In this week's worldwide wrap, AI white-hat hackers may be the most efficient new security solution, while spouses of leaked Ashley Madison users are bearing the brunt of the six-month-old hack.
AI hackers are on the horizon
The Cyber Grand Challenge, which titles itself "the world's first all-machine hacking tournament," calls participants to build an autonomous hacking system that finds and fixes vulnerabilities before criminals can exploit them, without any human intervention.
The Challenge, which kicks off in August, offers winners a prize of $2 million.
Via: The Guardian
Blackmailers target Ashley Madison users' spouses
Six months since the infamous Ashley Madison data leak, spouses of users who had their details leaked are receiving letters demanding they pay thousands of dollars to keep the open or turbulent nature of their marriage "secret".
The brunt beared by the spouses - whose partners may be innocent victims of identity theft - shows the hack was not in their best interest, despite the original hackers' claims of righteously exposing lies.
Via: The Guardian
Teachers concerned about 'cheating watches'
Smartwatch-makers are building devices specifically tailored for cheating in exams, and selling them via online platforms such as Amazon.
The specialised smartwatches can store large amounts of text and images and have "emergency buttons" to instantly switch to displaying a clockface while disabling their other features.
UK teachers are criticising the devices, saying they could tempt stressed students into cheating.
Via: BBC News
Happy Meal boxes turn into VR viewers
McDonald's Sweden is trialling a new Happy Meal promotion enabling the children's meal boxes to be turned into virtual reality viewers akin to Google Cardboard.
If the "Happy Goggles" take off, they will be a cheaper alternative to Google cardboard, which retails from $15, while the Swedish happy meal will retail for about $4.10.
Via: Geeky Gadgets
Facebook Messenger integrates Spotify
Users of music streaming platform Spotify can now share tracks, artists and playlists with one another via Facebook's Messenger service.
While the integration does not allow users to play Spotify music from within Messenger, it does allow them to open the content in the Spotify app, from Messenger.
Via: Mashable
Amazon unveils new smart home devices
Amazon has unveiled two new voice activated connected home devices: the Amazon Tap and the Echo Dot.
The Tap is a simple portable Bluetooth speaker, while the Dot allows users to add Echo-like functionality to other speakers in their homes - Echo being the tech company's first wireless speaker and voice command device.
Via: Mashable
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