Mediaboss Marketing

[co-author: Wolfram Ott]*

On May 12, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance addressing the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employers utilizing software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence in hiring and employment decisions. Produced in connection with the EEOCs launch of its Initiative on Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Fairness in October 2021, the EEOCs latest guidance reflects its goal of ensuring that employers utilizing technology in hiring and employment decisions are complying with federal civil rights laws. Notably, the guidance was issued a few days after the EEOC filed a complaint against a software company alleging age discrimination, potentially signaling similar actions related to the use of artificial intelligence in the employment context. Below are some key takeaways on the new guidance.

Scope and Definitions

The guidance implicates a broad range of technologies commonly utilized by employers including software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence:

Employers may use tools that include a combination of these terms. For example, an employer may utilize resume screening software that incorporates an algorithm created by human design or an algorithm that is supplemented by AI analysis of data.

Ways in Which Algorithmic Decision-Making Tools may Violate the ADA

The guidance discusses the three most common ways that an employers use of algorithmic decision-making tools could violate the ADA. This includes the following:

Employer Responsibility for Vendor Technology

Importantly, the EEOC guidance states that employers are generally responsible for the discriminatory effects of software utilized in the hiring process even when the software is utilized by third-party on behalf of the employer.

Best Practices for Employers

The EEOC offered so-called Promising Practices for employers seeking to ensure compliance with the ADA. These recommendations provide helpful suggestions about ways in which employers may protect themselves against claims of disability discrimination. Those recommendations include to:

Key Takeaways

May marked the first new developments out of the EEOC relating to AI since the launch of the Initiative on Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Fairness. This new guidance provides much needed insight on how the EEOC will enforce the ADA with respect to AI going forward. Employers should utilize the provided Promising Practices to ensure compliance, and avoid possible liability.

Because this issue is still developing, we will continue monitoring developments in this area and provide updates as new information becomes available.

*Wolfram Ott is a summer associate in the Labor and Employment group and assisted with the drafting of this article.

Continued here:
EEOC Issues Guidance Regarding How Employer Software and Artificial Intelligence May Discriminate Against Individuals With Disabilities - JD Supra

Japan has updated its penal code to make insulting people online a crime punishable by a year of incarceration.

An amendment [PDF] that passed the House of Councillors (Japan's upper legislative chamber) on Monday spells out that insults designed to hurt the reader can now attract increased punishments.

Supporters of the amended law cite the death of 22-year-old wrestler and reality TV personality Hana Kimura as a reason it was needed. On the day she passed away, Kimura shared images of self-harm and hateful comments she'd received on social media. Her death was later ruled a suicide.

Three men were investigated for their role in Kimura's death. One was fined a small sum, and another paid around $12,000 of damages after a civil suit brought by Kimura's family.

Before the amendment, Japanese law allowed for 30 days inside for insults, or fines up to 10,000 ($75). The law now permits up to a year inside and imposes a ceiling of 300,000 ($2,200) on fines.

The law has been given a three-year sunset clause a reflection of debate about its possible chilling effect on free speech.

After the amendment was passed, Japan's Justice Ministry was asked if the change was appropriate given international efforts to exclude defamation from criminal law and ensure it cannot result in incarceration, and if Japan's efforts to protect online rights might therefore harm its reputation for human rights. A Ministry spokesperson rejected the possibility of that outcome.

Other nations have taken a different approach to curbing insulting online speech, with measures that compel platforms to take down posts that draw complaints, or that require the unmasking of anonymous trolls.

Australia recently floated a bill that would allow those defamed online to compel material to be taken down an extension of a court ruling that found the comments section on articles could make publishers liable for commenters' remarks. That bill was not passed before an election at which Australia's government changed, leaving its future in doubt.

See the rest here:
Japan makes online insults a crime that can earn a year in jail - The Register

Getty Images

A service that helps open source developers write and test software is leaking thousands of authentication tokens and other security-sensitive secrets. Many of these leaks allow hackers to access the private accounts of developers on Github, Docker, AWS, and other code repositories, security experts said in a new report.

The tokens give anyone with access to them the ability to read or modify the code stored in repositories that distribute an untold number of ongoing software applications and code libraries. The ability to gain unauthorized access to such projects opens the possibility of supply chain attacks, in which threat actors tamper with malware before it's distributed to users. The attackers can leverage their ability to tamper with the app to target huge numbers of projects that rely on the app in production servers.

Despite this being a known security concern, the leaks have continued, researchers in the Nautilus team at the Aqua Security firm are reporting. A series of two batches of data the researchers accessed using the Travis CI programming interface yielded 4.28 million and 770 million logs from 2013 through May 2022. After sampling a small percentage of the data, the researchers found what they believe are 73,000 tokens, secrets, and various credentials.

"These access keys and credentials are linked to popular cloud service providers, including GitHub, AWS, and Docker Hub," Aqua Security said. "Attackers can use this sensitive data to initiate massive cyberattacks and to move laterally in the cloud. Anyone who has ever used Travis CI is potentially exposed, so we recommend rotating your keys immediately."

Travis CI is a provider of an increasingly common practice known as continuous integration. Often abbreviated as CI, it automates the process of building and testing each code change that has been committed. For every change, the code is regularly built, tested, and merged into a shared repository. Given the level of access CI needs to work properly, the environments usually store access tokens and other secrets that provide privileged access to sensitive parts inside the cloud account.

The access tokens found by Aqua Security involved private accounts of a wide range of repositories, including Github, AWS, and Docker.

Aqua Security

Examples of access tokens that were exposed include:

The following graph shows the breakdown:

Aqua Security

Aqua Security researchers added:

We found thousands of GitHub OAuth tokens. Its safe to assume that at least 10-20% of them are live. Especially those that were found in recent logs. We simulated in our cloud lab a lateral movement scenario, which is based on this initial access scenario:

1. Extraction of a GitHub OAuth token via exposed Travis CI logs.

2. Discovery of sensitive data (i.e., AWS access keys) in private code repositories using the exposed token.

3. Lateral movement attempts with the AWS access keys in AWS S3 bucket service.

4. Cloud storage object discovery via bucket enumeration.

5. Data exfiltration from the targets S3 to attackers S3.

Aqua Security

Travis CI representatives didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment for this post. Given the recurring nature of this exposure, developers should proactively rotate access tokens and other credentials periodically. They should also regularly scan their code artifacts to ensure they don't contain credentials. Aqua Security has additional advice in its post.

Go here to see the original:
Credentials for thousands of open source projects free for the takingagain! - Ars Technica

June 6, 2022

PRESS RELEASE

watchOS 9 delivers new ways to stay connected, active, and healthy

Introducing more customizable watch faces, an enhanced Workout app, sleep stages, a first-of-its-kind AFib History feature, and an all-new Medications app

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIAApple today previewed watchOS 9, whichbrings new features and enhanced experiences to the worlds leading wearable operating system. Apple Watch users will now have more watch faces to choose from, with richercomplications that provide more information and opportunity for personalization. In the updated Workout app, advanced metrics, views, and training experiences inspired by high-performing athletes help users take their workouts to the next level. watchOS 9 brings sleep stages to the Sleep app, and a new FDA-cleared AFib History feature provides deeper insights into a users condition. The new Medications app makes it easy for users to conveniently and discreetly manage, understand, and track medications.

Users around the world love Apple Watch for helping them stay connected to those they love, be more active throughout the day, and better manage their health, said Jeff Williams, Apples chief operating officer. This fall, watchOS 9 takes the Apple Watch experience to the next level with scientifically validated insights across fitness, sleep, and heart health, while providing users more creative ways to make their Apple Watch their own.

Watch Faces for Everyone

The Apple Watch experience starts with watch faces, which give users the opportunity to express personal style while connecting them to relevant information at a glance through complications. watchOS 9 introduces four new faces: Lunar, which depicts the relationship between the Gregorian calendar and lunar calendar, used in many cultures such as Chinese, Islamic, and Hebrew; Playtime, a dynamic piece of art thats unique to Apple Watch and created in collaboration with artist Joi Fulton; Metropolitan, a classic, type-driven watch face where the style changes as the Digital Crown is rotated; and Astronomy, an original face that has been completely remastered and features a new star map and current cloud data.

watchOS 9 introduces enhanced and modernized complications on some of the most classic watch faces, such as Utility, Simple, and Activity Analog, along with background color editing for Modular, Modular Compact, and X-Large for additional personalization. The new Portraits face showcases the depth effect on more photos, including cats, dogs, and landscapes, while Chinese scripts have been added as options for California and Typograph watch faces. Focus now allows users to select an Apple Watch face to automatically appear when they start a specific Focus on iPhone, such as the Photos face during a Personal Focus, helping users stay in the moment.

Workout App Updates

The Workout app, one of the most popular apps on Apple Watch, has been updated to provide richer metrics for measuring performance, as well as new training experiences to help users reach fitness goals. The familiar in-session display now uses the Digital Crown to rotate between easy-to-read Workout Views, so users can see important metrics for different training styles. Heart Rate Zones, which can be manually created or automatically calculated using personalized Health data, can be used to monitor the intensity of a workout. Interval training is an important part of any training plan, and in watchOS 9, the Workout app introduces Custom Workouts, which can be used to create a structured workout that can include work and rest intervals. New alerts, including pace, power, heart rate, and cadence, can be added to guide users throughout the workout.

For triathletes, the Workout app now supports a new Multisport workout type that automatically switches between any sequence of swimming, biking, and running workouts, using motion sensors to recognize movement patterns. When each workout is complete, a redesigned summary page in the Fitness app offers additional details with interactive charts for more precise analysis.

Hit the Ground Running

Apple Watch is already a powerful tool for runners, and watchOS 9 brings more data and features to help track how efficiently users run. New running form metrics, including Stride Length, Ground Contact Time, and Vertical Oscillation, can all be added as metrics on Workout Views. These metrics appear in the Fitness app summary and in the Health app, where users can see trends over time and learn from patterns.

Users can choose to race against their best or last result on frequently used routes, and receive alerts during the workout for being ahead or behind their pace, as well as when going off route. Additionally, a new pacer experience lets users choose a distance and goal for the time in which they want to complete a run, and calculates the pace required to achieve the goal. During the workout, they can follow the pace alerts and metrics provided.

Swimming Enhancements

Kickboard detection has been added as a new stroke type for Pool Swim workouts, using sensor fusion on Apple Watch to automatically detect when users are swimming with a kickboard and classify the stroke type in the workout summary along with distance swam. Swimmers can now track their efficiency with a SWOLF score a stroke count combined with the time, in seconds, it takes to swim one length of the pool. Users can view their SWOLF average for each set in the workout summary.

Get More Out of Apple Fitness+ Workouts

Apple Fitness+ is the first fitness and wellness service built around Apple Watch, designed to be welcoming to all. It intelligently incorporates real-time workout metrics from Apple Watch right on the screen with iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, motivating users of all levels from start to finish. With watchOS 9, Fitness+ workouts now display on-screen guidance in addition to trainer coaching to help users get the most out of workouts, including: Intensity for HIIT, Cycling, Rowing, and Treadmill; Strokes per Minute (SPM) for Rowing; Revolutions per Minute (RPM) for Cycling; and Incline for walkers and runners in Treadmill.

Fitness+ subscribers without Apple TV can now use AirPlay to stream workouts and meditations with on-screen metrics to compatible third-party TVs and devices, allowing them to train anywhere, anytime.

Sleep Insights

The Sleep experience on Apple Watch already empowers users to create Wind Down and Bedtime schedules, as well as track their sleep to help them meet their goals. Sleep tracking in watchOS 9 provides even more insights with the introduction of sleep stages. Using signals from the accelerometer and heart rate sensor, Apple Watch can detect when users are in REM, Core, or Deep sleep. Users will see sleep stage data on Apple Watch in the Sleep app and can view more detailed information, like time asleep, alongside additional metrics, like heart rate and respiratory rate, in sleep comparison charts in the Health app on iPhone.

The machine learning models were trained and validated against the clinical gold standard, polysomnography, with one of the largest and most diverse populations ever studied for a wearable. As the science of sleep is still being explored, users will be able to aid in potential discoveries by contributing their sleep stage data in the Apple Heart and Movement Study through the Research app.

First-of-Its-Kind AFib History

Currently, the ECG app and irregular rhythm notification on Apple Watch can identify potential signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib). Left untreated, AFib is one of the leading conditions that can result in stroke.

Research suggests that the amount of time spent in AFib may impact a persons symptoms, overall quality of life, and risk of complications. Previously, there has not been an easy way to track the frequency of AFib over an extended period of time, or to manage lifestyle factors that may influence ones condition. According to the American Heart Association, addressing modifiable lifestyle factors may decrease the amount of time spent in AFib.1

With watchOS 9, users who are diagnosed with AFib can turn on the FDA-cleared AFib History feature2 and access important information, including an estimate of how frequently a users heart rhythm shows signs of AFib, providing deeper insights into their condition. Users will also receive weekly notifications to understand frequency and view a detailed history in the Health app, including lifestyle factors that may influence AFib, like sleep, alcohol consumption, and exercise.

Users can download a PDF with a detailed history of their AFib and lifestyle factors, which can easily be shared with doctors and care providers for more informed conversations.

Medications

The new Medications experience on Apple Watch and iPhone helps users manage and track their medications, vitamins, and supplements, allowing them to create a medications list, set up schedules and reminders, and view information on their medications in the Health app. The Medications app on Apple Watch makes it easy for users to conveniently and discreetly track medications anytime, anywhere.

Custom schedules can be created for each medication, whether it needs to be taken multiple times a day, once a week, or as needed, and users can set up reminders to help keep them on track. In the US, users can receive an alert if there are potential critical interactions with medications they have added to the Health app.3

Privacy

Privacy is fundamental in the design and development across all of Apples features. When a users iPhone is locked with a passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID, all of their health and fitness data in the Health app other than Medical ID is encrypted. Any Health data backed up to iCloud is encrypted both in transit and on Apple servers.

Additional watchOS 9 Updates

Availability

The developer beta of watchOS 9 is available to Apple Developer Program members at developer.apple.com starting today. A public beta will be available to watchOS users next month at beta.apple.com. watchOS 9 will be available this fall as a free software update for Apple Watch Series 4 or later paired with iPhone 8 or later and iPhone SE (second generation) or later, running iOS 16. Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages, or on all devices. Features are subject to change. For more information, visit apple.com/watchos/watchos-preview.

About Apple

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apples five software platforms iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apples more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Press Contacts

Lance Lin

Apple

lance_lin@apple.com

(408) 974-5036

Zaina Khachadourian

Apple

zkhachadourian@apple.com

(408) 862-4327

Apple Media Helpline

media.help@apple.com

(408) 974-2042

Visit link:
watchOS 9 delivers new ways to stay connected, active, and healthy - Apple

Oddly enough, one of the best ways to back up your data to an external hard drive comes from a cloud storage company.

Im referring to iDrive, which offers a free local backup utility inside of its Windows and Mac apps. While iDrive is better-known for offering cheap cloud storage, its local backup tool doesnt require a subscription and is only limited by the amount of space on your storage drives.

Although I personally still prefer Microsoft OneDrive as my cloud storage servicemainly because of its tighter Windows integration and bundling with Microsoft 365iDrives local backup tool is a straightforward and effective way to make copies of your important data onto storage drives that you control.

Heres how to use it:

iDrive requires an account to use its Windows and Mac apps, but you can just use iDrives free tier (with 10 GB of cloud storage) to access the local backup tools. Create your free account first, then use it to log in after installing the iDrive desktop app.

When you first launch the iDrive app, youll be looking at the Backup tab, and the default option will be Backup files to my iDrive account. If any of your folders are listed in this section, right click and select Remove all items so that iDrive doesnt attempt to store your files in the cloud.

Next, click the button for Backup files to Local, Wi-Fi, or Express devices. Directly beneath this button, click the next to Backup location, then choose your external drive from the list. (If you dont have an external drive already, PCWorld has some recommendations.)

Jared Newman / Foundry

Now, its time to choose which computer folders youd like to back up. Near the bottom of the iDrive app, click Change, then check off all the storage drives or folders you want to include. They should now appear under Files / folders for local backup.

Jared Newman / Foundry

Once everythings ready, click Backup Now to make your first backup. This can take minutes, hours, or even days depending on how much data youre storing and the speed of your external drive, so be patient.

Backing up your data only works if you do it on a regular basis. To that end, iDrive also offers a scheduler for making routine backups automatically.

From the Backup tab, click Schedule, then check off the days of the week on which youd like to run the backup, along with the time of day to start. With an always-on desktop PC, youll most likely want to schedule the backup for the middle of the night. Otherwise, set it for a time when your computer is likely to be up and running.

Jared Newman / Foundry

You can also set up email notifications to confirm that the backup succeeded (or failed), or get notifications through the desktop app. If your computers off during the scheduled backup time, iDrive will resume it by default once the computer back on, but you can disable this if you wish. Click Save Changes to begin the schedule.

If youre not using iDrives online backup service, you should also disable scheduled online backups from this menu. Select Default BackupSet from the dropdown list at the top, then uncheck the daily scheduling settings.

One last useful option to note: Under Settings, you can click the Throttle tab and set a limit on CPU use for your backups. That may be helpful if you have a lightweight PC and the backup operation is hindering your work.

Jared Newman / Foundry

Note that iDrive doesnt simply mirror your files onto an external drive. Instead, it creates an encrypted copy of your data, so if you navigate to the backup location in File Explorer, you wont find anything usable. To restore your files to their original, unencrypted form, youll need to use the iDrive apps Restore function.

This is important: If youre restoring data to a different computer than the one that made the backup, you must first head the Backup tab, click Backup files to Local, Wi-Fi, or Express device, then select your external drive under Backup location. Otherwise, you wont be able to find your backup data in the steps below.

Jared Newman / Foundry

Now, head to the Restore tab and select Restore files from Local, Wi-Fi, or Express device. If youre on a new computer, use the Select Device box to choose the computer where you originally created the backup.

Check off the files you want to restore, and at the bottom of the app, choose where you want to restore them. You can either select the original location or choose another destination on any drive connected to your computer.

Jared Newman / Foundry

Finally, click Restore Now to begin the process. As with the original backup, this can take a while if youve stored a lot of data.

As I mentioned earlier, I personally use OneDrive as my main cloud storage service, and have only been using iDrive for local backups.

But if you arent invested in a cloud storage provider already, iDrives online service may be worth considering as an additional backup source. The iDrive Photos tier only costs $10 per year (and $1 for the first year), and in addition to backing up unlimited photos from your phone, it can store up to 1 TB of data from your computer. That should be plenty unless you have a huge photo and video library. (The next step up is $80 per year for 5 TB of cloud storage.) iDrive also provides a Sync folder separate from its main backup service, letting you easily access files across all your devices.

Of course, iDrive isnt the only option for local backups. Companies like EaseUS and Paragon also offer free local backup utilities, and Windows itself has an external drive backup tool built in.

But iDrives software is more flexible than the built-in Windows option, and it doesnt have some of the limits that EaseUS and Paragon place on their free versions. (Both of them, for instance, require a paid upgrade to get status notifications for your backups, and EaseUS even limits backup speeds for free users.) iDrive also offers free disk cloning tools that other companies charge for.

iDrive may be more generous with its local backup tools, perhaps because its business model revolves around selling cloud storage rather than packaged software. Still, you can use it to keep encrypted copies of your data without ever having to pay for it.

If you enjoyed this story, check out my Advisorator newsletter to get more practical tech advice in your inbox every week.

Read this article:
iDrive quietly made a great local backup tool, and it's free - PCWorld