Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 53
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Seven years ago, a computer beat two human quizmasters on a "Jeopardy" challenge. Ever since, the tech industry has been training its machines to make them even better at amassing knowledge and answering questions. And it's worked, at least up to a point. Just don't expect artificial intelligence to spit out a literary analysis of Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" any time soon. Research teams at Microsoft and Chinese tech company Alibaba reached what they described as a milestone earlier this month when their AI systems o...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twitter accounts linked to Russian influence operations are pushing a conservative meme related to the investigation of Russian election interference, researchers say. The purported Russian activity involves the hashtag #ReleaseTheMemo, a reference to a secret congressional report about President Donald Trump's allegations that he was wiretapped by the Obama administration. A group that tracks Russian-linked social media influence campaigns says the volume of Russian-related #ReleaseTheMemo traffic represents the most c...
Technology companies are scrambling to fix serious security flaws affecting computer processors built by Intel and other chipmakers and found in many of the world's personal computers and smartphones. The two hardware bugs discovered can be exploited to allow the memory content of a computer to be leaked. Such a leak could potentially expose stored passwords and other sensitive data, including personal photos, emails and instant messages. Researchers at Google's Project Zero and academic institutions including the Graz University of Technology...
MENLO PARK, California (AP) — The coming union of the Disney and Fox media empires is set to create a new nirvana for fanboys and -girls, one that reunites superheroes and sci-fi characters long separated by an energy barrier of corporate legalism. Take, for instance, the fractured world of Marvel superheroes. For years, the X-Men (Wolverine, Storm, Professor X and the crew) and the Fantastic Four (Thing, Invisible Woman, et al) have battled bad dudes from the studios of 20th Century Fox. Meanwhile Iron Man, Black Widow and other Avengers v...
BOSTON (AP) — Microsoft on Wednesday rolled out new features on its Bing search engine powered by artificial intelligence, including one that summarizes the two opposing sides of contentious questions, and another that measures how many reputable sources are behind a given answer. Tired of delivering misleading information when their algorithms are gamed by trolls and purveyors of fake news, Microsoft and its tech-company rivals have been going out of their way to show they can be purveyors of good information — either by using better alg...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Three men pleaded guilty to creating a "botnet" known as Mirai that was used to paralyze chunks of the internet in 2016. Paras Jha, Josiah White and Dalton Norman admitted to one count of conspiracy in plea agreements filed earlier this month. Federal prosecutors in Alaska and New Jersey said Wednesday that the men created a collection of hundreds of thousands of computers and internet-connected devices — including routers, webcams and other devices — infected with malware that they controlled. A broad "denial of servi...
Troy Hunt has collected a trove of 4.8 billion stolen identity records pulled from the darkest corners of the internet — but he isn't a hacker. Instead, he uses that repository to help ordinary people navigate the growing scourge of the corporate data breach. All that personal information was originally taken from brand-name services such as LinkedIn, Kickstarter, Dropbox, MySpace and the cheating website Ashley Madison, and later assembled by Hunt. Working barefoot and in beachwear from his home office on Australia's Gold Coast, the amiable s...
Leading researchers castigated a federal plan that would use artificial intelligence methods to scrutinize immigrants and visa applicants, saying it is unworkable as written and likely to be "inaccurate and biased" if deployed. The experts, a group of more than 50 computer and data scientists, mathematicians and other specialists in automated decision-making, urged the Department of Homeland Security to abandon the project, dubbed the "Extreme Vetting Initiative." That plan has its roots in President Donald Trump's repeated pledge during the...
BOSTON (AP) — The phone used by the gunman who fatally shot 26 people inside a small Texas church has become the latest flashpoint in the privacy wars. Federal investigators complain that they can't get into Devin Patrick Kelley's phone thanks to security features that shield messages, photos and other stored data from prying eyes. Such measures present a growing frustration for the FBI, which says it's been unable to retrieve data from roughly half the mobile devices it's recently tried to access. Technology companies insist that strong s...
Microsoft's Bing search engine has long been a punch line in the tech industry, an also-ran that never came close to challenging Google's dominant position. But Microsoft could still have the last laugh, since its service has helped lay the groundwork for its burgeoning artificial intelligence effort, which is helping keep the company competitive as it builds out its post-PC future. Bing probably never stood a chance at surpassing Google, but its 2nd-place spot is worth far more than the advertising dollars it pulls in with every click....
BOSTON (AP) — Mayors from Toledo to Tulsa are so eager to woo Amazon's much-vaunted second headquarters that they're brandishing bourbon, selling the sun, whispering sweet nothings to the company and even pushing its buttons. Literally. The Associated Press talked to the leaders of more than 50 cities or metropolitan regions about the different ways they're showcasing themselves to the Seattle e-commerce company. The bids are due Thursday. 300 DAYS IN THE SUN (OR MORE) It's easy for many metropolitan areas to emphasize their similarities to S...
Hackers likely linked to the North Korean government targeted a U.S. electricity company late last month, according to a security firm that says it detected and stopped the attacks. John Hultquist, director of intelligence analysis for FireEye, said Wednesday that phishing emails were sent on Sept. 22 to executives at the energy company, which he declined to identify. The attacks didn't threaten critical infrastructure. It's the latest evidence of cyberespionage from various government-backed hackers targeting U.S. energy utilities, though...
Facebook and Google once aimed to connect the world. Now they would be happy just to reconnect part of it. In the wake of Hurricane Maria, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged to send a "connectivity team" to help restore communications in ravaged Puerto Rico. Google parent company Alphabet offered to send its Wi-Fi balloons. They were among several tech companies proposing disaster response ideas, most aimed at getting phone and internet service up and running. Some of these plans, of course, are more aspirational than others. BATTERY POWER Te...
BOSTON (AP) — Yahoo has tripled down on what was already the largest data breach in history, saying it affected all 3 billion accounts on its service, not the 1 billion it revealed late last year. The company announced Tuesday that it has sent emails providing notice to additional user accounts affected by the August 2013 data theft. The breach now affects a number that represents nearly "half the world," said Sam Curry, chief security officer for Boston-based firm Cybereason, though there's likely to be more accounts than actual users. "...
NEW YORK (AP) — Worries rippled through the consumer market for antivirus software after the U.S. government banned federal agencies from using Kaspersky Lab software on Wednesday. Best Buy and Office Depot said they will no longer sell software made by the Russian company, although one security researcher said most consumers don't need to be alarmed. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security cited concerns about possible ties between unnamed Kaspersky officials and the Kremlin and Russian intelligence services. The department also noted that R...
BOSTON (AP) — Self-driving cars may not hit the road in earnest for many years - but autonomous boats could be just around the pier. Spurred in part by the car industry's race to build driverless vehicles, marine innovators are building automated ferry boats for Amsterdam canals, cargo ships that can steer themselves through Norwegian fjords and remote-controlled ships to carry containers across the Atlantic and Pacific. The first such autonomous ships could be in operation within three years. One experimental workboat spent this summer d...
BOSTON (AP) — Alexa, meet Cortana. Microsoft and Amazon are pairing their voice assistants together in a collaboration announced Wednesday. Both companies say that later this fall, users will be able to access Alexa using Cortana on Windows 10 computers and on Android and Apple devices. They'll also be able to access Cortana on Alexa-enabled devices such as the Amazon Echo. Microsoft says the tie-up will allow Alexa customers to get access to Cortana features such as for booking meetings or accessing work calendars. Cortana users, in turn, c...
BOSTON (AP) — Hackers this week released an email from HBO in which the company expressed willingness to pay them $250,000 as part of a negotiation over data swiped from HBO's servers. The July 27 email was sent by John Beyler, an HBO executive who thanked the hackers for "making us aware" of previously unknown security vulnerabilities. The executive asked for a 1-week delay and said HBO was willing to make a "good faith" payment of $250,000, calling it a "bug bounty" reward for IT professionals rather than a ransom. HBO declined to comment. A...
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas federal judge set bail of $30,000 on Friday for a celebrated young British cybersecurity researcher accused by U.S. prosecutors of creating and distributing malicious software designed to steal banking passwords. The attorney for Marcus Hutchins, who has broad support in the information-security community, said the 23-year-old hacker would contest the charges. She said he would not be released until Monday because there wasn't enough time to post bail after Friday's afternoon ruling. Hutchins is due in federal c...
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Marcus Hutchins, a young British researcher credited with derailing a global cyberattack in May, was arrested for allegedly creating and distributing malicious software designed to collect bank-account passwords, U.S. authorities said Thursday. Hutchins was detained in Las Vegas on his way back to Britain from an annual gathering of hackers and information security gurus. A grand jury indictment charged Hutchins with creating and distributing malware known as the Kronos banking Trojan. Such malware infects web browsers, then c...
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Against a backdrop of cyberattacks that have grown into full-fledged sabotage, Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos brought a sobering message Wednesday to hackers and security experts at the Black Hat conference. In short: it's time for hackers once known for relatively harmless mischief to shoulder responsibility for helping detect and prevent major attacks that threaten billions of internet users around the world. The Black Hat security gathering, happening this week in Las Vegas, follows a series of attacks and d...
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tech titans Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk recently slugged it out online over the possible threat artificial intelligence might one day pose to the human race, although you could be forgiven if you don't see why this seems like a pressing question. Thanks to AI, computers are learning to do a variety of tasks that have long eluded them — everything from driving cars to detecting cancerous skin lesions to writing news stories . But Musk, the founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, worries that AI systems could soon surpass hum...
Microsoft wants to extend broadband services to rural America by turning to a wireless technology that uses the buffer zones separating individual television channels in the airwaves. Microsoft plans to partner with rural telecommunications providers in 12 states stretching from Washington to Maine to get about 2 million rural Americans connected to high-speed internet over the next five years. It's also calling for regulatory cooperation from the Federal Communications Commission and broader support from the public sector to expand rural...
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Many online shoppers in the United States have for years had to pay state sales taxes whenever they buy goods from Amazon. But the Seattle e-commerce giant has dragged its feet on collecting sales taxes in small and sparsely populated states where it doesn't have any distribution centers or corporate offices. That's quickly changing this year. And governors and state legislators looking to balance their beleaguered budgets are rejoicing as they brace for a boost of revenue from Amazon sales. Amazon customers in at l...
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A college-for-all idea that sparked Democratic voter enthusiasm during the presidential race could now be tested in the smallest state. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said she is pushing to make Rhode Island the first state to guarantee free access for every student who wants to go to college. The idea of expanding free public education beyond high school catapulted into the national discourse during Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' Democratic presidential campaign, and is now being considered seriously by states including Ne...
