FFT news digest — 12 May 2023
FFT news digest — 12 May 2023
It’s common knowledge that Google is terrified by what AI could do its business model so it’s hardly surprising that its big developer event was dominated by AI-related news. We thought it would be worth summarising the key announcements which give a good picture of where Google is heading. Search : A major overhaul includes a new function called Snapshots (providing you opt in to the snappily named Search Generative Experience ). This will start displaying AI-generated answers at the top of search results. Bard : Google’s AI-powered (and somewhat derided) chatbot is now available to everyone. Android : A new feature called Magic Compose will create suggested responses to messages. Workspace : Like Microsoft Copilot for Office apps, Duet AI is an umbrella term for a growing list of generative AI features across Google Workspace apps. Companion : Project Tailwind is an AI assistant that will generate personalised responses based on the documents you have saved. As The Verge explains , it’s a prototype at the moment - but it’s probably the most significant in terms of revealing how Google sees this technology working.
Threats
Ransomware : A new ransomware family, dubbed Akira, is breaching corporate networks around the world and claims to have notched up 16 scalps already. Several victims did not have multi-factor authentication enabled. Sophos Kit : A very nasty phishing kit combines highly sophisticated tools and allows its users a good chance of acquiring a victim’s Microsoft 365 credentials. It’s targeting organisations in the US, UK, Australia, South Africa and Canada. Initial emails typically contain an HTML attachment. Cisco Talos Windows : Beware Windows update notifications that appear when you close a browsing window. The fakes are mostly distributed via ‘adult’ websites. They’re called ‘pop unders’ because you can’t see them until you close the current browser window. Malwarebytes Voice : Voice-cloning is becoming increasingly common and worryingly effective. McAfee looks at how it works and how to protect yourself. Short version; ask a question which only the genuine person could answer correctly. Microsoft : A voice element also features in a weird scam spotted by Cofense which aims to steal a victim’s Microsoft login credentials. What’s weird is that once the credentials have been acquired, the victim hears a voice recording that has nothing to do with the original phishing email. Nope. We don’t understand it either. Facebook : A reminder not to let your guard down just because an account appears to be verified. Hackers are continuing to hijack verified pages and use them to run advertisements that distribute malicious software. Matt Navarra QR codes : We don’t like QR codes because scammers do. In San Francisco they’re being used in a fake parking fine scam. In Singapore they’re being used to distribute malicious apps. Despite that, Singapore is planning to let drivers cross its border with only a QR code.
AI
Apart from Google’s frenzy of AI initiatives, this week saw Spotify purge thousands of AI-generated tracks that had been uploaded in efforts to generate royalty payments. In a variation on the theme, Motherboard reports that a scammer earned thousands of dollars by selling what appeared to be songs by R&B star, Frank Ocean, but which were actually created using AI. Other AI tidbits; - Yuval Harari warned that AI could create religions to control humans. The Times (R) - Chinese authorities arrested a ChatGPT user for allegedly generating fake news . Too much irony to mention. - The first step in AI’s takeover of the business world is turning every aspect of a job into a digestible component, according to Daniel Miessler . - A leading AI expert described AI as being in its teenage phase ; possessed of “extraordinary power” but “completely unreliable.”
Training
Simulated phishing exercises are not only ineffective but may be counterproductive, according to a long-term study by Swiss academics. After working with a medium-sized organisation for 15 months, they concluded that “simulated phishing exercises….[do] not make employees more resilient to phishing, but instead can have unexpected side effects that can make employees even more susceptible to phishing.” More positively, warnings embedded in emails did seem to work, as did a button in email clients that enable employees to report suspicious messages. “Crowd-sourcing allows fast detection of new phishing campaigns, the operational load for the organisation is acceptable, and the employees remain active over long periods of time,” they said.
In brief
TikTok : Last week, an FT journalist revealed how TikTok’s parent company used the app to surveil her. This week, The Wall Street Journal reports that the app tracked users who watched LGBTQ content. Location : A great piece from open source gurus Bellingcat which https:// www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/05/08/chronolocation-determining-when-a-photo-was-taken-using-facebook-google-street-view-and-assorted-tiny-details/ how tiny details reveal the reality about online photos. Russia : The US says an international operation has dismantled one of the Russian government’s most sophisticated cyber espionage campaigns. A detailed report sets out what Moscow was up to. Safety guide : Apple has updated its Personal Safety User Guide which advises users on how to secure their devices. The update covers Safety Check on iPhones, Lockdown Mode, iMessage, how to wipe content from Apple Maps, and how to collect evidence of abuse, stalking, and harassment. Twitter : It took a while but Twitter finally fessed up and admitted that some users’ semi-private Circle tweets appeared in places they shouldn’t have. Meanwhile, you’ll now be able to encrypt direct messages - but only if you pay for a blue tick (and message metadata won’t be encrypted anyway).
Updates
Truecaller : The useful but dangerous caller identification service is to be extended to WhatsApp and other messaging apps. Useful because it can reveal who’s calling you. Risky because there will be times when people have good reasons for remaining anonymous. Reuters Metaverse : Is the ‘metaverse’ dead? Business Insider thinks so and we’d agree the prognosis doesn’t look good. We’re not surprised. When Mark Zuckerberg bet the company’s name on it. We were struck by Motherboard’s take , “[Zuckerberg] is pitching products that don’t exist for a reality that does not exist in a desperate attempt to change the narrative as it exists in reality, where we all actually live.” Gen Z : 10-28 year olds are leading a move towards the adoption of ‘dumbphones,’ according to The Wall Street Journal. They’re apparently seeking a less distracting device - though, as the Journal points out , only as an addition to their smartphone.