AI allows hackers to identify anonymous social media accounts, study finds
AI has made it vastly easier for malicious hackers to identify anonymous social media accounts, a new study has warned.In most test scenarios, large language models (LLMs) – the technology behind platforms such as ChatGPT – successfully matched anonymous online users with their actual identities on other platforms, based on the information they posted.The AI researchers Simon Lermen and Daniel Paleka said LLMs make it cost effective to perform sophisticated privacy attacks, forcing a “fundamental reassessment of what can be considered private online”.In their experiment, the researchers fed anonymous accounts into an AI, and got it to scrape all the information it could.They gave a hypothetical example of a user talking about struggling at school, and walking their dog Biscuit through a “Dolores park”.
In that hypothetical case, the AI then searched elsewhere for those details and matched @anon_user42 to the known identity with a high degree of confidence.While this example was fictional, the paper’s authors highlighted scenarios in which governments use AI to surveil dissidents and activists posting anonymously, or hackers are able to launch “highly personalised” scams.AI surveillance is a rapidly developing field that is causing alarm among computer scientists and privacy experts.It uses LLMs to synthesise information about an individual online which would be impractical for most people to do manually.Information about members of the public that is readily available online can already be “misused straightforwardly” for scams, said Lermen, including spear-phishing, where a hacker poses as a trusted friend to get victims to follow a malicious link in their inbox.
With the expertise requirement to perform more developed attacks now much lower, hackers only need access to publicly available language models and an internet connection.Peter Bentley, a professor of computer science at UCL, said there were concerns about commercial uses of the technology “if and when products come out for de-anonymising”.One issue is that LLMs often make mistakes in linking accounts.“People are going to be accused of things they haven’t done,” warned Bentley.Another concern, raised by Prof Marc Juárez, a cybersecurity lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, is that LLMs can use public data beyond social media: hospital records, admissions data, and various other statistical releases could fall short of the high standard of anonymisation necessary in the age of AI.
“It is quite alarming.I think this paper is showing that we should reconsider our practices,” said Juarez.AI is not a magic weapon against anonymity online.While LLMs can de-anonymise records in many situations, sometimes there is not enough information to draw conclusions.In many cases, the number of potential matches is too large to narrow down.
“They can only link across platforms where someone consistently shares the same bits of information in both places,” said Prof Marti Hearst of UC Berkeley’s school of information.While the technology is not perfect, scientists are now asking institutions and individuals to rethink how they anonymise data in the world of AI.Lermen has recommended that platforms restrict data access as a first step: enforcing rate limits on user data downloads, detecting automated scraping, and restricting bulk exports of data.But he also noted that individual users can take greater precautions about the information they share online.The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.
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India retain T20 World Cup with 96-run final win over New Zealand – as it happened
It might not have been the thriller neutrals wanted, but it was everything India desired. They became the first men’s team to defend the T20 World Cup and the first to win it at home after drowning New Zealand in a deluge of runs in Ahmedabad in front of 100,000 giddy and almost universally blue-clad supporters.New Zealand looked forlorn while conceding 255 and wretched when attempting to chase it, and after meandering through much of their innings with defeat already a certainty they were still 96 behind when it ended. They have now reached four World Cup finals of various hues since 2015 and lost them all, plus the Champions Trophy last year to boot.The player of the tournament is Sanju Samsondouble quotation markIt feels like a dream! I’m out of words, out of emotions
India retain T20 World Cup as Samson and Bumrah inspire rout of New Zealand
It might not have been the thriller neutrals wanted, but it was everything India desired. They became the first men’s team to defend the T20 World Cup and the first side to win it at home, after drowning New Zealand in a deluge of runs in front of 100,000 giddy and almost universally blue‑clad supporters.New Zealand looked forlorn while conceding 255 and wretched when attempting to chase it, and after meandering through much of their innings with defeat already a certainty they were still 96 behind when it ended. They have now reached four World Cup finals of various hues since 2015 and lost them all, plus the Champions Trophy last year to boot.You know it is absolutely, definitely going to be your day when a fielder drops a catch while blinded and still the ball refuses to come to earth
Tears and drama amid snowboard cross chaos at Winter Paralympics
From their vantage point to the south of the San Zan course, the first sight spectators see of the snowboard cross are figures punching through the horizon. Coming off the back of a left‑hand turn, racers come into view as they make the first of a series of jumps in what is also, perversely, a part of the course where you can pick up speed. The moment is over in a split second, as athletes disappear once again behind safety fences. The impact on the gathered crowds is undeniable though: they can’t help but let out a roar.Snowboard cross is a sport with high technical demands, as athletes negotiate a series of challenges from – to adopt the lexicon – jumps and berms to rollers and drops, all along a winding course
Team GB mixed doubles curlers must beat Italy after ‘psychology’ of China defeat
Great Britain must defeat the host nation, Italy, in their final round‑robin match of the mixed doubles curling to secure a place in the semi-finals, after being roundly beaten by China.Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean started well against the unbeaten pair of Wang Meng and Yang Jun and led at the halfway stage. Missed opportunities and a sharp improvement from their opponents, however, meant a 5-3 lead became a 10-5 defeat, with the eighth end left unplayed.Butterfield said the shift in the match was explained by China getting a better measure of the force needed to “draw”, or land a stone in or in front of the scoring house. “Unfortunately, in the second half they really dialled into what draw weight was
Scotland showcase potential to chase Six Nations title and end pain against Ireland
The feeling that Scotland might just have the hang of this winning thing continues to build. Playing dazzling rugby every now and then has never been a problem. Meaningful wins? Harder to come by.Perhaps the most entertaining part of the extraordinary win against France – and there were, how to put this, quite a few of those – was watching the resolutely unmoved disposition of Gregor Townsend. As if it was no big deal
RFU backs Steve Borthwick despite England’s historic Six Nations loss in Italy
The Rugby Football Union has backed Steve Borthwick to continue as England head coach into the summer and arrest their drastic decline but the chief executive, Bill Sweeney, stopped short of pledging his support through to the World Cup next year.Borthwick is under intense scrutiny after England’s first defeat by Italy on Saturday extended their losing run to three matches following miserable losses against Scotland and Ireland. Austin Healey is among the former players calling for Borthwick to be sacked with England on course for their worst Six Nations campaign, and Ben Youngs, the most-capped men’s player, believes that the side is “set up to just not lose”.England finish their Six Nations campaign against France in Paris on Saturday before they begin their Nations Championship fixtures in July with a daunting trip to South Africa.After the 23-18 defeat in Rome, Borthwick said he was still the man to lead England and expressed belief he had the RFU’s support
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