Communications of the ACM
An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
From ACM TechNews
Organizations Spending Billions on Easy-to-Bypass Malware Defense
Research suggests that hackers can easily circumvent Endpoint Detection and Response systems, the malware detecting and blocking solutions on which organizations...
From ACM TechNews
Post-Quantum Encryption Contender Taken Out by Single-Core PC in One Hour
Researchers ruled out an algorithm selected by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology as a potential post-quantum encryption program.
From ACM TechNews
Wide Range of Routers Under Attack by Sophisticated Malware
Researchers have discovered at least 80 routers in North America and Europe have been infected by a remote access Trojan as part of a larger hacking campaign.
From ACM TechNews
Gear from Netgear, Linksys, 200 Others Has Unpatched DNS Poisoning Flaw
Researchers at security firm Nozomi Networks identified an unpatched vulnerability in third-party code libraries used by 200 hardware and software vendors.
From ACM TechNews
Apple Rushes Out Patches for Zero-Days Threatening iOS, macOS Users
Apple recently released patches for two critical zero-day vulnerabilities discovered by an anonymous researcher that affect the operating systems of iPhones, iPads...
From ACM TechNews
Bug Lurking for 12 Years Gives Attackers Root on Most Major Linux Distros
Polkit, a system-wide privilege manager for Unix-like operating systems, contains a 12-year-old memory-corruption vulnerability.
From ACM TechNews
Booby-Trapped Sites Delivered Potent Backdoor Trojan to macOS Users
Security researchers have uncovered macOS malware that can be installed by exploits almost impossible for most users to detect.
From ACM TechNews
Microsoft's Emergency Patch Fails to Fix Critical 'PrintNightmare' Vulnerability
Researchers warn a Microsoft software patch did not fully correct a flaw in the Windows operating system that allows hackers to commandeer infected networks.
From ACM TechNews
Newly Discovered Vigilante Malware Outs Software Pirates, Blocks Them
SophosLabs researcher Andrew Brandt has discovered malware that identifies and blocks software pirates.
From ACM TechNews
Security Researcher Successfully Jailbreaks Apple AirTag
German security researcher stacksmashing was able to break into, dump, and reflash the microcontroller of Apple's AirTag object-location product.
From ACM News
'A Damn Stupid Thing to Do'—the Origins of C
Today, C may be a lingua franca among programmers. This is its (abridged) history.
From ACM TechNews
FBI/DHS: Government Systems Face Threat From Zerologon Exploits
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security have detected attackers exploiting a Windows vulnerability against state and local...
From ACM TechNews
One of This Year's Most Severe Windows Bugs Is Now Under Active Exploit
Microsoft warns a high-impact vulnerability that allows hackers to instantly take control of Windows' Active Directory is being actively exploited by malicious...
From ACM TechNews
Supply-Chain Attack Hits RubyGems Repository with 725 Malicious Packages
ReversingLabs researchers found more than 725 malicious packages in RubyGems, the official channel for distributing programs and code libraries for the Ruby programming...
From ACM News
Ethiopian Air Pilots Turned Off 737 MAX Anti-Stall System. Then It Turned On Again
The pilots of Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 apparently followed the proper steps to shut down an errant flight control system as they struggled to regain control...
From ACM News
They Didn't Buy the DLC: Feature that Could've Prevented 737 Crashes Was Sold As an Option
The crashed Lion Air 737 MAX and the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX aircraft had more in common than aircraft design and the apparently malfunctioning flight system...
From ACM News
ber Escapes Criminal Charges for 2018 Self-Driving Death in Arizona
A prosecutor in Arizona has decided not to press charges against Uber in the March 2018 death of Elaine Herzberg. One of Uber's self-driving cars crashed into Herzberg...
From ACM News
String of Ions May Out-Compute Best Quantum Computers
Usually, I reflexively delete press releases. This one was no different, but as the message vanished, the subject line registered—"IonQ… quantum computing."
From ACM News
Researchers, Scared by Their Own Work, Hold Back 'Deepfakes for Text' AI
OpenAI, a non-profit research company investigating "the path to safe artificial intelligence," has developed a machine learning system called Generative Pre-trained...
From ACM News