Category Archives: Technology

Election hacking is much in the news of late and there are fears that the Russians/rogue lefties/Bavarian illuminati et al are capable of falsifying results.

For example, voters in the state of Georgia's sixth district are going to the polls on Tuesday for a close-fought election, and serious doubts have been raised about the security of the voting systems used. Georgia uses electronic voting machines that don't give a paper ballot, making recounts impossible, and security researcher Logan Lamb has doubts about their security. (This is, of course, amid evidence of Russian hackers targeting election boards and makers of voting software and hardware in the US.)

While investigating the Kennesaw State University's Center for Election Systems, which oversees Georgia's voting system, Lamb found that the website was misconfigured, exposing the state's entire voter registration record, multiple PDFs with instructions and passwords for election workers, and the software systems used to tally votes cast.

"You could just go to the root of where they were hosting all the files and just download everything without logging in," Lamb told Politico.

Lamb is not alone many in the security sphere have serious doubts about America's headlong rush into electronic voting. After the 2000 election hanging chads fiasco, the government threw money at the states to upgrade their voting machines and many systems are hopelessly bad.

Paper ballots have a number of advantages over electronic voting. They may be slower to count, but it's much harder to falsify results because you need large numbers of ballots to be prepared by hand. Electronic voting is, in its current form, potentially hackable, but there are systems that combine electronic voting with encryption to give an election that can be checked, protects voting privacy, and allows for on-the-spot checks.

At this year's Enigma conference, Ben Adida, veep of engineering at educational software firm Clever, detailed a new kind of secure voting system called Helios watch below.

Youtube Video

The system is fairly simple. Voters cast their ballot, which is then encrypted, and the voter is given a tracking number to keep. That number can be checked against an election tally system to ensure that the vote was cast as specified, while not compromising the privacy of the ballot.

The system allows for parties to check that their supporters have voted and lets vote checkers examine results as they come in, while keeping the ballot secret. Adida said that the voting system is already in use for student council elections at Princeton University in New Jersey, where it proved its worth.

In a recent Princeton election, one of the candidates, a sophomore, was standing against a senior. The sophomore complained that an email reminding students to vote hadn't been received by other sophomores, and was originally told by the university that no fault had occurred.

However, the Helios system allowed the voting team to check the levels of votes by different years of students (freshmen, juniors, etc), and saw that while voting rates among other years had spiked after the email had been sent out, this wasn't true for sophomore students.

The university later found out that a misconfigured email server had only sent out reminders to 10 per cent of sophomores. They rectified that error, and the sophomore later won the election by just 2 per cent.

The Helios software is all open source and is available for anyone to check up on or use. Adida told The Register that the system can scale to national elections, but that this was unlikely in the next election cycle.

"In the United States, the most difficult aspect of that question is that decisions on voting systems and equipment are very decentralized. So I don't see a way in which a Helios-type system is in broad use in 2020," he said.

"If anything, the difficulty of running pilots with new voting technology is probably the biggest impediment of all: no one wants to use a system that hasn't been proven at scale in national elections. It would be better if states were willing to try new technologies in controlled conditions at small scale. Then we could make more progress."

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Worried about election hacking? There's a technology fix Helios - The Register

Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand in action Thursday during a training session ahead of the America's Cup match in Hamilton, Bermuda. Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand in action Thursday during a training session ahead of the America's Cup match in Hamilton, Bermuda. Related content

(CNN) - When the 2017 America's Cup final match gets under way on Saturday, sailing's ultimate event will have hard job matching the drama and impact of the 2013 edition.

An incredible comeback from the Larry Ellison-backed Oracle Team USA to defeat Emirates Team New Zealand was as dramatic as anything in the long history of sport's oldest trophy, and unlikely to be replicated when the two crews meet again on the waters of Bermuda to decide the destination of the Auld Mug.

The 2013 event also marked the competition's coming of age, the moment it went from a race for sailing enthusiasts to an occasion that momentarily captured the attention of sport fans across the world.

That was due to Team USA's unprecedented comeback as well as the awe-inspiring spectacle of these boats on the water.

But television also played its part -- a sometimes unfathomable race suddenly became a whole lot easier to understand thanks to onscreen graphics.

Lines were painted across the water to mark the start, likewise for the racing position between the two boats and the boundary they cannot cross.

Other technological twists included a boat's "FlyTime" in a race, in effect how much time it spends gliding out of the water in a race. The target obviously being 100%.

As Mark Sheffield, the head of technology for the America's Cup puts it in the days leading up to this year's match, "What it's done is make something hard to understand that much easier to understand."

That the America's Cup has got to this point is down to a conversation on board Syonara, the launching pad for Ellison's foray into the sailing world, in 1995.

Stan Honey is a well revered navigator who helped win the Volvo Ocean Race and for a time boasted the speed record for sailing around the globe on board Groupama 3.

But Honey has also made an impact inside American homes with his work on graphics for sports broadcasts. Notably the onscreen line put into a hockey puck to better see its movement, to the first down line in the NFL.

Events such as NASCAR and the Olympics have benefited from Honey's pioneering innovations.

"I was a navigator for Larry on Syonara back in 1995, and at the time I was head of technology of Newscorp," he explains having sold his first company Etak to Rupert Murdoch in 1989 for $35 million.

"And Larry said 'what could you do for sailing?' I explained it had more to gain than other sports in technology terms because it's hard to understand and see.

"Translate the first-down line in NFL into sailing and you can see the boats' position in a race. He understood it straight away."

Ellison appeared to store the idea in his head for 15 years. Honey was sailing the Southern Ocean when he got a message from his wife Sally to tell him something could be in the offing.

He picks up the story: "She sent me this Fortune article after Larry had just won the 2010 America's Cup and he name checked me."

Ellison credited Honey's work in the NFL and said he needed his computer technology to help transform the America's Cup.

Honey warned the American billionaire the technology was probably too expensive but Ellison isn't a man to take no for an answers. Neither Honey nor the America's Cup will divulge the cost in question but it is likely to run into the millions of dollars.

Within months of hearing his name, Honey had "got the band back together."

He reunited with his cohorts Ken Milnes, Time Heidmann, Graeme Winn and Alistair Green, as well as bringing in Sheffield, who would later replace him as head of technology for this year's America's Cup.

"This was dream come true stuff for me," explains Honey. "My two passions are the engineering side of things and the sailing side of things and this brought them together as one.

"And since we were all older and wiser, this proved the perfect project. We were on budget, and on time. It worked like a dream."

And the results have been truly eye catching, with tracking, telemetry and augmented reality systems all now developed.

Along came automatic tracking systems on the boat, computer controlled cameras on the helicopters, and measurements accurate to within two centimeters.

Honey and his team had helped turn the oldest sporting trophy in the world into arguably the most technologically advanced.

So every gibe is registered, the average speed collated and the flight time and the positioning of the boats measured. But in addition, such technology has enabled the umpires to make more accurate calls.

Honey has now taken a step back but he is almost childlike in his enthusiasm -- especially when people initially fail to understand his work.

"You still get those conversations you overhear of people saying 'they shouldn't pollute the water like that painting on it'," he says. "It's always funny to hear those stories.

"The whole project is dream come true stuff as I said. Don't tell Larry and the others but I expect we all would have done it for free!

"I remember when we did it thinking, this is going to make a huge difference for sailing and the audience, especially the Americans. Now a lot more people understand sailing."

Honey's successor Sheffield is continuing to innovate.

He and his team are housed in a temporary container on race day, with Sheffield admitting "the hairs on the back of my neck go up when I enter that container."

"Of course, we sometimes have crazy ideas and there's a bucket list of things I want to do," he adds. "We just have to wait and see if that's possible."

For this year's America's Cup match, thermal imaging cameras on the sailors will be one of the new innovations.

For Sheffield, who describes the job as "perpetual plate spinning," it is all about "trying for perfection, and there's no reason not to try to be better."

Like Honey, Sheffield comes from an engineering and sailing background having competed in the America's Cup previously.

"The way the technology has changed in the America's Cup reflects the way the world has changed, with its high pace," he says.

"We're all dialed into 11 now and people want that excitement, to be on the edge. That's what we're trying to provide with every broadcast."

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How technology helped America's Cup hit mainstream - InformNNY

NEW YORK The five largest U.S. technology companies may have lost enough market capitalization over the past week to buy plane maker Boeing, but the benchmark S&P 500 stock index .SPX has managed to remain within a stone's throw of its record high.

Apple

By Thursday the S&P 500 technology index .SPLRCT had seen its largest five-day drop in a year.

The slide was again led by sector heavyweights Apple and Alphabet, as investors moved away from what had been the year's best-performing sector and rotated portfolios into stocks that pay higher dividends amid some signs that U.S. economic weakness.

I think its a perfectly normal backing off. Tech has done really well. All of sudden everyone wakes up and says, Holy cow, maybe were getting ahead of ourselves, and backs off a little bit," said Brad McMillan, Chief Investment Officer for Commonwealth Financial in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Among technology stocks hit, shares of Google's parent Alphabet fell 0.8 percent Thursday after broker Canaccord Genuity downgraded its rating of the stock to "hold" from "buy."

The broker downgrade triggered a broader technology sector selloff according to Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

Apple shares slid 0.6 percent on Thursday, extending their five-day decline to 6.9 percent. Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz wrote that Apple is near the peak valuation levels in its iPhone 6 cycle which "could mean a bumpy ride lower" if the prospects for sales of its next phone disappoint.

Shares of social media company Snap Inc (SNAP.N) closed at their initial public offering price of $17 for the first time.

Some investors were selling technology shares to rotate into other sectors, such as beaten-down energy stocks, said Russ Koesterich, co-portfolio manager of BlackRocks Global Allocation Fund. Its more the winners into the losers, rather than a broader move toward safety, he said.

The recent decline notwithstanding, the technology sector remains the best performing so far this year, up 17.4 percent versus the overall S&P 500 index gain of 8.6 percent.

ROTATION TO VALUE AMID WEAK U.S. ECONOMIC DATA

Companies including Apple and Google parent Alphabet have seen their stock prices soar in 2017, and their heavy weightings in benchmark stock indexes prompted concerns that overall market gains are too concentrated in a handful of large technology firms.

"We had sensed over the last 4-5 weeks that clients were becoming uncomfortable with the clustering of returns to the S&P 500", said Julian Emanuel, executive director of U.S. equity and derivatives strategy at UBS Securities. "It felt to us that you had the elixir for a correction in the (technology) sector."

Concern over the earlier gains in technology stocks this year has been compounded by some recent weak U.S. economic data.

Last month, the U.S. economy added 138,000 jobs, well below the expected gain of 185,000. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales fell 0.3 percent in May, marking the largest one-month decline since January of last year. Also, the Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index dipped 0.1 percent last month, the second drop in inflation in three months. In the 12 months through May, the CPI rose 1.9 percent, the smallest increase since last November.

U.S. Treasury yields tumbled to their lowest since early November on Wednesday on the weak data.

"Tech is one of the losing sectors when the interest rate trade is dominating because rates are falling," said Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at TIAA Investments, an affiliate of Nuveen, because investors need to look for higher yield in dividend paying stocks.

RESILIENCE IN S&P 500 BENCHMARK

Despite the 3.7 percent drop for technology stocks .SPLRCT over the past five sessions, the S&P 500 .SPX index has barely budged, slipping just 0.05 percent over the same period.

The resilience in the S&P 500 benchmark has resulted from investors rotating their portfolios into other sectors such as financials and the more defensive sectors like real estate .SPLRCR.

"It definitely feels like a rotation that's gone on for a few days with tech being weakened," said Edward Perkin, chief equity investment officer at Eaton Vance. "What's done well in the last few days is the more bond-like plays."

(Additional reporting by Sinead Carew in New York and Noel Randewich in San Francisco; editing by Clive McKeef)

TORONTO The Canadian accused of helping Russian intelligence agents break into email accounts as part of a massive 2014 breach of Yahoo accounts may waive his right to fight a U.S. extradition request, his lawyer said on Friday.

NEW YORK U.S. technology company The Bitfury Group said on Friday it had formed a strategic partnership with advisory firm Risk Cooperative to use the blockchain digital ledger in the $60 billion insurance broking market.

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US tech stocks shaken, but market not stirred - Reuters

Japanese toilets have come a long way from the early 20th century, when many people in Japan still used "squatters," which were built into the floor.

Western toilets became popular after World War II. And today, signature Japanese toilets offer the world's most futuristic and automated technology when nature calls.

The units are not just toilets, but also bidets, offering a dizzying menu of options for washing and also for privacy not to mention heated seats, automatic odor-neutralizers and lids that rise when you approach.

A Japanese government survey last year found more than 80 percent of Japanese homes have toilet-bidet combos.

Check out the Washlet the name given to a popular toilet-bidet combo made by Japanese company Toto and its more advanced cousins in this showroom tour. Toto is the world's largest toilet maker, with more than $5 billion in annual sales. Its Washlet line ranges in price from $400 to $1,800. Higher-end Toto Neorests, which count Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna among its fans, can cost as much as $5,000.

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WATCH: What Makes Japan No. 1 In Toilet Technology : Parallels ... - NPR

By Herb Scribner, Deseret News

Netflix said on Thursday it does not currently endorse VidAngels new streaming service.

We have not endorsed or approved the VidAngel technology, Netflix said in a statement emailed to the Deseret News.

Earlier this week, VidAngel announced a new service that allows subscribers to watch filtered content from Netflix, Amazon and HBO (which comes free with an Amazon Prime subscription).

Subscribers to the VidAngel app enter in their credentials for other streaming services, like Netflix, and then watch TV shows, movies and miniseries filtered by VidAngel.

Subscribers will need Netflix or Amazon accounts to access content, according to the VidAngel.

VidAngel CEO Neal Harmon said in an interview with the Deseret News on Thursday that the company has had extensive conversations with representatives from both Netflix and Amazon about the service.

Harmon said Amazon representatives he has talked to loved on a personal level what were doing.

And same with the Netflix one, he added. Theyre excited about the technology.

But Harmon said the companies havent officially started a partnership, and he cant speak officially for Amazon or Netflix.

None of these companies can officially partner with us, he said.

The Deseret News reached out to Amazon, too, but has yet to receive comment.

The new VidAngel service is available on iOS and Android devices, desktop devices and through Roku. It costs $7.99 a month, with the first 30 days free.

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Netflix has not 'endorsed or approved' VidAngel's new technology - WRAL.com

Technology company Integrated Technology Group (ITG) will make its home in Amherst County in July, bringing 22 full-time, high-wage jobs to the area, county officials announced Thursday.

ITG, which provides commercial technology solutions to the central and southwest regions of Virginia, is looking to expand to new markets and double its employee base over the next five years, according to a news release from the Amherst Economic Development Authority.

The company will move into the Amelon Commerce Center in Madison Heights, utilizing a building owned by the countys Economic Development Authority. The building ITG will occupy is more than 6,300 square feet and was formerly leased to CMC Rebar.

Gaining a tech company like ITG is a great win for Amherst County. The partnership between the EDA and ITG will provide jobs and economic growth for Amherst for years to come, EDA Chairman Calvin Kennon said in a statement.

According to ITG, the company is a managed services provider that delivers enterprise-quality technology products and services to small/mid-size businesses. ITGs five core competencies include IT products and services, IP telephony, security and access control, building automation and structured cabling, according to the release.

The EDA has been extremely accommodating, and the ITG team could not be more excited to begin this relationship with the businesses of Amherst county as well as invest in the Amherst community, Paul Meadows, ITG President/CEO, said in the release. Being involved in our community is important to us, and we look forward to helping the people of Amherst reach their full potential.

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Technology company to locate in Amherst County, bringing 22 jobs - Lynchburg News and Advance

By Noel Randewich | SAN FRANCISCO

SAN FRANCISCO Shares of Apple have been more bruised than those of other Silicon Valley heavyweights by a technology stock selloff this week, with many on Wall Street cautious following the iPhone maker's rally in recent months.

While its stock may not appear expensive in terms of expected earnings, some investors believe further gains in Apple will be less likely as an expected iPhone launch approaches.

"Anticipation of a new iPhone has been out there for a while now, and maybe we're entering a period where the stock is topped out," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York. Apple accounts for about 4.5 percent of his firm's equity exposure.

Apple has surged 48 percent over the past year to record highs, largely in anticipation that the Cupertino, California company will launch an iPhone with major improvements to mark the device's 10th anniversary.

The company typically unveils its new iPhones in September. Many analysts believe a large number of customers will upgrade to the new device from older phones.

A selloff in technology stocks that began last Friday has clipped 4.1 percent off the S&P 500 information technology index as investors worry about stretched valuations in 2017's top-performing sector.

During that time, Alphabet has lost 5.8 percent, Amazon is down 5.17 percent and Facebook is off 4.03 percent. Apple has declined more than 7 percent in the past five days.

DOWNGRADES

Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz cautioned in a note on Thursday that the "mega cycle" of iPhone sales expected this year may fall short of expectations due to competition in China.

Analysts from Pacific Crest and Mizuho Securities downgraded their ratings on Apple this month, both saying the benefits from the expected new iPhone are priced into the stock.

"Without this little flash crash, we were probably going to see some downward movement anyway on Apple," said Brian Hennessey, portfolio manager of the Alpine Dynamic Dividend Fund. "There is some downside risk that was not there to nearly this extent at the beginning of the year. It's partly timing as you get closer to the launch."

Apple is the Alpine Dynamic Dividend Fund's largest holding.

It recently traded at 14.7 times expected earnings for the next 12 months, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream. That's down from an earnings multiple of 16 in midday but above its five-year average of 12.2.

But Moskowitz warned that the earnings multiple is near the peak level of early 2015, when strong sales of the iPhone 6 pushed Apple's stock to record highs, only to slip into a deep downturn.

Apple will probably be classified completely as a growth company in an annual rebalancing of Russell indexes on June 23, according to Jefferies.

After that drop in Apple's stock extended into 2016, Russell allocated 8 percent of Apple as "value" in its investment style indexes, with 92 percent of Apple remaining "growth."

The expected rebalancing of Apple in Russell's subindexes reflects its recovery last year and recent record highs.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

SAN FRANCISCO A woman sued Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday claiming top executives at the ride-hailing company improperly obtained her medical records after she was raped by a driver in India, according to court documents.

SYDNEY/SAN FRANCISCO Since Amazon.com Inc said in late April it would bring its Marketplace for third-party sellers to Australia, shares of leading bricks-and-mortar retailers have tumbled on fears their growth prospects would be hit.

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Wall Street technology share selloff leaves Apple bruised - Reuters

Forbes

Urbanism And Technology - Uniting To Push Cities To The Next Level Forbes These are tantalizing times for cities. The resurgence of urban environments as desirable, thriving and increasingly productive areas over the last 30-35 years has been amazing. Urbanists who can recall the nadir of the American city in the late '70s ... and more »

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Urbanism And Technology - Uniting To Push Cities To The Next Level - Forbes

Henry County officials are looking to promote entrepreneurship with an new incubator program.

The county is riding a wave of business resurgence following the recession, said David Gill, president and CEO of the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, with particularly strong growth in entrepreneurship.

Gill said with e-commerce diminishing the amount of investment from big-box retailers, entrepreneurs have begun to fill the void for stores and in-person commerce.

According to data from the Tax Commissioners Office, the number ofnew business licenses issued has increased exponentially, from 147 new licenses in 2010 to 526 in 2016.

[Entrepreneurs] seem to be more prepared to reach out and take a chance, Gill said.

The One Henry Economic Alliance, in coordination with the Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech (ATDC), is attempting to establish atechnology and business incubator to support these entrepreneurs.

Richard Sylvia, chairman of the professional services and corporate solutions subcommittee at One Henry, said the incubator would act as a collaboration and learning environment for entrepreneurs. The program would offer education, consulting and legal services to help them build their business and get moving, he said.

The incubator would also act as part of the countys attempts, along with investments in housing and entertainment, to invite college graduates back into the county after school.

We know we have a challenge with young adults leaving Henry County and going to other counties, Sylvia said.

Leonard Moreland, co-chair of the One Henry Economic Alliance, said while roughly 90 percent of high schools graduates left Henry County, for college or other reasons, few return.

They want the ability to come back and work in the field they studied, he said, noting the rise in computer science and technology-related majors.

This will hopefully act as a means to provide options for graduates, Sylvia said.

Unlike many other incubators, which focus specifically on business or technology, One Henry hopes to tackle both at the same time, with Georgia Tech onboard for help with technology.

Moreland said the idea came after looking at other incubators across the state and meeting with ATDC, who had a desire to have a presence in the South Metro area.

Were running programs all over the city, but were not really in that area, said Jennifer Bonnet, general manager of ATDC. We realized, especially with traffic in Atlanta, that entrepreneurs cant always get to us, and sometimes we need to go to them.

One Henry plans to kick off the establishment effort with a Tech and Tea event on June 22 in Stockbridge. Sylvia said over 100 people have already registered to attend to hear elected and county officials, business experts and academic leaders speak about the incubator idea.

Its a chance for potential entrepreneurs to network, and for us to talk about the challenges theyll face, Moreland said.

Bonnett, a former entrepreneur herself, said beginning entrepreneurs will often face issues with connections and education about startup costs and processes.

ATDC, however, first needs to see if an incubator could be viable.

Its sister organization, the Economic Development Lab, will conduct an 8-week feasibility study to evaluate if there is enough intrigue in Henry County for the program.

We want to know what types of entrepreneurs are already out there, and what resources they have access to, Bonnett said. We want to know that there are already successful entrepreneurs who can help mentor those new entrepreneurs.

Attendees will be asked to participate in a 45-minute survey as part of the study. If the study shows significant interest, ATDC will come into the community.

Studies show if you can attract entrepreneurs, you can create some of the strongest businesses, Moreland said. Its a big watershed moment. Its a chance to show that Henry County is ready for a technology incubator.

If you go:

What: Tech and Tea informational meeting for potential entrepreneurs in Henry County.

When:June 22, 5 to 8 p.m.

Where:Merle Manders Conference Center, 111 Davis Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281

Price:Free. Register atlocal.onehenry.info/smallbusiness/

In other Henry news:

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Incubator may bring more business, technology to Henry County - MyAJC

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tracking gunshots. Thursday, St. Petersburg took the first steps towards adding new technology to pinpoint every time someone pulls a trigger. St. Pete's Public Safety Committee decided to move forward with discussions on adding ShotSpotter technology.

ShotSpotter is already being used in Hillsborough County to reduce gun violence.

Heres how it works: Microphone like sensors are installed around town. They're used to pick up sound waves. Within 30 seconds, officers are sent the exact location of the gunshot.

Marvin Mitchell says its much needed. Hes often kept up at night hearing gunshots. Wednesday night he heard sounds so loud, he was forced to get on his stomach on the floor of his living room. I heard it go boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! I said oh man! all I can do is hit the ground.

He often hears gunshots in his Midtown St Pete neighborhood.

Calvin Brown of the Pinellas County Urban League agrees, It will help a lot of people sleep better at night.

The only drawback: ShotSpotter will cost the city $350,000 a year plus the cost to upgrade cameras and add license plate scanners.

City leaders plan to bring ShotSpotter back up during the upcoming budget workshops for the city.

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St. Pete could soon add ShotSpotter Technology - ABC Action News