A threat actor known as EncryptHub has been linked to Windows zero-day attacks exploiting a Microsoft Management Console vulnerability patched this month.
Uncovered by Trend Micro staff researcher Aliakbar Zahravi, this security feature bypass (dubbed ‘MSC EvilTwin’ and now tracked as CVE-2025–26633) resides in how MSC files are handled on vulnerable devices.
Attackers can leverage the vulnerability to evade Windows file reputation protections and execute code because the user is not warned before loading unexpected MSC files on unpatched devices.
Terahertz (THz) waves are located between microwaves and infrared light in the electromagnetic spectrum. They can pass through many materials without causing damage, making them useful for security scanning, medical imaging, and high-speed wireless communication. Unlike visible light or radio waves, THz waves can reveal structural details of biological molecules and penetrate nonmetallic objects like clothing and paper.
THz waves hold great promise, but to harness them effectively, their polarization (the direction in which the waves vibrate) must be controlled. Polarization control is crucial for optimizing THz applications, from enhancing data transmission to improving imaging and sensing.
Unfortunately, existing THz polarization control methods rely on bulky external components like wave plates or metamaterials. These solutions are often inefficient, limited to narrow frequency ranges, and unsuitable for compact devices. To overcome these limitations, researchers have been exploring approaches to control THz polarization directly at the source.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have unveiled a new optical technology that enables precise focusing of light—only in one direction. This novel unidirectional focusing design uses structured diffractive layers that are optimized using deep learning to transmit light efficiently in the forward direction of operation while effectively suppressing unwanted backward focusing of light.
The findings are published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials. This innovation offers a compact and broadband solution for the unidirectional delivery of radiation with significant potential for applications in security, defense, and optical communications.
Controlling asymmetric light propagation—where light preferentially travels in one direction while being blocked or scattered in the opposite direction—has been a longstanding need in optical systems. Traditional solutions often rely on specialized material properties or nonlinear materials, which require relatively complex and costly fabrication methods, bulky hardware, and high-power laser sources.
Joscha Bach, Cognitive Scientist and AI researcher, as well as Anthony Aguirre, UCSC Professor of Physics, join us to explore the world through the lens of computation and the difficulties we face on the way to beneficial futures.
Topics discussed in this episode include:
-Understanding the universe through digital physics. –How human consciousness operates and is structured. –The path to aligned AGI and bottlenecks to beneficial futures. –Incentive structures and collective coordination.
Find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/03/31/j… to be the FLI Podcast Producer here: https://futureoflife.org/job-postings/ Follow the podcast on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Op1WO3… Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast… SoundCloud: / futureoflife Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:58 What is truth and knowledge? 11:39 What is subjectivity and objectivity? 15:13 What is the universe ultimately? 20:32 Is the universe a cellular automaton? Is the universe ultimately digital or analogue? 25:59 Hilbert’s hotel from the point of view of computation 39:14 Seeing the world as a fractal 43:00 Describing human consciousness 57:46 Meaning, purpose, and harvesting negentropy 1:02:30 The path to aligned AGI 1:05:13 Bottlenecks to beneficial futures and existential security 1:16:01 A future with one, several, or many AGI systems? How do we maintain appropriate incentive structures? 1:30:39 Non-duality and collective coordination 1:34:16 What difficulties are there for an idealist worldview that involves computation? 1:37:19 Which features of mind and consciousness are necessarily coupled and which aren’t? 1:47:47 Joscha’s final thoughts on AGI This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at: https://futureoflife.org/donate Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.
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How will the continued advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) impact the handling and management of future national security crises? This is what a re | Technology
Google is making the biggest ever acquisition in its history by purchasing cloud security company Wiz in an all-cash deal worth $32 billion.
“This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds (multicloud),” the tech giant said today.
It added the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is meant to provide customers with a “comprehensive security platform” that secures modern IT environments.
Quantum entanglement, one of the strangest and most powerful aspects of physics, has just been taken to a new level with the use of metasurfaces.
Researchers have discovered a way to create quantum holograms, where entangled photons encode intricate information with unprecedented precision. By leveraging the properties of metasurfaces, they demonstrated control over entangled holographic letters, opening doors to secure quantum communication and even anti-counterfeiting technology.
