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Daily Archives: July 15, 2021

U.S. Surgeon General Issues Advisory During COVID-19 Vaccination Push

“U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is issuing the first Surgeon General’s Advisory of this Administration to warn the American public about the urgent threat of health misinformation. Health misinformation, including disinformation, have threatened the U.S. response to COVID-19 and continue to prevent Americans from getting vaccinated, prolonging the pandemic and putting lives at risk, and the advisory encourages technology and social media companies to take more responsibility to stop online spread of health misinformation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have been exposed to a wide range of misinformation about masks and social distancing, treatments, and vaccines. As of late May, 67% of unvaccinated adults exit disclaimer icon had heard at least one COVID-19 vaccine myth and either believed it to be true or were not sure of its veracity. Health misinformation has already caused significant harm, dividing families and communities and undermining vaccination efforts. An analysis of millions of social media posts exit disclaimer icon found that false news stories were 70 percent more likely to be shared than true stories. And a recent study showed that even brief exposure to misinformation made people less likely to want a COVID-19 vaccine.

“Health misinformation is an urgent threat to public health. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, and undermine public health efforts, including our ongoing work to end the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. “As Surgeon General, my job is to help people stay safe and healthy, and without limiting the spread of health misinformation, American lives are at risk. From the tech and social media companies who must do more to address the spread on their platforms, to all of us identifying and avoiding sharing misinformation, tackling this challenge will require an all-of-society approach, but it is critical for the long-term health of our nation.”…

Read the full Surgeon General’s Advisory here: surgeongeneral.gov/healthmisinformation

U.S. Government Launches First One-Stop Ransomware Resource

“July 15, 2021, as part of the ongoing response, agencies across the U.S. government announced new resources and initiatives to protect American businesses and communities from ransomware attacks. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), together with federal partners, have launched a new website to combat the threat… Continue Reading

As the Use of AI Spreads, Congress Looks to Rein It In

Wired: “There’s bipartisan agreement in Washington that the US government should do more to support development of artificial intelligence technology. The Trump administration redirected research funding towards AI programs; President Biden’s science advisor Eric Lander said of AI last month that “America’s economic prosperity hinges on foundational investments in our technological leadership.” At the same… Continue Reading

Ransomware attackers are growing bolder and using new extortion methods

Tech Republic – “IT and OT environments are increasing targets and threat actors are using Dark Web forums to launch cybercrimes, according to Accenture’s 2021 Cyber Threat Intelligence report. It’s hardly surprising that threat actors are pervasive and aggressive, but a new report finds in the first half of 2021, they have been testing new… Continue Reading

Library of Congress Looks to AI to Help Users Sift Through Its Collection

WSJ [paywall] – “America’s oldest federal cultural institution is experimenting with neural networks to help users search through some of its millions of digitized documents. The Library of Congress expects that artificial intelligence can help people search through its troves of digital information to glean new insights about the U.S.’s history. To that end, America’s… Continue Reading