Categories
-Updates 10.4 Security and Reliability 14.5 The State of Software 5.5 The Spreadsheet: Software for SImulation

Spreadsheets are Spreading Misinformation

spreadsheet_errorIf you misspell a word in a paper or use the wrong font in a presentation, your error may be embarrassing. If you use the wrong formula in a spreadsheet, your error might be devastating. According to a recent study, the typical spreadsheet is riddled with math errors. This short Market Watch article should serve as a wake-up call to scientists, engineers, business people, students and others who do high-consequence work with numbers.
marketwatch.com/Story/story/print?guid=DB151EDA-A776-11E2-A57C-002128040CF6

Categories
-Updates 10.1 Online Outlaws: Computer Crime 10.4 Security and Reliability

Catching a Money Virus

Computer crime can be costly, and it’s not going away anytime soon. This Huffington Post article describes the Gozi virus, its creators, and its impact on banks and their customers.
huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/23/gozi-virus-fbi_n_2535282.html

Categories
-Cross Currents 10.4 Security and Reliability 15.6 The Robot Revolution

Another Take on the Classic Sci-Fi Plot

forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2012/06/14/cyber-security-and-the-rise-of-the-silicon-based-life-form
If we think of digital technology as another life form, how does that change the way we think about, and interact with, that technology? This Forbes editorial suggests that it might improve the way we handle computer security.

Categories
-Context 10.1 Online Outlaws: Computer Crime 10.2 Computer Security: Reducing Risks 10.4 Security and Reliability

Can a Botnet Bring Down the Internet?

For three years a worm called Conficker has been wiggling its way into computers around the world, creating a massive botnet that has the potential to wreak havoc on the Internet. In this chilling NPR interview, author Mark Bowden explains to Fresh Air’s Terry gross how this little-known worm threatens our networks, our livelihoods, and our lives.
npr.org/2011/09/27/140704494/the-worm-that-could-bring-down-the-internet

Categories
-Inventing the Future 10.4 Security and Reliability 10.5 Human Questions for a Computer Age Chapter 7 Database Applications and Privacy Implications

House Flies or Tiny Spies?

Drone aircraftThe drones used in Middle Eastern wars may rapidly evolve into tiny flying cameras that can watch our every move and report back to governments, corporations, or crime networks.