Month: January 2019

2018 STUDY REVIVES DEBATE ABOUT GOOGLE’S ROLE IN FILTER BUBBLES

Finding #1: Most people saw results unique to them, even when logged out and in private browsing mode.

Google Transparency

“We want Google to provide a “one-stop” site where users can opt out of tracking across the company’s platforms.”

2018 STUDY REVIVES DEBATE ABOUT GOOGLE’S ROLE IN FILTER BUBBLES

Finding #1: Most people saw results unique to them, even when logged out and in private browsing mode.
Finding #2: Google included links for some participants that it did not include for others.
Finding #3: We saw significant variation within the News and Videos infoboxes.
Finding #4: Private browsing mode and being logged out of Google offered almost zero filter bubble protection.

A new study from DuckDuckGo, a Google rival, found that users saw very different results when searching for terms such as “gun control,” “immigration,” and “vaccinations,” even after controlling for time and location. One participant saw a National Rifle Association video at the top of the results page for “gun control,” another saw Wikipedia at the top, while a third got the NRA video but no result from Wikipedia in any of the first 10 links.
Over the years, there has been considerable discussion of Google’s “filter bubble” problem. Put simply, it’s the manipulation of your search results based on your personal data. In practice this means links are moved up or down or added to your Google search results, necessitating the filtering of other search results altogether. These editorialized results are informed by the personal information Google has on you (like your search, browsing, and purchase history), and puts you in a bubble based on what Google’s algorithms think you’re most likely to click on. The filter bubble is particularly pernicious when searching for political topics. That’s because undecided and inquisitive voters turn to search engines to conduct basic research on candidates and issues in the critical time when they are forming their opinions on them.

GOV cyber workers are back Checking for hacks

Figuring out how to adjust the multimillion-dollar contracts
to upgrade and secure federal IT systems that have spent more than a month not checked.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2019/01/28/the-cybersecurity-202-the-government-s-cyber-workers-are-back-in-action-first-task-checking-for-hacks/

By Joseph Marks The Washington Post January 28, 2019

Thousands of federal cyber workers are returning to their posts.

It will take them days or weeks to pore through security logs to assess how much damage the shutdown did to the security of government computer networks and the sensitive data they hold. The attacks did not abate because the government was closed: One cyber manager who worked without pay during the shutdown described an uptick in attacks on his agency — including phishing emails containing malware, attempts to reset employee passwords and attempts to trick users into downloading malicious software cloaked as a legitimate update.

Also on the docket: Figuring out how to adjust the multimillion-dollar contracts to upgrade and secure federal IT systems that have spent more than a month on ice.

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