U.S. Accuses China of Hacking Microsoft

 On Monday, the Biden administration chose to accuse the Chinese government of infiltrating Microsoft databases, which are email systems used by numerous companies, states, and armed forces. Beijing was accused by many of the European Nations, but the United States and Britain made a bolder statement, saying the Chinese government was responsible. They indicated that China's intelligence and criminal groups were the direct perpetrators. The United States made this choice as it rallied a widespread group of partners to condemn it for worldwide cyberattacks. Antony J. Blinken, the Secretary of State, announced that the State Security of China's Ministry had created a network of criminal contract hackers who engage in both state-sponsored and cybercrime for monetary benefit.

The accusation could have caused nations to punish China, but luckily the coalition of nations, including the European Union and all NATO members, chose not to engage. Fortunately, the White House also did not engage in China's accusation, contrasting with what it did to Russia, blaming the country for solar wind attacks that damaged U.S companies. The likelihood of revenge by China was high, so the White House officials were sympathetic to the allegations. According to American officials, the goal was to be diplomatic by getting China, Russia, and other nations to agree on a set of behavioral guidelines rather than weaponry. Furthermore, Europe has beneficial ties with China and has been reluctant to criticize China in the past overtly.  Ultimately, the nations considered the consequences of punishing a nation highly involved in economic ties worldwide.

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/us/politics/microsoft-hacking-china-biden.html

Are banks Over Reliant on the Cloud?

    Cloud services are extremely useful and have had a steady growth in implementation with several companies and systems over the years. For instance, many banks have resorted to using cloud technology to run parts of their infrastructure. With mass adoption, there are some questions being raised. Are banks far too reliant on cloud technologies? Bank of England asks.

“Its concerns stem from cloud adoption making systems more secretive and concentrating sensitive data in the hands of a select few tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft.

The central bank has said it will need “additional policy measures” to make sure it can assess the industry’s IT infrastructure, even when it’s run by third parties.

“Frankly, we’ll have to roll some of that back, that secrecy that goes with it. It’s not consistent with our objectives,” Governor Andrew Bailey told reporters.

The warning follows Deutsche Bank AG moving its most sensitive IT systems into Google’s Cloud. For firms like this, the cloud allows them to spend less on their own data centres while relying on the security and computing power of tech firms. The largest providers include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Cloud.”

It is stated that most banks use cloud technologies to cut costs and reduce resource loss on things like data centers and more. The “problem” those questioning seem to have been an issue with reduced privacy and secrecy within their organizations. With thousands of bits and pieces of organizational and client confidential information in the hands of third parties, banks are looking to roll back.

Resources:

https://cloudcomputing-news.net/news/2021/jul/16/bank-of-england-warns-that-banks-are-overly-reliant-on-cloud/

What is the future of online learning?

Is 4 years of residential college beneficial for students? Since there are several classes that require very little personalization universities are looking at moving those classes online for students allowing them to select their range of classes. This could allow freedom to students that was not offered previously. Through the pandemic students were able to recognize their skill in adapting to a technology based communication system. Our universities were able to adapt too and provide a fast turn around using technology such as Zoom, GroupMe, and Canvas. Students have been able to experience a more independent learning experience, which might not be for everyone, but this could allow a great number of people to attend university who might not otherwise. This also means students have more freedom to take on other opportunities such as internships, hobbies, etc. So could the future of online learning allow students to get back to what really matters, living life? University causes stress and anxiety for many students, could online learning alleviate these problems by allows more freedom to students? As we move into a new phase of “normal” as we return to our in-person classes, we will see how the education system has been changed by online learning and the pandemic forever. 

Self Driving Cars Still Far Off

     Despite the advancements that we are making everyday it still looks like self driving cars will not be fully realized until much later in the future. Getting to the point where our cars can drive us around all on their own without any input from us is not going to be easy to get too. In fact I would not be surprised if it was not until much later in my life before we achieved such a thing. Currently we are struggling with level 4 of self driving cars which is the level at where cars can really start to drive themselves with almost no input from a driver. Level 5 of self driving cars is still quite a ways off and like I said before I would not be surprised if I was a old man by the time we came close to achieving it completely. 

AI Learns To Predict Human Behavior From Videos

 

As humans we are able to pick up on the many versions of body language and process whether it is good or bad, and quickly come up with a reaction to it. Some of the body language I'm speaking of a proper hello, handshake or even a wave. We may not know right away what another human will use but because of our quick processing and awareness of the surrounding area, we are able to read the situation and respond appropriately. Recently, researchers at Columbia Engineering have brought to light a computer vision technique that allows machines a intuitive sense for projecting next moves by capitalizing higher-level correlations between people, animals, and objects. According to Carl Vondrick, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Columbia, "Our Algorithm is a step toward machines being able to make predictions about human behavior, and thus better coordinate their actions with ours". He further stated, "Our results open a number of possibilities for human-robot collaboration, autonomous vehicles, and assistive technology". The researchers claimed this to be the most accurate method that will predict live video events up to seven minutes in the future. In their study, they analyzed thousands of videos and one in particular like The Office. The system processed and predicted various activities that ranged from handshaking to fist bumping. In the past, predictive machine learning ran by other teams have concentrated on prediction of single actions at a time. This would then categorize the action as a hug, high five, handshake, or a non-action. Columbia Engineering with this knowledge chose to approach this by looking at the longer-range prediction problem from a different viewpoint. At the end, the team concluded that the new algorithm would refine accuracy of future predictions on significant tasks than in previous times. However, the next step to ensure this success is to verify that it will work in real world application and not just the lab. If the system can handle various settings, then we can be assured many opportunities await to deploy machines and robots that will greatly improve our safety, health, and security. 

The Digital Divide

This article refers to internet access as broadband. It also covers what this broadband needs to work. So, broadband relies on things such as, 1) a digital subscriber line (DSL),  2) cable modem, 3) fiber optic cable, 4) wireless, 5) satellite, and 6) broadband over powerlines. 

Another term associated with the broadband internet access is the private sector. The private sector includes the people that have the luxury to afford being a subscriber to a private service. It isn't public, because if it were public, internet access would be equally accessible to everyone in America at no cost. Now, with broadband being placed throughout America by the private sector, it should not come with a surprise that the rate of the broadband placement is higher in urban/suburban and high-income areas. The rate of the broadband placement is lower in rural and low-income areas. 

This article defines the digital divide as the gap between those who have adequate broadband internet access and those who do not. 

The telecommunications Act of 1996, noted that there is a digital divide and then led the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to plant more equal broadband services to Americans. In addition, there are federal programs under the FCC. such as the Universal Service Fund (USF) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the Department of Commerce. Since then, the growth in broadband service has increased very well. It went from 2.8 million in December 1999, to 441 million as of December 2018. As of December 2018, 94.4% of the overall population in america had access to fixed terrestrial broadband. 

However, while broadband availability is at 94.4% in America, this does not mean that everyone had adopted it. In 2019, it is reported that 10% of Americans did not use the internet. Pew Research Center also showed that the population that has lower rates of internet include the people with low income, older people(seniors), the less educated, and rural area households. 

Now remember how I explained what the FCC is earlier? Well, the FCC released a 2020 Broadband Deployment report. Their research has shown that tribal/rural lands still continue to face big obstacles to broadband placement. Their research also shows that many people, particularly the rural (low-income) areas, do not have the luxury of high-speed internet or even access to the more advanced services. 

Next, the FCC adopted in October 2020, a fund to pay for the installment of more broadband accessibility in rural and low-income areas. This is distribute up to $9 billion worth of broadband across the country over 10 years.

COVID-19 gave a good picture on the digital divide. Nearly 125,000 schools in the United States closed their doors, which then gave 55 million teachers and students the responsibility of adapting to distance learning. When parents were surveyed, one in five parents said it was likely their child would not be able to complete their homework due to not having access to a computer at home. Or, their child would have to use public Wi-Fi because there was not a reliable internet connection at home. This gave me a pretty good idea of how big the gap is. 1/5 children may not have reliable internet access. Also, in this context, the Digital Divide is also known as the Homework Gap. 

There is a Low Income Program that was established in March 2016 to provide assistance for only one line per household in the form of a monthly subsidy of $9.25 a month. Approximately $1 billion in funding was disbursed under the Low Income Program in 2019. Lastly from this article, it explains that Congress passed an act called The Heroes Act, to modify or expand a wide range of programs and policies including broadband service. To conclude that, with this progress, there are plenty of programs that low-income families can apply for, but they must fit the qualifications for the program. It is still hard for rural areas with a great distance of land between its' inhabitants, for them to get a company to invest in installing a broadband there. This is why there are still areas with no service, because the companies do not see a way for themselves to turn a profit from the costs they would be putting in to install the device. 

Next, I personally still drive through areas in our country where I have no internet access. This isn't just a who can afford internet issue, but it is also still America's problem of getting broadband internet deployed in rural areas. I have noticed when I do not have internet, it is only a rural area. For the sake of people's safety, I hope one day that there will be nowhere on the roads that does not have internet access. It is beyond infuriating when you are on the road, trying to get work done and you lose service. That is a digital divide that can apply to everyone, if they travel and pass through rural areas. At that moment, it isn't just affecting the people that live there, but it is affecting everyone who drives through. Lastly, I say for the sake of people's safety, if someone were to get into an accident and have no internet connectivity, it is very possible that is going to be a person stranded for a while, if they survive the ordeal. America still needs to do better. However, as I stated earlier, the FCC has a $9 billion project for increasing broadband access across the country. I predict that perhaps, throughout the next 10 years, we may begin to see that we will not lose internet connectivity as often we drive through the highways and small roads in the rural areas. Perhaps in 10 years, we will never lose internet connectivity. 

Sources

  Digital Divide: What Is It, Where Is It, and Federal Assistance Programs (R46613). (2021). https://fsu-flvc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01FALSC_FSU/pag4dr/alma99383174272406576

Elon Musk confirms Tesla will not offer a regular steering wheel on new Model S/X

Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla is not going to offer a regular steering wheel option on their new Model S and Model X vehicles. When Tesla first released the new Model S with the  butterfly steering wheel, it was controversial. a lot of people were concerned about the way that the steering wheel was shaped. that it might be a problem  and others about the lack of drive stalk to choose the drive mode. As for the former, we thought that the automaker wouldn’t risk bringing the controversial yoke steering wheel to market without a non-linear steering curve enabled by a steer-by-wire system. Especially knowing that Tesla has been developing a steer-by-wire system. However elon musk has responded saying they are keeping the wheel as it is, and that they will not be making changed to a regular wheel in the future.