A new cyber taskforce will supposedly ‘hack the hackers’ behind the Medibank breach. It could put a target on Australia’s back

Shutterstock Mamoun Alazab, Charles Darwin University The Australian government is launching an offensive against cybercriminals, following a data breach that has exposed millions of people’s personal information. On November 12, Minister for Cyber Security...

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Canada’s public broadcaster should use Mastodon to provide a social media service

Mastodon’s decentralized network could be leveraged as a model for future social media. (Shutterstock) Fenwick McKelvey, Concordia University and Robert W. Gehl, York University, Canada Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and ensuing confusion has driven many...

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People are leaving Twitter for Mastodon, but are they ready for democratic social media?

Mastodon appears to be the most viable alternative to Twitter. (Shutterstock) Gordon A. Gow, University of Alberta Elon Musk’s recent takeover of Twitter has thrust Mastodon into the spotlight. Some Twitter users are now trying the alternative network out,...

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Impersonation and parody: Shitposters satirically mock Elon Musk’s chaotic Twitter takeover

Twitter users have been shitposting on the social media site to challenge Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform. (Shutterstock) Jess Rauchberg, McMaster University Posting on Twitter has changed since Elon Musk finalized his $44 billion takeover of the micro-blogging...

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Flexible AI computer chips promise wearable health monitors that protect privacy

A device like this could one day monitor and assess your health. Sihong Wang Research Group/University of Chicago, CC BY-ND Sihong Wang, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic...

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Powerful linear accelerator begins smashing atoms – 2 scientists on the team explain how it could reveal rare forms of matter

A new particle accelerator at Michigan State University is set to discover thousands of never-before-seen isotopes. Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, CC BY-ND Sean Liddick, Michigan State University and Artemis Spyrou, Michigan State University Just a few...

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What is Mastodon? A social media expert explains how the ‘federated’ network works and why it won’t be a new Twitter

Twitter users who are fleeing to the social media platform Mastodon are finding it to be a different animal. Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Brian C. Keegan, University of Colorado Boulder In the wake of Elon Musk’s noisy takeover...

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What the world would lose with the demise of Twitter: Valuable eyewitness accounts and raw data on human behavior, as well as a habitat for trolls

Twitter itself produces a lot of data that’s available nowhere else. STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images Anjana Susarla, Michigan State University What do a cybersecurity researcher building a system to generate alerts for detecting security threats and vulnerabilities,...

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Social media use and poor wellbeing feed into each other in a vicious cycle. Here are 3 ways to avoid getting stuck

Shutterstock/The Conversation Hannah Jarman, Deakin University We often hear about the negative impacts of social media on our wellbeing, but we don’t usually think of it the other way round – whereby how we feel may impact how we use social media. In a recent...

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