Secretary of StateMarco Rubiosaid Monday the Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-oldU.S. Agency for International Development,and he would move the 18% of aid and development programs that survived under the State Department.Rubio made the announcement in a post on X, in one of his relatively few public comments on what has been a historic shift away from U.S. foreign aid and development, executed by Trump political appointees at State and Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency teams.Rubio in the post thanked DOGE and our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform in foreign aid.President Donald Trumpon Jan. 20 issued an executive order directing a freeze of foreign assistance funding and a review of all of the tens of billions of dollars ofU.S. aid and development work abroad. Trump charged that much of foreign assistance was wasteful and advanced a liberal agenda.Rubios social media post Monday said that review was now officially ending, with some 5,200 of USAIDs 6,200 programs eliminated.Those programs spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States, Rubio wrote.In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping to be administered more effectively under the State Department, he said.Democratic lawmakers and others call the shutdown of congressionally funded programs illegal, saying such a move requires Congress approval.USAID supporters said the sweep of the cuts made it difficult to tell what U.S. efforts abroad the Trump administration actually supports.The patterns that are emerging is the administration does not support democracy programs, they dont support civil society they dont support NGO programs, or health or emergency response, said Andrew Natsios, the USAID administrator for Republican former President George W. Bush.So whats left? Natsios asked.A group of former U.S. diplomats, national security figures and others condemned what it said was an opaque, partisan and rushed review process and urged Congress to intervene.The facts show that life-saving programs were severely cut, putting millions of people in allied countries at risk of starvation, disease and death, while giving Russia, China and other adversaries opportunities to gain influence abroad as the U.S. retreats, the group, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, said.The Trump administration gave almost no details on which aid and development efforts abroad it spared as it mass-emailed contract terminations to aid groups and other USAID partners by the thousands within days earlier this month. The rapid pace, and the steps skipped in ending contracts, left USAID supporters challenging whether any actual program-by-program reviews had taken place.Aid groups say even some life-saving programs that Rubio and others had promised to spare are in limbo or terminated, such as those providing emergency nutritional support for starving children and drinking water for sprawling camps for families uprooted by war in Sudan.Republicans broadly have made clear they want foreign assistance that would promote a far narrower interpretation of U.S. national interests going forward.The State Department in one of multiple lawsuits it is battling over its rapid shutdown of USAID had said earlier this month it was killingmore than 90% of USAID programs. Rubio gave no explanation for why his number was lower.The dismantling of USAID that followed Trumps order upended decades of policy that humanitarian and development aid abroad advanced U.S. national security by stabilizing regions and economies, strengthening alliances and building goodwill.In the weeks after Trumps order, one of his appointees and transition team members, Pete Marocco, and Musk pulled USAID staff around the world off the job through forced leaves and firings, shut down USAID payments overnight and terminated aid and development contracts by the thousands.Contractors and staffers running efforts ranging from epidemic control to famine prevention to job and democracy training stopped work. Aid groups and other USAID partners laid off tens of thousands of their workers in the U.S. and abroad.Lawsuits say the sudden shutdown of USAID has stiffed aid groups and businesses that had contracts with it totaling billions of dollars.The shutdown has left many USAID staffers and contractors and their families still overseas, many of them awaiting back payments and travel expenses to return home.In Washington, the sometimes contradictory orders issued by the three men Rubio, Musk and Marocco overseeing the USAID cuts have left many uncertain who was calling the shots, and fueled talk of power struggles.Musk and Rubio on Monday, as Trump had last week, insisted relations between the two of them were smooth.Good working with you, Musk tweeted in response to Rubios announcement.Tough, but necessary, Musk wrote of Rubios announcement on the cuts.Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press

Teslas stock has dropped by nearly half in three months. Even so, investors are still debating whether Elon Musks electric-vehicle maker remains overpriced.The companys market capitalization has dropped 45% since hitting an all-time high of $1.5 trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the stock made after CEO Musk helped finance the election victory of U.S. President Donald Trump. The rout intensified Monday, as its shares dropped more than 15%, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 Index.And yet, Tesla continues to fetch a valuation far above those of the worlds biggest automotive and technology firms, judging by standard financial metrics. Thats because most investors and analysts have bought Musks pitch that the worlds most-valuable automaker isnt really a car company at all, but rather an artificial-intelligence pioneer that will soon unleash a revolution in robotaxis and humanoid robots.Teslas electric-vehicle business accounts for almost all of its revenue but less than a quarter of its stock-market value, according to a Reuters review of more than a dozen analyses by banks and investment firms. The bulk of its worth rests on hopes for autonomous vehicles Tesla hasnt yet delivered, despite Musks promises in every year since 2016 that driverless Teslas would arrive no later than the following year.The stocks decline since December stems from falling vehicle sales and profits; protests of Musks political activity, including his mass firings of U.S. government workers as a senior Trump advisor; and investor worries that politics are distracting the worlds richest man from tending to his cash cow. Still, Teslas market capitalization remains up about $65 billion since the election an amount higher than the entire value of General Motors.Teslas total worth of $845 billion as of Fridays close still tops the next nine most-valuable major automakers combined, which collectively sold about 44 million cars last year, compared to Teslas 1.8 million.Investors have long bet on Musks visions of Teslas tomorrow rather than its profits today. But the widening gap between its real-world performance and analysts earnings estimates for unborn products has prompted some to warn of irrational exuberance.For how much longer can the stock remain divorced from the fundamentals? JP Morgan analyst Ryan Brinkman wrote in January, after Tesla reported poor earnings and its first-ever annual vehicle-sales decline.Tesla and Musk did not respond to requests for comment. In July, Musk said investors who dont believe Tesla would solve vehicle autonomy should sell their Tesla stock.After this article was published on Monday, Tesla shares fell by more than 15%, slicing off more than $125 billion in market value, after UBS cut its forecast for the automakers first-quarter deliveries. The decline came in tandem with a broader market selloff on worries about tariffs and recession fears, with the Nasdaq was down more than 4% and the S&P 500 dropped more than 3%.Robotaxi pivotTeslas previous peak value of more than $1.2 trillion came in 2021, in response to concrete achievements. Soaring sales of its ground-breaking Model 3 and Model Y had proved that EVs could sell profitably in mass volumes. Musk vowed then that Tesla would produce even cheaper EVs and sell 20 million vehicles annually by 2030, nearly double what the worlds largest automaker, Toyota, sells now.Musk, however, shifted from the mass-volume goal last year. In April, Reuters reported Tesla had killed a long-awaited, all-new $25,000 Model 2 that investors had counted on to drive growth. Since then, Musk has pitched investors on Teslas robotaxi focus.The pivot was persuasive: Tesla shares jumped 71% from last years low in April through the November election, even as its EV sales stalled and profits fell.Then the stock nearly doubled in the weeks after Trumps election. Musk spent more than $250 million supporting Trump and now serves as his top advisor on slashing government staff and regulations.Musks political clout has convinced bullish analysts that Trump will clear regulatory roadblocks to deploying a vast fleet of Tesla robotaxis. Tesla, however, already faces little oversight from many U.S. states, which control most autonomous-vehicle regulation. Texas, where Musk promises to launch fare-collecting robotaxis by June, has barred cities from regulating them.Theres absolutely nothing stopping him from releasing this self-driving technology right now, said Gordon Johnson, chief executive of investment-advisory firm GLJ Research, which recommends shorting Teslas stock. The tech isnt road-ready, Johnson argues: If he released it tomorrow, the jig would be up. These things would be wrecking across America.Tesla has faced lawsuits and federal investigations into accidents, including fatalities, involving the driver-assistance systems it has marketed as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. The company warns consumers the systems dont make its cars autonomous and require drivers to pay strict attention. Musk has long said Teslas technology will soon be safer than a human driver.Falling sales, rising competitionThe automakers core EV business is struggling. The only vehicle Tesla has launched since the 2020 Model Y is the Cybertruck. The triangular pickup had sales of 38,965 units last year, Cox Automotive estimates, well below the 250,000 that Musk initially predicted Tesla would produce by 2025. Tesla has also cut prices on the now-aging models 3 and Y amid slowing electric-vehicle demand globally and rising competition, especially in China, where EVs start below $10,000.New data also show sharp Tesla-sales declines this year in European markets following Musks embrace of far-right political movements there.Tesla now faces headwinds from the president Musk helped elect. Trump, a frequent EV critic, has called for scrapping EV subsidies and policies that have added billions of dollars to Teslas bottom line. Musk has dismissed the impact on Tesla of losing subsidies, saying rivals would suffer more.When Tesla reported a 20% drop in annual operating profit in January, analysts on the earnings call asked no questions about Teslas financials or falling EV sales. They focused instead on Musks promises of autonomous ride-hailing in Austin, Texas, by June and a wider driverless-vehicle launch by year-end. Tesla shares rose 3% the next day.Tesla still trades at huge premiums, as measured by forward price-to-earnings ratios. The measure is used by investors to judge whether stocks are fairly valued. A high ratio suggests shares might be overpriced.Teslas forward PE ratio is more than nine times the average of the next 25 most-valuable automakers. Its quadruple that of BYD, the Chinese automaker that passed Tesla last year as the worlds top EV seller.Unlike Tesla, BYD also has a booming business in gas-electric hybrids, driving total 2024 sales to about 4.2 million units, more than double Teslas deliveries. Yet BYDs market capitalization is less than a sixth of Teslas.Teslas forward PE ratio also is more than double or triple those of tech giants Nvidia, Apple, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Amazon.com and Microsoft the other six high-flying stocks, along with Tesla, known as the Magnificent Seven.Optimistic modelsBulls discount standard financial metrics for judging Teslas potential, arguing Musk is singularly capable of leading a transportation revolution. He has said robotaxis and robots will make Tesla the most valuable company in the world by far.Brian Mulberry, client-portfolio manager at Tesla investor Zacks Investment Management, said Musk always pulls off the technology, despite long-running concerns about his mad-scientist personality.Most analyst models reviewed by Reuters remain bullish.Such models typically justify Teslas market value by breaking it into several categories: Its auto business, including services such as EV charging (now 90% of revenue); its energy-generation and storage business (10% of revenue); and three embryonic businesses: robotaxis; licensing or subscriptions for self-driving technology; and Optimus humanoid robots. Three such models in January rated EV sales as a relatively minor factor in Teslas expected growth.Truist Securities attributed just 9% of Teslas value to car sales, 21% to driverless-tech services, 17% to robotaxis and 34% to robots.Bank of Americas model attributes about half of Teslas value to robotaxis and 28% to self-driving software subscriptions.Morgan Stanley attributes 21% to robotaxis and 39% to subscriptions for autonomous-tech and other services.Tesla investor Ark Investment Management projects the stock will hit $2,600 by 2029, with robotaxis accounting for 88% of the companys value. Ark forecasts Tesla could produce millions of robotaxis by then, generating about $760 billion in annual revenue. That would be more than Walmart, the worlds largest company by revenue.Tasha Keeney, Arks director of investment analysis and institutional strategies, said she believes Tesla will achieve such growth by slashing the cost-per-mile of ride-hailing, making human drivers obsolete.Its cheaper than driving your personal car, she said. Maybe people will stop even driving.Tesla tech does not work safelyTrump could potentially clear the path for driverless cars with no steering wheels or pedals because the federal government regulates the safety of vehicle designs. Musk last October unveiled a concept car with such a configuration, the two-door Cybercab, saying it would go into production in 2026.But individual states govern autonomous-vehicle travel on public roads, limiting Trumps influence. Some states, including Texas, have few rules. Teslas largest U.S. market, California, requires extensive driverless testing under state oversight before granting robotaxi permits.A Trump move to loosen robotaxi regulation could benefit all competitors, not just Tesla. The tiny U.S. robotaxi industry, for now, is dominated by Alphabets Waymo, which operates hundreds of driverless taxis in cities including Los Angeles and Phoenix.Waymo and most other autonomous-tech developers seek to ensure safety with many overlapping technologies, including artificial intelligence, radar and lidar. Tesla aims to develop much cheaper robotaxis by relying solely on cameras and AI.Some investors doubt Tesla has found a unique path to cut-rate robotaxis. Mark Spiegel, an investment manager at Stanphyl Capital Partners, is shorting Teslas stock, an investment that pays off if shares fall.Teslas approach to robotaxis does not work safely and never will without radar and lidar, Spiegel said.And Chinas BYD said last month it would offer for free, as a standard feature a driver-assistance technology similar to the Full Self-Driving system that Tesla sells in China for more than $8,000.BYD is telling you theres no value in self-driving, said Johnson, the GLJ Research analyst. In fact, its so valueless that well give it away.Chris Kirkham, ReutersAdditional reporting by Abhirup Roy, Noel Randewich, and Geert De Clercq.

It's genius for all the wrong reasons.

MacworldiPads are a great way to introduce kids to technology, but brand-new ones are pretty expensive. If you want to get them a tablet that can play games, browse, stream, and all the basics at a fraction of the cost. This 7th Gen iPad is in near-mint condition, but it costs a whole lot less than brand new, and it even comes with Beats Headphones, a case, screen protector, stylus, and charger.With a 10.2-inch Retina display, this iPad is perfect for watching videos, drawing, or tackling schoolwork. The A10 Fusion chip keeps everything running smoothly, whether theyre gaming or switching between apps, and 32GB of storage gives them plenty of space for their favorite stuff. Plus, with up to 10 hours of battery life, they wont have to hunt for a charger every few hours.And dont forget the Beats Flex Wireless Headphones. These Bluetooth earbuds sound great, feel comfortable, and wont get tangled up like regular wired ones. They even have magnetic earbuds that automatically pause the music when clipped together. With up to 12 hours of battery life, they can jam out all day.Since this bundle comes with a case, stylus, screen protector, and charger, youre getting everything in one go. Whether its for school, entertainment, or just having fun, this refurbished iPad and Beats combo is a sweet deal that wont break the bank.Get a 7th Gen iPad with Beats Flex Headphones and more accessories for just $174.99.Apple iPad 7th Gen (2019) 32GB WiFi Space Gray (Refurbished) with Beats Flex Headphones Bundle $174.99See DealStackSocial prices subject to change.

Understanding videos with AI requires handling sequences of images efficiently. A major challenge in current video-based AI models is their inability to process videos as a continuous flow, missing important motion details and disrupting continuity. This lack of temporal modeling prevents tracing changes; therefore, events and interactions are partially unknown. Long videos also make the process difficult, with high computational expenses and requiring techniques like frame skipping, which loses valuable information and reduces accuracy. Overlap among data within frames also does not compress well, resulting in redundancy and wastage of resources.Currently, video-language models treat videos as static frame sequences with image encoders and vision-language projectors, which is challenging to represent motion and continuity. Language models have to infer temporal relations independently, resulting in partial comprehension. Subsampling of frames reduces the computational load at the expense of removing useful details, affecting accuracy. Token reduction methods like recursive KV cache compression and frame selection add complexity without yielding much improvement. Though advanced video encoders and pooling methods assist, they remain inefficient and not scalable, rendering long-video processing computationally intensive.To address these challenges, researchers from NVIDIA, Rutgers University, UC Berkeley, MIT, Nanjing University, and KAIST proposed STORM (Spatiotemporal Token Reduction for Multimodal LLMs), a Mamba-based temporal projector architecture for efficient processing of long videos. Unlike traditional methods, where temporal relations are inferred separately on each video frame, and language models are utilized for inferring the temporal relations, STORM adds temporal information at the video tokens level to eliminate computation redundancy and enhance efficiency. The model improves video representations with a bidirectional spatiotemporal scanning mechanism while mitigating the burden of temporal reasoning from the LLM.The framework uses Mamba layers to enhance temporal modeling, incorporating a bidirectional scanning module to capture dependencies across spatial and temporal dimensions. The temporal encoder processes the image and video inputs differently, acting as a spatial scanner for images to integrate global spatial context and as a spatiotemporal scanner for videos to capture temporal dynamics. During training, token compression techniques improved computational efficiency while maintaining essential information, allowing inference on a single GPU. Training-free token subsampling at test time reduced computational burdens further while retaining important temporal details. This technique facilitated efficient processing of long videos without requiring specialized equipment or deep adaptations.Experiments were conducted to evaluate the STORM model for video understanding. Training was performed using pre-trained SigLIP models, with a temporal projector introduced through random initialization. The process involved two stages: an alignment stage, where the image encoder and LLM were frozen while only the temporal projector was trained using image-text pairs, and a supervised fine-tuning stage (SFT) with a diverse dataset of 12.5 million samples, including text, image-text, and video-text data. Token compression methods, including temporal and spatial pooling, decreased computational burden. The last model was evaluated on long-video benchmarks such as EgoSchema, MVBench, MLVU, LongVideoBench, and VideoMME, with the performance being compared with other video LLMs.Upon evaluation, STORM outperformed existing models, achieving state-of-the-art results on benchmarks. The Mamba module improved efficiency by compressing visual tokens while retaining key information, reducing inference time by up to 65.5%. Temporal pooling worked best on long videos, optimizing performance with few tokens. STORM also performed greatly better than the baseline VILA model, particularly in tasks that involved understanding the global context. Results verified the significance of Mamba for optimized token compression, with performance boosts rising along with the video length from 8 to 128 frames.In summary, the proposed STORM model improved long-video understanding using a Mamba-based temporal encoder and efficient token reduction. It enabled strong compression without losing key temporal information, recording state-of-the-art performance on long-video benchmarks while keeping computation low. The method can act as a baseline for future research, facilitating innovation in token compression, multimodal alignment, and real-world deployment to improve video-language model accuracy and efficiency.Check outthe Paper.All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,feel free to follow us onTwitterand dont forget to join our80k+ ML SubReddit. Divyesh Vitthal JawkhedeDivyesh is a consulting intern at Marktechpost. He is pursuing a BTech in Agricultural and Food Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He is a Data Science and Machine learning enthusiast who wants to integrate these leading technologies into the agricultural domain and solve challenges.Divyesh Vitthal Jawkhedehttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/divyesh-jawkhede/Revolutionizing Code Generation: CODEs Single-Step Approach to Multi-Turn FeedbackDivyesh Vitthal Jawkhedehttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/divyesh-jawkhede/Researchers from AMLab and CuspAI Introduced Erwin: A Tree-based Hierarchical Transformer for Large-scale Physical SystemsDivyesh Vitthal Jawkhedehttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/divyesh-jawkhede/Beyond Monte Carlo Tree Search: Unleashing Implicit Chess Strategies with Discrete DiffusionDivyesh Vitthal Jawkhedehttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/divyesh-jawkhede/Accelerating AI: How Distilled Reasoners Scale Inference Compute for Faster, Smarter LLMs Parlant: Build Reliable AI Customer Facing Agents with LLMs (Promoted)

Although The Wheel of Time is filled with antagonists in the form of Darkfriends, Black Ajah, and even the oppressive Seanchan and Whitecloaks, its true big bads are the Forsaken, powerful channelers whose bond with the Dark One allows them to live from one Age to the next. Because they are disproportionately more powerful than the Aes Sedai of the present, they may appear invincible, but our chat with showrunner Rafe Judkins and actors Rosamund Pike and Natasha OKeeffe reveals a possible means of defeat in season 3 and beyond.Judkins teases that the answer might lie in the increasingly unstable relationship between the Forsaken, especially as each one awakens with their own agenda. Its really one of the fun things to see: these variations of evil thrown up against each other, he says. Can they work together? Do they work more against each other than they do with each other? All of that, I think, is such an exciting flavor in the books, and its really fun when you get to see it come to life on the show.Although Ishamael, the first Forsaken introduced in The Wheel of Time, was defeated at the end of season 2, Lanfear, who has a soft spot for The Dragon she is meant to conquer, is very much still around, and Judkins characterization of her is interesting to say the least. I actually think Lanfear, for all of her evil misdeeds, is probably one of the kinder, more human of the Forsaken, he says.Moiraine, according to Pike who plays the Aes Sedai protector, thinks that kindness might be exploitable. What Moiraine knows about Lanfear is that she loved the Dragon historically, and theres allure for her in Rand thats romantic, she says. And perhaps thats the thing thats going to keep him safe. I think she feels she wont kill him.Because of this common need to protect Rand, Lanfear and Moiraine often find themselves cooperating, though with different methodology. Says OKeeffe, who plays Lanfear, Its a really interesting match. These two happen to become somewhat comrades with one another, seeing as they really dont like each other. But they have to find a way to work together.Pike is fully aware that her character is playing with fire by consorting with the enemy in The Wheel of Time. Shes playing a high stakes game, and it nearly goes very, very wrong, she says. Is this the threads of the Pattern leading her into the path of Lanfear? It definitely seems as the season goes on that their destinies are somehow intertwined.Judkins clarifies that the back-and-forth between Moiraine and Lanfear in The Wheel of Time season 3 will go well beyond the fate of the Dragon Reborn. They have a very important relationship to each other outside of just what happens with Rand, he says. I think its one of the more fun parts of this season is getting to see that relationship be expanded upon.Weve already had a peek at the Forsaken known as Moghedien at the end of The Wheel of Time season 2, and with more on the way (Sammael perhaps?), Moiraines association with Lanfear might be an important ingredient in combatting more powerful foes. As Pike puts it, Moiraine is taking a big risk in forming an alliance with Lanfear, but perhaps to have Lanfear close is better than risking Rand potentially falling into the path of any of the other Forsaken.Judkins is very clear that Moghedien, Sammael, and whoever else might show up in The Wheel of Time season 3 and beyond will not be nearly as level-headed as Lanfear. Some of the people well meet this season are truly deeply psychotic, he says. Each of the Forsaken is so different from one another and so different in how they approach the world. Fans should consider themselves warned!The Wheel of Time season 3 premieres on Prime Video on March 13, 2025.

Mar 11, 2025Ravie LakshmananCyber Espionage / Maritime SecurityMaritime and logistics companies in South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa have become the target of an advanced persistent threat (APT) group dubbed SideWinder.The attacks, observed by Kaspersky in 2024, spread across Bangladesh, Cambodia, Djibouti, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. Other targets of interest include nuclear power plants and nuclear energy infrastructure in South Asia and Africa, as well as telecommunication, consulting, IT service companies, real estate agencies, and hotels.In what appears to be a wider expansion of its victimology footprint, SideWinder has also targeted diplomatic entities in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bulgaria, China, India, the Maldives, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Uganda. The targeting of India is significant as the threat actor was previously suspected to be of Indian origin."It is worth noting that SideWinder constantly works to improve its toolsets, stay ahead of security software detections, extend persistence on compromised networks, and hide its presence on infected systems," researchers Giampaolo Dedola and Vasily Berdnikov said, describing it as a "highly advanced and dangerous adversary."SideWinder was previously the subject of an extensive analysis by the Russian cybersecurity company in October 2024, documenting the threat actor's use of a modular post-exploitation toolkit called StealerBot to capture a wide range of sensitive information from compromised hosts. The hacking group's targeting of the maritime sector was also highlighted by BlackBerry in July 2024.The latest attack chains align with what has been reported before, with the spear-phishing emails acting as a conduit to deliver booby-trapped documents that leveraged a known security vulnerability in Microsoft Office Equation Editor (CVE-2017-11882) in order to activate a multi-stage sequence, which in turn, employs a .NET downloader named ModuleInstaller to ultimately launch StealerBot.Kaspersky said some of the lure documents are related to nuclear power plants and nuclear energy agencies, while others included content referencing maritime infrastructures and various port authorities."They are constantly monitoring detections of their toolset by security solutions," Kaspersky said. "Once their tools are identified, they respond by generating a new and modified version of the malware, often in under five hours.""If behavioral detections occur, SideWinder tries to change the techniques used to maintain persistence and load components. Additionally, they change the names and paths of their malicious files."Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

Mar 11, 2025Ravie LakshmananICS Security / VulnerabilityTaiwanese company Moxa has released a security update to address a critical security flaw impacting its PT switches that could permit an attacker to bypass authentication guarantees.The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-12297, has been assigned a CVSS v4 score of 9.2 out of a maximum of 10.0."Multiple Moxa PT switches are vulnerable to an authentication bypass because of flaws in their authorization mechanism," the company said in an advisory released last week."Despite client-side and back-end server verification, attackers can exploit weaknesses in its implementation. This vulnerability may enable brute-force attacks to guess valid credentials or MD5 collision attacks to forge authentication hashes, potentially compromising the security of the device."Successful exploitation of the shortcoming, in other words, could lead to an authentication bypass and allow an attacker to gain unauthorized access to sensitive configurations or disrupt services.The flaw impacts the following versions -PT-508 Series (Firmware version 3.8 and earlier)PT-510 Series (Firmware version 3.8 and earlier)PT-7528 Series (Firmware version 5.0 and earlier)PT-7728 Series (Firmware version 3.9 and earlier)PT-7828 Series (Firmware version 4.0 and earlier)PT-G503 Series (Firmware version 5.3 and earlier)PT-G510 Series (Firmware version 6.5 and earlier)PT-G7728 Series (Firmware version 6.5 and earlier), andPT-G7828 Series (Firmware version 6.5 and earlier)Patches for the vulnerability can be obtained by contacting the Moxa Technical Support team. The company credited Artem Turyshev from Moscow-based Rosatom Automated Control Systems (RASU) for reporting the vulnerability.Outside apply the latest fixes, companies using the affected products are recommended to restrict network access using firewalls or access control lists (ACLs), enforce network segmentation, minimize direct exposure to the internet, implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for accessing critical systems, enable event logging, and monitor network traffic and device behavior for unusual activities.It's worth noting that Moxa resolved the same vulnerability in the Ethernet switch EDS-508A Series, running firmware version 3.11 and earlier, back in mid-January 2025.The development comes a little over two months after Moxa rolled out patches for two security vulnerabilities impacting its cellular routers, secure routers, and network security appliances (CVE-2024-9138 and CVE-2024-9140) that could allow privilege escalation and command execution.Last month, it also addressed multiple high-severity flaws affecting various switches (CVE-2024-7695, CVE-2024-9404, and CVE-2024-9137) that could result in a denial-of-service (DoS) attack, or command execution.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

Legislation would see government dictate which types of applications can be determined by councillorsThe role of council planning committees will be curtailed and a new strategic planning system instituted across England under legislation introduced to parliament today.The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will introduce a national scheme of delegation, previously mooted by the government, which would set out which types of applications should be determined by planning officers and which should go to committee. Housing secretaryAngela Rayner has previously pledged toallow planning officers to approve applications without permission from committeesof councillors if they comply with local plans and the National Planning Policy Framework.Source: MHCLG / FlickrThe scheme would also set out controls over the size of planning committees, mandate training for committee members, and empower councils to set their own planning fees to invest in the over-stretched system.In addition, the bill will mandate a system of spatial development strategies, which will introduce strategic planning across England with multiple local planning authorities working together to meet development and infrastructure needs.These plans will be produced by regional mayors, or in some cases by local authorities.Were creating the biggest building boom in a generation - as a major step forward in getting Britain building again and unleashing economic growth in every corner of the country, by lifting the bureaucratic burden which has been holding back developments for too long, said Angela Rayner, secretary of state in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will unleash seismic reforms to help builders get shovels in the ground quicker to build more homes, and the vital infrastructure we need to improve transport links and make Britain a clean energy superpower to protect billpayers.The legislation also sets out plans for a Nature Restoration Fund, which it claims will ensure builders meet their environmental obligations more efficiently by pooling contributions to fund larger interventions.Compulsory purchase rules will also be reformed by the bill in order to speed up the process of using directions to remove hope value the value attributed to the prospect of planning permission being granted for alternative development where justified in the public interest.It also sets out enhanced powers for development corporations in order to facilitate the governments new town plans, as well as reforms to the National Significant Infrastructure Projects regime to streamline the planning process for large infrastructure projects.According to the government, its planned reforms will mean that meritless cases against major infrastructure projects will only have one opportunity for legal challenge, rather than three.The bill includes further changes aimed at bringing forward approved clean energy projects and give forestry authorities powers to bring forward development proposals for clean energy schemes on land they manage.