Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
June 2021
From ACM News
Cybersecurity Executive Order 2021: What It Means for Cloud and SaaS Security
Understanding the fundamentals of the White House Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity.
From ACM News
Here are 5 Ways the U.S. Government is Taking On Big Tech
Five proposed bills from U.S. lawmakers will take on Big Tech by making it harder for them to acquire new businesses and forcing them to even the playing field.
From ACM TechNews
How Do We Improve the Virtual Classroom?
Researchers investigated virtual learning's shortcomings and proposed approaches for improving the experience.
From ACM TechNews
Meet Grace, the Healthcare Robot COVID-19 Created
Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics has developed a prototype robot to engage with seniors and those isolated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Firms Use Remote Monitoring to Help Honey Bees
Technology companies are monitoring honey bee colonies remotely to investigate hive die-offs, in efforts to improve their survival.
From ACM TechNews
AI Spots Coronal Holes to Automate Space Weather Prediction
Automated space weather prediction came a step closer to reality via a neural network that can identify coronal holes in space-based observations.
From ACM TechNews
Computer System Can Help Inform Future Therapies for Patients with Inherited Heart Disease
A computer system trained on clinical data can support medical and surgical decisions on the treatment of patients with inherited heart disease.
From ACM TechNews
U.S.-Born Computer Professionals Earn Far More Than Other U.S. Workers
A new study found that U.S.-born information technology professionals make much more money than peers in other fields.
From ACM News
No Chips, No Tips: How the Computer Chip Shortage Threatens Thousands of Restaurant Service Jobs
Faced with no semiconductor chips for their ordering machines, restaurants pivot away from human servers and toward contact-less ordering.
From ACM News
Lawmakers, Taking Aim at Big Tech, Push Sweeping Overhaul of Antitrust
A bipartisan group of House members introduced five bills that take direct aim at Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.
From ACM TechNews
Rates of Anxiety, Depression Among College Students Continue to Soar, App-Based Research Shows
A four-year study by Dartmouth College researchers uncovered higher rates of anxiety and depression among college students since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
From ACM TechNews
Facing Shortage of High-Skilled Workers, Employers Are Seeking More Immigrant Talent, Study Finds
U.S. employers are seeking out immigrants for computer-related jobs amid a shortage of domestic talent.
From ACM TechNews
Hackers Breach Electronic Arts, Stealing Game Source Code and Tools
A spokesperson for video game publisher Electronic Arts verified that hackers have compromised the company's systems and stolen game source code and other assets.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Companies Want to Make Holograms Part of Office Life
To reduce Zoom fatigue, some companies want to implement holograms in the workplace.
From ACM TechNews
Could Your Smart Watch Alert You to Risk of Sudden Death?
A new algorithm could eventually enable everyday wearables to alert users to potentially fatal changes in heart rhythm.
From ACM News
Google Seeks to Break Vicious Cycle of Online Slander
The search giant is changing its algorithm, part of a major shift in how Google polices harmful content.
From ACM TechNews
IBM Partners with U.K. on $300 Million Quantum Computing Research Initiative
A five-year, $297.5-million partnership between IBM and the U.K. government will research quantum computing and artificial intelligence in the quest for sustainable technologies.
From ACM TechNews
A Blueprint for Designing, Synthesizing Multifunctional Materials
Nanocrystal combinations can yield new multifunctional materials through an inverse design blueprint.
From ACM TechNews
You're More Likely to Fight Misinformation If You Think Others Are Being Duped
People in the U.S. and China who think others are being deceived by online misinformation on COVID-19 are more likely to back corporate and political countermeasures.
From ACM TechNews
AI System Could Help Counter the Spread of Disinformation
The Reconnaissance of Influence Operations program was developed to identify disinformation narratives and the individuals spreading them via social media.
From ACM News
Defending Against the Next Stuxnet
Experts are skeptical of an Iranian plan to evade Stuxnet replay attacks.
From ACM News
New York's Vaccine Passport Could Cost Taxpayers $17 Million
The state's contract with IBM details a Phase 2 of the Excelsior Pass, which could include uses that some advocates say raise privacy concerns.
From ACM News
Ohio Files Lawsuit to Declare Google a Public Utility
The complaint alleges Google's "self-preferencing Results-page architecture" resulted in nearly two-thirds of Google searches in 2020 being completed without users leaving Google-owned platforms.
From ACM News
Amazon Sidewalk: What to Know before Sharing Your Home's Bandwidth
Live now and enabled by default, Sidewalk keeps other people's devices near your home connected by passing their signals through your Echo and Ring devices.
From ACM TechNews
Leader in Power-Efficient Computer Architecture Receives Eckert-Mauchly Award
ACM and the IEEE Computer Society have named Princeton University's Margaret Martonosi recipient of the 2021 Eckert-Mauchly Award.
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Senate Passes Bill to Encourage Tech Competition, Especially with China
The U.S. Senate passed legislation to ramp up semiconductor production and development of advanced technology amid intensifying global competition, especially from China.
From ACM TechNews
Keeping a Closer Eye on Seabirds with Drones
A new study found using drones and artificial intelligence to monitor seabird colonies can less expensive, labor-intensive, and error-prone than on-the-ground surveillance.
From ACM TechNews
Feds Recover More Than $2 Million in Ransomware Payments from Colonial Pipeline Hackers
U.S. officials say more than $2 million in cryptocurrency payments to the hackers who held Colonial Pipeline hostage in May has been recovered.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Can Predict How Well a Stroke Survivor Will Recover Language Skills Using Computer Simulations of the Brain
Scientists used computer simulations of the brain to predict the extent to which bilingual Hispanic stroke survivors will recover language skills.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Fine-Tune Control Over AI Image Generation
Refined control over artificial intelligence-driven conditional image generation has potential for use in fields ranging from autonomous robotics to AI training.