Germany Launches Malware to Spy on Suspicious Citizens
March 10, 2016
The article titled German Government to Use Trojan Spyware to Monitor Citizens on DW explains the recent steps taken in Germany to utilize Trojans, or software programs, created to sneak into someone else’s computer. Typically they are used by hackers to gain access to someone’s data and steal valuable information. The article states,
“The approval will help officials get access to the suspect’s personal computer, laptop and smartphone. Once the spyware installs itself on the suspect’s device, it can skim data on the computer’s hard drive and monitor ongoing chats and conversations. Members of the Green party protested the launching of the Trojan, with the party’s deputy head Konstantin von Notz saying, “We do understand the needs of security officials, but still, in a country under the rule of law, the means don’t justify the end.”
Exactly whom the German government wants to monitor is not discussed in the article, but obviously there is growing animosity towards not only the Syrian refugees but also all people of Middle Eastern descent. Some of this hostility is based in facts and targeted, but the growing prejudice towards innocent people who share nothing but history with terrorists is obviously cause for concern in Germany, Europe, and the United States as well. One can only imagine how President Trump might cavalierly employ malware to spy on an entire population that he has already stated his distrust of in the most general terms.
Chelsea Kerwin, March 10, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Compare Trump to Lincoln with Watson Personality Insights
August 19, 2015
IBM’s Watson is employing its capabilities in a new and interesting way: BoingBoing asks, “What Does Your Writing Say About You? IBM Watson Personality Insights Will Tell You.” The software derives cognitive and social characteristics about people from their writings, using linguistic analytics. I never thought I’d see a direct, graphically represented comparison between speeches of Donald Trump and Abe Lincoln, but there it is. There are actually some similarities; they’re both businessmen turned politicians, after all. Reporter Andrea James shares Watson’s take on Trump’s “We Need Brain” speech from the recent Republican primary debate:
“You are a bit dependent, somewhat verbose and boisterous. You are susceptible to stress: you are easily overwhelmed in stressful situations. You are emotionally aware: you are aware of your feelings and how to express them. And you are prone to worry: you tend to worry about things that might happen. Your choices are driven by a desire for efficiency. You consider both independence and helping others to guide a large part of what you do. You like to set your own goals to decide how to best achieve them. And you think it is important to take care of the people around you.”
For comparison, see the write-up for the analysis of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (rest assured, Lincoln does come out looking better than Trump). The article also supplies this link, where you can submit between 3500 and 6000 words for Watson’s psychoanalysis; as James notes, you can submit writing penned by yourself, a friend, or an enemy (or some random blogger, perhaps.) To investigate the software’s methodology, click here.
Cynthia Murrell, August 19, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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