Lifeboat Foundation

A study by the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership and Innoviva Specialty Therapeutics found a single dose of a first-in-class oral antibiotic called zoliflodacin was as safe and effective as standard therapy for uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea. NIAID contributed financial and scientific support to the development of zoliflodacin and applauds its non-governmental and private sector partners on successfully conducting the study. Read the NIH statement on these results: https://go.nih.gov/Wquuct

A single dose of a novel oral antibiotic called zoliflodacin has been found to be as safe and effective as standard therapy for uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea in an international Phase 3 non-inferiority clinical trial, according to the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP), the study sponsor. Gonorrhea treatment options are increasingly limited due to antimicrobial resistance seen in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria that cause gonococcal infection.

Because of the imperative to expand the gonococcal therapeutic pipeline, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has contributed financial and scientific support to the development of zoliflodacin and applauds its non-governmental and private sector partners on successfully conducting the Phase 3 study. This research has generated important new evidence for a field in urgent need of alternative therapeutic options. Specifically, zoliflodacin may offer an alternative to current therapy for uncomplicated urogenital gonococcal infection.

Continue reading “NIH Statement on Preliminary Efficacy Results of First-in-Class Gonorrhea Antibiotic Developed Through Public-Private Partnership” »

Microsoft warns of Scattered Spider, a financially motivated hacking crew that infiltrates firms worldwide using SMS phishing, SIM swapping, and by posing as new employees, leading to data breaches and takeovers.

Find out more:

The prolific threat actor known as Scattered Spider has been observed impersonating newly hired employees in targeted firms as a ploy to blend into normal on-hire processes and takeover accounts and breach organizations across the world.

Continue reading “Microsoft Warns as Scattered Spider Expands from SIM Swaps to Ransomware” »

🚨Executives in U.S. firms under attack.

A new EvilProxy phishing campaign is targeting top-level employees, including banking, insurance, real estate, and manufacturing sectors.

Learn how they operate:

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In the intricate landscape of global cybersecurity, Webwyrm malware has surfaced as a formidable adversary, casting its ominous shadow across 50 nations and leaving in its wake over 100,000 compromised victims. This insidious digital menace successfully emulates in excess of 1,000 reputable companies globally, with the ensuing potential financial fallout estimated to surpass a staggering $100 million. It is imperative for cybersecurity professionals and organizations alike to comprehend the multifaceted nature of this threat to devise and implement robust defensive strategies effectively.

In the dynamic realm of cyber threats, malicious actors incessantly refine their Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs), exploiting extant vulnerabilities and augmenting the efficacy of their malicious campaigns. Webwyrm epitomizes this relentless pursuit of evolution, embodying a level of sophistication reminiscent of infamous cyber threats of yore, such as the notorious ‘Blue Whale Challenge.’

WebWyrm malware orchestrates a complex, deceptive narrative aimed at duping unsuspecting job seekers into relinquishing their cryptocurrency. Initiating contact predominantly via WhatsApp, the malefactors likely leverage data procured from employment portals to pinpoint and engage individuals predisposed to their deceptive overtures. Prospective victims are enticed with promises of lucrative weekly remuneration, ranging between $1200 and $1500, contingent upon the completion of daily task “packets” or “resets.”

While the stock market may love the term “AI,” companies haven’t figured out how to optimally monetize the services that go along with it.

Core inflation remains elevated in advanced economies, with economists calling for tighter monetary policies in order to improve price and financial stability for sustained economic growth. With inflation only slowly moving towards sustainable targets, investors can leverage insights into teen spending patterns, behaviors, and advancements in technology to identify broader economic and market trends.

In a recent Piper Sandler Taking Stock With Teens survey that analyzed discretionary spending patterns, fashion trends, technology, and brand and media preferences, inflation was determined to be the number two social concern among teens, pointing to initial signs of a slowdown in teen spending.

“Inflation reached its highest mindshare in terms of political and social issues, right behind the environment,” said Edward Yruma, senior research analyst.

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is believed to be involved in many cognitive processes, including linking goals to actions and tracking decision-relevant contextual information. ACC neurons robustly encode expected outcomes, but how this relates to putative functions of ACC remains unknown. Here, we approach this question from the perspective of population codes by analyzing neural spiking data in the ventral and dorsal banks of the ACC in two male monkeys trained to perform a stimulus-motor mapping task to earn rewards or avoid losses. We found that neural populations favor a low dimensional representational geometry that emphasizes the valence of potential outcomes while also facilitating the independent, abstract representation of multiple task-relevant variables. Valence encoding persisted throughout the trial, and realized outcomes were primarily encoded in a relative sense, such that cue valence acted as a context for outcome encoding. This suggests that the population coding we observe could be a mechanism that allows feedback to be interpreted in a context-dependent manner. Together, our results point to a prominent role for ACC in context setting and relative interpretation of outcomes, facilitated by abstract, or untangled, representations of task variables.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ability to interpret events in light of the current context is a critical facet of higher-order cognition. The ACC is suggested to be important for tracking contextual information, whereas alternate views hold that its function is more related to the motor system and linking goals to appropriate actions. We evaluated these possibilities by analyzing geometric properties of neural population activity in monkey ACC when contexts were determined by the valence of potential outcomes and found that this information was represented as a dominant, abstract concept. Ensuing outcomes were then coded relative to these contexts, suggesting an important role for these representations in context-dependent evaluation. Such mechanisms may be critical for the abstract reasoning and generalization characteristic of biological intelligence.

Beware of the new Xenomorph Android banking trojan variant.

Its Automatic Transfer System can initiate transactions, access balances, and even transfer funds – all without your knowledge.

Read:

Continue reading “Xenomorph Banking Trojan: A New Variant Targeting 35+ U.S. Financial Institutions” »

FS-ISAC executive shares tips on operational resilience in the face of cyber threats. #cyberattacks

Preparing for the unexpected may be a contradiction in terms, but for financial firms it is essential for survival. The sector has long been a target for threat actors, given that this is where the world’s money is. And as the financial ecosystem becomes increasingly interconnected, threats to its security and resilience are rapidly evolving and increasing.

Operational resilience is not just about responding with agility to risks but also maintaining continuity of operations with minimal or — even better — no disruptions. So, whereas cybersecurity is about preventing and defending against cyberattacks, resilience focuses on sustaining operations despite attacks.

Continue reading “Preparing for the Unexpected: A Proactive Approach to Operational Resilience” »