Author: The Conversation

Internet use has increased significantly over recent years, and through the pandemic, we have become even more dependent on online services. To meet this demand, the UK government and service providers have fast tracked the expansion of the high-speed internet infrastructure known as “fibre to the premises” (FTTP). FTTP connects homes and offices directly to fibre optic cables which, using light pulses as signals, can carry data very quickly. This compares to traditional broadband internet, which relies on “fibre to the cabinet”, meaning the high-speed fibre optic connection is delivered to local cabinets. From there, electromagnetic signals carry the data along copper wires into…

In a recent BBC news investigation, a reporter posing as a 13-year-old girl in a virtual reality (VR) app was exposed to sexual content, racist insults and a rape threat. The app in question, VRChat, is an interactive platform where users can create “rooms” within which people interact (in the form of avatars). The reporter saw avatars simulating sex, and was propositioned by numerous men. The results of this investigation have led to warnings from child safety charities including the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) about the dangers children face in the metaverse. The metaverse refers to a…

The average business receives 10,000 alerts every day from the various software tools it uses to monitor for intruders, malware and other threats. Cybersecurity staff often find themselves inundated with data they need to sort through to manage their cyber defenses. The stakes are high. Cyberattacks are increasing and affect thousands of organizations and millions of people in the U.S. alone. These challenges underscore the need for better ways to stem the tide of cyber-breaches. Artificial intelligence is particularly well suited to finding patterns in huge amounts of data. As a researcher who studies AI and cybersecurity, I find that AI is emerging as a much-needed tool…

A spate of cyber attacks has affected Ukraine’s digital systems since Russia’s invasion began. It soon became clear Russia’s “boots on the ground” approach would be supplemented by a parallel cyber offensive. Last week Ukraine called on its citizens to take to their keyboards and defend the country against Russia’s cyber threat. At the same time, a campaign was underway among the hacktivist collective Anonymous, calling on its global army of cyber warriors to target Russia. The Anonymous collective is officially in cyber war against the Russian government. #Anonymous #Ukraine — Anonymous (@YourAnonOne) February 24, 2022 Who is Anonymous? Anonymous is a global activist…

New U.S. sanctions on Russia will encompass Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, according to a speech U.S. President Joe Biden gave on Feb. 24, 2022. In response to these sanctions, the head of Roscosmos on the same day posted a tweet saying, among other things, “If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or Europe?” The International Space Station has often stayed above the fray of geopolitics. That position is under threat. Built and run by the U.S., Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada, the ISS has shown how countries can cooperate on…

Following a decade of consultation and public debates, South Africa introduced a carbon tax in June 2019. Treasury faced strong opposition, especially from energy intensive businesses. But the country’s ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement in November 2016 signalled the government’s commitment to responding to climate change and gave impetus to implementing the carbon tax. In line with the international “polluter pays” principle, the tax attaches a cost to greenhouse gas emissions. The idea is to change the behaviour of large emitters. Burning fossil fuels for electricity production accounts for the largest share of South Africa’s carbon emissions, followed by transport, and the industrial production of materials such as…

On Feb. 22, 2022, AT&T is scheduled to turn off its 3G cellular network. T-Mobile is scheduled to turn its off on July 1, 2022, and Verizon is slated to follow suit on Dec. 31, 2022. The vast majority of cellphones in service operate on 4G/LTE networks, and the world has begun the transition to 5G, but as many as 10 million phones in the U.S. still rely on 3G service. In addition, the cellular network functions of some older devices like Kindles, iPads and Chromebooks are tied to 3G networks. Similarly, some older internet-connected systems like home security, car navigation and entertainment systems, and solar…

The “metaverse” seems to be the latest buzzword in tech. In general terms, the metaverse can be viewed as a form of cyberspace. Like the internet, it’s a world – or reality, even – beyond our physical world on Earth. The difference is that the metaverse allows us to immerse a version of ourselves as avatars in its environment, usually through augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), which people are and will increasingly be able to access using tools like VR goggles. While it all seems very exciting, a curious lawyer like me is inclined to ask: who or what governs the metaverse? The way…

For more than a decade we’ve been deeply immersed in a love affair with social media. And the thought of ending things can be painful. But like any relationship, if social media is no longer making you happy – and if curating your online persona is exhausting instead of fun – it might be time to say goodbye. Late last year, Meta (previously Facebook) came under intense scrutiny after leaked documents revealed the company was fully aware of the negative impact its products, Instagram in particular can have on users’ mental health. Meta went straight into damage control. But it seemed…

Many people think of privacy as a modern invention, an anomaly made possible by the rise of urbanization. If that were the case, then acquiescing to the current erosion of privacy might not be particularly alarming. As calls for Congress to protect privacy increase, it’s important to understand its nature. In a policy brief in Science, we and our colleague Jeff Hancock suggest that understanding the nature of privacy calls for a better understanding of its origins. Research evidence refutes the notion that privacy is a recent invention. While privacy rights or values may be modern notions, examples of privacy norms and privacy-seeking behaviors abound across cultures throughout human history and across geography. As privacy researchers…