A team of volunteer architects converted a dilapidated historic home into a bare-bones cultural centre for a biennial five years on, the projects legacy is mixedIn much of Latin America, the workingclass builds uphill: considerthe favelas of Rio de Janeiroor the comunas of Medelln. But in flat, landlocked Paraguays capital, Asuncin, low-income residents and rural migrants have little choice but to settle inlow, floodprone places. The oldest such neighbourhood is Ricardo Brugada also called La Chacarita, and home to 13,000 people which tumbles down the slope behind the citys Congress and the cathedraltowards the Paraguay River.In 2019, when Paraguay hosted the 11th IberoAmerican Biennial of Architecture (BIAU), its codirector Jos Cubilla decided to centre the event on La Chacarita. Though a marginalised neighbourhood with few public services, it still seemed more vibrant than Asuncins vacant historic core and the Miamistyle business district. The centre was asleep; La Chacarita had been abandoned, the architect explains. Wewanted to connect them, the empty citywith the inhabited city, and selfcritique our profession. Architects had long been notable by their absence in La Chacarita, heargues, and were not wanted or especially needed. When Cubilla and hiscolleagues first visited to sound out theirproposals, some residents threw stones atthem.The hostility is understandable, explains Christian Nuez, a TV producer and community organiser from La Chacarita. Locals are used to planners and developers tearing down their homes to make way for dubious development projects or shoddy mortgaged housing. Some families are scraping by on 10,000 guaranes (1) a day, he adds. Yet Nuez agreed to help facilitate meetings between his neighbours and the architects from Spain, Portugal and Latin America taking part in the BIAU. Gradually, a mutually agreed programme of 13 lighttouch urban interventions took shape: most of them improvements to existing public spaces.Click to download drawingsResidents consulted by UNA Arquitetos (Brazil) said they wanted a viewpoint above the Tacuari creek to be properly illuminated and made accessible for older people. A team led by Roberto Busnelli (Argentina) turned Acceso Mompox, a rubbishstrewn alleyway, into a miniature garden with builtin benches. To encourage people toreclaim Plazoleta Amapola, a notorious gang lookout, Entre Nos Atelier (Costa Rica) and local studio Mnimo Comn installed free internet, and a digital library of books downloadable via QR codes on a transparent mural. Rozana Montiel (Mexico) installed a slide, childrens play area and drainage system in an ofteninundated stairway. But Paraguays national pavilion was perhaps the most ambitious: transforming a dilapidated private residence into a cultural venue for the community on a budget of next to nothing.The centuryold redbrick house in the upper part of La Chacarita had belonged toRubn Vysokolan, famous for his theatre work and telenovelas (TV soaps). As the sonof a military general, the eccentric actor nicknamed Vysoka exercised a degree of liberty during the 195489 dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. His home which he dubbed his agujero, or hole in the ground served as a postcurfew nightclub for creatives. He used to come downstairs naked with a snake around his neck, recalls Zulma Veneroso, his former housekeeper, who still lives on site. The house comes with a lot of legends, says Lukas Fster, theAsuncinbased architect who curated the restoration project. The agujero was even rumoured to conceal hiding places for communists, and a tunnel to the presidential palace a kilometre away. After Vysokolan died in 2007, the house was left to his sevenyearold daughter, Lou Mei. It fell into disrepair. Twelve years later, she agreed to the renovations. They were to be completed without charge, on the condition that the property would remain a cultural space for at least five years.We brought some engineer friends to the site, explains Nicols Berger, a volunteer architect who worked on the agujero along with Sergio Ybarra, Guido Martnez, Javier Rodrguez, a municipal craftspersons college called the Escuela Taller, and Fsters students from the architecture department at the National University of Asuncin. They said: This things going tocollapse. Recalling the scale of the challenge salvaging the structure without stripping it of its essence and sentimental value prompts Berger to reach for surgical metaphors. We had to perform a kind of orthodontics inside to keep it standing.Yet Fster was determined not to cut corners. He sketched out a rough plan while allowing himself to be guided by realities onthe ground. Theres an element of improvisation, he says, depending on thematerials that you find. These included a donated set of ornate window frames fromthe summer house of a vicepresident assassinated in 1999 which the team bartered for long, sturdy beams of lapacho wood and a mismatched array of steel girders formerly used in electricity transmission towers.The house was rumoured to conceal hiding places for communists, and a tunnel to the presidential palace a kilometre awayTo start with, the project involved moredeletion than creation. They knocked downa handful of recent, singlestorey outbuildings formerly used as crash pads by Vysokolans friends and visiting artists while retaining Venerosos living quarters. This opened up a long, wide patio along twolevels to the rear of the house, with anempty window in a standing wall framinga burst of greenery and rusted corrugatediron rooftops. They demolished a crumbling mezzanine within the main house, revealing a tall, airy space akin to arustic chapel, lit by shafts of sunlight from two upstairs doorways. The original floor tiles were preserved, including a striking fleurdelis design in blue and gold.Then came the dentistry. The team fortified the structure internally with the lapacho spars, bolted to the brickwork withthe slicedup pylons serving as girders. They smartened up a buckled, corkscrewing exterior staircase leading to the first floor. Here, they extended a narrow walkway of wooden planks atop a steel frame across one corner of the space, through a doorway and over the internal alleyway below. From another entrance, ashorter gangway pokes a couple of metres into the room like a diving board or a pulpit. Fster says that they had no particular reference inmind but notes a similarity to the industrialstyle floating footbridges employed in Carlo Scarpas restoration ofthe Castelvecchio Museum inVerona.Crossing to the adjacent roof, a sheet ofcorrugated plastic offers a fragment ofshade. Wooden benches line an otherwise unadorned terrace, with sweeping views across La Chacarita to the river and the palace. Repurposed bottles of Munich acheap, popular Paraguayan lager forma green, translucent window to the bathroom, and a rehomed set of wooden shutters clads the open portion of the upper floor, keeping the interior cool and adding atraditional, homely touch to the mass ofexposed masonry.The project was never finished, Fster freely admits. It ran away from us. A curved steel frame was built for a set of Venetian blinds that never arrived. But after six months work, they had revitalised the space enough to host events by the time of the biennial in October 2019. They mounted displays of Paraguayan architecture and projected a map of the neighbourhood ontothe floor. People opened up their homes, their patios, their gardens, enthuses Cubilla. All of Paraguay got to know La Chacarita. The 17 winners of that years Panorama de Obras prize awarded by the BIAU to renovated public buildings across Latin America and Iberia were screened on a television in someones front room.The final spend on the agujero was around 3,000, nearly all of which was raised by the team of architects themselves. We decided to do the project in an entirely independent and selfmanaged way, says Fster. A donation from the BIAU late inthe process predominantly went towards beer and barbecues to keep up morale. They were mainly focused on the architectural challenge of rescuing the agujero. We did not think we would also have to run it, saysBerger.But for a while, that was what they found themselves doing. In March 2020, the stage director Paola Irn premiered Nombre herplay about human trafficking at the agujero (she donated an airconditioning unit in exchange). Neighbours threw baby showers and birthdays in the space. We did not want the agujero to be really solemn, says Fster. But just when we were beginning to touch the ground, the pandemic came. It was like a bucket of cold water.Things began to unravel, says Berger. Fster had to relocate to Argentina. Whenlockdown eased in 2022, Ybarra moved into the premises with his partner Giulianna Zucolillo, and they continued therefurbishment, planted shrubs, and openeda vegan popup: a bold move in a carnivorous nation with twice as many cows 13 million as people. They organised concerts with Lou Mei Vysokolan now an actor like her father and Roco Robledo, amusician. It had its challenges, Ybarra admits. We succeeded in bringing the place to life. It was difficult to sustain, but the experience was very enriching.There was occasionally friction with the neighbours. Some still viewed the curators as interlopers. The same features that made the agujero inviting as a community space and interesting as an architectural project the permanently open doorways, the clear sightlines from the street through the property made it challenging to inhabit and care for. Ybarra and Zucolillo left eight months later.Five years on, the buildings future is uncertain. Robledo and Vysokolan still hold events now and then, although it is unclear whether the space will remain open tothepublic indefinitely. It has been abeautifulexperience, says Vysokolan. Veryexhausting, but its worth it. The neighbours, meanwhile, seem positive aboutthe buildings facelift. But there isalso nostalgia for its bohemian heyday, andasense that other problems are morepressing than the lack of cultural programming. It is nice, says Mnica Aquino. The president of a union of sex workers, she lived at the agujero at the turn of the millennium and remembers its former owner fondly: Rubn was a great person, very humble. We had parties most nights. There were folk sessions, we drank, passed round joints, the lot.The agujeros ambivalent afterlife was mirrored by the other Biennial projectsAquino thinks the space should host asmall museum to Vysokolan, with photographs and some of his things. Thereis lots of discrimination towards LaChacarita. So for someone from here tomake it, it is a big deal. I meet her sittingoutside a plywood shack in the nextalleyway along: her home for the past20years, despite promises of a dignified alternative by the authorities. Here Iam,waiting for a miracle, she sighs. LaChacarita is not as safe as it was before, because the gangs are killing each other. Our neighbourhood is being flooded by drugtrafficking.Today, the cobbles in the agujero havecome loose. Laundry presumably Venerosos has been hung out to dry on the walkways. A storm has snapped off part of the plastic sheeting. Plants sprout from the roof. It is falling to bits, laments Nuez, showing me around. He thinks the venue needs clear leadership to achieve its full potential. The space could be used a lot more; it could explode. But I know it is complicated.The agujeros ambivalent afterlife was mirrored by the other Biennial projects. The free WiFi in Plazoleta Amapola wasahit, but the virtual library was later smashed to pieces by vandals. One resident tore up the climbing plants giving shade toAcceso Mompox, complaining they attracted bees. Several plans drawn up during the BIAU a soaring scaffolding walkway between several hillsides to bypassa tortuous path of mud and planks, atreelined thoroughfare to link La Chacarita with Asuncins historic centre are gathering dust at the mayors office.Yet the restored plazas and miniparks proved a lifeline during the pandemic. Theywere places of dignity the only places where people could breathe, says Cubilla. And the experience of leading visitors around the Biennials interventions inspiredNuez to create Chaca Tours: asocial enterprise that has since taken nearly 10,000 people on guided cultural walks through La Chacarita, encouraging Paraguayans and foreigners alike to see the historic district with fresh eyes. The model of streetlevel consultation pioneered by theBIAU has been repeated in subsequent public infrastructure projects. It was fundamental to promoting the importance of architecture and public spaces in giving people agency, Nuez explains.On 21 December 2024, the agujeros patio was filled with visitors, harp music and theswishing skirts of the galoperas: local women who dance with ceramic pitchers ontheir heads. The event was a celebration of the guarania, a musical style created by Jos Asuncin Flores, a composer born a few doors down 120 years ago. Following several years of lobbying by Paraguay, UNESCO had awarded the genre Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity status a few weeks earlier. You see the neighbourhood now and compare it with what it was before, the difference is crazy, says Vysokolan. It is like people can now hold their heads up high.Fster is drawing on his experience withEl Agujero de Vysoka in writing hisdoctoral thesis. It deals with how localarchitects should approach the few resources, or rather the many, they have tohand, he explains. Apparent scarcity, itturns out, can yield a jumbled kind ofabundance. Fster draws an analogy withjopara, a term meaning mixture, describing the conjoinment of Spanish andthe Indigenous Guaran language spoken by most people in the country to this day. Though not an officially recognised dialect, he explains, it is the most common way of doing things in Paraguay.

The winners of an open international contest for a 450-unit housing development in post-earthquake Azaz, Syria have been revealedThe overall winners were Youssef Ragab, Mohamed Hussien and Marawan Yehia Salem from Egypt whose MYM proposal featured public spaces of varying sizes inspired by the urban fabric of Aleppo.Second place was meanwhile awarded to team Archi Tellers and third prize went to Two Hundred Sixteen.Architects, designers, and urban planners from around the world were invited to draw up proposals for a 48,300murban quarter for the country which was struck by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2023.Competition site: Azaz urban quarter, SyriaCredit:Image by Molhamteam The Architects for Humanity competition backed by architectural services platform Mimaria Studio and the Syrian charity Molham Team set out to identify a range of long-term, sustainable solutions which could help promote a sense of identity, community, and security among displaced people.The MYM winning proposal features a series of residential units arranged on a 33 modular grid. Each block is constructed on isolated foundations to mitigate earthquake risks and incorporates a private courtyard to promote social interaction.The proposal harnesses locally available materials, wind catchers, double walls, interior courtyards and light-reflective colours to promote sustainability. Green areas for agriculture and animal husbandry are also included.During the past 13 years the ongoing conflict in Syria has seen significant destruction of housing and physical infrastructure leaving millions homeless. Following the February 2023 earthquake, it is now estimated around 12.5 million people have been displaced.Competition site: Azaz urban quarter, SyriaCredit:Image by Molhamteam The competition launched in 2024 five years after an international ideas contest was held to rethink the bombed-out ruins of the Grand Serail of Aleppo in Syria. The latest contest focused on the settlement of Azaz which is located 32km northwest of Aleppo and has received more than 2.9 million refugees in recent years.Proposals for the rural site located on the main road between Nayarah and Azaz and currently used for emergency housing had to feature 450 homes along with a 4,000m public square, a 1,500m youth centre with a multipurpose hall and library, a 400m mosque, a 2,500m primary school and 700m of commercial stores and a bakery.Concepts were expected to adopt innovative solutions which help promote the long-term reintegration of displaced people, to show cultural sensitivity and to reflect sustainable practices. Proposals which were community oriented and promise scalability and replicability were also encouraged.Judges included Christoph Wessling, academic at Brandenburg University of Technology; Ouessess Hummos, architect and researcher at Mimaria Studio; and Atef Nanoua, architect and co-founder of Molham Volunteering Team.

Abi Castillo, Blooming and Blue Caterpillar (2025), ceramicAnnouncing Joy Machine, a New Art Gallery in ChicagoFebruary 10, 2025ArtGrace Ebert and Christopher JobsonAs Colossal prepares to turn 15 this year, weve been thinking a lot about what it means to be part of a creative community. During the last decade and a half, weve spoken with thousands of artists, designers, and makers and cultivated a vast network of friends and colleagues around the globe. Publishing has been one of the greatest joys of our lives and demonstrated again and again how art can connect us all.Were incredibly excited to share that were expanding our footprint right here in our home of Chicago. Our new art gallery, Joy Machine, opens on February 21.Michael McGrath, Night Ride, Spring Gods (2025), colored pencil on wood panel, 10 x 8 inchesA year in the making, Joy Machine is built around the belief that amid deep uncertainty and upheaval, joy becomes an indispensable gateway to hope.As we navigate this incredibly difficult time, were interested in coming together to expand our power to feel and process experiences good and bad.Our first exhibition, Light Preserver, features nine artists who cultivate and ritualize joy through humor, nostalgia, vibrancy, and excitement for new possibilities. Whether reflecting on childhood fun or invoking arts ability to rescue us from depression, each artist taps into our shared humanitynot to evade difficult realities but to find meaning and purpose amid chaos. In this way, joy becomes an essential antidote to despair and a fundamental lifeline to keep us all afloat.Light Preserver features work by many artists youre probably familiar with, including Moises Salazar, David Heo, Liz Flores, Peter Frederiksen, Danym Kwon, Lisa Congdon, Michael McGrath, Jeff Rubio, and Abi Castillo.Colossal will continue publishing independently as it always has, and when Joy Machines projects fit Colossals mission, well be sure to share them with you all here.If youre in Chicago, please join us to celebrate Joy Machines opening on February 21. You can follow the gallery on Instagram, and sign up for the newsletter on the website.Danym Kwon, When Small Happiness Found Us (2025), acrylic and acrylic gouache on canvas, 18 x 18 inchesDavid Heo, Mamihlapinatapai (2024), mixed media on paper mounted on panel, 11 x 28 inchesRed Boots (2025), acrylic on wood, framed in hemlock, 18 x 24 inchesPeter Frederiksen, Sharing Secrets (2022), freehand machine embroidery on linen, 6 x 8 inchesNext article

Published February 10, 2025 6:00am EST close 'CyberGuy': Is your camera ticket a fake? Heres how to tell Red light camera tickets: Not liable to ID the driver; some are fishing expeditions. Tech expert Kurt Knutsson helps you fight back against tricky fake tickets. Suddenly, a red light camera ticket arrives in your mailbox bearing your name but you weren't even driving that day. This frustrating scenario is catching many drivers off guard. So, what's the deal here? Let's break down these tricky fake tickets and how to fight back when you're wrongly in the crosshairs. Example of a fake red light camera ticket (Highwayrobbery.net) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)The ticket that might not be a ticketFirst things first, not all "tickets" are created equal. If you receive something that looks like a ticket but doesn't have the court's full address or phone number or worse, it says "Do not contact the court" you might be dealing with what's cheekily called a "snitch ticket." These aren't real tickets at all but rather attempts to get you to rat out whoever was actually driving. The dead giveaway is usually that they will say something like, "Courtesy Notice: This is not a ticket." Example of a fake red light camera ticket (motorists.org) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Why are they playing this game?Because cities often have to pay camera vendors for every ticket issued, whether or not they ever collect a dime. So, when the footage is too blurry to ID the driver, they toss out these "Whoops, was this you?" tickets, hoping youll do their homework for them. Its basically a shady game of"Guess Who?" except you never agreed to play, the rules are rigged and the only prize is an unwanted fine.Now what?If you've received a "snitch ticket" (a fake ticket designed to get you to identify the driver), here's what you can do.Ignore it: Since it's not a real ticket, you're not legally obligated to respond. Many people simply disregard these notices.Don't identify the driver: Remember, you're under no legal obligation to name who was driving your car.Check for red flags: Confirm it's a fake by looking for missing court information or the phrase "Do not contact the court regarding this notice."Stay informed: Keep the notice for your records, but don't let it stress you out. It's not a legal document.Remember, these fake tickets are just fishing expeditions. You're well within your rights to toss them in the recycling bin and go about your day. Example of a fake red light camera ticket (motorists.org) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)'But it's not me!' What to doIf you receive a genuine ticket (one with all the court info) but you weren't the driver, you've got options.1) Contact the police (optional): You can try calling the number on the ticket and explaining the situation. But beware, they might pressure you to identify the actual driver.2) Stand your ground: Remember, you're not legally required to identify the driver. It's not your job to play detective for them.3) Go to court: If push comes to shove, you can always contest the ticket in court. Just be prepared for some potential pushback.Kurt's key takeawaysDealing with red light camera tickets can feel like navigating a legal minefield. The key is to know your rights, stand firm and don't let anyone pressure you into admitting guilt or identifying others if you're not comfortable doing so. Remember, the burden of proof is on them, not you. Stay informed, stay calm, and if all else fails, seek legal advice. After all, justice shouldn't be a game of "gotcha."Has a "snitch ticket" ever landed in your mailbox? Tell us how you handled it by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading toCyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurts free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

The government stands accused of sending mixed messages about its commitment to positioning the UK as a technology superpower, after publishing guidance that will pave the way for more public sector bodies to host their workloads and applications in overseas cloud environments.The Department for Science, Innovation and Technologys (DSITs) overseas data guidance dropped on 5 February 2025, and states that public sector organisations can use cloud services that are hosted in datacentres outside of the UK for resilience, capacity and access to innovation reasons.This aligns with the guidances broader recommendation that public sector bodies adopt a considered and controlled multi-region approach to hosting their applications and workloads, which is compatible with UK law.Under the governments cloud-first policy, organisations should consider the best place to store and process data as non-UK services can be more cost-effective, more sustainable or have additional features available, as well as provide an alternative location for disaster response plans, the four-page DSIT guidance document stated.This guidance is designed to reinforce existing legislation and does not constitute a change in policy, said DSIT, with the organisation stating that some public sector bodies will have been storing data overseas for more than a decade. Government has had a cloud-first policy since 2013, [and] this predates many of the UK regions from the cloud vendors and therefore organisations may have already hosted data [classified as] Official in overseas regions, the guidance stated.This is despite the Government Security Classification Policy (GSCP) having, until an update in June 2023, tight restrictions regarding the use of non-UK cloud services, Owen Sayers, an enterprise architect with more than 20 years experience in delivering national policing systems, told Computer Weekly. Its clear this [DSIT] guidance acknowledges that despite these restrictions, the UK government has pushed a lot of critical eggs into these offshore cloud platforms, and it should be clear that this was done despite the [GSCP] policy saying not to do so, said Sayers. The [governments] approach now seems to be that we are where we are and to double down on continuing to do so.It is difficult to say with any certainty how prevalent the use of overseas datacentres may have been by public sector bodies up to the point of DSITs guidance coming out.The cloud-first policy, meanwhile, is mandated across central government and credited with accelerating adoption of off-premise technologies throughout Whitehall since its introduction in 2013.In other parts of the public sector, where organisations are merely strongly encouraged to follow the cloud-first policy, anecdotal reports suggest it has had a less potent impact.What we do know is that the amount of public sector data stored on cloud servers owned and operated by companies with the potential to host it overseas markedly increased following the opening of UK datacentres by public cloud giants Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft in late 2016.In the wake of that development, a number of domestic UK cloud providers saw a marked downturn in demand for their services, as public sector buyers jumped ship and migrated over to AWS and Microsoft.Proof of that can be seen in the governments Digital Marketplace figures, which document the amount of cloud spend transacted through the public sector G-Cloud procurement framework.Its figures show that AWS had secured just 2.93m during the 57-month period between the framework making its debut in March 2012 and Amazon opening its first UK datacentre region in December 2016. In the 57 months after AWS opened its UK datacentre, the company had banked 149m in G-Cloud sales. To-date, AWS has accrued 1.1bn in public sector spend through G-Cloud.Microsofts G-Cloud sales data follows a similar trend, with the company making a modest amount of money from the framework before the opening of its UK datacentre in September 2016.At the time, the companys UK cloud region was spoken about by Microsoft representatives in the national press as allowing public sector bodies to use its cloud services while ensuring their data remains in the UK.However, reporting by Computer Weekly revealed in the summer of 2024 a disclosure by software giant Microsoft that it could not guarantee the sovereignty of policing data stored in its public cloud.At the time, the company declined to comment on whether it could guarantee sovereignty for other forms of public sector data, prompting questions about how much of the UK governments IT estate may have already been offshored to overseas datacentres.In light of the Microsoft disclosures, what makes the DSIT guidance remarkable in Sayers view is not the fact that it might lead to increased usage of overseas cloud compute resources by the public sector.We know theyve been doing that for years, but what makes this a remarkable piece of guidance is that it specifically says dont buy British if you can get it cheaper elsewhere, and if you seek innovation, youll probably have to seek it elsewhere, he said.Its not difficult to see why Sayers would come to that conclusion, given the guidance documents opening line reads: In order to provide resilience, capacity and access to innovation, organisations may need to use cloud and software-as-a-service solutions outside of the UK.What makes this admission all the more startling for Sayers is that it comes hot on the heels of a run of government announcements about its plans to transform the UK into a technology superpower, with particular emphasis on building out the countrys expertise in artificial intelligence (AI).The UK governments 50-point AI opportunities action plan, which dropped in mid-January 2025, features a commitment to building sovereign AI capabilities in the UK through vast investments in creating supercomputing facilities that will increase the nations high-performance computing (HPC) capacity 20-fold by 2030.The action plan also features a government commitment to develop a long-term compute strategy to ensure the UK has the datacentre infrastructure capacity it needs to realise its AI ambitions, and sets out an intention to create so-called AI growth zones across the country.These zones will be sited in specially designated parts of the UK that have enhanced access to power and support for planning approvals, as detailed in the action plan document, as part of a broader push by the government to fast-track UK datacentre developments.How do those commitments square with the guidances contents that public sector organisations might be better off making use of overseas datacentres, asked Sayers.Another part of the guidance states that not all regions from a cloud provider are equal, with some offering better pricing, a wider range of services, access to more compute capacity, or enhanced uptime and resiliency. In DSITs view, this is why public sector organisations should not be limiting themselves to using UK-based cloud regions.The government is sending out mixed messages here, because the Prime Minister, Chancellor and the DSIT ministers are all promoting the UK as a leader of innovation and artificial intelligence, whereas this piece of guidance says youll probably have to go overseas to find that, continued Sayers.It is not just Sayers who feels that way, as Mark Boost, CEO of UK-based cloud services provider Civo, described the DSIT guidance as bad news for the UK economy, while also pointing out how contradictory it reads in the wake of the UKs recent run of AI announcements.This guidance from the government is bad for British business, bad for the UKs economy, and worse for government departments, he said.DSIT says it wants to champion the UKs fast-growing tech market, but is seemingly discouraging public sector bodies from choosing British businesses. Instead, its channelling taxpayers hard-earned cash offshore and further disincentivising tech investment into the UK.Over the years, weve given away so many of our industries, said Boost. Now, on the brink of another industrial revolution, the government seems intent on doing the same with AI. This is not only wrong, but potentially dangerous.In a statement announcing the guidances roll-out, DSIT said supporting public sector organisations with moving more of their data out to overseas datacentres will boost competition and bring about IT resiliency benefits, without compromising the UKs strict data and security protections.However, these assurances do not hold much sway with Boost. The guidance may make gestures at adequate data protection and security practices, but the fact is that if an organisation is processing its data on foreign soil and transferring it across borders, then that data can be subject to foreign laws.For government departments handling sensitive data including on health and national security this is an unacceptable level of risk, he said.Where DSIT gets right with its guidance is where it talks about the need for public sector organisations to build multi-region resiliency into their cloud deployments to ensure uptime for critical systems, said Boost.But there are plenty of providers in the UK who could satisfy this, he said. We have a thriving ecosystem of cloud providers who are beginning to offer fully sovereign solutions for both the public and private sectors.And what these providers need is the full support of the government, rather than guidance advising public sector IT buyers to look overseas to access the cloud computing services they require.The government should be supporting British business and investing in our sovereign capabilities, boosting our resilience by nurturing an ecosystem of homegrown providers, said Boost. Instead, they seem to be encouraging public bodies to look elsewhere at the expense of our data security, and our tech economy.Read more government cloud storiesThe UK government has unveiled its 50-point AI action plan, which commits to building sovereign artificial intelligence capabilities and accelerating AI datacentre developments but questions remain about the viability of the plans.New government has wasted no time in lowering planning permission barriers to new datacentre builds, with its disclosure that two previously denied projects are being placed under review.Nicky Stewart, senior adviser to the Open Cloud Coalition, which champions competition in the public cloud market, told Computer Weekly she agrees with the guidances view that public services are being held back and made less resilient by poor technology.What she is less convinced about are the competitive benefits being touted by DSIT in its guidance. In her opinion, if the government has competition concerns about cloud, it should be acting instead on addressing the red flags raised by the Competition and Markets Authority(CMA) about the hold the US hyperscalers have on the UK cloud market.We agree [with the government] that public services are being held back and made less resilient by poor technology [and] the best way to fix the situation is to act on anti-competitive practices identified by the CMA, she said. A more competitive market will foster innovation, investment and job creation, and ultimately drive long-term value for the public sector, and for taxpayers.Computer Weekly contacted DSIT for a response to the comments made in this story, particularly about what the guidance signals about the strength of the governments commitment towards supporting homegrown cloud providers.In response, a DSIT spokesperson said the government is fully committed to fostering a competitive and resilient cloud market that supports both domestic and international providers and considers the countrys datacentre sector to be a key component of the UKs digital economy.We are actively driving growth by attracting global investment, with billions already secured for datacentre development and expansion, enhancing both infrastructure and national security, the spokesperson added.Using overseas datacentres strengthens overall resilience, and our multi-region cloud guidance gives public sector organisations the flexibility to select the best cloud hosting solutions whether thats in the UK or overseas, prioritising performance, cost and reliability while ensuring security and compliance.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is raising awareness of the potential of quantum computing in financial services to make sure they dont miss out on a huge opportunity.The financial sector is known for using huge amounts of data to improve services and, at the same time, make a profit. Naturally, finance companies in the UAE are looking very closely at how they might take advantage of quantum computing, especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai is a big financial centre, and like Abu Dhabi, invests heavily in technological innovation.According to Oswaldo Zapata, theoretical physicist and consultant for quantum computing in finance in the UAE, Abu Dhabi has made significant investments in the development of quantum computing. The Quantum Research Center [a subsidiary of the Technology Innovation Institute] is known today as one of the main research centres in the world, he says.While the research at the Quantum Research Center is not specifically applied to finance, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is aware of the future of quantum computing and has hired a leading team that has carried out research and is committed to promoting quantum computing for finance.One of its directors in particular a well-known quant named Marcos Lopez de Prado is an active participant and strong advocate for investing in a workforce that understands the transformative power of quantum computing, says Zapata.In January 2024, a technical conference dedicated to discussing current research in quantum computing for finance took place in Abu Dhabi. The conference was organised by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). This is at least the second conference of this type they have organised in recent years, says Zapata. This is an example of the degree of commitment that the UAE has to the subject.Zapata adds: Quantum computers are expected to speed up many of the most expensive computations by that, I mean computationally demanding tasks, slow and resource intensive in other words. In many sectors, experts are already trying to figure out how quantum algorithms, particularly those that can be implemented on near-term quantum computers, can help accelerate many processes. And finance is no exception.According to Zapata, quantum computing could be applied to three application areas in finance. The first is in optimising portfolios. As the number of assets that could be included in a portfolio grows, the job of optimising the mix becomes exponentially more complicated, to the point where it becomes impossible for classical computers to accomplish within a human lifetime.The second application area is in speeding up Monte Carlo simulations, which are used, for example, to predict prices. By analysing historical price movements, data analysts try to make predictions about future changes, which could give them a huge advantage in the market. Like portfolio optimisation, Monte Carlo simulations grow exponentially in complexity as the number of data points grow. Here again, quantum computing technology would give a company a big advantage.The third areas where quantum computing might be applied in financial services is machine learning. Finance companies typically have a huge amount of data to train artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. Quantum machine learning would help companies in the sector gain an advantage.There is a lot of talk about how, once they can solve practical problems, quantum computers will be able tackle many problems that cannot be solved by traditional computers. However, even if both classical computers and their quantum counterparts can solve the same problems, there are still three other scenarios where companies in the finance sector might opt for quantum, according to Zapata.The first is that even if a classical computer can find a more accurate answer than a quantum computer, the quantum machine might find a close approximation must faster. Speed is very often of the essence in financial services. The second is that in cases where a classical computer can solve a problem, it may require an exorbitantly expensive one a less costly quantum computer might do the job. And third is that a quantum computer may consume less energy.Zapata says that one of the main obstacles to exploring the use of quantum computing in finance comes from experts in other fields who are sceptical about the potential of the technology. Some people think that quantum computing is too far in the future and will never become a reality.The supremacy of quantum computers is already a reality, says Zapata. Even though, for now, they are exclusively applied to mathematical problems with no practical use, the rapid development of both hardware and software gives us good reasons to be optimistic.Moreover, most of these pessimistic arguments come from people who are still thinking in terms of algorithms that require fault-tolerant quantum computers. The fact is that today, quantum computing experts especially those in the financial sector are more focused on developing the so-called Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum [NISQ] algorithms, a hybrid approach that combines quantum and classical computing.These could become practical within the next five to 10 years. As long as research continues to show concrete results, both on the theoretical and practical fronts, theres every reason to remain optimistic.Despite being the commercial and financial capital of the UAE, Dubai has seen limited development in quantum computing, let alone its application in the financial industry. Until now, the UAE government has focused its attention on Abu Dhabi.However, the Quantum Innovation Summit, which will be held in late February 2025 in Dubai, may go a long way towards filling the gap. I believe this is an excellent initiative to take the first steps toward the adoption of quantum computing in Dubai, particularly in its bustling financial sector, says Zapata.Because of the huge amounts of data and the strong computational knowledge that experts in the financial sector already have, along with the large sums of money at stake, Zapata believes the financial sector may be the first industry to truly benefit from quantum computing. At the very least, the UAE should invest in educating people in the industry on the technology and potential applications.Im sure that when the time comes, the UAE will be at the forefront of quantum computing research for finance, says Zapata.Read more about quantum computingDoes quantum matter: Ilyas Khan, CEO of Quantinuum, discusses the quantum computing revolution. IBM plots route beyond Condor: New quantum system and classical computing hybrid forms the basis of next-gen supercomputing at IBM. Current quantum computers are prone to error. IBMs latest Heron machine uses software and hardware to get better results.

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You don't need a new Gmail app.dpa/picture alliance via Getty ImagesIm not going to lie; Gmail is under attack from some of the most sophisticated and dangerous attackers ever, thats a fact. With AI-driven hack attacks hitting the headlines and going viral, some users of the worlds most popular free email platform, boasting 2.5 billion active accounts, might be thinking the time is right to switch to a different email app. For many people, that, in my humble opinion, would be a dangerous mistake. Heres why.Gmail Is Under AttackBut So Are All Email UsersHere comes the science bit: all email users are vulnerable to sophisticated and dangerous attacks, and all email users are in the crosshairs of the attackers. OK, so not the most scientific analysis ever, but its the reality of the situation. Gmail remains high on the list of preferred targets for hackers and cybercriminals, purely because its so popular and access to a compromised Google account is such a valuable resource for threat actors of any variety. But, and its a big but, Microsofts Outlook is high on the list as well, as it can be seen as a route leading to corporate network compromise and the treasures that lay ahead. It doesnt stop there, either; whatever email platform you use, whatever your email address, whatever app is employed to handle the recipes and sending of your communications, phishing attacks will still target you and still compromise far too many victims. There are platforms that are built around the security and privacy aspect, such as Proton Mail, which I use myself, but these will still not prevent a user from clicking on a link or falling for any number of phishing scams. If switching to a different email app gives you a false sense of security, that would, in my never humble opinion, be a very dangerous thing indeed. So, what about Gmail? Just how safe is it?How Safe Is Gmail?This could come as a surprise to many people, but Gmail is actually a pretty safe email platform despite the number of attacks that target its users. Google has developed what it has called ground-breaking AI models to significantly strengthen Gmail cyber-defenses. These have included, Andy Wen, Gmails senior director of product management, said, a new large language model that we trained on phishing, malware and spam. Indeed, I am told that this large language model, using the identification of malicious patterns, has blocked 20% more spam, including phishing attacks, than before it was introduced. Another new AI Gmail protection acts a supervisor for existing defenses and, according to Wen, can instantly evaluate hundreds of threat signals when a potentially harmful message is flagged, and then deploy the most appropriate protection.But thats not all. As I reported Feb. 3, new rules for strict sender authentication protocols when sending bulk email to Gmail users, introduced by Google a year ago, have had an astonishing impact on reducing the amount of potential phishing and malware threats that make it to inboxes. Google has confirmed it saw a 65% reduction in unauthenticated emails sent to Gmail users after just six months, and over the course of the whole year, there have been 265 billion fewer unauthenticated messages sent.One organization that assists with sender authentication protocol application, EasyDMARC, told me that 77% of the 1,000 IT decision makers it queried said that Gmails policy influenced their decision to adopt DMARC and 87% supported expanding authentication requirements beyond bulk senders to further reduce phishing and spam risks. Now, if that doesnt tell you that what Gmail does impacts the entire email provider industry, for the better, then Im not sure what will.MORE FOR YOUDont Switch From Gmail, Switch Your Behavior InsteadSwitching from the Gmail app to a different email provider doesnt solve the security problem; it merely moves it from one place to another. In fact, Id argue that it is a positively dangerous thing to do if it makes you think you are now somehow immune from attack. Its not the app you need to change; its your behavior. Please read the advice from Google about avoiding being caught by phishing attacks, and take particular note of the following: Google uses advanced security to warn you about dangerous messages, unsafe content or deceptive websites. If you receive a warning, avoid clicking on links, downloading attachments or entering personal information. Even if you don't receive a warning, don't click on links, download files or enter personal info in emails, messages, web pages or pop-ups from untrustworthy or unknown providers.Listen to what Google tells you.GoogleIs Gmail perfect? Heck no. Are there reasons for not using Gmail? Heck yes. Only you can decide if Google is the company that you trust with your email. But opting to switch to another app on the basis of phishing attacks against you as a Gmail user just doesnt make much sense to me. When it comes to the phishing risk alone, Gmail is doing a great job in protecting users and should be applauded for it. Will I get hate mail and conspiracy theory accusations levied against me for saying so? Probably. But credit where credit is due, as someone who is more often reporting about the news security dangers Gmail users face, its only fair that I also report when Google is doing a good job.

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Cutting corners: To combat scalpers and ensure that genuine gamers have access to the latest graphics cards, Zotac has announced a new distribution strategy for Nvidia's highly sought-after GeForce RTX 5080 and 5090 models. The company is leveraging its Discord community to identify and reward loyal customers with the opportunity to purchase these coveted GPUs. The initiative, dubbed the "Priority Access Campaign," comes in response to the chaotic launch of Nvidia's RTX 5000 series. Since their release just over a week ago, these graphics cards have been virtually impossible for average consumers to obtain, with major retailers like Best Buy and Newegg selling out instantly. This scarcity has fueled a thriving resale market, where scalpers reportedly mark up prices to three times the retail value.Zotac aims to circumvent these issues by prioritizing active members of its online community. A Zotac employee, identified as Bryant, announced the campaign on the company's Discord server, emphasizing the company's commitment to rewarding "real gamers" rather than bots or scalpers.The selection process considers factors such as user engagement in discussions and participation in various challenges. To ensure fairness and prevent abuse, Zotac plans to use a combination of engagement metrics and a random number generator to select eligible buyers. The company has also issued a stern warning to potential scalpers, threatening to publicly expose anyone caught reselling GPUs obtained through this program.The campaign has already begun, with Zotac creating dedicated channels in its Discord server for distributing RTX 5080 models. One channel is currently hosting a raffle, allowing interested consumers to enter for a chance to purchase the GPU. Winners will be vetted based on their engagement history before being granted the opportunity to buy.While the initiative has been well-received by the Discord community, with users expressing gratitude for Zotac's efforts, the company has acknowledged its limited inventory. For the current round, only ten RTX 5080 cards are available, split between two models, with no RTX 5090 units in stock.Zotac's approach is not entirely unprecedented. Other companies, including Newegg and Nvidia itself, have previously employed raffle systems or direct sales programs to bypass scalpers during periods of high demand. As the clamor for RTX 5000 series GPUs continues, more manufacturers and retailers may adopt similar strategies to ensure fair distribution.