National Cybersecurity Authority Holds 'Cybersecurity Awareness Exhibition' for Hajj Season 2024

Photo by SPA
Photo by SPA
TT

National Cybersecurity Authority Holds 'Cybersecurity Awareness Exhibition' for Hajj Season 2024

Photo by SPA
Photo by SPA

In partnership with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), the National Cybersecurity Authority, held the “Cybersecurity Awareness Exhibition for the Hajj Season 2024,” at MOI Employees Club in Makkah in the presence of the Deputy Assistant Minister of the Interior for Technology Affairs, Eng. Thamer Al-Harbi.
The four-day event, aims to raise the level of awareness of cybersecurity through innovative and interactive methods and enhance the values ​​of preserving national security, SPA reported.
The exhibition, which targets employees of government agencies participating in this year’s Hajj season, reviews the concepts of cybersecurity and its importance at the national level, presents a live simulation of cyberattacks on individuals and organizations, explains safe practices through a set of interactive methods, and provides general consultations and recommendations to avoid falling into electronic phishing.



Snapchat Blocks 415,000 Underage Accounts in Australia

Snapchat says teens may be skirting a social media ban in Australia (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)
Snapchat says teens may be skirting a social media ban in Australia (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)
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Snapchat Blocks 415,000 Underage Accounts in Australia

Snapchat says teens may be skirting a social media ban in Australia (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)
Snapchat says teens may be skirting a social media ban in Australia (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

Snapchat has blocked 415,000 accounts under Australia's social media ban for under-16s, the company said Monday, but warned some youngsters may be bypassing age verification technology.

The platform urged the Australian authorities to oblige app stores to check users' ages as an "additional safeguard" for the world-first crackdown, AFP said.

Platforms including Snapchat, Meta, TikTok and YouTube must stop underage users from holding accounts under the legislation, which came into effect on December 10.

Companies face fines of Aus$49.5 million (US$34 million) if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to comply.

Australia's eSafety online regulator reported last month that tech giants had already blocked 4.7 million accounts, delivering "significant outcomes".

As of the end of January, Snapchat said it had blocked or disabled 415,000 Snapchat accounts in Australia belonging to under-16s.

"We continue to lock more accounts daily," it said in an online statement.

But the law leaves "significant gaps", Snapchat said, arguing that age estimation technology was only accurate to within two to three years.

"In practice, this means some young people under 16 may be able to bypass protections, potentially leaving them with reduced safeguards, while others over 16 may incorrectly lose access."

Snapchat joined billionaire Mark Zuckerberg's Meta in calling on Australia to require app stores to check users' ages before allowing downloads.

"Creating a centralized verification system at the app-store level would allow for more consistent protection and higher barriers to circumventing the law," Snapchat said.

The platform said it did not believe an outright ban was the right approach.

Snapchat said it understood Australia's objectives and wanted to protect people online, but did not agree its platform should be covered by the social media ban.

"In the case of Snapchat -- which is primarily a messaging app used by young people to stay connected with close friends and family -- we do not believe that cutting teens off from these relationships makes them safer, happier, or otherwise better off," it said.


Nvidia Boss Insists 'Huge' Investment in OpenAI on Track

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang insists the US tech giant is going to make 'a huge investment in OpenAI'. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP/File
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang insists the US tech giant is going to make 'a huge investment in OpenAI'. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP/File
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Nvidia Boss Insists 'Huge' Investment in OpenAI on Track

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang insists the US tech giant is going to make 'a huge investment in OpenAI'. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP/File
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang insists the US tech giant is going to make 'a huge investment in OpenAI'. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP/File

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has insisted the US tech giant will make a "huge" investment in OpenAI and dismissed as "nonsense" reports that he is unhappy with the generative AI star.

Huang made the remarks late Saturday in Taipei after the Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia's plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI had been put on ice, said AFP.

Nvidia announced the plan in September to invest $100 billion in OpenAI, building infrastructure for next-generation artificial intelligence.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, said some people inside Nvidia had expressed doubts about the deal and that the two sides were rethinking the partnership.

"That's complete nonsense. We are going to make a huge investment in OpenAI," Huang told journalists, when asked about reports that he was unhappy with OpenAI.

Huang insisted that Nvidia was going ahead with its investment in OpenAI, describing it as "one of the most consequential companies of our time".

"Sam is closing the round, and we will absolutely be involved in the round," Huang said, referring to OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman.

"We will invest a great deal of money, probably the largest investment we've ever made."

Nvidia has come to dominate spending on the processors needed for training and operating the large language models (LLM) behind chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google Gemini.

Sales of its graphics processing units (GPUs) -- originally developed for 3D gaming -- powered the company's market cap to over $5 trillion in October, although the figure has since fallen back by more than $600 billion.

LLM developers like OpenAI are directing much of the mammoth investment they have received into Nvidia's products, rushing to build GPU-stuffed data centers to serve an anticipated flood of demand for AI services.


Meta Shares Skyrocket, Microsoft Slides on Wall Street after Earnings

A Microsoft logo is seen a day after Microsoft Corp's $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn Corp, in Los Angeles, California, US, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
A Microsoft logo is seen a day after Microsoft Corp's $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn Corp, in Los Angeles, California, US, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
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Meta Shares Skyrocket, Microsoft Slides on Wall Street after Earnings

A Microsoft logo is seen a day after Microsoft Corp's $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn Corp, in Los Angeles, California, US, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
A Microsoft logo is seen a day after Microsoft Corp's $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn Corp, in Los Angeles, California, US, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Shares in Meta skyrocketed by 10 percent at opening on Wall Street on Thursday, a day after the social media giant posted better than expected earnings as the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence.

Microsoft, whose earnings disappointed analysts, saw its share price tumble by 10 percent, with investors showing concern for the return on investment for the software giant's spending on AI.