Month: March 2022

Enlarge / This fragmented inscription records a decree concerning the Acropolis of Athens and dates back to 485-484 BCE. (credit: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Google DeepMind has collaborated with classical scholars to create a new AI tool that uses deep neural networks to help historians decipher the text of damaged inscriptions from ancient Greece. The new system, dubbed Ithaca, builds on an earlier text restoration system called Pythia.

Ithaca doesn't just assist historians in restoring text—it can also identify a text's location of origin and the date of creation, according to a new paper the research team published in the journal Nature. In fact, Ithaca has already been used to help resolve an ongoing debate among historians about the correct dates for a group of ancient Athenian decrees. An interactive version of Ithaca is freely available, and the team is making its code open source.

Many ancient sources—whether they be written on scrolls, papyri, stone, metal, or pottery—are so damaged that large chunks of text are often illegible. Determining where the texts originated can also be a challenge, since they have likely been moved multiple times. As for accurately determining when they were produced, radiocarbon dating and similar methods can't be used since they can damage the priceless artifacts. So the daunting and time-consuming task of interpreting these incomplete texts falls to so-called epigraphists who specialize in those skills.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)

Federal prosecutors extradited two suspected ransomware operators, including a man they said was responsible for an intrusion that infected as many as 1,500 organizations in a single stroke, making it one of the worst supply chain attacks ever.

Yaroslav Vasinskyi, 22, was arrested last August as he crossed from his native country of Ukraine into Poland. This week, he was extradited to the US to face charges that carry a maximum penalty of 115 years in prison. Vasinskyi arrived in Dallas, Texas, on March 3 and was arraigned on Wednesday.

First up: Sodinokibi/REvil

In an indictment, prosecutors said that Vasinskyi is responsible for the July 2, 2021 attack that first struck remote management software seller Kaseya and then caused its infrastructure to infect 800 to 1,500 organizations that relied on the Kaseya software. Sodinokibi/REvil, the ransomware group Vasinskyi allegedly worked for or partnered with, demanded $70 million for a universal decryptor that would restore all victims’ data.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Jill Ferry Photography)

Consumer Reports wants the Federal Communications Commission to take a closer look at whether Internet service providers are complying with a US law that prohibits them from charging hardware rental fees when customers use their own equipment. In a filing submitted to the FCC this week, Consumer Reports said it asked members about their Internet bills and got over 350 responses, with some suggesting violations of either the letter or spirit of the law.

"Some contain allegations that the law is being violated, whereas others state the new statute is being respected. Many more stories suggest that ISPs dissuade consumers from using their own equipment, typically by refusing to troubleshoot any service disruptions if consumers opt not to rent the ISP's devices. Such practices result in de facto situations where consumers feel pressured or forced to rent equipment that they would prefer to own instead," Consumer Reports told the FCC.

Consumer Reports' filing came in response to the FCC asking for public comment on the implementation of the Television Viewer Protection Act (TVPA), which took effect in December 2020. In addition to price-transparency rules for TV service, the law prohibited TV and broadband providers from charging rental or lease fees when "the provider has not provided the equipment to the consumer; or the consumer has returned the equipment to the provider."