ACM TechNews, Monday, September 9, 2024

Welcome to the September 9, 2024 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

Security Alerts at Apalachee Helped Save Lives

A security system at Apalachee High School in Georgia is being credited with helping to prevent further bloodshed during a shooting attack last week. Every teacher and staff member is issued an identification badge that includes a panic button. If the button is pushed eight times in a row, as it was by staff during the attack, a warning is sent to the local 911 system, as well as to others in the building.
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Regulators Try to Do the Math on AI Safety

AI safety legislation passed in California would, if signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, regulate AI models trained on 10 to the 26th floating-point operations per second, the same threshold that requires reporting to the U.S. government under a 2023 executive order signed by President Joe Biden. The threshold is viewed by some lawmakers and AI safety advocates as a level of computing power at which AI systems could become dangerous, but critics call the measure arbitrary.
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U.S. Voters Targeted by Chinese Influence Online

Intelligence company Graphika reported that the Chinese state-linked social media influence operation known as "Spamouflage" or "Dragonbridge" is ramping up activity ahead of the U.S. presidential election. Graphika researchers found the operation is using thousands of accounts on more than 50 social media platforms, forums, and websites to disparage U.S. politicians, promote divisive messages, and impersonate U.S. voters.
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RAMBO Steals Data Using RAM in Air-Gapped Computers

A side-channel attack created by a team led by Mordechai Guri of Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev generates electromagnetic radiation from a device's Random-Access Memory (RAM) to send data from air-gapped computers. RAMBO (Radiation of Air-gapped Memory Bus for Offense) requires malware to be planted on an air-gapped computer to collect data and prepare it for transmission. It transmits the data by manipulating memory access patterns to generate controlled electromagnetic emissions from the device's RAM.
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Iberian Lynx, Back from the Brink, Protected by Virtual Fences

The population of Iberian lynx exceeds 2,000 currently, up from less than 50 mature lynx in the wild in 2001, thanks to a €100-million ($112-million) conservation project funded by the E.U. and the Spanish government. However, the wild feline remains threatened due to factors including road safety, which prompted the installation of virtual fences. The systems feature sensors placed 50 meters apart along roadways that trigger sounds and lights to warn the animals and prompt drivers to slow down.
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Local Governments Hooked on One Company's Janky Software

North Carolina entered a 10-year, $85 million contract with Tyler Technologies Inc. to implement its Odyssey software, taking its judicial system into the digital era. After four counties launched the system in early 2023, 573 software defects were identified by state administrators, with users reporting problems ranging from delays in uploading cases to wrongful arrests. Tyler is known for its various local government software applications, and for a history of software flaws, release delays, complaints, and lawsuits.
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Robotic Coffee Drive-Thru Has Drink Ready as You Pull Up

The p!ng automated coffee drive-thru pod in Lowell, MA, allows customers to place orders through the company's app and have their coffee ready for pickup when they arrive. Drivers must have their app with them in the car, and their order is made when monitors register they are within 300 feet of the pod. Most orders are completed in 30 seconds or less.
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A Day in the Life of the World's Fastest Supercomputer

Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Frontier is the world's first supercomputer to break the exascale speed barrier. Researchers have been using Frontier to develop climate models and large language models, simulate proteins to develop new drugs, and more. In 2023, 131 projects were awarded time on the supercomputer, with the average allocation around 500,000 node hours. Use of the supercomputer is free, provided researchers publish their results.
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Ukraine to Unleash Robodogs Against Russia

Ukraine's armed forces are deploying two types of robotic dogs in the war with Russia. These include Go-2 Pro robodogs from China's UniTree and Lite3 Venture robodogs from China's DEEP Robotics, both reworked by U.K.-based Brit Alliance as BAD1 and BAD2. These robotic dogs cost just $2,000 to $3,000, significantly less than Western-built models. Brit Alliance CEO Kyle Thornburn said the robodogs are intended to perform reconnaissance, de-mining, and logistics tasks.
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AI Anchors Protect Reporters amid Government Crackdown in Venezuela

In response to the Venezuelan government's crackdown on journalists and protesters, Colombian non-profit Connectas has created AI-generated news anchors to deliver news in Venezuela from independent media outlets while protecting reporters. The AI anchors are named "El Pana," Venezuelan slang for "friend," and "La Chama," meaning "The Girl." Connectas' Carlos Huertas said, "We decided to use artificial intelligence to be the 'face' of the information we're publishing because our colleagues who are still out doing their jobs are facing much more risk."
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Self-Driving Cars Get Help from Humans Hundreds of Miles Away

At Zoox's command center in Foster City, CA, human technicians assist the Amazon-owned company's self-driving vehicles. They are tasked with routing the self-driving cars around construction zones and other unexpected situations, although they do not have full control of the vehicles. They also can track the robotaxis and provide verbal assistance to passengers through interior speakers and microphones.
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New Recruitment Challenge: Filtering AI-Crafted Résumés

Tech companies and recruiters attribute substantial interest in their job postings to the use of AI to customize and submit numerous résumés in rapid succession. To avoid hiring "fake candidates," recruiters are taking extra steps to verify applicants' identities and experience. Some firms record interviews and flag candidates for further vetting if they look away from the camera before answering a question, as they may be consulting ChatGPT for answers.
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