Category Archives: Blog

Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Technology Advances With Speech-Recognition Via AI Technology

If you haven’t heard of the UK startup Speechmatics, it may come as a surprise to learn that the company may be on its way to becoming a globally recognized brand.

The company’s ambitious goal is to leapfrog over the progress made by America’s tech giants in speech recognition by using AI and machine learning.

If you own a Google Home device or have ever worked with Siri or Alexa, you are already familiar with the challenges associated with speech recognition.  The technology only works well for a tiny slice of the consuming public, with the tech giants focused firmly on their most valuable customers, naturally.

For everyone else, using speech recognition devices is a lesson in frustration. It can even be a problem  for some of the speakers for whom the tech has been optimized around, and it can still be frustrating.  If you doubt that, try sending a text message using just your voice.  It’s an uphill battle, even under ideal conditions.

Speechmatics raised eyebrows worldwide when they released a report which contained the following bit of information:

“Based on datasets used in Stanford’s ‘Racial Disparities in Speech Recognition’ study, Speechmatics recorded an overall accuracy of 82.8 percent for African American voices compared to Google (68.6 percent) and Amazon (68.6 percent). This level of accuracy equates to a 45 percent reduction in speech recognition errors – the equivalent of three words in an average sentence.”

That’s huge and game changing. That fact was one of the keys that enabled the tiny start up to secure more than sixty million USD in Series B funding.

So far, Speechmatic’s AI engine only understands 34 languages, which is a tiny slice of the more than 7,000 languages in use around the world. The company is absolutely determined though, and they’re aiming for the moon.

Their goal is functional speech recognition for everyone who speaks, planet wide, regardless of the language they’re using.  It’s a lofty goal, and we can hardly wait to chart their progress.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Windows 11 Apps Are Being Tested For Kiosk Mode

There’s interesting news in the world of Windows 11 development.  Microsoft recently began testing a new Kiosk feature that will enable IT administrators to limit which applications users can use while logged into their user profiles, blocking all other functionalities.

Even better is that the kiosk approach allows you to create multiple different apps and access configurations for different user classifications on a single device.

This approach also unlocks the door to use Windows 11 machines in a variety of ways, including but not limited to:

  • Selective blocking of pop-ups and toasts that lead to a cluttered UI and diminish the overall user experience
  • Locking down the Start Menu such that it only shows allowed applications
  • And limiting access to the Windows Settings menu to selected pages defined by the Admin

If the new feature piques your interest, you can start playing around with it right now by joining the Windows Insiders team and joining the Dev channel.

Once you do, you’ll have access to the detailed instructions on how to toggle the feature on and configure it.  All you’ll need to do is to install the latest build, which is Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25169.

Whatever your opinion is after testing it out, you can leave feedback by pressing WIN +F to access the Feedback Hub under Security and Privacy, then Device Lockdown.

Although this is the latest intriguing addition to Microsoft’s new and improved operating system, there have been a whole raft of additions like this in recent months. So if you decide you want in on the action, you’ll have all sorts of new features and capabilities to explore and play with, most of which will add value to your whole business.

The bottom line is Microsoft really seems to be trying to pull out all the stops here.  We think you’ll be impressed.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Skimmers Are Stealing Credit Card Information From US Restaurants

If you eat out or are in the habit of ordering take-out on a regular basis, be aware.

Recently, a large, well-organized web-skimming campaign has been uncovered that allowed hackers to swipe the payment card details for more than 300 restaurants, impacting more than 50,000 customers.

Web-skimmers are sometimes called Magecart malware and they are bits of JavaScript that collects credit card data when shoppers enter their card data on the checkout page on an online payment portal.

This latest campaign was brought to light by researchers at Recorded Future, who noticed suspicious activity on the ordering portals of InTouchPOS, Harbortouch, and MenuDrive.

There have been two distinct campaigns so far, with the first one beginning on January 18 of 2022 and impacting 80 different restaurants using MenuDrive and another 74 that were utilizing Harbortouch’s platform.

Big chains don’t typically use platforms like these, so most of the impacted restaurants were small, local operations widely scattered across the United States.  In both campaigns just mentioned, the web skimmer malware code was discovered on the restaurant’s web pages and its subdomain on the payment portal’s platform.

In the case of Harbortouch, a single malicious JavaScript was used, while two different scripts were deployed against MenuDrive users.

The second campaign targeted InTouchPOS beginning on November 12 of 2021, but most of the actual attacks occurred in January 2022.  Here, no details were stolen from the site itself but rather, the attackers overlaid a fake payment form on top of the legitimate one and harvested payment details that way.

Recorded Future reports that both campaigns appear to be ongoing, and the firm has alerted all impacted entities.  At the time this piece was written, they had not received a response back from anyone.

In any event, if you order online from a local eatery near you, keep a watchful eye on your account.  Your payment data may have been compromised.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Nvidia Leads Quantum Computing Innovation With New Platform

Quantum computing is on the horizon.  Unfortunately, it’s been on the horizon for at least two decades.  It’s one of those technologies that’s always “just around the corner.”

In recent years, however, several important strides have been made. Although quantum computing isn’t exactly mainstream, great strides have been made where the technology is concerned.

There’s a missing link, however.  It’s not as though the entire world will wake up one day and just start migrating to quantum computers.  There will be a step in between where people are using hybridized systems that can take advantage of the new technology while still using highly optimized conventional computer architecture.

That missing link is currently being developed by Nvidia.

The company has been quietly developing a new platform that it’s calling QODA, which stands for Quantum Optimized Device Architecture.  The new platform will create a unified, open environment that can be used to bridge the gap between conventional computer technology and quantum processors.

The hope is that with such a standard in place, it will be a critical step in making quantum computing easier to embrace, which will help to speed mainstream acceptance.

Nvidia hopes to have an open beta available by the end of the year, and once the platform is complete, it will be available for free.

Nvidia initially pitched the idea to the largest quantum computing hardware producers and got a warm reception. So the platform is being designed specifically to allow the equipment produced by those manufacturers to work seamlessly with conventional computing hardware.

That’s big news indeed, as it will allow existing applications to leverage the new technology and give developers plenty of time to work out how best to take advantage of quantum architecture.  Kudos to the folks at Nvidia.  We can hardly wait to see the fruits of their labor.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Large Scale Okta Phishing Campaign Targets Many Organizations

According to ongoing research by Group-IB, a massive phishing campaign is currently underway.

This is a campaign that has impacted no less than 130 organizations across a broad range of industries. These include but are not limited to professional recruiting firms and companies connected to finance and technology.

Some of the companies targeted include giants in their respective fields such as:

  • TTEC
  • Best Buy
  • HubSpot
  • Evernote
  • Riot Games
  • AT&T
  • Epic Games
  • Microsoft
  • Twitter
  • Slack
  • Verizon Wireless
  • MetroPCS
  • Twilio
  • MailChimp
  • Klaviyo
  • And T-Mobile

This comes with an unsuccessful attempt to breach Cloudflare’s network as well.

The phishing campaign utilizes a kit that has been code-named ‘Oktapus,’ and has been underway since at least March of this year (2022).  As the Group-IB report indicates, it has many tentacles indeed.  So far, the group behind the campaign has been able to steal nearly ten thousand login credentials and use these to gain access to targeted networks.

The attack begins simply enough, as many such attacks do.  The target receives an SMS message with a link to a web page.  This page appears to be legitimate.  It is a precise copy of a corporate webpage, utilizing all the right branding and logo images.

Invariably, users are presented with a login box and are promoted to enter their account credentials and two-factor authentication codes if applicable.  Doing so hands that information over to the hackers controlling the site, giving them another login to abuse.

Okta is a perfectly legitimate and in fact, widely respected Identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) platform that allows users to employ a single login to access all software assets in their company.  Unfortunately, hackers have discovered a means of abusing that to steal customer data, which is then used to conduct additional attacks, targeting firms in the supply chain of the initially targeted company.

Even if your company isn’t connected to any of the industries the hackers have targeted thus far, be sure your IT staff is aware of this threat.

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