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A look at the TranscribersOfReddit subreddit where 3,186 volunteers write elaborate transcriptions of memes, videos, and images to make the site more accessible (Alex Lee/Wired)

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Alex Lee / Wired : A look at the TranscribersOfReddit subreddit where 3,186 volunteers write elaborate transcriptions of memes, videos, and images to make the site more accessible   —  To help Redditors with visual impairments, volunteers are writing elaborate transcriptions of memes and images across the site. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2vqWWGZ

How a hacker’s mom broke into prison—and the warden’s computer

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Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) John Strand breaks into things for a living. As a penetration tester, he gets hired by organizations to attack their defenses, helping reveal weaknesses before actual bad guys find them. Normally, Strand embarks on these missions himself, or deploys one of his experienced colleagues at Black Hills Information Security. But in July 2014, prepping for a pen test of a South Dakota correctional facility, he took a decidedly different tack. He sent his mom. In fairness, it was Rita Strand's idea. Then 58, she had signed on as chief financial officer of Black Hills the previous year after three decades in the food service industry. She was confident, given that professional experience, that she could pose as a state health inspector to gain access to the prison. All it would take was a fake badge and the right patter. "She approached me one day, and said 'You know, I want to break in somewhere," says Strand, who is sharing the experien...

This Week in Apps: Coronavirus impacts app stores, Facebook sues mobile SDK maker, Apple kicks out a cloud gaming app

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Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all. The app industry is as hot as ever, with a  record 204 billion downloads in 2019 and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s recently released “State of Mobile” annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus. In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis. This week, we’ll look at the coronavirus outbreak’s impact on the App Store, China’s demand for App Store removals — and soon-to-be-removals, it seems. We’re also talking about Facebook’s lawsuit over a data-grabbing SDK, Tind...

An excerpt from the book "The Hacker and the State", which includes details about North Korea's hacking campaigns against banks across the world (Ben Buchanan/Wired)

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Ben Buchanan / Wired : An excerpt from the book “The Hacker and the State”, which includes details about North Korea's hacking campaigns against banks across the world   —  They scored $80 million by tricking a network into routing funds to Sri Lanka and the Philippines and then using a “money mule” to pick up the cash. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2I8eWIM

Could deepfakes be used to train office workers?

A consultancy that makes business training videos is advertising for a "deepfake expert". from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3acMuBv

Four former US defense secretaries urge America to shape artificial intelligence and machine learning norms or else authoritarian regimes and companies will (Defense One)

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Defense One : Four former US defense secretaries urge America to shape artificial intelligence and machine learning norms or else authoritarian regimes and companies will   —  Four former U.S. defense secretaries issue a warning about China and a wake-up call to Americans on artificial intelligence. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3cki3vi

Allegations of misconduct inside the Chan-Zuckerberg family office, including assault, sexual harassment, racism, and more (Business Insider)

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Business Insider : Allegations of misconduct inside the Chan-Zuckerberg family office, including assault, sexual harassment, racism, and more   —  Presidencia de la República Mexicana; Anthony Quintano; Kauai Police Department; Samantha Lee/Business Insider  — Over the past three years … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2T9VG4b