When Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, nobody, including the “main stream media” could’ve predicted it, or could they? The news we consume every day informs our opinions and sets infallible truths upon which we base our reality. This collection of sources, also referred to as our “filter bubble,” as a recent NYT article explains, may be the reason for democratic voters’ shock towards the results of the election. However, democrats aren’t the only ones finding themselves adrift in their bubbles, republicans -Trump supporters, to be exact- are too.

It is a fault of those that stay informed, myself included, to search for headlines and talking points that confirm our biases. As the NYT article states, “the filter bubble describes the tendency of social networks like Facebook and Twitter to lock users into personalized feedback loops, each with its own news sources, cultural touchstones and political inclinations…they keep us clicking from one self-affirmation to another.” Sure, these information bubbles exist, but why did the results of the 2016 election seemingly blindside everyone besides those who supported Trump? An MIT Media Lab analysis confirmed that “Trump supporters ‘exist in their own information bubble,’ and that journalists didn’t let Trump supporters into their bubbles, either.” This may explain why the mainstream media failed to catch onto the widespread popularity Donald Trump had attained.

As we enter into yet another election year, it will be more important than ever to be cognizant of our own bubbles as well as those of others. Objective truth has seemingly evaporated throughout the course of Donald Trump’s first term, and it will be the job of everyone, not just liberals and conservatives, to combat disinformation, misinformation, and lies. To read more about filter bubbles and how to break out of your own, click here.

In the Internet of Things (IoT) many every day objects are exposed or vulnerable to attacks by hackers. Recently security researchers have a found vulnerability in smart light bulbs (part of the IoT), Philips Hue light bulbls, that can lead to access to all other devices connected to the same wifi. Luckily it would take a very patient and clever hacker to attack such vulnerability, but none-the-less an attack like this could expose important and private information to the hacker.

The hacker-controlled bulb with updated firmware then uses the ZigBee protocol vulnerabilities to trigger a heap-based buffer overflow on the control bridge, by sending a large amount of data to it. This data also enables the hacker to install malware on the bridge – which is in turn connected to the target business or home network.

Check Point Software

To learn more about this and new bugs click the link below:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/5/21123491/philips-hue-bulb-hack-hub-firmware-patch-update

A new technology has changed how traditional autopsies are performed. Due to different religious beliefs, autopsies are frowned upon, making it hard to determine the cause of death when it is sudden. This new X-ray technology uses low radiation to take high quality pictures to show trauma, foreign objects and other causes of death. Read more about it here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lodox-imaging-system-new-technology-autopsies-game-changer/

As I’ve hammered on about in previous blog posts, social media has become a crucial tool for political campaigns across the world. After all of this talk about it, you may be wondering how to start one up yourself. Fear not, this article by Heliz Mazouri and this amazing blog post have you covered. One of the most important things to remember is that your social media campaign should begin well before your candidacy announcement. When you act as a candidate, you essentially turn yourself into a brand. The best way for a brand to succeed is to establish themselves, and that’s what you need to do. Another important tip is to have a strategy for success. Have goals, plan to reach them, and know what you’re going to post before you post it. A bad post, especially one that offends, can break your campaign before it even starts. To learn even more tips, check out the source article at https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-for-political-campaigns/

Social Media can be a valuable tool to use when creating a brand image, maintaining a brands personality and marketing your product or service. In this article the author poses 4 questions to consider when writing copy for your brand. The first being, What are your goals? It’s important to think about what you plan to do with your brand when making marketing post. For example, are you trying to market a product or service or build your brands following. The second question, Which platforms should you be using? When making post on social media each platform can play a different role in the style of post you’re making. For example, facebook is great for articles and text heavy content. Instagram is great for visual media and relaxed style copy. The third question, What is your content strategy? This is vital to consider before posting as it takes the most planning regarding copy and editing style and brand personality, campaign budgets and pre and post campaign research. The last question, Are you ready to talk to your audience in real time? This means can you or your social media manager handle engaging with their audience in a way that accurately reflects your brands personality and goals. When there is a customer service issue or an inquiry, you must be there to answer their question and respond to their comments.

https://hbr.org/2020/01/4-questions-to-boost-your-social-media-marketing

Cybercriminals are using the coronavirus outbreak to steal the information of vulnerable people in Japan. Using the panic of the outbreak, hackers are spreading the Emotet trojan which is a common type of malware. This malware has been linked to and effective at attacking both financial and government institutions. Discovered by technology giant IBM, the company found that these criminals were, “Sending emails under the guise of being part of a disability welfare service provider in Japan.”

The messages sent incorrectly claim that there are reports of coronavirus patients in the Gifu, Tottori and Osaka areas in Japan. They continue in the email urging victims to read an attached Microsoft Word document which contains the Emotet trojan.

IBM researchers note that this kind of attack will be significantly more successful because of the very real fears many people, especially those in Asia, have about the spread of the coronavirus, which was declared a public health emergency on Thursday.

Read more about it here !

Worldwide sales of marijuana are expected to be $66 billion by 2025. Retailers are wanting to use high tech tools to maximize profit. Four areas that are impacting the industry are: block-chain, control, AI, and IoT.

Marijuana is still illegal with the federal government and companies have a hard time with banks as they’re not allowed to do business with them still. So many companies are using block-chain crypto-currency to store their profits securely. Paragon recently launched its own currency, Paragon Coin. The true goal of these companies with block-chain though is to create “seed-to-sale” tracking. They want you the customer to be able to verify the farmer and the lab and allow you to know that it has been supervised during shipping. The challenge is getting people to agree on the same technology though. Government regulation can help with this problem and get everyone on the same page.

Access Control is an issue for the 8000 dispensaries across the US. Crime is a big problem for financial liabilities. Large cash transactions create safety issues for employers and employees. Modern tech systems provide things such as key-less entry for alarms and cameras. They stop staff and customers from accessing areas that they should not be in and secure the product. Cloud -based control helps decrease liability for the companies.

Another area that is growing is artificial intelligence. Farmers can monitor environmental changes and adapt CBD strains and the makeup of strains that are desired most. They are also helping deliver crops efficiently and quick. This helps move the cannabis across the nation to where it is needed most. Companies like Eaze are using data to predict supply and demand and deliver where the information leads them. AI can also be used to monitor the regulations that are put on these companies and and make sure they stay in compliance. This eliminates boring paperwork jobs and lets companies focus on producing an effective product.

Sensors are part of the Internet of Things technology group, and they are also increasingly being used to monitor the marijuana growing environment. Lots of attention is needed to grow it and requires schedules that must be adhered to daily. With IoT, growers can automate temperatures, humidity and water, as well as light schedules for the best growth possible. IoT also helps farmers track “seed-to-sale” tracking. It adds transparency to the supply chain for consumers.

In today’s world it is not hard to see that medical marijuana will be increasingly looking forward to technology to produce more profit, better products, control, and transparency to sales and production of marijuana. Maybe a job in IT with this growing field is in your future.

4 Technologies Driving the Cannabis Industry Forward

ATR-MCAS is the Army’s newest AI system to help soldiers make informed decisions on the battlefield. In the past these AI systems have been only available for specific-use cases limiting its usefulness in the large range of tasks soldiers are required to do. The ATR-MCAS is able to perform reconnaissance, screening missions, and sit in a fixed position to provide surveillance during missions.  The overall aim of this system is to reduce the cognitive load on soldiers and assist them in the security and wellbeing. To learn more about the capabilities of this technology click here.

Encryption bans have been thrown around for a while. Other countries have tried this and it has not ended well. Banning encryption completely destroys all privacy and could have many unintended consequences. When you access you online banking, it is encrypted, think about the consequences if it wasn’t. Governments have proposed adding a backdoor for themselves or law enforcement in encryption systems. This is not a solution as it makes everyone less secure. It wouldn’t even take long for access to that backdoor to fall into the wrong hands. Can we even trust the government with our most sensitive data? The idea is to catch criminals who are using encryption to hide illicit activities, but why should everyone be punished. The consequences of backdoored encryption would be unthinkable. This can almost be viewed as a guilty until proven innocent approach, which is unconstitutional.

https://www.wired.com/2016/02/encryption-is-worldwide-yet-another-reason-why-a-us-ban-makes-no-sense/