Civil defence used to involve air raid wardens, ambulance drivers and rescue teams. That was at the height of the Cold War, and the hot wars of the 20th century that preceded it. These days, it means taking the fight online — against hackers and cyber criminals looking to take down or ransom critical infrastructure, such as… Read more »
Monthly Archives: March 2020
Coronavirus: The sports turning to gaming during lockdown
Formula 1 streamed its first ever Virtual Grand Prix, with full pundit and commentary team. Celebrities including singer Liam Payne and cyclist Sir Chris Hoy played against each other and in teams from their own homes, in isolation. Television outlets are also getting in on the action. In the US, more than 900,000 viewers tuned… Read more »
Covid-19 and the Future of Work
I believe that once Covid-19 is contained, we are about to see a huge acceleration of change around the Future of Work. Work that is repeatable and requires little human skill is going to get automated away much, much faster than it already was. Think how useful it would be right now if we had automated pharmacies…. Read more »
The data-driven pandemic: Information sharing with COVID-19 is ‘unprecedented’
In the early days of Canada’s COVID-19 outbreak, Elisa Baniassad was able to trace how new cases were spreading and plan her outings accordingly. “When I plotted how the virus was being transmitted, I saw that it was from close contact. People weren’t getting it out on the street, they were getting it at home… Read more »
How bad information goes viral
There’s a huge amount of misleading information circulating online about coronavirus – from dodgy health tips to speculation about government plans. This is the story of how one post went viral. It’s a list of tips and advice – some true, some benign, and some possibly harmful – which has been circulating on Facebook, WhatsApp,… Read more »
To Track Coronavirus, Israel Moves to Tap Secret Trove of Cellphone Data
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has authorized the country’s internal security agency to tap into a vast and previously undisclosed trove of cellphone data to retrace the movements of people who have contracted the coronavirus and identify others who should be quarantined because their paths crossed. Source: New York Times Date: March 19th, 2020… Read more »
Telcos say new anti-spoofing technology won’t fully roll out this year
Canada’s big phone companies warned MPs on a parliamentary committee Tuesday their networks aren’t yet ready to implement new anti-spoofing technology to guard against fake calls — and many existing landline phones and cellphones will need to be upgraded in order for the technology to be effective. Representatives from Bell, Rogers and Telus appeared Tuesday before… Read more »
‘We can’t flip a switch’: E-learning unlikely solution for all Canadian students if COVID-19 closes schools
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Date: March 13th, 2020 Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/coronavirus-school-closures-canada-1.5495075 Discussion “When you design courses for online, it actually takes deliberate thought and attention as to doing it in a good way. “So if we’re asking people just to suddenly teach their in-person courses online, it will be very difficult for those instructors to offer… Read more »
Coronavirus: How can AI help fight the pandemic?
Facebook is already working with researchers at Harvard University’s School of Public Health and the National Tsing Hua University, in Taiwan, sharing anonymised data about people’s movements and high-resolution population density maps, which help them forecast the spread of the virus. The social network is also helping partners understand how people are talking about the… Read more »
Coronavirus: How hackers are preying on fears of Covid-19
Security experts say a spike in email scams linked to coronavirus is the worst they have seen in years. Cyber-criminals are targeting individuals as well as industries, including aerospace, transport, manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare and insurance. Phishing emails written in English, French, Italian, Japanese, and Turkish languages have been found. Source: BBC Technology News Date: March… Read more »
Recent Comments