Nine great industry news stories from this week you may have missed.
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Privacy and Morality: Data’s Double-Edged Sword
Concerns about the ethics behind data collection and use have become a hot topic over the past few weeks. In an open letter from their CEO, IBM has declared they will no longer be using or researching facial recognition technology for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of human rights and freedoms, or any purpose which is not consistent with their values. Their stance behind moral data tracking, however, isn't as black and white as it may appear. In a recent Security Boulevard's article, Mark Rasch explores the notion of "mass surveillance" and questions the validity of privacy in public places and whether we can achieve "ethics by design."
Cybersecurity survey by Canadian law firm offers surprising results
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In a recent corporate cyber incident report issued by Black, Cassels & Graydon, it was discovered that over half of Canadian organizations hit by ransomware last year paid cyber criminals to get decryption keys for restoring scrambled data.
One partner at the firm believes there may be more victims who are paying up. With more employees working from home, more computers that connect remotely to the network are getting infected with malware. Consequently, some organizations believe the restoration of data will be “extremely difficult” even though they have good backups. Paying for decryption keys, management believes, will get operations back to normal faster.
Read the full story on IT World Canada.
Amazon deploys AI ‘distance assistants’ to notify warehouse workers if they get too close
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Amazon, which is currently being sued for allegedly failing to protect workers from COVID-19, has unveiled a new AI tool it says will help employees follow social distancing rules. The company’s “Distance Assistant” combines a TV screen, depth sensors and AI-enabled camera to track employees’ movements and give them feedback in real time. When workers come closer than six feet to one another, circles around their feet flash red on the TV, indicating to employees that they should move to a safe distance apart. The devices are self-contained, meaning they can be deployed quickly where needed and moved about. Read the full story on The Verge.
BlackBerry, Bell partner to offer customers AI-powered ‘threat defense’
BlackBerry and Bell have announced a new partnership to provide secure communications to business and government customers. The partnership, Mobile Syrup has reported, will see BlackBerry become Bell’s preferred Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) partner. In turn, Bell will be able to offer its enterprise customers access to BlackBerry Protect, an MTD solution that uses AI to block malware infections, prevent URL phishing attacks and provide application integrity checking.
COVID-19 pandemic prompts initiative to offer free legal aid to anyone in Canada
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a group of young Canadian lawyers to launch a project to offer free legal advice remotely to anyone in the country. Dubbed the National Canadian Lawyers Initiative, the aim is to connect people in need with professionals who can offer help and direction.
"We accept everyone," said Don, who was called to the bar last year. "People who can afford lawyers already have lawyers. People who really need it will come to us." To date, he said, more than 300 lawyers with varying experience and law students, some of whom have lost their summer jobs due to the pandemic, have signed on to a goal of providing more than 40,000 hours of services at no charge. Most are in Ontario but others are located across the country, and their expertise spans many areas of the law.
Breaking Down AI’s Role In Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity encompasses everything that pertains to protecting our sensitive data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), personal information, intellectual property, data, and governmental and industry information systems from attempted theft and damage. According to recent reports, cyber criminals exposed 2.8 billion consumer data records in 2018, costing US organisations over $654 billion. Meanwhile, the 2019 Ninth Annual Cost of Cybercrime Study calculated the total value of risk as $US5.2 trillion globally over the next five years. Learn how AI and Machine Learning are addressing the challenges and giving rise to new possibilities for cybersecurity threat protection.
What will the lawyer of the future look like?
NewLaw can be described as a global trend seen in law firms, legal consultancies and alternate legal service providers that, through innovation and the adoption of ‘disruptive’ technologies, are changing the way in which legal services are delivered. It’s often viewed as a flexible alternative to ‘Big Law’.
Is the domination of large traditional law firms about to give way to NewLaw? Find out the answer to this, plus how Lawtech is redesigning the way lawyers work on Legal Cheek.
Redefining Resilience
Between balancing childcare with work, caring for vulnerable elderly family members and financial concerns, there is a common thread between lawyers today: people are feeling the pressures of this moment in time and need a way to cope. While social media may say that it is necessary to be ultra-effective in all parts of our lives, that pressure is also exhausting. Building up resilience can help people acknowledge and accept the emotional distress they may be feeling. Read Rachel Migicovsky's new article on OBA's JUST website to learn how those in the legal field are redefining resilience.
The Therapist is in — and it's a Chatbot App
The pandemic’s psychological toll can be particularly weighty during this time of isolation and unknowns. As a result, in April the FDA suspended many of its usual rules for what it calls digital therapeutic devices for psychiatric disorders to help widen access to care during the pandemic. According to Wired, evidence has mounted over the past decade that digital therapeutics can be as effective, or more effective, than treatment by doctors or therapists. Learn how digital therapists are aiding those in need of treatment.
