Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2020
From ACM News
Honeywell Introduces Quantum Computing as a Service with Subscription Offering
Each subscriber gets eight or sixteen hours per month of dedicated time with Honeywell scientists to run algorithms on the trapped-ion hardware.
From ACM TechNews
Hacker Releases Georgia County Election Data After Ransom Not Paid
A computer hacker publicly released election-related files from Hall County, GA, after county officials failed to pay a ransom.
From ACM TechNews
The Algorithm That Could Get You Back in the Office
As company offices reopen, some are using software to help them shuffle employees, schedule meetings, map office hot spots, and practice social distancing.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Use 3D Printer to Create World's Smallest Boat
Researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands created the world's smallest boat using an electron microscope and a high-resolution three-dimensional printer.
From ACM TechNews
Dog Training Methods Help JHU Teach Robots to Learn New Tricks
Computer scientists at Johns Hopkins University used positive reinforcement to show a robot how to teach itself new tasks quickly.
From ACM TechNews
Motorists' Smartphones May Help Highway Bosses Keep Roads Safe
High-resolution three-axis accelerometers and GPS tracking built into smartphones, along with an app, can provide useful measures of road roughness for civil engineers.
From ACM News
AI Can Diagnose COVID-19 Through Cellphone-Recorded Coughs – Even if You Don’t Have Symptoms
Results might provide a convenient screening tool for people who may not suspect they are infected.
From ACM TechNews
Website Predicts Likelihood of Cyberattacks Between Nations
Computer scientists have created a database that aims to predict the likelihood of cyberattacks between nations.
From ACM TechNews
Smarter Models, Smarter Choices
A new high-confidence approach to artificial intelligence-based models incorporates uncertainty, error, physical laws, expert knowledge, and missing data within its calculations.
From ACM TechNews
Throwable Robot Car Always Lands on Four Wheels
Researchers at the U.S. Military Academy have developed robot that can be thrown or dropped and always lands the right way up.
From ACM TechNews
With Deep Learning Algorithms, Standard CT Technology Produces Spectral Images
Engineers have developed a deep neural network that produces spectral images almost as well as dual-energy computed tomography imaging technology.
From ACM News
Teaching Cybersecurity
U.S. cybersecurity education reboots for a wider reach.
From ACM News
Officials Warn of Cyberattacks on Hospitals as Virus Cases Spike
Government officials warned that hackers were seeking to hold American hospitals' data hostage in exchange for ransom payments.
From ACM News
Does Palantir See Too Much?
The tech giant helps governments and law enforcement decipher vast amounts of data — to mysterious and, some say, dangerous ends.
From ACM News
The No-Code Generation is Arriving
No-code tools are successful because they are connecting with a new generation that understands precisely the sort of logic required by these platforms to function.
From ACM TechNews
Companies Make Their Websites More Elderly-Friendly
As the pandemic forces more people to do more business online, some companies have started redesigning their websites to make them more user-friendly for older adults.
From ACM TechNews
National Guard Called in to Thwart Cyberattack in Louisiana Weeks Before Election
The Louisiana National Guard has been called in to investigate a series of cyberattacks aimed at small government offices across the state.
From ACM TechNews
Brazil Launches AI Center
Brazil's Artificial Intelligence Center officially launched earlier this month.
From ACM TechNews
A Wearable Sensor to Help ALS Patients Communicate
A stretchable, skin-like device developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could help people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis communicate using small movements.
From ACM TechNews
App to Help Voters Locate Ballot Drop Boxes
George Mason University's Massimiliano Albanese developed the myBallotBox app to help people locate drop-off boxes for mail-in ballots.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Create Synthetic Human Tongue Using 3D Printing
Researchers at the University of Leeds in the U.K. report the development of what they are calling the first biomimetic tongue using three-dimensional printing.
From ACM News
Finally, the First Room-Temperature Superconductor
It conveys electricity in the climate of a crisp fall day, but only under pressures comparable to what you'd find closer to Earth's core.
From ACM News
How Satya Nadella Turned Microsoft Around
Now for the hard part.
From ACM News
Ransomware vs WFH: How Remote Working is Making Cyberattacks Easier to Pull Off
This year has forced organizations to adapt quickly to enabling employees to work from home. That's creating 'chaos with no control' - which cyber criminals are exploiting.
From ACM TechNews
Material Found in House Paint May Spur Technology Revolution
Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Michigan have developed a technique for generating non-volatile computer memory using titanium oxide.
From ACM TechNews
Google's Breast Cancer-Predicting AI Research Is Useless Without Transparency, Critics Say
Experts have taken issue with Google Health's artificial intelligence model for predicting breast cancer.
From ACM TechNews
Singapore Tightens Security Requirements for Home Routers
Beginning next April, home Wi-Fi routers sold in Singapore must meet new security requirements.
From ACM News
The World of TFNP
Finding a solution when you know one exists.
From ACM News
Russians Who Pose Election Threat Have Hacked Nuclear Plants and Power Grid
The hacking group, Energetic Bear, is among Russia's stealthiest. It appears to be casting a wide net to find useful targets ahead of the election, experts said.
From ACM News
Fix, or Toss? The ‘Right to Repair’ Movement Gains Ground
Both Republicans and Democrats are pursuing laws to make it easier for people to fix cellphones, cars, even hospital ventilators. In Europe, the movement is further along.