Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Elon Musk learns how EV charging works from Pete Buttigieg
You’d think Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and its wide-reaching Supercharger network, would already know about the workings of the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program that has dedicated $7.5 billion to building a national charging network. However, he needed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to chime in on X yesterday to stop some Republican leaders from spreading misinformation about the program.
“Please post the rebuttal,” Musk asked Buttigieg under a Donald Trump Jr. post quoting Ohio congressperson Michael Rulli, who accuses Buttigieg of “squandering billions” to build “8 EV charging stations.” Buttigieg tells Trump the post is “false.”
As Buttigieg explained, the $7.5 billion is “the entire program budget” for NEVI, part of the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The way it works is states apply for a piece of the $7.5 billion, which, contrary to the initial post, has not yet been spent. Once granted, the states build EV chargers with the money, not the federal government.
“This is helpful to understand,” Musk wrote at the end of the thread.
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There’s been criticism over the slow rollout of government-funded electric vehicle chargers after The Washington Post reported earlier this year that only seven stations and 38 ports were installed across four states as of March. But the administration continues to make progress: Buttigieg noted that nine states now have NEVI-funded chargers in operation, which is only the first handful with most planned to be built in “the second half of the decade.” He linked readers to a Google Map showing NEVI-funded chargers’ status.
The program’s end game is to have fast electric vehicle chargers installed coast-to-coast by 2030. Most recently in August, 29 states are getting in on the second round of funding valued at $521 million.
Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire designed to be permanent, says Biden
US President Joe Biden has announced an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire to end fighting in Lebanon.
"Effective at 04:00 tomorrow local time (02:00 GMT on Wednesday), the fighting across the Lebanese Israeli border will end," Biden said, adding that it aimed to be a "permanent cessation of hostilities".
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that his government would "respond forcefully to any violation" of the deal.
There has been no response from Hezbollah - the Iran-backed armed group which had been trading fire with Israel since October 2023. The fighting escalated in late September when Israel dramatically intensified bombardments and launched a limited ground invasion.
It has been Lebanon's deadliest conflict in decades, killing more than 3,823 people say local officials.
Under the deal, brokered by the US and France, there will be a 60-day period where Israel will carry out a phased withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon's south as Lebanese government forces regain control of an area currently held by Hezbollah.
It is expected that Hezbollah fighters and weapons will be removed from the area south of the Litani River, a boundary established at the end of the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
"This announcement will create the conditions to restore lasting calm and allow residents in both countries to return safely to their homes," a joint statement from the US and France said.
Biden also echoed the Israeli PM's earlier comments that Israel would respond with military action if Hezbollah violated any part of the deal.
Netanyahu said earlier on Tuesday night: "If Hezbollah violates the agreement and attempts to rearm, we will strike. If they try to renew terror activities near the border, we will strike," he said.
He also said ending the fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel's northern neighbour, would allow the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to increase pressure on Hamas in Gaza and focus on "the Iranian threat".
Iran-backed Hezbollah started firing rockets into Israel a day after its ally Hamas carried out a wide-ranging attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people.
"From day two of the war, Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side. With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own," Netanyahu said.
Watch: Netanyahu says Israeli cabinet to approve ceasefire deal with Hezbollah
He also said ending fighting in Lebanon would give the IDF space to resupply weapons, munitions and troops.
The US, Israel's key backer, has led the charge in negotiating a ceasefire deal in Lebanon.
France, which administered Lebanon for more than 20 years in the last century, and is a long-term ally, is also expected to be involved through the monitoring of the truce.
Israel went on the offensive against Hezbollah - which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel and many Western countries - after almost a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the war in Gaza.
It says it wants to ensure the safe return of about 60,000 residents of northern Israeli areas displaced by rocket attacks, which Hezbollah launched in support of Palestinians the day after its ally Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
The war has been devastating for Lebanon, where, in addition to the 3,823 people killed and 15,859 injured, one million residents have been displaced in areas where Hezbollah holds sway.
On the Israeli side, the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.
Sunday, 24 November 2024
Cybersecurity Month: Why being aware matters
Sandvik is combating the rising global threat to cybersecurity through various capabilities based on technology, processes and people. For this year’s Cybersecurity Month, the company is focusing attention on the threat from emerging technologies such as AI.
While cybercrime is as old as the Internet, 2023 represented a new high. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), there was a 72 percent increase in data breaches in the US last year compared with 2021, which held the previous record. Cybercrime today is a big business. The average cost of a data breach amounts to USD 4.88 million, and 94 percent of organizations have reported email security incidents. The global cost of cybercrime is forecast to jump to USD 24 trillion by 2027, up from USD 8.4 trillion in 2022.
Raising awareness during Cybersecurity Month
Since 2004, October has been declared by the US government, and many other organizations such as the EU, as Cybersecurity Month. It is a month where the public and private sectors work together to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and in which many organizations, like Sandvik, run awareness raising campaigns to reduce cyberthreats.
But Sandvik, like other organizations, is working hard every day of the year to strengthen its cybersecurity. And through a variety of capabilities based on technology, processes and people, Sandvik protects devices, data and networks from different types of cyberattack.
“The overall objective of cybersecurity is to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and systems,” says Jörgen Andersson, Chief Information Security Officer at Sandvik. “We need to ensure that information is accessible only to those authorized to have access to it, safeguard the accuracy of information and ensure that authorized users have access to information and systems when needed.”
Understanding ransomware, phishing, and data theft
There are several different types of cyberthreat. These include ransomware, which is a type of malicious software that locks and encrypts victims’ data, files, devices or systems, rendering them inaccessible and unusable until the attacker receives a ransom payment. Another cyberthreat is theft of data and intellectual property.
Cyberespionage is growing, including state-sponsored attacks, with the objective to steal data and intellectual property.
“Cyberattacks can also disrupt business operations and cause severe financial losses. Cybersecurity is therefore essential to ensure business continuity and to protect sensitive information,” says Andersson.
Cybersecurity is also increasingly becoming necessary to meet customer and regulatory demands, including the EU Network and Information Security 2 Directive. “This requires us to have many different cybersecurity capabilities,” says Andersson. “And while a lot of that involves creating technology and processes to protect the organization from attack, the people side is also very important.”
Monika Kullberg, Security Culture and Awareness Manager at Sandvik, is a psychologist who helps shape the company’s security culture through behavioural science. “It is people who interact with the technology,” she says. “So, we look at how can we simplify the technology and cybersecurity for people so that they are aware of what they need to do, how to do that and that it is easy for them to do it. We are trying to strengthen people and the way we work in this area.”
Cyberattacks start in many ways, but a common tactic used by criminals is phishing. This involves the use of scam emails to trick recipients into visiting fake websites. A virus may then be downloaded onto recipients’ devices, or personal information such as passwords may be stolen.
AI and social engineering in cybersecurity
Emerging technologies such as AI are also being used by cybercriminals for social engineering. This involves drawing on information from a wide range of sources, such as social media accounts, to create realistic personalized messages that manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. The messages appear to come from a trusted source. AI can also be used to create deep fake voices or videos that mimic trusted sources.
Sandvik conducts cybersecurity training and awareness programs for its employees year-round. In this year’s October Cybersecurity Month campaign, it is focusing attention on the threats from these emerging technologies.
“Cybersecurity will continue to be a major issue, and we will need to continue investing in it,” says Andersson. “And to meet the increasing threat from phishing, social engineering and AI, we are increasing our efforts on the human side of cybersecurity to ensure that everyone at Sandvik is aware of the threats and knows how to detect attacks and handle them safely. Most importantly, everyone needs to think twice before clicking on a link or downloading a file in an external email. “
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