New top story from Time: Big Tech Companies Pledge Billions to Fortify U.S. Cybersecurity After Meeting With President Biden

https://ift.tt/3jhU9px

(WASHINGTON) — Some of the country’s leading technology companies have committed to investing billions of dollars to strengthen cybersecurity defenses and to train skilled workers, the White House announced Wednesday following President Joe Biden’s private meeting with top executives.

The Washington gathering was held during a relentless stretch of ransomware attacks that have targeted critical infrastructure and major corporations, as well as other illicit cyber operations that U.S. authorities have linked to foreign hackers.

The Biden administration has been urging the private sector to do its part to protect against those increasingly sophisticated attacks. In public remarks before the meeting, Biden referred to cybersecurity as a “core national security challenge” for the U.S.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

“The reality is most of our critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, and the federal government can’t meet this challenge alone,” Biden said. “I’ve invited you all here today because you have the power, the capacity and the responsibility, I believe, to raise the bar on cybersecurity.”

After the meeting, the White House announced that Google had committed to invest $10 billion in cybersecurity over the next five years, money aimed at helping secure the software supply chain and expand zero-trust programs. The Biden administration has looked for ways to safeguard the government’s supply chain following a massive Russian government cyberespionage campaign that exploited vulnerabilities and gave hackers access to the networks of U.S. government agencies and private companies.

Microsoft, meanwhile, said it would invest $20 billion in cybersecurity over the next five years and make available $150 million in technical services to help local governments upgrade their defenses. IBM plans to train 150,000 people in cybersecurity over three years, Apple said it would develop a new program to help strengthen the technology supply chain, and Amazon said it would offer to the public the same security awareness training it gives to employees.

Top executives of each of those companies were invited to Wednesday’s meeting, as were financial industry executives and representatives from the energy, education and insurance sectors. A government initiative that at first supported the cybersecurity defenses of electric utilities has now been expanded to focus on natural gas pipelines, the White House said Wednesday.

Though ransomware was intended as one aspect of Wednesday’s gathering, a senior administration official who briefed reporters in advance said the purpose was much broader, centered on identifying the “root causes of any kind of malicious cyber activity” and also ways in which the private sector can help bolster cybersecurity. The official briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.

The meeting took place as Biden’s national security team has been consumed by the troop withdrawal in Afghanistan and the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghan citizens. That it remained on the calendar indicates the administration regards cybersecurity as a major agenda item, with the administration official describing Wednesday’s meeting as a “call to action.”

The broad cross-section of participants underscores how cyberattacks have cut across virtually all sectors of commerce. In May, for instance, hackers associated with a Russia-based cyber gang launched a ransomware attack on a major fuel pipeline in the U.S., causing the pipeline to temporarily halt operations. Weeks later, the world’s largest meat processor, JBS, was hit with an attack by a different hacking group.

In both instances, the companies made multimillion-dollar ransom payments in an effort to get back online.

Biden on Wednesday pointed to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June when he said he made clear his expectation that Russia take steps to rein in ransomware gangs because “they know where (the hackers) are and who they are.”

Comments

Three Golden Rules to Improve Scooter Safety

Three Golden Rules to Improve Scooter Safety By Mona Chiu The SFMTA has some exciting news for all who use the sidewalk in the city! Starting May 1, 2023, we'll be launching a new safety campaign to promote safe and responsible electric scooter use for both permitted scooter share devices and privately operated scooters. The campaign will focus on three key safety rules that every rider should keep in mind while riding: no sidewalk riding, no speeding and no double riding (two people riding one device). By educating riders about the dangers of sidewalk riding, unsafe speeding and riding, and improper parking, we hope to make the city safer for everyone. Sidewalk riding has been a major concern for pedestrians in San Francisco, and it's illegal to ride an electric scooter on the sidewalk. Electric scooters can travel at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour, which can be dangerous if riders aren't paying attention to their surroundings. The SFMTA's saf...

New top story from Time: ‘It’s a Catastrophe.’ Iranians Turn to Black Market for Vaccines as COVID-19 Deaths Hit New Highs

https://ift.tt/3AODY94 In January, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the sudden announcement that American and British-made COVID-19 vaccines would be “forbidden” as they were “completely untrustworthy.” Almost nine months later, Iran is facing its worst surge in the virus to date — a record number of deaths and infections per day with nearly 4.2 million COVID-19 patients across the country , and a healthcare system near collapse. “It’s a catastrophe; and there is nothing we can do,” said an anesthesiology resident in one of Tehran’s public hospitals who due to the current surge is tasked to oversee the ICU ward for COVID-19 patients. “We can’t treat them nor help them; so all I can ask people to do is to stay home and do whatever it takes to not get exposed.” The doctor requested anonymity in order to speak freely; others interviewed by TIME asked to be identified only by their first name. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The scale of the crisis is such ...

India records 69,239 new COVID-19 cases, 912 deaths; tally crosses 30-lakh mark https://ift.tt/31maQHK

India on Sunday recorded as many as 69,239 new coronavirus cases and 912 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to Union health ministry data. The total cases of coronavirus infections mounted to 30,44,941 while the death toll climbed to 56,706 the data updated at 8 am showed. Out of these, 7,07,668 are active cases and 22,80,567 recovered, according to the health ministry.

New Sculptures Light up Van Ness Avenue

New Sculptures Light up Van Ness Avenue By Luis “Loui” Apolonio Light sculpture at Van Ness Avenue and O'Farrell Street Spectators gathered both online and in person to watch new lighting sculptures on Van Ness turned on for the first time on March 31, 2022. The whimsical and brightly colored sculptures located on the new Van Ness BRT boarding platform between Geary and O’Farrell are made of steel with LED lights inside on a timer set to illuminate at night. The lighting event was kicked off with SFMTA Director Jeff Tumlin and MTAB Chair Gwyneth Borden serving as emcees. Mary Chou, Director of Public Arts and Collections at the San Francisco Arts Commission, spoke about the art installation itself, as well as the process for selecting the artist who would be awarded the project. In addition, Maddy Ruvolo, a member of the SFMTA’s Accessible Services team and a recently appointed member of President Biden’s U.S. Access Board, shared the importance of having accessibility as a ...

New top story from Time: 2020 Is Finally Ending, but New Year’s Revelries Are Muted by the Coronavirus

https://ift.tt/3n6kcP7 CANBERRA, Australia — This New Year’s Eve is being celebrated like no other, with pandemic restrictions limiting crowds and many people bidding farewell to a year they’d prefer to forget. Australia will be among the first nations to ring in 2021 because of its proximity to the International Date Line. In past years 1 million people crowded Sydney’s harbor to watch fireworks that center on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Authorities this year are advising revelers to watch on television. People are only allowed in downtown Sydney if they have a restaurant reservation or are one of five guests of an inner-city apartment resident. People won’t be allowed in the city center without a permit. Some haborside restaurants are charging up to 1,690 Australian dollars ($1,294) for a seat, Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Wednesday. Sydney is Australia’s most populous city and has its most active community transmission of COVID-19 in recent weeks. ...

Better Connections from Bayview and Hunters Point to Downtown

Better Connections from Bayview and Hunters Point to Downtown By Enrique Aguilar To better connect southeast San Franciscans with downtown, the SFMTA debuted the 15 Bayview Hunters-Point Express in late January, coinciding with the return of T Third train service. Within weeks, average daily boardings reached 1,000 customers on this new service. The 15 Bayview Hunters Point Express We added this route based on community feedback from the Southeast Muni Expansion Project in 2018, which prioritized a more direct trip to downtown from the Bayview. With the sudden rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impacts on communities in the Bayview and Hunters Point, fast-tracking the project became critical to our transit planning. Adding service capacity and a direct connection between these neighborhoods and downtown is a crucial step in supporting the City’s economic recovery and increasing job access for essential workers using transit. Using data from the SFMTA Equ...

Residents Overwhelmingly Support Slow Streets

Residents Overwhelmingly Support Slow Streets By Eillie Anzilotti After over a year of Slow Streets providing safe, low-volume corridors for people to walk, bike, play and travel during the pandemic, we’re excited to share our first comprehensive evaluation of the program . The key takeaway? San Franciscans are overwhelmingly in support of Slow Streets. Slow Streets are designed to limit through traffic on certain residential streets and allow them to be used as a shared roadway for people traveling by foot and by bicycle. Since introducing Slow Streets in April 2020 in response to the Mayor’s Emergency Health Order, SFMTA has designated around 30 corridors covering 47 miles of roadway as Slow Streets. The program has evolved from a critical component of San Francisco’s pandemic response and recovery to a potential new avenue to further the city and SFMTA’s goals around climate action and sustainable transportation. As the Slow Streets program has grown, we wanted to make sure we...

Riders are Feeling the Difference on Geary

Riders are Feeling the Difference on Geary By The results are in: the Geary Rapid Project has delivered a faster, more reliable bus trip and a safer street, according to the SFMTA’s recently published evaluation report for the project. A faster, more reliable bus ride One out of every ten passengers stepping onto a Muni vehicle will ride on Geary Blvd., which makes reducing travel time on the corridor a key piece of improving transit in the city. The transit lanes installed as part of the Geary Rapid Project protect buses from traffic congestion, while smarter traffic signals allow buses to get green lights more often. Similar transit upgrades have been made across the city as part of the Muni Forward program , making your next San Francisco destination closer than ever. Transit travel time improved after the quick-build phase of the Geary Rapid Project in late 2018 and early 2019, and again after the full project was completed in 2021 — with savings as g...

Destination San Francisco: Muni Gets You to All the Sights

Destination San Francisco: Muni Gets You to All the Sights By 39 Coit servicing Coit Tower at Telegraph Hill – one of the routes that will be returning in August 2021 as part of Muni’s next service changes. San Francisco is reopening and the SFMTA is supporting economic recovery by providing Muni access to 98% of the city. By August 2021, a majority of our pre-COVID routes will be back in service connecting residents and visitors with world-class shopping and dining experiences, off-the-beaten-path local flare, diverse neighborhoods and almost boundless outdoor activities. Shops, Markets & Dining in Diverse Neighborhoods Virtually every neighborhood in San Francisco has its own boutique shopping and dining experiences, as well as unique farmers markets showcasing local shops and amenities....

Delhi: 27-year-old doctor dies of COVID-19 after month-long struggle https://ift.tt/39s6hOe

After a month-long struggle, a 27-year-old doctor has succumbed to the deadly novel coronavirus at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) in New Delhi. Joginder Chaudhary had been battling the infection since June 28 after he was tested positive a day earlier.

My precise view

Search This Blog