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Private Israeli spyware used to hack cellphones of journalists, activists worldwide

Military-grade spyware licensed by an Israeli firm to governments for tracking terrorists and criminals was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, business executives and two women close to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and 16 media partners.

The phones appeared on a list of more than 50000 numbers that are concentrated in countries known to engage in surveillance of their citizens and also known to have been clients of the Israeli firm, NSO Group, a worldwide leader in the growing and largely unregulated private spyware industry, the investigation found.

The list does not identify who put the numbers on it, or why, and it is unknown how many of the phones were targeted or surveilled. But forensic analysis of the 37 smartphones shows that many display a tight correlation between time stamps associated with a number on the list and the initiation of surveillance, in some cases as brief as a few seconds.

The Greek Laser Weapon That Hits Drones Every 2–3 Seconds

The inventor of the first robot in Greece, Konstantinos Soukos, has pushed Greece into a new era by creating laser weapons that target drones.

When the inventor and businessman Konstantinos Soukos built the first robot in Greece in 1985, he did not imagine that 36 years later he would supply many military forces across the world.

One of the newest creations that stands out at the DEFEA 2021 Defence Exhibition in Athens is the High Energy Laser Weapon developed by the Soukos Robots company which promises to transfer energy at lightning speed.

Howard Leonhardt — Founder, Leonhardt Ventures — Bioelectrics & Biologics For Regeneration & Healing

Investing in the convergence of bioelectrics & biologics for regeneration & healing — howard J. leonhardt, founder, leonhardt ventures.


Howard Leonhardt is the Founder of Leonhardt Ventures, the world’s first Innovation Accelerator focused on the convergence of bioelectrics & biologics for organ regeneration and tissue healing.

Howard is an accomplished inventor and serial entrepreneur, with 21 U.S. patents, over 100 patent claims for products for treating cardiovascular disease, and has over 40 new patent claims pending. His TALENT (Taheri-Leonhardt) stent graft, developed in the early 1990′s, holds a leading world market share for repairing aortic aneurysms without surgery.

Howard’s inventions to date have been involved in treated over 500000 patients in 60 countries.

Howard is co-leader of Startup California and Founder and Chairman of The California Stock Exchange TM (Cal-X) preparing to be the first social good impact stock exchange currently operating the Cal-X 30 Social Good Impact fund. He founded Cal-X Crowdfund Connect, a crowdfunding campaign management company, and Cal-X Stars Business Accelerator, Inc., a business incubator and accelerator focused on cardiovascular life sciences and social good impact innovations.

Amazon Patented a New Delivery System That Could Have Your Block Crawling With Robots

Last week, Amazon patented a delivery system involving self driving trucks carrying several small robots that deliver packages to homes.


Once all the small delivery bots are back on board, the truck (which would have a human driver in the near future but likely be autonomous in the less-near future) drives off to the next block—its fleet of mini-me’s restocking with new packages en route—and the scene repeats itself.

Cool/creepy? Good/bad? Depends on your perspective. On the one hand, employing fewer humans would bring Amazon more cost savings in the long run, which it would ideally pass on to customers and re-invest in other parts of the business, leading to hiring more people in a virtuous circle.

But on the other hand, it’s not hard to imagine the secondary vehicles going awry; there would be plenty of obstacles for them to get around (dogs, bikes, sprinklers, and children are just a few that come to mind), and given how hard it’s been to bring self-driving cars to market, Amazon may be underestimating the challenge of maneuvering the small delivery vehicles even 100 feet from truck to doorstep.

Face recognition is just the tip of the AI Computer Vision iceberg

These flaws in AI training give the technology a bad name, and so do regular media reports suggesting that intelligent machines are poised to decimate the human workforce. These themes, for many people, have obscured AI’s genuine usefulness in data analysis and conversational platforms. And while computer vision does indeed have its flaws, it is more than just a reflection of societal biases: it is potentially an essential tool for both society and business.

Computer vision, or CV, gives machines the power of visual recognition in a way that emulates human sight. Whether a machine is detecting dangers on the road or, more controversially, recognising faces in a crowd, the ultimate aim is to make decisions based on image interpretation.

The tech is an advanced form of pattern recognition, made through statistical comparison of data sets. This means that while machines can “see”, they have no real understanding of what they are looking at. They can distinguish one object from another, true, but can’t explain what this difference means.

These flaws in AI training give the technology a bad name, and so do regular media reports suggesting that intelligent machines are poised to decimate the human workforce

These themes, for many people, have obscured AI’s genuine usefulness in data analysis and conversational platforms. And while computer vision does indeed have its flaws, it is more than just a reflection of societal biases: it is potentially an essential tool for both society and business.

Computer vision, or CV, gives machines the power of visual recognition in a way that emulates human sight. Whether a machine is detecting dangers on the road or, more controversially, recognising faces in a crowd, the ultimate aim is to make decisions based on image interpretation.

The tech is an advanced form of pattern recognition, made through statistical comparison of data sets. This means that while machines can “see”, they have no real understanding of what they are looking at. They can distinguish one object from another, true, but can’t explain what this difference means.

Sun Valley Conference 2021—billionaire summer camp explained and who is attending

Some of the biggest names in technology, media and finance have gathered this week in Sun Valley, Idaho, for the latest edition of the annual conference hosted by Allen & Company, a private investment bank. The event has been dubbed the “summer camp for billionaires” due to its guest list.


Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates are reportedly among those who have been spotted at this year’s event, which began Tuesday and concludes on July 10.

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was also seen at the conference in a video posted by a senior correspondent for Fox Business Network, Charles Gasparino.

Branson Beats Bezos to Space History and Flight Analysis with Tim Pickens

Breaking — Branson Beats Bezos to Space! Some history of the Virgin Galactic propulsion development, flight analysis and more background with Tim Pickens.

Tim Pickens is an entrepreneur, inventor, innovator, engineer and educator. He specializes in commercial space, technical product development and solutions, and business consulting and strategy for space and technical companies. Pickens’ 25+ years of experience in the aerospace industry, specializing in the design, fabrication and testing of propulsion hardware systems, has earned him a reputation as one of the industry’s leaders in these areas. Early in his career, Pickens served as propulsion lead for Scaled Composites on SpaceShipOne, winner of the $10 million Ansari X Prize. He also worked for small hardware-rich aerospace companies in Huntsville, and later supported the Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo venture.

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‘Lack of Cybersecurity Is a Clear & Immediate Danger to Society’: Klaus Schwab, Cyber Polygon 2021

World Economic Forum Founder Klaus Schwab opens Cyber Polygon 2021 with a warning: “A lack of cybersecurity has become a clear and immediate danger to our society worldwide.”

Giving the welcoming remarks at Cyber Polygon for the second year in a row, Schwab spoke at length about the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) desire to tackle cybersecurity by bringing together a closer merger of corporations, small businesses, and governments.

Last year, Schwab warned, “We all know, but still pay insufficient attention to, the frightening scenario of a comprehensive cyber attack, which would bring a complete halt to the power supply, transportation, hospital services, our society as a whole.”

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