone who forgets it; there is no perfectly rational and coldly logical way to replace the role of narrative in our lives. We’re meaning-making machines. More than anything else, that is what makes us human: the ability to imbue the inherently meaningless with the most elaborate and consequential of meanings. When it comes to politics, that means storytelling is often at the heart of it, and stories need heroes, villains, and narrative arcs. It’s easier and more satisfying.”

Michigan Daily: TikTok: Proof that we’re living in a simulation. “While it’s fun to imagine that there is a conspiracy behind TikTok’s apparent telepathy, the reality is I have zero proof of a simulation and plenty of proof of the existence of my very real and very human brain, which is simply recognizing a pattern between events in my own life and the things that I observe online. But I do concede that whenever an oddly specific TikTok pops up on my For You page, it feels too accurate to just be chance. So what’s really going on?”

Engadget: Oregon is shutting down its controversial child welfare AI in June. “A number of states across the country have already implemented, or are considering, similar algorithms within their child welfare agencies. But as with Northpointe’s COMPAS before them, their implementation have raised concerns about the transparency and reliability of the process as well as their clear tendency towards racial bias. However, the Allegheny developers did note that their tool was just that and was never intended to operate on its own without direct human oversight.” Good morning, Internet…

June 8, 2022 at 05:27PM
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Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Animal Traits, Espacio Latino, WWDC, More: Tuesday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 7, 2022

Animal Traits, Espacio Latino, WWDC, More: Tuesday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, June 7, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Nature: AnimalTraits – a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size. “Trait databases have become important resources for large-scale comparative studies in ecology and evolution. Here we introduce the AnimalTraits database, a curated database of body mass, metabolic rate and brain size, in standardised units, for terrestrial animals. The database has broad taxonomic breadth, including tetrapods, arthropods, molluscs and annelids from almost 2000 species and 1000 genera.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Deadline: Roku Channel Launches Free Hispanic Streaming Hub Espacio Latino. “Roku is launching Espacio Latino, a free streaming hub for Hispanic programming, on the Roku Channel. With more than 61 million active accounts as of March 31, Roku is a leading gateway for streaming, and one of its most popular offerings is the Roku Channel, a mix of free and paid on-demand and linear services with reach to some 80 million households.”

TechCrunch: Here’s everything Apple just announced at the WWDC 2022 keynote. “It’s WWDC keynote time! Each year Apple kicks off its Worldwide Developer Conference with a few hours of back-to-back-to-back announcements, generally covering things from iOS to watchOS to — sometimes! — new hardware. Didn’t have time to tune in? We get it! We’ve wrapped up all of the biggest news in an easy-to-skim digest.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Brown University: Grant to support Brown-led global oral history project on slavery’s legacy . “With support from the grant, researchers at Brown’s Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice will collaborate with an international network of scholars in Senegal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, Brazil and beyond to host public conversations, capture video narratives and record oral histories that seek to answer two important questions: How did slavery and colonialism shape these places, and how did they shape the world as a whole?”

The Verge: Google Contractors Say A Recruiting Company Has Been Systematically Skimming Their Pay . “A group of Google contractors says they’ve been underpaid by the agency that recruited them, resulting in thousands of dollars in unpaid wages per affected worker. The earliest reports occurred as long ago as 2019, and workers say the payroll errors are happening so regularly that they believe it to be a kind of systematic wage theft.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Bleeping Computer: Italian city of Palermo shuts down all systems to fend off cyberattack. “The municipality of Palermo in Southern Italy suffered a cyberattack on Friday, which appears to have had a massive impact on a broad range of operations and services to both citizens and visiting tourists. Palermo is home to about 1.3 million people, the fifth most populous city in Italy. The area is visited by another 2.3 million tourists every year. Although local IT experts have been trying to restore the systems for the past three days, all services, public websites, and online portals remain offline.”

South China Morning Post: Tech war: Chinese database software vendor shrugs off sanctions risk on using open-source code from Oracle’s MySQL system. “A Chinese software vendor has brushed aside speculation that its enterprise product, which uses code from Oracle Corp’s MySQL open-source relational database management system, faces the risk of sanctions amid simmering tensions between Washington and Beijing.”

CBS DFW: Texas AG Ken Paxton launches investigation against Twitter. “Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation against Twitter, saying the social media platform may have falsely reported its fake bot accounts, which is a violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Johns Hopkins University: Black Beyond Data. “This is one of [Jessica Marie] Johnson’s passions as a historian. To tell the stories of Black people—particularly Black women—in the Atlantic African diaspora during the centuries of slavery. She highlights the relationships, warmth, and intimacy they created despite the harshest of circumstances, as well as the ways in which they wielded intelligence, creativity, and interpersonal skills to strive for freedom. But Johnson is equally committed to opening access to the myriad amounts of data that contain information about Black life and Black people, both historical and contemporary.”

Purdue University: An edible QR code takes a shot at fake whiskey. “The days of fake whiskey could be numbered, thanks to a team of biomedical engineers from Purdue University and South Korea. The team, led by Young Kim, associate head for research and an associate professor in Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, has developed an QR code on an edible silk tag that manufacturers can place in bottles of whiskey. Consumers can use a smartphone app to confirm the whiskey’s authenticity.” Good afternoon, Internet…

June 8, 2022 at 12:31AM
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Search Engines in Russia, Electronic Warfare, Destroyed Cultural Heritage, More: Ukraine Update, June 7, 2022

Search Engines in Russia, Electronic Warfare, Destroyed Cultural Heritage, More: Ukraine Update, June 7, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

WIRED: Google’s Russian Empire Faces an Uncertain Future. “In 2021, there were more than 91 million YouTube users in Russia, a country of 144 million people, according to data analytics company Statista. But Google’s commercial empire is crumbling. On March 10, the company announced it would suspend all its paid-for services in Russia due to ‘payment system disruption’ linked to Western sanctions. The same month, Google started relocating staff from its Moscow office to other countries, with many moving to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, according to employees’ LinkedIn profiles. In May, Google’s Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy after a court order froze its main bank account.”

The Art Newspaper: Ukraine misses out on UK cultural protection money. “The UK’s Cultural Protection Fund has not got an allocation of money for emergency assistance for Ukraine in the current financial year, The Art Newspaper can disclose…. Although the fund was able to allocate £60,000 for Ukraine in March, no money has been made available in the current financial year, despite the tragic and widespread destruction of heritage buildings and museums which continues unabated.”

Search Engine Land: Yandex CEO and founder resigns following sanctions. “Arkady Volozh, Yandex’s CEO and executive director, resigned from his position, the company announced today. The European Union imposed sanctions on Volozh personally. Yandex has not been sanctioned by the EU, U.S., or UK. Volozh had a 45.3% voting and 8.6% economic interest in Yandex.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

WIRED: Volodymyr Zelensky on War, Technology, and the Future of Ukraine. “In this wide-ranging interview, which has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity, Zelensky called on Big Tech to do more to pull out of Russia, praised Elon Musk’s Starlink, and explained why modern leaders have to appeal to the distracted social media generation. ‘We just live in another time, no longer the time of postmen,’ he said.”

International Business Times: Ukraine Discovers Russian Army’s Propaganda Materials To ‘Achieve Russia’s Goals’ . “Ukrainian officials gained access to several documents where employees of the 5th unit of the Kremlin’s FSB admitted that many Russians still do not understand why the invasion of Ukraine was needed to achieve Russia’s goals. The documents also laid out a plan to justify the war to Russians, including making more propaganda videos.”

Military.com: Meet the Guardsman Helping Ukrainians Blow Up Russian Tanks over the Phone. “Sgt. 1st Class Chris Freymann never thought he’d have such a direct role in the fight against Russian forces invading Ukraine. But as the war raged, he became a kind of ad hoc, over-the-phone tech support for Ukrainians trying to use Javelin missiles while under fire. They messaged with questions; Freymann sent answers. In return, he got photos and videos of the Russian tanks they destroyed.”

Ukrinform: Russia destroyed over 370 cultural heritage sites after 100 days of war – Tkachenko. “Russia has destroyed 370 cultural heritage sites after 100 days of its all-out invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko said this at a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Associated Press: Deadly secret: Electronic warfare shapes Russia-Ukraine war. “On Ukraine’s battlefields, the simple act of powering up a cellphone can beckon a rain of deathly skyfall. Artillery radar and remote controls for unmanned aerial vehicles may also invite fiery shrapnel showers. This is electronic warfare, a critical but largely invisible aspect of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Military commanders largely shun discussing it, fearing they’ll jeopardize operations by revealing secrets.”

OCCRP: Criminal Proxies Offer ‘Perfect Cover’ for Russian Cyber Offensive. “As the West warns of imminent Russian assaults against critical infrastructure, cybersecurity researchers say the Kremlin is likely to rely on criminal rather than state hackers in launching such attacks.”

The Register: Even Russia’s Evil Corp now favors software-as-a-service. “The Russian-based Evil Corp is jumping from one malware strain to another in hopes of evading sanctions placed on it by the US government in 2019. You might be wondering why cyberextortionists in the Land of Putin give a bit flip about US sanctions: as we understand it, the sanctions mean anyone doing business with or handling transactions for gang will face the wrath of Uncle Sam. Evil Corp is therefore radioactive, few will want to interact with it, and the group has to shift its appearance and operations to keep its income flowing.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Observer Research Foundation: The Russia–Ukraine War: Ukraine’s resistance in the face of hybrid warfare. “Almost everyone expected that the Russian war on Ukraine would feature extensive use of cyber weapons. And so it has, but often in ways that were not quite anticipated. In cyber issues, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. So, we hear a great deal about how Russian tanks have been blown up by American Javelin missiles, or the activities of the Turkish Bayraktar drones, but don’t get too many details about the intense digital war which has played a significant role in shaping the conflict.”

National Academies: International Science Academies Meet in Poland to Explore How to Support Ukrainian Science and Researchers. “Yesterday, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Polish Academy of Sciences brought together leaders from the National Academy of Sciences Ukraine (NASU) and several other national science academies for a meeting in Warsaw to identify concrete actions the international science community can take to support Ukrainian researchers and science capabilities.”

June 7, 2022 at 07:07PM
via ResearchBuzz https://ift.tt/qvkzyjO