This week we begin with an article on social media companies readying themselves to fight the spread of voter misinformation on their platforms. Next, we have a New York Times story that estimates the funds raised for election campaigning, by Former Vice President Joseph Biden and President Donald Trump, as per area zip code. The following article talks about the pandemic exposing the shortfalls of using traditional credit metrics to assess creditworthiness and the need to switch to alternative data sources. Next, we cover “meow” attacks which have impacted an estimated 1000 databases, by deleting the data in them and replacing it with the word “meow”. Then, we have an article on artificial intelligence and other technologies leading to the discovery of 900 vessels involved in illegal fishing operations, including Chinese boats in North Korean waters. To end, we have a report by MIT Sloan on the negative impact of Deepfakes on individuals and corporations, and what measures may be taken against this.
Social Media Braces for a Deluge of Voter Misinformation
Three days before Nov. 6, 2018, midterm elections, conservative pundit Ann Coulter sent a tweet to her 2.1 million followers. “CONSERVATIVES! Remember to vote Nov 6!” she wrote. “Liberals: Your polling day is Nov 7.”
Trump vs. Biden: Who’s Winning the Money Race in Your ZIP Code?
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had roughly 400,000 more individual donors than President Trump in the last three months, the latest evidence of Mr. Biden’s newfound financial strength, according to a New York Times analysis of Federal Election Commission data.
BankThink Pandemic exposes limits of lenders’ traditional credit metrics
Despite economic crisis spurred by the global coronavirus pandemic, there is a consensus that it will be of finite duration. Yet traditional credit models don’t account for this “black swan” event, so lenders need to build credit models that complement the traditional with alternative data.
‘Meow’ attacks wipe more than 1,000 exposed databases
More than 1,000 exposed databases on the web have been wiped by unknown threat actors in a series of attacks that delete data and replace it with the word “meow.” The “meow” attacks have affected databases running on a variety of software, including ElasticSearch, MongoDB and others.
A.I. Helped Uncover Chinese Boats Hiding in North Korean Waters
Huge fleets of Chinese fishing boats have been caught stealthily operating in North Korean waters—while having their tracking systems turned off. The potentially illegal fishing operation was revealed through a combination of artificial intelligence, radar, and satellite data.
Deepfakes can be used to manipulate and threaten individuals and corporations
In March 2019, the CEO of a U.K-based energy firm listened over the phone as his boss — the leader of the firm’s German parent company — ordered the transfer of €220,000 to a supplier in Hungary.
Source: https://mailchi.mp/zigram/data-asset-weekly-dispatch_27_july
