FUTURE CRIMES

I am reposting and publishing excerpts of the recent blog of Peter Diamandis. He is the author of Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World ... – the book that discussed exponential technologies.

Here he writes about the downside of exponential technology: digital crime. More specifically, he quotes from Marc Goodman’s book Future Crimes. Goodman is a Futurist for the FBI, a 10-year veteran with Interpol and a faculty member of Singularity University.

His goal is to educate, and help protect us against the growing risk of cyber crime in this digital age.

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Criminals are exponential entrepreneurs too…

Exponential technologies allow for exponential crimes.

Historically, one person could only rob one person at any given time. Today one person can rob millions in an instant.

Just this week a joint taskforce from INTERPOL, Europol and Kaspersky Lab reported that a group of cybercriminals dubbed "Carbanak" has stolen upwards of $1 billion from banks all over the world.

A joint study between the University of Tel Aviv and National University of Singapore estimates that businesses around the world have spent $500 billion recovering from data breaches and malware-related problems.

As more of our devices become connected to the Internet, we are more vulnerable than ever.

Samsung, for example, recently came under public scrutiny when it was disclosed that their new TV's voice command system is recording every conversation and sending the data to a third party to parse and analyze. Headlines announced, "your TV is spying on you in the privacy of your living room."

6D's Applied to Crime

We don't often think about crime advancing exponentially, but the Future Crimes also benefit from the 6D's framework: Digitization, Deceptive to Disruptive, Dematerialization, Demonetization, and Democratization.

Here are some examples.

Digitization: Between 2011 and 2013, Silk Road digitized the black market and did $1.2 billion of business as a platform for illegal substances and services, among other things. Most impressive, they were transacting in the anonymous, decentralized, untraceable cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

Deceptive to Disruptive: A decade ago, stories of cyber-attacks and cyber-theft was a rare occurrence. Today it's in the news every day. The US Navy sees 11,000 cyber-attacks every hour, or more than 30 every single second. More than 600,000 Facebook accounts are compromised every day.

Dematerialization: It used to take guns, get-away cars and large-scale operations to successfully pull off crimes. Last month, a drone crashed into a Mexican supermarket just next to the California border. It was carrying over 6 pounds of methamphetamine. For every unsuccessful drone, there are likely hundreds that succeed.

Demonetization: 3D Printing is demonetizing firearms. The first 3D printed gun was designed by a student at the University of Texas and printed in 2013. Called "the Liberator", the gun can be printed overnight for pennies. Rather than purchasing guns or the licenses needed to operate them, anybody with access to a 3D printer and the Internet can "print" them for free.

Democratization: Vulnerable democratizing communication platforms like Twitter, where millions voice their opinions and share news, can give enormous influence to cyber criminals and terrorists. In 2013, the Associated Press' Twitter was hacked by a Syrian terrorist organization. They posted a fake tweet about an attack at the White House that had injured the president. In 3 minutes, the trading algorithms that monitor news agencies had cut the market cap by $360 billion. Other terrorist organizations often use social media to recruit new members and execute sophisticated attacks at scale.

Protecting Yourself: The "UPDATE" Protocol

Marc's book is filled with super-high quality advice to help you protect yourselves from attack.

Here are the top items for you to remember, using the acronym UPDATE.

Update: Update your software automatically so that you are protected. If the developer is offering an update, it is because your version has bugs, which means you are vulnerable. Updating automatically makes sure you are taken care of without having to think about it.

Password: Make sure your password is uppercase and lowercase and includes numbers and symbols. Most importantly, don't repeat passwords across multiple accounts. Be careful with downloading a password manager, as some are fraudulent. Marc suggests not using a single sign-on like Facebook, because if it is cracked, you are wide open.

Download: With downloading, free is the most expensive. Be very cautious of programs offered for free and only download from official sites.

Administrative Privilege: Don't log on to your computer as the administrator. Logging on as a user means that if a big change is being made, it will prompt you with your login. This is a good preventative measure to protect against malware.

Turn Off: Shut down your computer while you're asleep and you cut the time that you can be attacked in by one-third. Also turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you can: the more ports that are open, the more vulnerable you are.

Encryption: Use programs like Filevault to completely encrypt your computer. Also use a VPN (virtual private network) if you can. Have a password on your phone to encrypt data behind the security wall.

Marc also offered 2 additional warnings:

Be careful using the cloud. Always note which country the servers are located in and schedule regular backups.

Finally, cover the camera on your computer. When you aren't using it, hackers can log it and gain access to your camera. Scariest of all – the green indicator light won't light up. Marc recommends covering the camera with tape when you're not using it.

Ray Kurzweil Predicts Fantastic Things Coming In The Next 25 Years

I am sharing with our readers this article on Ray Kurzweil, my favorite inventor, engineer, technologist, and futurist. He is in my Google + Circle. He has some very interesting predictions.

image: http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Ray-665x385.jpg

Ray Kurzweil has received 20 honorary doctorates, has been awarded honors from three presidents of the United States and has written 7 books (5 of which were national bestsellers). Ray is the principal inventor of technologies ranging from the CCD flatbed scanner to the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind. Kurzweil is the chancellor and co-founder of Singularity University, and the man chosen by Google to direct their artificial intelligence development.

Ray Kurzweil is the guy that Bill Gates calls “the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence.”

There’s no question that Kurzweil is a bright guy, but what he’s also really, really good at is predicting the future when it comes to technology. Let’s take a look at some of the predictions Ray has made in the past.

In 1990, Kurzweil predicted that a computer would defeat a world chess champion by 1998. (In 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov.) In 1990, he predicted that PC’s would be capable of answering queries by accessing information wirelessly via the internet by 2010. He predicted that by the early 2000’s, exoskeletal limbs would allow the disabled to walk. (Ekso Bionics and other companies have technology that does that and more).

In 1999, Ray predicted that people would be able to talk to their computers to give commands by 2009. Although they were still in their infancy in 2009, natural language interfaces like Google Now and Apple’s Siri were and are on the rise.

In 2005, Kurzweil predicted that by the 2010’s, virtual solutions would be able to perform real-time language translation. Words spoken in a foreign language would be translated into text that would appear as a subtitle to users wearing special glasses. Microsoft (using Skype Translate) and Google (using Translate) have made this happen. One app called Word Lens actually uses your camera to find and translate text imagery in real-time.

Okay, so Ray Kurzweil has a pretty good track record. So now onto the good stuff. What’s coming at us in the next 25 years according to Ray?

Ray says that by the late 2010’s, glasses will beam images directly onto the retina, and ten terabytes of computer power (that’s roughly the same amount as the human brain) will cost about a grand.

By the 2020’s, most diseases will go away as nanobots become smarter than current medical technology. It will become possible for “normal eating” to be replaced by nanosystems. The Turing test (a test in which artificial intelligence becomes indistinguishable from human intelligence) begins to be passable. Self-driving cars will start to take over the nation’s roads, and people won’t be allowed to drive on highways.

Kurzweil says that by the 2030’s, virtual reality will begin to feel 100% real, and we will be able to upload our mind and/or consciousness before 2040.

In the 2040’s, Ray says that non-biological intelligence will be a billion times more capable than biological intelligence. He also says that Nanotech foglets will be able to make food out of thin air and create any object in the physical world at a whim.

Ray predicts that by 2045, humans will multiply their intelligence a billion fold by linking wirelessly from their neocortex’ to a synthetic neocortex in the cloud.

Slingbox 500: Miracle in the Sin City (Part II)

From regular or snail mail to electronic mail (email); from printed books to electronic books (eBooks); from analog recorded voices or music to digital or mp3 music and audio books; from landline calling (receiving and making) to cordless and later on wireless cellular communications; and from watching TV shows, movies, and sports in real time at home to postponing doing it at a later time also at home through the VCR or the DVR, welcome to the digital age!

Indeed, these amazing technologies are bringing changes to our lifestyle. They allow us to shift the time and place to read, listen, watch multi-media contents and all sorts of entertainment.

Almost unbelievably “miraculous”, seemingly “magical”, definitely “mind-boggling”, and still a “mystery” to many mere mortals, the Slingbox technology is the latest to invade our lives.

                       

Slingbox 500

Converging with other technologies that are as amazing and awesome, the Slingbox 500 allows the home TV users the ability to watch their favorite shows, movies, recorded contents and even live ones at a time and place of their choice. No more feeling the frustration of missing live sports events, scheduled TV and Cable entertainment or subscribed shows.

Upon receipt of my Slingbox 500, I opened it and proceeded with the installation right away. Just by following the instructions with illustrations, it was user friendly and was installed with ease. After downloading the Sling Player Apps in both my iPAD and iPhone, and connecting the HDMI cable and all the multi-colored composite/component cables for audio and video that came in the box to my TV, set-top box and Slingbox, I proceeded with the test.

Already connected with WiFi at home, I clicked the Sling Player icon on my iPAD and connected to the Cable TV and Slingbox. As clear and as bright, I watched what was showing on my HD TV monitor and move from room to room and place to place in my home. From upstairs I used the iPAD also as a remote control by changing channels, accessing the On Demand, and DVR in my set-top box.

I did the same thing with my iPhone after disconnecting the iPAD. I experienced the same good results. In fact, I also accessed my shows using my data plan instead of the WiFi at home. It also worked beautifully.

Next, I went to a nearby Starbucks Café where WiFi is made available for free. My tests in both WiFi and data plan also worked perfectly. When I tested both the iPAD and the iPhone by clicking the Sling Player icon to access my home TV at the Gold’s Gym where I go to exercise, it also generated good results.

I am now convinced that any electronic device connected with the set-top box and Slingbox at home via Internet would allow the user to access any or all of the contents available on his home TV.

About ten (10) years earlier, I used the first generation of Slingbox with my Laptop and Desktop as the connected devices. Now with tablets like the iPAD and/or smart phones like the iPhone that are more portable and mobile, the saying, “My TV, My Way, Anytime, Anywhere” is truer than ever.

You are paying for the privilege of watching Cable TV shows and other recorded contents in your set-top box. Of course, this privilege is enjoyed only with one Slingbox and the corresponding connected set-top box. There is only one controller.

However, if you obtain a second set-top box and connect another Slingbox, access to it and all similar shows can be done independently. Usually, the monthly subscription fee for the second or even third set-top box is much cheaper.

I tested the Slingbox technology abroad before. Connecting it to the set-top box in the Philippines, I was able to access all the TV shows there. While abroad, I have been able to watch all the shows here. I do not see any reason why I cannot do it similarly with the more sophisticated Slingbox 500 and with tablets and smartphones as the connected devices.

Last Christmas, my daughter Traci and her husband Jason gifted us with Roku 3. It is also now connected with the Cable set-top box. This means that all the shows accessible to the Roku player are also now available to us anywhere,

Although I have not tested it, I understand that this is also true for Apple TV and Chromecast.

As I have shown and tested, the Slingbox makes your Home TV available ANYWHERE on an Internet connected device. The same thing is true in smartphones and tablets. The finer features of Cable TV like DVR and On Demand are likewise made available. Breaking news, sports live and stats, recorded contents, business matters, movies, and other fields of entertainment could now be made accessible to you on Big Screen or at the palm of your hand either at home or on the go.

Even better is the fact that after your purchase and installation of the Slingbox, no monthly fees are required to continue enjoying its benefits and features. I understand that the online support directly from Sling Media as well as the Sling community has been quite responsive, competent and effective.

I strongly recommend that readers buy the Slingbox 500. We are not home all the time. The device lets us watch our TV shows from anywhere especially if we travel often.

For the enterprising readers, I see some Slingbox-based business opportunities to take advantage of.