acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

Recent Opinion


bg-corner

The Message Voyager 1 Carries For Alien Civilizations
From ACM Opinion

The Message Voyager 1 Carries For Alien Civilizations

The year was 1977.

Grand Theft Auto 5: Inside the Creative Process with Dan Houser
From ACM Opinion

Grand Theft Auto 5: Inside the Creative Process with Dan Houser

We're four days away now. After a year of pre-publicity and a five-year wait since GTA IV, the latest instalment in Rockstar's gangland opus is almost upon us.

VCs Doerr and Khosla on Gov't Snooping: It's a Tradeoff
From ACM Opinion

VCs Doerr and Khosla on Gov't Snooping: It's a Tradeoff

Two of the most influential venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, John Doerr and Vinod Khosla, weighed in on the current controversy government surveillance, contending...

How Facebook Makes ­s ­nhappy
From ACM Opinion

How Facebook Makes ­s ­nhappy

No one joins Facebook to be sad and lonely.

How Startup Culture Is Killing Innovation
From ACM Opinion

How Startup Culture Is Killing Innovation

Far from being the measure of disgrace it once was, failure now seems to be a sort of badge of honor. Somewhere along the way, it got to be uncool to reduce one's...

Google Security Exec: 'passwords Are Dead'
From ACM Opinion

Google Security Exec: 'passwords Are Dead'

New startups looking for ways to keep their users secure should know one thing, a top Google security executive said Tuesday: "Passwords are dead."

Imagining a Cyberattack on the Power Grid
From ACM Opinion

Imagining a Cyberattack on the Power Grid

It's electrifying.

Should Students ­se a Laptop in Class?
From ACM Opinion

Should Students ­se a Laptop in Class?

There's a widely shared image on the Internet of a teacher's note that says: "Dear students, I know when you're texting in class. Seriously, no one just looks down...

Why a Cyberwar Won't Happen
From ACM Opinion

Why a Cyberwar Won't Happen

Exactly two decades ago, the RAND Corporation, an influential think tank, proclaimed that "cyberwar is coming!"

Nsa Surveillance Makes For Strange Bedfellows
From ACM Opinion

Nsa Surveillance Makes For Strange Bedfellows

The controversy over U.S. government surveillance has produced a king-size collection of strange bedfellows. Beneath the covers one finds both amusing ironies and...

Nsa's Anti-Encryption Efforts Compromise ­.s. Security
From ACM Opinion

Nsa's Anti-Encryption Efforts Compromise ­.s. Security

National Security Agency efforts to overcome encryption of online data weaken American security and undermine the government's duty to protect its own cyberinfrastructure...

From ACM Opinion

Online Data Brokers Know You—surprisingly Well

I'm a middle-aged guy who lives in a house that was built more than 50 years ago.

From ACM Opinion

Online Data Brokers Know You—Surprisingly Well

I'm a middle-aged guy who lives in a house that was built more than 50 years ago.

Nsa Surveillance: A Guide to Staying Secure
From ACM Opinion

Nsa Surveillance: A Guide to Staying Secure

Now that we have enough details about how the NSA eavesdrops on the Internet, including today's disclosures of the NSA's deliberate weakening of cryptographic systems...

Why the ­.s. Should ­se Cyber Weapons Against Syria
From ACM Opinion

Why the ­.s. Should ­se Cyber Weapons Against Syria

If the Obama administration does conduct military strikes against Syria, as seems likely, it should use military cyber weapons at the earliest possible moment to...

How Advanced Is the NSA's Cryptanalysis—And Can We Resist It?
From ACM Opinion

How Advanced Is the NSA's Cryptanalysis—And Can We Resist It?

The latest Snowden document is the U.S. intelligence "black budget."

Who Will Prosper in the New World
From ACM Opinion

Who Will Prosper in the New World

Self-driving vehicles threaten to send truck drivers to the unemployment office.

Tech Pioneer Vint Cerf on the Age of Context and Why You Can't Be a Citizen of the Internet
From ACM Opinion

Tech Pioneer Vint Cerf on the Age of Context and Why You Can't Be a Citizen of the Internet

Few people have as much claim as Vint Cerf to the title "Father of the Internet," but as the technologies he helped develop in the 1970s and 1980s become increasingly...

The Nsa's Crypto "breakthrough"
From ACM Opinion

The Nsa's Crypto "breakthrough"

One difficulty of reporting on spy outfits like America's National Security Agency is the veil of secrecy they operate behind.

The STEM Crisis Is a Myth
From ACM Opinion

The STEM Crisis Is a Myth

You must have seen the warning a thousand times: Too few young people study scientific or technical subjects, businesses can't find enough workers in those fields...
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account