Kalakshar US

A major zero-day security vulnerability in Microsoft’s widely used SharePoint server software has been exploited by hackers, causing chaos within businesses and government agencies, multiple outlets have reported. Microsoft announced that it had released a new security patch “to mitigate active attacks targeting on-premises [and not online] servers,” but the breach has already effected universities, energy companies, federal and state agencies and telecommunications firms. 

The SharePoint flaw is a serious one, allowing hackers to access file systems and internal configurations or even execute code, to completely take over systems. The flaw could put more than 10,000 companies at risk, Cybersecurity company Censys told The Washington Post. “It’s a dream for ransomeware operators, and a lot of attackers are going to be working this weekend as well.” Google’s Threat Intelligence Group added that the flaw allows “persistent, unauthenticated access that can bypass future patching.” 

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastucture Security agency (CISA) said that any servers affected by the exploit should be disconnected from the internet until a full patch arrives. It added that the impact of the attacks is still being probed.  

The vulnerability was first spotted by Eye Security, which said the flaw allows hackers to access SharePoint servers and steal keys in order to impersonate users or services. “Because SharePoint often connects to core services like Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive, a breach can quickly lead to data theft, password harvesting, and lateral movement across the network,” Eye Security wrote in a blog post. 

The FBI is aware of the attack and is working closely with government and private sector partners. It’s not immediately clear which groups are behind the zero-day hacks. In any case, the attack is liable to put Microsoft under the microscope again. A 2023 breach of Exchange Online mailboxes led the White House’s Cyber Safety Review Board to declare that Microsoft’s security culture was “inadequate.” 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/microsoft-sharepoint-server-vulnerability-puts-an-estimated-10000-organizations-at-risk-120006463.html?src=rss 

France is investigating whether X has manipulated its algorithm and engaged in “fraudulent data extraction.” Prosecutors are looking into if the social media platform engaged in election interference. They launched the investigation on July 11, following reports in January. It has labelled X as an “organized gang.” 

X’s Global Government Affairs account issued a scathing breakdown of what it calls France’s “politically-motivated criminal investigation” and its refusal to cooperate. 

The French government has requested that X provide its “recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform.” France is using multiple experts to look at the information. One is David Chavalarias, director of the Paris Complex Systems Institute (ISC-PIF), who leads the “Escape X” campaign. Another expert Maziyar Panahi, an AI engineer at ISC-PIF, worked on research projects alongside Chavalarias “that demonstrate open hostility towards X.”

Unsurprisingly, X is not happy about the involvement of Chavalarias and Panahi, claiming it could mean a predetermined outcome. As a result, X is refusing to provide French authorities with the requested access.

In the statement, X said the investigation, led by parliamentarian Éric Bothorel, “egregiously undermines X’s fundamental right to due process and threatens our users’ rights to privacy and free speech. Mr Bothorel has accused X of manipulating its algorithm for ‘foreign interference’ purposes, an allegation which is completely false.” 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/france-launches-criminal-probe-of-xs-alleged-algorithm-manipulation-123017920.html?src=rss 

The iPad Pro with the M5 chip is expected to be just as easy to use for selfies in a landscape or portrait orientation. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple will add a second front-facing camera on the portrait edge of the upcoming iPad Pro that’s expected to launch later this year. It may seem like a small quality-of-life upgrade, but it means the iPad Pro can use either camera to center the subject for selfies or FaceTime calls.

Compared to the previous iPad models, the upcoming iPad Pro with Apple’s latest silicon removes the guessing game of where the front-facing camera is. In the past, iPad models only had one front-facing camera alongside the portrait edge, but Apple decided to shift this to the landscape side in 2024 with the iPad Pro M4. iPad Pro owners who mostly use their devices in landscape mode welcomed this change, but those who preferred holding it vertically found it was trickier to unlock through Face ID.

Beyond the new front-facing camera, the new iPad Pro should have slight performance upgrades and better power efficiency thanks to the improved M5 chip. Besides the iPad Pro, Apple is reportedly looking at upgrading its Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac with its next-gen chips.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/apples-next-ipad-pro-will-reportedly-get-two-front-facing-cameras-002042546.html?src=rss 

These are some recently released titles we think are worth adding to your reading list. This week, we’re diving into Alex Foster’s futuristic debut, Circular Motion, and the return of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-when-the-world-spins-out-of-control-211422893.html?src=rss 

OpenAI has achieved “gold medal-level performance” at the International Math Olympiad, notching another important milestone for AI’s fast-paced growth. Alexander Wei, a research scientist at OpenAI working on LLMs and reasoning, posted on X that an experimental research model delivered on this “longstanding grand challenge in AI.”

According to Wei, an unreleased model from OpenAI was able to solve five out of six problems at one of the world’s longest-standing and prestigious math competitions, earning 35 out of 42 points total. The International Math Olympiad (IMO) sees countries send up to six students to solve extremely difficult algebra and pre-calculus problems. These exercises are seemingly simple but usually require some creativity to score the highest marks on each problem. For this year’s competition, only 67 of the 630 total contestants received gold medals, or roughly 10 percent.

AI is often tasked with tackling complex datasets and repetitive actions, but it usually falls short when it comes to solving problems that require more creativity or complex decision-making. However, with the latest IMO competition, OpenAI says its model was able to handle complicated math problems with human-like reasoning.

“By doing so, we’ve obtained a model that can craft intricate, watertight arguments at the level of human mathematicians,” Wei wrote on X. Wei and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, both added that the company doesn’t expect to release anything with this level of math capability for several months. That means the upcoming GPT-5 will likely be an improvement from its predecessor, but it won’t feature that same impressive capability to compete in the IMO.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-experimental-model-achieved-gold-at-the-international-math-olympiad-182719801.html?src=rss