DIGIT’s Top Trending Stories

Aberdeen Students use Video Tech to Recreate ‘Earliest Pictish Fort’

Students from the University of Aberdeen have recreated what one of the earliest known Pictish forts may have looked like in a 3D animation.

Archaeologists investigating an eroded sea stack near the site of the ruined Dunnottar Castle, which was home to a Pictish power centre, have uncovered evidence of a third or fourth-century promontory fort.

The Picts were a confederation of several tribes who lived in what is today Eastern and Northern Scotland during the late Iron Age through to the Early Medieval period.

The team discovered partial remains of houses located at the site. However, much of the settlement has fallen into the sea over the centuries since it was active. Evidence of turf and timber structures, preserved floor layers and hearths were also uncovered during the investigation.

Want to find out more? Read the original article here.

Edinburgh Confirmed for BT Workplace Improvement Programme

BT Group has revealed Edinburgh as one of the first locations that will house its workplaces of the future as part of a three-to-five-year programme.

Initially unveiled in May 2018, BT Group plans to improve and consolidate its workplaces across the UK. Edinburgh is one of eight UK locations selected and the first to be announced in Scotland.

‘The Better Workplace Programme’ aims to consolidate the Group’s footprint of more than 300 locations to around 30, containing modern, future-fit buildings, including corporate offices, contact centres and specialist sites. It is the largest programme of its type in the UK. BT’s telephone exchanges will be retained by the Group.

Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Ipswich (Adastral Park), London and Manchester are the first towns and cities to be selected and will house a variety of the company’s operations. This is a clear signal that BT is committed to the whole of the UK, with locations in all four countries and their capitals.

Though detailed plans of BT’s footprint in each location are still to be finalised, some existing BT buildings will be refurbished while others will see BT move into new offices.

Want to find out more? Read the original article here.

Online Tool Launched to Help Airline Passengers Avoid Facial Recognition

A tool has been launched by privacy rights groups to help travellers avoid the ‘invasive’ tech in US airports, amid growing concerns over the use of facial recognition technology.

A host of rights organisations, including Fight for the Future, Demand Progress and CREDO Action, launched the AirlinePrivacy website. The site informs passengers about which airlines use facial recognition technology as part of the verification process during boarding. The website also enables customers to book flights with airlines that do not use facial recognition technology.

Rather than verifying an individual’s identity by scanning a conventional boarding pass, facial recognition technology scans and analyses a persons face, which then verifies both their identity and flight information.

Airports in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles are just some of the airports in which facial recognition is being deployed. Similarly, a number of airlines, such as British Airways, American Airlines, Delta and JetBlue, are supportive of the technology roll-out.

JetBlue has led the way in the use of the technology for nearly two years following an agreement with US federal agencies. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in 2017, which enabled this increased roll-out at US airports.

Want to find out more? Read the original article here.

National Cyber Security Strategy Falling Short, Says PAC Report

A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report states that the National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS) has shown that it did not intend to meet all its outcomes set out in the 2016-2021 strategy, and was unable to say how many it would achieve.

With a budget of £1.9 billion, the value it is delivering to the taxpayer is unclear. Cybercrime detection and prevention, managing risk in the critical national infrastructure, and development of cybersecurity skills are among the 12 objectives outlined in the strategy. However, the only outcome it will be able to deliver by the end of the current term is incident management.

The NCSS defines incident management as “the management and coordination of activities to investigate and remediate an actual or potential occurrence of an adverse cyber event that may compromise or cause harm to a system or network”.

According to the report, the department had very low confidence in its ability to achieve its other targets and was not able to demonstrate the value for taxpayers’ money with its current approach.

The PAC report said it was very difficult to asses value for money in regards to the strategy as there was no business case for the NCSS and the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP).

Want to find out more? Read the original article here.

In Case You Missed it…

NSA Warns Microsoft Windows Users of Cyber Attack Risk

The National Security Agency (NSA) has issued a warning to Windows users over the risk of cyber attacks, urging customers to ensure their systems are updated.

Older versions of Windows could be vulnerable to malware, according to the security agency. In a statement, the NSA said that a flaw known as “BlueKeep” may exist in past editions and could leave devices vulnerable to automated attacks.

The warning follows similar calls from the company last week, which advised users on the dangers of using outdated operating systems.

“All customers on affected operating systems [Windows 7 and earlier] should update as soon as possible,” Microsoft said.

Want to find out more? Read the original article here.

YouTube Bans Videos Promoting Nazi Ideology

Social media giant YouTube has banned videos on its platform that promote Nazi ideology or holocaust denial.

The company ruled that it will no longer host content that questions the legitimacy – or outright denies – evidence of the Holocaust. Other videos that question the infamous school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School will also be banned from the platform.

Six teachers and 20 schoolchildren were murdered during the mass shooting in 2012. Since the attack, conspiracy theorists, including InfoWars host Alex Jones, have suggested the mass shooting was ‘staged’ in a government-led conspiracy.

YouTube’s crackdown marks a significant moment in its history and follows a 2017 claim that it would take “a tougher stance” on extremist content being circulated on the platform.

Want to find out more? Read the original article here.

US Army to Deploy Laser and Hypersonic Weapons by 2022

The US Army plans to deploy hypersonic missiles and futuristic laser weapons by the year 2022.

Lieutenant General Neil Thurgood, head of the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, claimed that the US military intends to mount 50-kilowatt ‘directed energy weapons’ on armoured vehicles. Tests on the laser weapons could take place during field tests as early as 2021, Thurgood said.

Laser weapons such as those described by the high-ranking figure could be used to shoot down enemy drones in future, as well as rockets or mortars. The first combat-ready vehicles are predicted to be ready by 2022.

In the long-term, Thurgood suggested that the US Army is also exploring the possibility of developing more powerful laser weapons, including a 100-kilowatt weapon. While this could be a possibility, he noted that a key challenge for developers will be power requirements for a weapon of such power.

“The vehicle it’s on is not the limiting factor,” Thurgood told Breaking Defense. “Right now, we’re just trying to get higher power.”

Want to find out more? Read the original article here.