Geekly Update - 21 September 2022

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Strange radio bursts have been detected from galaxies far, far away. Astronomers are struggling to decode what they believe could be messages from distant civilizations. If my hunch is right, the translation will turn out to be something like this: “FROM THE DESK OF MR. BAIL ANTILLES, ALDERAAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION – Dear friend, Having consulted with my colleagues and based on the information Gathered from the Alderaanian Chambers Of Commerce And Industry, I have the privilege to request your assistance to transfer the sum of FORTY-FIVE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS, into your account.

A survey of 327 AI researchers researchers found that 36 percent believe artificial intelligence could cause a catastrophe on the scale of nuclear war. Yes, yes, but the other 64 percent think things will be just fine. Do you feel lucky?

What happens to sensitive data when big companies shut down a data center? At global investment firm Morgan Stanley, those unwanted hard drives and backup tapes ended up being sold at auction. But several thousand unencrypted drives were auctioned off without first being wiped. Oops. The SEC has fined Morgan Stanley $35 million for failing to safeguard 15 million customers’ data as required by federal regulations. Will each victim receive $2.33 in compensation?

If you want to buy a floppy disk, you'll have to see a man named Tom Persky. Persky operates floppydisk.com, and is perhaps the 'last man standing' when it comes to selling and recycling the not-quite-obsolete computer storage disks. Airlines are the largest customer for floppies, because the avionics systems in many commercial planes haven't changed much in 20 years.

Security researcher Brian Krebs reports that a Florida teen employed by a cybercriminal group was kidnapped, beaten, and held for a $200K ransom by a rival cybercrime gang who threatened to kill him. The teenager, known as Foreshadow in the cybercrime underground, was a low-level player in a SIM swapping operation to facilitate cryptocurrency theft.

Should your car refuse to start if it thinks you've had a few too many drinks? The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that the government require all new vehicles to include technology capable of detecting drunk or impaired driving.

Smokey the Bear, you're fired! T-Mobile and startup Pano AI are leveraging 5G cell towers equipped with wildfire-detecting cameras in wilderness areas to give early warning to fire fighters. The cameras look for telltale smoke patterns indicating a potential wildfire, and send high-resolution video to fire departments.

Last year Verizon bought Tracfone for $6 billion. This year, they've launched Total, a new prepaid brand to compete with T-Mobile's Metro and AT&T's Cricket Wireless. Total-branded prepaid phones will be available at Walmart, Target, Dollar General, and online (but not in cereal boxes). The entry-level $30 per month plan will include one line and 5GB of high-speed data.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/researchers-use-fluid-dynamics-to-spot-deepfake-voices/
Audio deepfakes can be created created from as little as 10 seconds of recorded audio obtained from a human speaker. Convincing conversations generated by deepfake audio software can be near impossible for humans to recognize as fake. But some researchers have found a way to detect the subtle differences in speech produced by humans from speech generated by AI fakery.

And finally, here is this week's Just Here For The Headline entry: Japanese Scientists Create Remote-Controlled Cyborg Cockroaches.

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