Category «Legal Research»

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 18, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Apps That Are Spying on Your Location; AI-supported spear phishing fools more than 50% of targets; Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), once celebrated as an unbreakable defense, is crumbling under the weight of its outdated technology; NSA Warns iPhone And Android Users – Disable Location Tracking; and Chinese Innovations Spawn Wave of Toll Phishing Via SMS.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Email Security, Financial System, Privacy

Even 1 drink a day elevates your cancer risk – an expert on how alcohol affects the body breaks down a new government report

The past few decades, mounting scientific evidence has shown that as little as 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day can lead to increases in the likelihood of several cancers. This prompted the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, to release a new Surgeon General Advisory on Jan. 3, 2025, warning about the link between alcohol and cancer. Nikki Crowley, Professor of Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology at Penn State highlights the evidence and associated with the call for new cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages.

The association between alcohol and cancer isn’t new news – scientists have been trying to determine the link for decades – yet most people aren’t aware of the risks and may only associate drinking with liver disease like cirrhosis. In a 2019 survey from the American Institute for Cancer Research, less than half of Americans identified alcohol as a risk factor for cancer.

Subjects: Government Resources, Healthcare

Lie About Your Birthday 🎂

Your birth date, like your phone number (get a burner number), is personal information that scammers can use to steal your identity or target you for fraud. Sisi Wei asks you to think back: How many times have you been asked to verify your date of birth in serious situations, like when recovering your login from your bank, or getting your medical information from your doctor office?

Subjects: Financial System, Healthcare, Privacy, Search Engines, Shopping, Social Media

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 4, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: The biggest cybersecurity and cyberattack stories of 2024; It’s a Risk of Driverless Taxis That May Come as a Surprise; Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri privacy lawsuit; iOS 18’s Photos app sends data to Apple without your consent; and Modern cars have sensors, cameras, GPS for location tracking, and more, all collecting data.

Subjects: AI, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Privacy, Travel

January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924

On January 1, 2025, thousands of copyrighted works from 1929 will enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1924. They will be free for all to copy, share, and build upon. This year’s literary highlights include The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, and A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. In film, Mickey Mouse speaks his first words, the Marx Brothers star in their first feature film, and legendary directors from Alfred Hitchcock to John Ford made their first sound films. From comic strips, the original Popeye and Tintin characters will enter the public domain. Among the newly public domain compositions are Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Ravel’s Bolero, Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, and the musical number Singin’ in the Rain. This expansive guide by Jennifer Jenkins selectively highlights a wide range of works that will be in the U.S. public domain in 2025. For librarians, educators and everyone who loves iconic books, music, film, plays, art and cartoons, this is a wonderful, welcome gift with which to begin 2025.

Subjects: Copyright, Education, Libraries & Librarians, Search Engines

AI in Finance and Banking, December 31, 2024

This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government documents, NGO/IGO papers, conferences, industry white papers and reports, academic papers and speeches, and central bank actions on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate links to alternate free versions. Five highlights from this post: Report on the Uses, Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence in the Financial Services Sector; How AI could change the work of bank CEOs; US Treasury Releases Reports on AI in Financial Services; IMF – Artificial Intelligence, Dollar, Growth, and Debt Drove 2024 Blog Readership; and OECD – Artificial Intelligence and tourism.

Subjects: AI in Banking and Finance, Big Data, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Technology Trends

Artificial Intelligence, ABA Formal Opinion 512 And Access To Justice

Jerry Lawson evaluates the American Bar Association’s Formal Opinion 512, “Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools” as a mixed bag. Lawson states that the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility took a significant step in the right direction by legitimizing the idea that it is appropriate for lawyers to use AI. Equally important, it suggests guardrails necessary for the safe use of artificial intelligence. It also provides valuable guidance on other related topics, with client confidentiality significant. It should not be surprising that the ABA would face challenges regulating a complex new technology.

Subjects: AI, Ethics, Legal Education, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Legal Research, Privacy

After Hurricane Helene, survivors have been in a race against time to protect family heirlooms, photographs and keepsakes

The total damage from Hurricane Helene to North Carolina – be it physical, psychological or economic – is difficult to quantify. But the numbers reported by the Office of State Budget and Management are harrowing: over 100 deaths, $59.6 billion in damages and thousands of homes destroyed, as of Dec. 13, 2024. This interview with disaster experts Leah Bright and Brian Michael Lione identifies resources for survivors and explains how to salvage damaged belongings. Bright is an objects conservator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where she’s responsible for the long-term preservation of the collection, including preventive care and repairs. Lione manages the International Cultural Heritage Protection Program at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, supporting disaster response globally, including in Iraq and the U.S.

Subjects: Climate Change, Education, Environmental Law, Training

Yes, I am a human’: bot detection is no longer working – and just wait until AI agents come along

Welcome to the strange battle between bot detection and AI, which is set to get even more complicated in the coming years as technology continues to improve. Professors Irfan Mehmood and Kamran Mahroof describe what the future after Captcha may look like.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Search Engines, Search Strategies, Technology Trends

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, December 28, 2024

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued the operator of Zelle, as well as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo “for failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud” at the payment provider; You Need to Create a Secret Password With Your Family; North Korean Hackers Deploy OtterCookie Malware in Contagious Interview Campaign; How to block Chrome from signing you into a Google account automatically; and Mobile Phishing Attacks Use New Tactic to Bypass Security Measures.

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines