Build-your-own broadband: Small towns in the United States and the United Kingdom are increasingly bypassing large ISPs and building their own broadband networks, according to two recent stories. Reuters notes that rural communities in the U.K. are building networks to improve speeds and expand coverage, while Wired.com reports that independent broadband networks are proliferating across the United States in small towns, with speeds often exceeding a gigabit per second.
Where the IT jobs are: If you understand blockchain or Artificial Intelligence, job recruiters are looking for you. SHRM.org, the website for the Society of Human Resource Management, notes there’s been a 500 percent increase in blockchain-related job postings on Stack Overflow in the past year. Meanwhile, the Economic Times of India reports that AI experts are getting job offers that include major salary increases.
Power grid and IoT security don’t mix: Princeton researchers have suggested that insecure IoT devices could be used against the power grid, potentially leading to local power outages or even widescale blackouts, SecurityBoulevard.com reports. During a recent conference, the researchers demonstrated how an IoT botnet of Internet-connected high wattage devices could give attackers the ability to launch large-scale attacks on the power grid.
Spotting fakes: WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging app accused of helping users spread fake news in parts of the world, will begin training its users on the dangers of spreading false information, the Gulf News of India reports. The training will focus on the importance of verifying information, the company says.
Weaponized social bots: Sweden, facing an election in September, is seeing a proliferation of social media bots posting in support of a nationalist, anti-immigration party on Twitter, Bloomberg reports. Seems like we’ve seen this play out before.
Regulations vs. blockchain: Regulatory uncertainty is one of the main problems hindering blockchain adoption, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey referenced on Forbes.com. There are a lot of questions about whether and how countries will regulate the emerging technology.
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