Welcome to the March 19, 2025 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

• Dutch Parliament Calls for End to Dependence on U.S. Software Companies
• Russia, China Use 'Massive Digital Arsenal' to Manipulate Democracies, Says EU
• Google to Buy Cybersecurity Firm Wiz for $32 Billion
• There's a Good Chance Your Kid Uses AI to Cheat
• Subsea Fiber Cables Can 'Listen Out' for Sabotage
• China Announces Generative AI Labeling to Cull Disinformation
• Iran Using Drones, Apps to Enforce Women's Dress Code
• AI Search Engines Cite Incorrect Sources at 60% Rate, Study Finds
• South Korea Sees Decline in University Computer Science Applicants
• Europol Warns of AI-Driven Crime Threats
• AI Ring Tracks Spelled Words in American Sign Language
• Activist Investor Webb Changes Mind on Ending Database

Dutch Parliament Calls for End to Dependence on U.S. Software Companies

The Netherlands' parliament on Tuesday approved a series of motions calling on the government to reduce its dependence on U.S. software companies. The motions call for the creation of a cloud services platform under Dutch control, re-examination of a decision to use Amazon's Web services for the Netherlands' Internet domain hosting, and preferential treatment for European firms in public tenders.
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Russia, China Use 'Massive Digital Arsenal' to Manipulate Democracies, Says EU

In a report released Tuesday, the European Union warned that China and Russia are using a "massive digital arsenal" to interfere with and manipulate democracies. "Information manipulation and interference are major threats to EU security," EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (pictured) said in the report, which documented disinformation attacks against more than 80 countries and over 200 organizations last year.
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Google to Buy Cybersecurity Firm Wiz for $32 Billion

Google on Tuesday said it has reached a deal to buy Wiz, an Israeli IT security company, for $32 billion. The deal, if approved by regulators, would be the biggest acquisition in the tech giant's 26-year history. The proposed takeover is part of Google’s expansion into cloud computing, as AI drives demand for datacenters. If the deal goes through, Wiz will join Google Cloud, the division that sells computing services to other businesses.
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There's a Good Chance Your Kid Uses AI to Cheat

Impact Research found that close to 40% of middle- and high-school students, and almost half of college students, used AI to complete assignments without a teacher's knowledge or permission. Some educators are responding by requiring students to write first drafts by hand in class without access to computers or smartphones, or are no longer assigning homework. Others are using third-party AI detection tools, which are not always accurate in flagging AI use.
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Subsea Fiber Cables Can 'Listen Out' for Sabotage

Fiber optic acoustic sensing systems could help detect underwater drones or hostile vessels close to subsea cables. German tech firm AP Sensing's system, deployed on some cable installations in the North Sea, can detect temperature changes, vibrations, or physical disturbances near or at the cable and help determine the location, approximate size, and travel direction of vessels passing above the cable.
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China Announces Generative AI Labeling to Cull Disinformation

The Cyberspace Administration of China, along with three other agencies, issued new regulations requiring service providers to label AI-generated material to prevent disinformation. The rules go into effect Sept. 1, with labels either explicitly stating the material is AI-generated or making the disclosure via metadata encoded in each file. Additionally, app store operators must determine whether developers provide AI-generated content services and review their labeling mechanisms.
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Iran Using Drones, Apps to Enforce Women's Dress Code

United Nations investigators found that Iran is using "state-sponsored vigilantism" to enforce its strict dress code for women. Drones and security cameras are being used to monitor hijab compliance, with facial recognition software installed at the entrance gate of Tehran's Amirkabir University and surveillance cameras on major roadways to detect women not wearing such head coverings. Additionally, the "Nazer" mobile app allows police and "vetted" members of the public to report uncovered women in vehicles, providing the location, date, time, and license plate number.
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AI Search Engines Cite Incorrect Sources at 60% Rate, Study Finds

Researchers at Columbia University's Tow Center for Digital Journalism found that AI models gave incorrect answers to more than 60% of queries about news sources. The researchers fed excerpts of news stories into eight AI-driven search tools and found that all tested models provided fabrications, rather than not responding when their information was unreliable. The study also showed the models tended to point users to syndicated versions of content rather than original publisher sites.
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South Korea Sees Decline in University Computer Science Applicants

There have been 27,266 applicants for early admission to South Korean university computer science programs for the 2025 academic year, down 2,229 from last year. This comes as demand for junior developers is on the decline, and a survey of South Korea's biggest developer community, OKKY, found that 9 of 18 IT companies with more than 100 employees have no plans to increase headcount.
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Europol Warns of AI-Driven Crime Threats

Europol said in a report released Tuesday that organized crime gangs are moving their recruitment, communication, and payment systems online and leveraging AI to scale up their operations across the globe and prevent detection. According to the report, criminals are using AI to produce messages in different languages and create realistic impersonations of individuals, among other acts. The EU law enforcement agency said fully autonomous AI "could pave the way for entirely AI-controlled criminal networks, marking a new era in organized crime."
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AI Ring Tracks Spelled Words in American Sign Language

A team led by Cornell University researchers developed an AI-powered ring that can track fingerspelling in American Sign Language. Worn on the thumb, SpellRing uses a microphone and speaker to transmit sound waves that track hand and finger movements, and a mini gyroscope to track hand motions. Images captured by micro-sonar technology are analyzed by a proprietary deep learning algorithm to predict the fingerspelled letters in real time, with 82% to 92% accuracy.
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Activist Investor Webb Changes Mind on Ending Database

David Webb (pictured), a Hong Kong activist investor who announced in February that he was dying of cancer, said he will make the online database he has built up over decades available for public access on Github, changing course on an earlier pledge to shutter it before his death. “As my final gift to the public interest, I plan to leave all of it, together with my self-developed collection software, in a public repository on GitHub, so that everyone who is interested now or in the future can take it forward,” Webb wrote.
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