What is a Data Lakehouse? Definition, Benefits & Features

source: eweek.com  | image: pexels.com

 

A data lakehouse is a hybrid data management architecture that combines the best features of a data lake and a data warehouse into one data management solution.

data lake is a centralized repository that allows storage of large amounts of data in its native, raw format. On the other hand, a data warehouse is a repository that stores structured and semi-structured data from multiple sources for analysis and reporting purposes.

data lakehouse aims to bridge the gap between these two data management approaches by merging the flexibility, scale and low cost of data lake with the performance and ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) transactions of data warehouses. This enables business intelligence and analytics on all data in a single platform.

 

What is a lakehouse?

A data lakehouse is a modern data architecture that creates a single platform by combining the key benefits of data lakes (large repositories of raw data in its original form) and data warehouses (organized sets of structured data). Specifically, data lakehouses enable organizations to use low-cost storage to store large amounts of raw data while providing structure and data management functions. Continue reading “What is a Data Lakehouse? Definition, Benefits & Features”

How Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity Could Help Vividly Image Alien Worlds

source: cnet.com  |  image: pexels.com

One day, a mind-bending device called the gravity telescope might bring us visceral pictures of exoplanets far beyond our solar system.

 

Christmas Eve, 1968 — Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders took a picture that would soon reframe humanity’s view of the universe. It was an image of Earth, but from the moon’s vantage point. 

When you look at this picture, a crisp planet stares back at you, levitating just above the lunar horizon like a turquoise sunrise. And this very resemblance earned Anders’ photograph the perfect name: “Earthrise.” 

Since the time Anders took his shot from a moon-orbiting spacecraft, scientists have procured absolutely mind-blowing pictures of Saturn’s rocky rings, Neptune’s azure hues and even Jupiter’s orange marbled stripes— but these photos barely scratch the surface of our universe’s planetary society. 

There are thousands more alien worlds floating beyond our solar system, but they remain hidden to the human eye because they’re light-years on light-years away from us. Our telescopes are too far away to capture their beauty. They show up only as blurry dots of light — if they show up at all. Continue reading “How Einstein…Could Help Vividly Image Alien Worlds”

This Cryptomining Tool Is Stealing Secrets

 

source: wired.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

As the Israel-Hamas war raged on this week and Israel expanded its ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, the territory’s compromised internet infrastructure and access to connectivity went fully dark on Friday, leaving Palestinians without access to ground or mobile data connections. Meanwhile, researchers are bracing for the fallout if Hamas makes good on its threats to distribute hostage execution videos online. And TikTokkers are using a niche livestreaming feature and exploiting the Israeli-Hamas conflict to collect virtual gifts from viewers, a portion of which goes to the social media company as a fee.

As the worst mass shooting in Maine’s history unfolded this week and the gunman remained at large, disinformation about the situation and the suspect flooded social media, adding to the already chaotic and horrific situation. Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter) posted remarks earlier this month mocking Ukrainian president Vlodymr Zelensky that were met with a flood of support and enthusiasm from Russian trolls and accounts distributing pro-Russia propaganda.

Continue reading “This Cryptomining Tool Is Stealing Secrets”

Surgeons in New York announce world’s first eye transplant

source: reuters.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

Nov 9 (Reuters) – Surgeons in New York have performed the first-ever whole-eye transplant in a human, they announced on Thursday, an accomplishment being hailed as a breakthrough even though the patient has not regained sight in the eye.

In the six months since the surgery, performed during a partial face transplant, the grafted eye has shown important signs of health, including well-functioning blood vessels and a promising-looking retina, according to the surgical team at NYU Langone Health.

“The mere fact that we transplanted an eye is a huge step forward, something that for centuries has been thought about, but it’s never been performed,” said Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the team.

Until now, doctors have only been able to transplant the cornea, the clear front layer of the eye.

Continue reading “Surgeons in New York announce world’s first eye transplant”

Facebook’s In-app Browser on iOS Tracks ‘Anything You Do on Any Website’

 

source: threatpost.com  | image:  pixabay.com

 

Researcher shows how Instagram and Facebook’s use of an in-app browser within both its iOS apps can track interactions with external websites.

Users of Apple’s Instagram and Facebook iOS apps are being warned that both use an in-app browser that allows parent company Meta to track ‘every single tap’ users make with external websites accessed via the software.

Researcher Felix Krause, who outlined how Meta tracks users in a blog posted Wednesday, claims that this type of tracking puts users at “various risks”. He warns both iOS versions of the apps can “track every single interaction with external websites, from all form inputs like passwords and addresses, to every single tap” via their in-app browsers.

iOS users’ concerns over tracking were addressed by Apple’s 2021 release of iOS 14.5 and a feature called App Tracking Transparency (ATT). The added control was intended to require app-developers to get the user’s consent before tracking data generated by third-party apps not owned by the developer.

Krause said that both iOS apps Facebook and Instagram are using a loophole to bypassed ATT rules and track website activity within their in-app browsers via the use of a custom JavaScript code used in both in-app browsers. That means, when an iOS user of Facebook and Instagram click on a link within a Facebook and Instagram post (or an ad), Meta launches its own in-app browser which can then track what you do on external sites you visit.

Meta’s Use of a JavaScript Injection 

“The Instagram [and Facebook] app injects their JavaScript code into every website shown, including when clicking on ads. Even though pcm.js doesn’t do this, injecting custom scripts into third party websites allows them to monitor all user interactions, like every button & link tapped, text selections, screenshots, as well as any form inputs, like passwords, addresses and credit card numbers,” Krause wrote.

Continue reading “Facebook’s In-app Browser on iOS Tracks ‘Anything You Do on Any Website’”

The surprising threat is lurking even in your ‘secure’ work environment

 

source: fast company.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

When Netflix released The Most Hated Man on the Internet, we got an up-close glimpse of the harm that nefarious people can do by exposing the personal information of others online. The series illustrated how Hunter Moore used stolen or hacked images to populate a pornographic website, targeting women who did not consent for their images to be used—and introducing many people to the concept of “doxing.” 

Derived from 1990s hacker culture, doxing is a play on the word document or dossier, referring to compiling data on a person or company. It gained greater visibility in 2014 when a group released the private information of women who they perceived as receiving favoritism in the gaming journalism industry. The incident, titled GamerGate, exposed the dangers of being targeted by bad actors and the potential for negative psychological outcomes.

Continue reading “The surprising threat is lurking even in your ‘secure’ work environment”

DOD Represented at Five Eyes Technology Principals Meeting

 

source: defense.gov  |  image: department of defense

 

Last week, Dr. Steven G. Wax, performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology, presented the National Defense Science and Technology Strategy at the Technology Cooperation Program (TTCP) Principals Meeting.

TTCP is a science and technology alliance among the Five Eyes (FVEY) nations – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Representatives met Sept. 11-15, 2023, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

That strategy highlights the important role our allies and partners play in our research and development ecosystem.

Continue reading “DOD Represented at Five Eyes Technology Principals Meeting”

The Myth of ‘Open Source’ AI

source: wired.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

A new analysis shows that “open source” AI tools like Llama 2 are still controlled by big tech companies in a number of ways.

CHATGPT MADE IT possible for anyone to play with powerful artificial intelligence, but the inner workings of the world-famous chatbot remain a closely guarded secret.

In recent months, however, efforts to make AI more “open” seem to have gained momentum. In May, someone leaked a model from Meta, called Llama, which gave outsiders access to its underlying code as well as the “weights” that determine how it behaves. Then, this July, Meta chose to make an even more powerful model, called Llama 2, available for anyone to download, modify, and reuse. Meta’s models have since become an extremely popular foundation for many companies, researchers, and hobbyists building tools and applications with ChatGPT-like capabilities.

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US issues threat warning after hackers break into a satellite

source: defenseone.com  |  image: pexels.com

Three teams at the DEF CON 23 convention met a government challenge to hack satellite in orbit.

It seems like nothing is off limits for threat actors to target these days. Hospitals, schools, charity organizations and even municipalities have all been successfully targeted by malicious cyberattacks in recent years. And now, it seems like attackers are even looking into space for new systems to try and compromise.

Last week, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with the FBI, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, issued a warning about increased attempts to attack both satellites in orbit and the intellectual property of companies developing space technologies.

The warning comes just about a month after three teams at the DEF CON 23 convention in Las Vegas managed to hack a government satellite in orbit. Those attacks were conducted with the full permission of the government as part of the U.S. Space Force’s Hack-A-Sat competition. Three of the teams that successfully breached the security of the orbiting satellite were awarded up to $50,000 in prize money for demonstrating how such an attack could be conducted. This was the first time that hacker groups were able to prove that it was now possible to circumvent the cybersecurity protections of satellites in orbit.

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Array Labs is scanning Earth from space to equip autonomous vehicles with 3D maps

source: tecncrunch.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

It’s an oft-told story: The boom of space startups today can be traced to dramatically lowered cost in launch and satellite manufacturing over the past 10 years. But Array Labs, a two-year-old startup based in Silicon Valley, is also taking advantage of other technological developments in its quest to build a 3D map of Earth.

Those include computation gains, like in advanced graphics processors (GPUs), and radar software development, Array CEO Andrew Peterson explained. Peterson, an aerospace engineer who had previously worked for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Moog’s space and defense division, said the revolution in scientific computing has opened up new possibilities.

“If could take all of this superpower that we were seeing in radar and scientific computing, and you could couple that with really low-cost satellites . . . there’s probably a really, really interesting way to do a new type of Earth observation,” he said. “This was the best idea that I’ve ever had.”