Images of voters crowded together on long lines at ballot places in Wisconsin this week had a lot of Americans wondering about alternative, safe election procedures. Some states, such as Washington State, have embraced mail-in voting during recent elections. Might that be a safer way to exercise our democratic rights [Keep reading]
As U.S. small businesses crumble, their employees overload unemployment websites, and the software used to hand out loans crashes, it’s important to know there are alternatives. Like this one, from Switzerland: “I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Alberto Belloli, head of Belloli, a family engineering business in the canton of [Keep reading]
The unusual should seem normal right now, and so I’m doing something unusual. Our “So, Bob” podcast about the unintended consequences of technology is usually heavy on outrage and dark topics like privacy and election hacking. But ever since co-host Alia Tavakolian and I have been stuck at home because [Keep reading]
In the first season of No Place to Hide, Duke students Carter Forinash and Jake Satisky cyberstalked Spoke Media founder Keith Reynolds — with his permission. The results of their research are sprinkled through episodes 1, 2 and 3. In this postscript, we talk with Carter and Jake about their [Keep reading]
Regular readers know that Harri Hursti, founder of Nordic Innovation Labs and internationally-famous cybersecurity expert, is a long-time source and friend. Harri has spent the past several years working on a documentary about U.S. elections called “Kill Chain,” which was released last month. Any educated American who cares about democracy [Keep reading]
Zoom is the hit software product of the coronavirus, and it’s easy to see why. We all need to connect right now, and Zoom is really easy to use. That’s also the problem. Whenever a technology is easy to use, it’s often easy to exploit. And Zoom is finding that [Keep reading]
Consumers impacted by the coronavirus — virtually everyone in America at this point — might have trouble paying their bills this month. What will that do to their credit reports? Unfortunately, trouble lies ahead, and neither Congress nor the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seem ready to stop it. I wrote [Keep reading]
“Do you realize this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to stay home and practice all day?” That’s the message a musician friend posted today, and it stopped me in my tracks. June. I think we are all staring June in the face right now. The reality is, if [Keep reading]
Domestic abuse is all about power, and the age of coronavirus has created terrifying new weapons for abusers. They might withhold hand sanitizer, or use shelter-at-home orders to prevent victims from going to the grocery store, or outside at all. They might terrorize targets by threatening to cancel their health [Keep reading]
You’ve been “hearing” a lot of yelling lately on social media — about the president, about the virus, or if you’re lucky, about sports. You’ve probably read thousands of comments and wasted countless hours on some of these round-and-round-we-go discussions. Have you ever witnessed anyone change their mind? Not often. [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan