TechLetters #160 Resurrection of dead dictators using generative AI, for political gain; AI cyber operations; Last warning about quantum cryptography; Privacy Sandbox coming to iOS/iPhones
Security
Resurrecting dead politicians with AI. In Indonesia generative AI/deepfake tech has been used to "resurrect" a former (late) president/dictator Suharto. Elections next month. The video was posted by a politician from Suharto's party. "Suharto" called to vote on the party (he's dead since 2008). My prediction from 2020 came true. Expect more. States must urgently pass laws prohibiting posting of such manufactured content without any labels/disclaimers clearly explaining the nature of the manufactured content.
Stolen Device Protection. iOS17.3 has a new Stolen Device Protection feature for iPhones (and other Apple devices). It protects against accounts being taken over after someone steals or takes physical control over the device. Stolen Device Protection has an additional requirement for biometric unlocking, and an hour interval to wait for making changes made, for example, to change the Apple ID password, when attempted from places previously unknown to the device. Turn it on.
AI will improve cyber operations. GCHQ/NCSC considers that "almost certainly increase the volume and heighten the impact of cyber attacks". Special improvement for low-skilled actors."AI is likely to assist with malware and exploit development, vulnerability research and lateral movement"
Caution about quantum key distribution. French, German, Dutch and Swedish cybersecurity agencies cautions/warns against the use of quantum cryptography. "can only be used in niche cases. For the vast majority ... it is not possible to use QKD in practice".
Factors affecting ransom payment. Insurance led to a 2.8x higher ransom paid. Data exfiltration led to a 5.5 times higher ransom. Organizations with recoverable backups were 27.4 times less likely to pay. Based on 481 ransomware incidents (NL).
JavaScript in MySQL. You know what that means. Entire. New. Classes. Of fun!
Privacy
Default web browser engine picker on iOS. Following a requirement to be compatible with EU Digital Markets App, users on iOS/iPad will be able to use web browsers of other vendors (only in EU). So far it was only Safari/WebKit - even if the user used a different browser, the engine was the same. The security and privacy requirements are the key here. Security management (prompt vulnerability fixes). The entitlement is available only to web browsers blocking third-party cookies (etc. - this is a good decision!). So soon to all web browsers. My further comments. That is a huge change, and a huge success of EU Digital Markets Act. Unlocks competition in web feature developments, for better user experience. This also means that EU competition enforcers will have a say about privacy and data protection. In some ways it will be a stronger voice than the GDPR enforcers, the data protection authorities. In other words, the future of privacy may be in hands of competition enforcers!
Technology Policy
European Commission is creating an AI Office. And "AI Factory" program. This has to be assessed cautiously. These computing centers exist, but can this drive the training of AI models for business? How to prioritize access? Oh, and it has to be "ethical". Here. "Only proposals for developing trustworthy and ethical Artificial Intelligence models, systems and applications that are in line with EU values shall be eligible for access". What are those "European values"? Here’s a primer.
Other
With AI support, people play games better and make better decisions. For example with Go, developing new moves. This indicates that some human skills will soon lose their importance, and others will prove more important.
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