Microsoft identifies New Privilege Escalation Flaws in Linux Operating System

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April 29, 2022

Microsoft Privilege Escalation Flaws Linux

Global technology giant Microsoft has revealed two privilege escalation flaws in the Linux operating system that might allow threat actors to carry out various fraudulent activities.

On Linux systems, the identified vulnerabilities can be chained together to grant attackers root privileges, allowing them to deploy payloads.

According to Microsoft, Nimbuspwn vulnerabilities could be used as a vector for root access by more threats like malware or ransomware to significantly impact vulnerable devices.

Therefore, Microsoft has released a guide on its website regarding the affected components and information about the vulnerabilities it identified.

Microsoft discovered the vulnerabilities by monitoring System Bus messages while performing code reviews and dynamic analysis on services that run as root. The vulnerabilities are in a systemd component called networkd-dispatcher, a Linux-based program for the network management system service designed to dispatch network status changes.

The company shared these vulnerabilities with the respective maintainers through Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD) via Microsoft Security Vulnerability Research (MSVR).

However, the issues have been fixed and deployed by the maintainer of the network-dispatcher, Clayton Craft. Microsoft said the fixes for the abovementioned vulnerabilities are identified as CVE-2022-29799 and CVE-2022-29800.

“We wish to thank Clayton for his professionalism and collaboration in resolving those issues. Users of network-dispatcher are encouraged to update their instances,” mentioned Microsoft in the blog.

The ever-increasing number of vulnerabilities in Linux points out the need for robust monitoring of the platform and its components.

Microsoft 365 Defense Research Team said, “Microsoft Defender for Endpoint enables organizations to gain this necessary visibility and detect such threats on Linux devices, allowing organizations to detect, manage, respond, and remediate vulnerabilities.”

Kristal.ai acquires global investment platform Globalise

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 28, 2022

Digital private wealth platform provider Kristal.ai acquires a leading global investment platform Globalise to enhance its retail offering for customers. Neither company revealed any information regarding the valuation of this recently signed acquisition deal.

This strategic acquisition of Globalise will allow Kistal.ai’s customers to invest in global products through fractional investments.

By enabling fractional ownership of stocks, ETFs, and stock baskets, Globalise will serve to democratize private wealth management. Therefore, Kristal.ai will be able to serve the self-directed investors segment by assisting with asset allocation and wealth planning.

Kristal and Globalise teams will collaborate over the coming months to integrate product flows and customer accounts.

Singapore-based digital investment platform Kristal.ai was founded by Asheesh Chanda, Vineeth Narasimhan, and Vivek Mohindra in 2016. The company’s platform gives HNI investors in Asia access to premium products and consulting services.

Kristal.ai has partnered with multiple wealth managers, banks, and family offices to offer its products and services in India. The company claims, in total, it manages assets with more than $400 million and has a customer base spread across over twenty countries.

Co-founder and CEO of Kristal.ai, Asheesh Chanda, said, “Today Kristal enjoys a leading position with the investors in the affluent segment. Globalise will help us penetrate the retail segment and deliver on our mission to bring access to best-in-class products and advisory within reach of everyone.”

Globalise is a United States-based global investment platform founded by Vikas Nanda, Vineet Nanda, and Viraj Nanda in 2019 and launched in 2020. The company’s platform allows customers to access foreign financial markets through the firm, which offers over 5,500 equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Globalise’s product’s simplicity has been a significant selling point for first-time overseas investors from India.

“Globalise was created with a vision to make every Indian investor access global products. The merger helps us deliver access to premium global products,” said CEO and Co-founder of Globalise, Viraj Nanda. He further mentioned that they could not have chosen a better place for their customers, partners, and team to carry on their mission than Kristal.ai.

Agility Robotics raises $150 million in Series B Funding Round

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 28, 2022

Advanced robots developing company Agility Robotics raises $150 million in its recently held series B funding round led by DCVC and Playground Global.

Along with the lead investors, the funding round also received participation from Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. Amazon recently introduced its new $1 billion Industrial Innovation Fund initiative for investing in logistics and robotics startups to improve supply chain, fulfillment, and logistics innovation in the industry.

According to Agility Robotics, it plans to use the freshly raised funds to ramp up its research and development process and also scale its robotics production. This funding will help Agility deliver the next generation of robots faster, building on the company’s track record of success.

General Partner at Playgroup Global, Bruce Leak, said, “Agility is set to make a powerful impact, developing and shipping robots that are built to co-exist seamlessly in our lives.”

He further added that since the beginning, they have thought that Agility’s unique technical approach is the only way to deliver on the promise of practical everyday robots.

The United States-based robotics technology company Agility Robotics was founded by Damion Shelton, Jonathan Hurst, and Mikhail Jones in 2015. Agility Robotics specializes in developing products that satisfy the real-world requirements for durable, efficient, and competent mobility systems.

The company’s unique approach involves combining design, software, and hardware skills to power robots that can perform virtually any activity as part of a blended workforce. To date, Agility Robotics has raised $178 million from multiple investors over three funding rounds.

“Agility’s approach to designing robotics for a blended workforce is truly unique and can have a significant ripple effect for a wide range of industries, and we hope others follow suit to accelerate innovation in this way,” mentioned Katherine Chen, Head of Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund.

Nitin Gadkari invites Tesla to manufacture EVs in India

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 28, 2022

Union Minister of India for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, invites Elon Musk to start manufacturing Tesla electric vehicles (EVs) in India.

According to him, the government of India is willing to let Tesla manufacture cars in the country, but it must not import EVs from China. Gadkari commented while responding to a question regarding Tesla’s concerns about excessive duties in India at a private event in Delhi.

“He (Musk) is welcome in India. We don’t have any problem, but, suppose, he wants to manufacture in China and sell in India, it cannot be a good proposition for India. “Our request to him is, come to India and manufacture here,” said the Union Minister.

He further added that if Elon Musk is willing to build a Tesla in India, there will be no issues as India has got all competencies, including available vendors and technology that can also reduce manufacturing costs.

Last year, the heavy industries ministry requested that Tesla begin manufacturing its famous electric vehicles in India before considering any tax breaks.

In addition to commenting on Tesla, Gadkari also addressed the incidents where electric two-wheelers caught fire and urged the manufacturing companies to take precautionary measures to avoid such mishaps in the future.

The Union Minister highlighted India’s reliance on crude oil, stating that the government is exploring alternative energy sources.

“Presently because of import of crude oil, we are facing critical economic challenges at the same time pollution problems. We import ₹8 lakh crores of petroleum products in India and exactly on the line we need to find some alternative for that, so different alternatives are there,” said Gadkari.

He also mentioned that the government is considering all possibilities, and he believes that at some point, they will be able to provide an alternative solution for India.

Intel to develop Simulation Software for DARPA

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 28, 2022

DARPA, a central research and development organization for the US Department of Defense, selects Intel to develop new simulation software for its RACER program.

The one-of-a-kind program aims to develop off-road autonomous combat vehicles that can match the travel speed of crewed systems.

With this development, Intel will design a simulation framework for autonomous cars produced under the RACER program.

To develop these simulation tools, Intel Labs will work with the Computer Vision Center in Barcelona and the University of Texas at Austin.

Armies across the world have started adopting multiple high-end technologies to increase their capabilities to have the edge over their opponents in wars. This is yet another episode of the US integrating modern technology into its defense system.

German Ros, Director of Intel’s Autonomous Agent’s Lab, said, “We brought together a team of renowned experts from the Computer Vision Center and UT Austin with the goal of creating a versatile and open platform to accelerate progress in off-road ground robots for all types of environments and conditions.”

The goal of the RACER-Sim project is to construct computer models that simulate the type of harsh, unstructured terrain that combat vehicles experience regularly. Intel will now help DARPA in achieving this aim.

Developing such a simulation framework is a challenge as the current technologies like lidar and other similar sensors can better detect the environment in predictable situations such as roads. However, forecasting movements in unfamiliar and dynamic driving conditions are complicated.

Intel will be working on this project in two stages over the next two years. In the first phase, Intel will be working on new modeling platforms and map-making tools that can simulate off-road settings. While in the second phase of the project, the new algorithms will be implemented by Intel without the usage of robots.

Biofourmis raises $300 million in Series D Funding Round

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 28, 2022

HealthTech firm Biofourmis raises $300 million in its recently held series D funding round led by global growth equity firm General Atlantic. Other investors, including CVS Health, also participated in the company’s latest funding round.

The newly added capital has increased Biofourmis’ market valuation to over $1.3 billion, giving the company a unicorn status.

With a $300M Series D investment led by @GeneralAtlantic, along with participation from @CVSHealth and existing investors, Biofourmis has reached unicorn status.

Read today’s press release: https://t.co/OeImWWt6xx #UnicornStatus #DigitalHealthFunding pic.twitter.com/hgjWLtSilv
— Biofourmis (@biofourmis) April 26, 2022

Biofourmis intends to use the raised funds to extend its virtual care offerings, including providing personalized and predictive in-home care to an increasing number of severely sick patients and expanding its newly announced virtual specialty care service, Biofourmis Care, to people with complicated chronic diseases.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and powerful FDA-approved analytics are used in Biofourmis’ device, and sensor-agnostic solutions to dynamically monitor patients, set tailored baselines, and eliminate false positives.

Biofourmis’ experts can quickly confirm and respond to these alerts through its round-the-clock virtual clinical care team. In addition to this, the company’s certified experts can also discuss medication modifications and updated care plans with primary care teams to ensure patient care is effectively coordinated.

Managing Director and Global Head at General Atlantic, Robbert Vorhoff, said, “We believe Biofourmis is differentiated by technology solutions underpinned by its deep clinical research.”

He further added that Biofourmis promotes personalized therapy and better outcomes and gives crucial patient health insights to health systems.

Former Medtronic CEO and Chairperson at Intel, Dr. Omar Ishrak, will join the company’s board. Ishrak mentioned that he is delighted to join Biofourmis as Chairman of the Board at this pivotal moment in the company’s rapid rise to prominence as a leader in virtual care and digital medicine.

United States-based virtual care and digital medicine company Biofourmis was founded by Kuldeep Singh Rajput, Maulik Majmudar, and Wendou Niu in 2015. The firm specializes in discovering, developing, and delivering clinically tested software-based therapeutics for patients. To date, Biofourmis has raised more than $443 million from multiple investors over nine funding rounds.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Biofourmis, Kuldeep Singh Rajput, said, “We are excited to partner with General Atlantic, which shares our vision for the future of virtual care and the urgency to bring the Biofourmis solution to customers and patients across the globe.”

University of Johannesburg launches Blockchain-based Certificates for Graduates

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 27, 2022

University of Johannesburg Blockchain Certificates

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) launches its new blockchain-based certificates for graduates in an effort to boost security measures.

#UJ launches blockchain-based certificates https://t.co/hriIBnXXQO via @mybroadband @go2uj
— UJ News (@mediauj) April 19, 2022

According to the University, this step will considerably help UJ minimize the chances of any fraudulent activity related to certification, including stopping counterfeiting and avoiding false representation of qualifications.

With the launch of this initiative, each university-issued qualification document will have a QR code that can be used to verify its authenticity. Earlier, UJ had also implemented digital certification and a virtual qualification verification system, allowing graduates to digitally access their credentials.

The Digital Certificate system, which was implemented for graduates, gave them digital access to their certificates and allowed them to share them with third parties or potential employers securely.

Dr. Tinus Van Zyl, Director of Central Academic Administration at UJ, said, “The new blockchain-based certificate features will enhance the security of certificates even more. Certificates issued from this year on will have QR codes printed on them, which anybody can scan with a smartphone to verify whether the information on the certificate is correct and has been issued legitimately by UJ.”

Van Zyl further added that the public can now confirm UJ graduates’ given qualifications without contacting the University or go via a verification service, just by scanning the QR code on the certificate, and best of all, at no cost.

According to officials, the blockchain-based certifications will defend not only the University’s credentials from fraud but also the institution’s reputation and qualification integrity.

“UJ is committed to applying new technologies to improve systems and service delivery. This continuous improvement strategy and use of cutting-edge technology, facilitated through the Fourth Industrial Revolution, are at the heart of our philosophy,” said Registrar of UJ, Prof Kinta Burger.

MyValueVision plans to launch 100 Franchisee Stores with AI Technology

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 27, 2022

India’s one of the fastest-growing eyewear brands, MyValueVision, is all set to launch 100 new franchisee stores that will be equipped with modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR).

This is a step toward the company’s aim of expanding into Tier II and Tier III cities in India, along with overseas markets. In addition to the opening of 100 stores, MyValueVision is also planning to open additional 200 stores in the coming years.

MyValueVision.com currently has operations in Hyderabad, New Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Vizag, Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Warangal, Khammam, and Karimnagar, among other Indian cities and this new development will drastically help the company in reaching out to more customers.

MyValueVision.com has partnered with Virtooal, a premier European technology company, to improve their customer experience with virtual mirror technology.

COO of MyValueVision, Prasanna Kumar, said, “We believe augmented reality product visualization is the future of fashion-based eCommerce.”

He further added that the virtual mirror technology allows customers to digitally and in real-time try on the company’s newest and most fashionable spectacle frame designs, helping in providing enhanced product experience and consumer happiness.

The franchise business model is gaining immense popularity over the last few years, and with India on the verge of becoming the world’s third-largest consumer market, MyValueVision’s plan to open new stores will help increase its customer base.

Apart from lens companies like VisionRX, Essilor, and Zeiss, MyValuevision.com has teamed with leading brands like IDEE, Tommy Hilfiger, Marvel, Teddy, Ray-Ban, David Jones, Police, Carrera, and others.

“We are expecting to raise an investment of US$ 10 million for scaling up our services, technology and expanding our physical presence by introducing more than 200 plus stores,” added Kumar.

Philips’ Speech partners with Sembly AI to launch Speech Technology Solution for Meetings

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 27, 2022

Philips’ leading speech-to-text solutions provider, Speech Processing Solutions, partners with voice and conversation analytics technology company Sembly AI to launch a new speech technology solution for meetings.

📢 We are excited to announce our partnership with @sembly_ai! With this fruitful cooperation, we will be making visible changes in voice technology. Read full press release here: https://t.co/WTLkP1SUlY #philips #smartmeeting #voicetechnology #semblyai #onlinemeetings #ai pic.twitter.com/9xSf5VCyyk
— Philips Dictation (@speech_com) April 26, 2022

Both the companies plan to launch high-quality microphones and smart meeting technology that will drastically improve the meeting experience of users.

According to the companies, their solution named SmartMeeting Conference devices includes top-of-the-line microphones that record 360° and capture each speaker in the room, ensuring crisp, clear audio.

The solution comes with USB and Bluetooth support that increases the technology’s versatility and enables a variety of use-cases. Customers of SmartMeeting Conference devices can seamlessly connect in meetings from anywhere, starting from conference rooms to open streets, using the smart devices and connectivity options.

Moreover, the companies say that one of their devices is equipped with an intelligent camera that can be set up to automatically recognize and focus on the person who is speaking.

CEO of Speech Processing Solutions, Dr. Thomas Brauner, said, “We provide best-in-class conference microphones and pair them up with a smart meeting assistant solution, which creates an automatic transcript, summary, and an action list of every meeting. Our unique solutions help busy professionals save time and conduct meetings more efficiently than ever before.”

He further added that they are glad to partner with Sembly AI as this collaboration has opened up new market opportunities by combining the best of both worlds.

United States-based technology company Sembly AI was founded by Artem Koren and Gil Makleff in 2019. The startup is best known for providing solutions to help remote teams function more efficiently by simplifying their work lives and delivering sophisticated insights.

“The Philips products seamlessly integrate with the included Sembly SaaS to provide more value to our end customers,” said Co-founder and CEO of Sembly AI Gil Makleff. He also mentioned that they are particularly enthusiastic about the complementary nature and synergy between the two teams, which they believe will benefit both the top and bottom lines of the companies.

AI can model First Impressions based on Facial Features

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Dipayan Mitra

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April 27, 2022

AI model First Impressions facial features

Researchers from the Steven Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and the University of Chicago have developed a novel artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that can accurately model first impressions based on images of a person’s facial features.

The research has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. It is very natural for humans to develop certain preconceptions about someone when they meet for the very first time.

The judgments we make regarding others at first glance might not be entirely accurate, but they play a vital role in shaping relationships.

First impressions not only matter for inter-personal reasons, but they also impact several other decisions like choices made related to hiring to criminal sentencing.

Thousands of people were asked to score over 1,000 computer-generated photographs of faces based on qualities such as how intelligent, electable, religious, trustworthy, or outgoing the person in the picture appeared to be.

The gathered data was then used to train a neural network to make similar snap decisions about people based merely on images of their faces.

Moreover, the algorithm can also be used to edit pictures to make its subjects appear in a certain way. For instance, the AI algorithm can modify an image of a person in a manner to make the person look more trustworthy or intelligent.

Jordan W. Suchow, a cognitive scientist and AI expert at the School of Business at Stevens, led the research along with other team members, including Joshua Peterson and Thomas Griffiths at Princeton and Stefan Uddenberg and Alex Todorov at Chicago Booth.

Suchow said, “Given a photo of your face, we can use this algorithm to predict what people’s first impressions of you would be, and which stereotypes they would project onto you when they see your face.”

He further added that the AI algorithm does not give specific feedback or explain why a particular image evokes a particular response.