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North Korean hackers have allegedly stolen hundreds of millions in crypto to fund nuclear programs

North Korea-linked hackers have stolen hundreds of millions of crypto to fund the regime’s nuclear weapons programs, research shows.

So far this year, from January to Aug. 18, North Korea-affiliated hackers stole $200 million worth of crypto — accounting for over 20% of all stolen crypto this year, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs.

“In recent years, there has been a marked rise in the size and scale of cyber attacks against cryptocurrency-related businesses by North Korea. This has coincided with an apparent acceleration in the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs,” said TRM Labs in a June discussion with North Korea experts.

Huawei Teardown Reveals China Chip Breakthrough

Huawei and China’s top chipmaker have built an advanced 7-nanometer processor to power its latest smartphone, a sign Beijing is making early progress in a nationwide push to circumvent US efforts to contain its ascent. Peter Elstrom reports on Bloomberg Television.
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Legal Liability for Insecure Software Might Work, but It’s Dangerous

Ensuring security in the software market is undeniably crucial, but it is important to strike a balance that avoids excessive government regulation and the burdens associated with government-mandated legal responsibility, also called a liability regime. While there’s no question the market is broken with regards to security, and intervention is necessary, there is a less intrusive approach that enables the market to find the right level of security while minimizing the need for heavy-handed government involvement.

Imposing a liability regime on software companies may go too far and create unintended consequences. The downsides of liability, such as increased costs, potential legal battles, and disincentives to innovation, can hinder the development of secure software without necessarily guaranteeing improved security outcomes. A liability regime could also burden smaller companies disproportionately and stifle the diversity and innovation present in the software industry.

Instead, a more effective approach involves influencing the software market through measures that encourage transparency and informed decision-making. By requiring companies to be fully transparent about their security practices, consumers and businesses can make informed choices based on their risk preferences. Transparency allows the market to drive the demand for secure software, enabling companies with robust security measures to potentially gain a competitive edge.

A ‘people-first’ view of the AI economy

Today marks nine months since ChatGPT was released, and six weeks since we announced our AI Start seed fund. Based on our conversations with scores of inception and early-stage AI founders, and hundreds of leading CXOs (chief experience officers), I can attest that we are definitely in exuberant times.

In the span of less than a year, AI investments have become de rigueur in any portfolio, new private company unicorns are being created every week, and the idea that AI will drive a stock market rebound is taking root. People outside of tech are becoming familiar with new vocabulary.

Large language models. ChatGPT. Deep-learning algorithms. Neural networks. Reasoning engines. Inference. Prompt engineering. CoPilots. Leading strategists and thinkers are sharing their view on how it will transform business, how it will unlock potential, and how it will contribute to human flourishing.

The potential for artificial intelligence in healthcare

The complexity and rise of data in healthcare means that artificial intelligence (AI) will increasingly be applied within the field. Several types of AI are already being employed by payers and providers of care, and life sciences companies. The key categories of applications involve diagnosis and treatment recommendations, patient engagement and adherence, and administrative activities. Although there are many instances in which AI can perform healthcare tasks as well or better than humans, implementation factors will prevent large-scale automation of healthcare professional jobs for a considerable period. Ethical issues in the application of AI to healthcare are also discussed.

KEYWORDS: Artificial intelligence, clinical decision support, electronic health record systems.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies are increasingly prevalent in business and society, and are beginning to be applied to healthcare. These technologies have the potential to transform many aspects of patient care, as well as administrative processes within provider, payer and pharmaceutical organisations.

How cyber-crime has become organised warfare | Four Corners

Every seven minutes a cyber-attack is reported in Australia.

Millions of Australians have had their data stolen in malicious attacks, costing some businesses tens of millions of dollars in ransom. The federal government is warning the country must brace for even more strikes as cyber gangs become more sophisticated and ruthless.

Four Corners investigates the cyber gangs behind these assaults, cracking open their inner operations and speaking to a hacker who says he targets Australians and shows no remorse.

The program travels all the way to Ukraine and discovers we share a common enemy in the battle for cyber security.

Google Launches Tool That Detects AI Images In Effort To Curb Deepfakes

Fake images and misinformation in the age of AI are growing. Even in 2019, a Pew Research Center study found that 61% of Americans said it is too much to ask of the average American to be able to recognize altered videos and images. And that was before generative AI tools became widely available to the public.

AdobeADBE +0.5% shared August 2023 statistics on the number of AI-generated images created with Adobe Firefly reaching one billion, only three months after it launched in March 2023.


In response to the increasing use of AI images, Google Deep Mind announced a beta version of SynthID. The tool will watermark and identify AI-generated images by embedding a digital watermark directly into the pixels of an image that will be imperceptible to the human eye but detectable for identification.

Kris Bondi, CEO and founder of Mimoto, a proactive detection and response cybersecurity company, said that while Google’s SynthID is a starting place, the problem of deep fakes will not be fixed by a single solution.

“People forget that bad actors are also in business. Their tactics and technologies continuously evolve, become available to more bad actors, and the cost of their techniques, such as deep fakes, comes down,” said Bondi.

Industrializing AI Software Development

Large language models (LLMs) are ushering in a revolutionary era with their remarkable capabilities. From enhancing everyday applications to transforming complex systems, generative AI is becoming an integral part of our lives.

However, the surge in demand for AI-powered solutions exposes a critical challenge: the scarcity of computational resources required to meet the growing appetite for logic and voice-based interfaces. This scarcity leads to a pressing need for cost-efficient platforms that can support the development and deployment of LLMs.

Industrializing AI software development will require transforming the processes for developing, deploying and maintaining AI systems from a research or ad-hoc approach into a structured, systematic and scalable industrial process. By focusing on cloud cost optimization and platform engineering, businesses can foster growth, profitability, and innovation in the field of AI.

AI Startups Are Already Running Into Some Serious Problems

Less than a year into the AI boom and startups are already grappling with what may become an industry reckoning.

Take Jasper, a buzzy AI startup that raised $125 million for a valuation of $1.5 billion last year — before laying off staff with a gloomy note from its CEO this summer.

Now, in a provocative new story, the Wall Street Journal fleshes out where the cracks are starting to form. Basically, monetizing AI is hard, user interest is leveling off or declining, and running the hardware behind these products is often very expensive — meaning that while the tech does sometimes offer a substantial “wow” factor, its path to a stable business model is looking rockier than ever.

Personalization 2.0: Leveraging Generative AI for Tailored Customer Experiences

“Personalize or Perish.” One of the leading newspapers aptly summarizes the critical nature of personalization 2.0, or hyper-personalization for businesses.

We live in an era where customers expect businesses to understand their wants and needs. Today, companies must meet customers’ needs and anticipate and exceed them. And for this, they must pivot to a digital-first mindset to create stronger, more authentic customer interactions.

How do they do this? Through a hyper-personalized, AI-powered business strategy where products, ads, and interactions are tailor-made for each customer or a group of customers.