The Day the World's ATMs Stood Still--or Didn't
You're probably on tenterhooks wondering what will happen to your reliable, convenient ATM on April 8, the day Microsoft officially sticks a fork in its hugely popular Windows XP operating system...
"security"
How to Reconcile Big Data and Privacy
In many ways "big data" and "encryption" are antithetical. The former involves harvesting, storing and analyzing information to reveal patterns that researchers, law enforcement and industry can use to their benefit...
A Guardian "Agent" to Protect You From Digital Fraud
Today, maintaining privacy without guided assistance is an onerous task, whose initial costs are high, immediate rewards low and solutions fragile and constantly evolving.
Are You Being Watched? Probably
Looking back at the surveillance all around us--from wiretapped phones to security cameras
A Survey Asks: How Much Does Your Privacy Online Matter?
Is online anonymity important to you? How far are you willing to go to protect your privacy? These two the key questions are examined in a report released Thursday by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project...
The Super Bowls Super Security Boat
The Super Bowl poses mammoth security challenges in any given year. This years championship gamethe first since last Aprils Boston Marathon bombingraises the stakes by bringing the game, which the Department of Homeland Security designates a Level One national security event, to New Jerseys MetLife Stadium...
Can Science Solve Terrorism? Q&A with Psychologist John Horgan
For years, I’ve been getting e-mails from people who praise my brilliant research on terrorism and then ask me tough questions about the topic
![2011 Lemelson-M.I.T. Student Inventor Prizes Offer a Glimpse of the Future in Medical and Security Screening Tech [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/A29D64B1-858F-4E50-A19F2CFE340033B4_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
2011 Lemelson-M.I.T. Student Inventor Prizes Offer a Glimpse of the Future in Medical and Security Screening Tech [Slide Show]
Automatic gear shifting for safer and more efficient wheelchairs; a technique for harnessing terahertz spectroscopy; "humanized" lab mice; and cheaper, more accurate malaria testing--meet this year's crop of Lemelson-M.I.T...
![Yes We Scan: Have Post-9/11 Airport Screening Technologies Made Us Safer? [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/B1118E43-063C-4595-B4EEC284F7FE1A9A_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Yes We Scan: Have Post-9/11 Airport Screening Technologies Made Us Safer? [Slide Show]
Airport security breaches on and after 9/11 have led to the continual advancement of technologies such as millimeter wave imaging and backscatter scanners to prevent future tragedies
Is Your Home Security System Safe?
Tech Talker: Quick and Dirty Tips to Navigate the Digital World
3 Projects Prove Privacy Is Not Dead
Web and mobile phone users willingly share personal data in exchange for free stuff, but not everyone is ready to throw in the towel on privacy
Scientific American Editor’s Picks for the Top Tech Stories of 2014
Wallets, wreckage and digital coin. Before the new year appears, let's look at some of the most important technology stories Scientific American covered over the past 12 months.
Shopping Habits Reveal Personal Details in "Anonymized" Data
Details about where and when you use your credit card could help reveal your identity to data thieves—even if they don't know your name, address and other personal information.
Why Lasers Won’t Protect Airliners
Questions over the best way to protect civilian aircraft from surface-launched missiles have reemerged in light of the recent Malaysia Airlines tragedy over the Ukraine.
Is there more to locking up than personal safety?
Do you lock the door to your home when you're inside during the day? Or do you leave the door open if you are just running out for a minute?
Fears of Future Belligerence Should Not Derail Iranian Nuclear Deal
While many provisions of the proposed agreement expire after 15 years, the dynamics of the Middle East are shifting too quickly to predict what lies in store
How Hackers Take Down Web Sites [Video]
Many of the Web sites we visit every day are under cyber attack by malicious hackers looking to disrupt business transactions, discourage people from using a particular online service or exact payback for some real or perceived slight...
Poor Oversight Catches Up with High-Security Infectious Agent and Disease Labs
The Centers for Disease Control plans to take measures to better protect lab workers and the rest of us from dangerous biological samples
![Satellites Spy on Washington from on High [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/288DF172-35FD-4A69-B39A6121A0D14076_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Satellites Spy on Washington from on High [Slide Show]
A satellite imaging company provides clear new pix of features on Earth's surface as India mulls the role played by such imagery in the deadly Mumbai attacks
Space Wars - Coming to the Sky Near You?
A recent shift in U.S. military strategy and provocative actions by china threaten to ignite a new arms race in space. But would placing weapons in space be in anyone's national interest?...
