Cambridge Analytica Bankrupt: What Company Is Next on the Firing Line?
May 18, 2018
Cambridge Analytica has declared bankruptcy. What outfit is next to be pushed to center stage?
Facebook? Perhaps. The founder of Facebook has an opportunity to answer questions before England’s law makers soon. Very soon.
And Google?
Google could be in very hot water if a recent court filing is any indication. While it is not a shocker to know that YouTube and its parent Google are collecting data on users’ habits, it is a little unnerving to know that this extends to our children. We learned more from a recent AP News Archive story, “Child Advocates Ask FTC to Investigate YouTube.”
According to the story, the complaint points out that YouTube is targeting users under the age of 13 with their advertisements. The article points out that this is not much different from advertisers on a television cartoon series, except on difference.
“YouTube does so with a lot of data collection. Its business model relies on tracking IP addresses, search history, device identifiers, location and other personal data about its users so that it can gauge their interests and tailor advertising to them. But a 1998 federal law prohibits internet companies from knowingly collecting personal data from kids under 13 without their parents’ consent.”
Those are some interesting allegations. We don’t expect the heat to be turned down anytime soon. In fact, allegations involving actions which increase risks for children are hot potatoes.
Some critics are already saying the search giant’s data collection practices are more invasive than current public enemy number one, Facebook. Will a former Googler follow in Christopher Wylie’s colorful footsteps? Will a “real” news organization do a bit of old school investigative journalism? Will a savvy lawyer team with alleged “victims” and head for the US TV news outlets?
Interesting to watch.
Stephen E Arnold, May 18, 2018
Apple and Google: Beacons Beckon and Inform
May 17, 2018
I read “Apple News Officially Lets Publishers Use Google’s DoubleClick to Serve Ads.” The main idea is that a couple of large companies are teaming up in a way that matters: Advertising or at least keeping some folks happy. I don’t have a dog in this fight, but the news, if accurate, reminded me that making money is a goal which makes bad experiences like appointing some individuals to a company’s Board of Directors go away.
The write up asserts:
The ad-targeting options break down into two categories: context-based targeting and audience-based targeting. Contextual ads can be aimed based on the article’s publisher, its content category within Apple News and the tags a publisher appends to the individual article as well as according to whether it appears on an iPhone or iPad. Audience-wise, the ads can be targeted by a person’s location (though only at the designated market area level), their gender and their age group.
What’s this mean? A partial answer can be excavated from the glorious prose of these public documents:
- US7039599, Method and apparatus for automatic placement of advertising
- US7085682, System and method for analyzing website activity
- US7349827, System and method for reporting website activity based on inferred attribution methodology
- US7844488, Method of delivery, targeting, and measuring advertising over networks.
These documents can be downloaded from the USPTO. Think of the link as a beacon which is a heck of a lot less effective than the inventions disclosed in these patents.
Stephen E Arnold, May 17, 2018
Oracle Brews Java Revenge with a Taste That Lingers
May 15, 2018
I assume that the “real” news experts at Fortune have their facts lined up. I hope so because the story “Google Is Now Under Investigation after Oracle Accused It of Secretly Tracking Android Users.” In my view, if one uses a mobile phone, one is tracked. This is my supposition, and I have a handy dandy copper lined bag which helps me keep my visits to the local ice rink a secret. Imagine. A 74 year old who ice skates albeit carefully.
The write up points out two items which surprised me. Remember. I was not surprised by the tracking feature which is old news here in Harrod’s Creek. I noted two points:
- The assertion that Google is under investigation because of an action Oracle took. I find that fascinating. A database company nudging Australian investigators into action. What’s that say about Oracle’s clout? What’s that say about Australian investigators’ interest in the GOOG? I just don’t know.
- The write up links Oracle’s poking at Google to Oracle’s annoyance related to the use of Java in Google’s mobile phone operating system. I thought that the idea today was to engage in “conversations” and move on with Sillycon Valley lives.
I, of course, believe that Google data are anonymized. Why would Google keep track of individual user clicks, photos, email, browser actions, or location for that matter?
I don’t have the slightest idea, but I can guess. Here’s my hypothesis: Google wants / needs to sell ads, create services to help people, and make Google a better workplace. Set aside the internal politics and the grousers who are quitting because the GOOG wants government contracts.
What else does Oracle have up its old fashioned, very capacious technology sleeve?
Stephen E Arnold, May 15, 2018
A Particularly Critical Look at the GOOG
May 9, 2018
If you are looking for items of information which suggest that Google has some tricks up its sleeve when it comes to user data, navigate to “Google’s Software Is Malware.” The list is not comprehensive, but it is a useful run down of some Google methods.
The write up addresses:
- Google back doors
- Google censorship
- Google insecurity
- Google sabotage
- Google surveillance
- Google digital rights management
- Google tyrants which seems different from the other observations.
I would note that the write up does not point to some of the technology Google has acquired when it bought certain, very capable companies, nor the capabilities available to the firm because it funded certain start ups.
Here in Harrod’s Creek, we are quite happy with the Google. Your mileage may vary.
Stephen E Arnold, May 9, 2018
Google: Innovation Desperation?
May 3, 2018
I have lost track of the ways Google tries to spark innovation. Years ago there was something called Google Ventures and before that “20 percent free time.” Today Google has demonstrated its hunger, need, and thirst for innovation by crating an investment mechanism for the Alexa killer, Google Assistant. “Google Starts Throwing Cash at Google Assistant Startups” explains:
Google is launching a new investment program for early-stage startups working to broaden Google Assistant hardware or features. The new program provides financial resources, early access to Google features and tools, access to the Google Cloud Platform, and promotional support in efforts to bolster young companies. Google says its investment program will also support startups focusing on Google Assistant‘s use in travel, hospitality, or games industries.
Like Apple, Google is watching the Alexa McLaren eat up the miles. I know it is silly to compare Amazon, Apple, and Google. Amazon sells books and plans to become a policeware hub. Apple sells hardware and wants to be a services vendor as iPhone X devices provide evidence that peak mobile phone day has arrived. And Google? It is after 20 years of trying to be different, still sells online ads.
The fix is to pay “entrepreneurs,” high school students, MBAs, and homeless FORTRAN programmers to build and expand the Google Assistant ecosystem.
Will the play work? My thought is that Google looks a bit wild eyed with its innovation efforts.
Perhaps it is true that I am worn out by Silicon Valley gyrations. Google, according to the write up, has “passion for the digital assistant ecosystem.”
That’s a plus.
But after 20 years of innovation, Google remains, as Steve Ballmer observed, a one trick pony. Throwing money at the pony is a long shot to change the beast into something different.
Worth watching the transformation attempt, however.
Stephen E Arnold, May 3, 2018
Does Smart Software Understand Kid Vids?
April 26, 2018
The growth of AI and predictive analytics across the spectrum has become a universal rah rah. Super powered computers and their data crunching power is being utilized by industries great and small. However, the producers of AI technology might not be getting rich off this revolution. We learned more from a recent Market Watch story, “IBM Earnings Show AI is Not Paying Off Yet.”
According to the story:
“’The bulls were hoping for a clean modest beat on this key growth segment, which represents the underpinnings of the IBM turnaround story in 2018 and beyond,’ Ives said in a note to clients. In an email, Ives said he does not have an estimate for Watson itself. ‘It’s a major contributing factor to strategic imperatives and helping drive double-digit growth…’”
Despite these less than stellar results, the big names in tech aren’t getting scared away by AI yet. In fact, it is still a boom investment time. Intel, for one, is betting a large chunk on cash on AI. We will be watching this development closer, since we all know that AI can be the greatest product in the world, but if it keeps losing money it might just end up in the graveyard. (Unlikely, we know.)
But—and there seems to be a “but” when it comes to the capabilities of smart software—we noticed that Google seems to be relying on humans to make sure that children’s videos are not violent, chuck full of objectionable material, or inappropriate for kiddie viewing. According to “For the First Time, Parents Will Be Able to Limit YouTube Kids to Human-Reviewed Channels and Recommendations,”
The new features will allow parents to lock down the YouTube Kids app so it only displays those channels* that have been reviewed by humans, not just algorithms. And this includes both the content displayed within the app itself, as well as the recommended videos. A later update will allow parents to configure which videos and channels, specifically, can be viewed.
A few observations seem to be warranted:
- Google’s vaunted smart software cannot determine what’s appropriate for children. Therefore, Google is now assuming the role that old school, chain smoking, ink stained editors once performed. Back to the past?
- If the smart software cannot figure out what video is okay for children, how accurate is Google’s ad matching software. Is it possible that the ad matching system is able to perform in a “good enough” manner? Will advertisers lose confidence that their money is putting messages in front of the “right” eye balls?
- Perhaps Google has caught the same case of sniffles that IBM Watson has been suffering? The failure of smart software with regard to kid vids suggests that hyperbole is not the same as actual performance.
The kid vid matter is as significant as the Facebook Cambridge Analytica matter. Could these be different facets of the same assumption that technology is a go getter?
Stephen E Arnold, April 26, 2018
About That Google Question Answering: Books, Scholar, and Open Source at Its Talon Tips
April 17, 2018
Googzilla prides itself on consuming search queries. Answering those questions? That’s a matter for discussion. Note that here in Harrod’s Creek we understand that if Google does not point to an entity, Web site, or factoid—that entity, Web site, or factoid does not exist. Who knew that those in Harrod’s Creek were into epistemology?
However, Pagal Parrot found “10 Questions Even Google Can’t Answer.” Let us talk a look at the write up’s exemplary 10 questions:
“1. Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
2. Why are boxing rings square?
3.What is Satan’s last name?
4. Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
5. Why is Google not the most translated website?
6. Why do banks charge a fee on ‘insufficient funds’ when they know there is not enough?
7. Why is it that people say they ‘slept like a baby’ when babies wake up, like, every two hours?
8. Why do Baidu lead Google in China?
9. Do Atheist also swear by the Bible /Quran when they go to court?
10. Why do people get angry each time another passenger sits beside them in a seat?”
These questions also beg another question: Do people spend time trying to dumbfound Google? It appears that the answer is, “Folks do try to bedevil the GOOG.”
The article is mostly for giggles, but there are definitely more than 10 questions Google cannot answer. Here is one: When will Google answer questions with precision and recall balanced for relevance and “accuracy”? Would advertisers respond to the functionality?
Whitney Grace, April 17, 2018
Google and the Great Forgetting
April 16, 2018
I noted the glee with which the Gray Lady explained “Facebook Takes the Punches While Rest of Silicon Valley Ducks.” Newspapers may be pummeled, but the New York Times has enough zip to remind me that Silicon Valley luminaries know how to do the ostrich thing.
However, I noticed that another newspaper was not distracted by the Facebook road show. The write up which caught my attention was “Google Loses Landmark Right to Be Forgotten Case.” I don’t know about the legal wrangling, but I understood that when a person is supposed to be expunged from the Google public-facing indexes, that means the indexes which the average user can access.
The issue is that Google indexes content and plugs the pointers, metadata, accession numbers, and other goodies into its system for fielding queries. Queries can come from a human or from a system process.
The Google method is a bit of a Rube Goldberg machine. The guts buried deep within wrapper upon wrapper of software is edging close to 20 years of service. Furthermore, getting information out of a sprawling, fragmented collection of data is not easy. Mostly pointers are deleted. But some of the information is spirited away by automated processes and tucked into digital nooks and crannies. Deleting some information can cause dependencies to return unexpected results. Deletions can translate to excitement quickly.
The write up points out none of the concerns about Google’s plumbing. The write up reported:
The information is of scant if any apparent relevance to any business activities that he seems likely to engage in,” the judge added. He said his key conclusion in relation to NT2’s claim was that “the crime and punishment information has become out of date, irrelevant and of no sufficient legitimate interest to users of Google search to justify its continued availability”.
What’s ahead?
Definitely some data pointer removals. And, of course, the thrill of figuring out if glitches become more than a minor annoyance. Perhaps criminals have the right to be forgotten? Beyond Search wonders, “Will those harmed by illegal actions will lose their memories as well.”
Here in Harrod’s Creek we think the task of removing pointers may be a prelude to a flood of metadata removal work.
Stephen E Arnold, April 16, 2018
Leadership: The Google Way
April 14, 2018
Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Nope. Lead by keeping a low profile and tackling “projects” in a stealthy manner.
That’s how I interpreted the information in “Google is Pursuing the Pentagon’s Giant Cloud Contract Quietly, Fearing An Employee Revolt.” The write up states:
The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, program has since morphed into a single contract potentially worth $10 billion over a decade, to be awarded by year’s end…. Google has kept its own interest in the contract out of the press. Company leaders have even hidden the pursuit from its own workers.
Interesting Math Club / Silicon bro management method. Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Oh, don’t sign petitions asking your boss to turn down major military contracts. Trust is important in leadership.
Stephen E Arnold, April 14, 2018
Commercial Solutions for Government: A Path Forward
April 13, 2018
I often hear grumbling when I tell law enforcement and intelligence professionals to use commercial tools. Some LE and intel professionals are confident that open source tools like Maltego, a little midnight oil, and their in house technical staff can build a system better than commercial offerings. In my 50 year work career, that can happen. But it does not happen often. The 18f alternative to Squarespace is a good example of spending money for software which falls short of low cost, widely available commercial tools.
Cybercrime has become a serious hurdle for police. It seems that under-funded departments and agencies find that procurement cycles and technological advances by bad actors combine to make certain tasks difficult. We noted the PC Magazine story, “Feds Bust Black Market Forum Behind $530M in Cybercrimes.”
According to the article:
“The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the indictments of 36 suspects allegedly responsible for the black market Infraud forum, which sold stolen credit card details, malware, and information that could be used for identity theft, including Social Security numbers.”
This is a win for cybercrime cops. Several of the American suspects have been arrested and several more international criminals are being extradited. However, we believe that only the private sector can adequately combat clever cybercrime. We recently heard about what seems to be a positive plan from Entrepreneur magazine.
Google’s new Chronicle cyber security company may offer LE a useful tool. The specialty for Chronicle is Zero Day Attacks, which are those sneaky cyber attacks that happen instantly—unlike ransomware, for example. This is just one small piece of a massive private sector puzzle that can help put cybercrime under control for good.
Combine the capabilities of Google with Recorded Future (a company in which Google has a stake), and the open source alternatives may come up short.
Patrick Roland, April 13, 2018
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
