Feb 01, 2025Ravie LakshmananPrivacy / SurveillanceMeta-owned WhatsApp on Friday said it disrupted a campaign that involved the use of spyware to target journalists and civil society members.The campaign, which targeted around 90 members, involved the use of spyware from an Israeli company known as Paragon Solutions. The attackers were neutralized in December 2024.In a statement to The Guardian, the encrypted messaging app said it has reached out to affected users, stating it had "high confidence" that the users were targeted and "possibly compromised." It's currently not known who is behind the campaign and for how long it took place.The attack chain is said to be zero-click, meaning the deployment of the spyware occurs without requiring any user interaction. It's suspected to involve the distribution of a specially-crafted PDF file sent to individuals who were added to group chats on WhatsApp.The company also revealed that it had sent Paragon a "cease and desist" letter and that it was considering other options. The development marks the first time the company has been linked to cases where its technology has been misused.Like NSO Group, Paragon is the maker of surveillance software called Graphite that's offered to government clients in order to combat digital threats. It was acquired by a U.S.-based investment group AE Industrial Partners in December in a deal worth $500 million.On its barebones website, the company claims it provides customers with "ethically based tools" to "disrupt intractable threats," as well as offer "cyber and forensic capabilities to locate and analyze digital data."In late 2022, it came to light that Graphite was used by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for counternarcotics operations. Last year, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) called on the Department of Homeland Security to release details about its $2 million contract with Paragon.News of the campaign comes weeks after a judge in California ruled in WhatsApp's favor in a landmark case against NSO Group for using its infrastructure to deliver the Pegasus spyware to 1,400 devices in May 2019.Meta's disclosure also coincided with the arrest of former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro over allegations that he sanctioned the use of Pegasus spyware to surveil opposition leaders and oversaw cases where the technology was used.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

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Im looking for the checkered floor material shown in the attached video and photos, but I cant find it in the fab. Does anyone know of one?I dont think this is the floor material that comes standard in Unreal 5.Its definitely not marble, and if you look closely it has a paper-like texture. Where can I get something like that?Unreal Effect Portfolio IceMoonUnreal Engine Niagara Effect Portfolio https://cdn.artstation.com/p/video_sources/001/868/043/skill-shiled-01.mp4 1 post - 1 participant Read full topic

How can we reduce interracial prejudice? A new study in The Journal of Positive Psychology has developed a novel approach using ideas about virtue. Their findings are preliminary but encouraging.Courage across divisiongettyLed by William B. Whitney, a psychologist at Azusa Pacific University, a team of researchers gathered data from 292 white undergraduate students who completed surveys at two different times one month apart from each other. At time one, all the students were asked to read a series of stories, and then write a reflection in response to those stories. Which stories they read, though, depended on which of four groups they were randomly assigned to:Virtue Condition: stories modeled how college students approached difficult interpersonal relationship dynamics through courage and patience with no mention of race. The focus was to help students develop courage and patience by focusing on achievable goals and encouraging them to reflect on why they are motivated to act virtuously in interpersonal encounters.Virtue/Race Salient Condition: The stories were similar to the first condition, but with race mentioned in two of the five stories.Race Salient/No Virtue Condition: The stories were about race, with no mention of virtue.Control Condition: The stories were about improving study skills, with no mention of virtue or race.This was the focus at time one. Four weeks later, the same students were given self-report measures to complete for courage, patience, and internal motivation to respond without prejudice. An example of an item from this last survey is, I attempt to act in non-prejudiced ways toward people of color because it is personally important to me.What do you expect the results to show? Will the two interventions which mention virtue both lead to increases in virtue at time two? Will they also decrease motivation to respond with prejudice at time two? And what about the intervention which mentions race only but not virtue?Things did not turn out as the researchers (or I) expected. Starting with courage:There was no statistically significant increase at time two for the Virtue Condition, the Virtue/Race Condition, and the Control Condition.There was a statistically significant decrease in courage at time two for the Race Condition.What about patience?MORE FOR YOUNo statistically significant change in any of the conditions.Finally, and most importantly, what about motivation to respond without prejudice? Only two of the four conditions showed a significant change:There was a statistically significant increase at time two in motivation to respond without prejudice for the Virtue/Race Condition.There was a statistically significant decrease at time two in motivation to respond without prejudice for the Race Condition.What should we make of all this?One upshot is that Whitney found centering virtue by itself, without drawing connections to race, did not appear to move the needle. As he says, the intervention was ineffective when it did not contextualize courage and patience in interracial contexts.Another thing to focus on is the Race Condition. Here Whitney remarks that the finding, aligns with the corpus of research showing that race-based anxiety causes White people to avoid or limit interracial interactionsintroducing race-related topics without activating positively framed approach goals may undermine White peoples motivation to respond without prejudice across time. This condition was designed to approximate the DEI training that seeks to educate without providing actionable strategieswhich has led to critiques that DEI trainings do not work or can backfireHaving said all this, it is important to note that there are several limitations to this study which, to their credit, Whitney and his colleagues acknowledge. For instance, we do not know if the Virtue/Race intervention continues to be efficacious beyond one month. Nor do we know to what extent peoples self-report on a survey about their motivation to respond without prejudice, tracks their actual motivation? Not to mention whether the impact of the Virtue/Race intervention in increasing this motivation, will lead to any changes in actual behavior. And of course we need the findings to be replicated, especially with students outside of the U.S. and also participants in other age groups.One question we are left with is how an intervention similar to the Virtue/Race Condition could be implemented in a concrete way in our ordinary lives. Whitney references two areas where it might be helpful practically DEI training and a virtue curriculum. In both cases it would be great to hear more about what the details of such a practical implementation would look like.Additionally, Whitney chose to focus on two specific virtues courage and patience. In retrospect, the choice of patience might not have been the wisest. But another question we are left with is what Virtue/Race interventions would find if they focused on other virtues, such as justice or compassion or humility or love.Whitney and his colleagues have given us a new approach to combatting prejudice. It is worth following their work moving forward as the virtue-based approach continues to (hopefully!) be developed in the future.

I never expected to be a stay-at-home mom who homeschools my children.I had a successful marketing career, but stepped back to give my family more attention.Finances and your own well-being are important things to consider before quitting a job. Twenty years ago, if you told me that in 2025 I'd be homeschooling my children, living in the suburbs, and driving a minivan, I'd have laughed and said you had the wrong girl. I envisioned climbing the corporate ladder in marketing, blending my love for creativity and analytics until I retired.Life today looks very different than what I had dreamed about all those years ago, but pivoting to full-time parenting and caregiving has transformed my understanding of success.Having kids changed my trajectoryIn my twenties, I was advancing in my career. My husband and I were ambitious young professionals, eager to find success and start a family. After having my first child, I chose to transition to a lighter workload. Many around us questioned this decision, expressing concern that I might regret it. One executive even told me he couldn't understand why I would sacrifice my career for a few years at home. Then things changed againIn the coming years, my son, daughter, and I were all diagnosed with autism. This solidified my desire to step away from full-time work. Letting go of a well-established career to be my children's caregiver and getting my own autism diagnosis has meant rethinking identity, finances, and long-term goals. But I've come to appreciate the transferable skills corporate America and caregiving both require, such as problem-solving, time management, flexibility, and empathy.For anyone considering a similar change, here are a few things I wish someone had told me before I took the leap:Changing your path is not a setbackMoving away from an expected career path didn't mean my professional life was over. I wish I had understood that transitioning to full-time parenting was a shift that made me more skilled, compassionate, and adaptable, whether or not I ever return to the workforce. I'm strengthening my organizational skills as I plan how best to implement our homeschool curriculum and drive my children from appointment to appointment. I am becoming skilled at reading evaluation results, insurance paperwork, and more and I'm becoming more confident as I advocate for what we need.You get to design the life you needI felt like I needed permission to create and cultivate the life I needed. Transitioning to a lower-paying and lower-stress job was difficult, but it was the first step toward the flexibility we needed. Then, when I was considering leaving work all together, I'm so glad I spoke to my boss about what felt most challenging instead of just putting in my notice. She and I were able to find a rhythm that still allowed me to contribute to their mission, but gave me more time to be a caregiver. This conversation and the many after it taught me it was okay to ask for something different, and served as a reminder that I am far more in control of what work looks like than I realized.You will need to reevaluate your financesNo one likes to talk about money, but making this type of transition requires careful financial planning. My family had to adjust our budget and reimagine priorities while determining a sustainable plan. My husband and I also apply skills we've learned at work to weekly meetings about our budget and schedule, including spreadsheets and and a bulleted agenda, to ensure we're still on track to meet our goals and making sustainable choices both logistically and financially.I learned that my well-being matters, tooMaking a career change in favor of caregiving requires shifting how we view success. I had to give myself permission to set boundaries, slow down, and nurture my own well-being. As I discovered, slowing down the pace of life doesn't just benefit my children it benefits me, too. Now that I'm not rushing everyone out the door each morning, sacrificing sleep and time with my husband and children, I am more regulated, less stressed, and generally a more pleasant person to be around. I still wake up early, and I probably stay up too late, but my children and I get to choose what our days look like, and we can be flexible as our needs evolve.I've redefined successLooking back, stepping off the corporate ladder wasn't the end of my dreams. Instead, it was the start of a new journey. It was a deliberate pivot, aligning my choices with my family's needs and values.The slower pace has given me room to dream more boldly about what creativity and connection look like in our day-to-day life, renew my sense of purpose as a parent and a writer, spend time with my family more frequently and more consistently, and redefine success as a congruence of our values and our actions.For anyone considering a similar transition, I recommend you reflect deeply on your values and align your choices with what truly matters. It might feel unpredictable or challenging at first, but it's deeply rewarding to create a life that feels authentic to you.

Feb. 1, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

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Re @Gene6ixwill Congratulations!!!

RTArtem DubinaBow rigging for "Vincent" rig by @WonderWell_St thanks for the idea for rope rig @soyposmoderno #maya #rigging #3d #animation #bowrigging