Risks Digest 31.78

[RISKS List Owner <risko () csl sri com>]

RISKS-LIST: Risks-Forum Digest  Saturday 2 May 2020  Volume 31 : Issue 78

ACM FORUM ON RISKS TO THE PUBLIC IN COMPUTERS AND RELATED SYSTEMS (comp.risks)
Peter G. Neumann, founder and still moderator

***** See last item for further information, disclaimers, caveats, etc. *****
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  Contents:
Artificial Intelligence Outperforms Human Intel Analysts In a Key Area
  (Defense One)
Drones, robots, and super sperm: the future of farming (Youtube)
Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors Because of a Repair Ban (Youtube)
Ultra-rare footage from robot spy gorilla shows giant apes singing (The Sun)
What Is Fleeceware, and How Can You Protect Yourself? (WiReD)
Tech Giants Are Using This Crisis to Colonize the Welfare System (Jacobin)
Bezos could face House subpoena in antitrust probe (WashPost)
Canadians have lost more than $1.2 million to COVID-19 scams (CBC News)
Technology once used to combat ISIS propaganda .. (WashPost)
Why dangerous conspiracy theories about the virus spread so fast --
  and how they can be stopped.  (WashPost)
`Splinternet' Nearer Than We Think? (The Telegraph)
Abridged info on RISKS (comp.risks)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 May 2020 19:15:22 -1000
From:  geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com>
Subject: Artificial Intelligence Outperforms Human Intel Analysts In a Key
  Area (Defense One)

A Defense Intelligence Agency experiment shows AI and humans have
different risk tolerances when data is scarce.

EXCERPT:

In the 1983 movie *WarGames*, the world is brought to the edge of nuclear
destruction when a military computer using artificial intelligence
interprets false data as an imminent Soviet missile strike. Its human
overseers in the Defense Department, unsure whether the data is real, can't
convince the AI that it may be wrong. A recent finding from the Defense
Intelligence Agency, or DIA, suggests that in a real situation where humans
and AI were looking at enemy activity, those positions would be reversed.

Artificial intelligence can actually be more cautious than humans about its
conclusions in situations when data is limited. While the results are
preliminary, they offer an important glimpse into how humans and AI will
complement one another in critical national security fields.

DIA analyzes activity from militaries around the globe. Terry Busch, the
technical director for the agency's Machine-Assisted Analytic
Rapid-Repository System, or MARS, on Monday joined a Defense One viewcast to
discuss the agency's efforts to incorporate AI into analysis and decision
making.

Earlier this year, Busch's team set up a test between a human and AI. The
first part was simple enough: use available data to determine whether a
particular ship was in U.S. waters. [...]

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2020/04/artificial-intelligence-outperforms-human-intel-analysts-one-key-area/165022/

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 May 2020 19:17:20 -1000
From: geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com>
Subject: Drones, robots, and super sperm: the future of farming (Youtube)

The future of farming: Driverless tractors, drones and robots. How is the
agriculture industry changing as digital technology develops?

Unmanned tractors controlled via GPS; drones that kill vermin in the fields
from above; and highly efficient bull sperm used to produce geneticly
optimized calves. This is not science fiction. It's the future of farming,
today. "Smart farming" is the agricultural industry's new buzzword. A survey
of almost 600 German farmers has revealed that more than one in two now uses
digital solutions to optimize their harvests. Fierce regional and global
competition, declining subsidies, higher standards of food quality,
environmental protection, and increasing demand are forcing farmers to be
highly efficient. This documentary looks at three examples of "smart
farming" in Germany. Breeding consultant Johanna Schendel creates optimized
dairy cows by selecting the right bull semen. Asparagus farmer Heiner
Bartels uses a smartphone to calculate the optimum time to harvest. And
drone pilot Bernd Meyer is out to fight pests in maize fields from the air.
All three are trying to use modern technology to modify nature to fit the
needs of our society. But where are the limits?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DqwNVNE83Udo

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 May 2020 19:18:07 -1000
From: geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com>
Subject: Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors Because of a Repair Ban
  (Youtube)

As of 2020, no right to repair law has passed in the US. But more than 20
states are considering legislation similar to Nebraska's, and Bernie Sanders
and Elizabeth Warren have both supported national right to repair
legislation for farmers.

When it comes to repair, farmers have always been self reliant. But the
modernization of tractors and other farm equipment over the past few
decades has left most farmers in the dust thanks to diagnostic software
that large manufacturers hold a monopoly over.

In this episode of State of Repair, we go to Nebraska to talk to the farmers
and mechanics who are fighting large manufacturers like John Deere for the
right to access the diagnostic software they need to repair their
tractors. [...]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPYy_g8NzmI

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 May 2020 19:16:04 -1000
From: the keyboard of geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com>
Subject: Ultra-rare footage from robot spy gorilla shows giant apes singing
  ... (The Sun)

Singing mountain gorillas have been caught on camera for the first time by a
robot 'spy'.  The apes 'broke into song' as they enjoyed their dinner of
leaves.

The ultra-rare footage was filmed by a robotic spy designed to look like a
young gorilla.  The singing apes featured in the recently aired PBS series
"*Nature: Spy in the Wild 2"*
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/collections/spy-wild/>*.*

Human camera operators are supposed to keep a safe distance from wild
gorillas.  However, the lifelike animatronic spy robot was able to
infiltrate the group and film the gorilla serenade. [...]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/11514736/rare-footage-gorillas-singing-eating/

  [Gorillamydreams, we love you.  I wonder if they sing polyphonicly (in
  harmony)?  We have a new variant: "What sings, eats shoots and leaves"
  (a la Lynne Truss's book)?  PGN]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 May 2020 15:16:05 -0400
From: Gabe Goldberg <gabe () gabegold com>
Subject: What Is Fleeceware, and How Can You Protect Yourself? (WiReD)

Sneaky developers are charging big bucks for basic apps. Here's how to spot
a scam in sheep's clothing.

It's always safer to download mobile apps from official stores like Google
Play and Apple's iOS App Store, but even then there's still some risk that
malicious apps have snuck in. You've already heard of spyware, adware, and
malware writ large, but now there's another flavor of sketchy app to worry
about: fleeceware.

Fleeceware is tricky, because there's typically nothing malicious in the
code of the offending apps. They don't steal your data or try to take over
your device, meaning there's nothing malware-like for Google and Apple's
vetting process to catch. Instead, these scams hinge on apps that work as
advertised but come with hidden, excessive subscription fees. A flashlight
app that costs $9 per week or a basic photo filters app that's $30 per month
would both be fleeceware, because you can get the same types of tools for
free, or much cheaper, from other apps.

https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-fleeceware-protect-yourself/

...so far I've not found need or desire to buy or subscribe anything.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 2 May 2020 13:53:43 PDT
From: "Peter G. Neumann" <neumann () csl sri com>
Subject: Tech Giants Are Using This Crisis to Colonize the Welfare System
  (Jacobin)

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/04/tech-giants-coronavirus-pandemic-welfare=2Dsurveillance

Jo�h Carlos Magalh�es and Nick Couldry, Jacobin Magazine, Apr 2020

In recent years, firms like Google and Facebook have used the Global South
as a testbed for new and unregulated forms of data collection. Faced with
coronavirus, the same mechanisms are being rolled out across the world --
with for-profit data collection becoming increasingly central to states --
management of their welfare systems.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 May 2020 14:52:42 -0400
From: Gabe Goldberg <gabe () gabegold com>
Subject: Bezos could face House subpoena in antitrust probe (WashPost)

A top House committee investigating the tech industry has asked him to
agree to appear or face a potential subpoena if he declines

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/01/amazon-jeff-bezos-testify/

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 May 2020 19:59:33 -0400
From: Jos� Mar�a Mateos <chema () rinzewind org>
Subject: Canadians have lost more than $1.2 million to COVID-19 scams
  (CBC News)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid-scams-fraud-crime-1.5551294?cmp=rss

Canadians have lost more than $1.2 million in recent weeks to scammers
taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, CBC News has learned.

Jeff Thomson of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said the centre has received
739 reports since 6 Mar of attempts to defraud Canadians with scams
related to the pandemic. He said 178 of those attempts succeeded.

The centre is also seeing attempts to use the pandemic as cover to infect
computers with malware.

The victims of one such scheme receive messages telling them they've been
exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and asking them to
fill out what looks like an Excel form. When users click to enable the
content and view the form, it infects their computers with a Trojan
downloader that installs malicious files, said Thomson.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 2 May 2020 11:23:31 +0800
From: Richard Stein <rmstein () ieee org>
Subject: Technology once used to combat ISIS propaganda .. (WashPost)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/technology-once-used-to-combat-isis-propaganda-is-enlisted-by-democratic-group-to-counter-trumps-coronavirus-messaging/2020/05/01/6bed5f70-8a5b-11ea-ac8a-fe9b8088e101_story.html

"A new Democratic-aligned political action committee advised by retired Army
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is
planning to deploy technology originally developed to counter Islamic State
propaganda in service of a domestic political goal -- to combat online
efforts to promote President Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The group, Defeat Disinfo, will use artificial intelligence and network
analysis to map discussion of the president's claims on social media. It
will seek to intervene by identifying the most popular counter-narratives
disinand boosting them through a network of more than 3.4 million influencers
across the country -- in some cases paying users with large followings to
take sides against the president.

"The initiative reflects fears within the Democratic Party that Trump's
unwavering digital army may help sustain him through the pandemic, as it has
through past controversies, even as the economy craters, tens of thousands
have died, and Trump suffers in the polls."

Reminiscent of A.K. Dewdney's "Core War" (see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_War), this soft war aims to tip public
opinion. Public appetite for fact is apparently suffocating under
misinformation torrents.

Can a Disinfo versus Misinfo bot war cleanse coronavirus pandemic messaging?
A "SMOP" -- small matter of programming -- is all it takes.  Appears that
social media "likes" and "unlikes" and "re-tweets" will battle it out until
the 03NOV2020 election decides the winner.

Soft or hard, "War is not healthy for children and other living things."

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 2 May 2020 11:40:27 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Subject: Why dangerous conspiracy theories about the virus spread so fast --
  and how they can be stopped.  (WashPost)

Fighting online misinformation like the 5g conspiracy
theory can feel like fighting a waterfall. But it can be done.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/01/5g-conspiracy-theory-coronavirus-misinformation/

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 02 May 2020 22:21:18 +0100
From: Chris Drewe <e767pmk () yahoo co uk>
Subject: 'Splinternet' Nearer Than We Think? (The Telegraph)

Probably old news for RISKS readers, but I spotted this in this weekend's
newspaper.

  [Well, the only previous reference to `splinternet' was in RISKS-31.01,
  from 4 Jan 2019, although the concept is not new here.  PGN]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/05/01/internets-fracturing-will-change-american-capitalism-forever/

The Internet's fracturing will change American capitalism forever
*The Telegraph*, 1 May 2020

> A digital iron curtain separating east and west is now more likely than
> ever. Beijing and Washington have taken steps that could accelerate the
> move towards a `splinternet' -- a physical divide in the World Wide Web,
> with firewalls between countries and cultures.

> This war is driven by numerous factors, but one of the most irksome for
> Washington hawks relates to technology transfer.

> China's rival to the Global Positioning System (GPS), the satellite
> navigation technology that we use in smartphones, goes live this month.
> Perhaps more significantly, Beijing has also submitted proposals to
> change the global architecture of the Internet.
> Huawei argued that the global network infrastructure based on the
> Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) was not
> future proof and several Chinese companies had joined forces to develop
> a new system.

> China [said that] it was already building this new Internet
> architecture and it will be tested in early 2021.
> It appears the splinternet[s] could be here sooner than we think.

In the UK, there has been a campaign running for a few years demanding that
Internet companies must have a legally-mandated duty of care for what people
can see, i.e., they should be treated as publishers rather than transmission
channels.  Personally I feel that this is like the idea of charging for
e-mail traffic; an attractive proposal but likely unworkable in practice.
With different countries having different standards, barring undesirable
material would require country-wide firewalls (i.e. 'splinternets') to keep
anything nasty out.  In the article here, it's a case of choosing the
Chinese Internet or everybody else's.  (As I write, there's still an
argument over allowing Huawei to provide parts of the UK's 5G network.)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/05/01/internets-fracturing-will-change-american-capitalism-forever/

  [Note that I have chosen to refer to "splinternets" because there could be
  many, as opposed to "The Internet", for which there is ONLY ONE.  PGN]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2019 11:11:11 -0800
From: RISKS-request () csl sri com
Subject: Abridged info on RISKS (comp.risks)

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End of RISKS-FORUM Digest 31.78
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