This week, we're reading about International Criminal Court plans to include cybercrimes in its mandates, the risks of online voting, deepfakes in action and whether changes in the labor market stemming from AI could open to door to Universal Basic Income.
The International Criminal Court Will Now Prosecute Cyberwar Crimes | Wired
The International Criminal Court has stated its intent to investigate cybercrimes that potentially violate the Rome Statute, stating that "in appropriate circumstances, conduct in cyberspace may potentially amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and/or the crime of aggression." This development is critical in holding hackers – and the coordinating governments – accountable for disruption of civilian infrastructure. (For more background on the issue of cybercrime in the context of international law, see Pitt Cyber Founding Director David Hickton's op-ed on the topic).
Voting Online is Very Risky. But Hundreds of Thousands of People are Already Doing It | NPR
An estimated 300,000 military/overseas and disabled voters voted online in 2020 – but there are many good reasons voters shouldn't expect online voting to be on offer anytime soon. A recent paper by a UC Berkeley working group explores the security risks, including the technical challenges of simultaneously ensuring ballot secrecy and validation, malware, and other cyber threats.
Is the Rise of AI the Best Argument for Universal Basic Income? | WBUR On Point
Great episode from WBUR'S "On Point" that asks whether the rise of AI could be the best argument yet for universal basic income.
First Person: 'They've Actually Penetrated My Defenses' | WBUR On Point
Bill Browder, author of Red Notice, recounts how the Russian government used a deepfake video of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on a video call, seemingly in the effort to get incriminating content of Browder. On that topic, the FBI, NSA and CISA released this week a Cybersecurity Information Sheet which provides an overview of synthetic media threats, techniques, and trends.