Day: January 22, 2022

Categories
Artificial Intelligence

Using artificial intelligence to digitally replicate human voices | NPR

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Given the intricacies of speech synthesis, it comes as a surprise to learn how simple it is to purchase one. All a client needs to do for a simple conversational build is record themselves talking a bunch of prepared lines for around one hour. That’s all there is to it. Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa, as well as a bank’s automated customer care line, now sound quite real. Artificial intelligence, or AI, has advanced to the point that it’s often impossible to discern the difference between synthetic and human voices. The global speech and voice recognition sector, in reality, is valued at tens of billions of dollars and is rapidly expanding. 

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/01/17/1073031858/artificial-intelligence-voice-cloning 

Categories
Cyber Security

The Pentagon’s new cybersecurity model is better, but still an incremental solution to a big challenge | Federal News Network

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The Pentagon’s latest “strategic direction” for its Cyber Maturity Model Certification (CMMC 2.0) better conforms with current government standards and procedures, but it misses the point of President Biden’s request for “radical change.” Long before the creation of CMMC, federal procurement restrictions obligated all military contractors who kept in touch with controlled unclassified information (CUI) to incorporate the fundamental cyber hygiene safeguards outlined in NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-171 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. After nearly two years of research, the Defense Department unveiled the initial CMMC in November 2020. 

Source: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2022/01/the-pentagons-new-cybersecurity-model-is-better-but-still-an-incremental-solution-to-a-big-challenge/ 

Categories
Drones

Declassified drone footage shows botched strike that killed 10 Afghans | NY Post

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The Pentagon revealed a video on Wednesday depicting the final seconds before ten innocent Afghans, including seven children, were murdered in an erroneous drone attack during the US pullout’s final days. After the New York Times filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the material, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in Afghanistan, provided videos from the two drones. The drone attack occurred three days after an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed 13 US military personnel and over 180 Afghans near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. 

Source: https://nypost.com/2022/01/19/declassified-drone-footage-shows-botched-strike-that-killed-10-afghans/ 

Categories
Information Warfare

Navy Cryptologic Warfare Officers Cannot Do Cyber | USNI

U.S. NAVY (WILLIAM SYKES)

While every other military has a single cyber designator, the Navy has three distinct cyber communities. Cryptologic warfare officers, information professionals, and cyber warfare engineers are presently in charge of the Navy’s cyber operations. CWOs are in charge of offense and defense cyber operations, IPs are in charge of managing information technology systems, and CWEs are in charge of the technical engineering work that supports cyber operations. As a result, each of the three groups is beset with unneeded issues, and none of them is completely equipped or capable of leading the realm. The Navy must concentrate control for cyber, engage in the cyber warfare engineer community, and need deep technical competence for all cyber responsibilities to tackle this problem. 

Source: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2022/january/navy-cryptologic-warfare-officers-cannot-do-cyber 

Categories
Gaming

Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion | The Verge 

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Activision, the beleaguered developer of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo, is being bought by Microsoft. Activision will be valued at $68.7 billion, significantly more than the $26 billion Microsoft spent for LinkedIn in 2016. Microsoft’s agreement comes after Activision Blizzard was accused of sexual harassment for months. Microsoft’s massive Activision Blizzard transaction comes almost a year after the corporation paid $7.5 billion for Bethesda (ZeniMax Media). Microsoft now anticipates the Activision Blizzard merger to “close in the fiscal year 2023,” which indicates it might take up to 18 months for the transaction to be authorized. 

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/18/22889258/microsoft-activision-blizzard-xbox-acquisition-call-of-duty-overwatch