Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
March 2010
From ACM TechNews
U.s. Plan to Make Hacking Harder Revealed
The Obama administration has declassified part of its plan to improve the security of cyberspace in an attempt to cultivate greater collaboration between government and civilian groups.
From ACM TechNews
What's Next For High-Performance Computing?
The fusion of high-performance computing (HPC) and high-performance data could potentially result in the generation of robust systems that are at least one order of magnitude faster than anything the HPC community currently uses…
From ACM TechNews
Attack Unmasks User Behind the Browser
Vienna University of Technology researchers have developed the "deanonymization" attack as a way to reveal the identity of Internet users based on their interactions in social networks.
From ACM TechNews
Skills Experts Bemoan Poor It Teaching
Information technology (IT) needs to be taught a different way in schools if the industry is to deepen its talent pool, experts in the United Kingdom said during a recent e-Skills event.
From ACM TechNews
The Interpreter in the Laptop
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology scientists will demonstrate a language-to-language translation device at the upcoming CeBIT conference. The device combines automatic language recognition with automatic translation and language…
From ACM News
Scientists Strive to Map the Shape-Shifting Net
In a dimly lit chamber festooned with wires and hidden in one of California’s largest data centers, Tim Pozar is changing the shape of the Internet.
He is using what Internet engineers refer to as a “meet-me room.” The room …From ACM TechNews
Software Sniffs Out Criminals By the Shape of Their Nose
University of Bath scientists have developed a biometric system for identifying people based on their nose shape. The researchers used a photographic system to scan the three-dimensional shape of volunteers' noses and used software…
From ACM News
Nsf-Supported Researchers Gain Access to Microsoft's Azure Services Platform
The National Science Foundation has announced a memorandum of understanding with Microsoft Corp. whereby Microsoft will provide NSF supported-researchers access to Microsoft's Azure services platform.
From ACM News
Guide For Applying Risk Management Framework to Information Systems Released
The final publication of the 93-page Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach (NIST Special Publication 800-37, Revision 1) is now available on the National…
From ACM News
Ornl Technology May Better Detect Cyber Security Attacks
A system that can more effectively detect possible cyber security attacks within large organizations—including government agencies—is being developed with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory…
From ACM News
First Test Labs for Next-Generation Internet Protocol (IPv6) Are Accredited
The first two laboratories have recently completed accreditation to provide testing services for the USGv6 Program. The program provides the basis for expressing U.S. government requirements for Internet Protocol version 6 technologies…
From ICT Results
Cloud Technology to Combat Cancer
Cloud services provided over grid technology are helping to treat cancer patients, thanks to an enormous effort by European researchers working closely with industry.
From ACM News
Security Key to Unlocking Cloud Potential
The issue of security is holding back its full potential of cloud computing. This was the gist of the keynote message presented Tuesday (March 2) by Art Coviello, president of RSA. Coviello cited a recent survey that stated 51…
From ACM News
Study: Google-China Attack Driven by Amateurs
The computer attack which led Google to threaten leaving China and created a firestorm between Washington and Beijing appears to have been deployed by amateurs, according to an analysis by Damballa, a U.S. technology firm.
From ACM News
U.s. Won't Succeed If India Has More Scientists: Obama
President Barack Obama has said that the U.S. is facing stiff competition from India and cannot succeed if the country continues to produce more scientists and engineers than America, reports Business Ghana.
From ACM TechNews
New Energy Harvesting Network Means Batteries Not Included
The new Energy Harvesting Network will offer U.K. researchers a resource for energy harvesting (EH) technology. The network will give academics, industry, and end users the chance to participate in a discussion on research challenges…
From ACM News
Student-Run Business Wins Epa Energy-Optimization Contract
A company founded and run by Missouri University of Science and Technology students recently received its first federal contract, and hopes to parlay that funding into technology that will help homeowners better manage their…
From ACM News
Free Systems Biology Markup Language Has Proven Popular
A scientific paper that describes a file format used by scientists to represent models of biological processes has exceeded 500 citations in the ISI Web of Knowledge, an online academic database that documents the impact of scientific…
From ACM TechNews
Tomorrow's Forecast: Clear With a Chance of Tremors
The goal of the Southern California Earthquake Center's CyberShake project is to accurately predict earthquake activity for the next 50 years. The CyberShake predictions, called seismic hazard maps, have the potential to preserve…
From ACM TechNews
Hp Labs Opens Singapore Research Hub
Hewlett-Packard (HP) Labs announced the opening of a new research and development center in Singapore. The Singapore lab will work on research in cloud computing and software development.
From ACM TechNews
Prace Evaluated Additional Prototypes For Next Generation Architectures
The Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe's work package for future petaflop computer technologies beyond 2010 recently assessed 12 prototypes for next-generation computer architectures.
From ACM TechNews
Ibm Speeds p Data Analysis With New Algorithm
Researchers at IBM's laboratories in Zurich have developed a new algorithm that can sort, correlate, and analyze millions of random data sets in minutes.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Industry Searching For Girls Gone Geek
The flagging attraction of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions to young women is partly attributed to the geek factor, or the perception of such careers as uncool, socially isolating, and primarily geared…
From ACM TechNews
Professors Find Ways to Keep Heads Above 'exaflood' of Data
Researchers remain optimistic about the prospect of keeping track of the exaflood of data, from gene sequences and distant pulsar signals to YouTube videos and email.
From ACM TechNews
Game Trains Soldiers in a Virtual Iraq or Afghanistan
University of Texas at Dallas researchers are developing First Person Cultural Trainer, a computer training tool designed to make it easier for military personnel to perform missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
From ACM News
To Create Jobs, Streamline Technology Transfer, Report Says
Job creation in the U.S. will largely depend on start-up companies and entrepreneurs who populate university research parks, laboratories and incubators across the nation, according to a new report for the Association of University…
From ACM News
The Mathematics Behind a Good Night's Sleep
Professor of Mathematics Mark Holmes and his graduate student Lisa Rogers are using math to develop a new computer model that can be easily manipulated by other scientists to predict how different environmental, medical, or physical…
From ACM News
Lights, Camera, Action: Cue the Goldfish
Biologist Scott McRobert, professor of biology at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pa., developed "Fish Cam," an online site for students of all ages to learn science by researching shoaling (grouping) behavior in fish…
From ACM News
Physicists Build Basic Quantum Computing Circuit
Exerting delicate control over a pair of atoms within a mere seven-millionths-of-a-second window of opportunity, physicists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison created an atomic circuit that may help quantum computing become…
From ICT Results
Architects and Engineers Bridge the Grid Chasm
In the technology adoption cycle, a chasm separates powerful new technologies from the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that could most benefit from them. Now, thanks to European researchers, architects and engineers are building…