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Brand’s view and concerns about hacking driverless cars are valid. And, I do believe in time that government will eventually catch up in passing some laws that will make companies ensure that their technology is safe for consumer usage and are safe for the public. I just hope that the pendulum does swing too far to the other side of over regulation.


It is not easy to slot Brad Templeton. What do you make of a person who is not only the networks and computing chair at Singularity University in Silicon Valley but also a software architect, a director of the Foresight Nanotech Institute, board member of the cyberspace watchdog Electronic Frontier Foundation, the first person to have set up an Internet-based business, a futurist lecturer, hobby photographer, artist, as well as a consultant on Google’s driverless car design team?

In a phone interview from the US, Templeton, who will be in India this month as a key speaker during the SingularityU India Summit (to be held in association with INK, which hosts events like INKtalks—a platform for the exchange of cutting-edge ideas and inspiring stories), shared his views on driverless cars, the perceived threat from intelligent machines and censorship of the Internet. Edited excerpts:

Driverless cars are not hacker-proof and may find it difficult to navigate chaotic traffic. How are we addressing such issues?

Eva Galperin, Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Morgan Marquis-Boire, Citizen Lab, University of Toronto.

Protecting high-risk individuals has always been a problem for the security industry. While many enterprises focus on mitigating scenarios that will affect the greatest number of their users, harm from attacks is not distributed proportionally. Cyber-attacks on high-risk individuals in dangerous situations can lead to torture, kidnapping, and worse. But dealing with targeted attacks is time-consuming and resource intensive. This problem is exacerbated when the target is an individual or small NGO rather than a large enterprise. This talk will discuss the challenges of protecting high-risk, targeted users using the experience of the speakers in assisting targeted NGOs and individuals.

Sign up to find out more about Enigma conferences:
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The 6th annual European Smart Grid Cyber Security conference (7th – 8th March 2016)

Boy! I wish I could attend this meeting. I can imagine all of the conversations now “Quantum” & “Cyber Attacks” with some good old AI thrown in the mix. I am also guess that the 2 articles this week on the NSA maybe brought up too.


SMi Group reports: The MITRE Corporation will be presenting at the SMi’s 6th annual European Smart Grid Cyber Security conference (7th – 8th March 2016)

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Not sure how I missed this article from late Jan. If you haven’t read my article on Linkedin Pulse called “AI holding your information hostage — food for thought”; you may wish to read it. It parallels beautifully with this report/ article:


A new report from application delivery and cyber security specialist Radware suggests that the human element will increasingly be excluded from security as 2016 brings a ‘battle of the bots’.

It finds that throughout 2015, no industry was immune to cyber attacks, and few were prepared for them. In 2016, attacks are predicted to become even more aggressive with the arrival of Advanced Persistent Denial of Service (APDoS) attacks and an increase in volume and scope of sophisticated bot-generated assaults against web application infrastructure.

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Non-hackable RFIDs


You might not realize it, but radio frequency identification (RFID) tech is everywhere these days. From the cards in your wallet, to inventory control in warehouses, it’s the technology that works behind the scenes to power the world around you. RFID has brought efficiency to complicated industries and makes our tiny devices and everyday carry items speak to each other. But RFID technology has also been very vulnerable to security attacks and information hackers – until now. A team of researchers from MIT and Texas Instruments have developed a new kind of RFID chip that they believe is impossible to hack.

The new RFID chip is made of ferroelectric crystals, which are material made up of molecules arranged in a lattice pattern across three dimensions. Thanks to this unique structure, when you apply electricity to the lattice, each cell can be polarized as either positive or negative, representing the values of a bit of information. Because the cells retain their polarization when the electric field is removed, the chips can store data even when they’re powered off. Texas Instruments developed a series of 3.3-volt capacitors for the chip’s energy source, and 1.5-volt cells for data storage.

Related: This RFID-blocking wallet keeps your cards safe and cuts down on clutter.

Cyber is still a challenge for soldiers on the battlefield.


Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include comment from an industry official.

WASHINGTON — Cyber vulnerabilities continue to plague the Army’s battlefield communications, according to the Pentagon’s top weapons tester, while the service works to harden its network against cyber attacks.

The Army’s Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T), the Mid-Tier Networking Vehicular Radio (MNVR), the Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P) and the Rifleman Radio were all cited as having problematic cybersecurity vulnerabilities in a report released Monday by the Pentagon’s Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E), J. Michael Gilmore.

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Cyber attacks on our power grids — As I have highlighted in my Jan 10th Pulse positing “Quantum Computing – things that need to be considered for our future Quantum Computing” we mush get our funding and special projects under way to prevent a possible Quantum hack by overseas hackers. Russia and China are both ramping up their infrastructures to be Quantum to protect their citizens and we must do the same.


Israel’s Electric Authority has revealed its systems have been the target of a “severe cyberattack” which, while under control, is yet to be fully repelled.

“We had to paralyze numerous computers of the Israeli electricity authorities”, he said.

Minister of National Infrastructure says: ‘We are handling the situation and I hope that soon, this very serious event will be over ‘.

Steinitz, meanwhile, told information security conference attendees that the attack against the Electricity Authority is a reminder of “the sensitivity of infrastructure to cyber-attacks, and the importance of preparing ourselves in order to defend ourselves against such attacks”.

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I must admit; I got a little laughter from reading the beginning of this article. However, there is a potential longer term concern around jobs and an even larger concern around data (including IP) when it comes to AI. So, I truly hope folks are strategically planning, designing, and implementing appropriate safeguards around their AI architecture and systems; especially if we look at hacking, etc.


Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have all done their part in warning the world of the true power of artificial intelligence. All three men were actually awarded the 2015 Luddite Award, which is given by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

Because of their honest assessment on the power of new technology, these three men have been called alarmists who spread horror. There were 10 total nominees to the prices, and all three received them after getting more 3,680 votes.

Luddite is a word from 19th century England, and it is used to describe someone who is opposed to advances in technology. This is hardly an appropriate denomination for any of these men. Bill Gates is almost single-handedly responsible for putting PC computers in homes, Elon Musk has made a revolution with electric vehicles. Volumes can be written on the impact Stephen Hawking has had on the world.

Run away AI & Robots in particular do not worry me at this point. When we have Quantum based AI and Robots meaning they can fully operate themselves; that’s when we have to truly consider our real risks and ensure we have proper safe gaurds. The bigger issue with current AI and Robots that are not developed on a Quantum platform or technology is hacking. Hacking by others is the immediate threat for AI & Robots.


In this photo taken Thursday, July 9, 2015, SoftBank Corp.'s new robot Pepper performs during an interview at the technology company's headquarters in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

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