TikTok Is TikTok Really a National Security Threat? It's Complicated TikTok is facing renewed accusations that it’s a threat to national security after an FCC commissioner accused the social media giant of harvesting data from its users for China. So is TikTok really a danger? CNBC correspondent Steve Kovach explains why the truth is not so simple.
cybersecurity This College is Shutting Down After a ‘Ransomware' Attack. Here's How They Work Lincoln College in Illinois will close its doors after the pandemic and a cyberattack weakened the institution. Ransomware attacks can start with an attacker buying or guessing a password that allows access to their target’s systems, information security analyst Allan Liska says on LX News. He explains how these attacks can happen and how to dodge them.
black legacy Black Innovator Mark Dean Is a Huge Part of Computer History Mark Dean went from top of his class at the University of Tennessee in 1979 to co-creating IBM’s first personal computer in 1981. Dean holds three of the nine patents for the historic device, and is in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
cell phones What Took So Long With the 5G Rollout? Airlines have known about the impending rollout of 5G cell signal for years now – and had time to prepare for how it would potentially impact planes’ instruments, said Hugh Odom, a former attorney for AT&T. Airlines have warned they may cancel or change some flights, while cell companies have agreed to limit 5G signal around some airports .”The aviation...
aol instant messenger When Phones Failed on 9/11, AOL Instant Messenger Was How We Connected On September 11, 2001, millions of New Yorkers wanted to reach out to loved ones to let them know they were safe. But that proved difficult when cell phone reception failed across the area. NBCLX’s Jeremy Berg reached out to his college friends from New York University to remember how they managed to connect with their loved ones through an...
Technology Hey Tech Companies, Let Me Fix My Stuff Today’s tech often doesn’t last that long. And many consumers facing a big repair bill may decide it’s easier to just buy a new device. Companies like Apple have proprietary parts and have even paid a $113 million settlement after they were accused of reducing performance on iPhones without users’ knowledge. LX News host Nik Z explains the right-to-repair movement and...
trauma What We Do After Trauma Can Help Us Overcome It Physical activity, knitting, even video games – anything that engages the mind can dampen our trauma response if we revisit memories haunting us. And as we all process the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s never been more urgent to learn coping strategies, says neurosurgeon and scientist Dr. Rahul Jandial.
Amazon Privacy Advocates Are Sounding the Alarm About Cloud-Based Doorbells Anyone who owns an Amazon Ring doorbell provides consent for the device to record anyone who comes to the door – footage that could also capture neighbors’ property. And clips from Amazon’s Ring doorbells can be sent to law enforcement, an element of surveillance that causes concern for PhD candidate Lauren Bridges at the University of Pennsylvania.
artificial intelligence ‘Soul Machines' Are CGI Characters That Can Think A video game character follows a script and doesn’t make decisions on what movements to make or what to say. But Soul Machines use their artificial intelligence to learn a voice and animations. We heard from Greg Cross, the creator of these “digital people,” and NBA player Carmelo Anthony, who is having a digital likeness of himself created.