acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

Recent Opinion


bg-corner

How the Icloud Hack Happened and How to Avoid Being Next
From ACM Opinion

How the Icloud Hack Happened and How to Avoid Being Next

Mat Honan, the technology reporter who was digitally disemboweled this past weekend, has revealed exactly how he was so spectacularly owned. His case, a cascade...

Tired of Security Problems? Change Rules of Writing Code
From ACM TechNews

Tired of Security Problems? Change Rules of Writing Code

Security researcher Dan Kaminsky believes rethinking the basic rules of computer science can dramatically improve computer security, and argues that "there's not...

How Cyber Security Could Be a Winning Issue for Obama
From ACM Opinion

How Cyber Security Could Be a Winning Issue for Obama

A blackout in Manhattan. A major dam failure. Mayhem at a chemical plant. Those are all potential, and entirely plausible, consequences of a cyber attack, according...

How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking
From ACM Opinion

How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking

In the space of one hour, my entire digital life was destroyed.

Why Drone Pilots Deserve Medals
From ACM Opinion

Why Drone Pilots Deserve Medals

The escalating dependence on drone pilots, as Maj. Dave Blair agonized in the May-June issue ofAir & Space Power Journal, is undercutting the ability to award combat...

Meet the Man Who Put the '@' in Your Email
From ACM Opinion

Meet the Man Who Put the '@' in Your Email

Who invented email? That's a bit like asking, "Who invented the Internet?" Even those with intimate knowledge of its creation can’t agree on the moment it actually...

How Fbi Technology Woes Let Fort Hood Shooter Slip By
From ACM News

How Fbi Technology Woes Let Fort Hood Shooter Slip By

On November 5, 2009, an Army psychiatrist stationed at Fort Hood, Texas shot and killed 12 fellow soldiers and a civilian Defense Department employee while wounding...

The Frightening Things You Hear at a Black Hat Conference
From ACM Opinion

The Frightening Things You Hear at a Black Hat Conference

Here is a look at some of the highlights and scarier happenings taking place at the annual Black Hat hacker conference in Las Vegas last week.

Tagging and Tracking Espionage Botnets
From ACM Opinion

Tagging and Tracking Espionage Botnets

A security researcher who's spent 18 months cataloging and tracking malicious software that was developed and deployed specifically for spying on governments, activists...

From ACM Opinion

The Public Is Left in the Dark When Courts Allow Electronic Surveillance

A big part of Magistrate Judge Stephen W. Smith's job in Federal District Court in Houston is to consider law enforcement requests for cellphone and email records...

The Ethics of Software Engineering Should Be an Ethics For the Client
From Communications of the ACM

The Ethics of Software Engineering Should Be an Ethics For the Client

Viewing software engineering as a communicative art in which client engagement is essential.

Internet Elections
From Communications of the ACM

Internet Elections: Unsafe in Any Home?

Experiences with electronic voting suggest elections should not be conducted via the Internet.

The Internet Is Everywhere, but the Payoff Is Not
From Communications of the ACM

The Internet Is Everywhere, but the Payoff Is Not

Examining the uneven patterns of Internet economics.

A System Is Not a Product
From Communications of the ACM

A System Is Not a Product

Stopping to smell the code before wasting time reentering configuration data.

The Politics of 'Real Names'
From Communications of the ACM

The Politics of 'Real Names'

Power, context, and control in networked publics.

Will Massive Open Online Courses Change How We Teach?
From Communications of the ACM

Will Massive Open Online Courses Change How We Teach?

Sharing recent experiences with the massive open artificial intelligence course developed and conducted by Stanford faculty Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig.  

Inside the Hermit Kingdom
From Communications of the ACM

Inside the Hermit Kingdom: IT and Outsourcing in North Korea

North Korea has a sizeable IT sector. Some 10,000 professionals work in the field, and many more have IT degrees. They are already engaged in outsourcing contracts...

Russia's Top Cyber Sleuth Foils ­S Spies, Helps Kremlin Pals
From ACM Opinion

Russia's Top Cyber Sleuth Foils ­S Spies, Helps Kremlin Pals

It's early February in Cancun, Mexico. A group of 60 or so financial analysts, reporters, diplomats, and cybersecurity specialists shake off the previous night's...

What's ­p With Skype?
From ACM Opinion

What's ­p With Skype?

Is the government listening to our Skype conversations? If so, it's not a bad thing. Here's why.

Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously
From ACM Opinion

Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously

Last month I convened an emergency meeting of my cabinet and top homeland security, intelligence and defense officials. Across the country trains had derailed,...
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account