Despite security concerns, Georgia just recently declared it is continuing to use touch screen voting technology for the upcoming elections, regardless of recent concerns and allegations. Judge Totenberg of Georgia expressed great concern with Georgia’s decision to use a voting system that does not have a paper trail that can verify voters votes. There is a lot of cyber security concerns with electronic voting due to the potential vulnerability in the system for hackers to manipulation the voting numbers.

The voters and advocates for paper based voting argued with evidence of Russian attempts to hack U.S. election systems in 2016 pose a modern and more urgent threat to election integrity the state wasn’t thinking about when it implemented the touchscreen voting machines in 2002. A NPR poll found that 68% of Americans favor the traditional paper voting because they feel it is much more safe and secure, as well as less easy to manipulate than electronic voting.

The Court and the coalition for Good Governance have been working to either change the voting system or provide a more secure system to prevent hackers from manipulating data and votes. However there are others who also believe paper voting is not the only form of voting, and that today’s age is reliant on technology for more efficient and advanced ways of collecting data. Regardless, in this upcoming November, Georgia will still be using the electronic voting systems.

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/18/649121322/georgia-will-use-electronic-voting-machines-this-fall-as-paper-ballot-case-falte

Recent reports courtesy of the FBI explain how there have been many victims of a new virtual scam. Staged phone calls or emails by certain criminals tell victims that loved ones have been kidnapped and how they must pay a ransom to  ensure their safety. The scheme is usually very frantic and intimidating to instill fear and get victims to pay the ransom quickly before they realize that it is a scam.

Many of the scams are done with speed and are received by the victims via text or social media; requesting a call back to a number to carry out the money transfer. The criminals also try to keep the victims on the phone as long as possible to deter the victims from calling the police or loved ones and figuring out it is a scam.

One technique also used is to start the phone call with a scream of a child so that the victim may scream out a name such as “Mary!” and the scammer can use that particular name to convince the victim to pay the ransom. The crimes have been increasing, LA is one place in particular, and the perpetrators are becoming more clever by using social media to gather more information on the victims and make the calls and scam more convincing.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/09/14/beware-virtual-kidnapping-scams-fbi-warns.html

On Wednesday, Apple revealed its new 6.5 inch screen, $1100 iPhone model, the iPhone XS Max. There is also the iPhone XR which is the entry model for the XS, having a slightly smaller 6.1 inch screen. Apple once again has pushed the limits to making a faster, sleeker and more desirable phone. The new XS has been claimed to have a more advanced processor, more durable screen against scraps and cracks, and a revolutionary dual lense camera with a ”Super Retina OLED display”. The XS will come in three colors; gold, silver or space grey.

As Apple expands the size of it’s phones more and more with each models, there are some concerns that arise from this as well. Many people have claimed that the previous model, the iPhone X, was difficult to navigate with one hand because of the size of the phone and screen. The XS Max has a screen that is even larger than the X which has raised some concerns from potential customers.

However contrary to concern, it appears that majority of customers do favor a larger smartphone screen. Since increasing the size of the iPhone screens, Apples annual revenue has increased by nearly 20% due to the fact that people desire larger screens so they can watch movies and plays games easier.

Along with the reveal of the new iPhone models, Apple also came out with its most recent Apple Watch series. This new series has been designed to focus more on improving the health of its customers, with motion sensors that can detect when the user is injured and can call emergency services. It can also measure your heart rhythm and has been approved by the FDA to help customers identify health concerns more quickly.

This past week Lyft launched an innovative approach to transportation in Denver, electric scooters. Although Lyft is more notable with car transportation services, the company believes this is a great new idea for commuters, especially millennials. Using scooters and bikes is eco friendly alternative that can also help decrease traffic congestion.

Lyft is also discussing the idea of offering customers a discount if they start or end their trip near public transit stops. They want to begin pricing at $1 to unlock the scooter and charge people 15 cents per minute, which is relatively cheap for moderate to short rides around town.

Many cities have expressed interest in Lyft’s new idea, saying many people would use the innovative new way of travel. Lyft plans on launching a larger fleet on September 17th in Santa Monica. There is also the development of an app to go with each scooter to monitor traffic and let the users know where nearby scooters are parked. The company also plans on using full time employees to help maintain the scooters to provide the best condition of each of its scooters.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/06/technology/lyft-scooters-denver-uber/index.html

DARPA recently held its 60th anniversary conference and announced it’s decision to invest $2 billion in the use and application of advanced intelligence. DARPA is The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and is a particular agency of the United States Department of Defense and is responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. John Everett, the deputy director of DARPA’s Information Innovation Office claimed that they could produce 20 years of work and advancement in the span of 5 years if the use of AI was incorporated.

DARPA’s investment is aimed at creating new technologies that mirror common sense and contextual awareness while also improving energy efficiency. The AI advancements could also improve speed and security of many of the systems used throughout the agency.

With the use of AI comes patience and concern as well. AI is a complex system that relies on algorithms that could take weeks or months for the systems to “understand”. DARPA plans on embracing the idea of AI and using it to advance many aspects of the agency, but also understands the restrictions and the reality that AI is not yet perfect.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/07/technology/darpa-artificial-intelligence/index.html

The Wingfoot Three is Goodyears third and completely renovated fleet of blimps that have been created with an entirely new use of technology. This new breed of aircrafts have been designed by German company, Zeppelin. The aircrafts earned the NT (new technology) title mainly due to the updated mechanics of the aircrafts.

The new series of aircrafts engines have been completely transformed to increase efficiency and maneuverability. One of the issues with the old blimp models was the use of helium which caused the aircrafts to want to float up on a windy day, however the third model has included engines that face upward to keep these massive blimps on the ground. They can also hold double the amount of people than previous models as well as completely upgraded interior for increased comfort and style. The Wingfoot fleet has also increased its speed to 76 mph, 23 mph faster than before.

Although this is not engrossing information for most people, it is interesting to look at how “new technology” can affect modes of transportation. The new blimp will be attending hundreds of sporting events this year, giving more people the opportunity to take a ride in the brand new Goodyear Wingfoot Three aircraft.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/goodyear-blimp-zeppelin-fleet/index.html

This past week, T-Mobile has released information regarding its customers security. It has been estimated that close to two million people’s personal information has been leaked due to a recent hack. This is a very serious issue, now especially, considering how much vital information people have linked to their phones. This includes credit card numbers, zip codes, social security numbers, account passwords and other information that if gotten into the hands of the wrong person, could be devastating. The cybersecurity unit of T-Mobile immediately shut off all access to any of the possible mobile devices and reported the incident to law enforcement.

T-Mobile representatives released a statement saying that all the passwords that have been collected by the hackers were encrypted and were not able to be used. Regardless, T-Mobile was also accused of using an MD5 algorithm to secure the customers passwords which was claimed to be no longer safe and effective by the author himself. The hackers were not specifically identified as of right now, however T-Mobile and other companies have suggested the hackers were international and continue to search for the people who breached the system.

       Hopefully, no customers serious information has been compromised or been used to cause serious harm. This incident should be a learning experience for T-Mobile considering the magnitude of customers it provides service to. It is scary to think that such a wide-spread and reputable company had its security system breached by unknown hackers that took advantage of millions of people. T-Mobile should be working vigorously to tighten its security and make sure that its customers do not have to experience anything like this again.

More on this story:

https://www.cnet.com/news/t-mobile-hack-may-have-exposed-2-million-customers-data/