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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


Shrouding Oneself in Secrecy
From ACM News

Shrouding Oneself in Secrecy

Identity cloaking tools, developed to protect the privacy of Internet users, are being used to skirt cybersecurity and international law.

Bitter Fight Over Crispr Patent Heats Up
From ACM News

Bitter Fight Over Crispr Patent Heats Up

A versatile technique for editing genomes has been called the biggest biotechnology advancesince the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the US Patent and Trademark...

­w Computer Scientists to Make Financial Products Better and More Available For the Poor
From ACM TechNews

­w Computer Scientists to Make Financial Products Better and More Available For the Poor

University of Washington computer scientists and engineers plan to develop, test, and deploy technologies to make financial applications more available to the poor...

Google Opens ­p About When Its Self-Driving Cars Have Nearly Crashed
From ACM TechNews

Google Opens ­p About When Its Self-Driving Cars Have Nearly Crashed

Google says its fleet of automated vehicles, currently undergoing testing, have had 13 near-misses in which a driver had to intervene to prevent a collision.

An Easy Way For Hackers to Remotely Burn Industrial Motors
From ACM News

An Easy Way For Hackers to Remotely Burn Industrial Motors

Hacks that cause physical destruction are so rare they can be counted on one hand.

Prediction Machines Will See the Future For Hedge Funds, CIA
From ACM News

Prediction Machines Will See the Future For Hedge Funds, CIA

Every time a new year rolls in, lots of people make predictions. Most will either be obvious (Apple will put out some new products) or wrong (still waiting for...

Leading Through Impact
From ACM TechNews

Leading Through Impact

Harvard University's Office of Technology Development helped researchers launch a machine-learning startup that wound up being acquired by Twitter. 

Cybersecurity Experts Debate Proper Response to Terrorism
From ACM TechNews

Cybersecurity Experts Debate Proper Response to Terrorism

Recent terror attacks are spurring calls for greater government access to electronic communications, but privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts disagree. 

The New Way Police Are Surveilling You: Calculating Your Threat 'score'
From ACM News

The New Way Police Are Surveilling You: Calculating Your Threat 'score'

While officers raced to a recent 911 call about a man threatening his ex-girlfriend, a police operator in headquarters consulted software that scored the suspect's...

Insurers Brace For the Self-Driving Future and Fewer Accidents
From ACM News

Insurers Brace For the Self-Driving Future and Fewer Accidents

As autonomous driving technology advances, perhaps the most notable benefit is the promise of a striking reduction in accidents.

­.s. Meets Tech Leaders, Forms Task Force to Fight Online Militants
From ACM News

­.s. Meets Tech Leaders, Forms Task Force to Fight Online Militants

The Obama administration on Friday sent its top national security officials to meet tech industry leaders in Silicon Valley and announced a new task force to counter...

In 2016, Terror Suspects and 7-Eleven Thieves May Bring Surveillance to Supreme Court
From ACM Opinion

In 2016, Terror Suspects and 7-Eleven Thieves May Bring Surveillance to Supreme Court

It has now been 2.5 years since the first Snowden revelations were published. And in 2015, government surveillance marched on in both large (the National Security...

Science Can Tell If North Korea's Test Was Really an H-Bomb
From ACM News

Science Can Tell If North Korea's Test Was Really an H-Bomb

It was the whomp felt 'round the world.

Dutch Government: Encryption Good, Backdoors Bad
From ACM News

Dutch Government: Encryption Good, Backdoors Bad

The Dutch government has released a statement in which it says that "it is currently not desirable to take restricting legal measures concerning the development...

How 'do Not Track' Ended Up Going Nowhere
From ACM News

How 'do Not Track' Ended Up Going Nowhere

Back in 2010, the Federal Trade Commission pledged to give Internet users the power to determine if or when websites were allowed to track their behavior.

The Father of Online Anonymity Has a Plan to End the Crypto War
From ACM TechNews

The Father of Online Anonymity Has a Plan to End the Crypto War

David Chaum, who has invented many cryptographic protocols, has developed an encryption scheme for secret, anonymous communications. 

The Big Data of Bad Driving, and How Insurers Plan to Track Your Every Turn
From ACM News

The Big Data of Bad Driving, and How Insurers Plan to Track Your Every Turn

For years, insurance companies have used estimates of your annual mileage to determine your car insurance rates.

In 2015, Promising Surveillance Cases Ran Into Legal Brick Walls
From ACM Opinion

In 2015, Promising Surveillance Cases Ran Into Legal Brick Walls

Today, the first Snowden disclosures in 2013 feel like a distant memory.

Page Views Don't Matter Anymore—but They Just Won't Die
From ACM News

Page Views Don't Matter Anymore—but They Just Won't Die

The page view is a zombie.

How the ­.s. Requests ­ser Data from Google
From ACM News

How the ­.s. Requests ­ser Data from Google

The United States again topped the list of nations that request user data from Google, according to last week's Google Transparency Report.
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