Hi-Tech Crime CRIM30375

What Hollywood gets right and wrong about hacking Gone phishin’. www.shutterstock.com Catherine Flick , De Montfort University Spoiler warnings for Mr. Robot, Arrow and Blackhat Technology is everywhere we look, so it’s no surprise that the films and TV we enjoy are similarly obsessed. That’s not to say they manage to get it right when it comes to portraying tech accurately however – and one of their worst areas is computer hacking. I’ve been a Linux system administrator in and out of industry for 20 years. That means I ensure all kinds of internet services such as email, websites and news systems run smoothly, and preferably don’t get hacked. My current job is to research the ethics and social impact of technology, so I love seeing anything tech-related come up in pop culture. The operating system that only seems to exist in movies (let’s call it “MovieOS”) is fascinating – the constant beeping, the clicking with every key pressed, ...

Do drones deserve their dire reputation? Depends who is flying them shutterstock Jonathan Aitken , University of Sheffield Whether they are dropping drugs into prison yards, narrowly avoiding passenger aircraft or invading the privacy of unsuspecting homeowners, drones have been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. There has been an explosion in the popularity of commercially available drones in recent years. Google Images and other photography sites are now flooded with high-contrast aerial shots and gleaming panoramas, all sourced from invariably high-resolution on-board cameras. But these spectacular views have come at a price. Drones have gained a poor reputation, especially in cities. As the name suggests, drones give off a distinctive and often unpleasant humming sound that can reverberate through densely populated areas. On a more sinister note, drones can furtively peep through the windows of any residence like a ...

Strava storm: why everyone should check their smart gear security settings before going for a jog Strava Jason R. C. Nurse , University of Oxford Fitness tracking app Strava recently kicked off a privacy and security storm after it was revealed that its software had potentially exposed the location of secret military bases, courtesy of a data visualisation tool called a “heatmap”. The heatmap was created to depict the activities of Strava users across the globe. But while it’s a great idea in general (and quite a nice heatmap), a closer inspection of the user data generated by the tool highlights some worrying developments. It’s also a reality check for consumers of wearable gadgets – be they a National Security Agency operative or a retired librarian going for a gentle jog – who are lax with the privacy and security settings on apps that monitor location and other personal data. Nathan Ruser, a 20-year-old student based in Australia...

Social media in court: your tweets could be used as evidence against you Willy Barton via Shutterstock Nicola Antoniou , University of East London and Eleanor Scarlett , University of East London As we increasingly use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp to communicate with each other, many of us are unaware of the ways in which our posts might later resurface – and get us into trouble with the law. There are numerous examples of social media being used as evidence in the criminal justice system, leading to convictions and sometimes prison sentences. Peter Nunn from Bristol, England, was imprisoned in 2014 after MP Stella Creasy and feminist Caroline Criado-Perez were subjected to a string of abuse on Twitter. And after the London riots of 2011, two men were imprisoned for incitement after posting messages on Facebook inviting those who read them to meet the next day and wreak havoc in their local...

Digital addiction: how technology keeps us hooked There are a number of reasons why you can’t get away from your screen. shutterstock Raian Ali , Bournemouth University ; Emily Arden-Close , Bournemouth University , and John McAlaney , Bournemouth University The World Health Organisation is to include “gaming disorder” , the inability to stop gaming, into the International Classification of Diseases. By doing so, the WHO is recognising the serious and growing problem of digital addiction. The problem has also been acknowledged by Google, which recently announced that it will begin focusing on “Digital Well-being” . Although there is a growing recognition of the problem, users are still not aware of exactly how digital technology is designed to facilitate addiction. We’re part of a research team that focuses on digital addiction and here are some of the techniques and mechanisms that digital media use to keep you hooked. Compulsive che...

How Philip K. Dick redefined what it means to be (in)human I think, therefore I am human? Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock James Burton , Goldsmiths, University of London Fifty years ago, Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? questioned what it means to be human in ways that have an immense lasting influence. The action of the novel – and the Blade Runner films based on it – largely revolves around the central tension and struggle between biological humans and artificially constructed androids. Arguably, however, the story’s greatest continuing relevance is in the way it challenges a particular image of the human that has come to dominate in modern Western culture. This image portrays certain qualities – whiteness, masculinity, heterosexuality, rationalism, professional success and physical prowess – as the ideal symbols of humanity’s success. The novel revolves around the efforts of bounty hunter Rick Deckard, in h...

Robot cities: three urban prototypes for future living 3000ad/Shutterstock.com Mateja Kovacic , University of Sheffield Before I started working on real-world robots, I wrote about their fictional and historical ancestors. This isn’t so far removed from what I do now. In factories, labs, and of course science fiction, imaginary robots keep fuelling our imagination about artificial humans and autonomous machines. Real-world robots remain surprisingly dysfunctional, although they are steadily infiltrating urban areas across the globe. This fourth industrial revolution driven by robots is shaping urban spaces and urban life in response to opportunities and challenges in economic, social, political and healthcare domains. Our cities are becoming too big for humans to manage. Good city governance enables and maintains smooth flow of things, data, and people. These include public services, traffic, and delivery services. Long queues in hos...