RISKS-LIST: Risks-Forum Digest Sunday 17 December 2023 Volume 33 : Issue 97

ACM FORUM ON RISKS TO THE PUBLIC IN COMPUTERS AND RELATED SYSTEMS (comp.risks)
Peter G. Neumann, founder and still moderator

***** See last item for further information, disclaimers, caveats, etc. *****
This issue is archived at <http://www.risks.org> as
<http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/33.97>
The current issue can also be found at
<http://www.csl.sri.com/users/risko/risks.txt>

Contents:
Tesla Recalling 2-Million Cars Over Autopilot (NYTimes)
Tesla Autopilot crashes on cross traffic (WashPost)
Complexity of automobile software (Heise)
Living machine? Scientists create biocomputer combining circuits
with real human brain tissue (Study Finds)
Planet tipping points pose 'unprecedented' threat to humanity (MSN)
School buses canceled due to software screwup (WDRB Louisville))
Controversial clothes hook spy cameras for sale on Amazon (BBC)
Ex-Amazon security engineer admits to stealing over $12M in crypto
(ReadWrite)
Sydney man charged with sending 17 million scam texts (SMH)
Just about every Windows and Linux device vulnerable to new
LogoFAIL firmware attack (Ars Technica)
Putin speaks to AI version of himself in news conference (BBC_
AI-generated fake nude photos of girls from Winnipeg school posted online
(CBC)
Inside OpenAI's Crisis Over the Future of AI (NYTimes)
AI, as in Ay Caramba! (Lawyers, Guns & Money Blog)
Ukrainian military says it hacked Russia's federal tax agency
(Bleeping Computer)
Huge Cyberattack Knocks Ukraine's Largest Mobile Operator Offline
(NYTimes)
Just about every Windows and Linux device vulnerable to new LogoFAIL
firmware attack (Ars Technica)
Pharmacies share medical data with police without a warrant,
inquiry finds (MSN)

What to do when receiving unprompted MFA OTP codes (Bleeping Computer)
Can an AI Van Gogh Help Museums Generate New Interest? (NYTimes)
SI Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers (Henry Baker)
Why Europe is fighting about AI regulations (Marc Rotenberg)
A Democratic campaign deploys the first synthetic AI caller (politico.com)
Soci=C3=A9t=C3=A9 G=C3=A9n=C3=A9rale's useless euro stablecoin: when bank
blockchain units go feral (Amy Castor)
How Stolen Checks Are Sold and Bought Online (NYTimes)
Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023 (Pew Research Center)
Cable service cancellation fees might be on the way out (The Verge)
Ted Cruz wants to stop the FCC from updating data-breach notification rules
(Ars Technica)
Re: I don't give a damn about "you" and AI (Jonathan Levine)
Re: Unable to verify humanity (Amos Shapir)
Re: Voting experts warn of 'Serious Threats' (Susan Greenhalgh,
Thomas Koenig)
Re: WeWork has failed, leaving damage in its wake (CLiff Kilby)
Abridged info on RISKS (comp.risks)

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Date: 15 Dec 2023 11:32:57 PST
From: Peter G Neumann <neumann@csl.sri.com>
Subject: Tesla Recalling 2-Million Cars Over Autopilot (NYTimes)

Jack Ewing, Cade Metz, Derrick Bryson Taylor
*The New York Times*, 14 Dec 2023 National Edition front page

The recall is the fourth in less than two years,
and the most significant.
It covers nearly all cars they have made since 2012.

U.S. officials said the automaker had not done enough to
ensure that drivers remained attentive ...

Safety regulators investigated 956 cases in which Tesla's Autopilot
was involved.

The company's latest recall explains that drivers will be alerted when
they are using Autopilot outside where the technology is intended to
operate. But it is unclear whether they will still be able to use the
technology in these situations.

[Monty Solomon noted this online: Federal regulators pressed the automaker
to make updates to ensure drivers are paying attention while using
Autopilot, a system that can steer, accelerate and brake on its own.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/business/tesla-autopilot-recall.html
PGN]

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Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:27:05 -0500
From: Gabe Goldberg <gabe@gabegold.com>
Subject: Tesla Autopilot crashes on cross traffic (WashPost)

Tesla drivers run Autopilot where it’s not intended -— with deadly
consequences. At least eight fatal or serious Tesla crashes occurred on
roads where Autopilot should not have been enabled in the first place, a
Post analysis finds, in spite of federal officials calling for restrictions
“Tesla’s philosophy is, let the operator determine for themselves what is
safe but provide that operator a lot of flexibility to make that
determination,” he [unspecified here] said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/10/tesla-autopilot-crash

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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2023 10:25:57 +0100
From: Anthony Thorn <anthony.thorn@atss.ch>
Subject: Complexity of automobile software (Heise)

RISKS readers will be aware of the trend toward computer control systems,
and will be familiar with various documented attacks on motor vehicle
security.

What may be new is this statistic from Heise Autos (in German, my
translation):

Typical Software in a modern car comprises about 120 Million lines of Code.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 about 25 Million.
The Boeing 787 some 10 to 15 Million.
(No surprise that) the Space Shuttle needed only 400,000.

Heise also mentions 1000 bugs per million lines of code as "Super coding
quality" in the automotive field. (120'000 bugs...)

https://www.heise.de/hintergrund/Cyber-Security-in-Fahrzeugen-Wettlauf-zwischen-Hackern-und-Industrie-9318721.html

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Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2023 11:25:24 -0700
From: geoff goodfellow <geoff@iconia.com>
Subject: Living machine? Scientists create biocomputer combining circuits
with real human brain tissue (Study Finds)

In what seems like a scene from a science-fiction movie, scientists from
Indiana University have constructed a hybrid biocomputer that combines
laboratory-grown human brain tissue with traditional circuits. This
innovative technology, known as Brainoware, has the potential to integrate
into artificial intelligence (AI) systems and advance neuroscience research
models of the human brain.

Brainoware incorporates brain organoids
<https://studyfinds.org/lab-grown-brains-legally-people/>, clusters of human
cells <https://studyfinds.org/anthrobots-human-cells-robots/> that mimic
organ tissue. Organoids are created from stem cells that have the ability
to develop into various types of cells, including neurons similar to those
found in the human brain.

The goal of this research is to establish a connection between AI
<https://studyfinds.org/ai-cancer-survival-odds/> and organoids, as both
systems rely on transmitting signals through interconnected nodes forming a
neural network.

``We wanted to ask the question of whether we can leverage the biological
neural network within the brain organoid for computing,'' says study
co-author Feng Guo, a bioengineer at Indiana University, in a media release
<https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03975-7#ref-CR1>.

To create the Brainoware system, researchers place a single organoid on a
plate containing thousands of electrodes that connect the brain to electric
circuits <https://studyfinds.org/merge-brain-cells-computer-chips/>. They
then convert the desired input information into a pattern of electric
pulses, which they deliver to the organoid. The brain tissue's response is
recorded by a sensor and analyzed using a machine-learning algorithm that
deciphers the relevant information.

To test Brainoware's capabilities, the team employed voice recognition
<https://studyfinds.org/surge-of-activity-dying-brain/>. They trained the
system on 240 voice recordings of eight individuals and translated the audio
into electric signals delivered to the organoid. The mini-brain reacted
differently to each voice, generating distinct patterns of neural
activity. The AI learned to interpret these responses and accurately
identify the speaker, achieving an accuracy rate of 78 percent after
training.

While further research is necessary, this study confirms important
theoretical concepts that could eventually pave the way for biological
computers <https://studyfinds.org/robots-brain-artificial-neurons/>.
Previous experiments demonstrated the ability of two-dimensional neuron
cell cultures to perform similar tasks, but this is the first time such
capabilities have been shown in a three-dimensional brain organoid
<https://studyfinds.org/mini-brains-stem-cells-grow-eyes/>.

Combining organoids and computers could enable researchers to harness the
speed and energy efficiency of the human brain for AI applications.
Additionally, Brainoware has potential applications in brain research,
particularly for studying neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease
<https://studyfinds.org/gene-mutation-alzheimers-cure/> and testing the
effects of different treatments on organoids. [...]
https://studyfinds.org/biocomputer-human-brain-tissue/

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