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Submission + - Cognitive bias is the cyber threat you can't detect (securityledger.com)

Submitted by chicksdaddy
chicksdaddy writes: Implicit bias among security workers poses a real risk to industry, prompting cyber security workers to misinterpret critical data and reach incorrect decisions based on that data, a new study by the firm Forcepoint (https://www.forcepoint.com )warns.

Well documented flaws in human reasoning such as confirmation bias, aggregate bias and availability bias can lead security workers to make misinformed decisions about threats or reach inaccurate conclusions based on the information and data their tools provide them. That, in turn, could leave their organizations vulnerable to attack, or make it difficult to properly respond to cyber attacks and other incidents, according to the report, which warns organizations not to overlook bias when interpreting security data.

The report (https://www.forcepoint.com/sites/default/files/resources/files/report_thinking_about_thinking_cybersecurity_bias_en.pdf), by research scientist Dr. Margaret Cunningham of Forcepoint’s X-Labs, examines the role of six common biases in cybersecurity decision-making and offers guidance on how to identify and avoid them using applied insight.

“Decision-making is central to cybersecurity–from regular end users and coworkers who are sharing our network, to people working in (security operations centers), to organizational leaders who deal with purchasing security solutions and hiring security personnel. It is critical to understand that everyone, from novices to experts, is subject to cognitive bias,” said Cunningham in an email interview with The Security Ledger (https://securityledger.com/2019/06/cognitive-bias-is-the-threat-actor-you-may-never-detect/).

Submission + - Top 1% Up $21 Trillion. Bottom 50% Down $900 Billion. (peoplespolicyproject.org)

Submitted by dryriver
dryriver writes: An analysis by People's Policy Project, based on published FED data, shows that since 1989, the top 1% of Americans added $21 Trillion to their wealth. The bottom 50% did not get richer and actually own $900 Billion less today than they did in 1989. What the final product reveals is a 2018 where the top 1 percent owns nearly $30 trillion of assets while the bottom half owns less than nothing, meaning they have more debts than they have assets. This follows from 30 years in which the top 1 percent massively grew their net worth while the bottom half saw a slight decline in its net worth.

Submission + - Arctic Permafrost Melting 70 Years Sooner Than Expected, Study Finds (weather.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Scientists studying climate change expected layers of permafrost in the Canadian Arctic to melt by the year 2090. Instead, it's happening now. A new study published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters revealed that unusually warm summers in the Canadian High Arctic between 2003 and 2016 resulted in permafrost melt up to 240% higher than previous years. Louise Farquharson, a researcher at the Permafrost Laboratory at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the study's lead author, told weather.com the three areas of melting permafrost studied in remote northern Canada are believed to have been frozen for thousands of years. She noted that while scientists had predicted the permafrost wouldn't melt for another 70 years, those forecasts didn't take into account the unusually warm summers that have happened in recent years. While researchers believe all indicators point to warmer temperatures continuing, there's no way to know for sure just how quickly the permafrost will continue to melt.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Should All OSs Ship With A Programming Language Built In?

Submitted by dryriver
dryriver writes: If anybody remembers the good old Commodore 64, one thing stood out about this once popular 8-bit computer — as soon as you turned it on, you could type in BASIC code and run it. You didn't have to install a programming language, an IDE and all that jazz. You could simply start punching code in, and the C64 would execute it. Now that we live in a time where coding is even more important and bankable than it was back in the 1980s, shouldn't OSs like Windows 10 or Android also come with precisely this kind of feature? An easy to learn programming language like the old BASIC that greets you right after you boot up the computer, and gives you unfettered access to all of the computer's hardware and capabilities, just like was possible on the C64 decades ago? Everybody talks about "getting more people to learn coding" these days. Well, why not go the old C64 route and have modern OS's boot you straight into a usable yet powerful coding environment? Why shouldn't my Android phone or tablet come out of its box with a CLI BASIC prompt I can type code into right after I buy it from a store?

Comment Market for Legacy Games (Score 1) 163

Examples like this where dedicated fans can create their own emulated version of the game and maintain the server to play it on, demonstrate that there is a market for the online games that are no longer leading products. Your MMO is no longer a money maker? Downsize it to a single server, eliminate all the staff, and automate the maintenance. Charge a subscription fee to cover server & royalty costs, bundled with other legacy games for administrative cost savings.

Comment Iron Horse (Score 1) 255

by Aero77 (#58459496) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: What's a Good Chair For a Software Developer?
https://ironhorseseating.com/ I used this for several years before switching to a walking desk. The seats are made from car seat quality foam. I had to replace the seat after 5 years of 12 hours days (approximately 12x6x52x5=18720 hours). I recommend the walking desk over any chair, but recognize that choice isn't available to everyone. My wife uses the chair now, its still in great condition.

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