Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2015
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Find 85 Percent of Android Devices Insecure
Researchers have developed a scorecard for Android devices based on how often manufacturers and network operators patch their devices.
From ACM TechNews
How Human Nature Could Foil Tesla's New Autopilot
Researchers and driving safety experts warn the new autopilot option installed in most Tesla vehicles could cause unsafe conditions.
From ACM News
Vast Cosmic Voids Merge Like Soap Bubbles
Vast regions of near-empty space in the Universe are growing and shrinking, much as bubbles merge and separate in soapsuds, astronomers have discovered.
From ACM News
How the Nsa Can Break Trillions of Encrypted Web and Vpn Connections
For years, privacy advocates have pushed developers of websites, virtual private network apps, and other cryptographic software to adopt the Diffie-Hellman cryptographic key exchange as a defense against surveillance from the…
From ACM News
An Error Leads to a New Way to Draw, and Erase, Computing Circuits
For the physics researcher Andrew L. Yeats, a light-bulb moment led to an important new insight.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Technology Set to Hit the Streets Within Two Years
The United Kingdom kicked off an initiative in 2013 that could result in the development of the world's most powerful quantum computer by 2020.
From ACM News
IBM Making Plans to Commercialize Its Brain-Inspired Chip
In August last year, IBM unveiled a chip designed to operate something like the neurons and synapses of the brain (see "IBM Chip Process Data Similar to the Way Your Brain Does").
From ACM News
Sensors May Soon Give Prosthetics a Lifelike Sense of Touch
Prosthetic limbs may work wonders for restoring lost function in some amputees, but one thing they can't do is restore an accurate sense of touch.
From ACM News
Closest Northern Views of Saturn's Moon Enceladus
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has begun returning its best-ever views of the northern extremes of Saturn's icy, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus.
From ACM TechNews
Closing Cybersecurity's Race Gap
During an event on Capitol Hill, experts discussed the U.S. government cybersecurity labor shortage and the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the field.
From ACM TechNews
Flowing Toward Red Blood Cell Breakthroughs
A team of researchers is using Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Cray XK7 Titan supercomputer to help understand and fight diseases affecting red blood cells.
From ACM TechNews
Vint Cerf and 260 Experts Give FCC a Plan to Secure Wi-Fi Routers
Network and cybersecurity experts are critiquing U.S. Federal Communications Commission proposed rules for Wi-Fi routers and RF devices.
From ACM TechNews
White House National Strategic Computing Initiative Workshop
The White House National Strategic Computing Initiative Workshop will be held on Oct. 20-21.
From ACM TechNews
Looking For Answers
Oxford University researchers Christoffer Nellaker and Andrew Zisserman want to make dysmorphology work better by using face-recognition technology.
From ACM News
Data Is the New Currency
Digital technologies are driving new business models and changing the ways society views products and services.
From ACM News
An Algorithm Helps Robots Fall Safely
At a major robotics competition held in June, several multi-million-dollar robots struggled to perform even simple tasks like climbing a flight of stairs; some even toppled over with what seemed like impeccable comic timing.
From ACM News
Hackers Can Silently Control Siri From 16 Feet Away
Siri may be your personal assistant. But your voice is not the only one she listens to.
From ACM News
Smith’s STEM Education Act Signed Into Law
The STEM Education Act of 2015 strengthens U.S. science, technology, engineering, and math education efforts.
From ACM News
Pluto's Geology Is Unlike Any Other
Take a pinch of Mars, a sprinkle of Saturn's moon Iapetus and a dash of Neptune's moon Triton—and the recipe will yield something like Pluto.
From ACM News
Despite Exposure, New Nations Joining Cyberespionage Game
Researchers say some smaller, poorer nations are now using spy software, suggesting that recent data leaks and lawsuits have not deterred governments from investing in off-the-shelf cyberespionage products.
From ACM TechNews
New Tool: How to Get Meaningful Information Out of Big Data
ClustEval is a new tool designed to aid researchers in their efforts to retrieve meaningful knowledge from big data.
From ACM TechNews
These Computer Scientists Are Making a 'global Map of Sexism'
Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute are building a "map of sexism" by analyzing data from the Everyday Sexism Project.
From ACM TechNews
The Brave New World of Computer Security
Northeastern University professor Cristina Nita-Rotaru has been researching how to keep information both accessible and safe for 17 years.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Science Now Top Major For Women at Stanford niversity
Computer science has surpassed human biology as the most popular major for female students at Stanford University.
From ACM Opinion
If You're Not Paranoid, You're Crazy
I knew we'd bought walnuts at the store that week, and I wanted to add some to my oatmeal.
From ACM News
Cyber Insurance Premiums Rocket After High-Profile Attacks
A rash of hacking attacks on U.S. companies over the past two years has prompted insurers to massively increase cyber premiums for some companies, leaving firms that are perceived to be a high risk scrambling for cover.
From ACM Careers
Her Code Got Humans on the Moon—and Invented Software Itself
Margaret Hamilton wasn't supposed to invent the modern concept of software and land men on the moon.
From ACM News
Cassini Begins Series of Flybys with Close-up of Saturn Moon Enceladus
NASA's Cassini spacecraft will wrap up its time in the region of Saturn's large, icy moons with a series of three close encounters with Enceladus starting Wednesday, Oct. 14.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Aim to Refocus Wandering Minds
University of Notre Dame researchers say they have developed a prototype system that can detect when the mind of a student is wandering.
From ACM TechNews
Obama Won't Seek Access to Encrypted User Data
The Obama administration will not compel U.S. technology companies to give law enforcement and intelligence agencies access to user data encrypted on digital devices.