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
Internet Outage Hits Major Websites
Hourlong disruption affected sites including The New York Times, U.K. government portal; cloud-services provider Fastly reports internal problem.
From ACM News
The Criminals Thought the Devices Were Secure. But the Seller Was the F.B.I.
Global law enforcement officials revealed a three-year operation in which they said they had intercepted over 20 million messages. Hundreds of arrests were made in more than a dozen countries.
From ACM News
Microsoft Pauses Windows 10 Preview Builds Ahead of 'Windows 11' Event
Don't expect any significant updates in new Windows 10 preview builds for the next few weeks. It's all about testing the servicing pipeline with new cumulative updates.
From ACM TechNews
EU COVID-19 'Digital Pass' Gateway System Goes Live
The gateway system for the EU's "digital pass" for verifying COVID-19 vaccination or test status went live June 1.
From ACM TechNews
Algorithm Could Help Enable Next-Generation Deep Brain Stimulation Devices
Brown University bioengineers have developed an algorithm that could clear a path to more adaptive deep brain stimulation technology.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Create AI-Powered Deep Learning Model to Support Medical Diagnostics
Computer scientists developed a deep learning model capable of identifying diseases from medical scans quickly and more accurately.
From ACM News
F.B.I. Investigates Cyberattack That Targeted N.Y.C. Law Department
City lawyers' computer network was disabled after the attack, which the police and federal officials believe was the work of hackers.
From ACM News
Semantics Beats Syntax
IBM, Google, and Microsoft are all developing algorithms that understand the meaning of words.
From ACM News
Major Websites Experience Outages, including The New York Times, CNN, Reddit
The problems appear related to Fastly, which runs a content delivery network, and have been largely resolved.
From ACM News
Archaeologists vs. Computers: A Study Tests Who's Best at Sifting the Past
When it came to the tedious task of categorizing pottery fragments, a deep-learning model was found to be just as accurate as four human experts, and far more efficient.
From ACM News
Apple Announces Enhanced Privacy in New iPhone OS
The next version of iPhone operating software will have improved privacy features, Apple says.
From ACM News
Feds Recover More Than $2 Million in Ransomware Payments from Colonial Pipeline Hackers
The seizure of cryptocurrency paid by Colonial Pipeline to a Russian hacker ring marks a major milestone for the Department of Justice.
From ACM News
RISC vs. CISC Is the Wrong Lens for Comparing Modern x86, ARM CPUs
It's time to pull this discussion into the modern era and consider what the implications of this "RISC vs. CISC" comparison are for the ARM and x86 CPUs actually shipping today.
From ACM News
Google Settles Antitrust Case Over Advertising Practices
Deal with competition authority resolves complaint over the firm's digital advertising tactics.
From ACM TechNews
Smart Bike Predicts Cars' Trajectories, Honks to Warn of Impending Crash
Engineers at the University of Minnesota have designed a prototype smart bicycle which they say can protect itself from collisions.
From ACM TechNews
TikTok Gave Itself Permission to Collect Biometric Information on U.S. Users
TikTok has revised its U.S. privacy policy to say it is permitted it to "collect biometric identifiers and biometric information" from users' content, including "faceprints and voiceprints."
From ACM TechNews
Controlling Insulin Production with a Smartwatch
A commercial smartwatch's green light-emitting diode can trigger an implanted molecular switch to regulate insulin production, thanks to researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland.
From ACM TechNews
PNNL's Shadow Figment Technology Foils Cyberattacks
Shadow Figment technology is designed to contain cyberattacks by luring hackers into artificial environments and feeding them false indicators of success.
From ACM TechNews
Amazon's Ring Will Ask Police to Publicly Request User Videos
Amazon subsidiary and Internet-connected doorbell maker Ring said police departments must make future requests for home security video from its doorbells and cameras publicly.
From ACM News
Thousands Descend on Miami to Glorify Bitcoin
It was the largest Bitcoin event in the world and the first major in-person crypto conference since the pandemic started. The jargon, the liquor, and the millionaire talk flowed.
From ACM News
FYI: Today's Computer Chips are So Advanced, They are More 'Mercurial' than Precise – and Here's the Proof
Rarely seen miscalculations now crop up frequently at cloud hyperscale.
From ACM TechNews
Mass-scale Manipulation of Twitter Trends Discovered
The Twitter Trends platform's algorithm for identifying and alerting Twitter users to popular hashtag-fueled topics is vulnerable to mass-scale manipulation, researchers found.
From ACM TechNews
White House Sends Memo to Private Sector on Cyberattack Protections
A memo issued by the White House offers recommendations for private sector organizations to guard against cyberattacks.
From ACM TechNews
EU Plans Digital ID Wallet for Post-Pandemic Life
The European Union has announced plans for a post-pandemic smartphone application to enable EU residents to access services across the bloc.
From ACM TechNews
Engineers Create a Programmable Fiber
Engineering researchers collaborated on the design of the first programmable digital fiber.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Memory Crystals Are a Step Towards Futuristic Internet
Researchers at Spain's Institute of Photonic Sciences have taken a step toward a secure quantum Internet by using crystals to execute quantum teleportation of information.
From ACM News
The Internet Goes Quantum
A global network that would use quantum "entanglement" to weave intimate ties between far-flung users is beginning to take shape.
From ACM News
A.I. Drone May Have Acted on Its Own in Attacking Fighters, U.N. Says
A United Nations report suggested that a drone, used against militia fighters in Libya's civil war, may have selected a target autonomously.
From ACM News
Think You Know the World’s Most Popular Websites? Think Again
See the chaos of the Internet in this ridiculously detailed world map.
From ACM News
Supreme Court Limits Reach of Computer Crime Law
The court said the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act does not cover people who "have improper motives for obtaining the information that is otherwise available to them."