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The article highlights the details of the CrowdStrike's decision to lower its revenue forecast due to the impact of a major cyber outage that affected millions of computers. Topics discuss include the company's financial outlook, customer incentives, and the consequences of the software bug on business operations.

Linwei Ding, a Chinese national who worked at Google, has been charged with stealing the company's artificial intelligence (AI) trade secrets. The US Justice Department alleges that Ding sent sensitive Google trade secrets and other confidential information to his personal Google account while secretly being affiliated with Chinese AI companies. He faces four counts of trade-secrets theft, with each count carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted. The alleged thefts include microchip-related secrets that are considered a competitive advantage for companies in the AI industry. The US government has expressed concerns about China's efforts to steal American AI secrets and its potential use of AI for spying purposes. [Extracted from the article]

Clippy, the animated paper clip known for being one of the most annoying virtual assistants, is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Despite being retired by Microsoft, Clippy has become a cultural icon, with ugly Christmas sweaters featuring the character selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay and Clippy-themed merchandise available on Etsy. Additionally, a software developer has rebooted Clippy as an AI chatbot, although Microsoft has asked him to rebrand it due to trademark concerns. Clippy's enduring popularity suggests that people are interested in interacting with computers in a more human-like way. [Extracted from the article]

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has made it easier to create deceptive content on the internet, posing challenges for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Recent incidents, such as AI-generated phone calls discouraging voting, highlight the potential for AI deepfakes to confuse and mislead voters. Social media platforms are grappling with how to address this issue while respecting free speech considerations. With elections taking place in approximately 70 countries this year, the impact of AI-generated fakes on voter behavior and the ability of companies to enforce rules against deceptive content remain uncertain. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the ongoing competition between the United States and China in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). U.S. officials are concerned about the theft of AI secrets by China, which has denied these allegations. The FBI and other agencies believe that China could use AI to gather and stockpile data on Americans, potentially amplifying their hacking operations. China has been linked to significant thefts of personal data in the past, and there are fears that AI could be used to further support these hacking activities. The article also highlights the concerns of AI technology companies about their secrets being stolen by China. U.S. intelligence analysts have long been worried about China's collection of hacked personal information, and they believe that AI could be used to analyze and exploit this vast amount of data. Microsoft believes that China is already using AI to comb through these data sets. The article concludes by mentioning that while executives are concerned about the weaponization of AI, they also believe that it can be used as a defensive tool to mitigate attacks. [Extracted from the article]

Comcast has announced that the data of nearly 36 million Xfinity accounts in the US was compromised in a breach. Hackers gained access to the systems through a vulnerability in third-party cloud-computing software made by Citrix. The compromised data includes usernames, hashed passwords, names, contact information, birth dates, the last four digits of social security numbers, and secret questions and answers. The breach occurred between October 16 and October 19, and Comcast discovered the suspicious activity on October 25. The affected software has since been patched, and Comcast has required customers to reset their passwords and enable multifactor authentication. [Extracted from the article]

Russian propagandists have deceived several Western celebrities, including Elijah Wood and Priscilla Presley, into recording videos that were manipulated and used to support Russia's online information war against Ukraine, according to Microsoft. The celebrities were asked to offer words of encouragement to someone named "Vladimir," but the messages were edited and shared online to falsely claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had substance abuse problems. This tactic is the latest in Russia's ongoing efforts to distort global perceptions of the war in Ukraine. Microsoft researchers have observed similar videos from other celebrities, including Mike Tyson and Dean Norris, being misused in the same way. [Extracted from the article]

The social movement of effective altruism has caused divisions among employees and executives at artificial intelligence companies in Silicon Valley. OpenAI, a company formed on the principles of effective altruism, recently experienced a blowup that highlighted the influence of the movement. The movement believes that carefully developed AI systems with the right human values can lead to a Golden Age, while failure to do so could have catastrophic consequences. The movement has gained support from high-profile individuals in the tech industry, but it has also faced criticism. The turmoil at OpenAI reflects the ongoing contest between those who believe in markets and those who believe in ethics and reason guiding the future of AI. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on job opportunities. While AI systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT may pose a threat to certain careers, there are also new opportunities emerging. One such opportunity is the role of in-house large language model developers who train AI models to carry out specialized tasks in industries like finance. Additionally, the need for reskillers is growing as people must upgrade their skills to stay employable in an AI-driven world. AI psychotherapists are also mentioned as individuals who will evaluate and interpret the reasoning behind AI models' decisions. Lastly, prompt engineers are highlighted as a new class of job that involves instructing AI systems in plain English to harness their power effectively. [Extracted from the article]

Messrs. Zhong and Kemker had planned a real-estate development that was to encompass 340 apartments, 60,000 feet of retail space and a rooftop bar in Memphis, Tenn. Mr. Zhong pledged $42 million for the project, which has since been abandoned, Mr. Kemker said. Keywords: wsjcorp; photo-illo; photo-commission; leder; Blockchain Technology; Banking/Credit; Financial Services; Financial Technology; Technology; Virtual Currencies/Cryptocurrencies EN wsjcorp photo-illo photo-commission leder Blockchain Technology Banking/Credit Financial Services Financial Technology Technology Virtual Currencies/Cryptocurrencies N.PAG N.PAG 1 04/14/23 20230413 NES 230413 Federal authorities are making arrests and seizing funds with the help of new tools to identify criminals through cryptocurrency transactions James Zhong appeared to have pulled off the perfect crime. With Mr. Zhong's Silk Road link in hand, authorities went to the bitcoin exchange that handled the transaction. Private and government investigators can now identify wallet addresses associated with terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers and cybercriminals, all of which were supposed to be anonymous. [Extracted from the article]

The planned software update to detect child sexual abuse material wouldn't affect the iPhone's encryption system and it allows iPhone users to keep their data on the device completely private, Apple says. The planned software update to detect child sexual abuse material wouldn't affect the iPhone's encryption system and it allows iPhone users to keep their data on the device completely private, Apple says. [Extracted from the article]

Before 2018, hackers considered data-rich companies such as financial services companies, retailers and insurance companies to be prime targets, but they have shifted their focus because of the financial incentive from ransomware payments. " - Kevin Mandia, CEO of cybersecurity firm FireEye President Biden said Wednesday he would look closely at whether to retaliate against Russia for the attacks. Keywords: Food/Beverages; Animal Slaughtering/Processing; Meat Processing; Consumer Goods; Food Products; Technology; Corporate Crime/Legal Action; Capacity/Facilities; Corporate/Industrial News; Facility Closures EN Food/Beverages Animal Slaughtering/Processing Meat Processing Consumer Goods Food Products Technology Corporate Crime/Legal Action Capacity/Facilities Corporate/Industrial News Facility Closures N.PAG N.PAG 1 06/04/21 20210603 NES 210603 Attacks on infrastructure are part of a global criminal pivot from stealing data to hobbling operations The trend is part of a global criminal pivot from stealing data to hobbling operations via ransomware, where companies are hit with demands for million-dollar payments to regain control of their operating systems. [Extracted from the article]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has for years told companies that they shouldn't pay ransoms when victimized by hackers, but the cybersecurity firm Bitdefender says that at least half of all victims end up paying. Keywords: Energy; Pipeline Transportation; Healthcare/Life Sciences; Hospital Care; Fossil Fuels; Oil/Natural Gas Midstream Operations; Healthcare Provision; Technology; Corporate Crime/Legal Action; Corporate/Industrial News EN Energy Pipeline Transportation Healthcare/Life Sciences Hospital Care Fossil Fuels Oil/Natural Gas Midstream Operations Healthcare Provision Technology Corporate Crime/Legal Action Corporate/Industrial News N.PAG N.PAG 1 05/13/21 20210512 NES 210512 Schools, hospitals, companies are targeted by "cyber weapons of mass destruction" The cyberattack that knocked offline an essential U.S. gasoline pipeline shows how the dangerous, professional-scale hack-for-ransom threat is spreading rapidly. [Extracted from the article]