Backpacking isn’t just about reaching new places—it’s about doing so with as little weight and as much versatility as possible. The right gear can turn a tough trek into a pleasurable journey, making every campsite feel like home and every meal a celebration. Whether you’re crossing mountains, wandering forests, or camping under the stars, these ten lightweight essentials ensure you’re ready for whatever the wild throws your way. Every gram matters when you’re backpacking in the wild, but the right gear can make all the difference between struggle and adventure. The products strike the perfect balance between weight, durability, and utility, ensuring you’re prepared for whatever nature throws your way. From comfortable sleep solutions and efficient cooking tools to versatile lighting and smart multi-tools, these products will help you go further, travel lighter, and enjoy every moment outdoors. Choose the right gear, pack smart, and let the wild become your home away from home. 1. Spectre One of the biggest challenges for backpackers is balancing comfort and weight, especially when it comes to sleeping gear. Traditional hammocks are light but can leave your back aching, while tents are often too bulky for solo adventures. The Spectre solves this with a patented lay-flat design, letting you sleep comfortably on your back, side, or stomach—no more waking up folded like a banana. Its build features premium Dyneema fabric and MONOLITE mesh, both renowned for their strength and feather-light weight. This tent weighs under 2 kg, packs down to the size of a water bottle, and still offers a fully insulated sleep mat for chilly nights. For anyone who’s spent restless evenings shifting on uneven ground or cramming into tight spaces, the Spectre provides a reliable, comfortable alternative that fits easily in your pack. The thoughtful design ensures you’ll have more space for essentials like food, water, and safety gear. What we like Extremely lightweight and compact, saving precious space in your backpack. Flat sleeping surface supports all sleep positions, improving comfort on the trail. What we dislike Requires suitable anchor points (trees or posts) for setup, which may limit use in open terrain. Higher price point compared to basic hammocks or tents due to advanced materials. 2. Iron Frying Plate Cooking in the wild is both a necessity and a pleasure for backpackers, but traditional cookware can be heavy. The Iron Frying Plate changes this by serving as both your cooking pan and your plate, removing the need for extra tableware and saving weight in your pack. Crafted from rust-resistant, uncoated steel, it’s designed for durability and flavor, letting you enjoy freshly cooked meals without the fuss. The detachable wooden handle makes it easy to use and pack, while the sturdy construction ensures even cooking over a campfire or portable stove. After you’re done, simply eat straight from the plate, then clean it up and tuck it away. This all-in-one solution is ideal for minimalist backpackers who want to travel light but don’t want to compromise on the quality of their meals. The Iron Frying Plate is proof that great outdoor cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or heavy. Click Here to Buy Now: $69.00 What we like Dual-purpose design saves space by serving as both a pan and a plate. Rust-resistant and stick-resistant, ready for rugged outdoor conditions. What we dislike Still heavier than ultralight titanium cookware, which may matter to extreme minimalists. The metal handle can get hot during cooking and may require careful handling. 3. 8-in-1 EDC Scissors Every backpacker knows the value of a good multi-tool, but bulk and weight often outweigh its utility. The 8-in-1 EDC Scissors are a compact alternative, packing essential tools—scissors, knife, lid opener, can opener, cap opener, bottle opener, shell splitter, and degasser—into a palm-sized package. At just 5.1 inches, it easily fits in your pocket, hip belt, or even the smallest pouch in your pack. The black oxidation finish looks sleek and also prevents rust, making this tool as durable as it is practical. Whether you need to open a can, cut a cord, or handle a campfire meal, these scissors have you covered. Their compact design means you can always have them on hand, unlike bulkier multi-tools that often stay behind. For backpackers focused on efficiency and readiness, the 8-in-1 EDC Scissors are a must-pack essential. Click Here to Buy Now: $59.00 What we like Combines eight common tools into one ultra-compact design, saving space and weight. Rust-resistant finish extends life in wet or humid environments. What we dislike Compact size limits leverage and may not replace full-sized tools for heavy-duty tasks. Tools are small and may require careful handling, especially with gloves. 4. Slim Fold Dish Rack Keeping camp clean is a constant challenge, especially when you’re trying to cut down on gear. The Slim Fold Dish Rack is a clever solution that collapses from a full 14-inch rack to just 1.2 inches thick, slipping into your pack or even your pocket. Its patent-pending spring system allows for quick setup and takedown, so you can move fast from meal to trail and back again. Despite its minimalist profile, the rack is sturdy and spacious, airing out plates, utensils, and cookware of all sizes. It’s easy to clean—just rinse or toss it in the dishwasher when you’re back from your trip. The Slim Fold Dish Rack is perfect for backpackers who want to keep their camp organized without adding unnecessary weight. Clean gear means less hassle and more time enjoying the wild. Click Here to Buy Now: $75.00 What we like Ultra-compact and lightweight, perfect for minimalist backpacking. Quick to deploy and collapse, saving time at camp. What we dislike Not suitable for very large group gear loads; best for solo or duo setups. Plastic construction may not be as rugged as metal alternatives. 5. RetroWave 7-in-1 Radio Staying informed, entertained, and safe is crucial for any backpacker, and the RetroWave 7-in-1 Radio is built for exactly that. With its nostalgic Japanese-inspired design, this device offers AM/FM/SW radio, Bluetooth speaker, MP3 player, LED flashlight, clock, SOS alarm, and power bank—all in one compact unit. It’s designed for both leisure and emergencies, making it a versatile addition to your pack. When you’re tucked away in the wilderness, the radio keeps you connected to weather updates and news, while the Bluetooth speaker lets you enjoy your favorite tunes around the campfire. The built-in flashlight and SOS alarm are essential for emergencies, and the power bank feature ensures your phone or GPS stays charged. With hand-crank and solar charging options, you’re never out of power, even off-grid. For backpackers seeking peace of mind and a touch of comfort, the RetroWave is a smart, lightweight solution. Click Here to Buy Now: $89.00 What we like Combines seven essential functions into one portable device, reducing pack weight. Solar and hand-crank charging keep it running even without electricity. What we dislike Battery capacity may be limited for extended use as a power bank. Not as loud as larger speakers for group gatherings. 6. 0.25 oz Aero Spork Eating in the wild should be simple and hassle-free, and the Aero Spork is designed to make that possible. At just 0.25 ounces (7 grams), this spork is as light as they come, but it’s tough enough for repeated outdoor use. Its ergonomic curved design ensures a comfortable grip, and the tapered end makes it easy to twirl noodles or scoop up a hearty stew. The Aero Spork’s single-piece, stackable design means you can bring several without taking up space or weight. Whether you’re eating noodles, rice, or soup, this utensil gets the job done with ease. For backpackers who count every gram, the Aero Spork is a practical choice for light, efficient meals on the go. No more fumbling with separate forks and spoons or dealing with heavy metal cutlery. Click Here to Buy Now: $19.95 What we like Extremely lightweight and easy to pack—ideal for ultralight backpackers. Durable and ergonomic, making outdoor meals comfortable and efficient. What we dislike Limited to basic eating functions; not a replacement for knives or specialty utensils. Small size may be awkward for those with larger hands. 7. Portable Fire Pit Stand Few experiences rival a campfire in the backcountry, but fire safety and portability are always concerns. The Portable Fire Pit Stand offers a practical solution, using a modular, puzzle-like metal assembly that’s easy to transport and set up. Its warp-resistant steel ensures it holds up to high heat, while the included trivet allows for grilling, frying, or boiling meals right over the flames. The fire pit can be quickly cleaned and packed away, making it ideal for Leave No Trace backpacking. Its compact size means you can enjoy a real fire without damaging the ground or carrying bulky fire rings. For those who love cooking outdoors and gathering around a fire, this stand brings warmth and versatility to any wild setting. Click Here to Buy Now: $119.00 What we like Lightweight, easy to assemble, and portable for backcountry fires and cooking. Warp-resistant steel construction is durable and reliable. What we dislike Requires carrying fuel or gathering wood at your site. Not suitable in areas with fire bans or high wildfire risk. 8. Carabiner Power Bank Gadgets are vital for today’s outdoor adventurers and backpackers, but finding reliable power off-grid can be tough. The Carabiner Power Bank tackles this issue with a smart, dual-purpose design—serving as both a sturdy carabiner and a 5,000mAh portable battery. Clip it onto your backpack or belt, and you’ve got quick access to backup power for your phone, GPS, or other small devices. The 5,000mAh battery provides a full charge for most smartphones, while the IP44-rated case protects against light rain and dust, making it suitable for a range of outdoor conditions. It even features a built-in phone stand, making it easier to check maps or enjoy entertainment hands-free. Fast to recharge and easy to attach, it’s a practical choice for backpackers and campers who need dependable power on the move. What we like Combining a carabiner and a power bank saves space and adds functionality. IP44 rating shields against light rain and dust. What we dislike Offers just one full phone charge, so it’s not ideal for charging multiple devices or long trips. It might be bulky for ultralight or minimalist packers. 9. Tomori Lantern Kit Light is a critical resource in the wild, whether you’re navigating a dark trail or setting up camp after sunset. The Tomori Lantern Kit is a portable lighting solution that collapses down to the size of a sheet of paper (A4), so it’s easy to throw in any pack. The base is made of sturdy, bend-resistant cardboard, and the polypropylene cover diffuses light from any standard LED flashlight, creating a soft, atmospheric glow. It’s simple to assemble and doesn’t rely on proprietary bulbs or complicated cables. A flashlight is included for convenience, but you can use your own if you prefer. This lantern is perfect for lighting up tents, shelters, or picnic tables without the bulk of traditional lanterns. For backpackers who value versatility and efficiency, the Tomori Lantern Kit is a lighting solution that’s always ready to go. Click Here to Buy Now: $39.00 What we like Packs flat and is extremely lightweight, saving valuable space. Works with most standard LED flashlights, eliminating the need for extra batteries or bulbs. What we dislike The cardboard base is not waterproof; best kept dry. Not as bright as high-power lanterns for illuminating large campsites. 10. Compact Modular Grill Plate Grilling is a backpacker’s treat, and the Compact Modular Grill Plate makes it accessible wherever you roam. Built from a three-layer steel plate, it guarantees even heat distribution no matter your heat source—campfire, gas, or induction stove. The detachable handles make it easy to switch setups or pack away, so you’re always ready for your next meal. The grill plate maintains the juiciness and flavor of meat, veggies, or fish, making outdoor cooking more enjoyable and less stressful. It’s easy to clean, packs compactly, and can be used in almost any outdoor setting. It is excellent for backpackers who want to savor great meals without lugging heavy cookware. Click Here to Buy Now: $89.00 What we like Compatible with multiple heat sources, adding flexibility to your cooking options. Even heat distribution ensures perfectly cooked food every time. What we dislike Heavier than titanium grill grates; best for shorter or basecamp-style trips. Requires careful cleaning to maintain performance and prevent buildup. The post Top 10 Must-Have Lightweight Gear Every Backpacker Needs in the Wild first appeared on Yanko Design.

By Isaac Schultz Published May 17, 2025 | Comments (0) | Scientists are using AI to decipher animal communication, creating some ethical conundrums. © Gizmodo [Illustration: St. Lumbroso, Photos: TatianaKim,Gulf MG/Shutterstock) Chirps, trills, growls, howls, squawks. Animals converse in all kinds of ways, yet humankind has only scratched the surface of how they communicate with each other and the rest of the living world. Our species has trained some animals—and if you ask cats, animals have trained us, too—but we’ve yet to truly crack the code on interspecies communication. Increasingly, animal researchers are deploying artificial intelligence to accelerate our investigations of animal communication—both within species and between branches on the tree of life. As scientists chip away at the complex communication systems of animals, they move closer to understanding what creatures are saying—and maybe even how to talk back. But as we try to bridge the linguistic gap between humans and animals, some experts are raising valid concerns about whether such capabilities are appropriate—or whether we should even attempt to communicate with animals at all. Using AI to untangle animal language Towards the front of the pack—or should I say pod?—is Project CETI, which has used machine learning to analyze more than 8,000 sperm whale “codas”—structured click patterns recorded by the Dominica Sperm Whale Project. Researchers uncovered contextual and combinatorial structures in the whales’ clicks, naming features like “rubato” and “ornamentation” to describe how whales subtly adjust their vocalizations during conversation. These patterns helped the team create a kind of phonetic alphabet for the animals—an expressive, structured system that may not be language as we know it but reveals a level of complexity that researchers weren’t previously aware of. Project CETI is also working on ethical guidelines for the technology, a critical goal given the risks of using AI to “talk” to the animals. Meanwhile, Google and the Wild Dolphin Project recently introduced DolphinGemma, a large language model (LLM) trained on 40 years of dolphin vocalizations. Just as ChatGPT is an LLM for human inputs—taking visual information like research papers and images and producing responses to relevant queries—DolphinGemma intakes dolphin sound data and predicts what vocalization comes next. DolphinGemma can even generate dolphin-like audio, and the researchers’ prototype two-way system, Cetacean Hearing Augmentation Telemetry (fittingly, CHAT), uses a smartphone-based interface that dolphins employ to request items like scarves or seagrass—potentially laying the groundwork for future interspecies dialogue. “DolphinGemma is being used in the field this season to improve our real-time sound recognition in the CHAT system,” said Denise Herzing, founder and director of the Wild Dolphin Project, which spearheaded the development of DolphinGemma in collaboration with researchers at Google DeepMind, in an email to Gizmodo. “This fall we will spend time ingesting known dolphin vocalizations and let Gemma show us any repeatable patterns they find,” such as vocalizations used in courtship and mother-calf discipline. In this way, Herzing added, the AI applications are two-fold: Researchers can use it both to explore dolphins’ natural sounds and to better understand the animals’ responses to human mimicking of dolphin sounds, which are synthetically produced by the AI CHAT system. Expanding the animal AI toolkit Outside the ocean, researchers are finding that human speech models can be repurposed to decode terrestrial animal signals, too. A University of Michigan-led team used Wav2Vec2—a speech recognition model trained on human voices—to identify dogs’ emotions, genders, breeds, and even individual identities based on their barks. The pre-trained human model outperformed a version trained solely on dog data, suggesting that human language model architectures could be surprisingly effective in decoding animal communication. Of course, we need to consider the different levels of sophistication these AI models are targeting. Determining whether a dog’s bark is aggressive or playful, or whether it’s male or female—these are perhaps understandably easier for a model to determine than, say, the nuanced meaning encoded in sperm whale phonetics. Nevertheless, each study inches scientists closer to understanding how AI tools, as they currently exist, can be best applied to such an expansive field—and gives the AI a chance to train itself to become a more useful part of the researcher’s toolkit. And even cats—often seen as aloof—appear to be more communicative than they let on. In a 2022 study out of Paris Nanterre University, cats showed clear signs of recognizing their owner’s voice, but beyond that, the felines responded more intensely when spoken to directly in “cat talk.” That suggests cats not only pay attention to what we say, but also how we say it—especially when it comes from someone they know. Earlier this month, a pair of cuttlefish researchers found evidence that the animals have a set of four “waves,” or physical gestures, that they make to one another, as well as to human playback of cuttlefish waves. The group plans to apply an algorithm to categorize the types of waves, automatically track the creatures’ movements, and understand the contexts in which the animals express themselves more rapidly. Private companies (such as Google) are also getting in on the act. Last week, China’s largest search engine, Baidu, filed a patent with the country’s IP administration proposing to translate animal (specifically cat) vocalizations into human language. The quick and dirty on the tech is that it would intake a trove of data from your kitty, and then use an AI model to analyze the data, determine the animal’s emotional state, and output the apparent human language message your pet was trying to convey. A universal translator for animals? Together, these studies represent a major shift in how scientists are approaching animal communication. Rather than starting from scratch, research teams are building tools and models designed for humans—and making advances that would have taken much longer otherwise. The end goal could (read: could) be a kind of Rosetta Stone for the animal kingdom, powered by AI. “We’ve gotten really good at analyzing human language just in the last five years, and we’re beginning to perfect this practice of transferring models trained on one dataset and applying them to new data,” said Sara Keen, a behavioral ecologist and electrical engineer at the Earth Species Project, in a video call with Gizmodo. The Earth Species Project plans to launch its flagship audio-language model for animal sounds, NatureLM, this year, and a demo for NatureLM-audio is already live. With input data from across the tree of life—as well as human speech, environmental sounds, and even music detection—the model aims to become a converter of human speech into animal analogues. The model “shows promising domain transfer from human speech to animal communication,” the project states, “supporting our hypothesis that shared representations in AI can help decode animal languages.” “A big part of our work really is trying to change the way people think about our place in the world,” Keen added. “We’re making cool discoveries about animal communication, but ultimately we’re finding that other species are just as complicated and nuanced as we are. And that revelation is pretty exciting.” The ethical dilemma Indeed, researchers generally agree on the promise of AI-based tools for improving the collection and interpretation of animal communication data. But some feel that there’s a breakdown in communication between that scholarly familiarity and the public’s perception of how these tools can be applied. “I think there’s currently a lot of misunderstanding in the coverage of this topic—that somehow machine learning can create this contextual knowledge out of nothing. That so long as you have thousands of hours of audio recordings, somehow some magic machine learning black box can squeeze meaning out of that,” said Christian Rutz, an expert in animal behavior and cognition and founding president of International Bio-Logging Society, in a video call with Gizmodo. “That’s not going to happen.” “Meaning comes through the contextual annotation and this is where I think it’s really important for this field as a whole, in this period of excitement and enthusiasm, to not forget that this annotation comes from basic behavioral ecology and natural history expertise,” Rutz added. In other words, let’s not put the horse before the cart, especially since the cart—in this case—is what’s powering the horse. But with great power…you know the cliché. Essentially, how can humans develop and apply these technologies in a way that is both scientifically illuminating and minimizes harm or disruption to its animal subjects? Experts have put forward ethical standards and guardrails for using the technologies that prioritize the welfare of creatures as we get closer to—well, wherever the technology is going. As AI advances, conversations about animal rights will have to evolve. In the future, animals could become more active participants in those conversations—a notion that legal experts are exploring as a thought exercise, but one that could someday become reality. “What we desperately need—apart from advancing the machine learning side—is to forge these meaningful collaborations between the machine learning experts and the animal behavior researchers,” Rutz said, “because it’s only when you put the two of us together that you stand a chance.” There’s no shortage of communication data to feed into data-hungry AI models, from pitch-perfect prairie dog squeaks to snails’ slimy trails (yes, really). But exactly how we make use of the information we glean from these new approaches requires thorough consideration of the ethics involved in “speaking” with animals. A recent paper on the ethical concerns of using AI to communicate with whales outlined six major problem areas. These include privacy rights, cultural and emotional harm to whales, anthropomorphism, technological solutionism (an overreliance on technology to fix problems), gender bias, and limited effectiveness for actual whale conservation. That last issue is especially urgent, given how many whale populations are already under serious threat. It increasingly appears that we’re on the brink of learning much more about the ways animals interact with one another—indeed, pulling back the curtain on their communication could also yield insights into how they learn, socialize, and act within their environments. But there are still significant challenges to overcome, such as asking ourselves how we use the powerful technologies currently in development. Daily Newsletter You May Also Like By Lucas Ropek Published May 16, 2025 By Matt Novak Published May 16, 2025 By Isaiah Colbert Published May 16, 2025 By Matt Novak Published May 15, 2025 By Matt Novak Published May 14, 2025 By Kyle Barr Published May 13, 2025

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Unpatched systems are a ticking time bomb. Fifty-seven percent of cyberattack victims acknowledge that available patches would have prevented breaches, yet nearly one-third admit failing to act, compounding the risk. Ponemon research shows organizations now take an alarming average of 43 days to detect cyberattacks, even after a patch is released, up from 36 days the previous year. According to the Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, attackers’ ability to exploit vulnerabilities surged by 180% from 2023 to 2024. Chronic firefighting makes manual or partially automated patching overly burdensome, further pushing patching down teams’ priority lists. Relying on manual or partially automated patching systems is considered too time-consuming, further reducing patching to the bottom of a team’s action item list. This is consistent with an Ivanti study that found that the majority (71%) of IT and security professionals think patching is overly complex, cumbersome and time-consuming. When it comes to patching, complacency kills Attackers aggressively exploit legacy Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), often ten or more years old. A sure sign of how effective attackers’ tradecraft is becoming at targeting legacy CVEs is their success with vulnerabilities in some cases, 10-plus years old. A sure sign that attackers are finding new ways to weaponize old vulnerabilities is reflected in the startling stat that 76% of vulnerabilities leveraged by ransomware were reported between 2010 and 2019. The misalignment between IT and security teams compounds delays, with 27% lacking cohesive patch strategies and nearly a quarter disagreeing on patch schedules. One of the unexpected benefits of automating patch management is breaking the impasse between IT and security when it comes to managing the patch workload.    “Typically, on average, an enterprise may patch 90% of desktops within two to four weeks, 80% of Windows servers within six weeks and only 25% of Oracle Databases within six months from patch release date”, writes Gartner in their recent report, “We’re not patching our way out of vulnerability exposure.” The report states that “the cold, hard reality is that no one is out patching threat actors at scale in any size organization, geography or industry vertical.” Ring deployment: proactive defense at scale Every unpatched endpoint or threat surface invites attackers to exploit it. Enterprises are losing the patching race, which motivates attackers even more. In the meantime, patching has become exponentially more challenging for security and IT teams to manage manually. Approximately a decade ago, ring deployment began to rely on Microsoft-dominated networks. Since then, ring deployments have proliferated across on-premise and cloud-based patch and risk management systems. Ring deployment provides a phased, automated strategy, shrinking attacker windows and breach risks. Ring deployment rolls out patches incrementally through carefully controlled stages or “rings:” Test Ring (1%): Core IT teams quickly validate patch stability. Early Adopter Ring (5–10%): A broader internal group confirms real-world compatibility. Production Ring (80–90%): Enterprise-wide rollout after stability is conclusively proven. Ivanti’s recent release of ring deployment is designed to give security teams greater control over when patches will be deployed, to which systems and how each sequence of updates will be managed. By addressing patching issues early, the goal is to minimize risks and reduce and eliminate disruptions. Gartner’s ring deployment strategy escalates patches from internal IT outward, providing continuous validation and dramatically reducing deployment risk. Source: Gartner, “Modernize Windows and Third-Party Application Patching,” p. 6. Ring deployment crushes MTTP, ends reactive patching chaos Relying on outdated vulnerability ratings to lead patch management strategies only increases the risk of a breach as enterprises race to keep up with growing patch backlogs. That’s often when patching becomes cybersecurity’s endless nightmare, with attackers looking to capitalize on the many legacy CVEs that remain unprotected. Gartner’s take in their recent report “Modernize windows and third-party application patching” makes the point brutally clear, showing how traditional patching methods routinely fail to keep pace. In contrast, enterprises embracing ring deployment are getting measurable results. Their research finds ring deployment achieves a “99% patch success within 24 hours for up to 100,000 PCs,” leaving traditional methods far behind. During an interview with VentureBeat, Tony Miller, Ivanti’s VP of enterprise services, emphasized that “Ivanti Neurons for Patch Management and implementing Ring Deployment is an important part of our Customer Zero journey.” He said the company uses many of its own products, which allows for a quick feedback loop and gives developers insight into customers’ pain points. Miller added: “We’ve tested out Ring Deployment internally with a limited group, and we are in the process of rolling it out organization-wide. In our test group, we have benefited from deploying patches based on real-world risk, and ensuring that updates don’t interrupt employee productivity–a significant challenge for any IT organization.” VentureBeat also spoke with Jesse Miller, SVP and director of IT at Southstar Bank, about leveraging Ivanti’s dynamic Vulnerability Risk Rating (VRR), an AI-driven system continuously recalibrated with real-time threat intelligence, live exploit activity, and current attack data. Miller stated clearly: “This is an important change for us and the entire industry. Judging a patch based on its CVSS now is like working in a vacuum. When judging how impactful something can be, you have to take everything from current events, your industry, your environment and more into the equation. Ultimately, we are just making wiser decisions as we are not disregarding CVSS scoring; we are simply adding to it.” Miller also highlighted his team’s prioritization strategy: “We have been able to focus on prioritizing Zero-Day and Priority patches to get out first, as well as anything being exploited live in the wild. Using patch prioritization helps us eliminate our biggest risk first so that we can reduce our attack surface as quickly as possible.” By combining ring deployment and dynamic VRR technology, Ivanti Neurons provides enterprises with structured visual orchestration of incremental patch rollouts. This approach sharply reduces Mean-Time-to-Patch (MTTP), accelerating patches from targeted testing through full deployment and significantly decreasing the exposure windows that attackers exploit. Caption: The Ivanti Neurons interface visually manages deployment rings, success thresholds, patching progress and streamlining operational clarity. Source: Ivanti Neurons Comparing Ivanti Neurons, Microsoft Autopatch, Tanium and ServiceNow: Key strengths and gaps When selecting enterprise patch management solutions, apparent differences emerge among leading providers, including Microsoft Autopatch, Tanium, ServiceNow and Ivanti Neurons. Microsoft Autopatch relies on ring deployment but is restricted to Windows environments, including Microsoft 365 applications. Ivanti Neurons expands on this concept by covering a broader spectrum, including Windows, macOS, Linux and various third-party applications. This enables enterprise-wide patch management for organizations with large-scale, diverse infrastructure. Tanium stands out for its robust endpoint visibility and detailed reporting features, but its infrastructure requirements typically align better with resource-intensive enterprises. Meanwhile, ServiceNow’s strength lies in workflow automation and IT service management integrations. Executing actual patches often demands significant additional customization or third-party integrations. Ivanti Neurons aims to differentiate by integrating dynamic risk assessments, phased ring deployments and automated workflows within a single platform. It directly addresses common enterprise challenges in patch management, including visibility gaps, operational complexity and uncertainty about vulnerability prioritization with real-time risk assessments and intuitive visual dashboards. Caption: Ivanti Neurons provides real-time patch status, vulnerability assessments, and risk exposure metrics, ensuring continuous visibility. Source: Ivanti Neurons Transforming patch management into a strategic advantage Patching alone cannot eliminate vulnerability exposure. Gartner’s analysts continue to stress the necessity of integrating compensating controls, including endpoint protection platforms (EPP), multifactor authentication, and network segmentation to reinforce security beyond basic patching. Combining ring deployment with integrated compensating controls that are part of a broader zero-trust framework ensures security, allows IT teams to shrink exposure windows, and better manage cyber risks. Ivanti’s approach to ring deployment incorporates real-time risk assessments, automated remediation workflows, and built-in threat management, directly aligning patch management with broader business resilience strategies. The design decision to make it part of Neurons for Patch Management delivers the scale enterprises need to improve risk management’s real-time visibility.   Bottom line: Integrating ring deployment with compensating controls and prioritization tools transforms patch management from a reactive burden to a strategic advantage. Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI. Read our Privacy Policy Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here. An error occured.

Despite high-profile return-to-office mandates from the likes of Amazon, AT&T, Dell, and even the US government, many organizations continue to support employees who work remotely. According to a November 2024 Gallup poll, 26% of US workers with remote-capable jobs work outside the office full-time. Embracing remote work opens the door to having employees located in different parts of the country or different regions of the world — and that makes it more likely that individual employees will be affected by emergencies that occur far from corporate headquarters, ranging from simple power outages to catastrophic storms, wildfires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. In the US alone, 90 major weather-related disasters were declared in 2024, according to an analysis of federal data conducted by the International Institute for Environment and Development. The researchers estimate that 137 million Americans — about 41% of the population — live in areas that were under major disaster or emergency declarations last year. When disaster strikes, employees may be without electricity, internet, or cell service for days or weeks. They may have to evacuate their homes. They may be struggling with the loss of family members, friends, or neighbors. Just as organizations have disaster mitigation and recovery plans for main offices and data centers, they should be prepared to support remote employees in disaster situations they likely have never encountered before. Employers must counsel workers on what to do, provide additional resources, and above all, ensure that their mental health is attended to. This may sound like a job for HR — and it is — but it’s IT’s responsibility to make sure remote employees have the tools they need to stay in contact during a disaster, to protect sensitive data on their devices, and to help them get back to work when it’s safe to do so. Organizations that look after their employees when they need it the most may see benefits in the form of increased engagement, productivity, and retention: Who wouldn’t want to work for an employer that truly cares about your welfare? We spoke with tech leaders and disaster recovery experts for their advice on how companies can prepare for and support remote employees facing a disaster situation. Plan for the worst through simulations  Dr. Oliver Schlake, director of the BSE Scholars Program at the University of Maryland and a survival instructor for 40 years, says there is a significant cultural component to disaster preparedness — or the lack thereof. People often prefer the “hero” over the “person who’s doing the continued maintenance,” he says. For example, people will hail the firefighter who rescues a victim from a burning house, but not the janitor who changes the battery in the smoke detector that helps to prevent the spread of fire in the first place. As a result of this cultural tendency, organizations under-invest in tools, resourcing, and programs necessary for disaster preparedness. “There’s no ROI on their reliability until [a disaster] happens. And that’s why a lot of organizations cut out those backup systems,” he says. To avoid this short-sighted thinking, business leaders should prepare well in advance of any disaster. While companies can offer disaster preparedness training in a classroom setting, Schlake recommends hands-on simulations for greater effectiveness. For example, the organization could shut off its intranet or force employees to switch off their usual internet connection to mimic a disaster where connectivity is limited. Schlake introduces companies conducting these exercises to a decision-making framework called the Rule of Three. “You basically use time intervals of three — three seconds, three minutes, three hours, three days, three weeks, three months — to prioritize your activities in a disaster situation,” he says. The goal is not for business leaders and employees to respond flawlessly to a simulated disaster. Instead, it is to help them identify gaps they can address before a real crisis occurs. For example, during an exercise, a B2B organization working with Schlake realized that if its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system were disrupted, its employees would be unable to make client calls. To mitigate this risk, the company purchased around 100 burner phones, pre-programmed them, and stored them for emergency use. The foresight paid off: six or seven months later, when a disaster prevented employees from coming on-site, the phones became essential for maintaining client relationships. Organizations will come to their own unique realizations through these simulations, which should include remote and hybrid workers as well as those who work in the office full-time. If a company discovers it has no means of communicating with remote workers in a power or internet outage, for example, they may decide to outfit those workers with additional communication tools or come up with other contingency plans. Protect employee devices Depending on the disaster, a remote employee’s home office may be unavailable: It may have been ravaged by a fire or flood, or they may be under evacuation orders from local or federal authorities. In such cases, employees who are otherwise unaffected by the disaster may go to coffee shops, libraries, or other public locations to connect to the internet and continue working. These environments make organizations more prone to cyberattacks, says Jocelyn Rhindress, a senior manager in business resource initiatives at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). During an outage of a Canadian telco in 2022, remote workers had to take this exact risk. “A lot of at-home workers flocked to places — coffee shops and quick-service restaurants — to use their public Wi-Fi,” she says. “So one big problem is just unsafe networks.” To mitigate this risk, the organization’s IT department needs to make sure that employees are provided with the right tools to protect sensitive information, such as virtual private networks (VPNs), says Kris Lahiri, CSO and co-founder of Egnyte. Like all disaster planning, installing VPNs and other security tools on workers’ laptops should be done well in advance of an actual disaster. Help with ‘personal disaster recovery planning’ Beyond cybersecurity risks, being forced to leave their home environment presents employees with another significant challenge: the potential loss of personal artifacts, from tax documents and family heirlooms to cherished photos. Lahiri refers to the process of safeguarding such items as “personal disaster recovery planning” and notes that this aspect of worker support is often overlooked. While companies have experience migrating servers from local offices to distributed teams, few have considered how to support employees on a personal level, he says. Lahiri urges IT teams to take a more empathetic approach and broaden their scope to include disaster recovery planning for employees’ home offices. “It’s important for IT to help these people to think, ‘Hey, have you thought of your personal stuff? Like, where do you keep your valuables? Are you making sure that your tax files and other financial info is backed up someplace?’” he says. Some might see advising employees on personal disaster recovery as beyond the IT department’s role. However, Lahiri argues that this guidance is essential as part of the organization’s broader mandate to ensure employees’ safety and well-being. Mitigate risks across geographies Beyond addressing individual employees’ needs, companies must also take a macro view of their workforce to prepare for disasters. As businesses become not only more remote but also more global, understanding employees’ locations becomes crucial. “As a company, I would monitor where all my remote workers are,” says Schlake from the University of Maryland. The goal is to help companies create contingency plans when a disaster is on the horizon for a particular location. “When I see there’s a crisis coming up in a certain area, I can take preventive measures,” he says. For example, if a typhoon is approaching the Philippines, a company can plan how it will compensate if, say, 5% of its Philippines-based workforce loses internet access. To maintain business continuity, companies must pay special attention to business-critical roles. Hiring and training should be approached with a global mindset, allowing for backup workers in different locations to step in when disasters affect specific geographies, says Egnyte’s Lahiri. Oxfam International takes this kind of strategic approach to workforce management. According to CIO Kenny Kamal, the organization’s mission to fight inequality and end poverty often requires responding to natural disasters and crises worldwide. “This often means that Oxfam staff and partners are responding while managing the risks to themselves and their own communities,” he says. To tackle this challenge, Oxfam prioritizes “key operational locations rather than individual endpoints,” Kamal says. This strategy relies on hubs that support hybrid teams in disaster-affected areas. These hubs are equipped with redundant power solutions, backup internet connectivity, and prepositioned resources such as satellite kits and solar-powered chargers. Building on this foundation, Oxfam develops multiple contingency plans to guide employees in crisis situations. “To prepare for a range of scenarios, organizations should develop scalable disaster response plans. By categorizing disasters by impact — localized, regional, or wide-scale — teams can follow clearly defined protocols,” he says. Put employee well-being above all else Preparing for disasters is a complex challenge that requires companies to focus on agility, redundancy, flexibility, resilience, and business continuity. But employee well-being must remain the top priority. CFIB’s Rhindress notes that in some locations, such as Canada, health and safety are legally mandated components of any disaster response plan. However, organizations should aim to go beyond mere compliance — starting with effective communication. “It might come down to sharing your personal cell phone number or making sure there’s a way for your employees to always get in touch with someone,” she says. Mario Jabbour, Chief Finance & Admin Officer for Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization, echoes this perspective. “Prioritizing employee well-being with mental health resources and balanced expectations, along with clear policies, training, and disaster response guides, is key to navigating crises effectively,” he says. Oxfam’s Kamal also advocates for mental health support, flexible work arrangements, and open communication. Since no organization will execute employee support perfectly, he stresses the importance of continuous self-assessment. “After every disaster response, it’s essential to evaluate what worked and what didn’t. Learning from these experiences allows organizations to refine their plans and strengthen their collective resilience,” he says. Kamal emphasizes that while disasters are inherently unpredictable, proactive preparation can significantly mitigate their impact. “By focusing on resilience, flexibility, and the well-being of hybrid teams, organizations can empower their workforce to navigate challenges with confidence and continue delivering on their mission when it matters most,” he says.

Senior Lighting / Compositing Artist - Temp (SFD / Cinematics)Blizzard EntertainmentIrvine California 92618 United States of America1 hour agoApplyTeam Name:CinematicsJob Title:Senior Lighting / Compositing Artist - Temp (SFD / Cinematics)Requisition ID:R025349Job Description:We pride ourselves in forging amazing worlds and experiences for our players to dive into here at Blizzard. To accomplish these epic goals, we need committed, passionate, and creative people with amazing talent. We value a tight-knit team that celebrates artistic passion and pushing the creative bounds. If you dream of pushing your talents to help us build the next exciting Blizzard experience, then this could be the position for you.The Blizzard Entertainment Animation team is seeking an experienced senior lighting /compositing artist to jump into working on Blizzard’s imaginative worlds. We are looking for someone with the experience and passion to make our shots epic (Both pre-rendered and real time contents).This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The potential home studio for this role is Irvine, CA. However, we understand each person’s circumstances may be unique and will work with you to explore other possible options, including remote work arrangements.We have two temporary roles open. One is roughly a 5-month term, and the other is roughly a 7-month term.What You Bring to the TablePriorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:Design and implement lighting of characters and environments for shots that meet and enhance the given art direction.Maintain the overall look, color balance, and quality for assigned shots and sequences to create uniformity in all finished work.Work with the FX department for integrating and developing FX.Work closely with VFX supervisors, Art Directors, Producers, Lighting/Compositing Supervisor and Leads to achieve the final look.Accountable for achieving productivity and quota targets.Ultimately responsible for completing and quality control all lighting and compositing of shots.Minimum RequirementsExperienceA minimum of 7 years’ experience in the game, TV, feature film or commercial production environment.Previous experience working with Directors, Lighting Supervisors, and/or Leads to develop, define, and maintain lighting and compositing setups.Knowledge & SkillsA demo reel displaying a firm artistic understanding of light and composition.Have a strong knowledge of Katana, Nuke, Maya, Linux, Renderman-RIS, Redshift and a decent understanding of modern game engines. Can easily adapt to new pipelines and proprietary lighting tools.Able to plan and implement complex 3D lighting scenes, including working with layers and passes.Able to determine the best approach to tackle lighting and compositing challenges and develop the final overall look.Key AttributesAble to perform tasks associated with the compositing and lighting process, including 2D tracking, layering of elements, color grading, roto work, projection of elements, and extensive 3D compositing.Comfortable working in an “iteration intensive” shot pipeline.Extra PointsExperience in working in a full 3D Animated Pipeline.Experience in working in a real-time Game Engine Pipeline.Required Application MaterialsResumeCover Letter (optional)Link to a portfolio/reel. Provide a demo reel and description of your work per shot.Your PlatformBest known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.Our WorldActivision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty ®, World of Warcraft® , Overwatch ®, Diablo ®, Candy Crush ™ and Bubble Witch ™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!Our ability to build immersive and innovate worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.RewardsWe provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/ .In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $44.67 - $82.60 Hourly. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable. Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

In the beginning, building Machine Learning models was a skill only data scientists with knowledge of Python could master. However, low-code AI platforms have made things much easier now. Anyone can now directly make a model, link it to data, and publish it as a web service with just a few clicks. Marketers can now develop customer segmentation models, user support teams can implement chatbots, and product managers can automate the process of predicting sales without having to write code. Even so, this simplicity has its downsides. A False Start at Scale When a mid-sized e-commerce company introduced its first machine learning model, it went for the quickest route: a low-code platform. The data team quickly built a product recommendation model with Microsoft Azure ML Designer. There was no need for coding or a complicated setup, and the model was up and running in only a few days. When staged, it did well, recommending relevant products and maintaining user interest. However, when 100,000 people used the app, it faced problems. Response times tripled. Recommendations were only shown twice, or they did not appear at all. Eventually, the system crashed. The issue wasn’t the model that was being used. It was the platform. Azure ML Designer and AWS SageMaker Canvas are designed to operate fast. Thanks to their easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools, anyone can use machine learning. However, the simplicity that makes them easy to work with also covers their weaknesses. Tools that start as simple prototypes fail when they are put into high-traffic production, and this happens due to their structure. The Illusion of Simplicity Low-code AI tools are promoted to people who are not technology experts. They take care of the complex parts of data preparation, feature creation, training the model, and using it. Azure ML Designer makes it very quickly possible for users to import data, build a model pipeline, and deploy the pipeline as a web service. However, having an abstract idea is both positive and negative. Resource Management: Limited and Invisible Most low-code platforms run models on pre-set compute environments. The amount of CPU, GPU, and memory that users can access is not adjustable. These limits work well in most cases, but they become a problem when there is a surge in traffic. An educational technology platform using AWS SageMaker Canvas created a model that could classify student responses as they were submitted. During testing, it performed perfectly. Yet, as the number of users reached 50,000, the model’s API endpoint failed. It was found that the model was being run on a basic compute instance, and the only solution to upgrade it was to rebuild all the workflows. State Management: Hidden but Dangerous Because low-code platforms keep the model state between sessions, they are fast for testing but can be risky in real-life use. A chatbot for retail was created in Azure ML Designer so that user data would be maintained during each session. While testing, I felt that the experience was made just for me. However, in the production environment, users started receiving messages that were meant for someone else. The issue? It stored information about the user’s session, so each user would be treated as a continuation of the one before. Limited Monitoring: Blindfolded at Scale Low-code systems give basic results, such as accuracy, AUC, or F1 score, but these are measures for testing, not for running the system. It is only after incidents that teams discover that they cannot track what is essential in the production environment. A logistics startup implemented a demand forecasting model using Azure ML Designer to help with route optimization. All was good until the holidays arrived, and the requests increased. Customers complained of slow responses, but the team could not see how long the API took to respond or find the cause of the errors. The model could not be opened up to see how it worked. Scalable vs. Non-Scalable Low-Code Pipeline (Image by author) Why Low-Code Models Have Trouble Handling Large Projects Low-code AI systems cannot be scaled, as they lack the key components of strong machine learning systems. They are popular because they are fast, but this comes with a price: the loss of control. 1. Resource Limits Become Bottlenecks Low-code models are used in environments that have set limits on computing resources. As time passes and more people use them, the system slows down or even crashes. If a model has to deal with a lot of traffic, these constraints will likely cause significant problems. 2. Hidden State Creates Unpredictability State management is usually not something you must consider in low-code platforms. The values of variables are not lost from one session to another for the user. It is suitable for testing, but it becomes disorganised once multiple users employ the system simultaneously. 3. Poor Observability Blocks Debugging Low-code platforms give basic information (such as accuracy and F1 score) but do not support monitoring the production environment. Teams cannot see API latency, how resources are used, or how the data is input. It is not possible to detect the issues that arise. Low-Code AI Scaling Risks – A Layered View (Image by author) A list of factors to consider when making low-code models scalable Low-code does not automatically mean the work is easy, especially if you want to grow. It is essential to remember Scalability from the beginning when making an ML system with low-code tools. 1. Think about scalability when you first start designing the system. You can use services that provide auto-scaling, such as Azure Kubernetes Service in Azure ML and SageMaker Pipelines in AWS. Avoid default compute environments. Go for instances that can handle more memory and CPU as needed. 2. Isolate State Management To use session-based models like chatbots, ensure user data is cleared after every session. Ensure that web services handle each request independently, so they do not pass on information accidentally. 3. Watch production numbers as well as model numbers. Monitor your API’s response time, the number of requests that fail, and the resources the application uses. Use PSI and KS-Score to find out when the inputs to your system are not standard. Focus on the business’s results, not only on the technical numbers (conversion rates and sales impact). 4. Implement Load Balancing and Auto-Scaling Place your models as managed endpoints with the help of load balancers (Azure Kubernetes or AWS ELB). You can set auto-scaling guidelines depending on CPU load, number of requests, or latency. 5. Version and Test Models Continuously Make sure that every model is given a new version every time it is changed. Before releasing a new version to the public, it should be checked in staging. Perform A/B testing to check how the model works without upsetting the users. When Low-Code Models Work Well Low-code tools do not have any significant flaws. They are powerful for: Rapid prototyping means giving priority to speed over stable results. Analytics that are done inside the system, where the potential for failure is minimal. Simple software is valuable in schools since it speeds up the learning process. A group of people at a healthcare startup built a model using AWS SageMaker Canvas to catch medical billing errors. The model was created just for internal reporting, so it didn’t need to scale up and could easily be used. It was a perfect case for using low-code. Conclusion Low-code AI platforms provide instant intelligence, as they do not require any coding. However, when the business grows, its faults are revealed. Some issues are insufficient resources, information seeping out, and limited visibility. These issues cannot be solved just by making a few clicks. They are architectural issues. When beginning a low-code AI project, consider whether it will be used as a prototype or a marketable product. If the latter, low-code should only be your initial tool, not the final solution. The post The Automation Trap: Why Low-Code AI Models Fail When You Scale appeared first on Towards Data Science.

“ULTRAAAAAAAA COMBO!” A battle cry that became popular with young fighting game fanatics in 1996 has returned: Killer Instinct Gold is now available on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. And I’m thrilled.Killer Instinct Gold includes 10 playable characters and features exclusive to the Nintendo 64 game such as team battle, team elimination battle, and training mode.Admittedly, I never owned the game when it first came out — I rented it from , so I never had the joy of tearing through an N64 box to retrieve my grey KI cartridge. Yet, playing the game then and now gives me joy, regardless of whether it was historically panned upon release or not. Yes, Killer Instinct Gold has often been detailed as a downgraded port of Killer Instinct 2. Yes, Gold has inferior graphics, reduced animations, the removal of unique character endings, and worse camera controls due to N64 limitations. But criticisms be damned, I was hyped every time we rented it from Blockbuster (remember that?) and I got to play against my cousins and brothers on the N64.The N64 severely lacked a fighting game library compared to Sony’s original PlayStation. As franchises like Tekken and Virtua Fighter introduced groundbreaking mechanics in the 3D fighting game genre, Nintendo and Rare teamed up and (re)entered the ring. With the release of KI Gold, Nintendo fans could have a fighting game that could at least stand next to those aforementioned titles — even if KI Gold couldn’t truly compete with Tekken and VF due to its limitations.Still, Killer Instinct Gold was groundbreaking in its own right; the game pushed the boundaries of combo mechanics and what was possible. Rare remade all of the backgrounds into full 3D — ditching static renders of the arcade version — with interactive environments allowing players to extend and create expressive combos with the help of a random object, like a box.While KI Gold isn’t the superior Killer Instinct experience, the game deservedly earned its spot in history. And I’m glad the game has found another home and life on the Nintendo Switch.Killer Instinct Gold is available now in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack: Nintendo 64 for Nintendo Switch.See More:

There’s something so satisfying about surprising “aha!” moments — those strange instances of insight that strike when you’re struggling with a problem and arrive at an answer suddenly, seemingly without warning. But is satisfying all that those moments are?Apparently not, as it turns out that the flashes of inspiration you feel when a solution finally bursts into your brain are much more than pleasurable. They’re also an important part of your memory-making process. Tied to surges of activity in your brain, these moments may shape your ideas into stronger memories, a new neuroimaging study suggests. Published in Nature Communications, the results may adjust the way we approach education, as environments that encourage learners to explore problems and experience “eureka” moments may lead to longer-lasting learning. New Insight Into Eureka MomentsExample of the hidden picture puzzles in the black/white images on the left; corresponding real-world picture on the right. (Image Credit: Maxi Becker) It’s a bit of a stretch to say that the relationship between “aha!” moments and memory is a sudden insight in and of itself, as eureka moments and epiphanies have been associated with memory boosts before. But little is known about how, exactly, these moments work, and about how they’re tied to memory at a neuroscientific level. Setting out to study the neural mechanisms that connect sudden insight and memory together, the authors of the new study recorded people’s neural activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as they solved a series of visual puzzles. After the participants solved the puzzles, the researchers then prompted them to describe their thought process — particularly, whether they worked out their solutions suddenly or slowly, with a single moment of inspiration or without. Analyzing the participants’ recordings along with their responses, the authors revealed that the puzzles that participants solved with moments of sudden insight were associated with surges of activity in the hippocampus — a small structure in the brain that’s responsible for learning and memory. In fact, the researchers even linked stronger moments of inspiration to stronger surges of activity in the hippocampus. And these surges weren’t trivial, either, as they meant that participants were “actually more likely to remember the solution” to particular puzzles later on, said lead study author Maxi Becker, a neuroscience researcher at Humboldt University, according to a press release. When the authors tested the participants to see whether they remembered their solutions to the puzzles several days after they solved them, the results revealed that they recalled the solutions they settled on suddenly, with a sense of epiphany, better than those they settled on slowly, without that same sense. “If you have an ‘aha! moment’ while learning something, it almost doubles your memory,” said senior study author Roberto Cabeza, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, according to a press release. “There are few memory effects that are as powerful as this.”Read More: What Happens in Your Brain When You Make Memories?Measuring ‘Aha!’ MomentsExample of the hidden picture puzzles in the black/white images on the left; the corresponding real-world picture on the right. (Image Credit: Maxi Becker.) The puzzles themselves were simple, though they were still able to encourage epiphanies on a small scale. Testing their ability to parse through patchy visual information, the puzzles prompted participants to identify ambiguous black-and-white images of objects and of animals, such as snakes, snails, and spiders. “It’s just a little discovery that you are making, but it produces the same type of characteristics that exist in more important insight events,” Cabeza said in the release. According to the researchers, the brain recordings also revealed bumps in activity in brain regions responsible for visual recognition, with a stronger sense of sudden insight being seen with a stronger bump in activity in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex (VOTC). Not only that, the researchers also revealed an association between more intense “aha!” moments and more intense brain connectivity between the hippocampus and the VOTC. “The different regions essentially communicate with each other more efficiently,” Cabeza said in the release.Ultimately, the study provides important insights into the neuroscience of some of our most sudden, most creative, and most satisfying solutions. It also supports the idea that exploratory learning, based on active inquiry and investigation, may be better for our minds by encouraging these surprising moments to occur. “Insight is key for creativity,” Cabeza said in the release — a lesson for learning that all of us should try to remember.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Nature Communications. Insight Predicts Subsequent Memory via Cortical Representational Change and Hippocampal ActivityPsychological Research. Aha! Experiences Leave a Mark: Facilitated Recall of Insight SolutionsSam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Sergey Nivens - Stock.Adobe.com News The Security Interviews: David Faugno, 1Password David Faugno, co-CEO of 1Password, discusses how his background led to him joining the company and why maintaining profitability is a key factor in overcoming the challenges of switching markets. By Peter Ray Allison Published: 16 May 2025 12:15 Although companies may embrace emerging technologies to remain competitive, they can be risk averse, especially when it comes to changing their customer base. However, this shift in focus is what 1Password did when it moved from being consumer focused to providing enterprise grade security solutions. In 2006, the company 1Password developed a password manager of the same name for the Windows, Android, iOS and Linux platforms. Since then, it has earned a reputation for being a secure method for protecting sensitive user information. Software licenses and other sensitive information can also be securely stored in a virtual vault on their servers, which is locked with a password-based key derivation function (PBKDF2) guarded master password (a password storage algorithm that is designed for deterring brute force attacks by making them computationally expensive). David Faugno had previously been enjoying a semi-retirement, working as a board member and adviser for various companies, including 1Password. As his interest in the company grew, he soon became increasingly impressed with its collaborative approach and transparency. He was invited to join the company as its president and chief operating officer in September 2023, before becoming co-CEO just over a year later. Faugno had previously spent more than 10 years with security and storage provider Barracuda Networks as its chief finance officer. Faugno’s experience with Barracuda Networks gave him a broad understanding of the security landscape, as well as a unique perspective for solving security problems facing organisations of all sizes. When Faugno joined 1Password, the world was emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid transformed the way companies operate by accelerating remote working technologies and encouraging people to work from home and, since then, hybrid working has become the norm in many sectors. “The world was fundamentally changing. The way people worked and the tools that businesses had provided to their employees to stay safe and secure, and create a secure perimeter, no longer really existed,” says Faugno. “This got accelerated pretty dramatically during the pandemic, which is right at the point in the time when we first invested and got involved.” As a consequence of the proliferation of remote working, the security perimeter for an organisation also expanded. Previously, the security perimeter had been at the endpoints of the corporate network, but now it has extended into homes of employees. Most cyber security incidents are due to compromised credentials, such as stolen, weak or reused passwords. Consequently, employees who use weak identification systems at home may inadvertently expose corporate networks to attack. It is therefore essential for maintaining security of a corporate network security that the cyber security of devices in the employees’ home is also protected. One method for achieving this is to provide each employee with a free family license for a cyber security package. Balancing security and data privacy against accessibility and usability can be challenging as these aspects can often be at odds with each other. Faugno acknowledges that uncompromised security may cause friction with setup and account recovery, however, 1Password took a decision early in the product development cycle to focus on ensuring that the most secure way was also the easiest. This led to a rapid uptake of its password manager, which resulted in it being adopted into thousands of businesses. Faugno soon noted that although 1Password was primarily a consumer-focused product at the time, it was becoming increasingly used in the enterprise sector. “When the work environment started to change and people started to get access to resources that were not being necessarily centrally controlled through their SSO, or through the tools that the company had put behind the firewall, these security-centric folks in business thought, ‘Oh, I can use 1Password for this’,” says Faugno. “We got pulled into thousands of business environments by these people. That’s when our awakening happened – the battlefield had moved from the building walls to where the end user was, wherever they were, with whatever tools they were using.” One of the first things Faugno did when he joined 1Password was to hire a finance leader. By having a sales team engage with enterprise clients to understand their needs, such as administrative controls or additional reporting functionality, 1Password was able to develop its existing platform and market an enterprise service to the business community. “When we first made the investment in 1Password in 2019, the company had zero salespeople and pretty much zero accountants,” says Faugno. “It was nothing but developers, building a great product, and support people. Those use cases would organically come, but what we weren’t doing is interfacing with the chief information security officers at large enterprises to share how our platform fits into their overall security architecture.” 1Password started building infrastructure around enterprise level support and billing capabilities, as well as sales and post-sales implementation capabilities, to allow it to engage with the business sector. Any change to a company carries with it a certain level of risk and expense, especially when it involves adapting to a changing market. It has taken four years, but 1Password’s core business model has created solid foundation for the company to build on. Despite the absence of salespeople and accountants, 1Password’s cash flow had remained profitable. This strong position allowed 1Password the opportunity for forward investment (investing in a company to improve a return on investment) without sacrificing profitability. Although maintaining durability of growth is essential for financial sustainability, it can be challenging. Unless an organisation has a financially stable core product, significant resources can be spent promoting a product that causes a sudden growth curve, but the growth will stop as soon as the money is used up if it was not sustainable. 1Password had the opportunity to invest in itself while remaining profitable in the different sectors, ensuring a durable growth. Instead of optimising for profitability, 1Password is forward investing across several areas without the need to pay off debt from a private equity transaction. “Over 75% of our sales are to companies, but so many people think of us as a consumer business, because either they know us personally or they’ve seen the legacy of us over the 20 years,” says Faugno.  The cyber security sector is a constantly evolving market, with an ongoing war of attrition between hackers and security teams: what is cutting edge now could be obsolete in six months’ time. Not only must security companies have a solid product, but they must also constantly update it in response to emerging threats. Soon, one of the key challenges that cyber security teams will need robust solutions for is protecting their communications in a post-quantum world. Quantum computers can process vast amounts of information in a fraction of the time that classical computers would take, including today’s supercomputers. This will have massive implications for cyber security as quantum computers will be able quickly break current encryption systems. There are various technologies already being developed that are described as quantum resistant, but testing of these is still ongoing. Rather than focusing on a specific technology, 1Password has teams researching emerging challenges. The future security challenge presented by quantum computing necessitate a multifaceted security strategy – 2FA/MFA, passkeys and federation (authentication across networked systems). “We have teams that are engaged deeply in thinking about what’s not only the next step, but two steps ahead,” says Faugno. “The world is changing across a number of dimensions, and quantum computing represents one. Passkeys are going to help, but the pathway to passwordlesss is a journey that’s going to take decades.   “Our view is that you have to start with the visibility of everything that exists and move everything on the continuum to passwordlesss. Today, that is having strong and unique passwords and encrypted vaults, adding multi-factor authentication, using passkeys where they’re available, and ultimately moving to federation.” Reputation is essential, especially in security. If a tool has proven itself to be viable and effective protection against attacks in the wild, then that will over carry into the business sector and naturally generate interest from organisations. “If you can build that level of endearment to the end user at the individual level, then what you can do for the business user is very similar,” concludes Faugno. “You can satisfy the most robust and hard-to-crack use case for making someone feel like this tool is helping them be secure and productive.”  Read more from the Security Interviews Series Armis CEO Yevgeny Dibrov talks about how his military service and intelligence work opened the door into the world of cyber security entrepreneurship. Okta regional chief security officer for EMEA sits down with Dan Raywood to talk about how Okta is pivoting to a secure-by-design champion. Threat intel expert and author Martin Lee, EMEA technical lead for security research at Cisco Talos, joins Computer Weekly to mark the 35th anniversary of the first ever ransomware attack. In The Current Issue: UK MoJ crime prediction algorithms raise serious concerns Interview: Markus Schümmelfeder, CIO, Boehringer Ingelheim Download Current Issue GraphQL as an ‘essential protocol’ for AI-API orchestration – CW Developer Network Mind the insight-to-impact gap, Qlik captures analytics ‘in the moment’ – CW Developer Network View All Blogs