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Hashtag Trending Nov.24- AI brings massive internet traffic; Big Box retailers give up on self checkout; Altman dismissed because AI could do math?

November 24, 2023/in Internet Security

AI has resulted in a massive traffic surge on the internet. Big Box retailers are backing away from self check-out. And did Sam Altman get fired because AI could do simple math?

These and more top tech stories on Hashtag Trending

I’m your host Jim Love, CIO of IT World Canada and Tech News Day in the US.

Dozens of news outlets have reported that OpenAI was reportedly working on an advanced artificial intelligence model, called Q* or “Q-Star in OpenAI documents,” which raised significant safety concerns among its researchers. This model, capable of solving relatively simple math problems, represents a notable advancement in AI development.

Why? It sounds ridiculous. After all, computers can do math. Yes they can, but we forget that every instruction that makes that work is programmed in by a human.

We’re talking about a computer intelligence that can reason through mathematical problems where the methods are not pre-programmed. This is, for many, early evidence of a machine intelligence that can learn by itself without the need for human intervention.

Andrew Rogoyski of the University of Surrey’s Institute for People-Centred AI commented on the significance of a large language model (LLM) capable of solving mathematical problems, calling it a major step forward in AI’s analytical capabilities.

Altman himself has hinted at this in a Wall Street Journal interview where he said that it was possible that in the future, AI wouldn’t require massive amounts of data from the internet and other sources. Some have taken this to mean that OpenAI had developed a way for AI to not only learn, but to actually teach other models by creating virtual data.

This would be a massive breakthrough.

Which is why there are stories about researchers at OpenAI being alarmed by Q*’s capabilities that they wrote to the board of directors, warning that it could pose a threat to humanity.

Some are speculating that it was these developments that led to the general panic and the dismissal of CEO Sam Altman.

All this has reignited discussions on the pace at which companies like OpenAI are advancing toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a level of AI that can perform…

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Watchdog says it won’t give in to hackers’ blackmail

September 22, 2023/in Computer Security

The Consumer Council on Friday confirmed it has been the victim of a hacking attack, saying it won’t pay a blackmail demand and will only find out exactly what data has been stolen when it gets leaked on the internet.

The watchdog said its computer system was hacked on Wednesday and was told to pay a ransom of US$700,000 to prevent the stolen data from being made public.

The hackers are offering a US$200,000 discount if the ransom is paid by 11.20pm on Saturday.

The attack comes just weeks after government-owned Cyberport also fell prey to hackers who stole personal information on various individuals linked to the technology park.

The Consumer Council said it wasn’t sure what data has been stolen from its system, but it could include ID and phone numbers of current and former staff, their relatives, as well as job applicants.

The watchdog said the breach might also affect some 8,000 subscribers to its CHOICE magazine.

“Because we will definitely not pay the ransom, we will probably need to wait after the ransom deadline and the attackers leak the stolen data to determine what data has exactly been stolen,” said Gilly Wong, the council’s chief executive.

At a press briefing, chairman Clement Chan said the hacking incident has caused disruption to the council’s services.

“The attack has resulted in almost 80 percent damage of the computer system, causing disruption to its hotline services and update of price comparison tools,” said Chan.

“The council has taken immediate action to strengthen the security measures of the system to prevent further attacks by the hacker, whilst appointing a forensic expert immediately to conduct investigations. Hotline services have currently resumed after emergency repairs.”

The council said it would reach out to potential victims of the breach in the next few days, adding that it has also reported the incident to the police and the privacy watchdog.

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Claiming a ‘computer crime’ shouldn’t give police a free pass to raid newspapers

August 31, 2023/in Computer Security

This month, police officers in Marion, Kan., crashed into the newsroom of the Marion County Record, a weekly newspaper, and the home of its publisher to seize computers, cellphones and documents. After several days of public outcry, the county attorney ordered the material returned.

Newsroom searches are rare today because a 1980 federal law makes them almost always illegal. But the outcry goes back to colonial days, when British-loyalist redcoats raided revolutionary American pamphleteers. Such searches were seen as the ultimate attack on the free press. In the infamous 1971 search of the Stanford Daily, for example, Palo Alto police were seeking photographs to tie Vietnam War protesters to a violent clash on campus. After the Supreme Court refused to offer protection from such raids, Congress passed the 1980 statute, making newsroom searches far less of a threat.

Instead, the Marion case highlights a separate, systemic threat to press freedom: vague and sweeping computer crime laws, which exist in all 50 states. These laws can be readily used to intimidate reporters and suppress reporting without raiding their offices.

The Marion raid appears to be the first time public officials have searched a newspaper under the claim of enforcing a computer crime law. The search warrant in that case listed violations of statutes covering identity theft and “unlawful acts concerning computers.”

The state computer crime statute applies when someone breaks into a computer network with malware or uses another person’s information to steal money from their bank account. But these laws are so vague that they can be deployed to penalize reporters for using computers to find information online as part of routine journalism.

In Missouri, for instance, a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discovered a serious flaw in a state website that put the security of thousands of Social Security numbers at risk. He alerted the state agency so it could fix the issue before he published…

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WCC Corner: How to stay cyber-safe — give malware the boot

September 24, 2022/in Computer Security

Wilson Community College, in partnership with Greenlight and Gig East, is hosting a free virtual event soon, and anyone is welcome to attend. In fact, this is the fourth time we’ve partnered with them to host an event of this nature.

“Cyber Safe in the Gigabit City v4.0: Give Malware the Boot!” is set for Thursday, Oct. 6, from 10-11:30 am. You’ll get to hear from a panel of local business and industry experts on malware, its common infection paths, the types of information malware can steal from a compromised system and how to defend against malware.

“There are very few aspects of our lives now that do not have some type of fingerprint online. It’s more important than ever for people to be aware of ways to protect themselves from cybercriminal activity. This annual event gives our community the opportunity to hear from the best of the best on how to do just that,” said Wes Hill, dean of continuing education at WCC.

WCC’s information technology instructor, Kendra Faulkner, said, “We are so excited to continue this event for a fourth year, and even better, hear about cybersecurity from a military perspective.”

This year’s keynote speaker is Alex Reinwald, cyber-threat intelligence division chief for the North Carolina National Guard’s Cyber Security Response Force. His previous duty assignments include Japan, South Korea, Arizona and Alaska. He holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Alabama and a master’s in geographic information science and technology from North Carolina State University.

He has twice led the fusion and intelligence cell for the largest unclassified cyber incident response exercise in the United States. He currently holds GIAC certified incident handler, GIAC penetration tester, GIAC cyber threat intelligence and GIAC information security professional SANS certifications.

Our panelists include Fred White, network technician for the city of Wilson/Greenlight Community Broadband; Joseph Vellucci, technician/project manager for Computer Central; Nona Young, network security specialist for the N.C. Department of Information Technology; and Susan Weekley, IT…

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