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Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, May 18, 2024

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: Librarians Are Waging a Quiet War Against International “Data Cartels”; Why car location tracking needs an overhaul; How to find out if an AirTag is tracking you; and New mailing list aims to share hacking attempts on open-source projects.

The Federal Reserve Banks’ New Transparency and Accountability Policy

Michael Ravnitzky is an attorney and former journalist who has more than 25 years of experience in using the Freedom of Information Act and state public records laws. On December 21, 2023, the Federal Reserve Banks each announced the adoption of a uniform Transparency and Accountability Policy (TAP). The Banks have begun responding to public records requests under that policy. Following implementation of the new policy, Ravnitzky initiated several records requests directed at individual Fed Banks, utilizing the provisions of the TAP. His extensively documented evaluation of the new process is that TAP is a good start but it has some shortcomings.

A Chat With Legal Rebel Richard Granat

Jerry Lawson had a conversation with Richard Granat, a lawyer, frequent speaker on legal technology, blogger, and consultant. His professional work has earned many awards, including the ABA’s Legal Rebel Award, the ABA’s Louis M. Brown Lifetime Achievement Award, and the ABA’s James I. Keane Memorial Award. He has long been a leader in using technology to improve access to legal services.

How to tell if a conspiracy theory is probably false

Conspiracy theories abound. What should you believe − and how can you tell? H. Colleen Sinclair, a social psychologist who studies misleading narratives, identifies seven step you can take to vet a claim you’ve seen or heard.

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, May 18, 2024

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: Google Accidentally Deleted $125 Billion Pension Fund’s Account; Generating Harms: Generative AI’s New & Continued Impacts; What I wish I’d known before my smartphone was snatched; and Mortgage Brokers Sent People’s Estimated Credit, Address, and Veteran Status to Facebook.

AI in Finance and Banking, May 15, 2024

This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government documents, NGO/IGO papers, industry white papers, academic papers and speeches on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate links to alternate free versions. Four highlights from this post: Artificial Intelligence and the Skill Premium; Rising Cyber Threats Pose Serious Concerns for Financial Stability; The Future Of Banking: Morgan Stanley And The Rise Of AI-Driven Financial Advice; and The Pitfalls of Mixing Up AI and Automation in Finance.

As climate change amplifies urban flooding, here’s how communities can become ‘sponge cities’

Dr. Franco Montalto is a water resources engineer who studies and designs strategies for sustainably managing urban stormwater. In response to recent flooding episodes, some U.S. cities are beginning to take steps toward incorporation of sponge city concepts into their stormwater management plans, but most of these projects are still pilots. If this concept is to evolve into the new standard for urban design, city officials and developers will need to find ways to scale up and accelerate this work.

If using LinkedIn makes you feel like an imposter at work, here’s how to cope

Dr. Sebastian Oliver acknowledges when it comes to professional social media, LinkedIn, with its billion-plus members, stands unrivalled. The platform for career updates, networking and job searches has effectively become a requirement in the professional world. It can be a great tool to help you progress in your career. But, as Oliver describes, just like other social media, using LinkedIn can lead to feelings of envy, comparison and self-doubt.

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, May 11, 2024

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: Bank scammers using genuine push notifications to trick their victims; How VISA is using generative AI to battle account fraud attacks; War Zone Surveillance Technology Is Hitting American Streets; and Negating all VPNs may have been possible since 2002.

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, May 4, 2024

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: 9 Disturbing Stories From People Who Say They Found Cameras in Their Airbnb; Stop Using Your Face or Thumb to Unlock Your Phone; How Netflix and Other Streaming Services Charge You Forever; Kaiser gave 13.4M people’s data to Microsoft, others; and Huawei has been investing in US research despite being banned.

LLRX April 2024 Issue

Articles and Columns for April 2024 Violence Against Women and International Law, April 2024 Update – Sabrina I. Pacifici’s April update comprises recent news, reporting and social media postings. It also includes a report issued by the UN acknowledging that…”Based on the information it gathered, the mission team found clear and convincing information that sexual …

AI in Finance and Banking, April 30, 2024

This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government documents, NGO/IGO papers, industry white papers, academic papers and speeches on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate links to alternate free versions. Four highlights from this post: Banks told to anticipate risks from using AI, machine learning; Banks don’t talk about the energy AI guzzles. Here’s why they should; Chatbot answers are all made up. This new tool helps you figure out which ones to trust; and AI is becoming a big deal for big banks.

Violence Against Women and International Law, April 2024 Update

This is the April 2024 update to first installment of the guide Sabrina I. Pacifici published on November 23, 2023. The initial guide had 8 pertinent sources on this topic comprising government reports, academic papers, reviews of UN/NGO programs, news, databases, analysis and commentary. Part 2 of this series, posted December 31, 2023, expanded the original guide with more than a dozen new sources. The February 2024 update to this guide, added new links to over two dozen sources.
This update comprises recent news, reporting, and social media postings. It also includes a report issued by the UN acknowledging, despite months of denial, prevarication and statements to the contrary in official communications as well as action by various representatives of the organization that…”Based on the information it gathered, the mission team found clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment has been committed against hostages and has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing against those still held in captivity.”

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 27, 2024

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: Why Microsoft is a national security threat; You Should Make Your Apple ID Recoverable Right Now; How to change your Social Security Number; and Cops Are Now Using AI to Generate Police Reports.

Move Over Law Professors? AI Likes to Write Law Review Articles Too!

Sarah Gotschall describes this deep dive into how AI is used to write law review articles, with illustrations that detail the complexity and limitations of the effort. Claude (aka the illustrious author Claudia Trey) penned a 77-page extensively footnoted law review article on SSRN entitled “Bloodlines Over Merits: Exposing the Discriminatory Impact of Legacy Preferences in College Admissions.” Though not setting the world on fire in the sense that the article is interesting or that anyone wants to read it, it showcases Claude’s abilities. Now, we all know that AI text generators can churn out an endless stream of words on just about any topic if you keep typing in the prompts. However, Claude can not only generate well-written text, but it can also provide footnotes to primary legal materials with minimal hallucination, setting it apart from other AI text generators such as ChatGPT-4. And, although Claude’s citations to other sources are generally not completely accurate, it is usually not too difficult to find the intended source or a similar one based on the information supplied.

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 20, 2024

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: 1st-of-its-kind law protects ‘neural data’; Chinese Mafias’ New US Goldmine: Gift Cards; Fair Digital Finance Framework; and The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat.

FTC Cracks Down on Telehealth Addiction Service, Monument, for Sharing Health Data

Katie Palmer reports on the April 11, 2024 Federal Trade Commission action against alcohol addiction telehealth company Monument, affirming its promise to crack down on digital health companies’ misuse of personal health data.

TikTok fears point to larger problem: Poor media literacy in the social media age

In the past few years, Professor Nir Eisikovits and his colleagues at UMass Boston’s Applied Ethics Center have been studying the impact of AI systems on how people understand themselves. Here’s why I think the recent move against TikTok misses the larger point: Americans’ sources of information have declined in quality and the problem goes beyond any one social media platform.

Removing PFAS from public water systems will cost billions and take time

PFAS – perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are now either suspected or known to contribute to thyroid disease, elevated cholesterol, liver damage and cancer, among other health issues. Dr. Kyle Doudrick’s team at the University of Notre Dame works on solving problems involving contaminants in water systems, including PFAS. We explore new technologies to remove PFAS from drinking water and to handle the PFAS waste. Here’s a glimpse of the magnitude of the challenge and ways you can reduce PFAS in your own drinking water.

AI chatbots refuse to produce ‘controversial’ output − why that’s a free speech problem

Jordi Calvet-Bademunt and Jacob Mchangama are policy researchers who study free speech, as well as executive director and a research fellow at The Future of Free Speech, an independent, nonpartisan think tank based at Vanderbilt University. In a recent report, they found that generative AI has important shortcomings regarding freedom of expression and access to information.