Meta fined $1.3B for violating EU GDPR data transfer rules on privacy
The Irish Data Protection Commission has levied a record-breaking fine against Facebook's parent company, Meta, for transferring data to the US without data privacy safeguards.
ComputerWorld
Why Apple's iOS 16.6 upgrade will be talk of the town
Apple’s big developer event is approaching, and it looks as if the company will press home its message on privacy as it begins to seed support for the AR operating systems it’s now expected to announce there.
Apple wants to get you updating
As of now, the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) starting June 5 seems set to see Apple introduce its first mixed reality glasses, likely called RealityPro. These will be accompanied by an operating system that recent patent filings suggest will be called xrOS or xrProOS. The event will also see Apple introduce new iterations of its other operating systems, which developers will be able to work with soon after the show.
China bans chip maker Micron from key infrastructure projects
Credit to Author: avenkat@idg.com| Date: Mon, 22 May 2023 05:42:00 -0700
A network security review of Micron products sold in China has revealed that these products pose a significant security risk to the country’s key information infrastructure supply chain, according to the Cyberspace Affairs Commission of China.
Micron is a US memory chip giant that produces computer memory and computer data storage including dynamic random-access memory, flash memory, and USB flash drives. The Chinese authorities have not mentioned which Micron products are banned, what kind of security risk they pose, nor what would happen to existing Micron products that are already in use.
“The review found that Micron’s products have more serious cybersecurity problems and pose significant security risks to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain, affecting China’s national security,” according to a machine translation of a Cyberspace Affairs Commission of China statement.
The fax is still king in healthcare — and it’s not going away anytime soon
The fax — that 1940s technology that exploded in the 1980s and operates by copying an image and transmitting it through squeaks and squawks over a phone line — is still used by a large majority of healthcare providers, insurance payers, and pharmacies.
And it’s simply not going away anytime soon.
As recently as 2019, seven in 10 hospitals were still relying on fax machines and phone lines to transfer and retrieve patient records or order prescriptions, according to the latest figures from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The agency believes there’s been progress since then, but maintains that fax machines remain the most prevalent form of communication for transmitting care records and prescriptions.
Apple bans employees from using ChatGPT. Should you?
Reflecting warnings given earlier, Apple is now among the growing number of businesses banning employees from using OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other similar cloud-based generative AI services in a bid to protect data confidentiality. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has also barred staff from using GitHub’s Copilot tool, which some developers use to help write software.
15 Android settings that'll strengthen your security
You might not know it from all the panic-inducing headlines out there, but Android is actually packed with practical and powerful security options. Some are activated by default and protecting you whether you realize it or not, while others are more out of the way but equally deserving of your attention.
So stop wasting your time worrying about the overhyped Android malware monster du jour and instead take a moment to look through these far more meaningful Android settings — ranging from core system-level elements to some more advanced and easily overlooked options.
Senate hearings see a clear and present danger from AI — and opportunities
There are vital national interests in advancing artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline public services and automate mundane tasks performed by government employees. But the government lacks in both IT talent and systems to support those efforts.
“The federal government as a whole continues to face barriers in hiring, managing, and retaining staff with advanced technical skills — the very skills needed to design, develop, deploy, and monitor AI systems,” said Taka Ariga, chief data scientist at the US Government Accountability Office.
Daniel Ho, associate director for Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) at Stanford University, agreed, saying that by one estimate the federal government would need to hire about 40,000 IT workers to address cybersecurity issues posed by AI.
Google I/O and the curious case of the missing Android version
With Google’s I/O announcement expo now firmly in the rearview mirror, it’s time for us to enter the inevitable next phase of any tech-tinted revelation — and that’s the careful contemplation of everything we’ve just experienced.
It’s my favorite phase of all, personally, as it lets us really dive in and analyze everything with a fine-toothed comb to uncover all the subtle significance that isn’t always apparent on the surface.
And this year, my goodness, is there some splendid stuff to pore over.
Specific to the realm of Android, the sharp-eyed gumshoes over at 9to5Google noticed that this year’s under-development new Android version, Android 14, was mentioned by name only one time during the entire 2,000-hour Google I/O keynote.
May's Patch Tuesday update includes 3 zero-day flaws; fix them ASAP
In it’s May update, Microsoft addressed 51 vulnerabilities in Windows, Microsoft Office, and Visual Studio. And with three zero-day flaws to urgently address in Windows (CVE-2023-24932, CVE-2023-29325 and CVE-2023-29336), the focus this month needs to be on rapidly updating both Windows and Microsoft Office. Both platforms get our “Patch Now” recommendation.
Steve Wozniak: ChatGPT-type tech may threaten us all
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has been touring the media to discuss the perils of generative artificial intelligence (AI), warning people to be wary of its negative impacts. Speaking to both the BBC and Fox News, he stressed that AI can misuse personal data, and raised concerns it could help scammers generate even more effective scams, from identity fraud to phishing to cracking passwords and beyond.
AI puts a spammer in the works
“We’re getting hit with so much spam, things trying to take over our accounts and our passwords, trying to trick us into them,” he said.