Tag Archive for: Brings

Second Android 14-based Galaxy A52s update brings December security patch


It was merely two weeks back that the Galaxy A52s started receiving the Android 14/One UI 6 update, but Samsung is already releasing a follow-up update to the mid-range phone in some markets.

This is the second Android 14-based firmware for the Galaxy A52s and it is rolling out in India and a couple of other countries in the Indian subcontinent. The update sports firmware version A528BXXS5FWL4, and it comes bundled with the December 2023 security patch.

Security enhancements are all that this update brings to the Galaxy A52s. The December patch fixes a total of 75 security vulnerabilities, 54 of which affect all Android devices while the rest were found only in Samsung’s software. The patch also includes fixes for four vulnerabilities discovered in some Exynos chips, which aren’t applicable here thanks to the A52s being powered by a Snapdragon chip worldwide.

If you own a Galaxy A52s, you can check if the latest update is available by tapping the Download and install option in the phone’s Settings » Software update menu (it may take a few tries for the updates to start downloading). Full-sized firmware available in our archives can also be used to upgrade the phone, but this procedure requires a Windows PC and a USB cable.

Galaxy A52s next and final feature update will be One UI 6.1

The Galaxy A52s, like the Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A52 5G, is eligible for three generations of Android OS upgrades, so it will not be receiving future versions of Android. As for One UI updates, the Galaxy A52s is likely to get One UI 6.1 sometime next year. After it has been updated to One UI 6.1, the A52s will only remain eligible for security updates.

Source…

Hashtag Trending Nov.24- AI brings massive internet traffic; Big Box retailers give up on self checkout; Altman dismissed because AI could do math?


AI has resulted in a massive traffic surge on the internet. Big Box retailers are backing away from self check-out. And did Sam Altman get fired because AI could do simple math?

 

These and more top tech stories on Hashtag Trending

I’m your host Jim Love, CIO of IT World Canada and Tech News Day in the US.

Dozens of news outlets have reported that OpenAI was reportedly working on an advanced artificial intelligence model, called Q* or “Q-Star in OpenAI documents,” which raised significant safety concerns among its researchers. This model, capable of solving relatively simple math problems, represents a notable advancement in AI development. 

Why? It sounds ridiculous. After all, computers can do math. Yes they can, but we forget that every instruction that makes that work is programmed in by a human.  

We’re talking about a computer intelligence that can reason through mathematical problems where the methods are not pre-programmed. This is, for many, early evidence of a machine intelligence that can learn by itself without the need for human intervention. 

Andrew Rogoyski of the University of Surrey’s Institute for People-Centred AI commented on the significance of a large language model (LLM) capable of solving mathematical problems, calling it a major step forward in AI’s analytical capabilities.

Altman himself has hinted at this in a Wall Street Journal interview where he said that it was possible that in the future, AI wouldn’t require massive amounts of data from the internet and other sources. Some have taken this to mean that OpenAI had developed a way for AI to not only learn, but to actually teach other models by creating virtual data. 

This would be a massive breakthrough.  

Which is why there are stories about researchers at OpenAI being alarmed by Q*’s capabilities that they wrote to the board of directors, warning that it could pose a threat to humanity.

Some are speculating that it was these developments that led to the general panic and the dismissal of CEO Sam Altman. 

All this has reignited discussions on the pace at which companies like OpenAI are advancing toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a level of AI that can perform…

Source…

Major international police operation brings down Ragnar Locker ransomware group


A large group that carried out ransomware attacks has been dismantled in an international police operation. The suspected leader has been arrested, and their platform has been taken offline. Five of the group’s servers were seized in the Netherlands and Dutch investigators assisted in the investigation.

According to coordinator Peter Bos of the East Netherlands Cybercrime Team, he and his colleagues have made an important contribution to this large-scale international operation that was started in 2021.

“As a team, we have succeeded in mapping the IT infrastructure of the Ragnar Locker group, as well as their working methods. We also seized several servers and took down hosting services during the week of action, in which eleven countries worldwide participated. Furthermore, we have secured victim data from more than 60 multinationals and during the investigation, we notified some victims of impending ransomware attacks by this group,” Bos said.

European services Europol (police) and Eurojust (justice) announced the results of the action against the Ragnar Locker group on Friday. The main suspect was arrested in Paris last Monday. His house in the Czech Republic was searched. In addition, five other suspects were subsequently interrogated in Spain and Latvia. The group’s website on the dark web was shut down in Sweden. In addition to the Netherlands, servers were also seized in Germany and Sweden.

The ransomware, also called Ragnar Locker, has been active since December 2019. Its creators infected and locked computer systems. They also stole internal data. They then demanded a ransom from victims, both for unlocking systems and for returning sensitive data. They then offered a decryption key in exchange for a ransom amount ranging from $5 to $70 million, threatening to leak the stolen data on the dark web if their demands were not met, according to the police. They also threatened to release all files to the public if the victims filed charges.

Investigators believe that the group attacked about 168 organizations. Last year, they attacked the Portuguese national airline TAP. A month ago, they perpetrated a digital attack on a hospital near Tel Aviv in Israel.

In 2021,…

Source…

Banning Ransomware Payments Brings New Challenges


Cyber criminals will keep making ransomware attacks as long as they see profits outweigh the effort and risks. Some states have responded by prohibiting state and local government entities from paying the extortionists — a move North Carolina and Florida took in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and which several others have mulled as well.

State bans like these keep taxpayer money from funding cyber crime, but such small-level, standalone prohibitions are unlikely to have a big impact on the ransomware problem, said Jen Ellis — Institute for Security and Technology (IST) adjunct senior policy adviser and Ransomware Task Force co-chair — in response to a Government Technology question during an IST webinar yesterday.

A nationwide ban applying to both public- and private-sector victims would reach farther, however, and past years have seen cyber researchers debate the pros and cons. Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger said in May that federal officials had “grappled” with the question of whether to ban most extortion payments while allowing the federal government to grant waivers.


If the U.S. means to do so, there are plenty of risks and challenges to consider, cyber experts said during yesterday’s webinar.

That includes introducing and launching such a policy.

Silas Cutler is an adjunct senior cyber threat adviser at IST and a principal reverse engineer at cybersecurity company Stairwell. He worried that busy small-business owners may not be keeping up with the latest cybersecurity legislation and could accidentally commit a crime if they pay after a hypothetical ban passes. That would give cyber attackers leverage to keep extorting the businesses in exchange for keeping the fact of the payment quiet.

Another concern is attackers are likely to respond to a payment ban by testing how well it sticks. Attackers may intensify their focus on the victims most likely to feel compelled to pay, such as small- to medium-sized businesses — which may not be able to stay afloat during an interruption to their operations — and essential service and critical infrastructure providers where “disruption…

Source…