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Great Resignation: How to Be Successful in Attracting Top AI and ML Talent – EisnerAmper

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It has always been challenging to find the top artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) talent -- and todays environment has only heightened the difficulty. Non-tech companies have increased their demand for these workers, even as tech powerhouses like Google, Facebook and Amazon seek to hire thousands. Companies must broaden the funnel of potential candidates by making themselves more appealing to potential top talent workers. Despite the high demand for AI and ML workers, essential skills, expertise, and experience are scarce. According to a recent Gartner's 2021-2023 Emerging Technology Roadmap Survey that cited talent availability as the main adoption risk factor, it's no surprise that AI and ML professionals are in high demand at companies utilizing (or seeking to utilize) these emerging technologies, regardless of whether they're just getting started or have a lot of expertise. Its essential for firms, both tech and non-tech, to be creative in their approach.

Here are three tips for recruiting AI and ML talent:

Find where talented AI and ML engineers and data scientists hang out. For many companies, at first, this can be difficult to identify, but through resources like Meetup.com, firms can find groups where engineers and data scientists congregate. Meetup.com is a platform where groups of users focused on a certain topic get together and organize events and is a site which has been used to build professional tech community groups. Firms can find dozens of AI and ML networking communities in all large cities. Its important for firms hiring managers to be involved in networking within these groups and socialize, letting other users know why your firm is the best place to work!

Invest in creating partnerships with top tech universities for recruitment. An example of this is collaborating with data science graduate programs at local universities. From there, you have the first pick of the top talent straight out of the universities. This can provide an unlimited technology talent pipeline and connect you with the best student picks.

When interviewing the talent, its important to paint a clear picture of a culture of digital innovation and share why their work is worth it. This shows the candidates that workplaces are passionate about helping transform their clients' businesses using emerging technologies. For example, give references of AI and ML use cases that team members have contributed which provides value to the firm and clients.

As you invest in AI talent promotion and development, collaborate with your human resources team members to personalize an approach to implement AI skills at work to meet the changing expectations that the industry faces. This will lead to the promotion of internal team members and provide them the advancement of AI skills and training needed to take on roles like data scientist, data engineer, ML engineer, and business intelligence analysts.

Finally, an open innovation culture attracts top tech talent, regardless of the individuals race, gender, or background. It shows firms are passionate about the solutions they build that drive a fantastic client experience. When it comes to recruiting AI and ML talent, firms should no longer try to compete with the big tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and IBM. However, a more viable approach is to collaborate with leading technology companies, allowing teams to work on best-in-class AI and automation solutions from these big tech companies. With the digital revolution that COVID-19 has kickstarted, there is an opportunity for all companies to establish a strong reputation for digital excellence through the recruitment of an open, innovative, and diverse new workforce. As your reputation gets better, your opportunity to attract top AI and ML talent will be more significant.

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Great Resignation: How to Be Successful in Attracting Top AI and ML Talent - EisnerAmper

What empathy has to do with artificial intelligence – The National

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The Middle East, like the rest of the world, is moving towards a post-Covid-19 future. As things return to normal, companies are turning their attention back to issues such as how to optimise digital experiences.

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) nations are home to people from diverse cultures. Expatriates make up more than 85 per cent of the populations of many Gulf countries. Two hundred nationalities reside in the UAE alone. In Saudi Arabia, while figures vary, overseas citizens are said to make up about 30 per cent of the population.

Demographics like these present a unique challenge to enterprises that are looking to provide exceptional customer experiences (CX) to their consumers.

Tourists at the water fountain display near the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai. Bloomberg

As digital business models become the norm, customers are interested in better online and mobile-app experiences. To meet this demand, organisations must ensure a consistent experience, not only across languages spoken, but across the expectations of people from disparate cultural traditions.

Ideally, the complexities of customer service would be solved by hiring a diverse workforce, but this can be impractical. It would mean, for example, that in the UAE, each customer-service team would need 200 employees, each of a different nationality.

In such culturally diverse markets, business stakeholders need to find creative ways to cater to the range of customers, and in the digital age, this invariably means through technology.

By analysing the body language and speech of participants, AI can also help team members from different cultures collaborate

Last year, KPMG released a study on the KSA insurance sector, which revealed that 76 per cent of chief executives in the Middle East believe customer engagement in the future will be supported by virtual platforms.

When businesses do not have the means to hire huge, culturally diverse teams of customer care agents, then technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) can provide the solution. AI can improve the work of a customer care executive and guide him or her towards success in engagements that may not have been possible had the agent been working alone.

Technology systems that simulate and even surpass human intelligence have come a long way. They are now gaining commercial acceptance in industries, from construction to health care. Natural language processing the technology that, along with machine-learning, makes conversational AI possible has evolved too.

Accuracy and usability are now at a stage where the underlying technology can automatically pick up not only multiple languages, but variations in tone, stress, and dialects.

Technologies such as conversational AI software are attuned to cultural nuances and other audio and visual cues that allow it to discern a customers emotional state, attitude and even intent.

A performance at Global Village in Dubai, where different cultures are showcased in the pavilions from across the world. Chris Whiteoak / The National

With such capabilities, virtual conversational assistants can guide agents through interactions with people who speak different languages and, due to varied cultural backgrounds, are used to different standards of customer service. For example, some customers may favour a more personal touch while others might prefer more formality.

Now that the digital economy has allowed customers to switch their engagement instantly from one brand to another with a swipe or a click, companies are under pressure to ensure that every experience is positive.

Personalisation is a major element of positive customer engagement. The customer must feel that the "person" on the line understands their needs: what they want, what they dont, what they might want and why they might want it.

None of this is possible without that basic capability of human agents to engage in conversation and connect with people in a way that makes them feel comfortable, otherwise known as building a rapport. Building a rapport, however, can sometimes hinge on the agents ability to immerse themselves in each interaction. This is easier when people are supported by AI systems that provide them with context while automating background tasks such as note taking, finding the right knowledge resources, etc.

Organisations know that if they can make their service more relatable, they can increase brand loyalty and ambassadorship.

Today, organisations can embed AI assistants in their contact centres and work with employees to make them more effective in serving customer needs. Machine intelligence can thus enable agents to focus on being more empathic and deliver positive results.

By analysing the body language and speech of participants, AI can also help team members from different cultures collaborate better and even suggest how best to increase engagement with customers.

The Middle East has long taken pride in its cultural diversity. The companies that serve people as consumers can further this positive perception by ensuring customers receive the exemplary customer service, even the kind that might surpass customer experiences they might receive in their home countries.

Machine intelligence has the capacity to mimic human talents. Today, it can take empathy, undoubtedly one of our key human traits, further. By picking up on verbal subtle nuances in body language and tone, AI can help us understand one another and improve the experiences we have as customers.

Published: April 25, 2022, 8:00 AM

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What empathy has to do with artificial intelligence - The National

Google to update business hours with Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Techiexpert.com – TechiExpert.com

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Google has announced how it is trying to update business hours on Google Maps with the help of Artificial Intelligence, for instance, its restaurant-calling Duplex technology. The company claims to update the information in Maps once it becomes confident enough in the AIs prediction of what a businesss hours should be.

Its challenging to keep Google Maps the latest with a business owners working hours. During the pandemic, Google had gone through this new unknown issue. The hours of operation became unforeseeable, and they havent changed much. Resultantly, Google pronounced to use AI to update company hours.

Google drafted a machine learning algorithm that identifies whether the company hours are stated accurately in advance or not. It brings it to an end by recognizing patterns such as when the store is busiest, photographs of the storefront regarding the duration, opening and closing hours, and more. Then it is considered if the Google My Business profile should be updated with the actual hours or not. It helps to update and upgrade the information on the GMB page and analyses if it is different from the obtained data.

Google follows the numerous parameters that AI contemplates while making decisions about improvements in a blog post. To determine how likely the hours are wrong, it looks at when the company profile was latest and Popular Times data.

As per Googles records, if its AI thinks that the hours should be edited, it looks at even more data. Itll collect data from the companys official website and even scrape street view photographs to determine when the company is at its work. Google declared it will double-check the AIs predictions with real people, such as Google Maps users and business owners, and will even use Duplex in some countries to ask businesses about their hours directly.

What is Googles Duplex conversational technology, and how does it exert?

The technology focuses on collecting the right information through interactions. The AI voice dials the saved number and records their conversation. Furthermore, it makes an effort to take very little input from the owner. Google will be avoiding the door-to-door approach by using this technology to assimilate working hours.

Apart from this, Google will recruit AI to change speed restrictions on various pathways. While using Google Maps for navigation, this is a safety feature that reflects speed limitations. Google will perform so by collaborating with third-party image providers, and they will utilize photographs to verify the speed limit signal on a particular road.

As a result, the speed limits will be updated to offer great security for Google Maps users. Toll plaza charges will now be displayed on Google Maps. You can now find out the amount of toll, all thanks to new upgrades, and it can also guide highways to avoid toll booths if available.

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Google to update business hours with Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Techiexpert.com - TechiExpert.com

Everything You Need to Know to Improve JavaScript Security – Security Boulevard

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JavaScript is a great programming tool, but JavaScript security problems can cause significant damage to organizations and their customers. To help cybersecurity professionals and software developers better understand everything they need to know to improve JavaScript security, weve developed a free, comprehensive e-book, The Ultimate Guide to JavaScript Security. In it, we address the increasing number of threats and damaging attacks connected to JavaScript vulnerabilities, flaws, and open-source libraries. The guide highlights the fundamental risks associated with using JavaScript in an unprotected client-side environment, and what application security professionals and web application developers can do to better protect their websites and customers.

Among professional developers, for the last nine years in a row, JavaScript has been cited as the most popular programming language, according to the 2021 Stack Overflow Developer Survey. This comes as no surprise. JavaScript is easy to learn and use, operates quickly within a browser, works well with other programming languages, reduces server load, and offers programmers the ability to create rich and engaging interfaces.

But JavaScript has one big problem: it is highly insecure, with threat actors increasingly using JavaScript to deliver attacks, often from open-source and third-party JavaScript libraries.

The power of JavaScript is evident across todays digital landscape. Almost 98% of all websites use JavaScript as the client-side programming language to add interactive behavior to webpages and to create web and mobile apps. Banking sites use it for customer forms; e-commerce sites depend on it heavily to support the user experience during the shopping and purchasing process; and businesses use it for advertising and analytics.

However, traditional perimeter security tools, like firewalls, dont secure the front end or client side of a web application. This means that any organization leveraging JavaScript on the client side is at much greater risk of attack from threats like Magecart, e-skimming, formjacking, and cross-site scripting.

The free, new e-book: The Ultimate Guide to JavaScript Security contains five primary sections that cover everything businesses, AppSec professionals, CISOs, and web developers need to know about JavaScript security:

Each of these sections addresses key issues related to JavaScript security from a client-side perspective and provides the reader with guidance on how to better protect customers and businesses.

Key highlights from The Ultimate Guide to JavaScript Security include:

If you are an AppSec professional or CISO, or maintain a website to support your end users as part of your business model, then client-side security is crucial. Download this free e-book The Ultimate Guide to JavaScript Security. Gain a better understanding of JavaScript security threats and how you can protect your business and your customers from e-skimming, Magecart, cross-site scripting, and the multitude of other cyberthreats attacking the front end of your web applications.

The post Everything You Need to Know to Improve JavaScript Security appeared first on Feroot.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Feroot authored by Mary. Read the original post at: https://www.feroot.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-to-improve-javascript-security/

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Everything You Need to Know to Improve JavaScript Security - Security Boulevard

Topgolf opens first-of-its-kind experience in El Segundo with venue and newly renovated lakes at El Segundo Golf Course – CBS News

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Topgolf Entertainment Group, a modern day, technology-enabled golf entertainment company, is set to open a first-of-its-kind experience in El Segundo on Friday, April 15. The location features traditional and non-traditional ways to play golf through the company's signature three-level venue experience as well as an adjacent 10-hole, lighted, par-3 golf course.

"This is a very exciting opening for Topgolf as the game of golf continues to grow and diversify both on and off the course. We are thrilled to be part of this movement and for the opportunity to become a part of the El Segundo community," said Topgolf Chief Executive Officer Artie Starrs. "From the variety of experiences to the next-level technology features, our El Segundo location will bring the power of play to so many as we continue to shape the future of golf."

The Topgolf venue in El Segundo is an open-air, three-level venue that features 102 outdoor hitting bays, a restaurant and sports bar offering chef-inspired menu items, top-shelf drinks, music and year-round programming for all ages.

The venue is fully equipped with Topgolf's latest technology including a giant TV wall, brand-new ball dispenser units, large HD screens in the outfield, and the company's signature Toptracer technology. Toptracer is the most trusted ball-tracing technology in the golf industry, powering the experience at the venue and enabling players at Topgolf to enjoy favorite games including Angry Birds and Jewel Jam.

As part of the unmatched experience, Topgolf partnered with renowned golf course designer Mike Angus to refresh and reintroduce the beloved Lakes at El Segundo golf course to the community.

The course features a 10-hole, par-3 course where players can have laid back fun while playing a round of traditional golf. The course was uniquely designed to not only challenge the experienced golfer, but also create a fun experience for the novice golfer. Each hole is unique as players discover quirky names and hidden gems throughout the course.

Similar to what players can experience in venue or see on TV during professional golf majors, the 10th hole of the course is equipped with Topgolf's Toptracer technology that allows players to trace their shots like the pros. After assuming operations of The Lakes at El Segundo, Topgolf renovated the golf course complete with new turf and grass, refurbished lakes, night-lighting, a built-in music system, and a brand-new Golf Shop offering food, beverages and golf equipment.

Beyond playing at the venue and golf course, Topgolf El Segundo and The Lakes at El Segundo will collectively employ approximately 500 Associates, further strengthening the Greater Los Angeles area's economy.

As part of Topgolf's ongoing commitment to bring the power of play to the community, Topgolf hosted a unique ceremonial eightsome charity swing event that benefited the local Los Angeles Make-A-Wish Chapter. Composed of local celebrities, well-known golfers, and public officials, Topgolf donated $20,000 to grant a child's wish in the greater Los Angeles area.

"If you're not a golfer, it's much like romance, you don't have to be romantic to get the job done. You don't need to be a good golfer to come out here and play," said George Lopez. "And you can play at night!"

This latest Topgolf in El Segundo marks the fourth venue to serve the state of California alongside venues in Ontario, San Jose and Roseville (Sacramento).

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Topgolf opens first-of-its-kind experience in El Segundo with venue and newly renovated lakes at El Segundo Golf Course - CBS News

Summer in Chicago: Leaders announce seasonal paid opportunities, programming for the citys youth – WGN TV Chicago

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CHICAGO Chicago Public Schools students are counting down the days to summer break, and so are city leaders.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced summer opportunities and programming for Chicagos youth on Monday at a 1:30 p.m. event from Foster Park Fieldhouse.

The mayor touted the citys One Summer Chicago program, which pairs Chicagoans 14 to 24 years old with employment and internship opportunities. She announced the application portal is now open and encouraged eligible residents to begin applying.

Mayor Lightfoot also discussed the Chicago Youth Service Corps which provides paid opportunities for residents ages 16 to 24.

For those looking elsewhere to earn a seasonal salary, the Chicago Park District also has several summertime positions posted. Summer 2022 park district day camps, however, are not yet open for registration. Those can be viewed beginning May 2 with online registration opening a week later on May 9.

Additional speakers included Chris Brown, commissioner of Chicago Public Library, Brandie Knazze, commissioner of Chicagos Department of Family and Support Services, and Farah Tunks, regional director of the Chicago Park District, all of which discussed what their organizations were providing for the citys youth through the summer.

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Summer in Chicago: Leaders announce seasonal paid opportunities, programming for the citys youth - WGN TV Chicago

Spotify adds live audio programs and rebrands Greenroom app as Spotify Live – The Verge

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Spotify is rebranding its Greenroom live audio app as Spotify Live and will bring its features into the main Spotify app, the company announced Tuesday. Spotify Live will be available as both a standalone app and a livestream feature in the main app. At present, the main app will include select live content from original programming, and the standalone Spotify Live app will be open to all independent creators.

Listeners will be able to tune in to live programming on Spotify via the creators podcast or artist page, and if they want to participate in the chat or join the host onstage, they can head to the Spotify Live app to do so, according to a blog post on the companys website.

Bloomberg first reported last month that a name change was coming for Greenroom, which Spotify launched last year as a potential competitor for Clubhouse. Greenroom was built on Locker Room, an app created by Betty Labs, a software developer acquired by Spotify last March. The app got off to a slow start, however, lagging behind other live audio competitors like Twitter Spaces.

In its release, Spotify said its rolling out some live event programming to kick off the rebrand, including events with Spotify-exclusive podcast Off the Record with DJ Akademiks today at 12:30PM ET and After Hours with Alex Cooper, host of Call Her Daddy, on Wednesday at 10PM ET.

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Spotify adds live audio programs and rebrands Greenroom app as Spotify Live - The Verge

Is PHP Dying or Does It Just Need an Image Makeover? – ITPro Today

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If you haven't heard much about the PHP programming language lately, that may be because PHP's popularity is waning. In fact, the usage of PHP relative to other languages has declined so precipitously that a number of folks are now asking the question, "Is PHP dying?"

The short answer is "probably not." PHP is almost certainly not going to disappear. However, it is fair to say that PHP is suffering an image problem and that PHP developers should invest in making the language "feel" more modern.

Related: PHP Foundation Breathes New Resources into Open Source Language

Doubts about PHP's future can be attributed mostly to the fact that PHP's popularity has been steadily slipping in recent years.

According to the TIOBE Index, PHP ranked fifth on the list of most popular programming languages as recently as 2012. By 2017, it had slipped to sixth place, and it fell to ninth place by the start of 2022.

Related: Java 18 Brings New Features to Accelerate Software Development

Admittedly, a decline from fifth to ninth place over a period of a decade may not seem especially notable. But it is significant given how central PHP, which originated in the mid-1990s, has traditionally been to web programming. It's not a stretch to say that PHP, which was the first general-purpose programming language for creating dynamic and interactive websites, created the web as we know it.

Viewed from that perspective, it is remarkable that the number of developers using PHP seems to be declining steadily.

That said, it's probably an overstatement to declare that PHP is in a terminal state.

The biggest reason why is because, even if PHP is not as popular as it once was compared with other languages, it remains absolutely central to some of the world's largest platforms and websites such as WordPress, Facebook, Wikipedia, and Slack.

If PHP were to die, entities like these would have to die with it or be migrated to other languages, which would require so much effort and cause so much disruption to existing development ecosystems that it's really hard to imagine it happening.

For example, if WordPress developers wanted to port the platform to a different language, not only would it likely take years to complete the migration of WordPress itself, but virtually every WordPress plugin, theme, and other add-on would also have to be rewritten. This effort would be such a momentous undertaking, which would require buy-in from so many different stakeholders, that it's basically impossible to see it actually taking place.

It's worth noting, too, that the PHP development community remains alive and well, despite doubts from outsiders about PHP's long-term viability. The most recent major new release of the language, PHP 8, debuted not that long ago. Popular PHP frameworks, like Laravel, remain quite active, too.

Finally, it's important to remember that a decline by PHP in popularity on lists like TIOBE doesn't mean a decline in total usage. It just means that PHP is being used less often compared with other languages not that large numbers of developers are migrating existing applications from PHP to a different language.

So, I'd bet my money on PHP remaining a major programming language for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, I think changes are in store for the way PHP works and how it is used by developers. Specifically, we'll likely see changes designed to improve the image of PHP as a modern language that remains relevant in the cloud-native age.

Above all, I expect that we'll see continuing efforts by the PHP development community to make PHP itself more developer-friendly. That was one of the major focuses with the PHP 8 release, and I don't think the effort will end there.

I also imagine PHP developers will invest in bolstering PHP's image as a secure language. This won't require technical changes as much as cultural ones. PHP is just as fundamentally secure as other mainstream web programming languages, but it seems to suffer probably unfairly from a reputation for insecurity among some folks. For that reason, I wouldn't be surprised if in future releases PHP developers place special emphasis on enhancing the security of PHP.

Changes such as these are necessary because ultimately, for PHP to continue thriving for the next quarter century of its life, more developers need to perceive PHP as a "modern" language.

Currently, it's easy for PHP to look and feel like a language that continues to live in the past. And it's not a coincidence that most of the major platforms that use PHP like WordPress, Facebook, and Wikipedia date to the early 2000s, when PHP was much younger and hipper. With exceptions like Slack, you don't see a lot of brand new platforms being built with PHP today.

If PHP can update its stale image, it stands not only to stop dropping in popularity, but perhaps even to climb back up the list. After all, it's not as if languages inevitably fade in popularity as they age. For example, Python (which appeared in the early 1990s) is several years older than PHP, and no one is accusing it of dying. But that's probably because Python still enjoys the image of being a modern language, whereas PHP feels somewhat dated.

All of the above is to say that, while PHP is almost certainly not dying, it is waning in popularity. But that's mostly due to a perception issue more than any technical ones within the PHP language. Small enhancements in areas like usability and security could go far toward improving PHP's image and ensuring that it continues to thrive into the future.

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As DCPS Goes on Spring Break, the District to Offer Daytime and Evening Programming for Students | mayormb – Executive Office of the Mayor

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(Washington, DC)As DC Public Schools (DCPS) prepare to go on Spring Break, Mayor Muriel Bowser is reminding families that the District will be hosting daytime and evening programming next week and on Monday, April 18, to help keep students engaged during their out of school time.

DPR is providing full-day options for parents of youth ages 3-5 years old and6-12 years old at recreation centers across the District from April 11-14. The camps will offer a blend of enrichment activities, sports, and arts and crafts.

On Monday, April 18, when DCPS will be closed for staff development, DPR will offer Fun Day and Wee Fun Day camps for children ages 6-12 and 3-5, respectively, featuring enriching activities, sports, arts and crafts, and more.

Next week, the District will host #HealthyHeroesDC Kids Week, featuring fun activities and community events with opportunities for students and families to get vaccinated against COVID-19. DC Health will also offer vaccination pop-ups at DPR Spring Break camps throughout the week. Visit backtoschool.dc.gov/kidsweek to learn more and see the full list of events.

Hair Love StoryWalk @ Bellevue LibraryWhat: Children are invited to participate in an outdoor interactive picture walk of the book Hair Love. The event will also feature face painting and other surprise activities.When: Monday, April 11, 12 pm 4 pmWhere: Bellevue Library

Rosedale Spring FlingWhat: A fun-filled spring event where families will enjoy some food, games, and music.When: Wednesday, April 13, 2 pm 6 pmWhere: Rosedale Recreation Center Football Field

Hillcrest Easter JamboreeWhat: A fun day of arts & crafts, scavenger hunts, and more.When: Thursday, April 14, 5:30 pm 7:30 pmWhere: Hillcrest Recreation Center

Easter Eggstravaganza and Movie Night @ Fort Stanton Recreation CenterWhat: Community Easter event with music, game stations, obstacle courses, arts and crafts tables, and easter egg hunt, followed by a special showing.When: Thursday, April 141 pm 4 pm (Egg Hunt)5 pm 7 pm (Movie)Where: Fort Stanton Recreation Center

Spring Fling DiveWhat: Youth will participate in an egg dive in the swimming pool.When: Saturday, April 16, 1 pm 4:30 pmWhere: Turkey Thicket Aquatic Center

Mayor Bowser also continues to encourage DC youth ages 5-12 to participate in the #HealthyHeroesDC Youth Art Contest. Students can submit their artwork showcasing how they are protecting their community, including getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Selected winners will have their artwork featured in a District wide media campaign. Visit backtoschool.dc.gov/YouthArtContest to learn more.

Pastel Color ExtravaganzaWhat: Youth will decorate eggs and baskets to take home, incorporating an egg hunt and candy.When: Monday, April 11, 3 pm 5 pmWhere: Barry Farm Recreation Center

Intergenerational Spring Walk-a-ThonWhat: Come walk into spring! We will have a pre-game warm-up party, an all-in team stretch session, and cool down.When: Wednesday, April 13, 11:30 am 1:30 pmWhere: Fort Stevens Recreation Center Basketball Court

Intergenerational Spring BlingWhat: Seniors and teens will come together to meet and greet, and congregate listening to different genres of music using silent headphones.When: Wednesday, April 13, 1 pm 3 pmWhere: Columbia Heights Community Center

Spring Seekers Finders KeepersWhat: A scavenger hunt for eggs with small prizes.When: Wednesday, April 13, 10 am 12 pmWhere: Arthur Capper Playground

Late Night Hype 2.0What: A teen-night and pool party from 7 11 pm that continues with open rec activities until sunrise.When: Thursday, April 14, 7 pm 11 pm (Open rec: 11 pm sunrise)Where: Deanwood Recreation Center and Pool

Trinidad & Tobago Under-20 National Team TryoutsWhat: Residents can watch invited North American-based Trinbagonian players scrimmage for a chance to join the Trinidad & Tobago Under-20 National Team that will compete in CONCACAF championships this summer in Honduras.When: Saturday, April 16 & Sunday, April 17, 9 am 12 pmWhere: Edgewood Recreation Center

Intergenerational Easter Egg HuntWhen: Monday, April 18, 4 pm 5 pmWhere: Fort Stevens Seniors Center

Eagles Easter Egg-stravaganza & Egg-luminate Night HuntWhat: Annual Easter celebration event for the Bald Eagle & Ward 8 community.When: Monday, April 18, 6:30 pm 9:30 pmWhere: Bald Eagle Recreation Center

To learn more and register for events, please visit dpr.events.

PetalpaloozaWhat: Celebrate spring at Petalpalooza for a full day of live music and engaging activities. The evening is capped by a fireworks show.When: Saturday, April 16, 1 pm 9 pmWhere: Capitol Riverfront at the Yards

Admission is free of charge at all Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo. Timed-entry passes are only required at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Zoo. A full schedule for Smithsonian Museums and the National Zoo can be found online.

The Districts family success centers in Wards 7 and 8 will be open next week, Monday Thursday, from 8:15 am 4:45 pm. Vaccinations will be offered throughout the success centers.

Nine indoor pools are open across the District next week, including Marie Reed, Wilson, Roosevelt, Turkey Thicket, Dunbar, William H. Rumsey, Deanwood, HD Woodson, and Barry Farm. For hours of individual pools, please visit dpr.dc.gov/page/indoor-pools (all DPR facilities are closed Friday, April 15, in observance of DC Emancipation Day).

DC Public Library (DCPL) locations will be open all week, with select locations open on Friday, April 15. The Anacostia Library, Benning Library, Mt. Pleasant Library, Petworth Library, Southwest Library, Tenley-Friendship Library, Woodridge Library, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library will be open on Friday, April 15, from 10 am 6 pm All Library locations will be closed on Saturday, April 16 for DC Emancipation Day and on Sunday, April 17 for Easter.

The Districts Office of Out of School Time Grants and Youth Outcomes (OST) partners with community-based organizations to offer youth enriching opportunities to grow and thrive outside the classroom. A full list of available programs across all eight wards can be found here.

DPR Meal Distribution sites will offer meals from 12 pm 2 pm at 18 sites from Monday, April 11 through Thursday, April 14. A full list of sites is available at dpr.dc.gov/afterschoolmeals.

Meal distribution sites at DCPS be closed from April 11 through April 15. On Friday, April 8 from 10 am 2 pm, open meal sites will distribute up to seven breakfast and lunch kits since meal sites will be closed during Spring Break. Youth can visit Anacostia HS, Ballou HS, Columbia Heights EC, Dunbar HS, Eastern HS, Hardy MS, Jackson-Reed (Wilson) HS, Ron Brown HS, Roosevelt HS, and HD Woodson HS to receive meals.

During Spring Break, DC Central Kitchens mobile meal truck will be making stops at select schools. The free lunch bags - that include two days worth of healthy proteins, fruit, and milk - will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis. Meal delivery schedule below.

Monday, April 11; Wednesday, April 13; and Friday, April 15:

Tuesday, April 12; Thursday, April 14; and Monday, April 18

Social Media:Mayor Bowser Twitter:@MayorBowserMayor Bowser Instagram:@Mayor_BowserMayor Bowser Facebook:facebook.com/MayorMurielBowserMayor Bowser YouTube:https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos

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As DCPS Goes on Spring Break, the District to Offer Daytime and Evening Programming for Students | mayormb - Executive Office of the Mayor

BlackCat Is the Latest Successor of Ransomware Group, BlackMatter – Tech.co

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Ransomware gang on-the-rise, BlackCat (ALPHV), have been linked to previously defunct groups BlackMatter and REvil, due to their shared use of the sophisticated BlackCat malware.

The cybercriminals have already launched a number of attacks on industrial companies and universities in the U.S. and are spectated to be using some of the most advanced ransomware in circulation.

According to a recent report by the VPN provider Kaspersky, the tools and techniques used by BlackCat bear much resemblance to those used by BlackMatter the hacking circle responsible for the 2021 Colonial Pipeline attack. This revelation shows how hard it is to wipe out the use of this rapidly advancing malware.

BlackCat is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) gang that has been active since December 2021. Since their inception, they've been targeting a number of global organizations by stealing sensitive data, extorting money, and threatening to launch a disrupted denial-or-service (DDoS) attack if demands aren't met.

Far from being your run-of-the-mill cyber gang, BlackCat has attracted global attention because it relies on sophisticated ransomware of the same name.

Unlike other types of ransomware, BlackCat runs on Rust, a programming language with cross-compilation capabilities. Due to these advanced capabilities, the language can run on both Windows and Linux systems. The use of Rust also makes finding encrypted files easier, while making the malware less detectable to security researchers.

But what does it actually look like to be targeted? Well, users who are targeted by BlackCat could have their files locked and be demanded to pay for their decryption. The malicious program also can rename encrypted files to align with their specific requests.

Then, if users refuse to agree to the payout fees which commonly exceed six digits the ransomware groups may add additional pressure by threatening to publish the compromised data publicly.

While the actions BlackCat are taking might seem rare, this isn't the first time they've been used to target users.

The same tactics have also been used by notorious ransomware groups like BlackMatter, REvil, and DarkSide a string of affiliate RaaS groups that have been responsible for thousands of high-profile attacks worldwide.

After the REvil and BlackMatter groups shut down their operations, it was only a matter of time before another ransomware group took over their niche, said Dmitry Galov, security researcher at Kaspersky.

And this isn't just a coincidence. In Kaspersky's report A bad luck BlackCat released last Thursday, it was revealed that BlackCat is just the latest iteration of these groups, with the gang using near-identical tools and techniques to its predecessors.

Specifically, the research found that the new RaaS group were using a custom exfiltration tool called Fendr and a batch file called Mimikatz, both of which had been used by BlackMatter and REvil.

Additional research from Tripwire also suggests that the RaaS group's similarities may even extend to its members, with the software company finding that a number of criminals previously involved with these groups are now working with BlackCat.

BlackCat ransomware and similar threats cause unprecedented damage to businesses. To avoid being targeted by these breaches or to limit their impact, it's recommended that companies take note of the cybersecurity precautions below.

For a more detailed breakdown of how to stay safe online, read our top tips for managing cyber threats here.

Read more here:
BlackCat Is the Latest Successor of Ransomware Group, BlackMatter - Tech.co


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