Latest news with #UniversityofMarylandGlobalCampus
NDTV
05-07-2025
- Health
- NDTV
Can Hackers Take Over Your Brain? Neuroscience Reveals The Disturbing Truth
Neuroscience suggests that while the idea of "hacking" the human brain sounds like sci-fi, emerging brain-computer interface (BCI) technology introduces real vulnerabilities. According to a report by University of Maryland Global Campus, BCIs, whether invasive implants or noninvasive wearable sensors, translate neural signals into digital commands, enabling applications from prosthetic control to gaming. According to a study by Cornell University, security concerns are multifaceted. First, hackers could intercept neural data streams, essentially reading thoughts transmitted from brain to device. Researchers have demonstrated "backdoor" attacks on EEG-based BCIs: tiny perturbations injected into brainwave-analysis algorithms can alter outcomes, from benign coaching tools to critical medical diagnostics. Second, the integrity of neural signals can be compromised, manipulated, or spoofed, potentially influencing emotions, decisions, or behaviour. In extreme cases, implanted deep-brain stimulators (used for Parkinson's) can be hacked to alter brain function directly. Third, neuroprivacy is at stake. Neural data may reveal sensitive medical conditions or private thoughts; unauthorised access would violate what ethicists call "cognitive liberty". According to a report by TIME, while brain transparency isn't imminent, we're quickly moving toward a future where scientists, governments, and corporations could potentially access our thoughts and mental states. In response to this emerging reality, experts emphasize the urgent need to establish the right to 'cognitive liberty' a modern extension of personal freedom. This right would ensure individuals maintain control over their own minds, safeguarding mental privacy, freedom of thought, and autonomy in the digital age. However, widespread "mind control" remains speculative. No verified cases of neuroweapon attacks (such as Havana Syndrome) exist; current BCI systems lack the precision or capability to rewrite memories or override free will, according to UNESCO Courier. In response, the field of neurosecurity is emerging. It applies cybersecurity principles, encryption, secure protocols, and threat models to protect neural devices and safeguard user autonomy. As BCIs advance-from experimental medical tools to consumer wearables-ethical frameworks and robust regulations must evolve alongside them. Ultimately, the brain can be hacked-if connected to machines. But with vigilant security measures and ethical oversight, neuroscience offers hope that our minds remain our own.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Regents committee calls for OK of $69 million for time to pull back spun-off businesses
Leaders of the University of Maryland Global Campus, Asia, congratulate a graduate from during ceremonies in Japan in 2023. UMGC has long provided classes for servicemembers around the globe, but has heavily emphasized its online courses in recent years. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Thomas Sheng/U.S. Marine Corps) The University of Maryland Global Campus should pay out $69 million to run out the contracts of two independent businesses it created that came under sharp criticism from legislators and legislative auditors last year. That was the recommendation of the University System of Maryland's Board of Regents Finance Committee, which quickly voted Wednesday to extend the $46 million-a-year contract for UMGC Ventures for another 18 months, while the online university works to pull it and another spun-off unit back in-house. Ventures handles the online UMGC's information technology services, and the university is 'not currently positioned to perform these functions in-house,' the resolution said as justification for the extension. The resolution notes that it does not increase the current contract with Ventures, which handles UMGC's information technology services, but merely extends it a current rates. The contract will start July 1 and run through Dec. 31, 2026, the length of time UMCG officials said it will take reintegrate Ventures and the other independent unit called AccelerEd, a subsidiary of Ventures. 'The requested contract extension does not increase the annual contract from the current value of fiscal year 25,' UMGC President Gregory Fowler told the committee via Zoom. 'But it does provide us with a necessary runway to implement the reintegration services without disruption of these, which are critical IT services as we are trying to move forward.' Fowler said a consulting firm had been hired to craft a reintegration plan and assess the university's relationship with the two units. 'I just want to say thank you for dealing with a difficult situation, and for your summary that you sent out,' committee member William T. 'Bill' Wood said during the brief discussion on the issue. 'That was really helpful to read that and understand,. And congratulations on almost getting through the whole thing.' 'Thank you, Regent Wood,' Fowler said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The move to reintegrate offices came after a critical August 2024 audit completed by the state Office of Legislative Audits (OLA), which stated the online university's creation of AccelerEd and Ventures cost too much money and appeared to skirt normal university procedures. UMGC created the two companies under a University System of Maryland policy called the High Impact Economic Development Activities program. Under HIEDA, campuses in the system are allowed to give preferential treatment to businesses they spin off, under specific circumstances. According to the audit, the campus created Ventures in 2016 as a tax-exempt holding company for UMGC businesses that the university seeded with $15 million. A year later, UMGC spun off its information technology office into AccelerEd. Ventures had $215.3 million in revenues from fiscal years 2017 to 2022, the audit said, but about $198.1 million of that came from UMGC. And of the $198.1 million, about $184 million of those service agreements were made without competitive bids and with little oversight afterward, the audit said. While HIEDA policy doesn't require institutions to seek competitive bids, the audit noted that 'the law does not mandate exclusive use of these entities.' University officials defended the arrangement in the audit, and when they appeared before the joint committee nearly three months later, in a November hearing, they said they still stood by 'the intent' of the program, even if there were issues in how that intent was executed. The university hired Attain Partners of McLean, Virginia, to study the companies, with a plan focused on seven areas that included governance and leadership alignment, communication and change management, finance and budgeting and technology. According to an executive summary Attain presented in May, Ventures and AccelerEd helped create 174 jobs , supported St. Mary's College of Maryland and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, provided $1.5 million in scholarships and established three technology programs. The summary also highlighted legal advice offered by Florida-based Holland & Knight, which has a Washington, D.C., office. It said Ventures met its IRS designations and complied with UMGC rules by conducting business 'on an arm's length basis.' Some members of Ventures' board of directors were not appointed by the university, governor or executive authority, so its board didn't require a quorum, and the university 'has no veto power or ability to reverse decisions,' the consultant's report said. 'It does not appear that Ventures would be subject to audit by UMGC or the University System of Maryland without either volunteering to do so or judicial deliberation,' according to the summary. Among Attain's recommendations was to develop 'a 12–18-month implementation plan to incorporate the necessary frameworks, mechanisms, and structures within Ventures to support the commercialization lifecycle,' and it said that if UMGC absorbed AccelerEd's staff and services back into the university, it 'addresses the majority of OLA audit concerns.' The Finance Committee's recommendation will be presented to the full Board of Regents, which is scheduled June 13 at 8 a.m. at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Area students earn academic honors during fall semester 2024
Basagic earns degree from University of Maryland Global Campus ADELPHI, Md. — Jeremy S. Basagic, of Fairmont, earned a bachelor of science in computer networks and cybersecurity from University of Maryland Global Campus in fall 2024. Basagic was one of nearly 5,900 students worldwide who earned degrees from UMGC in the fall 2024 term. University of Maryland Global Campus was founded more than 75 years ago specifically to serve the higher education needs of working adults and military service members. Amos named to Dean's List at Youngstown State University YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Carol 'Liz' Amos, of Fairmont, West Virginia, who is majoring in multimedia communication – sports broadcasting track, has been named to the Dean's List at Youngstown State University for fall semester 2024. Dean's List recognition is awarded to full-time undergraduate students who have earned at least a 3.4 grade point average for not less than 12 semester hours of credit in the Fall semester. Youngstown State University, a comprehensive urban research university, offers over 11,500 students more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs on a 145-acre campus that includes high-tech classrooms, state-of-the-art labs and performance facilities, and a variety of on-campus housing options and recreational facilities. Two area students named to Radford University Dean's List for fall 2024 RADFORD, Va. — Radford University has released its Dean's List for fall 2024. Appearing on the Dean's List is the most prestigious academic recognition RU students can receive for their performance during a semester. Cameron Cole, of Bridgeport, and Bridgitte Hammond, of Fairmont, met four specific criteria to achieve this honor. Students must have 12 semester hours of coursework graded A-F; earn GPA's of at least 3.4 for courses not graded on a pass-fail basis; obtain no grade lower than 'C'; and receive no incomplete grades. Radford University is a comprehensive public university of 7,812 students that has received national recognition for many of its undergraduate and graduate academic programs, as well as its sustainability initiatives. Six are students earn academic honors during fall semester 2024 at Ohio University ATHENS, Ohio — Ohio University College of Arts and Sciences student Cale Culicerto, of Bridgeport, was named to Ohio's fall 2024 Provost's List. At the end of each semester, Ohio University's undergraduate students are evaluated based on their semester GPA and hours to determine placement on the President's List, Dean's List or Provost's List. The Provost's List recognition is shared with high-achieving, part-time undergraduate students who exemplify academic success. Qualifying students must possess a 3.5 or greater GPA and between 6 and 11.99 credit hours attempted for letter grades that are used to calculate GPA. In fall semester 2024, approximately 1,900 of Ohio University's part-time undergraduate students qualified for the Provost's List. Abigail Brannen, of Fairmont, joins three Bridgeport students on the fall 2024 Dean's List — Sophia Schroeder, Garrett Smith and Morgan Sprouse. The Dean's List recognizes undergraduate students who complete a particular semester with a GPA between 3.5 and 3.999 with a minimum of 12 credit hours attempted for letter grades that are used to calculate GPA. In fall semester 2024, approximately 6,800 Ohio University undergraduate students qualified for the Dean's List. A complete listing is available online. Meanwhile, Theo Blundell, of Bridgeport, and Anthony Pinkerton, of Fairmont, were named to the Ohio President's List. Criteria for the President's List includes a 4.0 GPA for the given semester with a minimum of 12 credit hours attempted for letter grades that are used to calculate GPA. In fall semester 2024, approximately 2,000 Ohio University undergraduate students qualified for Ohio's President's List.
