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The Homeland Security Startup Studio (HSSS) hosted the hybrid Converge event on July 10 from 1-5 p.m. EST. This culminating event of the 2023 cohort showcased the program finalists’ pitches for the cutting-edge technologies they have worked to advance over the past 18 weeks. Conducted in partnership with the venture-building company FedTech, HSSS brings together entrepreneurs,…
The release today of the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan is where the rubber meets the road.
Following is a transcript of the second half of OODA CEO Matt Devost’s conversation with Schroeder about his book Stealing Worlds – and Shroeder’s insights about the coming wave of innovation, what has surprised him most in the last five years, work he has done with a design company to bring a technology system from…
The SVDG recently introduced the inaugural version of the NatSec100, a “newly developed, annual ranked list of the top venture-funded defense and dual-use startups. It was developed to offer a data-driven snapshot of the evolving techno-security ecosystem” – including policy recommendations.
Cybercrime and cyberespionage activity continue to proliferate against all industries and sectors inflicting financial and material damage on targeted networks. Cyber insurance has assisted in mitigating the impacts of cyber malfeasance, offsetting costs associated with recovering from cyber attacks. A Government Accountability Office report found that the increasing severity and frequency of cyberattacks led more organizations to seek cyber…
In 2024, one billion people around the world will go to the polls for national elections. From the US presidential election in 2024 to the war in Ukraine, we’re entering the era of deepfake geopolitics, where experts are concerned about the impact on elections and public perception of the truth.
Margie Palmieri, DoD Deputy CDAO, will be in a fireside chat format with Jim Mitre from the RAND Corporation on the standing up of the CDAO operation since it was established in February 2022 and operational by June 2022. Ther are many lessons to learn from this operational case study by the private sector -…
This post examines a new capability by OpenAI called Code Interpreter. It walks through a demo of how to use this new capability and in doing show gives an example of why this could be so empowering to any seeking to analyze data for themselves. I highlight the use of this new OpenAI capability by…
As we begin to ramp up for OODAcon 2023 (October 25th in Reston, VA), we return to the Fireside Chat with Futurist and Author Karl Schroeder on Digital Self-Sovereignty, Blockchain, and AI at OODAcon 2022. Find below a transcript of OODA CEO Matt Devost’s conversation with Schroeder about his book Stealing Worlds and how he integrated…
It is fair to say that the volume and speed of the coverage of artificial intelligence in every area of society have been dizzying. As a response, this week Brooke Gladstone and her team over at WNYC’s On the Media have updated and re-released an episode from early January 2023 – which includes an interview…
French President Macron’s recent statements – as he hosted the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, which he organized – read like a formative charter statement for the creation of the United Nations-based Ministry of the Future (MotF) – the fictional organization at the center of eponymously-titled speculative fiction novel by Kim Stanley…
As the United States moves to establish space as an operational domain and seeks to support a space economy, there are corresponding challenges to addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities and threats to the sector. While many existing cybersecurity principles and practices remain applicable to space as an emerging commercial critical infrastructure sector, there are many nuances and…
A very specific insight from our OODA Network Stratigame – Scenario Planning for Global Computer Chip Supply Chain Disruption – was the role the foreign production of Specialized Manufacturing Equipment (SME) built for the manufacturing of computer chips would play in the health of the computer chip supply chain for the U.S. Netherlands -based ASML Holding…
Last week, a new hacking group took responsibility for the taking down of a Russian telecom satellite, which we interpreted as an expansion of the tactical activity (brought on by the instability in Russia) by Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and non-state cyber actors on all sides of the multi-sided hybrid conflict in Europe. The following…
According to recent reporting, the Senate Armed Services Committee has requested a third-party assessment on the potential establishment of an independent military Cyber Force for the Department of Defense (DoD). The six-month assessment would address such areas as the number of commands across the DoD cyber enterprise; the command-and-control relationships of each of these commands; budget and…
Microlise has confirmed that it has been the victim of a data breach. The UK based vehicle tracking company Microlise has confirmed that is was the victim of a data breach. The ransomware group SafePay added Microlise to its list victim, and claimed to have stolen 1.2 Terabytes of data. SafePay has generally used LockBit…
Russia has developed a new tactic to infiltrate networks. Russian hackers have developed a new method for infiltrating networks. The method involves breaching the systems of a less secured system in a nearby facility and then using that breached system to launch attacks onto the network of the actual target. Researchers at Volexity identified APT…
Starbucks has reported that a cyber attack on a software supplier has disrupted operations. Starbucks has reported that the software it uses for payroll management is down due to a cyber attack on the supplier of the software. The supplier, Blue Yonder, has reported that it has been the victim of a ransomware attack. Starbucks…
Google has blocked several hundred websites linked to pro-China PR firms. Google has blocked several hundred websites linked to pro-China PR firms that is said violated its policies related to inauthentic content. Google said the network aimed to appear as independent outlets, and that they mostly republished content from Chinese state media. The network also…
Vikram Sharma, Founder and CEO of Quintessence Labs, shares his insights on the intersection of quantum technology and cybersecurity at OODAcon
Amazon Web Services launched Quantum Embark, an advisory program that aims to prepare customers for society’s shift towards quantum computing. The program—which builds upon the company’s existing quantum-computing service, Amazon Braket—will take users through up to three modules designed to provide people being introduced to the field with context, guidance and expertise, the Amazon.com unit…
MediSun Energy, a company specialising in advanced osmotic (blue) energy technology, has secured US$8.75 million in Seed financing. Vynn Capital’s Mobility and Supply Chain fund led the round, which brought the company’s valuation to US$44 million. Saudi Arabia-based MOAJ Holding, Frank Phuan, TNB Aura, and Ciri Ventures also joined. The funding comprises US$5 million in…
Eli Lilly and Hong Kong-based Laekna will collaborate to develop an experimental obesity drug that aims to help patients lose weight while preserving muscle, the biotech said on Wednesday. Lilly is aiming to strengthen its position as a leader in the obesity treatment market, which is expected to hit $150 billion in revenue by the…
Scaling laws were supposed to be, well, laws. Mathematical laws. Pretty much the entire GenAI frenzy has been based on the idea that with reasonable precision you could predict performance from amount of data, number of parameters, and amount of compute. As recently as a few weeks ago, Sam Altman was extolling scaling laws as…
Nvidia’s stock soared 2,630% over the past five years, boosting its market cap to roughly $3.5 trillion and making it the most valuable company in the world. Most of that rally was driven by its brisk sales of AI-oriented GPUs for data centers. From fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2024 (which ended this January), Nvidia’s revenue…
Nvidia on Monday showed a new artificial intelligence model for generating music and audio that can modify voices and generate novel sounds – technology aimed at the producers of music, films and video games. Nvidia, the world’s biggest supplier of chips and software used to create AI systems, said it does not have immediate plans…
Baidu’s robotaxi division, Apollo Go, just rolled out its latest robotaxi across multiple cities in China, and if stakeholders in the US aren’t nervous yet, they should be. The RT6 is the sixth generation of Apollo Go’s driverless vehicle, which made its official debut in May 2024. It’s a purpose-built, Level 4 autonomous vehicle, meaning…
Taiwan’s defense ministry has reported that a Chinese balloon had been detected over the sea to the island’s northwest. In addition, 12 Chinese military aircraft and seven warships were detected around Taiwan in the 24 hours to early Monday, the ministry said. This comes as a news agency has reported that the US is drawing…
President Vladimir Putin says Russia will keep testing its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile in combat and has a stock ready for use. Putin said he was prompted by Ukraine’s use of US ballistic missiles and British cruise missiles to hit Russia. Putin described the first use of Oreshnik (hazel tree) as a successful test ,…
Hezbollah targets Israeli military sites after Israel killed 20 in a strike in central Beirut. Hezbollah says it targeted the Ashdod naval base in southern Israel “for the first time”, adding that it conducted an operation against a “military target” in Tel Aviv. Israeli army radio reported that ‘340 missiles’ had launched from Lebanon. They…
The Israeli military late on Sunday conducted a heavy barrage of airstrikes on the southern outskirts of Beirut as negotiators inch toward a cease-fire deal. The airstrikes followed a series of sweeping evacuation warnings by the Israeli military for the area. They also came as Hezbollah fired about 250 projectiles into Israel on Sunday. Analysts…
Russian cyberspy group APT28 hacked into the system of an entity located across the street from the victim through a Wi-Fi attack. The attack, discovered in 2022, was investigated by cybersecurity firm Volexity, which identified the victim as Organization A. What makes the attack stand out is the use of a new technique which Volexity…
A Russia-linked cyberespionage group, tracked as TAG-110, has made over 60 victims in Asia and Europe. TAG-110 has been active since at least 2021, targeting government, education, and research entities in Central Asia, India, Israel, Mongolia, and Ukraine with malware such as HatVibe, CherrySpy, LogPie, and StillArch. Since July 2024, Recorded Future identified 62 unique…
Amazon announced today that it’s pumping another $4 billion into Claude AI maker Anthropic, bringing its total funding amount to $8 billion. This latest round follows $1.25 billion last September and another $2.75 billion in March. Along with the money, Amazon wrote in its blog post that Amazon Web Services (AWS) would be named Anthropic’s…
Chris Thomas (CT), Technical Director for AI and Data Systems at Dell Technologies, shares his insights from his first experience at OODAcon.
The emergence of self-driving vehicles represents a significant technological leap in the automotive industry. These autonomous systems revolutionize transportation by offering convenient, safer and more efficient alternatives to human-driven vehicles. Artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI, has the potential to be central to developing, testing and improving self-driving technologies. Generative AI is a subset of…
Apple Inc. is racing to develop a more conversational version of its Siri digital assistant, aiming to catch up with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other voice services, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The new Siri, details of which haven’t been reported, uses more advanced large language models, or LLMs, to allow for back-and-forth…
Tokamak Energy, a UK-based nuclear fusion startup, has secured $125 million in funding to further develop its distinctive egg-shaped reactor design. The investment has come at a time when the world is increasingly seeking environment-friendly energy sources, and nuclear fusion is at the forefront. “Fusion is extremely efficient, creating many million times more energy, per…
University of Queensland professor Andrew White could tell his postdoc student had itchy feet. It was 2004, and they had just become the first in the world to demonstrate an “unambiguously entangled quantum logic gate”—the initial step in building a quantum computer. The professor knew he had no budget to keep the student, Jeremy O’Brien,…
Enveda Therapeutics Inc., a startup that uses artificial intelligence to find promising drug candidates, has raised $130 million just a few months after its last financing. The new funding round was led by Nordic investor Kinnevik and FPV Ventures, with participation from new and existing investors including Baillie Gifford, Lux Capital and the Nature Conservancy.…
OpenAI appears to be gunning for another key aspect of Google’s business, with apparent plans to build a web browser to rival Chrome. You’ll get no points for guessing that OpenAI’s creation would, naturally enough, be a heavily AI-infused take on a browser client. According to a report from The Information, OpenAI is considering the…
Gil Verdon, founder and CEO of Extropic, discusses his groundbreaking work in physics-based AI and Thermodynamic Computing. Drawing on his deep understanding of the physics, Gil explains how his innovative approach to artificial intelligence aims to augment human ability to perceive, predict, and control key aspects of our dynamic world. His work represents a major…
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two Israeli and one Hamas leaders. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. They also issued a warrant for a Hamas Leader. A three judge panel ruled that there was reasonable basis to…
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro faces several investigations and prosecutions. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro faces a new indictment with prosecutors charging him with attempting a coup. The former President has already been banned from seeking electoral office until 2030 due to a previous prosecution. Other cases open against the former President include charges related…
India has begun to pursue an energy agreement with Guyana. Indian Prime Minister Modi has concluded a visit to Guyana which focused on energy exports. India has begun to pursue negotiations with Guyana to increase their oil trade. Guyana has been receptive towards a deal, but has held off an committing to a final agreement.…
The IAEA has condemned Iran for failing to comply with international investigators. The International Atomic Energy Agency has condemned Iran for failing to comply with international investigations into its nuclear program. The IAEA also directed that a new and updated assessment of Iran’s nuclear program be completed. This new assessment could form the basis for…
Mexico’s Legal Affairs Office has been the victim of a ransomware attack. Mexico’s President has said that the Legal Affairs Office has potentially been the victim of a ransomware attack. Independent media reported that the Ransomhub group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The group demanded an unknown sum of funds be payed or they…
Researchers have identified an exposed database linked to a Chinese website. The GS-JJ online store has been linked to an exposed email database which contained over 300 thousand emails. The database also contained 2500 US military and government emails. Several emails contained information such as military unit names, phone numbers, and email addresses. The GS-JJ…
South Korean police have opened an investigation into an alleged theft of cryptocurrency by North Korea. South Korean police have begun an investigation into the theft of $42 million in cryptocurrency. South Korean media claimed that investigators identified the Lazarus and Andariel groups as being responsible. These groups are connected to North Korea’s military through…
The ransomware group BianLian has begun to shift tactics. The ransomware group BianLian has begun to shift tactics away from traditional ransomware attacks. The group has begun to instead extract data and demand payment for its return. The group had previously earned a reputation as a prolific developer and employer of ransomware, and US authorities…
Mike Colson, Director of Public Sector Growth at Akamai, discusses the company’s focus on solving critical challenges for the Department of Defense, intelligence community, and Five Eyes nations.
Blockchain is entering its institutional era. And the enterprise treasury function is all eyes and ears to the innovation. For example, news came this week that enterprise software maker MicroStrategy, whose business mission includes buying bitcoin, sold 13.6 million shares, tapping the public markets explicitly in order to fund further purchases of the nominal digital…
Dor Sarig, CEO and co-founder of Pillar Security, shares insights into the future of AI security and how his company is addressing the challenges of safeguarding AI systems.
Scottish ocean energy pioneer Mocean Energy has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube, Europe’s largest private market investment platform. The campaign, which is now live, aims to finance the next phase of the company’s growth plans as it looks to mature its wave energy technology. Mocean Energy is working to transform the ocean energy space…
Novartis had one eye on the struggles its peers have encountered in the muscular dystrophy space when it decided to acquire Kate Therapeutics, according to the Big Pharma’s CEO. The Swiss drugmaker signed off on $1.1 billion in a combination of upfront cash and potential milestone payments to buy the gene therapy biotech, it announced…
China has surpassed Germany and Japan in the adoption of industrial robotics, according to the latest report by the International Federation of Robotics, reflecting the country’s efforts in pushing forward the use of automation technologies in manufacturing. China recorded 470 robots per 10,000 employees in 2023, up from 402 units a year earlier. The country…
Quantum computers have the potential to revolutionize drug discovery, material design and fundamental physics — that is, if we can get them to work reliably. Certain problems, which would take a conventional computer billions of years to solve, would take a quantum computer just hours. However, these new processors are more prone to noise than…
Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng has revealed a new humanoid robot set to rival Tesla’s Optimus. The company teased the humanoid robot back in August, and now is providing its first look. The Iron humanoid robot was unveiled at XPeng’s AI Day event. It is the first robot for the company. Developed over five years,…
Famed computer scientist Yoshua Bengio — an artificial intelligence pioneer — has warned of the nascent technology’s potential negative effects on society and called for more research to mitigate its risks. Bengio, a professor at the University of Montreal and head of the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, has won multiple awards for his work…
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued new arrest warrants related to ongoing war crimes in the Middle East on Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICC stated that the two officials knowingly deprived civilians in Gaza of aid. Netanyahu’s…
The West Coast of the U.S. has been hit by a “bomb cyclone,” killing at least two people. Hundreds of thousands have lost power in the area. This powerful storm is called a bomb cyclone because of how rapidly it intensifies in a short period of time. The storm brough extreme rainfall and winds to…
The Biden administration has agreed to supply Ukraine with U.S. anti-personnel mines. These mines will aid Ukraine against Russian attacks. This is the latest move by the U.S. in escalating tensions with Russia. The U.S. recently gave approval for Ukraine to fire U.S. long-range missiles into Russia. In response, Russia decided to lower its threshold…
On Wednesday, the U.S. was the sole country to vote against a United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolution in the Gaza Strip. The resolution was calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The 14 other Council members voted in favor of the proposal. The U.S. stated that it vetoed the resolution…
Censys, an attack surface management company, has released new research finding over 145,000 exposed industrial control systems (ICS). These exposures come from 175 countries, with the U.S. accounting for over a third of them. Turkey, South Korea, Italy, and Spain are among other countries with the most ICS service exposures. ICS device security is important…
Attackers are exploiting a new technique which leverages near-field communication (NFC) to access victim’s funds. The technique is called “Ghost Tap.” It allows hackers to get money from stolen credit cards which are connected to mobile payment services. These cybercriminals can transmit payment information from these services around the globe in just seconds. Without physical…
Finastra, a global financial technology giant, has suffered from a major data breach which is impacting its internal file transfer system. The company is based out of London and handles banking and wire transfers for over 8,100 financial institutions. The breach was detected on November 7. Hackers were able to access Finastra’s Secure File Transfer…
After claims of a recent data breach, Ford has completed its investigation into the incident. Ford determined that neither its systems nor its customer data were compromised. On November 17, hackers IntelBroker and EnergyWeaponUser claimed on a cybercrime forum that they had obtained the records of 44,000 Ford customers. These records supposedly included names and…
Large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4o and other modern state-of-the-art generative models like Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s PaLM and Meta’s Llama have been dominating the AI field recently. These models have enabled advanced NLP tasks such as high-quality text generation, answering complex questions, code generation and even logical reasoning. At the same time, these gigantic…
Converge Bio, a generative AI platform for accelerated drug discovery and development, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $5.5 million in Seed funding, led by TLV Partners. Converge Bio’s platform uses large language models (LLMs) trained on biological and chemical data (DNA, RNA, protein sequences, and small molecules) to help biotech and pharmaceutical companies…
ProRata.ai, a US artificial intelligence start-up aiming to bring greater fairness in how media groups are paid for content, has agreed licensing deals with publishers including Daily Mail-owner DMG Media, the Guardian and Sky News. As part of the deal, which is set to be announced on Wednesday, DMG Media will acquire a stake in…
Italian energy giant Enel is placing a bet on small modular nuclear reactors through a partnership with Ansaldo, another Italian energy company, and Leonardo, a defense contractor. The new company is expected to be announced in the coming days. Enel already has a deal with small modular reactor startup Newcleo to develop so-called fourth-generation nuclear…
“This is not science fiction,” declared Jensen Huang, boss of chip giant Nvidia, in June, referring to the use of AI to instruct robots to carry out real world tasks. “The next wave of AI is physical AI. AI that understands the laws of physics, AI that can work among us.” In many ways this…
Join us for an engaging discussion with Jim Russell, a SailPoint executive at OODAcon, where the theme of Convergence takes center stage.
Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker at the center of a boom in artificial intelligence use, is teaming up with Alphabet Inc.’s Google to pursue another technology once relegated to science fiction: quantum computing. Google’s Quantum AI division will use Nvidia’s Eos supercomputer to speed up the design of quantum components, according to a statement from the…
Microsoft has many Copilot offerings that cater to businesses’ specific everyday needs. To give organizations more control over their AI assistants, Microsoft’s Copilot Studio allows users to build and customize Copilots — and the tech giant is bringing major upgrades to the experience. On Tuesday, at Microsoft Ignite, the company’s annual developer conference, Microsoft made…
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