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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?

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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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Ransomware Attacks Affected 44% Of All Retailers In The Past Year – CryptoMode

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CryptoMode Costly Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware remains one of the biggest problems society faces today. Even global retailers continue to struggle on this front, with nearly half of them suffering from some attack to date. Unfortunately, one in three still pays the ransom to decrypt data as they do not possess proper backups. 

Ransomware Remains A Booming Business

  • These are trialing times for both physical and online retailers.
  • Protecting a business from harm has become much more challenging, especially where ransomware is concerned.
  • Things got out of hand in Sweden this Summer when Coop had to close all shops due to a ransomware attack on Kaseya, an IT company.
  • Moreover, Sophos research confirms nearly half of all retailers have dealt with such an attack in the past year.
  • Making matters worse is how one in three victims decided to pay the ransom to have files decrypted again.
  • Paying is never the answer in situations like these, as there is no guarantee of getting files back. 
  • The average ransom paymentFujitsu Unveils its Blockchain Asset Service for Retailers and Event Organizers in the past year was $147,811, which is absurdly high. 
  • Of the companies paying, less than one in ten effectively got their data back, confirming they must explore other options first.
  • Ransomware attacks can be harmful in other ways, including rising cyber insurance costs and more marketing/PR expenses to rebuild a brand after an attack. 
  • There are several ways to mitigate [most of] the costs associated with such a cyber attack.
  • Unfortunately, those measures require planning and money, something most companies aren’t willing to invest in right now. 
  • Zero Trust-oriented solutions may prove a valuable ally in the fight against ransomware.
  • All devices and users are labeled as threats and only access parts of the network through pre-set access permissions.
  • Both businesses and governments show increased adoption of Zero Trust solutions, mainly in the United States.
  • Even so, ransomware will remain a pressing problem, and investing in more training and contingency plans remains the best option. 

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Data extortion ransomware attacks on retailers up over 1,000% during pandemic

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Retail organisations reported an increase in ransomware attacks using data extortion in 2020.

According to a new report from global cybersecurity technology company, CrowdStrike, there was a surge in ransomware attacks during the pandemic, with 142 data extortion attacks on retailers in 2020, making it the fourth most-targeted industry globally, up 1,280% by the end of 2020 compared to pre-pandemic in Q1 2020.

Overall during the year data extortion became the most used attack method across all sectors – with 1,430 incidents reported globally in 2020.

Ransomware is malicious software that infects computers and displays messages demanding a fee to be paid in order for a system to work again.

The most targeted sector in 2020 for these kind of attacks was Industrials & Engineering recording 229 successful attacks, followed by Manufacturing at 228 attacks and Technology at 145 attacks.

Although the retail sector may not have been hit the hardest, the estimated economic cost of ransomware attacks on retailers and their associated supply chains could be as high as $85bn to $193bn (£60bn to £138bn) globally.

North America recorded the highest levels of ransomware attacks in 2020 using data extortion at 947 incidents. This is 177% higher than Europe at 342 incidents in second place and 1,313% higher than Asia in third place at 67 incidents.

According to CrowdStrike, 72% of organisations surveyed said they were more concerned about ransomware attacks now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, than before the virus outbreak.

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Data breaches this year hit banks, retailers, medical companies – Komando

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Data breaches this year hit banks, retailers, medical companies  Komando

If you thought the number of data breaches was bad last year, 2019 is looking to be so much worse — think Capital One. So far this year, billions of consumers’ …

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