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According to the 2024 UK Government Cybersecurity Breaches Survey, 50 percent of businesses experienced a cyberattack or security breach in the past year. Last year, 32 percent of UK businesses reported experiencing a cyber-attack at least once a week, with cyberattacks projected to increase by 15 percent globally. In light of recent cyber threats, the e-commerce hosting provider Hypernode has explained to Digital Journal about the significance of cyber hygiene for businesses and share essential practices to ensure online safety. What is cyber hygiene? Cyber hygiene can be explained as a set of practices to maintain system health and security in relation to a business’s online activities. Like physical hygiene, maintaining cyber hygiene entails a set of regular preventative measures. Cyber hygiene is a necessity in today’s digital landscape, where cyber threats represent significant dangers. Organisations can seek to reduce vulnerabilities , prevent common cyber threats, raise security awareness, mitigate the impact of assaults, and increase their overall cybersecurity defences by following cyber hygiene practices. How can this defenition be translated into practical solutions? Five key practices Milan Bosman, Commercial Director of Hypernode , adds further context in relation to the above advice: “Warnings from experts, who have predicted the rise in cybercrime in the UK, have certainly been proven valid. Globally, cybercrime is expected to surge 15 percent throughout 2024, and 2023 government statistics already state that 32 percent of UK businesses experienced cyber-attacks at least once a week. With this, the importance of maintaining cyber hygiene continues to grow.” Bosman adds: “It’s a good time for businesses whose regulations are not up to date to review them and to ensure all staff are adequately educated around threats to avoid breaches in security.” Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
By CHRIS MEGERIAN and COLLEEN LONG WASHINGTON (AP) — In the two weeks since Donald Trump won the presidency, he’s tried to demonstrate his dominance by naming loyalists for top administration positions, even though many lack expertise and some face sexual misconduct accusations. It often seems like he’s daring Congress to oppose his decisions. But on Thursday, Trump’s attempt to act with impunity showed a crack as Matt Gaetz , his choice for attorney general, withdrew from consideration. Trump had named Gaetz, a Florida congressman, to be the country’s top law enforcement official even though he was widely disliked by his colleagues, has little legal experience and was accused of having sex with an underage girl, an allegation he denied. After being plagued by investigations during his first presidency, Trump wanted a devoted ally in charge of the Justice Department during his second. However, it was never obvious that Gaetz could win enough support from lawmakers to get confirmed as attorney general. Trump chose for a replacement Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general who defended him during his first impeachment trial and supported his false claims of voter fraud. Now the question is whether Gaetz was uniquely unpalatable, or if Trump’s other picks might exceed his party’s willingness to overlook concerns that would have sunk nominees in a prior political era. The next test will likely be Pete Hegseth, who Trump wants to lead the Pentagon despite an allegation of sexual assault that he’s denied. So far, Republicans are rallying around Hegseth , an Army veteran and former Fox News host. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the controversy over Gaetz would have little bearing on Trump’s other choices. He said they would be considered “one at a time.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, suggested otherwise, claiming “the dominoes are falling.” “The drip drip of evidence and truth is going to eventually doom some others,” he said. Trump’s election victory was a sign that there may not be many red lines left in American politics. He won the presidential race despite authoritarian, racist and misogynist rhetoric, not to mention years of lies about election fraud and his role in sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was also criminally convicted of falsifying business records to pay hush money, and he was found liable for sexual abuse in a civil case. Empowered by voters who looked past his misconduct and saw him as a powerful agent of change, Trump has shown no deference to Washington norms while working to fill his second administration . The transition team hasn’t pursued federal background checks for Trump’s personnel choices. While some of his selections have extensive experience in the areas they’ve been chosen to lead, others are personal friends and Fox News personalities who have impressed and flattered Trump over the years. Several have faced allegations involving sexual misconduct . Hegseth is facing the most scrutiny after Gaetz. Once Trump announced Hegseth as his nominee for Pentagon chief, allegations emerged that he sexually assaulted a woman in California in 2017. The woman said he took her phone, blocked the door to the hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a police report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said. However, he paid the woman a confidential settlement in 2023. Hegseth’s lawyer said the payment was made to head off the threat of a baseless lawsuit. Trump’s choice for secretary of health and human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has faced allegations of misconduct too. A woman who babysat for him and his second wife told Vanity Fair magazine that Kennedy groped her in the late 1990s, when she was 23. Kennedy did not deny the allegation and texted an apology to the woman after the article was published. That isn’t the only hurdle for Kennedy; he’s spent years spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines, raising fears about making him a top health official in the new administration. Linda McMahon, chosen by Trump to be education secretary, is fighting a lawsuit connected to her former company, World Wrestling Entertainment. She’s accused of knowingly enabling sexual exploitation of children by an employee as early as the 1980s, and she denies the allegations. Tulsi Gabbard is another person who could face a difficult confirmation battle, but for very different reasons. The former Democratic representative from Hawaii has been a vocal Trump ally, and he chose her to be national intelligence director. But there’s grave concern by lawmakers and national security officials over Gabbard’s history of echoing Russian propaganda. Critics said she would endanger relationships with U.S. allies. Gaetz was investigated by federal law enforcement for sex trafficking, but the case was closed without charges and Republicans have blocked the release of a related report from the House Ethics Committee. However, some allegations leaked out, including that Gaetz paid women for sex. One of the women testified to the committee that she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl, according to a lawyer for the woman. As Gaetz met with senators this week, it became clear that he would face stubborn resistance from lawmakers who were concerned about his behavior and believed he was unqualified to run the Justice Department. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction,” Gaetz wrote on social media when announcing his withdrawal. Sen. Mike Braun, an Indiana Republican, said he believed there were four to six members of the caucus who would have voted against Gaetz, likely dooming his nomination, and “the math got too hard.” He said some of the issues and allegations around Gaetz were “maybe beyond the pale.” “I think there were just too many things, it was like a leaky dike, and you know, it broke,” Braun said. Trump thanked Gaetz in a post on Truth Social, his social media website, without addressing the substance of the allegations against him. “He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect,” Trump wrote. Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Stephen Groves and Lisa Macaro contributed from Washington. Jill Colvin in New York and Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also contributed.
Google on Monday showed off a new quantum computing chip that it said was a major breakthrough that could bring practical quantum computing closer to reality. A custom chip called "Willow" does in minutes what it would take leading supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete, according to Google Quantum AI founder Hartmut Neven. "Written out, there is a 1 with 25 zeros," Neven said of the time span while briefing journalists. "A mind-boggling number." Neven's team of about 300 people at Google is on a mission to build quantum computing capable of handling otherwise unsolvable problems like safe fusion power and stopping climate change. "We see Willow as an important step in our journey to build a useful quantum computer with practical applications in areas like drug discovery, fusion energy, battery design and more," said Google CEO Sundar Pichai on X. A quantum computer that can tackle these challenges is still years away, but Willow marks a significant step in that direction, according to Neven and members of his team. While still in its early stages, scientists believe that superfast quantum computing will eventually be able to power innovation in a range of fields. Quantum research is seen as a critical field and both the United States and China have been investing heavily in the area, while Washington has also placed restrictions on the export of the sensitive technology. Olivier Ezratty, an independent expert in quantum technologies, told AFP in October that private and public investment in the field has totaled around $20 billion worldwide over the past five years. Regular computers function in binary fashion: they carry out tasks using tiny fragments of data known as bits that are only ever either expressed as 1 or 0. But fragments of data on a quantum computer, known as qubits, can be both 1 and 0 at the same time -- allowing them to crunch an enormous number of potential outcomes simultaneously. Crucially, Google's chip demonstrated the ability to reduce computational errors exponentially as it scales up -- a feat that has eluded researchers for nearly 30 years. The breakthrough in error correction, published in leading science journal Nature, showed that adding more qubits to the system actually reduced errors rather than increasing them -- a fundamental requirement for building practical quantum computers. Error correction is the "end game" in quantum computing and Google is "confidently progressing" along the path, according to Google director of quantum hardware Julian Kelly. gc/arp/bjt
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Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes officeWhen it comes to console exclusives, Xbox has the least amount of theme compared to the competition. The lack of compelling first-party Xbox-exclusive games has always been a problem, but 2024 saw Microsoft turn things around with some great titles from Xbox Game Studios. Xbox Game Pass subscribers got to enjoy many first-party and third-party games for a low monthly cost, while hardcore PC gamers also got some games that take advantage of the platform. While PlayStation delivered some stellar triple-A blockbusters, Xbox covered all its bases with a wide variety of games, from action-adventure games to simulation titles to survival games. Here are the best Xbox games of 2024, and we're including some PC titles published by Xbox Game Studios. All of the games below are available in Xbox Game Pass, and all got review scores of 80/100 or higher on review score aggregator Metacritic — though we picked based on personal taste, too. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Machinegames has delivered not just a great Indiana Jones game, but also one of its best games ever. The first-person action-adventure game lets players step into Indy's boots and experience the thrill of exploring ancient tombs and punching nazis directly. The amount of freedom given to the player is similar to that of an immersive sim like Dishonored, and that's commendable for a licensed game that could've taken the easy way out. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 A good Call of Duty campaign is like a shot of adrenaline sent straight into your bloodstream. Black Ops 6's campaign is one of the franchise's best, and it brings a lot of new mechanics to shake up the series. Its omnimovement system changes how you interact with the world, and its set pieces are more bombastic than ever. Black Ops 6 is the quintessential Call of Duty game of the generation. Persona 3 Reload Persona 3 was the first game in the franchise to focus on the social simulation systems the franchise is known for today. The modern remake updates its gameplay to be more in line with Persona 5, which is a good thing. Many fans prefer P3's story over the other games, and it's one you should not skip if you have Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Microsoft Flight Simulator brings the entire planet to your living room. Smart tech upgrades bring down its install size while retaining the high fidelity of its world, and you can finally exit the cockpit and bask in nature for the first time in the series. There are more planes to fly around in over a digital recreation of Earth, and MFS 2024 is the best place to do it. Palworld Palworld is more than what it appears to be. While arming Pokémon with guns seems silly and chaotic, Palworld somehow manages to become a fun survival game. And the best part? It's available on Xbox Game Pass so you can jump in without any doubts or concerns, and it keeps getting new updates. STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl STALKER 2 retains the hardcore survival simulation system of the franchise while giving it a fresh coat of paint. It's not your average by-the-numbers FPS, as Stalkers need to be wary of everything on their path. Just when you think you've got a handle on its mutated hordes, the Chornobyl exclusion zone's supernatural mysteries will confound you. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Hellblade 2 is one of the best-looking games of the generation, even though its lack of gameplay innovation and depth leave a lot to be desired. Melina Juergens gives it her all in a gut-wrenching performance, with a story that you'll love if you like Norse mythology. However, its bad parts are hard to complain about when it's available right there in Xbox Game Pass. Dungeons of Hinterberg Dungeons of Hinterberg is like a trip to a cozy town during summer vacation. While its action and puzzle-solving aren't mechanically deep, you'll fall in love with Hinterberg and its residents so much that you won't care about the gameplay's shortcomings. Age of Mythology: Retold (PC) Age of Mythology is a classic real-time strategy game that got its long-due remake this year. It's more than just a paint job, as it combines the old game's design with the quality-of-life feature we've come to expect from modern RTS games. We also have new game modes in the new version, along with seasonal events. Ara: History Untold (PC) We've seen dozens of 4X sims over the years, so what does ARA do differently? It focuses more on the production of resources and managing an entire empire bit by bit. You'll have to rely on specialists to lead your empire to technological enlightenment, though trying to manage your civilization's interests and the specialists will be tough.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's popularity shows little sign of waning more than a year after he led the provincial New Democrats to power. But there are some tough choices ahead as he tries to fulfil promises to improve health care, address poverty and get the government's finances in order. Kinew has carried through on election promises to hire more health-care workers, expand school nutrition programs and temporarily suspend the provincial fuel tax for a one-year period that is to end Jan. 1. The NDP government has also announced extra funding for the arts, policing and other items. Opinion polls continue to rank highly the NDP as a party and Kinew as a premier. What Kinew has yet to show is a plan to control spending in order to balance the budget by 2027 -- another campaign promise -- and end a long series of deficits in Manitoba, said political analyst Paul Thomas. "At some point, you have to make hard choices," said Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba. "You don't get to continue to say yes to most requests that come along." In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Kinew said he's working on ways to add front-line staff to health care while finding cost savings elsewhere. The Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care ministry -- by far the biggest-spending government department -- was allocated hundreds of millions of more dollars in this year's budget to boost staffing levels and add hospital beds. A mid-year fiscal update earlier this month said the department was on track to spend even more and run $438 million over budget. "I think it's important for us to keep that flexibility with health spending right now because we are trying to match the needs of the health-care system to the population," Kinew said. "A lot of what we're doing right now is trying to get through this transitional period of scaling up health care to the appropriate size." When pressed for specifics on where the government is cutting costs, Kinew hinted there was guidance being given to some departments. "We are looking at making sure that the belt tightening that we do is more like, 'Do you really need that software subscription? Does the lobby really need a new coat of paint in someone's office?"' Kinew said. "Things like that, which individually are smaller-scale decisions, but over an apparatus the size of the provincial government ... it does total tens of millions of dollars." The latest deficit projection for the current fiscal year is $1.3 billion -- $513 million higher than the original budget projection. The government will face new spending requirements as it ramps up, among other initiatives, new programs to tackle homelessness. Kinew is a gifted public speaker and communicator who connects with the public as empathetic and caring, Thomas said. The premier also uses social media well and his New Democrats often set up news conferences in community settings where supporters and funding recipients are in attendance and applauding. The New Democrats are also helped by the state of the Opposition Progressive Conservatives, who are still working to rebuild after losing the last election and are under an interim leader until their convention slated for April, Thomas added. Kinew's public missteps have been few so far, and Thomas said the premier has moved quickly to address them before controversy can grow. Kinew came under fire in September after Mark Wasyliw was removed from the NDP caucus. Kinew said it was because Wasyliw's former law partner was representing convicted sex offender Peter Nygard. The legal community said the premier was attacking the role defence lawyers play in the justice system. Kinew apologized and the New Democrats cited other reasons for Wasyliw's dismissal. The NDP also backtracked quickly in the spring after initially cutting funding for "green team" youth summer jobs. Many community groups denounced the move, and funding was partially restored. "Issues have come and gone, but it hasn't dented (the NDP's) image and reputation," Thomas said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2024.Google announces quantum computing chip breakthroughBoxing Day Test LIVE updates: Series on the line as Aussies chase wickets as day three begins against India
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Carlos Santana returns to Cleveland on 1-year deal, first baseman's third stint with GuardiansWASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship as soon as he gets into office to make good on campaign promises aiming to restrict immigration and redefining what it means to be American. But any efforts to halt the policy would face steep legal hurdles. Recommended Videos Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It's been in place for decades and applies to children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa who plans to return to their home country. It's not the practice of every country, and Trump and his supporters have argued that the system is being abused and that there should be tougher standards for becoming an American citizen. But others say this is a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, it would be extremely difficult to overturn and even if it's possible, it's a bad idea. Here's a look at birthright citizenship, what Trump has said about it and the prospects for ending it: What Trump has said about birthright citizenship During an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Trump said he “absolutely” planned to halt birthright citizenship once in office. “We’re going to end that because it’s ridiculous,” he said. Trump and other opponents of birthright citizenship have argued that it creates an incentive for people to come to the U.S. illegally or take part in “birth tourism,” in which pregnant women enter the U.S. specifically to give birth so their children can have citizenship before returning to their home countries. “Simply crossing the border and having a child should not entitle anyone to citizenship,” said Eric Ruark, director of research for NumbersUSA, which argues for reducing immigration. The organization supports changes that would require at least one parent to be a permanent legal resident or a U.S. citizen for their children to automatically get citizenship. Others have argued that ending birthright citizenship would profoundly damage the country. “One of our big benefits is that people born here are citizens, are not an illegal underclass. There’s better assimilation and integration of immigrants and their children because of birthright citizenship,” said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the pro-immigration Cato Institute. In 2019, the Migration Policy Institute estimated that 5.5 million children under age 18 lived with at least one parent in the country illegally in 2019, representing 7% of the U.S. child population. The vast majority of those children were U.S. citizens. The nonpartisan think tank said during Trump’s campaign for president in 2015 that the number of people in the country illegally would “balloon” if birthright citizenship were repealed, creating “a self-perpetuating class that would be excluded from social membership for generations.” What does the law say? In the aftermath of the Civil War, Congress ratified the 14th Amendment in July 1868. That amendment assured citizenship for all, including Black people. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” the 14th Amendment says. “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” But the 14th Amendment didn't always translate to everyone being afforded birthright citizenship. For example, it wasn't until 1924 that Congress finally granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. A key case in the history of birthright citizenship came in 1898, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the states. The federal government had tried to deny him reentry into the county after a trip abroad on grounds he wasn’t a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act. But some have argued that the 1898 case clearly applied to children born of parents who are both legal immigrants to America but that it's less clear whether it applies to children born to parents without legal status or, for example, who come for a short-term like a tourist visa. “That is the leading case on this. In fact, it’s the only case on this,” said Andrew Arthur, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration restrictions. “It’s a lot more of an open legal question than most people think.” Some proponents of immigration restrictions have argued the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment allows the U.S. to deny citizenship to babies born to those in the country illegally. Trump himself used that language in his 2023 announcement that he would aim to end birthright citizenship if reelected. So what could Trump do and would it be successful? Trump wasn't clear in his Sunday interview how he aims to end birthright citizenship. Asked how he could get around the 14th Amendment with an executive action, Trump said: “Well, we’re going to have to get it changed. We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it.” Pressed further on whether he'd use an executive order, Trump said “if we can, through executive action." He gave a lot more details in a 2023 post on his campaign website . In it, he said he would issue an executive order the first day of his presidency, making it clear that federal agencies “require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to become automatic U.S. citizens.” Trump wrote that the executive order would make clear that children of people in the U.S. illegally “should not be issued passports, Social Security numbers, or be eligible for certain taxpayer funded welfare benefits.” This would almost certainly end up in litigation. Nowrasteh from the Cato Institute said the law is clear that birthright citizenship can’t be ended by executive order but that Trump may be inclined to take a shot anyway through the courts. “I don’t take his statements very seriously. He has been saying things like this for almost a decade," Nowrasteh said. "He didn’t do anything to further this agenda when he was president before. The law and judges are near uniformly opposed to his legal theory that the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States are not citizens." Trump could steer Congress to pass a law to end birthright citizenship but would still face a legal challenge that it violates the Constitution. __ Associated Press reporter Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.The real test for Nigel Farage will be if donors follow foot soldiers to Reform
Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes officeFBI Director Wray says he intends to resign at the end of Biden's term in JanuaryNone
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Teen actor Hudson Meek, who appeared in ‘Baby Driver,’ dies after falling from moving vehicleGames on a college basketball schedule don't contrast much more than the two NC State has this week. The Wolfpack (6-3) host Coppin State (0-10) on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C., then hit the road to challenge No. 10 Kansas on Saturday. NC State enters its unusual week after snapping a three-game skid with an 84-74 overtime win at home Saturday against Florida State in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Transfers Marcus Hill and Dontrez Styles each had their season high, scoring 23 and 21 points, respectively. They scored 13 of NC State's 14 points in overtime. "Dontrez Styles was tremendous," Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said. "In the second half, he made play after play." Hill, who was the top scorer last year at Bowling Green (20.5 points per game), and Styles, who was the second-leading scorer last year at Georgetown (12.8 ppg), combined to hit 14 of 25 shots and pull down 11 rebounds. The win followed defeats to then-No. 13 Purdue and BYU, both by double-digit margins, in the Rady Children's Invitational and a 63-59 loss to Texas in the SEC/ACC Challenge. "The little things that impact the game are defending, making free throws and blocking out," Keatts said. "We handled that much better than we did against Texas." Coppin State arrives in Raleigh on a 23-game losing streak dating to January -- the longest current run of futility in Division I. Each of the Eagles' losses this season have come by double-digit margins, though they have been more competitive lately, falling to Baltimore rival Loyola (Md.) 68-57 and at Wagner 65-52 last week. Julius Ellerbe III has been one of Coppin's most reliable players lately, scoring a combined 20 points in the last two games. He had 16 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to George Mason last month. Teammate Peter Oduro recorded a double-double, with 16 points and 10 rebounds, in last month's loss at Saint Joseph's. "These things take time," Coppin State second-year coach Larry Stewart said. "It takes time to establish your culture. It takes time to get the right players in your system." --Field Level MediaGoogle announces quantum computing chip breakthrough