Category «Other»

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, September 6, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Ice obtains access to Israeli-made spyware that can hack phones and encrypted apps; Amazon to Enter the AI Agent Race in a Big Way, Internal Documents; Selling Surveillance as Convenience; Wired, Business Insider Editors Duped By Completely Bogus ‘AI’ Using ‘Journalist’ Who Made Up Towns, People That Don’t Exist; and Verizon Finally Restores Service in Most Areas After Day-Long Outage.

Subjects: AI, Computer Security, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

The Trump Administration’s Continued War Against Science, Research and Public Health – Part 2

This is a follow up to Sabrina I. Pacifici’s July 31, 2025 article, The Trump Administration’s Continued War Against Science, Research and Public Health. In just one more month the administration has ramped up its use of unsupportable actions to expand the cancellation of billions of dollars of congressionally approved funding for a broad swath of government-funded agencies, institutions, programs and leading edge initiatives. They also relentlessly target and censor academic research in the sciences, public health, medicine, and on the climate crisis. The deliberate collateral damage has purged the leadership in organizations whose subject matter expertise drives vast knowledge acquired through decades of public service. The continued decimation of the country’s long standing support for the sciences impacts every person in America. It has fractured our collective human and technological systems and resources. The scope and specificity of the bare knuckle attacks and the implications are exposed.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Health, Healthcare, Legal Research, Medical Research, Viruses & Hoaxes

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 30, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Meta might be secretly scanning your phone’s camera roll – how to check and turn it off; Shadow IT Is Expanding Your Attack Surface. Here’s Proof; ScamAgent shows how AI could power the next wave of scam calls; FEMA now requires disaster victims to have an email address; and the FCC is Cracking Down on Robo Callers Blocking 1,200 Phone Providers Over Spam Calls.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 23, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Foundations for OT Cybersecurity: Asset Inventory Guidance for Owners and Operators; How poisoned data can trick AI − and how to stop it; This Is How They Know You’re Using a VPN; Swedish startup unveils Starlink alternative — that Musk can’t switch off; and Burner Phone 101 Workshop.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 16, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Leading AI Agents Like ChatGPT Are Vulnerable to Hacking, Security Firm Finds; FBI Alert: This New Smartphone Scam Can Steal All Your Data; A Bug at Social Security Admin Has Been Rerouting Phone Calls to Random Offices; Leading AI Agents Like ChatGPT Are Vulnerable to Hacking, Security Firm Finds; and Crypto Security and Scams.

Subjects: AI, Congress, Cryptocurrency, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Legislative, Privacy, Social Media

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 9, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: States Have More Data About You Than the Feds Do. Trump Wants to See It; Instagram Map lets your friends, and possibly exes, track your every move; Samsung phones can detect AI voice phishing attacks with One UI 8; Uber Gets Report of Sexual Misconduct Every 8 Minutes; and Home Depot and Lowe’s Share Data From Hundreds of AI Cameras With Cops.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Email Security, Federal Legislative Research, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 3, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Online Scams and Attacks in America Today; You probably should not use link shorteners; Is Your Phone Call Really Private?; Malicious extensions can use ChatGPT to steal your personal data – here’s how; The food supply chain has a cybersecurity problem; and Why Smart People Fall for False Information and What to do About It.

Subjects: AI, Cryptocurrency, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Education, Health, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

The Trump Administration’s Continued War Against Science, Research and Public Health

Sabrina I. Pacifici’s overview of selected articles highlights the devastating impact of the Trump administration’s dismantling of agencies across the federal government, with a focus on cancelling critical scientific and health related research grants, as reported in July, 2025. The total cancellation of funds is escalating as grant suspensions are ongoing, but it is in the billions of dollars. Unilateral, sweeping and rapid actions are targeting a wide range of projects, programs, education and funding for research on critical health issues including: Alzheimers’, cancer, the climate crisis, weather and forecasting, vaccines, HIV, infectious diseases, food and drug safety, fossil fuels, air and water pollution.

Subjects: Climate Change, Education, Energy, Federal Legislative Research, Freedom of Information, Government Resources, Healthcare, KM

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 26, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: How big tech is force-feeding us AI; Microsoft exec admits it ‘cannot guarantee’ data sovereignty; Why Are So Many Healthcare Companies Getting Hacked?; and Age verification needs better privacy protections, report says.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media