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At Black Hat 2021, CISA Director Jen Easterly launches CISA JCDC (Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative)

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has launched a new agency effort, the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), to develop cyber defense operations strategies and to implement those plans in collaboration with partners to mitigate risk prior to incidents happening and to coordinate unified defensive actions in the event of a cyber-attack.
What the C-Suite needs to know about a Return to “Great Power Competition” and DoD Capabilities (per the Congressional Research Service)

This post provides insights into what the C-Suite needs to know about the rise of great power competition, based largely on a recently released report by the policy and legal research agency of the United States Congress, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), titled Renewed Great Power Competition: Implications for Defense—Issues for Congress. Great Power Competition: U.S. DoD…
Stark Vulnerabilities and Strong Recommendations continue in 2021 update to “Federal Cybersecurity: America’s Data at Risk” Report (2019)

In a follow-up to a 2019 report that found major cybersecurity vulnerabilities at eight government agencies, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has released a 2021 updated report. Entitled Federal Cybersecurity: America’s Data Still at Risk, the update does not mince words: “This report revisits those same eight agencies two years later. What this report finds is stark.”
What To Know And Do About The Coming Metaverse

In the early 1990’s SciFi fans were introduced to a concept called the Metaverse in Neal Stephenson’s book SnowCrash. In the book this described a future virtual reality beyond the universe that was populated by user-controlled avatars as well as AI and bots. Now decades later the age of the Metaverse is upon us. Most…
Will Cyber Breaches Start a Shooting War?

In a late July 2020 speech at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), President Biden stated that “if we end up in a war, a real shooting war with a major power, it’s going to be as a consequence of a cyber breach.” This definitive pronouncement comes at a time when the…
An Executive’s Guide to Scenario Planning for Strategic Decision-making

Scenario planning is an often overlooked aspect of corporate decision-making. But it is needed now more than ever. Scenario planning is a methodology for helping leaders think through alternative futures in a way that enables identification of issues. It raises potential outcomes and impacts and helps conceptualize potential risks and opportunities so organizations can be…
Dan Gerstein on how to shape the future of technology

“We are liable to see a very changed humanity as we look to the future. And so I’m very interested in a humanity that is, if you will, that is good for humans, not just one in which we sort of become the subjects of our technologies.” – Dan Gerstein Over the course of the…
India-Pakistan Cyber Conflict Shows Critical Infrastructures Are a Top Target for Any State

Recently, Pakistan hackers allegedly targeted government and energy organizations in India, although some compromised entities were also located in Afghanistan. The attackers used a newly-developed remote access Trojan dubbed “ReverseRAT” that featured diverse functionality to include sophisticated evasion techniques to avoid detection and obfuscate attacker presence on compromised machines.
OODA Special Report: US Drought Requires Use Of Best Practices in Scenario Planning

This is the second in our series of special reports on mitigating the risks and improving corporate strategic planning regarding the drought in the US. The first is the OODA Special Report: How Drought In The US Should Impact Your Mid To Long Range Strategic Planning. This report expands on the mid to long term scenario…
Project Pegasus: Global news organizations reveal expansive investigation of NSO Group “zero click” surveillance software

Seventeen news organizations around the globe have launched Project Pegasus, a hard-hitting investigative report of the Israel-based NSO group. The news project is eponymously concerned with Pegasus, the cyberespionage tool developed by the NSO Group.
The 6th Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) Shows Positive Signs if Governments Want to Cooperate

In June 2021, the 25-member United Nations (UN) “Group of Governmental Experts on Advancing Responsible State Behavior in Cyberspace in the Context of International Security” (GGE) produced a report, building on its previous meetings to get the international community on the same page with respect to cyber attacks. Typically, final reports are only produced when the…
What The C-Suite Needs To Know About The USG Advisory on Risks and Considerations for Businesses Operating in Hong Kong

The US Government released a statement jointly produced by the Department of State, Department of Treasury, Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security on the topic of business risks associated with operating in Hong Kong. If any single agency released a memo on a topic like this it would be important. With all four…
OODA Network Interview: Dr. John P. Sullivan

This OODA Network Expert interview is with John P. Sullivan, a career police officer and creator of the Terrorism Early Warning Group concept. He retired as a lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. John discusses his career progression and insights for current and future leaders on dealing with emerging threats. “Slow down, listen…
Don’t Rely on Tiered Rankings to Measure Cyber Power

Recently, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) published a report that assessed nation state cyber capabilities and national power. The qualitative assessment covered and codified seven categories that contributed to building a nation state’s cyber program: strategy and doctrine; governance, command and control; core cyber intelligence capability; cyber empowerment and dependence; cyber security; global leadership in cyber…
Mitigating Cyber Risk In An Age of Continuous Crisis

In early May we began a discussion with our OODA Network members that started with an observation. About six months prior we had been through the Solar Winds attack, which from our perspective was clearly one of the most damaging attacks/espionage operations in history. Soon after that, the attack series named Hafnium by Microsoft was…

Briefs

Adobe’s GenStudio brings brand-safe generative AI to marketers

Brands want to use generative AI to personalize their marketing efforts — but they are also deathly afraid of AI going off message and ruining their brand. At its annual Summit conference in Las Vegas, Adobe today announced GenStudio, a new application that helps brands create content and measure its performance, with generative AI —…
Here’s why AI search engines really can’t kill Google

AI is coming for the search business. Or so we’re told. As Google seems to keep getting worse, and tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot seem to keep getting better, we appear to be barreling toward a new way to find and consume information online. Companies like Perplexity and You.com are pitching themselves…
ChatGPT’s boss claims nuclear fusion is the answer to AI’s soaring energy needs. Not so fast, experts say

Artificial intelligence is energy-hungry and as companies race to make it bigger, smarter and more complex, its thirst for electricity will increase even further. This sets up a thorny problem for an industry pitching itself as a powerful tool to save the planet: a huge carbon footprint. Yet according to Sam Altman, head of ChatGPT…
‘Humanoid’ robot wave signals change on the production line

From steam engines to conveyor-belt assembly lines and robots on the factory floor, the manufacturing industry has long been a pioneer of new technologies. Artificial intelligence now looks set to become the next and, perhaps, biggest leap forward. But what will it mean for jobs over the next decade? Use cases: controlling plants, recommending equipment…
Artists Get Early Access To OpenAI’s Sora Video Tool, With Surreal Results

A select group of artists, designers and filmmakers have now had a couple of months to play with OpenAI’s new Sora text-to-video tool, and on Monday, OpenAI shared some of their creations and first impressions. “As great as Sora is at generating things that appear real, what excites us is its ability to make things that…
Chinese State-Sponsored Hackers Charged, Sanctions Levied by US

The Department of Justice has charged seven Chinese nationals with widespread cyber espionage against US businesses and politicians. The cybercriminals were identified as affiliates of the group APT31 and all seven are believed to live in the People’s Republic of China. The Department of the Treasury also unveiled sanctions on March 25 against the shell…
US Government Urges Software Makers to Eliminate SQL Injection Vulnerabilities

The US cybersecurity agency CISA and the FBI published an alert on Monday calling for organizations to eliminate SQL injection vulnerabilities in their software products. These flaws represent a class of security defects in commercial software, despite consistent documentation and the presence of effective mitigations. Products vulnerable to SQLi put many customers at risk. CISA…
Africa Tackles Online Disinformation Campaigns During Major Election Year

Cybersecurity and information security officials are scrambling to find solutions to the dramatic increase in online disinformation attacks against African nations and international agencies operating on the continent. The year of 2023 saw at least 189 documents disinformation campaigns, which is four times greater than the amount reported in 2022. The surge of attacks comes…
China hits out at US and UK over cyber hack claims

China has spoken out after accusations from the US and UK that it is responsible for a state hacking operation that targeted millions of people in Western countries. A foreign ministry spokesperson called for Washington and others to stop their own cyber attacks and accused them of political manipulation. The spokesperson added that Britain’s evidence…
Five Chinese nationals among six killed in suicide bomb attack in Pakistan

Five Chinese nationals and a Pakistani driver were killed after a suicide attacker rammed his vehicle that was filled with explosives into their convoy near Besham city. The attack on Tuesday occurred in northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when the convoy was on its way from Islamabad to Dasu. The convoy were going to the…
Israel cancels Washington visit after US allows UN Gaza ceasefire resolution to pass

Tensions were seen between the United States and Israel on Monday when Washington allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The US decision to abstain on the vote caused Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a scheduled trip to the US by two of his advisors.…
Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses after being hit by cargo ship: gCaptain has best context

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore has collapsed after being struck by a container ship. Several vehicles were crossing the bridge when the container ship made contact with one of its supports. At least seven people are believed to be in the water and a number of vehicles were detected…
Bitcoin ‘Halving’ Spurs Exodus of Old US Mining Computers Abroad

About 6,000 older Bitcoin mining machines in the US will soon be idled and sent to a warehouse in Colorado Springs where they’ll be refreshed and resold to buyers overseas looking to profit from mining in lower-cost environs. Wholesaler SunnySide Digital operates the 35,000 square-foot facility taking in the equipment from a mining client. The…
China blocks use of Intel and AMD chips in government computers

China has introduced new guidelines that will mean US microprocessors from Intel and AMD are phased out of government PCs and servers, as Beijing ramps up a campaign to replace foreign technology with homegrown solutions. The stricter government procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favour of…
The robot renaissance: How human-like machines are reshaping business

Humanoid robots have been a science fiction staple for more than a century. Indeed, robots owe their name to Czech writer Karel Čapek, who introduced the term in his 1920 play Rossum’s Universal Robots. Čapek’s robots were synthetic humans, not machines, and he derived the term from a Czech word for serf or servant. Most of…
What Every CEO Needs To Know About The New AI Act

Having recently passed the Artificial Intelligence Act, the European Union is about to bring into force some of the world’s toughest AI regulations. Potentially dangerous AI applications have been designated “unacceptable” and will be illegal except for government, law enforcement, and scientific study under specific conditions. As was true with GDPR, this new EU legislation…
In One Key A.I. Metric, China Pulls Ahead of the U.S.: Talent

When it comes to the artificial intelligence that powers chatbots like ChatGPT, China lags behind the United States. But when it comes to producing the scientists behind a new generation of humanoid technologies, China is pulling ahead. New research shows that China has by some metrics eclipsed the United States as the biggest producer of A.I.…
US and Japan to Strengthen Military Ties as they Eye China

Japan and the United States are in talks to boost military cooperation as they eye a growing threat from China. Reports suggest that US operations in the country will be seriously upgraded as Washington looks to counter any potential threat from China. US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will unveil a…
Hong Kong’s New Security Law Comes into Force Amid Human Rights Concerns

A new national security law, Article 23, has come into force in Hong Kong despite growing international criticism that it could erode freedoms in the China-ruled city. Currently, the new Article 23 law has expanded the British colonial-era offense of “sedition” to include inciting hatred against China’s Communist Party leadership. The United States, the European…
U.S. Call for Gaza Cease-Fire Runs Into Russia-China Veto at U.N.

A U.S. bid to have the U.N. Security Council call for “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Gaza Strip failed on Friday. Russia and China vetoed the American resolution that included some of Washington’s strongest language since the start of the war. The resolution reflected the Biden administration’s growing frustration both with the dire…
Amid Questions About Security Failures, Russian State Media Focus on a Different Narrative

On Friday, Russia had the worst terrorist attacks in the Moscow area in more than two decades. As Russia mourns the victims, differing narratives about the attack were spreading and taking hold in the country. The attack on a concert hall near Moscow left at least 137 people dead and represented a significant security failure…
Over 100 Organizations Targeted in Recent ‘StrelaStealer’ Attacks

Over 100 organizations in the US and EU have been targeted in recent large-scale phishing campaigns distributing the information stealer malware known as StrelaStealer, Palo Alto Networks reports. StrelaStealer harvests credentials from the well-known email clients and sends them to an attacker-controlled command-and-control (C&C) server specified in the malware’s configuration. The spam messages were mainly…
Shadow AI is the Latest Cybersecurity Threat you Need to Prepare For

Shadow AI refers to all the AI-enabled products and platforms being used within your organization that those departments don’t know about. Personal use of AI applications can be seen as harmless and low-risk, however this is not true. The risk of shadow AI includes: putting intellectual property at risk by inputting data or content into…
US Organizations Targeted with Emails Delivering NetSupport RAT

Employees at US-based organizations are being targeted with emails delivering NetSupport RAT malware via “nuanced” exploitation and by using an advanced detection evasion method. The campaign, dubbed PhantomBlu, takes the form of email messages purportedly coming from a legitimate accounting service. The phishing emails prompt recipients to download an attached Office Word file (.docx) to…
39,000 Websites Infected in ‘Sign1’ Malware Campaign

Sucuri, a website security firm, has issued a warning about a new malware family called Sign1 that has infected more than 39,000 websites. The malware, found in WordPress custom HTML widgets or the Simple Custom CSS and JS WordPress plugin, redirects visitors to scam domains and displays unwanted ads. Unlike traditional malware, Sign1 stays unnoticed…
Ransomware Group Takes Credit for Attack on Boat Dealer MarineMax

The Rhysida ransomware group has claimed responsibility for a recent cyberattack on boat dealer MarineMax and is offering to sell allegedly stolen data from the company for a significant sum, starting at 15 bitcoin ($950,000). MarineMax, one of the largest retailers of recreational boats and yachts globally, reported being targeted in a cyberattack that caused…
UN Adopts Resolution Backing Efforts to Ensure Artificial Intelligence is Safe

The United Nations General Assembly unanimously approved the first-ever resolution on artificial intelligence (AI), co-sponsored by 123 countries including the United States and China, aiming to ensure that AI benefits all nations, respects human rights, and is safe, secure, and trustworthy. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris hailed the resolution as historic, emphasizing the importance of…
Russian APT29 Hackers Caught Targeting German Political Parties

Security researchers at Mandiant have raised concerns after discovering that Russia’s APT29 hacking group, linked to the country’s foreign intelligence service (SVR), has begun targeting political parties in Germany. This marks a potential shift in operational focus beyond typical attacks on diplomatic figures. The attack involves multi-stage malware, including phishing emails impersonating a dinner reception…
OpenAI Reportedly Prepares for Upcoming Launch of Advanced GPT-5 Model

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence (AI) company led by Sam Altman, is reportedly preparing to release GPT-5, the next generation of its multimodal large language model, in the coming months. According to a Business Insider report citing two people familiar with the company, OpenAI could introduce GPT-5 sometime over the summer. The company has reportedly offered demos…
UN adopts first global artificial intelligence resolution

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted the first global resolution on artificial intelligence that encourages countries to safeguard human rights, protect personal data, and monitor AI for risks. The nonbinding resolution, proposed by the United States and co-sponsored by China and over 120 other nations, also advocates the strengthening of privacy policies.…
The Reinvention Of The Manufacturing Industry

When I began my career with General Motors in the Detroit area, economies of scale were the driving force behind major technological changes in the manufacturing sphere. Large companies had a major advantage over smaller ones because they had the money and resources to maintain their advantage and extend it. The rise of traditional robotics…
What Nvidia’s new Blackwell chip says about AI’s carbon footprint problem

The biggest show in AI this week is Nvidia’s GTC developer conference in San Jose, Calif. At GTC yesterday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the company’s newest graphics processing unit (GPU), the kind of chips that have become the workhorses of AI. The forthcoming Blackwell GPU will have 208 billion transistors, far exceeding the 80…
Apple Held Talks With China’s Baidu Over AI for Its Devices

Apple has held preliminary talks with Baidu about using the Chinese company’s generative artificial-intelligence technology in its devices in China, the latest example of the iPhone maker’s efforts to widen its AI capabilities. The U.S. tech giant has been exploring using external partners to help accelerate its AI ambitions. It has held discussions with companies including…
China’s Envoy says ‘Significant Gap’ Between Kyiv and Moscow on Peace Talks

Li Hui, China’s special envoy for Ukraine, has said there remained a “significant gap” between Moscow and Kyiv on peace talks to end the more than two-year-long war, although both agreed it was the best way to resolve the crisis. But while China insists it remains neutral, it has attracted criticism for deepening its relationship…
Blinken Meets with Arab Officials, Calls for ‘Enduring End’ to Gaza Crisis

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and reiterated the call for a truce in the war on Gaza and support for the two-state solution, the US Department of State has said. In his talks with the Saudi crown prince in…
In One Key A.I. Metric, China Pulls Ahead of the U.S.: Talent

When it comes to the artificial intelligence that powers chatbots, China lags behind the United States. However, when it comes to producing the scientists behind a new generation of humanoid technologies, China is pulling ahead. New research shows that China has by some metrics eclipsed the United States as the biggest producer of A.I. talent,…
Humanoid AI Smart Robots Driving New Job Realities

General-purpose humanoid robots using AI are advancing and increasingly gaining investment support to perform tasks that humans do easily. According to SkyQuest Technology Research, the humanoid robot market size was valued at $1.48 billion in 2021, and projected to grow from $42.10 billion in 2022 to $34.96 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of…
Inquiry into $426 billion crypto can ‘nuke’ U.S. market, per analyst

The Ethereum Foundation, a Swiss-based nonprofit that undergirds the second-largest digital asset valued at a $426 billion market cap, says it is facing scrutiny from an anonymous regulator. “This commit removes a section of the footer as we have received a voluntary enquiry from a state authority that included a requirement for confidentiality,” reads an…
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang explains why his company is making humanoid robots

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC’s Jim Cramer the artificial intelligence powerhouse is making humanoid robots because much of the data used to train them comes from the human form itself. “We’re in a world where, in order to write a software for a computer, we use data, or training examples, and the computer learns from…
How we are using AI for reliable flood forecasting at a global scale

People turn to Google for accurate and helpful information during crises to help them protect themselves and their families. Floods are the most common type of natural disaster and nearly 1.5 billion people, or some 19 percent of the world population, are directly exposed to substantial risks from severe flood events worldwide. Flooding also exacts…
Open-source AI models released by Tokyo lab Sakana founded by former Google researchers

Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based artificial intelligence startup founded by two prominent former Google, opens new tab researchers, released AI models on Wednesday it said were built using a novel method inspired by evolution, akin to breeding and natural selection. Sakana AI employed a technique called “model merging” which combines existing AI models to yield a…
Leo Varadkar: Irish Prime Minister Unexpectedly Quits

On Wednesday, Leo Varadkar announced that he would step down from his position as Ireland’s Prime Minister in a surprise statement. He continued by stating that the country’s coalition government would have improved reelection chances under different leadership. Varadkar stated that he has requested his political party, the Fine Gael party, to elect a new…
Vietnam’s President resigns, raising questions over stability

On Wednesday, the Vietnamese Communist Party announced the accepted resignation of President Vo Van Thuong. This resignation comes as a signatory of political turmoil within the country that could stand to negatively impact foreign investment. The Central Party Committee is a top decision-making body within the Communist Party-ruled Vietnam which approved Thuong’s resignation. This comes…
Russia says it is pushing Ukrainian forces back, will create two new armies

On Wednesday, Russia stated that it would bolster its military through the addition of two new armies and 30 new formations. It also added that its soldiers have been pushing Ukrainian forces back. Currently, Russia controls less than one-fifth of Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering troops to continue to push forward. This comes…
Five Eyes Agencies Issue New Alert on Chinese APT Volt Typhoon

Government agencies within the Five Eyes countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) have issued a threat warning for critical infrastructure entities of Volt Typhoon. Volt Typhoon is a Chinese state-sponsored group that has hacked thousands of organizations internationally. Five Eyes agencies are currently providing guidance for critical infrastructure organizations to protect against the…
White House Calls on States to Boost Cybersecurity in Water Sector

The White House is calling on state environmental, health, and homeland security to attend a meeting to discuss safeguarding water and wastewater critical infrastructure sectors. The meeting, set for Thursday, March 21, at 1 pm EST. The virtual meeting will last one hour and will highlight US government efforts in improving cybersecurity capabilities in the…
Hacker Caught Stealing Personal Data of 132,000 Individuals Pleads Guilty

A man from Meridian, Idaho, pleads guilty to hacking-related charges over cyberattacks he conducted in 2017 and 2018. Investigators found evidence that the man targeted over a dozen organizations that involved data theft and extortion. According to the Justice Department, a 44-year-old man named Robert Purbeck conducted a cyberattack in 2017 by using credentials from…
Russia fires 31 missiles at Kyiv in the first attack in 44 days, and 13 people are hurt

Before dawn on Thursday, Russia fired 31 ballistic and cruise missiles toward Kyiv. This comes following a 44-day break in attacks on the capital city. While Ukrainian air defenses successfully shot down all of the incoming missiles, the damage was largely caused by falling debris. At least thirteen people, including a child, were reported injured…
U.S. Sanctions Russians Behind ‘Doppelganger’ Cyber Influence Campaign

On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against two 46-year-old Russian nationals. Sanctions were also placed on the respective companies they own. These sanctions were enacted due to engaging in cyber influence operations. Ilya Andreevitch Gambashidze (Gambashidze) is the founder of the Social Design Agency (SDA), a Moscow-based…
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia head warns ‘no escape’ for clients who profited from glitch

The head of Ethiopia’s largest commercial bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), has issued a warning that customers who withdrew more money than they had in their accounts due to a glitch will face legal consequences if they do not return the funds. CBE President Abe Sano stated in an interview with the BBC…
Giorgia Meloni: Italian PM seeks damages over deepfake porn videos

Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, is pursuing €100,000 in damages after deepfake pornographic videos of her surfaced online. Scheduled to appear in court on July 2nd in Sassari, Sardinia, Meloni aims to testify against a 40-year-old man and his 73-year-old father, who are under investigation for producing the videos. The images, digitally manipulated to depict…
HK security law is final nail in coffin, say critics

The recent passage of Hong Kong’s new security law, known as Article 23, has sparked widespread criticism from Western leaders, the UN, and rights groups, who view it as a further erosion of freedoms in the city. The law, unanimously passed by Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing parliament, targets offenses deemed treasonous and allows for closed-door trials,…
Leo Varadkar: I am no longer best man to be Irish PM

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has announced his resignation as both party leader and taoiseach, expressing pride in his accomplishments during his tenure, which included advancing equality and modernization through legalizing same-sex marriage and abortion. Varadkar cited personal and political reasons for his decision, emphasizing that while he believes the current government could be re-elected,…
Atlassian Patches Critical Vulnerability in Bamboo Data Center and Server

Atlassian has announced patches for two dozen vulnerabilities across its Bamboo, Bitbucket, Confluence, and Jira products, including a critical-severity SQL injection flaw (CVE-2024-1597) affecting Bamboo Data Center and Server versions. This vulnerability, with a CVSS score of 10, could allow an unauthenticated attacker to expose assets susceptible to exploitation without user interaction. Additionally, a high-severity…
Microsoft Hires Influential AI Figure Mustafa Suleyman to Head up Consumer AI Business

Microsoft has appointed Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, to lead its consumer artificial intelligence business, overseeing products like Copilot, Bing, and Edge browser. Suleyman, known for advocating AI’s potential benefits and addressing its risks, will bring his expertise to Microsoft AI. The tech giant also hired Inflection’s chief scientist and top engineers, signaling its commitment…
1 in 4 Organizations Shut Down OT Operations Due to Cyberattacks: Survey

A survey by Palo Alto Networks conducted in December 2023 across 16 countries in the Americas, Europe, and the APAC region revealed that three-quarters of nearly 2,000 industrial organization respondents detected malicious cyber activity in their operational technology (OT) environment. Moreover, 24% reported shutting down OT operations due to successful attacks in the past year.…
Intel to receive $8.5bn in US funding for high-end chip manufacturing

Intel will receive $8.5bn in direct funding and $11bn in loans from the US government to expand its capacity to make high-end chips, as it seeks to reinvent itself as a national champion in the sector and compete with the likes of Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung. US President Joe Biden will travel to…
French watchdog fines Google 250M euros for AI IP infringement

Google has accepted a fine from the French government’s competition watchdog for a past breach of European Union intellectual property (IP) laws relating to its media publishers. The French competition authority cited concerns about Google’s AI service, Gemini, previously known as Bard, alleging it was trained on content from local publishers and news agencies without…
Why Microsoft’s surprise deal with $4 billion startup Inflection is the most important non-acquisition in AI

Microsoft stunned the tech world on Tuesday when it announced that it has hired Mustafa Suleyman, the cofounder of $4 billion AI startup Inflection, to run Microsoft’s AI operations. Karén Simonyan, another Inflection cofounder, is also joining Microsoft, along with an unspecified number of staffers. Essentially, the cloud giant, worth $3.12 trillion, has nabbed one of…
The most innovative companies in robotics for 2024

One of the traditional hot spots for robots has been warehouses—large facilities that often require moving heavy objects and are usually off-limits to all but authorized personnel, making them a relatively safe space to introduce robots. But robots these days are taking on tasks in more complex, dynamic, and even dangerous environments. For example, Gecko Robotics…