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Risks Digest 34.54
From: RISKS List Owner <risko () csl sri com>
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2025 22:04:55 PST
RISKS-LIST: Risks-Forum Digest Thursday 6 Jan 2025 Volume 34 : Issue 54ACM FORUM ON RISKS TO THE PUBLIC IN COMPUTERS AND RELATED SYSTEMS (comp.risks)Peter G. Neumann, founder and still moderator***** See last item for further information, disclaimers, caveats, etc. *****This issue is archived at <http://www.risks.org> as <http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/34.54>The current issue can also be found at <http://www.csl.sri.com/users/risko/risks.txt> Contents: [Still backlogged]Collision over Potomac Reveals Several Lapses in Aviation Safety Net (NYTimes)Why an anti-collision system might not have prevented DCA plane crash (WashPost)CA Congressman launches investigation into L.A. County's faulty emergency alerts (LA Times)Risk Export (phys.org)The Public's Health Care vs. the Rich's Taxx Cuts (Aaron Carrell)Japan to Curb Exports of Chips, Quantum-Computing Tech" (Mayumi Negishi)Chinese-Made Patient Monitor Contains a Secret Backdoor (Michael Kan)International Police Op Takes Down Cybercrime Marketplaces (Darryl Coote)U.S. Teens Increasingly Misled by Fake Content Online (Liam Reilly)Police ignore standards after AI facial recognition matches (The Washington Post)The Robot Doctor Will See You Now (NYTimes)White House seeks public input on AI strategyAI Systems with 'Unacceptable Risk' Now Banned in EU (Kyle Wiggers)Why Is This CEO Bragging About Replacing Humans With AI? (NYTimes)Why AI could replace NFL first-down markers sooner than you might think (NBC News)DeepSeek's Chatbot Achieves 17% Accuracy in Audit (Rishi Kant)58% of Ransomware Victims Forced to Shut Down Operations (James Coker)Asia Goes Cashless as Countries Push for Digital Payments (Kinnei Asia)AI Systems with 'Unacceptable Risk' Now Banned in EU (Kyle Wiggers)New attacks on speculative execution (Victor Miller)Cybersecurity, government experts are aghast at security failures in DOGE takeover (CyberScoop)DOGE probes CMS for Medicare, Medicaid fraud: Wall Street Journal (Rylee Wilson)White House seeks public input on AI strategy (Axios)Re: AI in medicine (Kent Borg)Re: Eutelsat resolves OneWeb leap-year software glitch (Amos Shapir)Abridged info on RISKS (comp.risks)----------------------------------------------------------------------Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2025 10:16:54 PSTFrom: Peter Neumann <neumann () csl sri com>eSubject: Collision over Potomac Reveals Several Lapses in Aviation Safety Net (NYTimes)Sydney Ember, Emily Steel, Mark Walker, Kate Kelly. and Niraj Chokshi(The New York Times*, front page, National EditionAviation Safety Net; Copter Path and Controller Shortage EyedClues emerging from the moments before the deadly collision onWednesday evening between an Army helicopter and an American Airlinespassenger jet suggest that multiple layers of the country's aviationsafety system apparatus failed, according to flight recordings ... But the catastrope already appeared to confirm what pilots, air-traffic controllers, and safety experts had been warning for years: Growing holes in the aviation system could lead to the kinds of crash that left 87 people dead in the Potomac River in Washington. Even before an official cause is determined, there were signs Wednesday that pilots and air-traffic controllers at Reagan National on Wednesday night were not operating under optimum conditions. The duties of handling air-traffic control for helicopters and planes for planes at Reagan [had been] *combined* *before the crash*. That left a [single] air-traffic controller handling dual roles. [Emphasis PGN's]See also a related article by Niraj Chokshi, Technology That HelpsPrevent Disasters Has Its Limits, on the continuation page [19] forthe main story. It addresses the Traffic Collision Avoidance System(TCAS) [which Nancy Leveson has written about extensively] and theAutomated Dependent Surveillance Broadcast. [I've deferred on addressing this previously less-likely accident until I saw the above NYTimes article. It is fairly comprehensive -- and highlights the dangers of cost-cutting in life-critical systems. PLEASE remember that (1) the requirements that must be addressed are holistic and comprehensive across the total networked system and its controllers; (2) second part of the Albert Einstein quote: Everything should be as simple as possible, *but no simpler*, is frequently ignored. PGN-ed] [Lauren Weinstein noted on 6 Feb 2025 that the Military copter that collided with jet had ADS-B tracking turned *off*; night-vision goggles may have been in use. PGN]------------------------------Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2025 06:35:20 +0000From: Richard Marlon Stein <rmstein () protonmail com>Subject: Why an anti-collision system might not have prevented DCA plane crash (WashPost)https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/30/tcas-system-air-collision-dc-plane-helicopter-crashNo TCAS alerts below cutoff altitude -- no knowledge of cutoff ASL.It seems this collision might be compounded by many factors: busy flightcrew on approach won't exception process without warning via under-staffedcontrol tower or automated traffic collision avionics. A case of systematicovertrust?------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 09:40:17 -0800From: Steve Bacher <sebmb1 () verizon net>Subject: CA Congressman launches investigation into L.A. County's faulty emergency alerts (LA Times)Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) has sent letters to L.A. County andsoftware company Genasys requesting information on 'precise failures' thatled to erroneous alerts. [...]On 9 Jan 2025, residents across the metropolitan region of 10 million peoplereceived a wireless emergency alert urging them to prepare to evacuate. Acorrection was issued approximately 20 minutes later, stating the alert wassent “in ERROR.” But a stream of faulty alerts continued to sound out thefollowing day. Residents as far away as Long Beach — more than 35 miles fromany active fire — reported receiving pings on their phones.County officials later said the alerts, meant to go out to a smaller groupof residents in the Kenneth fire evacuation area, were caused by a softwareglitch. After switching to a different system, the county said in astatement that it was working with Genasys, FEMA and the FCC to investigatehow alerts continued to ping out on phones across L.A. County. [...]https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-02-03/investigation-l-a-county-faulty-emergency-alerts------------------------------Date: Thu, 06 Feb 2025 07:42:16 +0000From: Richard Marlon Stein <rmstein () protonmail com>Subject: Risk Export (phys.org)https://phys.org/news/2025-02-rocket-junk-chance-year-busy.html"When space rocket junk enters into busy air space, aviation authoritieseither roll the dice and allow flights to continue or act by divertingflights or closing airspace."But why should authorities have to make these decisions in the first place?Uncontrolled rocket body re-entries are a design choice, not a necessity,"said co-author Dr. Aaron Boley, associate professor in the department ofphysics and astronomy. "The space industry is effectively exporting its riskto airlines and passengers.""Risk Export" is a catchy phrase. Risk imports are endemic: cybersecurityfailures, dengue fever, forever chemicals, AVs, etc, etc.------------------------------Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2025 15:37:45 PSTFrom: Peter Neumann <neumann () csl sri com>Subject: The Public's Health Care vs. the Rich's Taxx Cuts (Aaron Carrell)Aaron Carrell, *The New York Times* Opinion, 5 Feb 2025Republican proposals to gut Medicaid and Obamacare wouldbe catastrophic.This very timely piece ends with a pithy conclusion: Let's shift the conversatin away from stripping benefits and toward addressing what really drives up costs, according to years of research: high prices and bloated administration. Gutting Medicaid or making it making it impossible for middle-class Amereicans to afford Affordable Care Act exchange plans, is callous. No parent should [have to] choose between taking a child to the emergency room and paying the grocery bill.------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 11:15:09 -0500 (EST)From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor () acm org>Subject: Japan to Curb Exports of Chips, Quantum-Computing Tech" (Mayumi Negishi)Mayumi Negishi, *Bloomberg* (01/31/25), via ACM TechNewsThe Japanese government is expanding its list of export-controlled items toinclude advanced chips, lithographic equipment, and cryocoolers needed forthe manufacture of quantum computers, according to draft revisions to thatnation's foreign exchange law. Companies will need licenses to export thoseitems to prevent their use in weapons or their development, said EconomyMinistry officials. The new curbs are scheduled to go into effect at the endof May.------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 11:15:09 -0500 (EST)From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor () acm org>Subject: Chinese-Made Patient Monitor Contains a Secret Backdoor" (Michael Kan)Michael Kan, PC Magazine (01/31/25), via ACM TechNewsThe U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has warnedof a threat discovered in three firmware versions of a patient monitor madeby China-based Contec Medical Systems. The monitor was configured to connectto an IP address for a third-party university with no connection to themanufacturer, enabling the university to remotely download and executeunverified files on the patient monitor, CISA said. The backdoor alsoautomatically sends patient data to the IP address.------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 11:15:09 -0500 (EST)From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor () acm org>Subject: International Police Op Takes Down Cybercrime Marketplaces (Darryl Coote)Darryl Coote, UPI (01/31/25), via ACM TechNewsAn international law enforcement operation has taken down two of the largestcybercrime marketplaces. In addition to the arrest of two individuals andconfiscation of servers and other devices, the operation resulted in theshutdown of 12 accounts and two domains used by the cybercrime forums knownas Cracked and Nulled.------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 11:15:09 -0500 (EST)From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor () acm org>Subject: U.S. Teens Increasingly Misled by Fake Content Online (Liam Reilly)Liam Reilly, CNN (01/30/25)A survey of 1,000 13- to 18-year-olds by the nonprofit advocacy group CommonSense Media revealed that around 35% of respondents had been deceived byfake online content; another 41% acknowledged having seen real yetmisleading content, and 22% had shared information they later learned wasfalse. Common Sense said respondents who came across fake online contentwere more likely to believe AI would make it harder to verify onlineinformation.------------------------------Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2025 14:50:40 -0500From: Gabe Goldberg <gabe () gabegold com>Subject: Police ignore standards after AI facial recognition matches (The Washington Post)Confident in unproven facial recognition technology, sometimes investigatorsskip steps; at least eight Americans have been wrongfully arrested.https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2025/police-artificial-intelligence-facial-recognition/------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 19:20:41 -0700From: Matthew Kruk <mkrukg () gmail com>Subject: The Robot Doctor Will See You Now (NYTimes)https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/opinion/ai-doctors-medicine.htmlThe rapid rise in artificial intelligence has created intense discussions inmany industries over what kind of role these tools can and should play --and health care has been no exception. The medical community largely AIanticipated that combining the abilities of doctors and AI would be the bestof both worlds, leading to more accurate diagnoses and more efficient care.That assumption might prove to be incorrect. A growing body of researchsuggests that AI is outperforming doctors, even when they use it as a tool.------------------------------Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2025 11:41:52 -0800From: Peter Neumann <Neumann () CSL SRI COM>Subject: White House seeks public input on AI strategyhttps://www.axios.com/2025/02/06/trump-white-house-ai-action-planRequest for Information on the Development of an AI Action Planhttps://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/06/2025-02305/request-for-information-on-the-development-of-an-artificial-intelligence-ai-action-plan------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 11:15:09 -0500 (EST)From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor () acm org>Subject: AI Systems with 'Unacceptable Risk' Now Banned in EU (Kyle Wiggers)Kyle Wiggers, *TechCrunch* (02/02/25), via ACM TechNewsAs of Sunday, EU regulators can ban the use of AI systems they deem to posean "unacceptable risk" or harm under the bloc's AI Act, approved by theEuropean Parliament last March. Unacceptable activities include the use ofAI for social scoring, manipulating a person's decisions deceptively,predicting people committing crimes based on their appearance, and trying toinfer people's emotions, among other uses.------------------------------Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2025 07:08:34 -0800From: Steve Bacher <sebmb1 () verizon net>Subject: Why Is This CEO Bragging About Replacing Humans With AI? (NYTimes)Most large employers play down the likelihood that bots will take ourjobs. Then there’s Klarna, a darling of tech investors.Ask typical corporate executives about their goals in adopting artificialintelligence, and they will most likely make vague pronouncements about howthe technology will help employees enjoy more satisfying careers, or createas many opportunities as it eliminates. AI will “help tackle the kind oftasks most people find repetitive, which frees up employees to take onhigher-value work,” Arvind Krishna, the chief executive of IBM, wrote in2023.And then there’s Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the chief executive of Klarna, aSwedish tech firm that helps consumers defer payment on purchases and thathas filed paperwork to go public in the United States with an expectedvaluation north of $15 billion.Over the past year, Klarna and Mr. Siemiatkowski have repeatedly talked upthe amount of work they have automated using generative A.I., which servesup text, images and videos that look like they were created by people. “I amof the opinion that AI can already do all of the jobs that we, as humans,do,” he told Bloomberg News, a view that goes far beyond what most expertsclaim. [...]https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/business/klarna-ceo-ai.html------------------------------Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2025 08:19:16 -0800From: Steve Bacher <sebmb1 () verizon net>Subject: Why AI could replace NFL first-down markers sooner than you might think (NBC News)AI and new technology could soon make the chain gang obsolete, with anadvanced system known as “Hawk-Eye” aspiring to make the game faster andmore accurate.For more than 100 years, football has been officiated using a simple chain10 yards long. The so-called chain gang has been the sport’s judge and jury,ruling whether a ball traveled the number of yards needed for a team to geta first down — and four more chances to score.But artificial intelligence and new technology could soon make the chaingang obsolete, with an advanced system known as Hawk-Eye aspiring tohttps://www.nbcnews.com/sports/nfl/ai-replace-nfl-first-markers-sooner-might-think-rcna188186 [Where might this lead? Simulated players will avoid lots of salaries and and injuries. Simulated coaches will reduce the payroll even more. Referees and other officials will be totally irrelevant. Broadcasters can be completely automated. With all the ball placements, first-down lines and scoreboards created by AI, we might as well do away with human viewers who will no longer care who wins, which would eliminate the losses for compulsive gamblers. Think of all the wasted money and viewer hours that could be spared. It might also reduce hatred of certain inter-city rivalries, because the resulting games would of course have to be sanitized for friendliness and neutrality. However, all of this cannot happen, because it would deprive committed viewers of why they are watching in the first place. PGN]------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 11:15:09 -0500 (EST)From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor () acm org>SSubject: DeepSeek's Chatbot Achieves 17% Accuracy in Audit (Rishi Kant)Rishi Kant, *Reuters* (01/29/25), via ACM TechNewsAn audit by trustworthiness rating service NewsGuard found the chatbotrolled out by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek had an accuracy rate of 17% whenit comes to delivering news and information. DeepSeek provided vague oruseless answers 53% of the time and repeated false claims 30% of the time,with a fail rate of 83%. In comparison, its Western rivals, includingOpenAI, had a 62% average fail rate.------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 11:15:09 -0500 (EST)From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor () acm org>Subject: 58% of Ransomware Victims Forced to Shut Down Operations (James Coker)James Coker, *Infosecurity Magazine* (01/28/25), via ACM TechNewsA report from the Ponemon Institute found that 58% of organizations affectedby ransomware attacks last year had to cease operations as a result, up from45% in 2021. Forty percent of organizations experienced a substantial lossof revenue due to such an attack, up from 22%, while 35% reported branddamage, up from 21%.------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 11:15:09 -0500 (EST)From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor () acm org>Subject: Asia Goes Cashless as Countries Push for Digital Payments (Kinnei Asia)Fumika Sato and Takanori Okabe, Nikkei Asia (Japan) (02/02/25)via ACM TechNewsQR codes and other smartphone-based technologies are rapidly replacingphysical money as the method of payment in consumer transactions, driven inpart by efforts from India and other countries to promote domesticdigital settlement systems. In 2016, India introduced the UnifiedPayments Interface (UPI) mobile payment system that enabled real-timepayments. More than 131 billion transactions were made via UPI in fiscal2023.------------------------------Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2025 11:15:09 -0500 (EST)From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor () acm org>Subject: AI Systems with 'Unacceptable Risk' Now Banned in EU (Kyle Wiggers)Kyle Wiggers, *TechCrunch* (02/02/25), via ACM TechNewsAs of Sunday, EU regulators can ban the use of AI systems they deem to posean "unacceptable risk" or harm under the bloc's AI Act, approved by theEuropean Parliament last March. Unacceptable activities include the use ofAI for social scoring, manipulating a person's decisions deceptively,predicting people committing crimes based on their appearance, and trying toinfer people's emotions, among other uses.------------------------------Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2025 03:41:09 +0000From: Victor Miller <victorsmiller () gmail com>Subject: New attacks on speculative executionSLAP and FLOPhttps://predictors.fail/ SLAP: Data Speculation Attacks via Load Address Prediction on Apple Silicon FLOP: Breaking the Apple M3 CPU via False Load Output Predictions------------------------------From: Victor Miller <victorsmiller () gmail com>Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2025 14:00:55 +0000Subject: Cybersecurity, government experts are aghast at security failures in DOGE takeover (CyberScoop)https://cyberscoop.com/musk-doge-opm-treasury-breach/------------------------------Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2025 14:00:55 +0000:From: "Peter G, Neumann" <Peter.Neumann () sri com>Subject: DOGE probes CMS for Medicare, Medicaid fraud: Wall Street Journal (Rylee Wilson)Rylee Willson, *The Wall Street Journal, 5 Feb 2025Representatives of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have beenworking at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where theyhave gotten access to key payment and contracting systems, according topeople familiar with the matter. Members of Elon Musk's Department ofGovernment Efficiency (DOGE) have been granted access to payment andcontracting systems at CMS,<https://www.wsj.com/politics/elon-musk-doge-medicare-medicaid-fraud-e697b162>Department representatives have been on-site at CMS' offices this week,examining spending data for potential fraud or waste and reviewing theagency's organization and staffing, unnamed sources told the Journal. DOGErepresentatives had not yet been granted access to databases that includepersonal health information of Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries, thesources said. The DOGE representatives have "read only" access, meaning theycannot change any material viewed.President Donald Trump created<https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/legal-regulatory-issues/trump-creates-department-of-government-efficiency-5-details.html>the Department of Government Efficiency, referred to as "DOGE" by officials,in November to cut wasteful spending and reduce operationalinefficiencies. President Trump appointed Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceXand X, to lead the initiative. DOGE aims to cut federal spending by $1trillion, with Medicaid emerging as a likelytarget<https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/doge-sets-sights-on-medicaid-new-york-times.html>,according to The New York Times,<https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/doge-sets-sights-on-medicaid-new-york-times.html>CMS spent more than $1.5 trillion on healthcare programs in fiscal year2024, accounting for 22% of total federal spending, according to theagency's 2024 annual report.<https://www.cms.gov/files/document/cms-financial-report-fiscal-year-2024.pdf>"Yeah, this [CMS] is where the big money fraud is happening," Mr. Musk wroteon X <https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1887184902543577590?mx=2> in response tothe Journal's article. Other government agencies have pointed to wastefulspending in Medicaid and Medicare. A report<https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-107487> from the GovernmentAccountability Organization estimated in 2023, wasteful spending Medicareand Medicaid totaled $100 billion. DOGE representatives have also beenworking to cancel diversity, equity and inclusion-focused contracts at CMS,Bloomberg reported Feb. 5. In astatement<https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-statement-collaboration-doge>,CMS said two senior staff members -- one focused on policy and one onoperations -- are working with DOGE representatives and ensuring"appropriate access" to the agency's systems. "We are taking a thoughtfulapproach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective andefficient use of resources in line with meeting the goals of PresidentTrump," the agency said. Mehmet Oz, MD, President Trump's pick to lead CMS,has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. Stephanie Carlton, RN, a formerMcKinsey consultant, is current acting administrator of the agency,according to its website.<https://www.cms.gov/about-cms/who-we-are/leadership> She is expected to be chosen<https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/trump-considers-3-leaders-for-health-policy-roles-report.html>as Dr. Oz's chief of staff, if he is confirmed, according to The WashingtonPost. Officials from the White House and DOGE did not comment to theJournal.Musk's DOGE granted access to U.S. Medicare and Medicaid systems (Reuters)February 5, 2025.U.S. flag and medicines are seen in this illustration taken, June 27,2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights,<https://www.reutersagency.com/en/licensereuterscontent/?utm_medium=rcom-article-media&utm_campaign=rcom-rcp-lead>WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters): Representatives of Elon Musk's Department ofGovernment Efficiency have been working at the Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services where they were granted access to agency systems andtechnology, CMS said on Wednesday.CMS oversees Medicare, the health insurance program for older and disabledAmericans, and Medicaid, for lower-income enrollees. Together they providecoverage for over 140 million people in the United States."CMS has two senior Agency veterans -- one focused on policy and one focusedon operations -- who are leading the collaboration with DOGE, includingensuring appropriate access to CMS systems and technology," the agency saidin a statement. Musk, the world's richest man, has been tasked byU.S. President Donald Trump to identify fraud and waste in government. Muskhas in a matter of days been able to exert unprecedentedcontrol<https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-creates-new-power-base-washington-with-takeover-us-agencies-2025-02-05/>over America's 2.2-million-member federal workforce and begin a dramaticreshaping of government<https://www.reuters.com/world/us/young-techies-underpin-musks-drive-slash-size-us-government-2025-02-05/>.Advertisement * Scroll to continue Report this ad "We are taking athoughtful approach to see where there may be opportunities for moreeffective and efficient use of resources in line with meeting the goals ofPresident Trump," the CMS statement said. CMS regularly deals with improperpayments that represent fraud or abuse but might also be due to a state,contractor, or provider missing an administrative step. The development wasfirst reported on Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, which citing peoplefamiliar with the matter, said DOGE representatives had gained access to keypayment and contracting systems. 00:05Trans athletes weigh in on Trump'sexecutive order The representatives have been on site at the agency'soffices this week and are looking at the technology on which the systemsrun, as well as the spending that flows through them, with a focus onpinpointing what they consider fraud or waste, according to the report,<https://www.wsj.com/politics/elon-musk-doge-medicare-medicaid-fraud-e697b162>.DOGE representatives are also examining the agency's organizational designand how it is staffed, the WSJ said. Referencing the WSJ report, Musk -without providing evidence -- posted "this is where the big money fraud ishappening," on social media platform X, which he owns. When asked aboutDOGE accessing CMS payment and contracting systems, representatives for theWhite House did not address specifics but defended Musk and DOGE's actionsoverall, saying they were fulfilling Trump's commitment to make the federalgovernment more accountable. One of the systems accessed by the DOGErepresentatives, the WSJ reported, is the CMS Acquisition LifecycleManagement system, which includes information about contracts. The report,citing one of the people familiar with the DOGE's work at CMS, said thatMusk's allies have not been given access to databases that includeidentifiable personal health information of Medicare or Medicaid enrollees.The DOGE's access is "read-only," meaning that its affiliates cannot makechanges to the systems, the WSJ reported. The U.S. Treasury said on Tuesdaythat Musk's team has been granted "read-only access" to its payment systemcodes but denied that this cut off any government payments, including thoseof Social Security or Medicare. Keep up with the latest medicalbreakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Roundsnewsletter. Sign up here.<https://www.reuters.com/newsletters/reuters-health-rounds/?location=article-paragraph>Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru, AhmedAboulenein in Washington; Editing by Alan Barona, Shounak Dasgupta and DeepakBabingtonElon Musk's DOGE examines systems at $1.5 trillion Medicare and Medicaidagency [Portrait of Ken Alltucker]KenAlltucker<https://www.usatoday.com/staff/2648427001/ken-alltucker/> USATODAY 2/5/2025Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/03/dems-elon-musk-doge-takeover-treasury/78187978007/> representatives are at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week examining payment and contracting systems of federal health agency.Two senior agency veterans focused on policy and operations are working withDOGE to review the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid, which providehealth insurance for about 1 in 4 Americans, according to a U.S. Departmentof Health and Human Services spokesman. "We are taking a thoughtfulapproach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective andefficient use of resources in line with meeting the goals of PresidentTrump<https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/donald-trump/>," AndrewG. Nixon, HHS' director of communications, said via email.DOGE representatives have been at the agency's offices this week examiningCMS's technology systems and spending, focusing on signs of fraud or waste,the Wall Street Journalreported<https://www.wsj.com/politics/elon-musk-doge-medicare-medicaid-fraud-e697b162>.DOGE is also examining the CMS's organizational design and staffing. Inresponse to a repost of the WSJ report Wednesday on his social media site X,Musk tweeted<https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1887184902543577590>, "Yeah, thisis where the big money fraud is happening." DOGE, run by billionaire techentrepreneur Musk, is working to scrutinize costs across the federalgovernment, gaining access to systems at agencies such as the TreasuryDepartment and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The DOGEreview comes as at least 20,000 federalemployees<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/04/trump-buyout-offer-federal-workers-deadline/78208851007/>have accepted a buyout offer President DonaldTrump<https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/donald-trump/> made to theentire federal workforce<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/28/trump-offers-buyouts-federal-employees/78004655007/>before Thursday's deadline, a White House official said Tuesday. CMS isamong the world's largest purchasers of health care with $1.5 trillion inoutlays during fiscal 2024, according to the agency's annual financialreport<https://www.cms.gov/files/document/cms-financial-report-fiscal-year-2024.pdf>.CMS and its contractors process more than one billion Medicare claims eachyear, monitor health care quality through inspections at hospitals andnursing homes and provide states with matching funds for Medicaid, thefederal-state health program that covers low income families. Medicare, thefederal health program for adults 65 and over and the disabled, covers about68 million people while Medicaid covers 73 million people. Trump has tappedcelebrity doctor and former Congressional candidate Mehmet Oz to leadCMS. The Senate has not yet confirmed Oz. On Tuesday, the Senate FinanceCommitteeadvanced<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2025/02/04/rfk-jr-senate-vote/78206522007/>Robert F. Kennedy's nomination to lead HHS, which oversees CMS. The Senatestill must approve Kennedy's nomination.Musk's team accesses Medicare, Medicaid recordsAxios 2/5/2025Elon Musk's Department of GovernmentEfficiency<https://www.axios.com/2025/02/03/elon-musk-federal-agencies-doge>has gained access to the inner workings of Health and Human Services,including data systems of the agency that manages a nearly $2 trillionbudget, handles Medicare and Medicaid benefits and runs the NationalInstitutes of Health, the world's biggest biomedical research institution.Why it matters: As they march through the federal bureaucracy, Musk and histeam now have a seemingly unfiltered view of the sensitive inner workings ofmuch of U.S. health care. * DOGE is looking for examples of waste, fraud and abuse as it pursues "opportunities for more effective and efficient use of resources" at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency spokesperson said. * But it's not clear how wide a net it's casting or how it's defining those words. State of play: Two senior agency staff, one focused on policy and one focused on operations, are leading collaborative efforts with DOGE and "ensuring appropriate access to CMS systems and technology," a CMS spokesperson said Wednesday. * DOGE team members have also visited the Atlanta offices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and asked for sensitive information from the agencies, the Washington Post reported<https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/02/05/doge-health-agencies-labor/>. * DOGE staff have been given read-only access to a database including information on contracts the agency maintains, according the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on DOGE entering CMS.<https://www.wsj.com/politics/elon-musk-doge-medicare-medicaid-fraud-e697b162> * WSJ reported that DOGE is also looking at the technology used by CMS and its organizational structure. * CMS did not respond to questions on specific systems DOGE staff have access to, or how long the review is expected to last. What they're saying: "Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening," Musk wrote on X Wednesday, referring to DOGE going into Medicare systems. The definition of abuse or waste "is really in the eye of the beholder," Chris Meekins, managing director at Raymond James, wrote in a client note. * For example, Medicare advisers to Congress argue the government is overpaying privately administrated Medicare Advantage plans that now cover more than half of the country's seniors. But insurers and other policymakers and advisers disagree that the government is wasting money in that space. * DOGE has said it wants to save $2 trillion in government spending, which is virtually impossible to do without making cuts to health spending. But President Trump told reporters last week that his administration won't touch Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid unless it finds abuse or waste. <https://www.axios.com/2025/01/24/doges-road-to-saving-2-trillion-starts-with-an-unexpected-order> * "The people won't be affected," Trump said. Reality check: The federal government has long-established channels for rooting out overspending and wrongdoing in health programs. They recoup billions of taxpayer dollars each year. * HHS inspectors recovered $7.13 billion for the federal government in misspent taxpayer funds during fiscal year 2024. The Justice Department brought in another $1.7 billion in settlements and judgments from health care-related litigation on false claims. * Trump fired HHS inspector general Christi Grimm last week. Yes, but: The Government Accountability Office said in an April report<https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-107487> that the federal government can do more to stop improper payments in Medicare and Medicaid. * The two programs accounted for 43% of improper payments made throughout federal agencies in 2023, according to GAO. * Conservative health wonks are optimistic that DOGE can bring positive change to government-run health programs. * "It is a no-brainer for DOGE to focus on problems in this area and it's long overdue," Brian Blase, president of health policy think tank Paragon Health Institute, told Axios.------------------------------Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2025 11:41:52 -0800From: Peter Neumann <Neumann () CSL SRI COM>Subject: White House seeks public input on AI strategy (Axios)https://www.axios.com/2025/02/06/trump-white-house-ai-action-planRequest for Information on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence(AI) Action Planhttps://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/06/2025-02305/request-for-information-on-the-development-of-an-artificial-intelligence-ai-action-plan------------------------------Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2025 08:12:31 -0800From: Kent Borg <kentborg () borg org>Subject: Re: AI in medicine (Jim Geissman)
At one point I heard him tell his phone "load the annual physicalmacro". JRG
I think it is time to get a new doctor.------------------------------Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2025 18:47:27 +0200From: Amos Shapir <amos083 () gmail com>Subject: Re: Eutelsat resolves OneWeb leap-year software glitch after two-day outage (Bacher, RISKS-34.53)
The error was failing to identify 2024 as a leap year but the problemdidn't occur until now?
> Not on 29 February 2024?The software was probably using a day-of-the-year number, and wasn'tprepared to deal with 366.------------------------------Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2023 11:11:11 -0800From: RISKS-request () csl sri comSubject: Abridged info on RISKS (comp.risks) The ACM RISKS Forum is a MODERATED digest. Its Usenet manifestation is comp.risks, the feed for which is donated by panix.com as of June 2011.=> SUBSCRIPTIONS: The mailman Web interface can be used directly to subscribe and unsubscribe:http://mls.csl.sri.com/mailman/listinfo/risks=> SUBMISSIONS: to risks () CSL sri com with meaningful SUBJECT: line that includes the string `notsp'. Otherwise your message may not be read. *** This attention-string has never changed, but might if spammers use it.=> SPAM challenge-responses will not be honored. Instead, use an alternative address from which you never send mail where the address becomes public!=> The complete INFO file (submissions, default disclaimers, archive sites, copyright policy, etc.) has moved to the ftp.sri.com site: <risksinfo.html>. *** Contributors are assumed to have read the full info file for guidelines!=> OFFICIAL ARCHIVES:http://www.risks.org takes you to Lindsay Marshall's delightfully searchable html archive at newcastle:http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/VL.IS --> VoLume, ISsue. Also,ftp://ftp.sri.com/risks for the current volume/previous directories orftp://ftp.sri.com/VL/risks-VL.IS for previous VoLume If none of those work for you, the most recent issue is always athttp://www.csl.sri.com/users/risko/risks.txt, and index at /risks-34.00 ALTERNATIVE ARCHIVES:http://seclists.org/risks/ (only since mid-2001) *** NOTE: If a cited URL fails, we do not try to update them. Try browsing on the keywords in the subject line or cited article leads. Apologies for what Office365 and SafeLinks may have done to URLs.==> Special Offer to Join ACM for readers of the ACM RISKS Forum: <http://www.acm.org/joinacm1>------------------------------End of RISKS-FORUM Digest 34.54************************
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