Latest Technology News

Six ways your government agency can establish a safer agile ecosystem

Capitol building

Part 2: An organization’s agility is synonymous with its resilience in the face of change. Agility allows enterprises to face industry-spanning challenges without experiencing catastrophic disruption in their operations, and agile software development makes this concept a reality. Beyond that, it ensures organizations can service external and internal stakeholders rapidly and reliably -- and for government agencies, it ensures continuity of mission services. 

But in agile organizations, there are unique security risks -- outlined in part one of this series -- such as compromising security processes in the name of speed and differing security practices across cross-functional teams. To safeguard these projects, professionals must create a cybersecurity architecture as unique as the agile environments they’re protecting.

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What's the best option for businesses -- open-source or commercial AI services?

In the past year, Generative AI (GenAI) availability for businesses has swept the market, offering significant boosts in productivity. To successfully seize this opportunity, however, businesses will need to ensure they invest in the right solutions.

Faced with options like commercial AI services and customizable open-source Large Language Models (LLMs), business leaders must navigate a complex landscape of risks and benefits. This choice, influenced by factors like speed to market and data security, is crucial for companies looking to strategically invest in GenAI.

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AI's challenge to internet freedom

Artificial-intelligence, AI

In October 2020, observing International Internet Day, I spoke about the threats to Internet freedom. A lot has happened in less than four years, and a lot has changed. But the threats did not go away. On the contrary, Internet users and their freedoms are in more danger now than ever.

In February 2024, as we observe Safer Internet Day, it is necessary to reiterate that there is no safety without freedom, online or offline. Especially as the enemies of both are now equipped with the most powerful tool for cyber oppression yet -- Artificial Intelligence (AI).

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SparkyLinux 2024.02 gets many significant improvements, including enhanced file system support

SparkyLinux has just released its latest update to the semi-rolling ISO images derived from the Debian testing line. The update addresses a variety of features and issues, including the resolution of the CLI Installer problem related to the btrfs and xfs file systems. Notably, there is an update to the Sparky Tray to provide quick access to essential system tools, improving the overall user experience.

The 2024.02 update offers a comprehensive upgrade of all packages from the Debian and Sparky testing repositories, ensuring that the software is up to the minute. It also introduces a range of kernel updates, with Linux kernel version 6.6.13 being the primary version, while also making available versions 6.7.4, 6.6.16-LTS, 6.1.77-LTS, and 5.15.148-LTS within Sparky repositories for users seeking different levels of stability and support.

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Birdfont, for Windows, macOS, and Linux, unveils a faster, more responsive user interface and snap-to-guides for point-editing tools

Johan Mattsson has released BirdFont 6.0.1, a major new release of his cross-platform tool for creating fonts. Free for personal use (users must release fonts under the SIL Open Font License), the tool provides users with a means of creating and editing fonts.

Version 6 unveils what it describes as a 'new' (but visually similar) interface, accompanied by performance improvements and a handful of changes.

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91 percent of organizations experience software supply chain incidents

supply chain

The overwhelming majority of organizations (91 percent) have experienced a software supply chain incident in the past 12 months, according to a new report.

The study from Data Theorem and the Enterprise Strategy Group surveyed over 350 respondents from private- and public-sector organizations in the US and Canada across cybersecurity professionals, application developers and IT professionals.

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Microsoft is improving the look of gaming with AI Super Resolution in Windows 11 24H2

Super resolution

The latest use Microsoft has found for artificial intelligence is to boost graphics and performance in games in Windows 11. As can be seen in the latest preview builds of the operating system, the company is preparing to unleash an AI-powered feature called “super resolution”.

Also known as AI SR and Auto SR, super resolution can be applied on an app-by-app basis. In order to take advantage of the feature, users will have to have a PC with an AI NPU -- a requirement that is likely to become increasingly common.

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Why cyber risk assessment is critical to staying ahead of threats [Q&A]

Risk dial

The cybersecurity landscape is changing all the time and security teams are constantly searching for anything that can give them an edge in defending their systems.

We spoke to Rajeev Gupta, co-founder and chief product officer at insurance specialist Cowbell Cyber, about cyber risk assessment and how it can help businesses understand their level of risk and improve it to stay ahead of bad actors and threats like phishing attempts.

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Microsoft warns of data loss risk in Windows 11 for Dev Drive users

Windows 11 logo on a laptop

With the supposedly stable build of Windows 11 being problematic for many people, it is hardly surprising that there are more issues to be found in the Insider builds; it's pretty much a given. But not all problems are equal, and Microsoft has issued a warning about the latest release that could cause users to lose data.

The issue affects Windows 11 build 26052 which is available on both the Dev and Canary channels. Details of the cause of the problem have not been revealed, but Microsoft has released important information for anyone with a Dev Drive.

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4 types of outages to avoid in 2024 (with cautionary tales from 2023)

Throughout 2023, the tech world witnessed several high-profile outages. Collectively, these incidents cost millions of dollars, and affected tens of millions of end users. Luckily, these negative impacts were not all in vain -- outages like these serve as cautionary tales for organizations as they face the ongoing challenge of maintaining seamless operations in increasingly complex, interdependent environments. 

Reflecting on these incidents helps us see how we can safeguard against similar disruptions happening in the future. In this article, we’ll delve into four major types of outages, with lessons to help companies enhance their resilience in 2024 and beyond.

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Plugable offers discounts on USBC-HDMI8K cable and new stand line-up

Plugable has announced discounts on some of its latest products: the USBC-HDMI8K cable and a new series of stands for tablets, laptops, and phones. These offers come shortly after the products were introduced, providing consumers with an opportunity to score some fresh tech at a reduced cost.

The USBC-HDMI8K cable, which launched on February 6, is designed to support high-resolution displays. This cable is now available on Amazon with a $10 discount. This promotion offers a good opportunity for users looking to upgrade their setup to 8K capability.

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Surprise! Kodi 20 'Nexus' gets an unexpected final release -- here's why you should install it

The Kodi Foundation is gearing up to release the next version of its popular home theater software, Kodi 21 'Omega', but it is ensuring that users of the current 'Nexus' generation don't get forgotten.

A month ago, the team announced the release of Kodi 20.3, which was intended to be the final update from the Nexus line. However, it turns out it wasn’t the last release for Kodi 20 users.

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Windows 11: Even Notepad gets AI support

If you thought that Microsoft was done adding AI to its products then you are mistaken. It appears that the company is just getting started. The latest program to get AI support is the plain text editor Notepad.

Microsoft has improved Notepad significantly since the release of Windows 11. Recent updates introduced automatic saving of text, word counts, and tabs to the plain text editor. All of these features were welcome by Notepad users, as they improved the text editor.

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How to enable the new taskbar animation effects Microsoft has hidden in Windows 11

Windows 11 taskbar animations

If you're a sucker for a bit of eye-candy, Microsoft has a treat for you in the latest build of Windows 11. While much of the attention was focused on the addition of Linux's sudo command to Windows 11 Build 26052, there was much more to this Insider release.

In this build, Microsoft has added some slick new animation effects and thumbnails to the taskbar. You'd be forgiven for not being aware of this, as the company did not announce it, and also hid the optical treats away. Here's how to uncover the secrets.

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Don't watch Taylor Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce play NFL Football: Install Debian Linux 12.5 during Super Bowl LVIII instead

Super Bowl Sunday may be tomorrow, but for Linux nerds, there is something far more exciting than watching the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers play championship football. You see, The Debian project has just released the fifth update to its stable distribution, Debian 12, codenamed “Bookworm.” And so, if you don’t care about NFL Football, Taylor Swift, or her boyfriend Travis Kelce, installing this Linux distribution could be a fun thing to do instead of watching “the big game.”

Version 12.5 of the operating system primarily focuses on implementing corrections for security vulnerabilities and making a few adjustments to address significant issues. Detailed security advisories, which have been previously published, are referenced in this update for users' convenience.

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