ARGUMENT: Cyber retaliationU.S. Leads Coalition Accusing China of Hacking Published 29 July 2021 On 19 July, the United States joined other countries in condemning the hacking by Chinee government hackers of Microsoft Exchange email server software. Despite the condemnations, there have not been any sanctions against China for its role in the breach, leading critics

PrivacyMaximum Privacy for Sharing Files Online Published 29 July 2021 People who share documents or pictures online, or organizations which share confidential documents with employees and others, have little to no control over who views the information which is being sent and where it is being viewed. An FAU researcher has received a patent from

EarthquakesPreventing Human-Induced Earthquakes By Jennifer Chu Published 29 July 2021 When humans pump large volumes of fluid into the ground, they can set off potentially damaging earthquakes, depending on the underlying geology. This has been the case in certain oil- and gas-producing regions. have developed a method to manage such human-induced seismicity, and have demonstrated

BOOKSHELF: Health misinformationNew Book Helps Readers Spot Online Health Scams Published 29 July 2021 UBC’s Dr. Bernie Garrett, the author of a new book on health scams, misinformation, and disinformation, says that “Scam marketers are well-versed in modern advertising techniques and the psychology of persuasion. They know all the triggers that can help sell a

Climate challengesClimate Tipping Points Are Now Imminent: Scientists Published 29 July 2021 Around 13,000 researchers have called for urgent action to slow down the climate emergency as extreme weather patterns shock the world. They listed three core measures. Thousands of scientists reiterated calls for immediate action over the climate crisis in an article published Wednesday in the journal BioScience. 

Pegasus affairIsrael-France Relations: Israel Tries to Limit Damage of the Pegasus Spyware Scandal Published 29 July 2021 Israeli has been trying to limit the damage the Pegasus spyware scandal is threatening to do to France-Israel relations. The Moroccan intelligence service used the software, made by an Israeli company with close ties to Israel’s defense and

China syndromeChina Used Vaccines, Trade to Get Ukraine to Drop Support for Xinjiang Scrutiny By Yevhen Solonyna and Reid Standish Published 29 July 2021 On 22 June, Ukraine signed a UN-sponsored document, along with more than 40 other countries, calling for China to allow independent observers immediate access to Xinjiang, where Beijing is operating a

CyberattacksBiden: Russia Already Interfering in 2022 Election By Steve Herman Published 28 July 2021 President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that Russia is already interfering in the 2022 mid-term elections. Speaking after classified briefing prepared by the intelligence community, Biden said that the escalating cyberattacks by Russia and China are not only a “pure violation

PandemicU.K. COVID “Pingdemic” Sparks Labor Shortage By Nik Martin Published 27 July 2021 More than 600,000 people have been pinged by the U.K.’s coronavirus warning app and told to self-isolate. Business leaders warn that the lack of available workers is putting the economic recovery at risk. The UK government is racing to address a major labor

PandemicScientists Model “True Prevalence” of COVID-19 Throughout Pandemic Published 27 July 2021 Scientists have developed a statistical framework that incorporates key COVID-19 data — such as case counts and deaths due to COVID-19 — to model the true prevalence of this disease in the United States and individual states. Their approach projects that in the