News
SANS Institute Introduces CyberStart Game to Teach Young Adults and Students to Fight Cyber Criminals
As part of the ongoing emphasis on online learning and the heightened levels of security threats during the pandemic, SANS Institute has announced the availability of CyberStart Game for students and young adults across the Middle East and Africa. CyberStart Game provides a gamified learning experience that can be used in the classroom or accessed at home.
This 100% online learning platform is designed to teach complex security concepts promoting self-exploration and investigation over traditional learning methods. Students can play over 200 challenges are in control of their learning as they train at pace that suits them and their ability.
According to research findings in a report titled, ‘SANS EMEA Survey: the iGen and Cyber Security’, among 14-18-year-olds across seven countries in the Middle East and Europe, the choice of IT (including cyber security) as a career is highest in Saudi Arabia and the UAE (47% and 46% respectively). Of those students who are interested in a career in IT, 49% were specifically interested in cyber security across the EMEA sample of students, with Saudi Arabia and UAE leading the pack at 63% and 58% respectively.
“Global communities and their families including school and university going students are now in a shelter-at-home position. On the flip side, threat actors are increasing their activities, using advanced social engineering phishing techniques to lure online workers to malicious sites and possible ransomware attacks. At this stage, CyberStart Game is the most appropriate and suitable platform to build awareness of cyber security skills for young adults, who may encounter these threats as they move to the next level of their career or device usage. Specifically, we find high awareness levels amongst young adults in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and we look forward introducing the most proven cyber security tool for young adults – CyberStart Game, which will introduce, inspire and improve students’ cyber security knowledge,” said Ned Baltagi, Managing Director, Middle East & Africa at SANS Institute.
CyberStart Game has been created by cyber security expert, James Lyne, who is the CTO at SANS Institute. It is the only training resource that focuses learning around real-world scenarios and cyberattacks, the challenges in CyberStart Game have been developed based on historical events and cyber breaches. CyberStart Game is built so that students can work independently. If they get stuck, there are various clues and tips and videos in-built to prompt them and help them through the challenge. Available now for schools, institutes and universities. The inbuilt simplicity and gamification experience of CyberStart Game means that teachers or parents do not need to be experts, they simply need to provide encouragement.
“We will be offering CyberStart Game Education and Enterprise packages. These packages include access for students and teachers and are flexible. We will help schools, universities and organisations in the Middle East and Africa to find the right option for them,” Baltagi concluded.
Gadgets
Huawei to Launch Next-Generation Foldable Smartphone at Dubai Launch Event
Huawei is set to host a highly anticipated launch event in Dubai this December, where the company will unveil several innovative products that promise to redefine the tech landscape. The event marks a pivotal moment for the brand, unveiling groundbreaking products like the HUAWEI Mate X6, HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4, and HUAWEI nova 13 Series. The new products will set new benchmarks for design, functionality, and user experience in the mobile and audio markets.
As Huawei continues solidifying its position as a leader in the tech industry, this launch will underscore the company’s expanding influence in international markets. Huawei’s latest flagship foldable, the HUAWEI Mate X6, will be unveiled during the Dubai launch. The phone is expected to redefine the future of foldable smartphone technology. It is among the company’s most advanced foldables to date. The Mate X6 is expected to take mobile photography to new heights, building on Huawei’s legacy of pioneering smartphone cameras of the Mate Series.
Besides the Mate X6, Huawei will unveil its next-generation audio products, including the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4. These earbuds will be the first to feature HUAWEI SOUND, offering an immersive audio experience. They will also include AI-driven noise reduction technology, designed to isolate the wearer’s voice during calls while eliminating environmental noise. This feature significantly enhances call quality, particularly in noisy environments.
Consumers can also look forward to the launch of the HUAWEI nova 13 series, a new midrange smartphone that brings a unique interweaving design and an array of exciting features. The nova 13 series offers significant upgrades over its predecessors, including enhanced camera capabilities, a performance boost, and more. The new HUAWEI MatePad 11.5 will also deliver a paper-like experience, perfect for light office productivity, efficient learning, and everyday tasks.
The Dubai event, scheduled for the 12th of December, will mark the global unveiling of Huawei’s several innovative products. The MEA market is one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic regions for technology, and Huawei is committed to strengthening its regional presence. By continuing to introduce groundbreaking products, Huawei is positioning itself to shape the future of mobile technology while reinforcing its role as a global tech powerhouse.
News
The Browser Company Unveils Dia, Its AI-Powered Browser
The Browser Company, known for its Arc Browser available on desktop and mobile, has unveiled its upcoming web browser called Dia, which focuses heavily on AI tools. Having previously launched Arc on Mac and Windows, and Arc Search on iOS and Android, the company is now working on a new product aimed at a broader audience.
Scheduled for an early 2025 release, Dia promises to bring a host of innovative features. The company recently launched a new website showcasing a video about Dia and listing various open roles within the company. The website states, “AI won’t exist as an app. Or a button. We believe it’ll be an entirely new environment — built on top of a web browser.” This vision for an integrated AI environment is a key component of Dia’s development.
In a video presentation, CEO Josh Miller demonstrated some of Dia’s early prototypes. One tool operates at the insertion cursor, aiding users in writing the next sentence or retrieving facts from the internet about topics such as the original iPhone’s launch and specifications. Additionally, the tool can fetch Amazon links opened in the browser to include in emails with basic descriptions.
Another feature allows users to type commands into the address bar to perform various actions, such as fetching documents, sending emails through the preferred email client, and scheduling meetings using natural language prompts. While some of these features may seem similar to existing browser-based writing and calendar tools, the true uniqueness and usefulness of Dia will only be known upon its release.
A more ambitious demo showcased Dia’s ability to perform actions on the user’s behalf, such as adding items from an email to an Amazon cart. In the demo, Dia browses Amazon, finds the specified items, and adds them to the cart autonomously. Another example demonstrated Dia’s capability to email participants listed in a Notion table for a video shoot. The Browser Company is not alone in envisioning an AI assistant capable of understanding interfaces and executing tasks. Many startups have showcased similar concepts and demos of AI models and tools designed to control users’ screens.
In a recent video, Miller hinted at developing new products for a wider audience while assuring current users that Arc’s design and functionality would remain largely unchanged. He acknowledged that although Arc has a dedicated and growing user base, its complexity might not appeal to everyone. The challenge for the company will be to create a browser with AI features that work seamlessly and potentially generate revenue.
Apps
Google Maps Integrates Waze Incident Reports for Enhanced Navigation
Google Maps has started to display Waze incident reports during navigation, allowing users to contribute by confirming road conditions via prompts. This integration follows Google’s July announcement that both apps would share more data, including Waze-sourced road closures, construction updates, speed cameras, and police presence information.
Over the holiday weekend, a Reddit user shared a screenshot of a prompt indicating “Police reported ahead” based on Waze driver reports, as reported by 9to5Google and Android Authority. Users can update these reports to reflect current conditions, similar to other incident notifications in Google Maps.
This is the first confirmed sighting of the feature in action, but more reports are expected. Despite merging the teams behind Maps and Waze, Group Project Manager Can Comertoglu told The Verge that the apps will continue to operate separately. Waze’s 500,000-plus contributors prefer some features of Waze over Google Maps, and vice versa.
This new feature enhances Google Maps’ functionality by leveraging Waze’s real-time incident reporting, providing users with more comprehensive and up-to-date information on their routes.
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