Category Archives: Data Mining
Global consultancy PwC forms alliance with US data mining giant – RNZ
PwC's tower in downtown Auckland. Photo: Supplied
Global consultancy PwC, which holds multi-million dollar public contracts in New Zealand, has signed an alliance with United States data mining giant Palantir.
PwC is one of the world's Big Four consultancies and is currently embroiled in a tax scandal across the Tasman.
In Australia, PwC has axed partners and is dealing with the fallout from being exposed repeatedly leaking confidential government tax plans for its own benefit.
Palantir, co-founded by US billionaire and New Zealand citizen Peter Thiel, has huge deals with American defence, immigration and spy agencies within the Five Eyes network that New Zealand is part of.
The two firms said their new alliance matched Palantir's AI with PwC's "industry experience"'.
"Unlocking the power of disparate data to improve strategic and operational decision making is paramount," Palantir told Businesswire.
Palantir, capitalised at $57 billion, often tops the list of artificial intelligence investments in the US.
It said last month its focus was to "embarrass" its competitors to work with the US government - "we're doing very well here, you should also get involved".
Palantir was telling US lawmakers that "way too few of our dollars are being spent on AI", its co-founder Alex Karp told CNBC.
In 2020, Karp admitted the firm worked with US authorities to locate undocumented migrants as part of mass raids.
That same year, in New Zealand, Palantir [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/420112/new-zealand-government-sat-on-palantir-covid-19-data-tracking-offer
offered to help the government with Covid tracking], as it was already doing in 15 countries - an offer not taken up, officials here said.
Instead, Amazon did a lot of Covid tracking work here, and went on this year to win a key Te Whatu Ora/ Health New Zealand cloud computing contract.
Palantir worked for almost nothing on Covid with United Kingdom and other governments, and is now poised to potentially win a $630m contract to manage NHS health data.
in June, PwC in Australia was slated in a Senate inquiry for "aggressively" monetising confidential Treasury briefings. "The desire for personal gain trumped any obligation" to the government and taxpayers, the Senate inquiry report said.
Janek Ratnatunga, chief executive of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants in Australia and New Zealand, said the scandal showed it was time to "seriously regulate" the Big Four professional service networks - PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst Young, EY.
"Why are governments getting advice on policy matters, especially on tax policy, from the very consultants from the Big 4, who will be advising clients on how to take advantage of such policies?" Ratnatunga asked.
Newsroom reported that officials from New Zealand Government Procurement had received verbal assurances from PwC New Zealand that it was not involved in the Australian tax information leaks and nothing similar had happened here. The government procurement agency is monitoring developments.
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Global consultancy PwC forms alliance with US data mining giant - RNZ
Ault Alliances Subsidiary, Sentinum, Surpasses $46 Million in Bitcoin Mining Revenue Since Inception and Reports Mining 139 Bitcoins in September 2023…
LAS VEGAS, October 06, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ault Alliance, Inc. (NYSE American: AULT), a diversified holding company ("Ault Alliance," or the "Company"), today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Sentinum, Inc. ("Sentinum"), has reached an impressive milestone of $46 million in Bitcoin mining revenue since the inception of its mining endeavors. Notably, Sentinum mined 139 Bitcoins in the month of September 2023 alone.
Ault Alliance has consistently believed in the transformative power of Bitcoin and blockchain technology. This steadfast commitment to Bitcoin mining has proven fruitful, as todays results clearly showcase. The Company is pleased with Sentinums operations and remains firmly convinced of Bitcoins status as a robust, future-ready currency, also highlighting its potency as a hedge against inflation and the declining value of the dollar.
William B. Horne, Chief Executive Officer of Ault Alliance, remarked, "Todays numbers are a testament to the dedication and relentless effort of the Sentinum team. The experience we have gained developing and operating data centers, mining Bitcoin and providing hosting services further solidifies our commitment to disruptive technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence."
Ault Alliance is in process of enlarging its footprint in the realm of data centers to support high performance computing with bespoke solutions. This expansion is expected to be executed via the development of the Companys planned data center projects in Montana and Texas, in addition to augmenting its existing facility in Michigan.
For more information on Ault Alliance and its subsidiaries, Ault Alliance recommends that stockholders, investors, and any other interested parties read Ault Alliances public filings and press releases available under the Investor Relations section at http://www.Ault.com or at http://www.sec.gov.
About Ault Alliance, Inc.
Ault Alliance, Inc. is a diversified holding company pursuing growth by acquiring undervalued businesses and disruptive technologies with a global impact. Through its wholly and majority-owned subsidiaries and strategic investments, Ault Alliance owns and operates a data center at which it mines Bitcoin and offers colocation and hosting services for the emerging artificial intelligence ecosystems and other industries, and provides mission-critical products that support a diverse range of industries, including metaverse platform, oil exploration, crane services, defense/aerospace, industrial, automotive, medical/biopharma, consumer electronics, hotel operations and textiles. In addition, Ault Alliance extends credit to select entrepreneurial businesses through a licensed lending subsidiary. Ault Alliances headquarters are located at 11411 Southern Highlands Parkway, Suite 240, Las Vegas, NV 89141; http://www.Ault.com.
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Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "projects," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "may," "will," "should," "could," "potential," or similar expressions. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of them publicly in light of new information or future events. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors. More information, including potential risk factors, that could affect the Companys business and financial results are included in the Companys filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Companys Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8- K. All filings are available at http://www.sec.gov and on the Companys website at http://www.Ault.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231006834018/en/
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Ault Alliance Investor Contact IR@Ault.com or 1-888-753-2235
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Unlocking the potential of crowdsourced data: Policy guidance for … – Womble Bond Dickinson
In an era characterised by rapid technological evolution, traditional approaches to data collection and analysis have undergone a remarkable transformation. Crowdsourced data and services have emerged as powerful tools that are transforming information gathering, processing and utilisation for governmental organisations and private enterprises alike. This article delves into the intricacies of crowdsourced data, explores its lawful applications by institutions such as the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Intelligence Community (IC), and their overseas equivalents such as the UK Ministry of Defence, and underscores the need to address policy gaps. It also examines its synergistic relationship with artificial intelligence (AI) and highlights its impact on decision-making and business insights.
Crowdsourcing entails tapping into the collective wisdom and efforts of diverse individuals to accomplish tasks that were once the domain of specific experts or organisations. This concept has led to the collection of extensive data and information from a multitude of sources, transforming it into a valuable resource across various sectors. Crowdsourced data encompasses diverse inputs like location data, reviews, opinions, images, and more, all contributed by a global community of volunteers or participants in near real-time.
Crowdsourced data and AI enjoy a symbiotic relationship, enhancing the quality and utility of each other. AI technologies analyse and process crowdsourced data to identify patterns, trends, and anomalies beyond human capability. This augmentation of human insights with AI-driven analysis strengthens decision-making will be undermined where the intelligence community's policies and procedures are ambiguous or misapplied, or there is insufficient oversight to ensure their proper application.
Crowdsourced data offers decision advantage to policymakers at all government levels. By tapping into diverse contributors, decision-makers gain ground-level insights and real-time information vital for dynamic situations. For example, during disaster relief operations, crowdsourced data aids in identifying affected areas, coordinating rescues, and allocating resources based on accurate data obtained in near real-time.
Crowdsourced data's application extends beyond government. Many businesses today are utilising crowdsourcing and open-source information to deliver valuable client insights. A vast network of participants contributes data, yielding accurate insights into consumer behaviour, market trends and media consumption. This empowers businesses with informed decisions and refined strategies. The same applications can also inform government decision-makers.
The potential of crowdsourced data and services has long been recognised by United States governmental agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community, in enhancing their operations. Similarly in the UK, as long ago as 2018 the Ministry of Defence stated they were "interested to understand how developments such as crowdsourcing ... could impact on the way Defence and Security procures and delivers its outcomes and business in the future". In domains such as navigation safety and mapping, crowdsourced data has played a pivotal role in providing real-time updates on geographical features, transportation routes, and potential hazards for decades. This continually updated information empowers both military and civilian users to make informed decisions, ensuring the success and safety of their endeavours.
In the realm of open-source data mining, crowdsourced data complements existing datasets, offering a deeper understanding of complex scenarios. This proves especially invaluable in the field of national security, where comprehensive information is crucial for assessing threats, monitoring trends and anticipating potential crisis developments. The amalgamation of crowdsourced data with other open-source datasets paints a more comprehensive picture for decision-makers.
While the potential of crowdsourced data is undeniable, its utilisation within the DoD and IC, and similar organisations, presents challenges due to policy gaps. Privacy concerns loom large, as the collection and utilisation of data from various sources can potentially infringe upon individuals' privacy rights. Today, the accuracy and reliability of crowdsourced data have advanced to the point where their utility outweighs outdated policy concerns. Urgent action by government policymakers is necessary to enable the continued use of this potent national security tool.
Harnessing the potential of crowdsourced data requires policy to ensure responsible and effective deployment particularly when gathering data from diverse sources, especially in sensitive regions or on specific topics. We recommend the following components of a crowdsourced data policy issuance.
Crowdsourced data and services have reshaped the landscape of data collection, analysis, and decision-making. Their lawful applications in fields like safety of navigation, mapping, and open-source data mining highlight their significance in enhancing national security and intelligence operations.
However, addressing privacy concerns and bridging policy gaps are essential for the responsible and ethical utilisation of crowdsourced data. As technology advances, the synergistic relationship between crowdsourced data and AI continues to evolve, promising even greater insights and advantages for decision-makers across various domains, especially when supported by AI platforms that provide universal data collaboration across widely diverse data sources and software systems.
Moreover, commercial crowdsourced data companies demonstrate how crowdsourced data can drive business growth and innovation by providing accurate and timely insights. Ultimately, the fusion of human collaboration, technology, and data holds the potential to redefine how we understand, analyse and respond to complex challenges in the modern world.
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Unlocking the potential of crowdsourced data: Policy guidance for ... - Womble Bond Dickinson
Ben-Gurion University announces application for Data Mining and Business Intelligence programme 2024 – The Financial Express
The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) is currently accepting applications for its Data Mining and Business Intelligence summer programme in 2024. The programme is designed to delve into the realm of automatic data analysis and the extraction of valuable information and knowledge. BGUs summer programme in data mining and business intelligence responds to the evident demand for academic training in the fields of big data, business intelligence, and data mining, particularly with a focus on bolstering cybersecurity. The primary goal of this programme is to impart both theoretical and practical knowledge, including the essential tools required for effective data mining, according to an official release.
The programme comprises two academic courses, each offering three credits. In these courses, students will gain proficiency in fundamental data mining techniques and the application of machine learning methods to address cybersecurity challenges. The culmination of the programme involves a final project aligned with the course content, fostering hands-on experience. Moreover, students will have the opportunity to participate in educational visits to companies. The entire programme will be conducted in English, the release mentioned.
Eligible applicants are students in their third year of undergraduate studies or higher, as well as those at any stage of their graduate studies, pursuing disciplines such as Information Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Communication Engineering, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Industrial Engineering and Management (with Robotics or Information Systems track). A minimum GPA of 82 or 3.0 is required for admission, the release stated.
The application fee is $60, and its non-refundable. The tuition fee is $2,950, covering academic credit certificates, accommodations, health insurance and professional field trips, it added.
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Congress examining ways to try to prevent ransomware attacks and protect your information – Yahoo News
Ransomware attacks are more advanced and targeting schools, hospitals, financial services, and even local governments.
Now federal lawmakers are exploring ways to try to prevent these attacks.
The ransom note stated that all data on all devices and servers was encrypted including our backup systems, said Dr. Lacey Gosch, assistant superintendent of technology for Judson Independent School District in Texas.
Dr. Gosch leads the technology department for a school district in Texas. During a recent congressional hearing, she told lawmakers that a 2021 cyberattack on the district cost them $547,000 in ransom. She added the breach also affected more than 400,000 people.
Now shes urging Congress to provide more support to help school systems facing these same threats.
We learned that the calvary does not come and must rely on our own resources. No state or federal agency ever visited or offered recovery assistance to us, said Dr. Gosch. Insurance coverage was helpful but those go predominately to attorney fees, data mining and identity protection. It doesnt cover ransom payments or costs for upgrades to mitigate that damage.
Cybersecurity experts warn ransomware attacks are also becoming more expensive. Thats because they say hackers are demanding money in exchange for agreeing to not sell or share the stolen information.
The actors have increased access to technical capabilities, anonymous payment systems, and safe havens from which to operate, said Grant Schneider, senior director of cybersecurity services at Venable, LLP.
Some democrats believe investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help make a difference.
Providing more than a billion dollars in vital investment to help both private and public entities who fall victim to cyberattacks, said Rep. Gerald Connolly, (D) Virginia.
While some Republicans want to develop better ways for federal law enforcement agencies to collect and share information about these hackers and their attacks.
The bottom line is its too easy today for malicious actors to do too much damage and make too much money with too few consequences said Rep. Nancy Mace, (R) South Carolina.
Some school leaders also want Congress to establish new standards for protecting social security numbers in all systems.
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Operation Mercury vs. Gold Fever: Peru’s Tug-of-War in the Amazon … – SciTechDaily
A former mining camp shows where shallow mining ponds have overwhelmed a former river system in the La Pampa region of Madre de Dios, Peru. Credit: Photo by Jason Houston (iLCP Redsecker Response Fund/CEES/CINCIA)
Deforestation and water quality improved following intervention in the Madre de Dios Region of the Amazon.
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a lifeline for many who live in Madre de Dios, a region in southeastern Peru, where poverty is high and jobs are scarce. However, the economic development in this part of the Amazon basin comes at a cost, as it causes deforestation, build-up of sediment in rivers, and mercury contamination in nearby watersheds, threatening public health, Indigenous peoples, and the future of the biodiversity hotspot. And much of the mining activity is unauthorized.
Seeking to eliminate illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining activity and its many negative impacts, the Peruvian government deployed Operation Mercury (Operation Mercurio) in February 2019 in the La Pampa region, an area where gold mining is banned in most places. La Pampa straddles the Interoceanic Highway. North of the highway, mining is mostly legal in mining concessions. However, south of the highway mining is strictly prohibited in the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve.
Through Operation Mercury, armed military and national police were dispatched to the region and had a sustained presence until March 2020. Miners were evicted and mining equipment was destroyed. The intervention was successful in stopping illegal gold mining activity in La Pampa but activity in legal areas spiked, triggering many of the same environmental concerns, according to a Dartmouth-led study. The results were recently published in Conservation Letters, a journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.
Mining equipment and shallow mining ponds show where a forest has been desolated in the La Pampa region of Madre de Dios, Peru. Credit: Photo by Jason Houston (iLCP Redsecker Response Fund/CEES/CINCIA)
Although illegal gold mining operations in La Pampa came to a near halt during Operation Mercurys two intervening years (2019-2020), mining activity essentially just shifted across the road to legal areas on the other side of the Interoceanic Highway, says lead author Evan Dethier, an assistant professorof geology at Occidental College, who conducted the study while he was a postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth.
Following Operation Mercury, mining decreased by 70% to 90%. Excavated mining pits (mining ponds) in illegal mining areas decreased by up to 5% per year as compared to increasing by 33% to 90% per year before the intervention. Although deforested areas experienced revegetation at a rate of 1 to 3 square kilometers per year, progress was offset by increases in deforestation in legal mining areas north of the Interoceanic Highway at a rate of 3 to 5 square kilometers per year. Most of the revegetation occurred on the edges of deforested areas, with the highest revegetation in La Pampa south. Mining pond areas outside intervention zones also saw increases ranging from 42% to 83%
The spillover effect in areas near the intervention zone demonstrates that stronger regulations are also needed in legal gold mining areas, to help mitigate the environmental effects, says Dethier. But this intervention did have some of the intended effects, limiting mining in a protected area for a sustained period.
Map showing major mining areas in Madre de Dios, Peru. Heavily mechanized mining that utilizes earth-moving vehicles predominates in Delta and Huepetuhe, while minimally mechanized mining relying on suction pumps and human labor is used almost exclusively in La Pampa. The areas in La Pampa south of the Interoceanic Highway were the target of Operation Mercury in February 2019. Credit: Figure compiled by Evan Dethier, Image: NASA/USGS via Landsat 8 in 2019
To assess Operation Mercurys impact on mining activity, the research team drew on satellite data from 2016 to 2021 from the European Space Agencys Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2. Data were obtained from nine mining areas: four illegal mining areas targeted by the intervention, two legal areas to the north on the other side of the Interoceanic Highway, and three distant sites that were not part of the enforcement, which served as a control for the study. Using the radar and multispectral data, the researchers were able to quantify changes in water, water quality, mining pond areas, and deforestation in La Pampa following Operation Mercury, by comparing data from before, during, and after the intervention.
As part of the analysis, the team examined the spectral properties of the mining ponds and changes in pond color. Mining ponds typically take on a yellow color, which acts as a marker for gold mining activity. The yellowness of the ponds is associated with increases in suspended sediment in the water, according to prior research led by Dethier.
Through gold mining processes, sediment is churned up from the land, creating turbid water with lower reflectance levels, while clearer water has higher reflectance. After Operation Mercury was implemented, reflectance increased in mining ponds in La Pampa south but then stabilized.
Following Operation Mercury, pond yellowness decreased rapidly after mining activity was suspended in all areas of La Pampa, except in the north. In La Pampa northwest, mining activity spiked and pond yellowness increased by 43%, as compared to before the intervention. In La Pampa northeast, yellowness remained stable due to continued mining activity.
Like many other countries around the world with highly prized natural resources, with Perus rich deposits of gold, it has had to determine who controls this extractable resource and how this particular mining sector will be formed, says co-author David A. Lutz, a research assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth.
By January 2023, when this paper was under review by the journal, illegal gold mining had resumed in protected areas, as enforcement and anticorruption activities by the military and national police had ceased, once they were redeployed to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our results demonstrate how intervention at the federal level can effectively stop illegal mining in Peru, says Dethier. But that is just one aspect of the problem, as a multifaceted approach is necessary to address the long-term impacts of both illegal and legal gold mining activity on humans, wildlife, and the environment in the Madre de Dios watershed.
Dethier says that strong governance and conservation and remediation strategies are needed to protect this tropical biodiversity hotspot. And, as we continue to show in our related work, this challenge is a global phenomenon.
Dethier, Lutz, and others just published a related study that showed the rise of similar mining operations in 49 countries across the global tropics. They showed that as much as 7% of large tropical rivers have been degraded by these expanding mining operations.
Reference: Operation mercury: Impacts of national-level armed forces intervention and anticorruption strategy on artisanal gold mining and water quality in the Peruvian Amazon by Evan N. Dethier, Miles R. Silman, Luis E. Fernandez, Jorge Caballero Espejo, Sarra Alqahtani, Pal Pauca and David A. Lutz, 19 September 2023,Conservation Letters.DOI: 10.1111/conl.12978
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Operation Mercury vs. Gold Fever: Peru's Tug-of-War in the Amazon ... - SciTechDaily
Legal technology providers: Top things to consider before investing … – Thomson Reuters
Legal professionals are abuzz about the power of AI to transform the practice of law, but it can be hard to know which tools to trust for your practice.
It is an enormously exciting time at the intersection of technology and professional information, Thomson Reuters CEO Steve Hasker wrote for Reuters. We are on the verge of a revolution in creating new efficiencies by getting professionals the right answers faster.
Along with his excitement about the possibilities of AI, Hasker also takes the question of trust seriously. Before they can be fully trusted to do important work, [generative AI models] need to be trained using comprehensive, authoritative data sets, Hasker wrote. Perhaps even more importantly, that process needs to be intermediated by human subject matter experts who understand the nuances and the context and have the power to override inaccuracies Put simply, Humans + AI is the only way we will be successful.
Hasker is pointing to the three important criteria for choosing AI-powered tools for legal practice: domain expertise, quality data, and AI experts.
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AI systems are designed and trained by human beings. Human beings structure the data, create test queries, and give the system feedback on how well it answered the query so it can perform better the next time.
When you are choosing AI-powered tools for your legal practice, be sure to look closely at the expertise behind the system. Legal experts are a critical component of effective legal AI tools, along with quality data and AI experts.
Domain expertise ensures that an AI solution is built with the right end users in mind. In the legal world, this domain expertise comes from legal professionals imparting real-world subject matter experience and nuanced, peer-reviewed perspectives into the software, as well as human-created metadata, tags, editorial markup, and additional data that provides context and connections.
Have you heard of hallucinations? In generative AI speak, a hallucination is a correct-sounding response that is utterly wrong. The system looked through the data and crafted a response out of words that seemed most likely to go together.
Remember the attorneys who were sanctioned for using fake citations from ChatGPT? They cited six fake cases and blamed ChatGPT for the mistake. They said in a statement, We made a good faith mistake in failing to believe that a piece of technology could be making up cases out of whole cloth.
But tools like ChatGPT will create hallucinations, because they arent drawing from a verified and continually updated set of data, and they arent watched over by human editors. They also dont make it easy for you to double-check the documents and guidance they serve up.
Westlaw, Practical Law, and other products from Thomson Reuters build on 150 years of human insight, categorization like the Key Number System, and editorial enhancements that ensure the quality and structure of the source material. According to Thomson Reuters Legal President Paul Fischer, Trusted legal content and accuracy are critical to our ongoing product-development efforts. Fischer was speaking at a webinar outlining upcoming generative AI offerings from Thomson Reuters.
The reality is, raw legal data like cases, statutes, and analytical materials are not search-engine-ready. The legal industry has always relied on human expertise to make documents findable. AI wont change that.
The third element to consider when youre choosing an AI-powered legal tool is the level of expertise of the data scientists, designers, and software developers.
The depth of AI expertise a company has shows you the level of commitment to delivering a best-in-class experience that users can rely on. AI expertise includes the teams technical expertise and experience of working with AI and its many principles and techniques. It also includes the companys investment in robust technology stacks.
Thomson Reuters created the Center for Cognitive Computing and the Thomson Reuters Labs to foster innovation and collaboration between AI experts and domain experts. The teams work to expand the idea of what technology can do to improve legal processes, and in so doing they extend the state of the art in natural language processing, machine learning, deep learning, information retrieval, knowledge representation and reasoning, data mining, text analytics, and human-computer interactions.
AI-powered tools all draw on data, and they all have AI scientists and designers behind them. When youre choosing technology for your legal practice, consider which solutions offer you the most trusted data. Which ones are designed and trained by other legal practitioners with you and your work in mind? And which ones draw from proven development and innovation processes that continue to push the boundaries of possible within your workflow?
Thomson Reuters has earned trust in legal research through over a century of innovation, content maintained by our attorney editors, and reliable and responsible use of technology like AI. Find out more about artificial intelligence for legal professionals.
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Legal technology providers: Top things to consider before investing ... - Thomson Reuters
Do Oil and Gas Tankers Have a Use For AI? – Rigzone News
Do oil and gas tankers have a use for artificial intelligence (AI)? Thats the question Rigzone posed to maritime risk intelligence company Dryad Global, who in turn outlined a range of ways these tankers can utilize the technology.
Data mining was one use case Dryad highlighted in its response.
Throughout a tankers journey, they create and receive a continuous stream of data, a company spokesperson told Rigzone.
People are limited in their abilities to process and sort it. AI mines real-time data to provide alerts and offer vital information that was not on the radar of traditional sources, the company added.
This can mitigate a range of risks and assist in making quick, reactive decisions in critical situations, such as compliance (such as environmental), re-routing due to unforeseen circumstances, port scheduling problems, Dryad continued.
Another highlighted use case was efficiency.
AI can make oil and gas tankers more efficient, the company told Rigzone.
AI can be used to optimize fleet operations and the logistics route by analysing data from GPS, weather, and port traffic. For example, BP tracks the movement of its tankers in real-time using AI, which helps them to avoid congested areas and reducing shipping time, the company added.
This can also improve energy efficiency, Dryad went on to state.
The company also flagged maintenance as a use case.
Unplanned downtime is costing oil and gas companies $38 million on average, Dryad said in its response to Rigzone.
AI can help mitigate this risk by predicting when equipment and vehicles will need maintenance, reducing downtime and costs, the company added.
AI Protection
In a statement posted on its website last month, Dryad Global announced that it was leveraging BlackBerrys Cylance AI to advance the protection of vessels and maritime cyber endpoint security, toproactively detect malware and prevent cyberattacks, and optimize bandwidth and connectivity.
Maritime Security and IT Ops face mounting challenges due to limited resources and escalating threats. This complexity burdens Captains, CSOs, Vessel Operators, and Crews, diverting their focus from fleet operations, Dryad noted in the statement.
To address this, Dryad Global is partnering withBlackBerryto deliver a robust solution that encompasses a full range of cybersecurity services and an emergency response mechanism for maritime incidents, it added.
The core of this alliance involves integrating Dryad Globals ARMS platform withBlackBerrysCylance AI, ensuring top-tier AI-driven security and specialized consultations. This collaboration aims to safeguard vessel networks most susceptible component: endpoints, it continued.
Dryad highlighted in the statement that the partnership caters to diverse maritime sectors, including cargo, cruise, superyachts, and insurance.
With a surge in endpoints within the maritime and superyacht sectors, cyberattacks are on the rise, Dryad CEO Corey Ranslem said in the statement.
Our collaboration with BlackBerry is a proactive response, aiding maritime professionals in adapting to an evolving threat landscape, he added.
Dryad Globals commitment lies in holistic security, right from the ocean floor. With Cylance AI, we're channeling cutting-edge, prevention-focused technology, ensuring our ARMS customers receive top-tier protection, he continued.
Dryad highlighted in the statement that Cylance AI launched in 2012 as the industrys first AI cybersecurity solution and the industrys first predictive cybersecurity solution.
Predictive cybersecurity solutions arent just the future, theyre our present-day guards, defending against digital threats before they even knock on the door, Nathan Jenniges, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of BlackBerry Spark, said in a company statement at the time.
In line with BlackBerrys decades-long ethos that best-in-class security and productivity can coexist, Cylance AI enables organizations to stay ahead of cyberattacks without sacrificing operational efficiency, he added.
Maritime Cyber Security
Dryads latest annual report, which was released earlier this year, included an interview with Professor Kevin Jones, the Executive Dean of Science and Engineering at the University of Plymouth, about cyber security in the maritime field.
There were very few targeted attacks on the maritime sector, Jones said in that interview.
If there were, they tended to be at nation state level - things like large-scale GPS spoofing to investigate the attackers capability for doing those things, he added.
Jones went on to note, however, that maritime cyber-attacks are becoming a profitable mechanism that can be exploited by organizations up to the level of worldwide organized crime.
Most of the major shipping lines have been hit at some level or another in the last couple of years, and this wasnt the case five or six years ago, he said in the interview.
So that change has happened, in the same way as the banking sector: two decades ago they went from we dont have to worry about it to we are a prime target, he added.
In the interview, Jones warned that the attack landscape is going to get worse.
More and more people will realize the benefits they can get from maritime cybercrime. More and more tools will be developed to specifically target the sector, he said in the interview.
In summary, the sectors had a bit of a respite that the rest of the world hasnt, in terms of the classic situation of were out at sea, were an island, we dont have to worry about this cyber internet stuff existing until now, he added.
That period is over. There will be a rapid escalation until the maritime sector achieves the same security level as banking, road transport, power, or any of the other sectors, he continued.
To contact the author, emailandreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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Building a Workforce Ready to Defend Against Cyberthreats – University of St. Thomas Newsroom
With the increasing frequency of ransomware attacks and data breaches alongside advances in artificial intelligence, the field of cybersecurity is rapidly evolving. From developing advanced real-world skills to continuously learning, todays graduates heading into the cybersecurity field need to be ready to protect businesses and society.
What types of cybersecurity issues could we see in the next five years (software, infrastructure, IoT and embedded)?
Ransomware attacks and data breaches are likely to increase in frequency and sophistication. Health care, financial services and critical infrastructure will continue to be prime targets for cybercriminals seeking financial gain through extortion and theft of sensitive data. Nation-states may also ramp up state-sponsored attacks for espionage or to disrupt adversaries critical systems. As more devices like appliances, vehicles and medical devices become internet-connected, this will expand the attack surface vulnerable to exploitation. Cloud services will also be a growing security concern as organizations rely more on cloud storage and computing.
Artificial intelligence could be weaponized to automate and scale attacks for maximum impact through personalized social engineering, targeted phishing, network worm propagation and intelligent evasion of defenses. The cybersecurity skills gap could worsen and hamper defenses if more people are not trained in cybersecurity and more hiring initiatives do not materialize. Organizations will need to prepare for these emerging threats through security awareness training, robust technical controls, monitoring for new attack patterns, and fostering a resilient cyber posture across business units.
What effects could these breaches have on businesses and society?
For businesses, data breaches can lead to significant financial damage and reputational harm. The costs associated with investigation, recovery, legal liabilities and loss of customer trust can be immense, especially for major breaches involving sensitive customer data. Intellectual property theft through cyberespionage also erodes competitive advantage. Attacks that disrupt normal business operations can lead to huge productivity losses and costs to rebuild compromised systems.
For society, effects include potential threats to public health and safety if critical infrastructure like power grids, transportation systems or hospitals are successfully attacked. Ransomware campaigns against government agencies and schools can cause major disruption of public services. Mass personal data leaks from big companies or government databases can undermine consumer trust and enable identity fraud and financial crime. Cyber-enabled influence operations that spread misinformation can exacerbate political divisions and undermine democracy. Overall economic productivity may be hindered as well.
What high-level skills are needed beyond basic tech support knowledge to prevent the rise of these types of cybersecurity crimes?
The University of St. Thomas is offering a graduate certificate in cybersecurity. How is it different from whats previously been offered?
Our new graduate certificate in cybersecurity provides comprehensive training for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals through a curriculum designed to develop real-world skills. Students are immersed in hands-on labs and exercises that ground them in the latest techniques for ethical hacking, threat detection, incident response, risk management and security operations.
The courses move beyond theory to build the technical expertise required in areas like penetration testing, digital forensics, firewall and intrusion systems, and security information and event management. Students assess vulnerabilities in their own closed environments, gaining critical experience from an attackers point of view. Important concepts like networking protocols, operating system architectures, and securing cloud infrastructure are covered to round out foundational knowledge. Our faculty are experienced cybersecurity practitioners who guide students through developing holistic skills in governance, policy and risk strategy.
How will the certificate help set up future generations of graduates heading into cybersecurity fields for success?
Our hands-on, comprehensive approach makes this graduate certificate an excellent pathway for launching or leveling up a fulfilling cybersecurity career. The program develops multifaceted skills beyond basic tech support that organizations desperately need providing a pipeline of qualified talent ready to architect robust defenses across public and private sector enterprises. Our students graduate workforce-ready, with the latest cutting-edge knowledge for defending organizations on Day 1.
Manjeet Regeis a professor and chair of the Department of Software Engineering and Data Science at the University of St. Thomas. Rege is an author, mentor, thought leader, and a frequent public speaker on big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence technologies. He is also the co-host of the All Things Data podcast that brings together leading data scientists, technologists, business model experts and futurists to discuss strategies to utilize, harness and deploy data science, data-driven strategies and enable digital transformation. Apart from being engaged in research, Rege regularly consults with various organizations to provide expert guidance for building big data and AI practice, and applying innovative data science approaches. He has published in various peer-reviewed reputed venues such as IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, Data Mining & Knowledge Discovery Journal, IEEE International Conference on Data Mining, and the World Wide Web Conference. He is on the editorial review board of Journal of Computer Information Systems and regularly serves on the program committees of various international conferences.
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Building a Workforce Ready to Defend Against Cyberthreats - University of St. Thomas Newsroom
Process Mining: The Next Stage in Workplace Surveillance, and a … – Privacy News Online
PIA blog first wrote about the normalization of workplace surveillance six years ago. A new report from Cracked Labs called Monitoring, Streamlining and Reorganizing Work with Digital Technology shows how privacy at work is even more at risk today.
Basic workplace surveillance has now morphed into something called process mining. Wikipedia defines process mining as a family of techniques relating the fields of data science and process management to support the analysis of operational processes based on event logs. The goal of process mining is to turn event data into insights and actions. Typically, event data refers to what employees do within a business; the insights and actions are designed to allow management to see who is doing what and when theyre doing it, and how to optimize activities and processes to increase efficiency and profits.
An earlier article in Analytics Insight lists what it sees as the top five processing mining companies. Number one is Celonis, an important software company that most people have probably never heard of. Headquartered in Germany, its active worldwide, has a valuation of $13 billion, and employs over 3,000 people. It has more than 5,000 enterprise customer deployments, including many well-known companies in key industries. The software is particularly popular among management consultants: according to Celonis, over 2,000 consulting firms use it for their client projects.
The new Cracked Labs report concentrates on Celonis as its the market leader, its representative of the whole class of emerging process mining companies. The reports summary gives a good idea of how Celonis software carries out process mining using the following data practices:
Weve previously discussed some workplace surveillance practices things like monitoring everything an employee does on their computer, even down to what they click on with the mouse (Celonis calls this task mining). Process mining has moved beyond piecemeal surveillance of employees to bring all this data together for higher-level analysis. A key element is workflow analysis and automation. By aggregating data about individuals, the software is able to evaluate and assess workflows, and their duration and outcomes. It can calculate performance metrics for teams, departments, and other groups. The new report notes a significant recent development in this area:
In 2020, Celonis started to refer to its software as an execution management system (EMS), putting the focus on managing and changing operational processes rather than merely analyzing them. Employers and third parties can create Celonis-based execution applications, which combine process analysis and optimization with functionality for workflow automation and task management. Similar to other cloud-based enterprise software systems, Celonis has turned into a platform. Third-party vendors can offer Celonis-based applications via the companys app, marketplace. This includes, for example, applications to manage or supervise work in manufacturing, warehouses, helpdesk services and call centers.
That is, beyond merely carrying out surveillance on staff, the data collected is used to reconfigure work patterns and optimize them according to various metrics. The personal data collected is also made available to a new class of platform-based applications that can carry out even deeper analysis and produce further managerial options.
The routine and expanding use of personal data in this way is clearly problematic from a privacy viewpoint. But this shift to automating workflows with software brings with it another problem, described by the new report as follows:
It potentially divorces work from the reasons for doing a task, which remain opaque and shifts authority from humans to the information system. Especially when combined with a limited set of possible actions, this restricts autonomy and discretion at work. It may result in a variety of side effects, such as employees experiencing the algorithmic system as arbitrary rule, employees prioritizing their efforts to match the systems expectations, the invisibility of work activities that lack an accurate digital representation in the system or even complete dysfunctionality. Not least, algorithmic management, especially when based on statistical inferences, entails the risk of discrimination against already disadvantaged employees.
Summarizing its findings, the report concludes:
While employers can certainly use these technologies in ways that are beneficial for everyone, the findings in this case study suggest that organizations may utilize them to unilaterally streamline and reorganize work according to their business goals while making workers subject to disproportional digital monitoring and control. The unscrupulous exploitation of worker data at scale increases the power imbalance between employers and workers and normalizes extensive surveillance in the workplace. While these technologies could, in theory, also be used to optimize work towards goals like better working conditions and increased employee wellbeing, Celonis almost exclusively emphasizes optimization towards the most ordinary and aggressive business objectives like increased efficiency and lowered costs.
This indicates how the loss of privacy in this case in the workplace is not some abstract issue. Thanks to the increasing use of process mining in companies, surveillance in the workplace can lead to an erosion of fundamental rights. Most troubling, perhaps, is that it can dehumanize work itself, effectively turning employees into little more than cogs in a machine run not by human managers, but by sophisticated and inscrutable software.
Featured image by Celonis.
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Process Mining: The Next Stage in Workplace Surveillance, and a ... - Privacy News Online