Russia

Russia’s “Star Blizzard” Group Exposed for Cyber Attacks on UK Politics thinkitnow.in

UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and its Five Eyes allies have exposed a sustained campaign of cyber attacks on British political and democratic processes, attributed to a group called “Star Blizzard.” This group is believed to be a subunit of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the KGB.

Star Blizzard’s activities include:

  • Spear-phishing attacks: Targeting high-profile individuals for nearly a decade, including a former MI6 chief whose communications were compromised.
  • Compromise of sensitive documents: Leaking UK-US trade documents before the 2019 General Election and attacking the Institute for Statecraft.
  • Targeting diverse institutions: Universities, journalists, public sector bodies, NGOs, and civil society organizations.

Star Blizzard’s goal is to:

  • Selectively leak stolen information to advance Russia’s geopolitical goals.
  • Undermine trust in UK politics through disinformation and cyber espionage.

Key points to note:

  • NCSC and allies previously warned about the group in January 2023.
  • This is the first official attribution of the campaign to Star Blizzard.
  • NCSC issued revised guidance for high-risk individuals to improve online security.
  • National Crime Agency (NCA) imposed sanctions on individuals involved.
  • Secureworks’ Counter Threat Unit (CTU) identified Star Blizzard’s sophisticated tactics.

Experts believe Star Blizzard:

  • Has honed its spear-phishing skills over eight years.
  • Plays a “long game” with meticulous reconnaissance and fake social media accounts.
  • Uses readily available open source tools and SSL certificates.

This revelation highlights the ongoing threat of cyber attacks on democratic processes and the need for vigilance against foreign interference.

Ex-Google, Coursera Employees Launch Lutra AI to Streamline AI Workflow Building thinkitnow.in

For years, Jiquan Ngiam witnessed the potential of AI to automate tedious tasks while working at tech giants like Google and Coursera. However, resource limitations often hindered progress. In 2022, Ngiam saw an opportunity to change this.

Teaming up with five friends, including former Google colleague Vijay Vasudevan, Ngiam explored how AI models could be leveraged for tasks like reasoning, planning, and even coding. This led him to a crucial question: “Could these models be used to seamlessly integrate our diverse software tools and automate tasks in a reliable and secure manner?”

With this vision in mind, Ngiam co-founded Lutra AI in April 2023. This young startup aims to revolutionize workflows by generating AI-powered assistants through natural language, eliminating the need for technical expertise.

Lutra’s platform integrates seamlessly with existing applications like Google Workspace and Slack, enabling users to automate tasks like email management, internet research, and customer interaction. This approach distinguishes Lutra from competitors like Respell, Unity, Parabola, and even Nvidia.

Ngiam highlights two key differentiators:

  1. Code-first approach: This prioritizes security and reliability during workflow execution, ensuring data protection.
  2. Targeted LLM utilization: Instead of applying large language models to everything, Lutra focuses them on specific tasks for optimal results.

Lutra recently emerged from stealth mode, having secured $3.8 million in seed funding from a prestigious group of investors, including Coatue Ventures, Hustle Fund, Maven Ventures, WVV Capital, and angel investors like Andrej Karpathy, Jeff Dean, and Scott Belsky.

While currently in private beta with a limited customer base, Lutra’s future looks bright. Ngiam plans to utilize the new funding to expand user access and refine product development. He envisions Lutra’s technology becoming an essential tool for businesses, empowering them to operate more effectively in a software-driven world.

“Our digital presence and software usage have dramatically increased in recent years,” says Ngiam. “As these technologies become embedded within companies, the time is now for tools like Lutra that can seamlessly integrate with them, unlocking new levels of efficiency and productivity.”

Lutra’s emergence marks a significant step towards AI-powered workflow automation, offering a user-friendly and secure solution for businesses of all sizes. As we move forward, Lutra’s innovative approach has the potential to reshape the way we work, freeing us from tedious tasks and enabling us to focus on more strategic initiatives.

CIO interview: Keith Woolley, chief digital information officer, University of

Keith Woolley’s Digital Transformation Journey: From Private Enterprise to Higher Education thinkitnow.in

 

Introduction

In the fast-evolving landscape of digital leadership, individuals often find themselves drawn to unexpected opportunities. Keith Woolley, armed with a robust commercial background, shifted gears and ventured into higher education by joining the University of Bristol four years ago. In this article, we explore Woolley’s transformative journey and the unique challenges he faced in steering the digital ship in the academic realm.

Embracing Diversity in Technology

Navigating the Technology Stack

Moving from the private sector to academia, Woolley encountered a diverse technology stack that required adept management. He emphasizes the collaborative nature of decision-making in academia, where stakeholder engagement and collaboration are paramount.

Shifting Perspectives

Unlike his previous roles where mandates were the norm, Woolley found himself working in partnership, co-creating solutions and changing narratives to align with diverse communities. The focus shifted from mandating change to showcasing the benefits brought about by technological advancements.

Chief Digital Information Officer: Empowering Through Collaboration

Restructuring and Empowerment

With the university’s restructuring, Woolley assumed the role of Chief Digital Information Officer (CDIO). This transition aimed at combining digital realms, fostering collaboration between physical and digital aspects, and empowering both academics and students.

Boundaryless Education and Research

Woolley envisions a boundaryless education and research environment, facilitated by a robust technology platform. The emphasis is not only on online delivery but on transforming physical and digital spaces into a cohesive and engaging experience.

Digital Strategy: A Coherent Vision

Equitable Access Across Borders

Woolley takes pride in the university’s digital strategy, focusing on outcomes rather than just technology stacks. The core objective is to provide equitable access to systems and data, irrespective of geographical location.

VMware’s Cloud Foundation: A Game-Changer

The cornerstone of Woolley’s platform is VMware’s Cloud Foundation (VCF), a multicloud infrastructure that revolutionized the university’s capabilities. Collaboration with academics ensured the platform’s alignment with diverse environmental needs.

Addressing Challenges and Ensuring Security

Multidimensional Approach

Woolley’s strategy extends beyond infrastructure concerns to address information security. Working collaboratively with the executive team, he has implemented a practical, organization-wide approach to IT.

Funding and Collaboration

Securing funding and bringing the entire university on board has been crucial. The strategy revolves around fostering collaboration and developing a collective approach to digital transformation.

Future Focus: AI and Innovation

Paving the Way for AI

Woolley’s priorities include spearheading the University of Bristol’s endeavors in artificial intelligence (AI). With the government’s substantial investment in Isambard-AI, Woolley is committed to delivering this technology securely.

Managing Complexity

Describing his role as that of a managing director, Woolley navigates the complexities of a diverse university environment. This includes addressing the unique requirements of various verticals, governance structures, and daily processes.

Towards a Frictionless Future

Simplifying Strategy

Woolley’s long-term vision involves simplifying strategy and working with high-quality partners to deliver technology seamlessly. The aim is to remove complexity, duplication, and reduce costs.

Global Engagement

Looking beyond, Woolley envisions a future where technology seamlessly integrates with the university’s global community. He strives to provide a frictionless experience for students worldwide, fostering a connected and accessible learning environment.

Sustaining Innovation

AI and the UK’s Fastest Supercomputer

Woolley’s commitment to AI extends beyond conventional boundaries. With the government’s substantial investment, the University of Bristol is set to host Isambard-AI, a supercomputer ten times more powerful than its predecessors. Woolley aims not just to implement this technology but to do so securely, contributing to the UK’s position in the global AI landscape.

Managing Complexity Beyond Technology

Woolley’s analogy of being the managing director of an IT business showcases his unique approach. His ability to treat the university as a complex PLC reflects in his strategies, navigating the intricate web of departments, research interests, and governance structures.

Global Collaborations

Extending Reach Beyond Borders

The University of Bristol, under Woolley’s guidance, is not confined by geographical constraints. Woolley envisions wider collaborations with other governments globally. The international platform seeks to leverage technology to reduce friction, ensuring a seamless experience for the global academic community.

Supporting Students Worldwide

Woolley’s commitment to equitable experiences extends globally. Bristol explores ways to support students in regions with limited connectivity through virtual and augmented reality. The goal is to extend the campus footprint cost-effectively and provide opportunities regardless of physical location.

Frictionless Technology Experience

Simplifying Strategy for Success

Woolley’s emphasis on simplicity as a key to success is evident. His strategic approach involves working with high-quality partners to deliver technology seamlessly, reducing complexity, and optimizing costs.

Single Sign-On for a Seamless Future

In the next 24 months, Woolley envisions a frictionless environment with integrated and seamless activities. His goal is to provide a secure, single sign-on experience, ensuring that members of the international community can engage with the university effortlessly.

Beyond Boundaries: Woolley’s Enduring Vision

A Vision for the Future

As Keith Woolley propels the University of Bristol towards a future marked by innovation and collaboration, his vision transcends traditional boundaries. Beyond technology, he aims to create an environment where the pursuit of knowledge knows no borders.

Expanding Campus Footprint

Looking ahead, Woolley envisions a future where Bristol’s campus footprint expands globally. By seamlessly integrating technology and reducing barriers, he aspires to make academic resources accessible to students worldwide.

Conclusion: Redefining Digital Leadership

In the dynamic realm of digital leadership, Keith Woolley’s journey at the University of Bristol stands as a testament to adaptability, collaboration, and forward-thinking. His role extends beyond traditional CIO responsibilities, emphasizing a holistic approach to technology, innovation, and global engagement.

Why Congruent turned down over $300M from LPs for its

Why Congruent Rejected $300M: A Bold Move in Climate Tech Investing thinkitnow.in

Climate tech venture capital firm Congruent Ventures made a bold move when raising capital for its third fund. Faced with overwhelming investor interest, the firm turned down $350 million, opting instead to raise a more modest $250 million to ensure sustainable growth and focus.

Overcoming Rejection to Success

Congruent Ventures, led by managing partners Joshua Posamentier and Abe Yokell, has spent years educating limited partners (LPs) about the financial and environmental benefits of climate tech investments. This dedication paid off, attracting significant interest for their third fund.

Oversubscribed by Threefold

The firm initially sought to raise $200 million, a modest increase from their second fund of $175 million. However, investors saw Congruent’s potential and offered a staggering $600 million, exceeding their target by threefold.

Choosing Focus over Expansion

Despite the tempting sum, Congruent turned down $350 million, ultimately raising $250 million. While the decision was difficult, the team prioritized controlled growth and focused execution over rapid expansion.

A First in Climate Tech Investing

As Yokell shared with TechCrunch+, this level of oversubscription is unprecedented in the climate tech sector. This highlights the growing investor appetite for ventures tackling climate change challenges.

Investing in Sustainable Growth

Congruent’s decision demonstrates a commitment to responsible growth, prioritizing long-term impact over short-term gains. This approach aligns perfectly with the firm’s focus on sustainable technologies and building a more sustainable future.

Pimento turns creative briefs into visual mood boards using generative

AI-Powered Creative Inspiration: Pimento Creates Mood Boards from Your Briefs thinkitnow.in

 

Pimento, a French startup leveraging AI for creative mood boards, has secured $3.2 million in funding. This innovative tool empowers creative teams to explore diverse directions and generate high-quality projects.

Revolutionizing Creative Workflow

Imagine a tool specifically designed for the initial stages of creative projects. Pimento fills this void by serving as the first step in ideation, brainstorming, and moodboarding. Whether it’s a brand redesign, ad campaign, video game, or animation movie, Pimento helps kickstart the creative process.

Boosting Inspiration and Efficiency

Pimento eliminates the need to rely on Pinterest, Instagram, Behance, Canva, and Figma for gathering visual inspiration. It streamlines the process by integrating AI models, offering a wealth of knowledge and diverse perspectives that no individual designer possesses.

Co-founder Tomás Yany emphasizes how Pimento fosters creativity: “It allows exploring more directions quickly, leading to higher quality projects.” He further highlights the unique advantage of AI models, “They’ve seen a lot, bringing knowledge from diverse sources like Japan and Latin America.”

Prestigious Investors Back Innovation

Pimento’s seed round witnessed significant backing from notable investors like Partech, Cygni Capital, and angel investors including Julien Chaumond (Hugging Face), Stanislas Polu (Dust), and Jonathan Widawski (Maze).

User-Friendly Interface for Creative Exploration

Pimento’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to start. Users simply outline their project goals and provide a handful of reference images. AI models then leverage this information to generate images, text, and color palettes. Dedicated buttons allow users to generate each element independently.

Tailored Inspiration and Iteration

Pimento differentiates itself from generic AI image generators by tailoring its output to user-defined briefs. It becomes a personal creative companion, allowing users to save interesting propositions for later use.

Seamless Iteration for Enhanced Creativity

Pimento promotes iterative creativity. Users can merge two images, extract color palettes, reuse text for further image generation, and request variations.

Beyond Prompt-Based Interaction

Co-founder Florent Facq emphasizes, “The future isn’t limited to chat-based prompts. Pimento offers diverse interaction options.” While prompts remain a valuable element, the company plans to implement additional interaction methods.

Future Developments and Market Potential

Pimento’s roadmap envisions exciting features like customizable boards for collaborators and clients. The recent funding round will fuel product development and facilitate broader market adoption. Witnessing how companies leverage Pimento’s capabilities will be intriguing.

Overall, Pimento represents a significant leap in AI-powered creative tools. By fostering inspiration, streamlining workflows, and facilitating iterative exploration, it holds immense potential to empower creators across various disciplines.

Image Credits: Pimento

disaster-recovery-ship-adobe

Cyberattack Recovery: A Guide to System Restoration and Resilience thinkitnow.in

In today’s digital age, where technology underpins every aspect of business operations, cyberattacks pose a significant threat. These malicious intrusions can cause widespread disruption, data breaches, and substantial financial losses. In the aftermath of such an attack, rapid and effective system restoration becomes critical for minimizing damage and ensuring business continuity.

The Importance of System Restoration

When a cyberattack strikes, the immediate impact can be devastating. Businesses experience downtime, leading to frustrated customers and lost revenue. Sensitive data may be compromised, damaging brand reputation and attracting legal repercussions. Additionally, internal operations can grind to a halt, impacting employee productivity and hindering workflow.

Recent examples like the ransomware attacks targeting Hackney Council and the British Library illustrate the severity of these threats. Both organizations faced prolonged periods of disruption, highlighting the urgent need for efficient recovery strategies.

Navigating the Challenges: Restore or Rebuild?

Recovering compromised systems after a cyberattack presents several challenges. The decision to restore from backups or rebuild infrastructure entirely often comes down to the extent of the attack and the level of risk involved.

Restoring from Backups:

  • Advantages: Faster and potentially less resource-intensive.
  • Disadvantages: May inadvertently reintroduce vulnerabilities or attackers if the backup point is compromised.

Rebuilding Infrastructure:

  • Advantages: Offers greater assurance of security and eliminates lingering threats.
  • Disadvantages: Requires more time and resources compared to restoration.

Ultimately, the choice between restoring and rebuilding depends on a careful assessment of the attack’s impact, available resources, and risk tolerance.

Best Practices for Cyberattack Recovery:

1. Prioritize Business Objectives:

While security goals like finding and eliminating attackers remain crucial, ensure these efforts align with core business objectives of minimizing disruption and financial losses.

2. Communicate Effectively:

Transparency is key during the recovery process. Inform employees, customers, and stakeholders about the attack and the expected timeline for restoration.

3. Implement Security Best Practices:

Three key areas deserve focus:

  • Identity Management: Enforce strong password policies and consider daily resets during ongoing attacks.
  • Network Segmentation: Establish separate networks for compromised (“red”), clean (“green”), and remediated (“yellow”) systems.
  • Endpoint Verification: Utilize clean golden images for rebuilding or isolate systems in the yellow network for verification before re-activation.

4. Focus on Data Recovery:

Data recovery is critical for restoring essential business operations. Prioritize visibility and understanding of attacker access to ensure efficient and secure recovery. Avoid “blind” recovery, which can lead to significant data loss or reintroducing attackers.

5. Utilize Monitoring Tools:

Deploy robust monitoring solutions to ensure systems remain secure after recovery. Analyze logs and activity data to detect any suspicious activities.

6. Learn from the Attack:

Don’t overlook the valuable lessons learned from a cyberattack. Conduct a thorough review to identify weaknesses, improve security posture, and strengthen overall organizational resilience.

Additional Considerations:

  • Prepare a comprehensive recovery plan: Having a pre-defined roadmap for recovery significantly speeds up the process and minimizes damage.
  • Test recovery plans regularly: Regularly testing ensures the plan’s effectiveness and identifies areas for improvement.
  • Invest in cyber security training: Educating employees about cyber security best practices can significantly reduce the risk of successful attacks.
  • Stay informed about evolving threats: Regularly update knowledge about emerging cyber threats and adapt security measures accordingly.

Conclusion:

Cyberattacks are a significant concern for businesses of all sizes. By implementing a well-defined cyberattack recovery plan, adhering to best practices, and continually improving security posture, organizations can become more resilient and effectively navigate these challenges. The lessons learned from cyberattacks can serve as valuable opportunities for growth and ultimately contribute to a more secure business environment.

Following UK expansion, Robinhood brings crypto trading to EU thinkitnow.in

Robinhood Expands Crypto Trading to the EU: Now Available in All Major Markets thinkitnow.in

Robinhood, the popular trading app, has launched its crypto app for all eligible users in the European Union. This comes just one week after its initial launch in the UK and marks a significant expansion for the company’s international ambitions.

EU Focus on Crypto Regulation

The EU has been at the forefront of developing comprehensive regulations for crypto assets, particularly with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rule. This focus on regulatory clarity attracted Robinhood to choose the EU as its launchpad for international expansion.

Competitive Features and Transparency

Robinhood boasts several features aimed at attracting European users:

  • Low fees: Robinhood touts its low fees, compared to many other crypto platforms.
  • Custodial platform with rewards: As a custodial platform, Robinhood offers users a percentage of their trading volume back every month in Bitcoin.
  • Transparency: Robinhood displays the trading spread on its app, providing users with clearer insights into fees.
  • Security: Robinhood assures users that customer funds are segregated from business funds, except for operational purposes like network fees.

Addressing Past Issues and Future Plans

Having faced criticism in the US for misleading users and failing to deliver on promises, Robinhood is actively addressing concerns through transparency and commitment to user protection in the EU.

Despite its own past cautiousness towards crypto, Robinhood is optimistic about its future in the EU. The platform plans to add more tokens, implement features like crypto transfers and staking, and offer learning rewards in 2024.

Limited Access and Future Potential

Currently, the Robinhood Crypto app is only available to European citizens over 18 years old. While Robinhood’s initial crypto expansion is limited, its commitment to transparency and planned future features suggest the company is aiming for long-term growth in the EU market.

In conclusion, Robinhood’s launch of its crypto app in the EU marks a strategic move towards international expansion. With its focus on low fees, transparency, and user protection, Robinhood is poised to compete for a share of the European crypto market. However, the company’s past issues and limitations in its current offering remain factors to watch as Robinhood navigates the competitive European landscape.

BICS and Telcofan team up to streamline private networks thinkitnow.in

Private Networks Made Easy: BICS and Telcofan Join Forces to Simplify Connectivity thinkitnow.in

Businesses across industries like manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and security are increasingly turning to private mobile networks for their on-site technology needs. These networks offer several advantages over public networks, including more consistent connectivity, increased security, and improved control. However, setting them up can be complex due to bespoke requirements and intricate operator agreements.

BICS, an international connectivity leader and 5G enabler, and Telcofan, a consultancy and systems integrator specializing in mobile private networks, have partnered to address this challenge. They aim to simplify the implementation and operation of private networks for businesses, making them more accessible and affordable.

The partnership offers businesses a comprehensive solution:

  • SIMs and eSIMs: BICS provides SIMs and eSIMs for connected devices, enabling seamless connectivity and roaming between public and private networks.
  • SIM Management Platform: Businesses can easily set up and manage their connected devices through BICS’s platform.
  • Network Design and Integration: Telcofan provides expertise in network design and integration, assisting with equipment procurement and installation.
  • Ongoing Support: Both BICS and Telcofan offer ongoing support throughout the private network’s lifecycle.

Benefits for Businesses:

  • Simplified setup and management: Businesses can focus on innovation rather than technical complexities.
  • More reliable and predictable connectivity: Increased operational efficiency and reduced downtime.
  • Improved security: Stronger protection against cyberattacks.
  • Reduced costs: Efficient resource allocation and cost savings.
  • Faster time to market: Quicker deployment and realization of benefits.

Quotes:

  • Lieven Vanthomme, Managing Director at Telcofan: “Private networks, particularly 5G, have transformative potential, but complexity can be a barrier. Telcofan and BICS make it easier than ever with one SIM for both your private and operator networks.”
  • Divya Ghai Wakankar, Vice-President of Enterprise Business and Marketing at BICS: “BICS and Telcofan allow businesses to leverage next-gen technology like M2M and IoT without diving into the complexities of telco. Businesses now have access to a global SIM/eSIM and a platform that simplifies device connection.”

Conclusion:

The BICS and Telcofan partnership offers a compelling solution for businesses seeking to implement and manage private networks. By simplifying the process and reducing complexity, they are making private networks more accessible and affordable, enabling businesses to reap their numerous benefits and achieve greater operational efficiency, security, and competitiveness.

Opal Security, which helps companies manage access and identities, raises $22M thinkitnow.in

VC investment trends in the cybersecurity market suggest a sector in decline — at least within the context of recent months. According to Crunchbase, cybersecurity deal count fell during Q3 to 153 deals from 181 in Q2. In a more detailed report, Crunchbase suggests that, with Q3 cybersecurity venture funding down 30% compared to the year-ago period, investment in the category could fall to its lowest level since 2019.

Some cybersecurity startups are escaping the industry downturn somehow, however — like Opal Security. Today, Opal, a vendor taking an automated approach to identity access management, announced that it raised $22 million in a Series B round led by Battery Ventures with participation from Greylock and Box Group.

Brining Opal’s warchest to $32 million, the new tranche will be put toward doubling Opal’s 30-person team by the end of 2024, scaling its enterprise customer support org and ramping up product development, founder and CEO Umaimah Khan told TechCrunch in an email interview. The product ramp-up, he added, will include a new suite of visualization and AI-powered tools designed to remediate identity and access risk.

Khan founded Opal in 2020. Prior to it, he studied cryptography at MIT and worked in defense research as well as at startups including Amplitude and Collective Health.

During his stints in the private and public sectors, where Khan was responsible for building internal authentication and authorization services, particularly on the policy layer, Khan said that he began to notice common issues around visibility and a lack of understanding of user access behavior.

“I saw firsthand how lack of good infrastructure and mundane issues like overblown access result in totally avoidable cascading failures,” Khan told TechCrunch in an email interview. “The reality is that most best-in-class security engineering teams understand this and have built these systems internally to the best of their abilities — but it’s a huge lift to scale and maintain these systems even for a large enterprise, and unrealistic for smaller organizations.”

To address what he perceived as a need for a more scalable access and identity orchestration platform, Khan founded Opal, a suite that offers companies a consolidated view and control of employee access to internal tools, apps, platforms and environments. Using Opal, customers with upwards of thousands of employees can create policy workflows to automate access policies and set approval flows for the access requests that can’t be automated.

Opal doesn’t stand alone in the market for access management. Besides incumbents (e.g. Okta), vendors including Veza, SailPoint, Cyber-Ark and Saviynt are among the competition. Some have raised substantial venture capital. But Khan asserts that, unlike some of its rivals, Opal has laid the foundation for more analytics and AI features aimed at preventing identity-based threats, which he believes will ultimately attract more companies to Opal’s solution.

“Because we’re a data platform, we have both granular ground truth understanding of system policies, users and groups in addition to metadata on usage, approvals, denials, creation and alteration of policies over time — along with log data from certain end systems,” Khan said. “This gives us a unique and rich data set to provide baselines on various forms of risk-related to access, as well as to identify potentially anomalous actors and systems … We’ve put a lot of thought into how to build a generalizable [access management] layer that’s both read-and-write, and we prioritize enterprise readiness from an infrastructure and a feature standpoint.”

Customers agree, it seems. Opal’s annual recurring revenue has increased 4x since the company’s series A in June 2022 across a customer base of around 40 brands, including Databricks, Scale AI and Figma. Khan wouldn’t say whether Opal was profitable, however.

“Our technology addresses the challenges of scaling access management with limited information in complex, enterprise environments — a major pain point for technical decision-makers across industries,” Khan said. “Large organizations have fragmented data and systems. Increasingly, these organizations need usable, scalable data and workflow processes for identity access management … Our platform very neatly fits that need, giving CISOs and CSOs the tools they need to view and control their systems.”

Asked if he was concerned about challenges in cybersecurity VC funding or the broader startup ecosystem, Khan pointed to the new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule that requires companies to more rapidly disclose cybersecurity incidents as well as other, related policy announcements as tailwinds for Opal.

“Ongoing challenging market dynamics are forcing companies to become as efficient as possible; our platform enables increased efficiency for security, compliance and IT teams,” Khan said. “Also, as more companies have digitally transformed in the wake of the pandemic, we saw a parallel shift in the sophistication and scale of cyber breaches. Our platform is a defense layer against these breaches, and this bucket is quite sticky … This latest funding round will enable us to weather the ongoing market challenges while investing meaningfully in our team and product development.”

datacentre-blue-fotolia

Quantum supercomputing: IBM plots roadmap beyond Condor thinkitnow.in

IBM has bolstered its supercomputing capabilities with the latest iteration of the company’s quantum computer, Quantum System Two. It’s the company’s first modular quantum computer, and represents the cornerstone of IBM’s quantum-centric supercomputing architecture.

The first IBM Quantum System Two, located in Yorktown Heights, New York, has begun operations with three IBM Heron processors and supporting control electronics.

“We are firmly within the era in which quantum computers are being used as a tool to explore new frontiers of science,” said Dario Gil, IBM senior vice-president and director of research. “As we continue to advance how quantum systems can scale and deliver value through modular architectures, we will further increase the quality of a utility-scale quantum technology stack – and put it into the hands of our users and partners, who will push the boundaries of more complex problems.”

Following the company’s quantum computing roadmap, IBM also unveiled Condor, a 1,121 superconducting qubit quantum processor based on what IBM calls “cross-resonance gate technology”.

According to IBM, Condor offers a 50% increase in qubit density and advances in qubit fabrication and laminate size, as well as over a mile of high-density cryogenic flex input/output wiring within a single dilution refrigerator. The new design is said to solve scale, and will be used to inform IBM on future hardware design.

Along with the new hardware, IBM unveiled an extension of its IBM Quantum Development Roadmap to 2033, where it plans to significantly advance the quality of gate operations. If it achieves its roadmap objectives, IBM said it will be able to increase the size of quantum circuits that can be run, which paves the way to realising the full potential of quantum computing at scale.

In a blog post giving an update on IBM’s quantum computing plans, Jay Gambetta, vice-president of IBM Quantum, discussed experiments that demonstrate how quantum computers could run circuits beyond the reach of brute-force classical simulations. “Quantum is now a computational tool, and what makes me most excited is that we can start to advance science in fields beyond quantum computing itself,” he said.

But in the computational architecture Gambetta described, quantum technology will not run standalone. “From these large-scale experiments, it has become clear that we must go beyond the traditional circuit model and take advantage of parallelism, concurrent classical computing and dynamic circuits,” he said.

“We have ample evidence that, with tools such as circuit knitting, we can enhance the reach of quantum computation, and new quantum algorithms are emerging that make use of multiple quantum circuits, potentially in parallel and with concurrent classical operations,” said Gambetta. “It’s clear that a heterogeneous computing architecture consisting of scalable and parallel circuit execution and advanced classical computation is required.”

This, he said, is IBM’s vision for future high-performance systems, which he described as “quantum-centric supercomputing”.