Ravi Kunju, Chief Product and Strategy Officer, AltairMay 16, 20254 Min ReadZoonar GmbH via Alamy StockCIOs looking to propel digital transformation face a daunting task. They need to harness the power of data analytics and artificial intelligence. They need to empower their employees and serve their customers with the best software tools, compute resources, data infrastructure, and more. Yet to achieve this, CIOs need to navigate a ballooning budget and technology partners who might be hiking prices without giving you more features. A recent Forrester report found that nearly 80% of US organizations reported increases in software costs over the past year. Moreover, 4 in 5 tech leaders said they anticipated their organization’s adoption of generative AI will increase software costs. Prices are going up.  Instead of cutting the technology offered, CIO should explore changing their software licensing to improve their bottom line. Though the board might not get excited about licensing changes, they should. Complex agreements, the wrong licensing models cost an organization dearly -- both financially and technologically.  At the enterprise level, new types of models are emerging that could improve a company’s bottom line, including one that mimics a library system. They’re challenging the traditional per-seat model and could be the future of software licensing.  Related:Traditional Per-Seat Software Licensing for the Right Tools The per seat model, or named user licensing, has its benefits. For instance, when you have a limited set of people who need specific tools, or where there can be individualized attributes or access controls, like an enterprise resource planning system or customer relationship management software. However, there is risk in extending similar models into other domains like engineering simulation. An engineer and their team solving complex problems and running virtual simulations on computers are using several tools, all for different purposes, stages of design, and use cases. The Office of the CFO isn’t using one spreadsheet app -- they’re using CRMs, databases, accounting, and budgeting tools, etc.  And the company’s needs go beyond software. Your organization needs hardware: cloud resources, high-performance computing (HPC) power, mainframes, and beyond.  For the wrong tools, named user licensing can be like owning a car that’s always left running, or it can cause traffic jams for projects if only one person has access to a specific software.  Token-Based Systems Make It Easier to Track Usage Consumption licensing models -- where everyone draws from a shared, but finite “tank” of resources (“fuel,” such as tokens or credits) -- can be an improvement. They house resources under a single licensing framework and allow different user personas to navigate between tools as needed. They also give organizations more insight into costs and usage (since they can see when the tank is getting low). This is a popular cloud licensing model, though the technology is also seeing continued inflation costs.    Related:But the tank for consumption models can run dry very fast. When it’s empty, you have to pay for more fuel. Plus, having that tank isn’t always helpful for controlling costs. What if someone accidentally runs a compute job overnight that uses all your fuel? You can’t get it back -- you have to buy more and hope it doesn’t happen again. There’s never a guarantee you won’t overshoot your budget. Value-Based Models are Interesting, but Subjective Value-based licensing is a relatively newer software licensing concept aligned with business outcomes. The idea is that the cost of the software is based purely on the benefits to the end customer. These models are well-suited for solutions that can easily quantify business benefits; however, these can be subjective and hard to implement and scale. They can also extend the sales cycle and make every transaction unique (and potentially contentious).  Related:A Library Model Combines Other Emergent Licensing Trends Growing in popularity is the flexible-hybrid model, which combines consumption-based and value-based licensing with a predetermined capacity commitment that can’t be exceeded.  It’s like a community e-library, wherein a variety of books can be checked out when needed and checked back in when not in use. In this example, the flexible-hybrid model would work by making certain books available to a team to check out. The only determination then is how many books each team member will borrow at once.  With flexible-hybrid models, CIOs can often get the best of everything: software/hardware resources in a single, shared environment, seamless access to tools/resources when and how you need them, and a brake that prevents runaway costs.  Research from ITAM found that more than 76% of organizations considered themselves “over-licensed.” These emerging software licensing models could fix that number. However, we’ll only see it take off if CIOs start critically evaluating their licensing models and asking their vendors for the flexible-hybrid approach. While AI tops the list of many business leaders’ priorities right now, making sure to secure AI tools that everyone can use, and within budget, should be up there, too.  About the AuthorRavi Kunju Chief Product and Strategy Officer, AltairRavi Kunju is responsible for the strategy and vision of Altair products, which includes facilitating the development, sales, pricing, and marketing of Altair’s solutions for multiple industry verticals, across all business lines. Previously, Kunju held several leadership roles at Altair including vice president of business strategy for Altair’s manufacturing solutions, vice president of strategy for enterprise computing, managing director of enterprise computing for the Americas, and managing director of the U.S. North Central region. Prior to joining Altair, Kunju was a project engineer at Ford Motor Company and a structural analyst at Chrysler Corporation.See more from Ravi KunjuWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

Forward-thinking businesses – and even nations – are upskilling mid-career professionals to help them not only survive but prosper in the era of widespread enterprise artificial intelligence (AI). As businesses and public sector organisations adopt AI at a lightning pace, white-collar professions face huge disruption, not unlike that experienced by nineteenth century blue-collar workers. According to research by OpenAI and the University of Pennsylvania, roles that will be affected include accountants, legal assistants, financial analysts, journalists, translators and public relations professionals. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs published figures in March 2023 that spoke of 300 million jobs exposed to AI across all sectors. Although it’s a concept dating back decades, the widespread take-up of generative AI (GenAI) began around 2022 with the release of ChatGPT. It was a wake-up call for governments and businesses alike, which must prepare for inevitable disruption. According to Tram Anh Nguyen, co-founder of the centre for finance, technology and entrepreneurship (CFTE), people over the age of 40 in mid-career professional roles are the most at risk of major job disruption as businesses integrate AI into their operations. CFTE is a global education platform that specialises in training in the finance sector, including teaching AI in finance. Nguyen, who is also Global Women in AI chair, spent decades working in the finance sector in business roles, said: “AI is no longer a future concept. It’s here and it’s affecting everyone at every level.” But this does not mean professionals will be replaced if they are re-trained – and this does not just mean technical training. Training on AI for non-technical roles will encompass professionals learning underlying knowledge about AI, the AI tools available to them and the use cases for AI in their roles, said Nguyen. In its whitepaper titled The AI-fication of talents, CFTE said three groups of professionals will emerge. It reported that there will be: “mass displacement” of roles centred on execution which will be increasingly automated; “supercharged professionals” will emerge who use AI to expand scope and scale; while “creative disruptors” will be small group inventing new models, products and systems. Nguyen warned that the UK is behind in readying the workforce for AI. “We are not preparing people in the right way because the focus is not on adult education at scale,” she told Computer Weekly. She cited a project in Singapore which CFTE helped to design. It involves supporting mid-career transitions, particularly focusing on technology and finance sectors, while providing financial support to help people switching careers. All Singaporeans aged 40 and above received funds to refresh their skills, with a large proportion taking up IT-related courses in areas including artificial intelligence. Around 555,000 people participated in programmes supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) in 2024 and 520,000 in 2023, according to Singapore newspaper The Straits Times. These are significant numbers for Singapore, which has a population of around six million, but the same challenge is faced globally. One sector being heavily affected is financial services, which leads the way in AI innovation and investment. For example, Bloomberg Intelligence recently put the number of jobs set to be replaced by AI in the US finance sector – Wall Street specifically – at hundreds of thousands. CIOs questioned by the organisation expected 3% of their workforce to be cut on average. Around a quarter of respondents expect the workforce to be cut by between 5% and 10% as AI takes over roles, with the back and middle offices to be most affected. According to research by banking industry benchmarking firm Evident, AI-related roles could be the only “safe jobs” in the banking sector as financial organisations “relentlessly” press on with AI-led transformation. It’s banking industry report found that recruitment of AI development professionals grew by 6% in the last year, hiring of data engineers increased by 14%, and the number of AI and software implementation experts hired increased by 42%. But while the finance sector finds itself on the front-line of the AI revolution, the technology’s rapid spread goes way beyond. Bloomberg’s head of AI, Amanda Stent, recently told Computer Weekly in an interview that there has been “no revolution in history that has not led to job transformation”. “Some types of job change, some types of job go away,” they added. “But there’s also no revolution in history that hasn’t led to more jobs created overall, I think that is true with AI, which will augment a lot of people.” Stent said all workers, regardless of their roles, will have to learn to use AI: “We can teach people how to be effective users of AI without needing to know all that maths.” The legal sector is an example of a traditional industry adapting to AI. The UK regulator of solicitors, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, recently authorised the first law firm to provide legal services purely through AI. Mark Lewis, a lawyer at Stephenson Hardwood, specialised in technology, said most, “if not virtually all, serious law firms” are deploying AI and GenAI operationally. “Typical use cases include document review, analysis and summarisation, legal research, case research and predicting the outcomes of cases, reviewing and reporting on the application of regulations around the world, and, of course, in law firm back-office operations – for example, in client due diligence and acceptance.” But he added that AI is not “yet” causing “major disruption” in the legal sector: “As with talk of AI disrupting many sectors, including doing away with the work now done by paralegals, junior lawyers, and even senior lawyers, this hasn’t really happened yet in the legal markets here – or, I think, anywhere. “There is a good deal of the usual tech hype about it. No doubt AI will become integral to legal process and lawyering at all levels, but, as in many other sectors, even that is going to take time and the maturing of legal use cases.” He said firms are, however, preparing for the impact of AI: “We, like many firms, have made available to all our lawyers GenAI tools developed specifically for us, to be used within certain parameters and in accordance with our AI/GenAI policies. “We want our lawyers to use these GenAI tools, to become accustomed to the way it processes work, to understand its strengths and limitations, and to become expert in creating and refining prompts. “For me, there is an even more important – existential – point: the single biggest challenge is how we as a society learn to understand, live and work with AI. It should start as early as possible and continue through our lives.” In the IT sector, AI is a huge business opportunity, but the technology is also transforming how suppliers operate. Workers in the IT sector will also have to learn to work with AI. Amrinder Singh, head of EMEA and APAC operations at Indian IT services firm Hexaware, told Computer Weekly that all the company’s staff, around 30,000, will be trained how to harness AI. He put it in startling terms the risks to workers that are not trained up. “We said that there is no future for single-skilled people,” he said. “Unless you are multi-skilled with domain understanding, as well as understanding how to use AI and technology, you will not survive.” Read more about GenAI

MX3D, an Amsterdam-based company specializing in robotic metal 3D printing using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), has secured €7 million in a Series A funding round. The investment will support international deployment of its M1 Metal AM System and Print-on-Demand services. The round was led by EDF Pulse Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of French utility company EDF, with participation from ING Sustainable Investments and the Dutch impact investment fund PDENH. 3DPI is the first choice for AM professionals. Please help us understand how we can help you better. Take the reader survey now. The M1 system developed by the Dutch firm allows manufacturers to produce large-scale, high-value metal parts in-house. The process uses WAAM to deposit metal layer by layer, reducing material waste by over 80% compared to traditional methods such as casting and forging. MX3D is active in the energy, maritime, and aerospace industries and has delivered systems or services to clients including BMW Group, Framatome, and the U.S. Army. To meet increasing demand, the company is expanding its production capacity at its Amsterdam headquarters. A new hall equipped with six additional WAAM systems will raise the total to 15, including several machines reserved for material innovation and development of the company’s proprietary MetalXL software. The new systems are capable of printing up to 20 tonnes of metal components. MX3D’s M1 Metal AM System shown in multi-unit configuration. Image via MX3D. As part of its international strategy, the 3D printing developer has entered a partnership with Phillips Corporation to target U.S. federal clients. This is part of a broader commercial effort to grow its international sales network through localized partners. The company recently achieved ISO 9001 certification and passed an API 20S audit conducted by two oil and gas corporations, reinforcing its eligibility for mission-critical applications. Framatome, a global supplier of nuclear steam supply systems and nuclear fuel, was among the first companies to adopt MX3D’s technology. Framatone  has collaborated with the Amsterdam-based company for three years to validate WAAM for nuclear manufacturing. Mohamed Zouari, Senior Manager and Head of Framatome’s Advanced & Additive Manufacturing unit, stated: “Over the past three years, we have been closely collaborating with MX3D to develop and validate the robotic metal 3D printing for our nuclear applications. MX3D technology has consistently demonstrated the reliable, repeatable, quality, performance, and flexibility that are necessary to meet our high standard requirements.” Gijs van der Velden, CEO and co-founder of MX3D, confirmed that the new capital will be used to expand operations and reach new markets. “We’re thrilled to have the support of such a strong consortium of investors as we enter this next growth phase,” van der Velden said. “This investment will enable us to scale up our operations, further develop our technology, and bring the benefits of robotic metal 3D printing to even more industries worldwide.” MX3D’s WAAM robotic arm printing a large-scale metal component. Photo via MX3D. EDF’s Chief Innovation Officer Julien Villeret emphasized the environmental rationale behind the investment. “EDF Pulse Ventures’ investment in MX3D demonstrates our commitment to fostering breakthrough technologies that support a carbon-neutral future,” Villeret said. “At EDF, we see several advantages to using metal additive manufacturing in our industry, including cost and lead time gains. That is why we are proud to contribute to MX3D global scaling.” PDENH (Participatiefonds Duurzame Economie Noord-Holland), which first invested in the WAAM specialist at the pre-seed stage, has continued to support the company through all funding rounds. The fund targets ventures in the energy transition and circular economy and has invested over €70 million in sustainable technologies since 2014. ING Sustainable Investments, a €500 million fund managed by ING Group, focuses on companies with demonstrable environmental impact and joined MX3D’s investor base in this latest round. As part of the funding agreement, Michel Hunsicker of EDF Pulse Ventures and Tibor van Melsem Kocsis of PDENH will join MX3D’s board of directors. Both bring backgrounds in advanced manufacturing, sustainability investment, and venture capital. MX3D CEO Gijs van der Velden. Photo via MX3D. Established in 2014 by Joris Laarman, Anita Star, Tim Geurtjens, and Gijs van der Velden, the company emerged from a research initiative within the Joris Laarman Lab. The founding team sought to scale 3D printing technologies for full-scale industrial use. The metal additive manufacturing company is known for fabricating the world’s first 3D printed stainless steel bridge in Amsterdam using WAAM. Its work has earned international recognition, including the STARTS Prize from the European Commission in 2018 and the American Welding Society’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2024. Ready to discover who won the 20243D Printing Industry Awards? Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to stay updated with the latest news and insights. Featured image showcase MX3D’s M1 Metal AM System in multi-unit configuration. Image via MX3D. Anyer Tenorio Lara Anyer Tenorio Lara is an emerging tech journalist passionate about uncovering the latest advances in technology and innovation. With a sharp eye for detail and a talent for storytelling, Anyer has quickly made a name for himself in the tech community. Anyer's articles aim to make complex subjects accessible and engaging for a broad audience. In addition to his writing, Anyer enjoys participating in industry events and discussions, eager to learn and share knowledge in the dynamic world of technology.

Ravi Kunju, Chief Product and Strategy Officer, AltairMay 16, 20254 Min ReadZoonar GmbH via Alamy StockCIOs looking to propel digital transformation face a daunting task. They need to harness the power of data analytics and artificial intelligence. They need to empower their employees and serve their customers with the best software tools, compute resources, data infrastructure, and more. Yet to achieve this, CIOs need to navigate a ballooning budget and technology partners who might be hiking prices without giving you more features. A recent Forrester report found that nearly 80% of US organizations reported increases in software costs over the past year. Moreover, 4 in 5 tech leaders said they anticipated their organization’s adoption of generative AI will increase software costs. Prices are going up.  Instead of cutting the technology offered, CIO should explore changing their software licensing to improve their bottom line. Though the board might not get excited about licensing changes, they should. Complex agreements, the wrong licensing models cost an organization dearly -- both financially and technologically.  At the enterprise level, new types of models are emerging that could improve a company’s bottom line, including one that mimics a library system. They’re challenging the traditional per-seat model and could be the future of software licensing.  Related:Traditional Per-Seat Software Licensing for the Right Tools The per seat model, or named user licensing, has its benefits. For instance, when you have a limited set of people who need specific tools, or where there can be individualized attributes or access controls, like an enterprise resource planning system or customer relationship management software. However, there is risk in extending similar models into other domains like engineering simulation. An engineer and their team solving complex problems and running virtual simulations on computers are using several tools, all for different purposes, stages of design, and use cases. The Office of the CFO isn’t using one spreadsheet app -- they’re using CRMs, databases, accounting, and budgeting tools, etc.  And the company’s needs go beyond software. Your organization needs hardware: cloud resources, high-performance computing (HPC) power, mainframes, and beyond.  For the wrong tools, named user licensing can be like owning a car that’s always left running, or it can cause traffic jams for projects if only one person has access to a specific software.  Token-Based Systems Make It Easier to Track Usage Consumption licensing models -- where everyone draws from a shared, but finite “tank” of resources (“fuel,” such as tokens or credits) -- can be an improvement. They house resources under a single licensing framework and allow different user personas to navigate between tools as needed. They also give organizations more insight into costs and usage (since they can see when the tank is getting low). This is a popular cloud licensing model, though the technology is also seeing continued inflation costs.    Related:But the tank for consumption models can run dry very fast. When it’s empty, you have to pay for more fuel. Plus, having that tank isn’t always helpful for controlling costs. What if someone accidentally runs a compute job overnight that uses all your fuel? You can’t get it back -- you have to buy more and hope it doesn’t happen again. There’s never a guarantee you won’t overshoot your budget. Value-Based Models are Interesting, but Subjective Value-based licensing is a relatively newer software licensing concept aligned with business outcomes. The idea is that the cost of the software is based purely on the benefits to the end customer. These models are well-suited for solutions that can easily quantify business benefits; however, these can be subjective and hard to implement and scale. They can also extend the sales cycle and make every transaction unique (and potentially contentious).  Related:A Library Model Combines Other Emergent Licensing Trends Growing in popularity is the flexible-hybrid model, which combines consumption-based and value-based licensing with a predetermined capacity commitment that can’t be exceeded.  It’s like a community e-library, wherein a variety of books can be checked out when needed and checked back in when not in use. In this example, the flexible-hybrid model would work by making certain books available to a team to check out. The only determination then is how many books each team member will borrow at once.  With flexible-hybrid models, CIOs can often get the best of everything: software/hardware resources in a single, shared environment, seamless access to tools/resources when and how you need them, and a brake that prevents runaway costs.  Research from ITAM found that more than 76% of organizations considered themselves “over-licensed.” These emerging software licensing models could fix that number. However, we’ll only see it take off if CIOs start critically evaluating their licensing models and asking their vendors for the flexible-hybrid approach. While AI tops the list of many business leaders’ priorities right now, making sure to secure AI tools that everyone can use, and within budget, should be up there, too.  About the AuthorRavi Kunju Chief Product and Strategy Officer, AltairRavi Kunju is responsible for the strategy and vision of Altair products, which includes facilitating the development, sales, pricing, and marketing of Altair’s solutions for multiple industry verticals, across all business lines. Previously, Kunju held several leadership roles at Altair including vice president of business strategy for Altair’s manufacturing solutions, vice president of strategy for enterprise computing, managing director of enterprise computing for the Americas, and managing director of the U.S. North Central region. Prior to joining Altair, Kunju was a project engineer at Ford Motor Company and a structural analyst at Chrysler Corporation.See more from Ravi KunjuWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

May 16, 2025The Hacker NewsZero Trust / Data Protection Data is the lifeblood of productivity, and protecting sensitive data is more critical than ever. With cyber threats evolving rapidly and data privacy regulations tightening, organizations must stay vigilant and proactive to safeguard their most valuable assets. But how do you build an effective data protection framework? In this article, we'll explore data protection best practices from meeting compliance requirements to streamlining day-to-day operations. Whether you're securing a small business or a large enterprise, these top strategies will help you build a strong defense against breaches and keep your sensitive data safe. 1. Define your data goals When tackling any data protection project, the first step is always to understand the outcome you want. First, understand what data you need to protect. Identify your crown jewel data, and where you THINK it lives. (It's probably more distributed than you expect, but this is a key step to help you define your protection focus.) Work with business owners to find any data outside the typical scope that you need to secure. This is all to answer the question: "What data would hurt the company if it were breached?" Second, work with the C-suit and board of directors to define what your data protection program will look like. Understand your budget, your risk tolerance to data loss, and what resources you have (or may need). Define how aggressive your protection program will be so you can balance risk and productivity. All organizations need to strike a balance between the two. 2. Automate data classification Next, begin your data classification journey—that is, find your data and catalog it. This is often the most difficult step in the journey, as organizations create new data all the time. Your first instinct may be to try to keep up with all your data, but this may be a fool's errand. The key to success is to have classification capabilities everywhere data moves (endpoint, inline, cloud), and rely on your DLP policy to jump in when risk arises. (More on this later.) Automation in data classification is becoming a lifesaver thanks to the power of AI. AI-powered classification can be faster and more accurate than traditional ways of classifying data with DLP. Ensure any solution you are evaluating can use AI to instantly uncover and discover data without human input. 3. Focus on zero trust security for access control Adopting a zero trust architecture is crucial for modern data protection strategies to be effective. Based on the maxim "never trust, always verify," zero trust assumes security threats can come from inside or outside your network. Every access request is authenticated and authorized, greatly reducing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches. Look for a zero trust solution that emphasizes the importance of least-privileged access control between users and apps. With this approach, users never access the network, reducing the ability for threats to move laterally and propagate to other entities and data on the network. The principle of least privilege ensures that users have only the access they need for their roles, reducing the attack surface. 4. Centralize DLP for consistent alerting Data loss prevention (DLP) technology is the core of any data protection program. That said, keep in mind that DLP is only a subset of a larger data protection solution. DLP enables the classification of data (along with AI) to ensure you can accurately find sensitive data. Ensure your DLP engine can consistently alert correctly on the same piece of data across devices, networks, and clouds. The best way to ensure this is to embrace a centralized DLP engine that can cover all channels at once. Avoid point products that bring their own DLP engine (endpoint, network, CASB), as this can lead to multiple alerts on one piece of moving data, slowing down incident management and response. Look to embrace Gartner's security service edge approach, which delivers DLP from a centralized cloud service. Focus on vendors that support the most channels so that, as your program grows, you can easily add protection across devices, inline, and cloud. 5. Ensure blocking across key loss channels Once you have a centralized DLP, focus on the most important data loss channels to your organization. (You'll need to add more channels as you grow, so ensure your platform can accommodate all of them and grow with you.) The most important channels can vary, but every organization focuses on certain common ones: Web/Email: The most common ways users accidentally send sensitive data outside the organization. SaaS data (CASB): Another common loss vector, as users can easily share data externally. Endpoint: A key focus for many organizations looking to lock down USB, printing, and network shares. Unmanaged devices/BYOD: If you have a large BYOD footprint, browser isolation is an innovative way to secure data headed to these devices without an agent or VDI. Devices are placed in an isolated browser, which enforces DLP inspection and prevents cut, paste, download, or print. (More on this later.) SaaS posture control (SSPM/supply chain): SaaS platforms like Microsoft 365 can often be misconfigured. Continuously scanning for gaps and risky third-party integrations is key to minimizing data breaches. IaaS posture control (DSPM): Most companies have a lot of sensitive data across AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Finding it all, and closing risky misconfigurations that expose it, is the driver behind data security posture management (DSPM). 6. Understand and maintain compliance Getting a handle on compliance is a key step for great data protection. You may need to keep up with many different regulations, depending on your industry (GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, etc.). These rules are there to make sure personal data is safe and organizations are handling it the right way. Stay informed on the latest mandates to avoid fines and protect your brand, all while building trust with your customers and partners. To keep on top of compliance, strong data governance practices are a must. This means regular security audits, keeping good records, and making sure your team is well-trained. Embrace technological approaches that help drive better compliance, such as data encryption and monitoring tools. By making compliance part of your routine, you can stay ahead of risks and ensure your data protection is both effective and in line with requirements. 7. Strategize for BYOD Although not a concern for every organization, unmanaged devices present a unique challenge for data protection. Your organization doesn't own or have agents on these devices, so you can't ensure their security posture or patch level, wipe them remotely, and so on. Yet their users (like partners or contractors) often have legitimate reasons to access your critical data. You don't want sensitive data to land on a BYOD endpoint and vanish from your sight. Until now, solutions to secure BYOD have revolved around CASB reverse proxies (problematic) and VDI approaches (expensive). Browser isolation provides an effective and eloquent way to secure data without the cost and complexity of those approaches. By placing BYOD endpoints in an isolated browser (part of the security service edge), you can enforce great data protection without an endpoint agent. Data is streamed to the device as pixels, allowing interaction with the data but preventing download and cut/paste. You can also apply DLP inspection to the session and data based on your policy. 8. Control your cloud posture with SSPM and DSPM Cloud posture is one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of data hygiene. SaaS platforms and public clouds have many settings that DevOps teams without security expertise can easily overlook. The resulting misconfigurations can lead to dangerous gaps that expose sensitive data. Many of the largest data breaches in history have happened because such gaps let adversaries walk right in. SaaS security posture management (SSPM) and data security posture management (DSPM for IaaS) are designed to uncover and help remediate these risks. By leveraging API access, SSPM and DSPM can continuously scan your cloud deployment, locate sensitive data, identify misconfigurations, and remediate exposures. Some SSPM approaches also feature integrated compliance with frameworks like NIST, ISO, and SOC 2. 9. Don't forget about data security training Data security training is often where data protection programs fall apart. If users don't understand or support your data protection goals, dissent can build across your teams and derail your program. Spend time building a training program that highlights your objectives and the value data protection will bring the organization. Ensure upper management supports and sponsors your data security training initiatives. Some solutions offer built-in user coaching with incident management workflows. This valuable feature allows you to notify users about incidents via Slack or email for justification, education, and policy adjustment if needed. Involving users in their incidents helps promote awareness of data protection practices as well as how to identify and safely handle sensitive content. 10. Automate incident management and workflows Lastly, no data protection program would be complete without day-to-day operations. Ensuring your team can efficiently manage and quickly respond to incidents is critical. One way to ensure streamlined processes is to embrace a solution that enables workflow automation. Designed to automate common incident management and response tasks, this feature can be a lifesaver for IT teams. By saving time and money while improving response times, IT teams can do more with less. Look for solutions that have a strong workflow automation offering integrated into the SSE to make incident management efficient and centralized. Bringing it all together Data protection is not a one-time project; it's an ongoing commitment. Staying informed of data protection best practices will help you build a resilient defense against evolving threats and ensure your organization's long-term success. Remember: investing in data protection is not just about mitigating risks and preventing data breaches. It's also about building trust, maintaining your reputation, and unlocking new opportunities for growth. Learn more at zscaler.com/security Found this article interesting? 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Swiss tech startup Metafuels has unveiled plans to open its first commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant in the Port of Rotterdam.  Metafuels’ CEO Saurabh Kapoor told TNW that Turbe represents a “major step forward” toward ramping up SAF production. The startup also announced plans to build a similar facility in Denmark last year. “Europe has ambitious decarbonisation targets, but without scalable and affordable SAF production, aviation will struggle to keep up,” said Kapoor.  The facility, dubbed Turbe, will be built in collaboration with liquid energy storage provider Evos. Turbe will be integrated into Evos’ existing Rotterdam terminal, which offers access to the infrastructure needed to store green methanol in large quantities.   Register now Metafuels’ “aerobrew” technology converts renewable methanol into jet fuel, using a process it claims delivers high energy efficiency and up to 90% lower life cycle emissions than conventional jet fuel. The resulting SAF is “drop-in ready,” requiring no changes to aircraft or airport infrastructure. Turbe will be able to process both bio-methanol — sourced from biological waste — and e-methanol, which is made using renewable electricity and captured CO2. This flexibility allows Metafuels to respond to shifts in feedstock availability and regulatory demand, the company said. Kapoor said he expects both the Netherlands and Denmark plants to start producing fuel for use in commercial aircraft from 2028. However, before that happens, the company will need to obtain accreditation for its aerobrew process, which it expects to get by the end of this year.   Metafuels says the new site will produce 12,000 litres of SAF per day during its first phase, with ambitions to scale that tenfold in the second phase. For reference, a Boeing 737 Max has a fuel tank capacity of around 26,000 litres, which equates to a range of around 6,570 km. Metafuels and the broader aviation industry still has a long way to go to meet global and regional targets for SAF adoption.  SAF made up only 0.53% of global aircraft fuel use in 2024. The EU wants to ramp that up to 70% by 2050, which will require a drastic increase in the production of the greener fuel.   Story by Siôn Geschwindt Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehic (show all) Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehicles, he's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. He has five years of journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. When he's not writing, you can probably find Siôn out hiking, surfing, playing the drums or catering to his moderate caffeine addiction. You can contact him at: sion.geschwindt [at] protonmail [dot] com Get the TNW newsletter Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

KPF and Heatherwick Studio have broken ground on Terminal 5 at Changi Airport, Singapore. The design of the $10 billion scheme was unveiled in September 2022 and is expected to be ready to serve 50 million annual passengers by the mid-2030s. The terminal’s design adopts an “airport as a city” concept, where each component is seen as an opportunity to create a neighborhood with its own character. The team also describes the terminal as an “engaging new district” of benefit to travelers and locals, echoing Safdie’s move to combine natural and built elements within the airport. “Our design for Terminal 5 is inspired by Singapore’s unique blend of nature and city,” said KPF Design Principal Trent Tesch when the scheme’s design was unveiled. “We are conscious of the international significance of this project, and are focused on creating not only an iconic building that is identifiably Changi Airport but also a memorable and positive experience for travelers and the greater public.”...

Swiss tech startup Metafuels has unveiled plans to open its first commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant in the Port of Rotterdam.  Metafuels’ CEO Saurabh Kapoor told TNW that Turbe represents a “major step forward” toward ramping up SAF production. The startup also announced plans to build a similar facility in Denmark last year. “Europe has ambitious decarbonisation targets, but without scalable and affordable SAF production, aviation will struggle to keep up,” said Kapoor.  The facility, dubbed Turbe, will be built in collaboration with liquid energy storage provider Evos. Turbe will be integrated into Evos’ existing Rotterdam terminal, which offers access to the infrastructure needed to store green methanol in large quantities.   Register now Metafuels’ “aerobrew” technology converts renewable methanol into jet fuel, using a process it claims delivers high energy efficiency and up to 90% lower life cycle emissions than conventional jet fuel. The resulting SAF is “drop-in ready,” requiring no changes to aircraft or airport infrastructure. Turbe will be able to process both bio-methanol — sourced from biological waste — and e-methanol, which is made using renewable electricity and captured CO2. This flexibility allows Metafuels to respond to shifts in feedstock availability and regulatory demand, the company said. Kapoor said he expects both the Netherlands and Denmark plants to start producing fuel for use in commercial aircraft from 2028. However, before that happens, the company will need to obtain accreditation for its aerobrew process, which it expects to get by the end of this year.   Metafuels says the new site will produce 12,000 litres of SAF per day during its first phase, with ambitions to scale that tenfold in the second phase. For reference, a Boeing 737 Max has a fuel tank capacity of around 26,000 litres, which equates to a range of around 6,570 km. Metafuels and the broader aviation industry still has a long way to go to meet global and regional targets for SAF adoption.  SAF made up only 0.53% of global aircraft fuel use in 2024. The EU wants to ramp that up to 70% by 2050, which will require a drastic increase in the production of the greener fuel.   Story by Siôn Geschwindt Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehic (show all) Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehicles, he's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. He has five years of journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. When he's not writing, you can probably find Siôn out hiking, surfing, playing the drums or catering to his moderate caffeine addiction. You can contact him at: sion.geschwindt [at] protonmail [dot] com Get the TNW newsletter Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

The morning after Elon Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter (now X), reporters encountered two men with boxes outside the company’s headquarters. One introduced himself as recently laid-off Twitter engineer “Rahul Ligma.”  His real name is Rahul Sonwalkar but the prank went viral. While he never worked for X, he is actually very much a techy. Sonwalker spent several years working as an engineer at Uber. He even went through Y Combinator at that time, working on a logistics startup that he later scrapped before pivoting.   The now 27-year-old wants to draw attention to his more serious endeavor: Julius, the AI data analyst startup he founded about two years ago.  The tool, which can analyze and visualize extensive datasets and perform predictive modeling from natural language prompts, has attracted over 2 million registered users. “I wanted to build something that would make data science very accessible to everyone,” Sonwalkar told TechCrunch. While some of Julius’ functionality is also available on ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini, Iavor Bojinov, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School (HBS), liked the tool so much that he had to convince Sonwalkar to modify Julius specifically for HBS’ new required course called Data Science and AI for Leaders. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW  “We had done a head-to-head comparison across a number of platforms, including ChatGPT, and Julius ended up performing the best,” Bojinov told TechCrunch. The adoption by HBS, an educational institution that breeds about 1,000 future business leaders annually, is clearly a big win for Julius, which is currently a team of 12 employees. Sonwalkar has also raised a seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners’ Talia Goldberg, TechCrunch learned from someone familiar with the deal. But Sonwalkar wouldn’t discuss the details.  Bessemer didn’t respond to a request for comment. Did Sonwalkar’s “Rahul Ligma” stunts open doors when he was first building Julius?  “A little bit in the early days, but to be honest, not as much recently,” he said.

This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. This baby boy was treated with the first personalized gene-editing drug Doctors say they constructed a bespoke gene-editing treatment in less than seven months and used it to treat a baby with a deadly metabolic condition. The rapid-fire attempt to rewrite the child’s DNA marks the first time gene editing has been tailored to treat a single individual. The baby who was treated, Kyle “KJ” Muldoon Jr., suffers from a rare metabolic condition caused by a particularly unusual gene misspelling. Researchers say their attempt to correct the error demonstrates the high level of precision new types of gene editors offer.The project also highlights what some experts are calling a growing crisis in gene-editing technology. That’s because even though the technology could cure thousands of genetic conditions, most are so rare that companies could never recoup the costs of developing a treatment for them. Read the full story.—Antonio Regalado Access to experimental medical treatments is expanding across the US —Jessica Hamzelou A couple of weeks ago I was in Washington, DC, for a gathering of scientists, policymakers, and longevity enthusiasts. They had come together to discuss ways to speed along the development of drugs and other treatments that might extend the human lifespan. One approach that came up was to simply make experimental drugs more easily accessible. Now, the state of Montana has passed a new bill that sets out exactly how clinics can sell experimental, unproven treatments in the state to anyone who wants them. The passing of the bill could make Montana something of a US hub for experimental treatments. But it represents a wider trend: the creep of Right to Try across the US. And a potentially dangerous departure from evidence-based medicine. Read the full story. This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here. Take a new look at AI’s energy use Big Tech's appetite for energy is growing rapidly as adoption of AI accelerates. But just how much energy does even a single AI query use? And what does it mean for the climate? Join editor in chief Mat Honan, senior climate reporter Casey Crownhart, and AI reporter James O'Donnell at 1.30pm ET on Wednesday May 21 for a subscriber-only Roundtables conversation exploring AI's energy demands now and in the future. Register here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 xAI has blamed Grok’s white genocide fixation on an ‘unauthorized modification’ Made by an unnamed employee at 3.15am. (TechCrunch)+ The topic is one the far-right comes back to again and again. (The Atlantic $)+ Memphis residents are struggling to live alongside xAI’s supercomputer. (CNBC) 2 Meta has delayed the launch of its next flagship AI model Its engineers are struggling to improve its Behemoth LLM enough. (WSJ $)3 Elon Musk is tapping up friends and allies for federal jobs It’s creating an unprecedented web of potential conflicts of interests. (WSJ $)+ Musk is posting on X less than he used to. (Semafor)4 The US is slashing funding for scientific research Such projects produced GPS, LASIK eye surgery, and CAPTCHAs. (NYT $)+ US tech visa applicants are under seriously heavy scrutiny. (Wired $)+ The foundations of America’s prosperity are being dismantled. (MIT Technology Review)They’re focusing on improving chatbots’ memory—but critics are worried. (5 Big Tech wants its AI agents to remember everything about you 🧠FT $)+ AI agents can spontaneously develop human-like behavior. (The Guardian)+ Generative AI can turn your most precious memories into photos that never existed. (MIT Technology Review)6 People keep making anti-DEI modifications for The Sims 4 And the gamemaker EA’s attempts to stamp them out aren’t working. (Wired $) 7 This chatbot promises to help you get over your ex  Closure creates an AI version of ex-partners for users to vent their frustrations at. (404 Media)+ The AI relationship revolution is already here. (MIT Technology Review)8 How this AI song became a viral megahit in JapanYAJU&U is completely inescapable, and totally nonsensical. (Pitchfork) + AI is coming for music, too. (MIT Technology Review) 9 Your future overseas trip could be by zeppelin If these startups get their way. (WP $)+ Welcome to the big blimp boom. (MIT Technology Review)10 Are you a ‘dry texter’? 💬 It’s a conflict-averse teen’s worst nightmare. (Vox) Quote of the day “It’s OK to be Chinese overseas.” —Chris Pereira, the CEO of iMpact, a communications firm advising Chinese companies expanding abroad, tells Rest of World that DeepSeek has given Chinese startups the confidence not to hide their origins. One more thingWe’ve never understood how hunger works. That might be about to change. When you’re starving, hunger is like a demon. It awakens the most ancient and primitive parts of the brain, then commandeers other neural machinery to do its bidding until it gets what it wants. Although scientists have had some success in stimulating hunger in mice, we still don’t really understand how the impulse to eat works. Now, some experts are following known parts of the neural hunger circuits into uncharted parts of the brain to try and find out. Their work could shed new light on the factors that have caused the number of overweight adults worldwide to skyrocket in recent years. And it could also help solve the mysteries around how and why a new class of weight-loss drugs seems to work so well. Read the full story. —Adam Piore We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.)+ Who knew—Harvard Law School’s Magna Carta may be the real deal after all.+ Early relatives of reptiles might have walked the Earth much earlier than we realised.+ New York University’s MFA Students are a talented bunch.+ The Raines sandwich sounds unspeakably awful 🥪