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Why do people become ethical hackers? Given the negative connotations that the word “hacker” has unfortunately acquired over the past few decades, it’s tough to understand why anyone would ascribe themselves to that oxymoron.

Yet, ethical hackers are playing an increasingly vital role in cybersecurity, and the ranks of the ethical hacking community are growing significantly. If you’re thinking about working with or hiring ethical hackers — or even becoming one yourself — it’s important to understand what makes this unique breed of cyber-pro tick.

Light is a key carrier of information. It enables high-speed data transmission around the world via fiber-optic telecommunication networks. This information-carrying capability can be extended to transmitting quantum information by encoding it in single particles of light (photons).

“To efficiently load single photons into quantum information processing devices, they must have specific properties: the right central wavelength or frequency, a suitable duration, and the right spectrum,” explains Dr. Michał Karpinski, head of the Quantum Photonics Laboratory at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw, and an author of the paper published in Nature Photonics.

Researchers around the globe are building prototypes of quantum computers using a variety of techniques, including trapped ions, quantum dots, superconducting electric circuits, and ultracold atomic clouds. These quantum information processing platforms operate on a variety of time scales, from picoseconds through nanoseconds to even microseconds.

Quantum computing – “Youre gonna need a smarter IT team…”

• Quantum computing is expected to become a functioning reality in the next seven years. • The IT sector already has a skills gap. • Quantum computing is likely to add new skills to the shortage.

Continue reading “Quantum computing and the IT gap” »

A team of engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder has designed a new class of tiny, self-propelled robots that can zip through liquid at incredible speeds—and may one day even deliver prescription drugs to hard-to-reach places inside the human body.

The researchers describe their mini healthcare providers in a paper published last month in the journal Small.

“Imagine if microrobots could perform certain tasks in the body, such as non-invasive surgeries,” said Jin Lee, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. “Instead of cutting into the patient, we can simply introduce the robots to the body through a pill or an injection, and they would perform the procedure themselves.”

What happens if dark-matter particles are produced inside a jet of Standard-Model particles? This leads to a novel detector signature known as semi-visible jets! The ATLAS Collaboration has come up with the first search for semi-visible jets, looking for them in a general production mode where two protons interact by exchanging an intermediate particle, which is then converted into two jets.

The elusive nature of dark matter remains one of the biggest mysteries in particle physics. Most of the searches have so far looked for events where a “weakly interacting” dark-matter particle is produced alongside a known Standard-Model particle. Since the dark-matter particle cannot be seen by the ATLAS detector, researchers look for an imbalance of transverse momentum (or “missing energy”).

Discovered in 2004, graphene has revolutionized various scientific fields. It possesses remarkable properties like high electron mobility, mechanical strength, and thermal conductivity. Extensive time and effort has been invested in exploring its potential as a next-generation semiconductor material, leading to the development of graphene-based transistors, transparent electrodes, and sensors.

But to render these devices into practical application, it’s crucial to have efficient processing techniques that can structure graphene films at micrometer and nanometer scale. Typically, micro/nanoscale material processing and device manufacturing employ nanolithography and focused ion beam methods. However, these have posed longstanding challenges for laboratory researchers due to their need for large-scale equipment, lengthy manufacturing times, and complex operations.

In January 2023, Tohoku University researchers created a technique that could micro/nanofabricate silicon nitride devices with thicknesses ranging from five to 50 nanometers. The method employed a femtosecond laser, which emitted extremely short, rapid pulses of light. It turned out to be capable of quickly and conveniently processing thin materials without a vacuum environment.

Israeli-based health tech company Cordio has developed machine learning software that can be downloaded to a smartphone and help keeps cardiac patients out of the hospital.

One day in the future.

It’s a simple daily habit that could save their life, because one day after repeating their daily refrain, their doctor might be notified that a patient is at risk of heart failure without immediate care.

Continue reading “This AI Startup Aims To Predict Heart Failure Before It Happens” »

OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has been touring Europe for the past few days, meeting head of governments and startup communities to talk about AI regulation, ChatGPT and beyond. In his latest on-stage appearance at Station F in Paris, Altman answered questions from local entrepreneurs and shared his views about artificial intelligence.

A few days ago, Altman met with Emmanuel Macron. Station F director Roxanne Varza first asked him about the content of the conversation. As expected, the discussion mostly revolved around regulation. “It was great, we talked about how to get the balance right between protection with this technology and letting it flourish,” Altman said.

He then explained why he’s been traveling from one country to another at a frenetic pace. “The reason for doing this trip is to get out of the Bay Area tech bubble,” he said.

Security guards are extremely useful, some would say necessary. But they can be quite expensive and there simply aren’t enough of them to put them everywhere they need to be.

In Europe, people living in Switzerland have been privy to witnessing a patrol bot, developed by a robotics start-up from ETH Zurich called Ascento, that could soon take the place of human security guards. The machine has thus far been successfully acting as a guard for Swiss security firm Securitas AG.

Continue reading “This two-wheeled robot is Switzerland’s latest security guard” »