I watch a lot of YouTube – so you don’t have to. In this series I’ll bring you some of the best of what I’m watching, and sometimes, as in this post, I’ll provide my own commentary.

YouTube is buzzing this week. Sam Altman is rumoured to be making a big announcement sometime soon. He may do it before I even get to publish this. As the video I included in the header indicates – the big rumour is that “everything is about to change.” Will it be Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) – the autonomous thinking and operation of AI?

The most likely answer is no. AGI will come sooner than you think. I’ve heard estimates of the end of this decade, and they are very believable.

But long before AGI hits, we will see a transformation coming – AI agents.

You might be thinking, we already HAVE AI agents.

But what we have now are single purpose, pre-programmed agents. They are programmed with natural language, but they are developed to handle a specialized, narrow purpose. They operate independently.

Again, you might say, I can now call multiple GPT’s in a single conversation. You would be right. But try calling more than two of these agents in a single conversation. Unless you specifically designed them to work together, the results will be suboptimal. The fact that you can call two agents doesn’t mean they will work together.

To make these independent agents truly collaborate would take a lot of work and a really structured approach. To get a reliable result, you need a high degree of coordination to direct traffic to the right agent and manage their collaboration.

While this may not always need programmers, it does require a true disciplined designer mindset, and time to develop, implement, test and manage via some kind of controller or application that can manage these independent agents.

But what if there was a new type of controller, one that could learn behaviours and use that learning to manage agents, programs and even physical devices the same way we humans do?

It’s already here. Take a look at this next video.

The Rabbit r1 was a big hit at the CES show this year. It’s affordably priced, it allowed direct access to an AI engine. But the focus on the device may have missed the real bombshell that Rabbit r1 dropped.

In the video, CEO Jesse Lyu teaches the AI to book a vacation, but he’s not visiting the web-sites, nor is he clicking on any web pages. The “controller” that oversees the interaction of agents and websites is doing all the work. More than that, it’s learning from this interaction how to do this series of tasks to achieve a particular result. After its first training, he is able to just say, “plan a trip” with a few comments and it executest the planning and comes back with appropriate options.

Think about that. There is no need for interfaces or APIs. There is no need for the user to have standalone apps. Once trained on a similar task, the AI system (not the device) is able to learn to do everything necessary – including operating a browser or even a computer – on its own, without intervention, to achieve a specific outcome. Once it’s learned that task, it can adapt it and even modify it.

We will have an AI that learns and can take multiple complex actions without human intervention. Where does this lead us? It leads us to a massive disruption. Here are some of the areas to watch:

Devices – We are tied to devices like phones, tablets and laptops. Why? These devices are  tools required to translate human ideas into actions. The house the specialty apps and programs that we need to use. The human is the intelligence – the “coordinator” that knows the overall task and selects the tools and provides the input, assesses the results and brings it all together.

Once you break that cycle – if the AI or operating system can learn to do all this, why do you need these specialty apps?  Why do you even need a phone or even a laptop?

Apps –  As noted above, this could be a huge disruptor. Apple, Google, Samsung and others sell us phones, which are really just containers that hold your apps. Most apps, at their core, perform a pretty simple purpose. Much of their complexity, and their success or failure, goes into how they interface with the person who plans and executes the actions. Once there is no need for that individual intervention, why do we need apps?

This is a huge threat to the phone providers. Phones are a big business and they exist largely to hold and run apps. For Apple, at least, apps are a big business. They make almost a hundred billion dollars a year off its app store.

We’ve shown you the Rabbit r1. Here’s another device that got little attention, but could also give Apple something to worry about. It’s called Humane and it also eliminates the need for an app based device.

Data – If you think Facebook knows a lot about you, just think about what this new super-agent will know about you. If it books your travel, does your purchases, researches information for you – it will know EVERYTHING.

You might remember the scandal that happened when a company called Cambridge Analytics collected Facebook data and claimed they could use likes and dislikes to predict everything from your voting preferences to your sexual preferences. That’s going to seem “so 2016” when you consider that we might all have an agent that no longer has to predict – it will know what you are going to do.

That creates a huge dilemma in terms of privacy. Where will that be stored? Who will “own” it and control it?

Could Metcalfe’s law be broken?

All of our lives since the turn of the century have been, if not controlled, at least largely managed by a handful of mega-companies. These companies grew up because of Moore’s law. Technology got more powerful and cheaper every year. The phone we have today is exponentially more powerful than the mainframes of the last century and anyone can afford it. That made the digital revolution, the internet, e-commerce and social media possible.

Now they hold onto their dominance because of Metcalfe’s law.

For those not familiar with it, Metcalfe’s law, simply stated, says that the value of a network is the square of its nodes. Or to put it simply, once you get a critical mass of users in any platform, it becomes really hard for anyone else to compete.

We can grouse about Linked In, or Facebook all I want but if we want to share informaiton with my business contacts or friends, you pretty much have to stay on these two social networks.

How strong is Metcalfe’s law. It is so strong that even Elon Musk has not been able to totally kill X/Twitter. Millions have left for other platforms, but even so, few have actually deleted their Twitter account and totally moved on. Despite many new startups trying to supplant Twitter, as of yet, no-one has. The value of their network is still dwarfed by Twitter.

X/Twitter may lose enough money to destroy itself, but it hasn’t lost enough people. That’s the power of Metcalfe’s law.

That’s why, in the digital world, monopolies and oligopolies not only emerge but they dominate against even the best competition. Facebook owns your personal networking, LinkedIn has your corporate netwwork and so on. In this digital world, this even extends to products. Microsoft owns your desktop, Google is where you search and get your browser, Apple or Samsung are where you get your phone.

There are mavericks, maybe even some niche players, but in the bigger scheme of things they are irrelevant. The big get bigger, whether they deserve it or not.

And they are enormous. Each of the companies I mentioned had a bigger value than the Hong Kong stock exchange or the GDP of many nations. That gives them not just network power. It also gives them incredible wealth. It allows them to make stupid mistakes and still recover. They can fail to innovate, but they still have massive size and economic power to buy anyone who innovates and threatens their dominance.

Microsoft dropped a cool 10 billion or more to have OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It’s not the first time Microsoft has bought its way out of being threatened by an innovator. Apple, who has not made any great moves in the AI world has quietly been buying AI startups.

This power makes it almost impossible to dislodge these giants by any normal competitive approach. It would take a seismic shift to disrupt them.

But we’ve seen these disruptions. Apple did it with the iPhone and apps. They revived a nearly bandrupt company and took it to the status of the most valuable company in the world. They did it by seizing an new opportunity space created by a merging of technological possiblity and human imagination.

What could disrupt the current big players? What if the thing that made them dominant is no logner valued? They own our data. They control our access to communities.

But what if we all “owned” our own data. What if our access to the global network was device and “app” independent?

If the control of our data and the access points to our networks is no longer a barrier to entry, what is?

Could ipatents and intellectual property rights protect these companies. Probably not. The courts have ruled against Meta trying to protect its AI model, ruling that AI may not be protected through copyright since it’s derived from other information.

The potential for disruption is clear. But do not think for a second that any of these companies is going to go down without a fight. They still have enormous resources.

Yet, disruption is coming. There is a threat and they will have to respond. Watch for the strategies they will use to retain control.

The move from Large Language Models to Large Action Models and autonomous agents changes everything. In this context, when we get to Artificial General Intelligence may not longer be relevant.

The ability of an underlying AI model to learn and exercise external control will inevitably lead to something we will call AGI. But long before that, automous agents will have an a devastatingly powerful impact.

AGI may take years, but we will see autonomous agents in the coming weeks and months.

Disruption is coming more quickly that we might want

It’s safe to say that nobody really knows how this will play out or who will win. There is a huge disruption coming.

We know that those who hold power will not give up without a fight.

All we can be certain of is that autonomous agents present a major opportunity for disruption. The impact of that disruption will make the industrial revolution look like a walk in the park.

YouTube videos can be sensationalistic. But in the midst of the hype, and even though these videos are demos there is clearly something big happening.

Buckle up. Here comes the future.

The post Forget Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) – the big impact is already here and it’s called AI agents first appeared on IT World Canada.

Every once in a while, you have an interview that goes off in a totally different direction. That’s what happened this weekend.  My guest, Ed Wattel, an AI thought leader, came in to talk about elections and how we’ll deal with AI and deep fakes. And we ended up with a fascinating discussion on the future of the internet And that interview left me hopeful.  I hope it does the same for you.

Check it out on hashtag trending the weekend edition this Saturda

Cisco joins the list of tech companies announcing layoffs, Apple Pro users are returning the new headsets with a variety of complaints, Nvidia’s crusade for sovereign AI, Elon does it again and – and Apple issues a warning that you should NOT put your iPhone in a bag of rice after you drop it water…

All this and more on this – who said anything about a toilet – I dropped it in the sink edition of Hashtag Trending. I’m your host Jim Love, CIO of IT World Canada and TechNewsDay in the US.

Cisco Systems Inc. has announced a significant reduction in its workforce, planning to lay off approximately 4,250 employees, which accounts for 5% of its total payroll. This decision was disclosed alongside the company’s second-quarter financial results, where the company revealed that it would have to lower its revenue targets.

Cisco cited several reasons for the revenue drop and resulting layoffs, including heightened caution and scrutiny of deals by customers due to economic uncertainty, delayed deployment of products by customers, and weak demand from telecom and cable service provider customers.

Cisco’s layoffs reflect a larger pattern of retrenchment and workforce reductions in the tech industry. It’s an indication that the economic challenges continue to affect the tech sector.

Sources include: IT World Canada

Some Apple’s Vision Pro users are apparently returning the $3,500 devices. The device has won praise for its innovative features but has been criticized for its lack of comfort and claims that it causes headaches, motion sickness, and eye strain among some users.

The returns are happening as the first wave of buyers reaches the end of Apple’s 14-day return period.

These reports are anecdotal and we don’t have numbers but some users have reported that the headset’s weight and front-loaded design contribute to physical discomfort. Instances of headaches, motion sickness, and even a burst blood vessel in the eye have been noted.

Then there is the absence of enough compelling applications that fully utilize the Vision Pro’s capabilities. There is no “killer app” to drive usage. There are very few games and big entertainment providers like Disney and Netflix have not gotten behind the new device. This has left some users questioning its value, especially given the high price point.

Despite its potential, users have found the Vision Pro lacking in productivity applications. Difficulties with multitasking, unsupported file types, and inefficiencies in basic tasks like file management have been highlighted

Despite criticism, users are expressing continued interest in future iterations of the Vision Pro, hoping for improvements in comfort, functionality, and content.

So far the returns are from a vocal subset of early adopters. How much Apple can or should learn from this and the overall impact of these returns on the Vision Pro’s success and Apple’s strategy for wearable technology remains to be seen.

**Source:** The Verge

Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA, the world’s third highest valued company, is on a mission to promote the concept of ‘sovereign AI’ across the globe.

Huang has visited over a dozen countries, including India, Canada, France, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam, to spread his message about the importance of sovereign AI.

Huang’s vision of sovereign AI involves countries taking control of their AI development to ensure it reflects their unique values and priorities, especially in critical areas like healthcare and defense.

Huang emphasizes the importance of training AI on local data to protect cultural identities and ensure national security, advocating for the development of AI at grassroots levels.

NVIDIA has also made significant investments and formed partnerships in the countries Huang visited.  In India, NVIDIA collaborated with Reliance and Tata Group to build AI computing infrastructure surpassing India’s fastest supercomputer. I’m not sure what if anything concrete came out of the meeting in Canada. If anyone else knows, please enlighten me.

Huang’s global campaign for sovereign AI not only aims to democratize AI development but also to lay a foundation for generative AI that benefits all nations equally.

Source: Analytics India Magazine

Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), has banned an Irish journalist for criticizing the platform, but apparently has extended a welcome including verification, to leaders of designated terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.

This was uncovered by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which highlights the platform’s broad interpretation of “free speech”.

Several leaders from Hezbollah, Iran-backed militants, Houthi Rebels, and Russian state media received premium services from X, including blue and gold checkmarks, which signify verification and a “Verified Organization,” respectively.

The investigation also found ads appearing in replies to sanctioned accounts, echoing previous concerns about inappropriate content appearing alongside advertisements from major brands, leading to a significant advertiser exodus from the platform. Whether this latest reveal will lead to additional losses of advertisers is an open question.

But there is another aspect to this situation. The U.S. has issued sanctions against these groups, prohibiting U.S. entities from conducting business with them. X’s actions raise questions about potential violations of these sanctions and its own terms of service, which restrict paid services to individuals facing economic sanctions.

Source: Gizmodo

Apple has issued a warning to iPhone users against the longstanding practice of placing a wet phone in a bag of rice. This popular hack, believed to absorb moisture and restore phone functionality, could potentially harm your device. Instead, Apple recommends alternative measures for dealing with a wet iPhone, emphasizing the importance of avoiding methods that could introduce further damage.

Apple warns that using rice could lead to small particles entering the iPhone, causing damage. This traditional method is now considered less effective and potentially harmful.

Newer iPhones notify users when their device is wet and advise against charging until it’s dry, to prevent corrosion and additional issues.

So how do you dry a wet iPhone? Apple suggests gently tapping the device with the connector facing down to remove excess water, then leaving it in a dry area with good airflow. Repeating this process and allowing the phone to dry for up to a day is recommended if the wet alert reappears.

BBC Focus suggests that using pure alcohol as a more effective drying agent due to its ability to displace water and remove mineral deposits, it’s important to note that alcohol is highly flammable and requires careful handling.

Hashtag Trending suggests following Apple’s recommendation and only using alcohol in the form of a stiff drink while you try not to think of how much it’s going to cost to replace that phone if it doesn’t dry out.

Shout out to Sarah Hooper in the British publication Metro for breaking that story.

Source: Metro

Hashtag Trending goes to air five days a week with daily newscast and a weekend interview show that we creatively called – the weekend edition.

We love to hear from you. Send us a note at jlove@itwc.ca or drop us a comment under the show notes at itworldcanada.com/podcasts – look for Hashtag Trending.

Thanks for listening and have a Fabulous Friday.

The post Cisco joins the list of tech companies announcing layoffs. Hashtag Trending, Friday Feb 16, 2024 first appeared on IT World Canada.

The theft of tax and employment records of 48,000 of Canadians four years ago was the fault of poor IT authentication security, says the country’s privacy commissioner.

Attackers employed credential stuffing using previously stolen usernames and passwords to get into the IT systems of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in 2020, allowing them not only to steal data, but also to fraudulently redirect government COVID-19 payments and tax refunds to the hackers.

The investigation by Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne, released today, “found that both organizations had ‘under-assessed’ the level of identity authentication that was warranted for their online programs and services, given the sensitivity of personal information involved.

“Moreover, ESDC and CRA had not taken the necessary steps to promptly detect and contain the breach, due in part to inadequate security assessments and testing of its authentication and credential management systems, and limited accountability and information sharing between departments.”

The under-assessment of the level of identity authentication needed wasn’t justified, given the elevated value and sensitivity of the personal information someone could get their hands on, the report says. “While single-factor authentication may have been common practice at the time, common practice does not necessarily equate to compliant practice,” it adds.

Since the breach both CRA and ESDC have implemented mandatory multifactor authentication for all their individual, business and representative accounts.

Both departments failed to meet provisions of the Privacy Act, which sets rules for federal agencies.

In August 2020, the federal government admitted that attackers using credential stuffing had gained access to certain CRA online accounts and other departments’ online accounts accessible via the Government of Canada’s centralized “GCKey” authentication service and CRA’s own login portal.

At the time, CRA and ESDC had a system in place that allowed individuals who logged in via ESDC’s portal to freely access accounts held in that individual’s name at CRA and vice versa, without any additional authentication.

The credential stuffing attack started around July 23, 2020 on ESDC’s Enterprise Cyber Authentication Solution and Canada Student Loan systems, which the report refers to as ESDC’s portal. The portal uses Shared Services Canada’s GCKey Service, which is operated by 2Keys Corporation under the direction of the government.

A few days later, another automated credential stuffing attack started on CRA’s online service accounts through its portal. The attackers initially exploited a 20-month-old misconfiguration in CRA’s system, allowing them to bypass CRA’s requirement for users to answer a security question when logging in from a new device. ESDC’s portal did not have this requirement at the time, and thus did not require such a bypass. After CRA fixed the misconfiguration, the report says, attackers renewed their credential stuffing attack on the CRA portal by “stuffing” usernames, passwords, and answers to security questions.

2Keys alerted ESDC to new accounts that appeared to have been created by the attackers. This alert led ESDC, beginning Aug. 27, 2020, to discover over 2,000 cases of identity theft.

Attackers were able to fraudulently apply for new benefits at ESDC and create new accounts in individuals’ names without their knowledge. In November 2020, CRA also separately discovered a case of identity theft where attackers successfully created new credentials for a CRA capability allowing an individual to represent a client, and subsequently accessed information of 36 businesses, including over 8000 individuals’ sensitive personal information.

The report says attackers used approximately 26,000 CRA “My Accounts”, one CRA “Represent a Client” account, 6,000 ESDC “My Service Canada Accounts,” and 112 ESDC business accounts to access the contact information, identifiers [including social insurance numbers (SINs), and dates of birth] and sensitive financial, banking and employment information of 14,000 individuals held by ESDC and of 34,000 individuals held by CRA.

Attackers also modified personal information in accounts – changing direct deposit and address information to redirect existing payments to the attackers, as well as applying for new benefits such as the pandemic Canada Emergency Response Benefit, Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, and tax refunds.

That’s not all. During the final stages of Dufresne’s investigation, he learned that other breaches, which the CRA does not connect to this credential stuffing attack, had been detected in 2020 and weren’t reported to his office. Preliminary information indicates that up to 15,000 individuals could have been similarly affected by these breaches, which were, like the breach examined in this report, related to COVID-19 benefits fraud.

The report stresses the risk of serious damage to people from cyber attacks on government databases. In late 2022, Dufresne’s office received a complaint from an individual who was the victim of identity theft at ESDC. From late November to December 2020, attackers applied for fraudulent EI benefits and opened an online account at ESDC in his name. Over the next two years, they were able to repeatedly apply for benefits in his name without being detected by ESDC. When the individual later lost his job, he couldn’t get EI benefits  — he was told by the department he’d already received his maximum benefits. Then he was held liable by ESDC and CRA to pay taxes on those fraudulent benefits he never received. That case was only resolved after Dufresne’s office stepped in.

Government guidelines on authentication requirements sets out four levels of assurance for departments to follow. Level 4 requires that there be “very high confidence” an individual is who they say they are to access their account online. In 2020, both CRA and ESDC assessed their level of assurance for online accounts as meeting Level 2: “Some confidence is required that an individual is who he or she claims to be.” Dufresne says they should have met a Level 3 requirement.

Level 2 requires the collection of only one piece of evidence of identity and does not require any steps to verify the “linkage” of identity information to the applying individual, the report says. For Level 3, among other requirements, two pieces of evidence of identity must be collected, one of which must be foundational, such as records of birth or citizenship, and linkage must be confirmed, though acceptable linkage methods are not described in detail in the government rules.

In the wake of the 2020 breaches, CRA and ESDC added address confirmation (sending an enrollment code to the address on record from previous tax filings) to an account applicant’s identity assurance processes.  However, the report adds, neither department is requiring the collection of evidence of identity from applicants, or verifying linkages between identity claimed and the actual identity using physical/biometric comparison or equivalently robust methods.

ESDC did not apply these improvements to accounts created using SecureKey Concierge credentials through Canadian banks until mid-2021, when it began to offer a second identity assurance authentication process, leveraging identity verification of individuals already conducted by certain Canadian financial institutions, the report says. In the interim, attackers continued to be able to exploit this vulnerability in ESDC’s identity assurance process, including in the identity theft incident experienced by the individual who later complained to Dufresne’s office.

“In addition, the report adds, “to our knowledge, ESDC continues to permit identity assurance without the collection of any piece of identity, or the verification of linkage or address confirmation for certain online services.”

The report says both departments have agreed to implement recommendations from the Privacy Commissioner, including improving communications and decision-making frameworks to facilitate the implementation of efficient safeguards against future attacks, and rapid response to privacy breaches, as well as conducting regular security assessments.

Why did it take four years for the privacy commissioner to complete this investigation? The receipt of written representations from CRA, ESDC, Shared Services Canada, and Treasury Board [which sets cybersecurity policies for government departments] was often delayed by weeks or months, or was incomplete, “requiring multiple exchanges and escalations between increasingly senior executives,” Dufresne’s report says. And an internal government report on lessons learned was initially withheld from Dufresne under a claim of solicitor-client and litigation privileges. ESDC and CRA also prepared lessons-learned / postmortem reports, which they would not provide to Dufresne due to claims of privilege.

ESDC and TBS also cited a class action lawsuit related to the breach as a factor in the delays. ESDC further attempted to restrict OPC’s access to interview individuals, citing privilege.

The post Inadaquate ID authentication blamed for 2020 data thefts at Canada Revenue, ESDC first appeared on IT World Canada.

Cisco late this afternoon released its second quarter results, as well as announcing a reduction of its payroll by five per cent, which in terms of head count means an estimated 4,250  employees will be receiving termination notices.

According to a Reuters report, the company “lowered its annual revenue target as (it) navigates a tough economy that has led to thousands of layoffs by tech firms this year. Shares of the networking equipment maker fell more than five per cent in extended trading on Wednesday after Cisco cut the forecast to US$51.5 billion to US$52.5 billion, from US$53.8 billion to US$55 billion that it projected earlier.”

The company, according to the report, “will incur a charge of US$800 million on the layoffs, before tax, consisting of severance and other costs.”

A release issued by Cisco this afternoon stated that the company reported second quarter revenue of US$12.8 billion, net income on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis of US$2.6 billion or US$0.65 per share, and non-GAAP net income of US$3.5 billion or US$0.87 a share.

During an earnings call, company chair and chief executive officer (CEO) Chuck Robbins said that there were three factors impacting what he described as the “demand environment,” which ultimately led to the decision to reduce staff.

“First, in terms of the macro environment, we’re seeing a greater degree of caution and scrutiny of deals given the high level of uncertainty,” he said. “As we’re hearing this from our customers, it’s leading us to be more cautious with our forecast and expectations.

“Second, as we discussed last quarter, and subsequently saw in other technology provider results, customers have been taking time since the start of our fiscal 2024 to deploy the elevated levels of products shipped to them in recent quarters, and this has taken longer than our initial expectations.

“Third, we also continue to see weak demand with our telco and cable service provider customers. This industry has seen significant pressure, and they are adjusting deployment phasing, which is weighing on our business outlook. Given these factors, we’re adjusting our expenses and investments to reflect the current environment.”

The post Breaking news: Cisco to cut roughly 4,250 from its payroll first appeared on IT World Canada.

Slack adds AI features to combat information overload, Akamai bets on edge computing to compete with the giant public cloud players. Google uses AI to launch a devastating attack on fake reviews, an update on our Mozilla story and AI is used to have the voices of victims lobbying legislators.

All this and more on this “sometimes the good guys win using AI” edition of Hashtag Trending. I’m your host Jim Love, CIO of IT World Canada and TechNewsDay in the US.

Slack has introduced a suite of AI-powered tools aimed at streamlining communication and information management for its users. Announced on Wednesday, these features are designed to help both new and overwhelmed employees by summarizing threads and providing recaps of channel activities.

Slack’s new AI capabilities include summarizing long discussion threads and offering recaps of what has transpired in channels over a specified period. This is particularly beneficial for catching up on unread messages, making it easier for employees returning from vacations or parental leave to stay informed.

The platform will now utilize AI to respond to search queries with answers drawn from accessible messages and channels, enhancing the search experience with more intuitive and relevant results.

Slack has taken a different approach to pricing. Microsoft’s Copilot, bills for users who opt-in to the service, but Slack will required an additional monthly fee for all users within a company to access these AI features, a move that could challenge organizations looking to evaluate the benefits before a full-scale implementation.

Slack promises competitive pricing, although specific rates will vary based on customer size.

Early reports from users indicate a significant time saving, with an average of 95 minutes per week reclaimed through the use of these AI features.

There’s an added benefit in that applications like this may to unlock years of institutional knowledge, transforming how businesses communicate and manage information internally.

But leveraging AI tools raises privacy and security concerns, especially regarding the handling of sensitive business data and channel permissions. Slack assures that AI will not access information beyond a worker’s permitted channels, but the broader implications for data privacy remain a critical consideration.

Sources include: Axios

Akamai Technologies is ramping up its infrastructure with a significant emphasis on edge computing to challenge the dominance of cloud giants like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud by leveraging Akamai’s extensive content delivery network (CDN) to integrate cloud computing capabilities directly at the edge.

Akamai has announced ambitious plans to establish 25 new edge locations by the end of the month, aiming for 100 by year’s end, and scaling to thousands in the forthcoming years. By bringing computing closer to customers, Akamai aims to enhance performance, and reduce latency.

Dubbed as generalised edge compute or Gecko, Akamai’s strategy blends cloud and edge computing. They hope this will bring substantial advantages in terms of price performance, security, and reduced latency.

To bolster its edge computing capabilities, Akamai has acquired Linode, an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform, for approximately $900 million in 2022. Additionally, Akamai is forging strategic partnerships with telcos, IT solutions, and local cloud service providers worldwide.

Akamai’s pivot to edge computing represents a significant shift from traditional cloud computing models, which are predominantly centralized. By decentralizing computing resources and placing them closer to end-users, Akamai aims to address the growing demand for low-latency and high-security applications. However, this transition poses challenges, particularly in migrating workloads from existing cloud services, which has prompted Akamai to present this as a multi-cloud solution.

As Akamai continues to expand its edge computing infrastructure, the company is set to embark on the next phases of its Gecko platform, which will include incorporating containers and automated workload orchestration. This evolution reflects a broader industry trend towards leveraging edge computing to meet the demands of the next generation of internet applications, including those powered by generative AI.

Who knows if this strategy will be effective against the cloud giants, but it does create what everyone calls a “unique value proposition.”

Sources include: Analytics India Magazine

We talk a lot about AI creating fake content, but it can also be used to combat fake content.

Google has implemented a new machine learning algorithm that has dramatically increased the efficiency of detecting fake reviews on Maps and Search. This advancement led to the removal of over 170 million fake reviews in 2023, a big victory for the integrity of user-contributed content.

Google’s new algorithm is designed to identify suspicious review patterns more rapidly, including the detection of repeated content across multiple businesses or unusual spikes in ratings. This system scrutinizes reviews before publication and continuously monitors for questionable activity.

The implementation of this machine learning technology resulted in a 45% increase in the removal of fake reviews compared to the previous year, as mentioned with a 170 million reviews being deleted for policy violations. Additionally, Google identified and removed 12 million fake business profiles and doubled the removal of policy-violating videos to 14 million in 2023.

Google has taken legal measures against individuals attempting to manipulate its review system. One notable lawsuit was filed against a scammer responsible for creating over 350 fraudulent business profiles and attempting to enhance them with more than 14,000 fake reviews.

The ongoing battle against fake reviews presents continuous challenges, but just like in the old westerns – sometimes the good guys win.

Sources include: TechSpot

In a notable legal development, a US district judge in California has predominantly sided with OpenAI, dismissing the bulk of copyright infringement claims filed by authors against the AI company. The authors had accused OpenAI’s ChatGPT of being trained on pirated copies of their books without permission, labeling the chatbot’s outputs as a form of high-tech “grift” that infringed on copyright laws and other related statutes.

The court dismissed several claims, the only claim that was not dismissed pertains to direct copyright infringement. OpenAI had previously expressed confidence in defeating this claim at a later stage of the proceedings.

The authors have been ordered to consolidate their complaints and may amend their arguments to continue pursuing the dismissed claims.

Sources include: Ars Technica

And in an update to our story on Mozilla, a number of you wrote to me expressing sadness for what has happened to Firefox.

As if they had heard this collective sigh, the company has announced a strategic shift to focus more on its core product, Firefox, and the integration of trustworthy AI technologies. This pivot comes with the decision to scale back investment in several products, including its VPN, Relay, and Online Footprint Scrubber, and to shut down Hubs, its 3D virtual world launched in 2018. Additionally, Mozilla will scale back its investment in its mozilla.social Mastodon instance. These changes will result in the layoff of approximately 60 employees.

Mozilla aims to enhance Firefox by integrating trustworthy AI, leveraging the teams working on Pocket, Content, and AI/ML.

They plans to reduce investments in several products, including VPN, Relay, and Online Footprint Scrubber, and will shut down Hubs.

And sadly, approximately 60 employees will be affected by the layoffs as Mozilla aims to optimize its organizational structure.

By refocusing on Firefox and AI, Mozilla is betting on its strengths and the growing importance of AI in enhancing user experiences.

This move is likely to please long-time Firefox enthusiasts and could position Mozilla as a key player in the development of AI-enhanced browsing experiences. However, the layoffs and product discontinuations underscore the tough choices the company must make to stay competitive.

Sources include: TechCrunch

In a poignant campaign launched on the sixth anniversary of the Parkland shooting, families of gun violence victims are using artificial intelligence to bring the voices of their lost loved ones back to life. These AI-generated voices are being used to call federal lawmakers who oppose tighter gun regulations, urging them to reconsider their stance.

The campaign utilizes artificial intelligence to recreate the voices of victims. These voices are robocalling senators and House members who support the National Rifle Association (NRA) and oppose tougher gun laws.

I have to say, I’m not sure at the time of going to air how they are getting around the recent regulations that make using AI in robocalls illegal.

But it is a powerful way to get their message across.

The choice of Valentine’s Day for the campaign’s launch is symbolic, marking the anniversary of the Parkland shooting that claimed 17 lives, including students and staff members.

The campaign reflects a broader trend of leveraging technology for activism and social change. As AI technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, it’s likely that we’ll see more creative and impactful uses in various advocacy efforts.

Sources include: AP News

Hashtag Trending goes to air five days a week with daily newscast and a weekend interview show that we creatively called – the weekend edition.

We love to hear from you. Send us a note at jlove@itwc.ca or drop us a comment under the show notes at itworldcanada.com/podcasts – look for Hashtag Trending.

Thanks for listening and have a Thrilling Thursday.

The post Slack ads AI to increase productivity and crush information overload: Hashtag Trending, Thursday, February 15, 2024 first appeared on IT World Canada.

Consulting and accounting firm EY Canada today launched the EY Climate Stress Testing and Scenario Analysis solution, a service running on Microsoft Azure which it said is designed to help safeguard Canada’s financial sector against the impacts of climate change.

Mario Schlener, EY Canada risk consulting leader, said a key reason for the system’s development is that “our clients recognize the need for reliable systems to effectively manage and report environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data, but finding such systems proves challenging.”

The initiative, according to a release, “combines data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud technology and top-tier risk models to further Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy.”

The release went on to say that “disclosure requirements established by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), along with regulations imposed by other global authorities, are compelling financial institutions to prioritize climate reporting and transparency.

“Through collaboration with the Canadian financial services sector, this solution not only evaluates the impact of transition risk across various sectors of the economy, but also provides valuable insights to assist financial institutions in strategizing for client engagement initiatives and refining their decarbonization strategies based on scenario results.”

Katerina Kindyni, financial institutions sustainability leader with EY Canada, said, “operational readiness, resource constraints, and the evolving regulatory landscape pose significant challenges to the seamless execution of climate scenario analysis and stress testing programs.”

The new initiative, she said, is a “centralized tool that enables FIs (financial institutions) to efficiently identify, measure and monitor risks associated with the transition to a net-zero economy, while seamlessly integrating market intelligence into an organization’s infrastructure.”

According to the release, the tool covers three key areas:

Loan portfolio assessment: Helps financial institutions evaluate the transition risk of their loan portfolio by leveraging a spectrum of Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) scenarios. It also performs sector-specific modeling of transition risk and estimates the financial impact across the balance sheet, as well as income and cash flow statements of counterparties.
Risk assessment: The solution is configured with a climate risk management module that measures the impact on key risk metrics such as Probability of Default (PD), Rating Migrations (RM), and Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR). It also evaluates the impact of transition risk on the portfolio and provides valuable insights that inform overall decarbonization strategies and mitigation actions.
Long-term growth enablement: Addresses an organization’s core capacity and capability gaps from a continuous improvement perspective. This allows clients to identify themes, track progress against goals, and identify market opportunities, while minimizing downside risk from carbon intensive sectors.

Jacqueline O’Flanagan, Microsoft Canada’s financial services industry lead, said the company is “dedicated to promoting sustainability in financial services through our cloud, data, and AI (offerings) that address ESG priorities.

“By joining forces with EY to address regulatory compliance needs, we’re accelerating and magnifying our impact and commitment to advancing innovation in climate technology.”

The post EY Canada, Microsoft launch climate stress testing initiative for FIs first appeared on IT World Canada.

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) today announced that 11 Canadian companies have been selected to receive funding to collaborate on projects with partners in the U.K., following a joint Canada-U.K. call for proposals by the NRC and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The projects, NRC said in a release, “focus on developing real-world quantum technologies for commercial use in networking, sensing and scalable solutions to quantum computing as well as developing the supply chain.”

“Government and businesses in the United Kingdom and Canada alike share a vision to develop resilient quantum ready economies for realizing better industry and social welfare outcomes,” said Abhinav Sharma, lead, Quantum Industry Fund, Innovate UK.

“This joint funding program between UKRI and the National Research Council of Canada is creating very promising partnerships which will greatly help to advance talent and technology value in the supply chain for many industries.”

The NRC is providing advisory services and research and development funding up to $5.1 million through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) and the Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program (CSTIP) to support the projects.

CSTIP funding was provided under the NRC’s Quantum Sensors Challenge program, which “seeks to develop revolutionary sensors that could be engineered and commercialized for applications in the environment, natural resources, health care, and defence.”

“The NRC is excited to partner with UK Research and Innovation to stimulate co-innovation between small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada and the United Kingdom,” said Mitch Davies, president, National Research Council of Canada. “These collaborative projects allow us to leverage leading capabilities in our countries to drive quantum technology development and commercialization. We go farther and faster when we work together”

Three companies in Ontario, four in Quebec, three in B.C., and one in Alberta will benefit from the funding, receiving amounts ranging from up to $144,000 to up to almost $700,000, according to a release.

“Building partnerships between companies in Canada and the United Kingdom is a great way to capitalize on our shared strengths,” said François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry. “By investing in our innovative Canadian companies that are working to turn quantum science and research into commercial innovations, we’re helping create new jobs and drive economic growth while positioning Canada as a leader in the rapidly evolving landscape of quantum technology.”

The post NRC announces funding for quantum collaborations first appeared on IT World Canada.

Developing and optimizing cybersecurity staff has been listed by a research firm as the top security priority for organizations over the next 12 months for the second year in a row.

The recommendation came in the release this week of Info-Tech Research Group’s Security Priorities 2024 report.

The five priorities were chosen from a combination of the results of surveys and interviews with leaders, plus Info-Tech Research’s decisions.

The other priorities that management, IT, and infosec leaders should set this year are:

— securing the AI revolution;

— embedding security risk management with the enterprise;

— putting a zero trust strategy into operation;

— and automating security processes.

The choice to make talent development and hiring the number one priority should come as no surprise. It topped the cybersecurity concerns named by 573 leaders surveyed last year — the third year in a row it led the survey.

This year it was closely followed by the rising cost and high requirements of cyber insurance, vulnerabilities in the IT systems of suppliers and executives or boards not sufficiently aware of cyber risks.

“Security leaders still emphasize the priority of spending on training and development, but there’s still a shortage of workers in the industry,” Ahmad Jowhar, lead analyst for the report, said in an interview.

“Investing in your employees will yield long-term cost savings.”

The report concedes that there has been some progress for organizations in finding the right security talent. However, it adds, “the constant concern indicates the need for an innovative approach that organizations should adopt to assist in mitigating the talent shortage gap.”

The right talent could be closer than you think, the report notes, Many organizations have employees whose skills and interests equip them to be developed into cybersecurity professionals.

The report points out that a recent survey of more than 14,000 infosec pros by ISC2 (the International Information System Security Certification Consortium) found 52 per cent of respondents said they began their careers in a non-cybersecurity IT position.

“This indicates an opportunity to leverage those transferable skills in a security role, which would enable organizations to stay competitive while also enabling continuous personal development for their employees,” the report says.

The report estimates 58 per cent of worker shortages can be mitigated by upskilling competency gaps.

To help with the talent shortage the report says organizations should:

• define the competencies needed to support the security program;

• assess employees’ current proficiency levels across defined competencies;

• prioritize competencies against known organizational priorities;

• acquire competencies through available learning and development tools and resources;

• and enable continuous improvement of employee proficiency by periodically reviewing competency gaps.

Asked why some organizations may not yet have a zero-trust strategy although the approach is several years old, Jowhar said these firms may feel a lot of work is needed to make the concept reality. That’s why Info-Tech recommends IT leaders break up the work into four manageable chunks, he said.

The purpose of the report is to give organizations a high-level idea of where their security investments should go this year, Jowhar said.

Infosec leaders could also take the recommendations to their stakeholders to either obtain some buy-in or give them an idea of what an advisory firm says should be their priorities, he added.

The full report is available here Registration is required.

The post Security priorities for 2024: Skills development, AI and more, says report first appeared on IT World Canada.

Get cracking on Patch Tuesday security fixes.

Welcome to Cyber Security Today. It’s Wednesday, February 14th, 2024. I’m Howard Solomon, contributing reporter on cybersecurity for ITWorldCanada.com and TechNewsday.com in the U.S.

Yesterday was Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday for February. Patches for 80 vulnerabilities were released, including five critical ones. And of those, two are being exploited right now. One of the critical holes is in Microsoft Exchange Server and allows an escalation of privileges. The second is in Microsoft Outlook and allows an attacker to bypass the Office Protected View and open a document in editing mode rather than protected mode. The vulnerabilities being currently exploited are in Windows.

According to researchers at Trend Micro, one of them is being used by a group it calls Water Hydra. Other researchers call it DarkCasino. The group uses the vulnerability to bypass Microsoft Defender SmartScreen to infect victims with the DarkMe malware. Typical targets of this group are banks, foreign currency exchanges, stock trading platforms, online casinos and cryptocurrency platforms.

Also releasing security patches was Adobe. They close critical holes in Acrobat and Acrobat Reader, Adobe Commerce, Magento Open Source, Substance 3D Painter and FrameMaker.

Siemens published 15 security advisories for its industrial products. According to SecurityWeek they cover 270 vulnerabilities. More than half of them are in models of Scalance switches.

It’s not been a good month for insurers so far. Insurance provider Prudential Financial says it suffered a breach of security controls last week. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission the company said the attacker accessed company administrative and user data, including information on employees and contractors.

And the Canadian branch of a French global insurance brokerage suffered a cybersecurity incident. According to CBC News, MSH International Canada detected the attack February 9th. Among its customers is the Public Service Health Care Plan, which offers extra health coverage to Canadian federal employees, including members of Parliament and judges.

All hospitals in Romania unplugged from the internet at the beginning of the week after 21 institutions were hit by ransomware over the weekend. According to the country’s cyber directorate, the attacks started being discovered on Saturday. The malware is a strain of the Phobos ransomware family. Most of the affected hospitals have data backups, the government says.

ExpressVPN has temporarily stopped the ability of administrators to enable split tunneling, or running multiple VPNs at a time. This affects the Windows version of the app. Split tunneling will remain disabled until a vulnerability is fixed. The problem began with a version of the app released almost two years ago. The SANS Institute notes that split tunneling is always dangerous.

Finally, how do threat actors leverage remote monitoring and management tools like AnyDesk, Atera and Splashtop? By tricking employees into downloading them. They send messages pretending to be from IT support saying the employee needs to download an application to help them. This week Malwarebytes published a blog outlining how it works. Security teams may find it useful.

Follow Cyber Security Today on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or add us to to your Flash Briefing on your smart speaker

The post Cyber Security Today, Feb. 14, 2024 – Get cracking on Patch Tuesday security fixes first appeared on IT World Canada.

Google advises you to be careful about what you say to its new AI model Gemini, ChatGPT is getting a memory, burglars have found a way to easily jam cloud based alarm systems and more from the X files – the Musk is out there.

All this and more on this – this ain’t Vegas – what happens in AI doesn’t stay in AI – edition of Hashtag Trending. I’m your host Jim Love, CIO of IT World Canada and TechNewsDay in the US.

Google is warning users of its new Gemini app that their conversations with the app may not be as private as you might think.  It turns out, while you’re chatting away, seeking help or maybe just killing time, there are human eyes that might see those conversations. And here’s the part that might make you pause: even if you hit delete, those chats could hang around for up to three years.

So, what’s Google’s advice? Pretty straightforward – don’t spill your secrets to Gemini. Google’s being upfront about it, which is good. They’re saying, “Hey, we’re using some of this chat to make Gemini smarter, and just so you know, real people might get a glimpse.”

And for anyone thinking, “No big deal, I’ll just delete my chat if I say something I shouldn’t,” well, Google’s got news for you. Even if you delete the chat, Google doesn’t delete it. It’s stored away from your Google account but it’s not deleted.

And it’s not just your chat information, if you check the Gemini Apps Privacy Hub you will see that Gemini is keeping conversations, but also locations, feedback and usage information.

In this age where AI is becoming more predominant in our lives, Google’s warning is a reminder to think before we speak and to ask before we trust.

So next time you’re about to share something with Gemini, maybe ask yourself: would I want someone else reading this? If not, maybe keep that thought offline.

Sources include: ZDNET

And in another story about AI remembering, OpenAI is rolling out a new feature for ChatGPT – it’s giving it a memory.

This isn’t just about ChatGPT remembering your name or your favorite color. It’s about tailoring responses based on your previous interactions, making each conversation more relevant and personalized than the last.

This new feature is being tested on a select group of both casual and paid users, but is planned to be rolled out to all users in the future.

You can now ask ChatGPT to remember specific details or preferences, and it’ll carry that knowledge into future chats. It’s like custom instructions but stored conversationally.

If you’re worried about privacy, OpenAI claims you will have full visibility into what ChatGPT remembers, with the option to delete anything you’re not comfortable with, or even wipe the slate clean.

You can also switch off the memory feature anytime, a kind of incognito mode, ensuring your queries stay off the record.

OpenAI is also trying to ensure that ChatGPT steers clear of remembering sensitive info, like health details, unless you explicitly say it’s okay.

This is another step into the the future of AI interactions, more personalized and perhaps more meaningful conversations, further bridging the gap between human and machine communication. As ChatGPT gets smarter, our chats are set to become more insightful, more personal, and even more human.

Sources include: Axios

And it seemed like the EU had gotten one up on Apple, forcing the company to open its app store but Apple’s answer is what some are calling “malicious compliance.”

Apple will allow alternative app stores and perhaps even “side-loading” or adding apps without going through an app store, but at a cost that’s causing a stir among developers.

While technically adhering to the new regulations, Apple plans to impose hefty commission fees on developers who operate outside its own App Store.

For developers, the new policy is a double-edged sword. Apps that gain significant traction, exceeding 1 million downloads, will be subject to a “Core Technology Fee” of about half a Euro for every first download. That’s about 53 cents US and almost 75 cents Canadian.

And app updates are considered new installations.

As one developer who did a feature on this on YouTube pointed out, his first Chrome extension went viral and got several million downloads. If that had been under this arrangement, he would have owed Apple millions of dollars.

So Epic Games may have the deep pockets to invest so that they can finally get their own Fortnite game out there after they were thrown out of the app store for refusing to use Apple’s payment system, but smaller developers may not be able to pay or to take the risks. And even though Apple will be forced to let games use their own payment methods, they apparently will be levying a fee for that which might end up being as costly using Apple Pay.

This has pointed out the big difference between Google and Apple’s ecosystems. Android has long supported alternative means of app installation, offering developers and users more freedom. Platforms like F-Droid and the Aurora store provide avenues for app distribution without the hefty fees and restrictions Apple is imposing.

While Apple argues its policies are in place to protect users, critics see them as a means to preserve market dominance and profit margins.

The EU Commission plans to review Apple’s compliance in March 2024, and given the reaction from the tech community, one thing is clear: the clash between regulation and corporate strategy is far from over.

Sources include: Tutanota Blog

In a concerning trend burglars have upped their game by employing Wi-Fi jammers to disable home security systems, marking a sophisticated evolution in residential burglary tactics. Over the past six months, nine robberies in a town in Minnesota have been attributed to this method, targeting affluent neighborhoods and specifically choosing homes when they are unoccupied to avoid any confrontations.

These Wi-Fi jammers, which can be purchased online for $40 to $1,000, don’t just block signals; they flood the network with noise, making it impossible for legitimate traffic to reach connected devices like surveillance cameras. This tactic allows thieves to enter homes undetected, making off with safes, jewelry, and other valuables.

The use of such jammers is illegal under federal law, but, as they interfere with authorized radio communications, including emergency services and GPS. But that’s unlikely to deter criminals and the availability of these devices from international sellers makes them readily available despite being banned.

Cybersecurity experts suggest several measures to counteract the threat posed by Wi-Fi jammer burglaries. Homeowners are advised to use hardline cameras that connect to local storage, install non-wireless security alarms and lights, and leave lights or a TV on when away to make their homes appear occupied.

I think having a nosey neighbour might be another low tech alternative to be considered.

Sources include: TechSpot

Broadcom has officially ended the era of free VMware ESXi hypervisor, removing all doubt that the company is not interested in the small business market. This decision, revealed in a recent knowledge base article, removes the free version of ESXi from VMware’s website.

The free ESXi version, known for its limitations on core usage, memory, and lack of management features, has been a staple for testing, tinkering, and educational purposes. It served as a gateway for many IT professionals and enthusiasts into the VMware ecosystem, often leading to full production deployments.

VMware continues to offer trialware versions and maintains the VMware User Group (VMUG) “advantage” licensing, providing some avenues for users to access the hypervisor without the full cost.

While some industry analysts see this as a minor adjustment, given the availability of trial editions and alternative free hypervisors in the market, others interpret it as a clear message from Broadcom, that they are not interested in smaller customers and hobbyist users.

This strategy aligns with Broadcom’s broader goals to increase VMware’s profitability, with recent decisions such as the requirement for operating a minimum of 3,500 cores for inclusion in its cloud partner program.

The focus on larger, more lucrative engagements, is at the expense of the broader, community-driven support that has fueled VMware’s growth over the years.

The end of free ESXi and the shift towards subscription-based and core-count licensing models may reshape VMware’s market position, pushing smaller customers to alternatives such as Nutanix, Scale Computing, Microsoft or Red Hat.

Sources include: The Register

Journalist and author Séamas O’Reilly experienced what he describes as a “surreal” turn of events when his X account (formerly Twitter) was suspended hours after he critiqued the platform in an article for the Irish Examiner. O’Reilly, whose account boasted over 100,000 followers and had been active for around 14 years, pinpointed the suspension to his commentary on the platform’s bot issue, labeling it as “unusable.”

In his article, O’Reilly highlighted the irony of a scam bot carrying a blue check mark, indicating it paid monthly fees to X, under the ownership of Elon Musk. He suggested that the financial model disincentivizes the platform from taking action against such bots. The suspension notice cited “platform manipulation and spam” as reasons, charges O’Reilly contests.

Some might find the ironic, given Musk’s proclaimed commitment to the principle of free speech. In fact, Musk has kept people on the platform whose statements are so offensive that sponsors fled the platform in droves.

O’Reilly, who uses the platform for his journalism, has appealed for reinstatement but that appeal has, so far, gone unanswered.

Source: The Irish Times

Hashtag Trending goes to air five days a week with daily news and a weekend interview show that we creatively called – the weekend edition.

We love to hear from you. Send us a note at jlove@itwc.ca or drop us a comment under the show notes at itworldcanada.com/podcasts – look for Hashtag Trending.

Thanks for listening and have a wonderful Wednesday.

The post Google warns that Gemini AI conversations are not private: Hashtag Trending, Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 first appeared on IT World Canada.