Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
September 2024
From Schneier on Security
FBI Shuts Down Chinese Botnet
The FBI has shut down a botnet run by Chinese hackers:
The botnet malware infected a number of different types of internet-connected devices around the world, including home routers, cameras, digital video recorders, and NAS…From insideHPC
HSBC and Quantinuum Pilot Quantum Security for Tokenized Gold
Sept. 19, 2023, London – HSBC, a British bank and financial services group, announced today that it has successfully trialled quantum-secure technology for buying and selling tokenised physical gold. The company said this marks…
From insideHPC
LiquidStack Secures $20M Series B Funding from Tiger Global
CARROLLTON, Texas, September 19, 2024 — LiquidStack today announced it has secured a $20 million Series B extension investment from leading investment firm Tiger Global, bringing LiquidStack’s total Series B funding round to
…
From ACM-W supporting, celebrating and advocating for Women in Computing
ACMW Celebrating Technology Leaders Episode 15: Generative AI in Enterprise Software
We are at the forefront of a technological revolution where generative AI is redefining the boundaries of what’s possible within enterprise environments. In episode 15 of “ACM-W Celebrating Technology Leaders,” our host, Bushra…
From insideHPC
SiFive Introduces Intelligence XM Series for AI
SANTA CLARA, Calif.– RISC-V computing company SiFive announced the SiFive Intelligence XM Series designed for accelerating high performance AI workloads. This is the first IP from SiFive to include a scalable AI matrix engine…
From Computational Complexity
Embracing the Future of Manufacturing
Last week I walked around the International Manufacturing Technology Show with 89,000 other participants at the McCormick Center in Chicago. I went to see how AI was affecting manufacturing and it wasn't quite the way I was expecting…
From The Noisy Channel
Seriously or Literally?
The other day, I posted about the need for search applications to take searchers seriously, not literally. This need holds even when searchers practically ask to be taken literally.
Quotation Marks
By using quotation marks, a searcher…From insideHPC
David Padua to Receive Ken Kennedy HPC Award
David A. Padua, professor emeritus in Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been named the recipient of the 2024 ACM-IEEE CS Ken Kennedy Award. The award recognizes groundbreaking achievements in parallel…
From insideHPC
The Next Big Interconnect Technology Could Be Plastic
.... large language models and generative AI applications are driving hyperscalers to adopt a new data center-scale switch fabric, called the AI backend network. And there is a new interconnect technology for this switch fabric…
From insideHPC
NCSA and CliMAS to Host Climate Supercomputing Summit Sept. 29-Oct. 2
Champaign-Urbana, IL, Sept. 17, 2024 — The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and the Univerity of Illinois’ Department of Climate, Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences (CliMAS) will bring together more than…
From insideHPC
e6data Raises $10M for Analytics Engine
San Francisco – September 17, 2024; In today’s digital-first landscape, enterprises rely on powerful data and AI capabilities to fuel innovation, enhance customer experiences, and optimize operations. However, they are set to…
From insideHPC
ZutaCore and Munters Team on Waterless Data Center Architecture for AI Factories
SAN JOSE, Sept. 17, 2024 — ZutaCore, a provider of direct-to-chip, waterless liquid cooling solutions, and Munters, an air treatment and climate solutions company, today announced the integration of their two platforms to provide…
From insideHPC
Firebolt Introduces Cloud Data Warehouse
KIRKLAND, WA, September 17, 2024 — Today, Firebolt announced a data warehouse that the company said delivers low latency analytics with 10x more efficiency. “Built across five years of relentless development, it reflects continuous…
From Schneier on Security
Remotely Exploding Pagers
Wow.
It seems they all exploded simultaneously, which means they were triggered.
Were they each tampered with physically, or did someone figure out how to trigger a thermal runaway remotely? Malicious code update, or natural …From Schneier on Security
Python Developers Targeted with Malware During Fake Job Interviews
Interesting social engineering attack: luring potential job applicants with fake recruiting pitches, trying to convince them to download malware. From a news article
These particular attacks from North Korean state-funded hacking…From The Noisy Channel
Cold Start, Practical Edition
If you are a search application developer or some other kind of machine learning practitioner, you have probably encountered a cold start problem: launching a data-driven application without any data to drive it. There are many…
From Schneier on Security
Legacy Ivanti Cloud Service Appliance Being Exploited
CISA wants everyone—and government agencies in particular—to remove or upgrade an Ivanti Cloud Service Appliance (CSA) that is no longer being supported.
Welcome to the security nightmare that is the Internet of Things.
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
CCC Q&A: Upcoming CCC Citizen Science Workshop Organizers Give A Sneak Peak
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) will be hosting the Grand Challenges for the Convergence of Computational and Citizen Science Research workshop in-person from April 8 – 9, 2025 and virtual discussions. Their goal is…
From insideHPC
Q-CTRL Delivering New Services to IBM Quantum Network
Montréal, Sept. 16, 2024 – Quantum sofware company Q-CTRL today announced that it offers two services via IBM’s new Qiskit Functions Catalog to simplify application development and performance management services. Q-CTRL’s performance…
From CS4FN (Computer Science For Fun)
Cooking up computer style
Use the recipe for hummus and tomato pasta to learn about creating a good computer program (and have a delicious meal at the end!).
From Computational Complexity
How will chatGPT affect Homework?
LANCE: I gave my final exam for my ugrad theory course (regular, Context Free, P, NP, Decidable, Undecidable) to the new ChatGPT o1 that claims to reason about math to see how it would do.
BILL: How did it do?
LANCE: Impressive…From Schneier on Security
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
This is a current list of where and when I am scheduled to speak:
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Squid as a Legislative Negotiating Tactic
This is an odd story of serving squid during legislative negotiations in the Philippines.
From Schneier on Security
My TedXBillings Talk
Over the summer, I gave a talk about AI and democracy at TedXBillings. The recording is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqC4nb7fLpY”>live.
Please share. I’m hoping for more than 200 views….
From insideHPC
Sept. 29 Registration Deadline for ALCF Virtual Intro to AI-driven Science on Supercomputers
Sept. 13, 2024: The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility will host a seven-week virtual training series for undergraduates and graduates on the fundamentals of applying world-class supercomputers to advance the use of AI for…
From insideHPC
Quantum Source Raises $50M Series A Funding
TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 10, 2024 — Quantum Source, an Israel-based company developing, technology for photonic quantum computers, announced today it has raised a $50M Series A investment round led by Eclipse, with participation…
From insideHPC
CIQ Launches Ledger Pro for IT Infrastructure Oversight
RENO, Nev. — September 12, 2024 — Businesses aiming to optimize IT system automation with precision and efficiency now have a solution — Ledger Pro, the newest product from CIQ. An all-in-one solution for proactive infrastructure…
From insideHPC
Samsung Announces Production of QLC 9th-Gen V-NAND Flash Memory
Sept. 12, 2024 — Memory technology company Samsung Electronics today announced it has begun mass production of its 1Tb quad-level cell (QLC) 9th-generation vertical NAND (V-NAND) flash memory. “With the industry’s first mass…
From insideHPC
Pete Ungaro Joins VDURA Board
SAN JOSE, Sept. 12, 2024 — AI and HPC data infrastructure software company VDURA, formerly Panasas, announced the appointment of Peter Ungaro to its company board of directors. In addition, VDURA has established a Technical
…
From insideHPC
Quandela Unveils European Quantum Computer in North America
Montreal and Paris, September 12th, 2024 – Quandela, a European photonic quantum computing company, announced the launch of its Canadian subsidiary, Quandela Canada, in Montreal. This is accompanied by the deployment of the first…