Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
March 2021
From ACM News
Firmware Attacks Are on the Rise and You Aren't Worrying About Them Enough
Businesses are too busy patching to worry about firmware attacks, according to a Microsoft-commissioned study.
From ACM News
What We Got Wrong About Uber and Lyft
How can we believe that technology will help solve big problems if Uber's great promise didn't pan out?
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Covid-19 Supercomputing Group Evaluates Year-Long Effort
The Covid-19 High-Performance Computing Consortium gave researchers free access to the world's most powerful computers over the past year.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Lizard Can Quickly Climb a Wall, Just Like the Real Thing
A robot built by researchers at Australia's University of the Sunshine Coast has legs and feet programmed to mimic the gait of climbing lizards.
From ACM TechNews
Microsoft Targets 50,000 Jobs with LinkedIn 'Re-skilling' Effort
Microsoft said it will hire 50,000 people for jobs requiring technology skills over the next three years, as part of a broader campaign with LinkedIn to re-skill workers.
From ACM TechNews
Getting the Inside Track on Street Design
Researchers used anonymous phone data to measure the influence of building density and street design on pedestrian behavior in London, Amsterdam, and Stockholm.
From ACM TechNews
Android Sends 20x More Data to Google Than iOS Sends to Apple, Study Says
A researcher says the Android operating system transmits about 20 times more information from smartphone handsets to Google than iOS sends to Apple.
From ACM News
Turing Award Goes to Creators of Computer Programming Building Blocks
Jeffrey Ullman and Alfred Aho developed many of the fundamental concepts that researchers use when they build new software.
From ACM News
With Drones and Other Autonomous Vehicles, Safety Must Come First
Engineers developing drones or similar robotic helpers need to focus on mitigating the dangers.
From ACM News
Honeywell Says Quantum Computers Will Outpace Standard Verification in '18 to 24 Months'
Compared to other companies, Honeywell's approach to quantum computing focuses on a narrower range of more stable qubits.
From ACM News
New Android Malware Found with Full Range of Spying Capabilities
Despite its sophistication, the app can be easy for more experienced users to spot.
From ACM TechNews
During Emergencies, Social Media is Critical Channel for Warnings
An analysis of responses to the 2019 Deer Park, TX, chemical fire found that people warned of the disaster via social media, friends, and family were most likely to act.
From ACM TechNews
The Future of Wearables: 'Women Have Used Earrings for 7,000 Years. We've Just Upgraded the Experience'
German startup Nova Audio has created pearl earrings that double as earphones, with a tiny speaker, two microphones, an antenna, a Bluetooth chip, and a battery.
From ACM News
Avoiding Coronavirus Infections to the Email
Cybercriminals go phishing with COVID lures.
From ACM TechNews
New Wave of 'Hacktivism' Adds Twist to Cybersecurity Woes
Activist hackers looking to make political statements constitute emerging threats to U.S. cybersecurity.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Developed Backpack System to Guide Vision-Impaired Wearers
An artificial intelligence (AI)-powered backpack developed by University of Georgia (UGA) researchers can help vision-impaired wearers navigate their environment.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Learns to Tie Knots Using Only Two Fingers on Each Hand
Tetsuya Ogata and colleagues at Japan's Waseda University have taught an artificial intelligence-powered robot to tie knots around a box using just two fingers on each hand.
From ACM TechNews
'Smart Clothes' Can Measure Your Movements
Researchers have developed clothing that incorporates special fibers to detect the wearer's movements.
From ACM TechNews
TikTok Does Not Pose Overt Threat to U.S. National Security, Researchers Say
Cybersecurity researchers said TikTok's underlying computer code does not pose a national security threat to the U.S.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Model Tracks Cellphone Data to Predict Covid Spread
Binghamton University's Arti Ramesh and Anand Seetharam have designed an algorithm to predict the spread of Covid-19 by tracking cellphone data.
From ACM News
Unlocking the Covid Code
Scientists can now sequence an entire genome overnight. This technology has been the key tool in identifying and tracking Covid variants.
From ACM News
Is Coffee Good for Us? Maybe Machine Learning Can Help Figure It Out.
The advice from research on coffee, and nutrition more generally, always seems to be changing. Processing vast amounts of data could help us pin it down.
From ACM News
Fewer Troops, but More Tech: U.K. Military Downsizes as it Shifts to AI, Drones, Cyber
New defense plans for the next decade come with a strong focus on new technologies, pitching leaner but more effective armed forces.
From ACM TechNews
Tesla Interior Cameras Threaten Driver Privacy, Consumer Reports Says
Consumer Reports (CR) says in-cabin cameras that electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla incorporates into driver-assist systems can threaten driver privacy.
From ACM TechNews
Want a Vaccination Appointment? It Helps to Know a Python Programmer
A boutique online community of computer programmers has emerged to help family and friends gain a competitive advantage in securing vaccination appointments.
From ACM TechNews
New U.K. Currency Honors Alan Turing, Pioneering Computer Scientist and Code-Breaker
The Bank of England has unveiled a new £50 banknote featuring pioneering mathematician, code-breaker, and computer scientist Alan Turing.
From ACM TechNews
Optical Fiber Could Boost Power of Superconducting Quantum Computers
Physicists at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology measured and controlled a superconducting quantum bit (qubit) with optical fiber.
From ACM TechNews
Stay on Track! Support System to Help the Visually Impaired Navigate Tactile Paving
A support system to help the visually impaired navigate tactile paving includes an image processing algorithm to make paving detection independent of color thresholds.
From ACM News
BSA Leads Letter Urging Biden Administration to Prioritize Open Data
A group of technology trade associations are calling on the Biden Administration to prioritize open data policies, and to appoint a federal Chief Data Officer.
From ACM News
A Vaccine Passport Is the New Golden Ticket as the World Reopens
Companies and countries that depend on travel or large gatherings are counting on a totally unproven concept.