Everyone knows an evening of fine relaxation could be the distinction between being able to face the day or struggling to focus and counting down the hours till you may get again below the covers. However new analysis exhibits a stark inequality in good sleep for extra susceptible teams.
Utilizing a spread of 0 to 100 based mostly on 5 key components, Trellis knowledge associate GlobeScan requested greater than 55,000 customers how properly they slept for the IKEA Sleep Uncovered report. The survey requested respondents to fee their:
Sleep high quality (general)
Sleep time (common variety of hours)
Drift-off time (how lengthy it takes to go to sleep)
Sleep movement (how typically you get up)
Wake-up state (how typically you get up feeling drained)
Outcomes present financially insecure people, the LGBTQ+ group, folks with disabilities and girls with younger youngsters all rating beneath the worldwide common sleep rating of 63. Ladies, basically, constantly scored decrease than males (60 vs. 65), with one in three ladies ranking their sleep as poor. The analysis confirmed monetary stability, bed room sharing and stress are key determinants of sleep high quality.
What this implies
Sleep, a fundamental human want, has turn out to be a privilege reasonably than a given. These findings reveal how deeply inequalities — whether or not monetary, gender-based or social — permeate all facets of life, even shaping one thing as basic as relaxation. Poor sleep is each a symptom and a driver of inequality, affecting bodily and psychological well being, productiveness and general well-being. The implications lengthen far past the bed room: When susceptible teams are disadvantaged of high quality sleep, it exacerbates financial hardship, widens well being disparities and reinforces cycles of drawback.
Based mostly on the IKEA Sleep Uncovered report, which surveyed 55,221 adults throughout 57 markets between August and September.
A yr or so in the past, I wrote a number of articles about makes an attempt to cross america on nothing however solar energy, carried alongside on or within the automobile. Since then, the sluggish tempo and even slower launch of details about these journeys led to me shifting on to different issues and shedding monitor of them. On this article, I’ll replace readers on two profitable journeys, even when they took a LONG time.
Why This Issues
As we speak, having the ability to cross entire continents is one thing we take with no consideration, however 100–200 years in the past, this wasn’t the case. Earlier than the primary transcontinental railroad was accomplished at Promontory Summit, the quickest methods throughout the continent had been to both go by wagon or bypass it fully by taking a ship round South America. Both choices would take weeks at finest pace, however often months. Many individuals by no means made the journey, dying alongside the perimeters of wagon trails or drowning within the treacherous currents between South America and Antarctica.
Setting data might appear like a pointless, macho factor to do, however they result in progress. The U.S. navy’s first try to cross a continent was sluggish and terrible, taking weeks, nevertheless it led a younger navy officer named Dwight D. Eisenhower to finally push for the development of the Interstate Freeway System we will zip alongside on as we speak. Pushing photo voltaic expertise like this gained’t win anyone any pace awards and even a lot recognition as we speak, however setting benchmarks to beat can encourage additional progress.
The First Recognized Photo voltaic Cannonball
Just lately, the Energy of Mild YouTube channel, run by Joe Kliewer, put out the ultimate episode concerning the late 2023 journey throughout the nation, together with a map of charging stops and different particulars.
The journey is effectively documented, and has time lapses of the entire run, exhibiting that it was a reputable file. However no person was ever more likely to dispute this file as a result of it took virtually two months! The journey began on October 3, 2023, and lasted till November twenty ninth. Alongside the best way, he stopped at campgrounds at nationwide and state parks, good property house owners’ lands, and even barren desert BLM land in New Mexico to arrange dozens of 100-watt photo voltaic panels. Charging stops took days at a time, and generally even longer when wet climate would stick round too lengthy.
To say that this can be a journey that most individuals would by no means repeat could be an understatement. Needing to search out locations to cost took priority over principally every little thing, together with primary comforts. It will be good if each city had a motel with an enormous lot subsequent to it that allowed individuals to arrange a transportable photo voltaic array, however that simply doesn’t exist and possibly by no means will as a result of there’s simply no demand for it.
The Second Run Was Sooner, However Made Different Huge Compromises
In mid-2024, one other crew made the journey throughout America in just below two weeks. However the automobile wasn’t one thing most individuals would think about taking such a visit in. As an alternative of taking a Tesla automobile at speeds one would think about to be freeway speeds, this crew took one thing that straddles the road between e-bike and automotive. If something, it resembles the solar-powered automobiles that college students have raced for many years. Nevertheless, the Solar Strider was registered in Michigan as a bike, in order that’s shut sufficient for a file.
Touring at speeds of as much as 35 miles per hour, all the photo voltaic panels had been mounted to the automobile itself, and so they’d sustain with the motor in lots of circumstances. The automobile had a 2.9 kWh battery pack and two 3.2 horsepower motors that didn’t survive the journey with no need modified out. Excessive temperatures had been laborious on the electronics and the drivers, as there was no air-con.
The place Will It Go From Right here?
At current, it appears cheap to be pessimistic about the way forward for onboard solar energy for automobiles. Two weeks to cross the nation? On one thing that’s much less nice to journey than a bicycle? Or two months in a traditional automotive? Who desires to try this?
However we’ve got to do not forget that EVs, powered by the grid, had been as soon as on such dismal timetables. When the primary makes an attempt had been made to do that in 1968, it took over 210 hours, which might be over two weeks should you had been to drive 12 hours per day. The EVs of the time had been all conversions with outdated battery expertise, and there was no quick charging. It wasn’t till the 2010s that EV expertise improved and charging stations that would fill ‘er up in a half hour got here out and drastically improved EV freeway journey!
Photo voltaic expertise has additionally come a great distance in that point. The primary photo voltaic cells had been solely experimental, and produced little energy. Effectivity went from virtually zero to capturing virtually a 3rd of the accessible photo voltaic vitality. Trying ahead, 40% effectivity is already within the pipeline, with 50–60% not thought-about unimaginable. Researchers assume that as a lot as 90% of daylight may very well be transformed to electrical energy, however that’s not a certain guess at this level. Even doubling the effectivity of photo voltaic panels would double the pace of photo voltaic automobiles on such cross-continent journeys.
There’s additionally no rule that claims solar energy has to at all times dwell on the automotive. The Cannonball Solar problem (began by the second crew mentioned above) solely dictates that the automobile be powered solely by daylight, be registered, and observe the principles of the street. Photo voltaic EV charging infrastructure can actually be a part of the answer for EV charging infrastructure, and if sufficient solar-only stations are deployed, it may give photo voltaic Cannonballers an enormous increase in instances. This wouldn’t be straightforward for DC quick charging (an enormous photo voltaic farm could be wanted), nevertheless it’s inside the realm of the doable with battery storage.
None of that is going to occur in a single day, in fact, however neither did EV expertise or photo voltaic expertise. Having the Cannonball Solar as a benchmark for photo voltaic transportation can function a great tool for monitoring the development for such expertise sooner or later.
Featured picture: a screenshot from the primary photo voltaic Cannonball run.
A brand new malware marketing campaign has been noticed leveraging social engineering techniques to ship an open-source rootkit referred to as r77.
The exercise, condemned OBSCURE#BAT by Securonix, allows menace actors to ascertain persistence and evade detection on compromised programs. It is presently not recognized who’s behind the marketing campaign.
The rootkit “has the flexibility to cloak or masks any file, registry key or job starting with a selected prefix,” safety researchers Den Iuzvyk and Tim Peck stated in a report shared with The Hacker Information. “It has been focusing on customers by both masquerading as reputable software program downloads or by way of faux captcha social engineering scams.”
The marketing campaign is designed to primarily goal English-speaking people, significantly the USA, Canada, Germany, and the UK.
OBSCURE#BAT will get its title from the truth that the place to begin of the assault is an obfuscated Home windows batch script that, in flip, executes PowerShell instructions to activate a multi-stage course of that culminates within the deployment of the rootkit.
Not less than two completely different preliminary entry routes have been recognized to get customers to execute the malicious batch scripts: One which makes use of the notorious ClickFix technique by directing customers to a faux Cloudflare CAPTCHA verification web page and a second technique that employs promoting the malware as reputable instruments like Tor Browser, VoIP software program, and messaging purchasers.
Whereas it is not clear how customers are lured to the booby-trapped software program, it is suspected to contain tried-and-tested approaches like malvertising or SEO (search engine marketing) poisoning.
Whatever the technique used, the first-stage payload is an archive containing the batch script, which then invokes PowerShell instructions to drop further scripts, make Home windows Registry modifications, and arrange scheduled duties for persistence.
“The malware shops obfuscated scripts within the Home windows Registry and ensures execution by way of scheduled duties, permitting it to run stealthily within the background,” the researchers stated. “Moreover, it modifies system registry keys to register a faux driver (ACPIx86.sys), additional embedding itself into the system.”
Deployed over the course of the assault is a .NET payload that employs a bevy of tips to evade detection. This contains control-flow obfuscation, string encryption, and utilizing perform names that blend Arabic, Chinese language, and particular characters.
One other payload loaded via PowerShell is an executable that makes use of Antimalware Scan Interface (AMSI) patching to bypass antivirus detections.
The .NET payload is finally accountable for dropping a system-mode rootkit named “ACPIx86.sys” into the “C:WindowsSystem32Drivers” folder, which is then launched as a service. Additionally delivered is a user-mode rootkit known as r77 for organising persistence on the host and hiding recordsdata, processes, and registry keys matching the sample ($nya-).
The malware additional periodically displays for clipboard exercise and command historical past and saves them into hidden recordsdata for probably exfiltration.
“OBSCURE#BAT demonstrates a extremely evasive assault chain, leveraging obfuscation, stealth strategies, and API hooking to persist on compromised programs whereas evading detection,” the researchers stated.
“From the preliminary execution of the obfuscated batch script (set up.bat) to the creation of scheduled duties and registry-stored scripts, the malware ensures persistence even after reboots. By injecting into crucial system processes like winlogon.exe, it manipulates course of conduct to additional complicate detection.”
The findings come as Cofense detailed a Microsoft Copilot spoofing marketing campaign that makes use of phishing emails to take customers to a faux touchdown web page for the unreal intelligence (AI) assistant that is engineered to reap customers’ credentials and two-factor authentication (2FA) codes.
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Intel’s discrete GPU ambitions — particularly in enterprise AI — have usually appeared reactive slightly than a part of a transparent strategic imaginative and prescient. The corporate entered the market late, going through Nvidia’s dominant CUDA ecosystem and AMD’s aggressive push into AI GPUs.
“Tan’s background suggests he’s unlikely to double down on discrete GPUs in any respect prices,” Singh mentioned. “He understands that the true AI battle is not only about GPUs, however about AI-first compute architectures. The businesses that reach AI computing are people who embed AI capabilities throughout all their silicon, not simply in a devoted GPU line.”
Intel has already built-in AI acceleration into its CPUs, a method Singh sees as Tan’s doubtless focus. Quite than chasing Nvidia, Intel might embed AI immediately into CPUs and different processors, offering enterprises a scalable AI resolution with out requiring a full GPU redesign.
Nonetheless, discrete GPUs are unlikely to fade totally. “Sure workloads will proceed to demand devoted AI processors, and Intel should pursue this house,” Singh mentioned. “However the distinction underneath Tan will probably be an emphasis on AI computing as a complete, slightly than a myopic race to compete with Nvidia within the GPU market alone.”
Intel’s broader AI investments replicate this diversified method. “Gaudi, for example, isn’t a GPU,” mentioned Paquet. “It’s an AI accelerator, not a general-purpose GPU. Intel should proceed growing processor sorts that provide development alternatives, notably in AI. On the PC aspect, Intel has GPUs and NPUs in its portfolio to help AI workloads.”
What enterprise IT consumers can anticipate
Analysts largely agree that Intel’s server roadmap is about by means of 2025, with no rapid adjustments anticipated underneath Tan. Main realignments on the server and large-die product degree require longer timelines, making short-term shifts unlikely.
Microsoft Menace Intelligence has recognized an ongoing phishing marketing campaign that started in December 2024, concentrating on organizations within the hospitality trade by impersonating the web journey company Reserving.com.
The marketing campaign, tracked as Storm-1865, employs a complicated social engineering method referred to as ClickFix to ship credential-stealing malware designed to conduct monetary fraud and theft.
A pattern phishing e-mail, purporting to be from a potential visitor.
This assault particularly targets hospitality organizations throughout North America, Oceania, South and Southeast Asia, and varied European areas, specializing in people prone to work instantly with Reserving.com.
As of February 2025, the marketing campaign stays lively and continues to evolve its techniques to bypass standard safety measures.
One other pattern phishing e-mail, purportedly requiring the recipient to handle adverse suggestions a couple of lodge.
One other pattern phishing e-mail, purportedly requiring the recipient to confirm their Reserving.com account.
Misleading Techniques Goal Hospitality Workers By Fraudulent Communications
The Storm-1865 risk actors have developed a methodical method to infiltrating hospitality organizations by first figuring out potential targets inside these companies who’re prone to work together with Reserving.com as a part of their common duties.
The attackers then craft malicious emails that impersonate the journey platform, with message content material various broadly to extend the probabilities of engagement.
These fraudulent communications reference eventualities that might concern hospitality workers, together with adverse visitor opinions, requests from potential visitors, on-line promotion alternatives, and account verification notifications.
Every e-mail incorporates both a malicious hyperlink or a PDF attachment with an embedded hyperlink, purportedly directing recipients to the authentic Reserving.com web site.
When customers click on on these hyperlinks, they’re directed to a convincing faux webpage that shows a counterfeit CAPTCHA overlay in opposition to a background designed to imitate the genuine Reserving.com interface.
This misleading design creates the phantasm that Reserving.com has applied extra verification checks, which can give focused customers a false sense of safety and enhance the chance of compromise.
The assault methodology demonstrates a complicated understanding of the hospitality trade’s operations and successfully exploits the trusted relationship between motels and the favored reserving platform to ship malicious payloads.
ClickFix Social Engineering Method Allows Supply of A number of Malware Households
On the core of this marketing campaign is the ClickFix social engineering method, which represents an evolution within the risk actor’s method to bypassing safety measures.
This system takes benefit of human problem-solving tendencies by displaying faux error messages or prompts that instruct customers to carry out particular actions to resolve supposed points.
On this particular implementation, the faux CAPTCHA overlay instructs customers to make use of a keyboard shortcut to open a Home windows Run window, then paste and execute a command that the phishing web page has surreptitiously added to the person’s clipboard.
A screenshot of the faux Reserving.com webpage, with the faux CAPTCHA overlay outlining the ClickFix course of.
This requirement for direct person interplay helps the assault evade automated safety features that may in any other case detect and block malicious scripts.
The command executed by way of this technique sometimes leverages mshta.exe to obtain and launch malicious code, which varies relying on the particular payload being delivered.
An instance of the mshta.exe command that the focused person launches.
Microsoft has recognized a number of households of commodity malware being distributed by way of this marketing campaign, together with XWorm, Lumma stealer, VenomRAT, AsyncRAT, Danabot, and NetSupport RAT.
Every of those malware variants possesses capabilities designed to steal monetary information and credentials for fraudulent use, which aligns with the historic patterns noticed in Storm-1865 exercise.
The adoption of the ClickFix method represents a major evolution within the risk actor’s techniques, methods, and procedures (TTPs), demonstrating their ongoing efforts to avoid standard safety measures concentrating on phishing and malware distribution.
Diagram illustrating the levels of the an infection course of on this marketing campaign.
Protecting Measures and Organizational Defenses In opposition to Refined Phishing Threats
Organizations can implement a number of methods to guard themselves in opposition to this refined phishing marketing campaign and comparable threats.
Training stays a vital part of protection, with workers coaching targeted on figuring out suspicious emails by checking sender addresses, being cautious of pressing calls to motion, hovering over hyperlinks earlier than clicking, and waiting for typographical errors that always point out phishing makes an attempt.
Technical countermeasures additionally play a significant position in organizational safety in opposition to these threats.
Microsoft recommends deploying phishing-resistant authentication strategies, imposing multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts, configuring Microsoft Defender for Workplace 365 to recheck hyperlinks on click on, and inspiring customers to make the most of net browsers that assist protecting options like Microsoft Defender SmartScreen.
Further technical defenses embody enabling cloud-delivered safety in antivirus merchandise, implementing community safety to forestall entry to malicious domains, enabling automated investigation and remediation capabilities, and activating Zero-hour auto purge (ZAP) in Workplace 365 to quarantine malicious messages.
