Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2021
From ACM News
Facebook Whistleblower Documents Offer New Revelations about Jan. 6 Response
A congressional staffer provided the redacted documents to news outlets.
From ACM TechNews
Self-Driving Race Cars Make History in Indianapolis
The Indy Autonomous Challenge in Indianapolis made history as the first racing competition between driverless vehicles.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Artist Ai-Da Released by Egyptian Border Guards
Egyptian border agents have released a British-built robot after detaining it at customs for 10 days.
From ACM TechNews
Twitter Admits Bias in Algorithm for Rightwing Politicians, News Outlets
Researchers at Twitter found that the social media platform amplifies more tweets from rightwing politicians and news outlets than content from leftwing sources.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum-Encrypted Information Transmitted Over Fiber More Than 600 Km Long
Researchers established secure quantum communication over 605 kilometers (375 miles) of fiber through a new signal stabilization method.
From ACM TechNews
Meet Snitch: The Small, Agile RISC-V Processor
Tests uggest the new RISC-V-based Snitch processor used in parallel can be 3.5 times more energy efficient than other benchmark designs, and six times faster.
From ACM TechNews
Artificial Networks Learn to Smell Like the Brain
A machine learning model can train itself to smell by building an artificial neural network that mimics the brain's odor-processing olfactory circuits.
From ACM News
A Look Inside Apple's Silicon Playbook
Plus: The infamous 2016 Macbook Pro, Gödel's ontological proof, and a mascot's moment of weakness.
From ACM News
Russia Is Censoring the Internet, With Coercion and Black Boxes
A former head of State Department programs on Internet freedom said, "Russia's censorship model can quickly and easily be replicated by other authoritarian governments."
From ACM News
A Rare Win in the Cat-and-Mouse Game of Ransomware
A team of private security sleuths, in their first public detailing of their efforts, discuss how they used cybercriminals' mistakes to quietly help victims recover their data.
From ACM News
Russia Challenges Biden Again With Broad Cybersurveillance Operation
The new campaign came only months after President Biden imposed sanctions on Moscow in response to a series of spy operations it had conducted around the world.
From ACM News
Developers: Intel's Automated Debugging Tool ControlFlag Now Open Source
ControlFlag can automatically detect anomalies in software code - and it could spare developers hours of tedious work.
From ACM News
Notorious Ransomware Group REvil Knocked Offline, According to Report
REvil was hacked and forced offline this week in a multiple-country effort, according to Reuters.
From ACM News
FTC Calls Out Internet Providers for Amassing User Browsing Data
Six major ISPs collect far more user data than consumers realize, the FTC warns, including data grouping those consumers by race and sexual orientation.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Enable Blind Woman to See Simple Shapes Using Brain Implant
Scientists at the University of Utah and Spain's Miguel Hernandez University have given artificial vision to a blind woman through a brain implant.
From ACM TechNews
Walgreens Testing Drone Deliveries in Texas
Retail pharmacy chain Walgreens and Google affiliate Wing will test drone deliveries in Texas next week in the city of Frisco and the town of Little Elm.
From ACM TechNews
One Giant Leap for the Mini Cheetah
A new control system enhances the speed and agility of legged robots as they leap across gaps.
From ACM TechNews
The Fickleness of Fame
Scientists tracked media mentions of people who died between 2009 and 2014 to gauge how long recently deceased public figures remain in collective memory.
From ACM TechNews
Gaming-Related Malware on the Rise on Mobile, PCs
Analysts warn that popular online games are helping to spread malware on PCs and mobile devices.
From ACM News
How AI is Reinventing What Computers Are
Three key ways artificial intelligence is changing what it means to compute.
From ACM News
Commerce Department Announces Rule Aimed at Stemming Sale of Hacking Tools to Russia, China
The rule is not intended to keep American researchers from working with colleagues overseas to find software flaws.
From ACM News
Intel Slipped, and Its Future Now Depends on Making Everyone Else's Chips
Intel slipped—and its future now depends on making everyone else's chips.
From ACM TechNews
Accelerating the Discovery of Materials for 3D Printing
Researchers have developed a less costly, less wasteful machine learning system for identifying three-dimensionally-printable materials.
From ACM TechNews
Combating COVID-19 Misinformation: Brief Infographic Exposure May Increase Trust in Science
Brief exposure to an infographic about the scientific process could strengthen people's trust in science and mitigate COVID-19 misinformation.
From ACM TechNews
Popular Student Monitoring Software Could Have Exposed Thousands to Hacks
The McAfee Enterprise Advanced Threat Research team found a bug in the Netop Vision Pro Education software used by about 3 million teachers and students worldwide.
From ACM TechNews
Algorithm Accurately Detects Disease-Causing Variants in Infants with Rare Diseases
The Fabric GEM algorithm was able to detect disease-causing variants in infants with rare diseases at six leading genomic centers and hospitals with high accuracy.
From ACM News
Looking for Insights from Artificial Intelligence
Will AI make future discoveries for us?
From ACM News
How to Talk to the World Through Free Translation Apps
Open up Google Translate or Apple's Translate and your mobile device turns into your personal language interpreter.
From ACM News
Facebook Rebuked by Oversight Board Over Transparency on Treatment of Prominent Users
Board set up by Facebook rebukes company after Wall Street Journal investigation into treatment of high-profile users.
From ACM News
Is Facebook Changing Its Name? Here's What to Know
Facebook also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, signaling that a name change could put these brands and more all under the same umbrella.