Curating the Internet: Science and technology micro-summaries for August 30, 2019

Conducting foreign policy on autopilot; Bikes and ridesharing added to Google Maps; A privilege escalation vulnerability announced in Checkpoint's Endpoint Security; Bug bounty up to $10,000 for Facebook's Libra; An ancient Greek machine for moving heavy objects was in use a century and a half earlier than previously known


Straight from my RSS feed	Whatever gets my attention

Links and micro-summaries from my 1000+ daily headlines. I filter them so you don't have to.

pixabay license: source.

Algorithmic Foreign Policy - China and the US (and presumably most other countries) are developing AI systems to make foreign policy recommendations and to predict civil unrest around the globe. The article points out that if the US develops a capability like this, it could be used to give international corporations advance warning of disruptions so that they could evacuate employees to safety, but would also create more international dependence on US technology. Other systems are being created to analyze speeches by banking officials and diplomats to predict interest rate changes and international trade deals. The article closes with this ominous speculation: "In the future, predicting world events could become the norm. Governments that don’t predict events may face havoc. Businesses that ignore predictions may become outcasts. And the only advantage available to countries might be to become more unpredictable than ever before."

Google Maps Adds Biking and Ridesharing to Its Transit Options - In its effort to make travel easier for urbanites, Google has added ride sharing and biking to its transit options, so whether you're riding the bus, driving, walking, biking, or using Uber, your directions can now have realistic time estimates.

STEEM A Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Discovered In Check Point’s Endpoint Security - @twr shares from their private blog using @steempress about a newly revealed privilege escalation vulnerability in Checkpoint's Endpoint Security product. The vulnerability was disclosed in a blog post by researchers from SafeBreach Labs. The vulnerability affects Windows systems, enabling an attacker to write a replacement for a missing DLL file, and thereby bypass white-lists to execute arbitrary commands as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. Checkpoint patched the vulnerability on August 27, and users are advised to update to Check Point Enterprise Endpoint Security E81.30. (A 10% beneficiary setting has been applied to this post for @twr.)

Facebook’s Libra Project Launches Bug Bounty With $10,000 Max Reward - In an effort to spur more external contributions, the Libra project has launched a bug bounty program with rewards that range up to $10,000. Calibra's security director, Aanchal Gupta, is quoted saying that the company hopes it will bring diverse perspectives to bear on the project.

Before Cranes, Ancient Greeks May Have Used This Ingenious Lifting Machine To Move Heavy Stones - According to Notre Dame researcher, Alessandro Pierattini , the ancient machine that preceded cranes for moving heavy objects was first developed by the Corinthians in the mid-7th century BC. This is about 150 years before the earliest known cranes. Pierattini reached this conclusion by examining large stone blocks and analyzing grooves that had been overlooked by prior researchers. h/t archaeology.org

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