infrastructure
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Current CO2 emissions will heat up the Earth by more than 1.5˚C
Even if we stop building power plants, factories, vehicles and home appliances immediately, we're on track to increase the global temperature by more than 1.5˚C -- the goal limit proposed by the Paris Agreement. Those existing, CO2-spewing offenders will generate an estimated 660 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases, and it will only take 580 billion tons to tip us past 1.5˚C. It gets worse. If we continue to operate existing power plants for their useful lives and we build the new facilities already planned, they'll emit two thirds of the carbon dioxide necessary to boost temperatures by a full 2˚C.
Samsung invests in logic chip R&D to take on Qualcomm and TSMC
Samsung's chip division is its most lucrative, but memory chip prices are falling and the company's overall operating profits are slipping. In response, Samsung just announced a $116 billion investment in non-memory chip R&D and production infrastructure. Some see that as a move to sell chips to other companies and take on competitors like Qualcomm, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC).
UK report details new and existing Huawei security issues
The US has been vocal about its qualms with Chinese tech giant Huawei -- going as far as to charge it with a laundry list of crimes, from stealing trade secrets to wire fraud. But European governments have taken a more moderate approach. That might be changing though. A new report reveals that the UK is unhappy with Huawei's tech and concerned about the risks it brings to the country's telecommunications networks.
LSU's bendable concrete could fix America's crumbling infrastructure
America's infrastructure is crumbling around us. The American Society of Civil Engineers' latest Infrastructure Report Card, from 2017, rated the nation's roads, bridges, airports and water systems at a paltry D+ -- the same grade received four years prior when the report card was last issued. However, recent advances in a novel form of concrete could help us rebuild our roadways to be stronger and more resilient than ever before.
NSA official: China is preparing for possible high-profile hacks
NSA official Rob Joyce told guests at a Wall Street Journal security conference that hacking-related Chinese activity had been climbing in recent months. He was concerned the country was "prepositioning" itself to attack "critical infrastructure" such as energy, health care, finance and transportation. China's hacking as of late has revolved around spying and swiping trade secrets, so this would be out of the norm.
New DHS center aims to protect US infrastructure from cyberattacks
The Department of Homeland Security is expected to announce a new center today that will work to protect US infrastructure from cyberattacks, the Wall Street Journal reports. DHS Under Secretary Christopher Krebs told the publication that the National Risk Management Center was created to address growing threats to the nation's infrastructure from foreign-based attacks, citing last year's WannaCry ransomware attack as an example. Banks, energy companies and other industries will be a focus of the new center. "It's not about a single bank," said Krebs. "It's about a sector of banks and the function they have in society."
The UK wants every new home to come with an EV charger
The UK has big plans to eliminate sales of new gasoline- and diesel-powered cars by 2040. Electric vehicles (EVs) are the key to making that work, but the required chargers are few and far between. Today, the government is unveiling a proposal requiring new homes, street light posts and businesses to have charging points. It will reportedly boost that with a £400 million ($530 million) fund for companies that produce and install EV chargers.
Atmospheric harvesters will enable arid nations to drink from thin air
As climate change continues to wreak havoc upon the Earth's weather patterns, formerly lush locales like the American West are finding themselves increasingly parched. Perhaps nowhere is that abrupt arridization more pronounced than in Cape Town, South Africa. Since 2015, the region has suffered severe droughts and the coastal capital of 4 million people has struggled to maintain a steady municipal water supply.
UK reportedly preparing for a Russian-backed cyberattack
As tensions between the UK and Russia continue to mount, both sides appear to be bolstering themselves for retaliatory cyberattacks. The Times reports that Prime Minister Theresa May has been receiving intelligence risk assessments regarding a potential Russia-based cyberattack that might result in the release of embarrassing or compromising information about UK ministers, members of parliament and others. Unnamed security sources told The Times that in the case of an attack on UK infrastructure, British officials were prepared to launch their own cyberattack against Russia.
DHS and FBI warn Russia is behind cyberattacks on US infrastructure
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI released a report today detailing Russian efforts to hack into US government entities and infrastructure sectors, including energy, nuclear, commercial, water, aviation and critical manufacturing sectors. The agencies said the cyberattacks have been ongoing since at least March 2016 and their report described the attacks as "a multi-stage intrusion campaign by Russian government cyber actors."
Audi's traffic light countdown tech comes to Washington DC
Audi's traffic light countdown has been rolling out very slowly in the US (it's active in just seven cities so far), but it just made one of its biggest expansions yet: it's now available in Washington, DC. Pull up to one of 600 connected intersections in the country's capital and your compatible Audi will tell you how long you have before the light turns green. You shouldn't be caught off-guard when an interminably long red finally changes.
President Trump signs order to promote broadband in rural areas
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will make it easier for companies to install high-speed broadband networks in rural areas. The move is designed to tackle the economic challenges of integrating broadband infrastructure in these communities -- where 39 percent of people don't have access to broadband -- which the Obama administration highlighted two years ago.
Hackers shut down plant by targeting its safety system
Hackers have already attacked critical infrastructure, but now they're launching campaigns that could have dire consequences. FireEye reported that a plant of an unmentioned nature and location (other firms believe it's in the Middle East) was forced to shut down after a hack targeted its industrial safety system -- it's the first known instance of a breach like this taking place. While the digital assault was clearly serious in and of itself, there are hints that it could have been much worse.
FCC wants mobile data to count as broadband internet
The FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai is signaling new broadband policy changes that can only be described as friendly to ISPs and hostile to consumers. In a "Notice of Inquiry," a public comment step often taken ahead of rule changes, the commission proposes that both fixed and mobile can be counted as broadband under Section 706 of its rules. That differs from the current standard, developed under Tom Wheeler, that requires timely deployment of both wired and wireless networks in the US.
Large-scale cyberattack is spreading through Russia and Ukraine (updated)
A large-scale cyberattack is working its way through a number of Ukrainian and Russian targets today. So far, in Russia, oil producer Rosneft and metal company Evraz have been affected by the attack. In Ukraine, Boryspil airport, the banking system, a state power distributer and even the Ukrainian government have been hit.
Self-driving cars to prove their mettle on an Ohio highway
When you think of American states that are crucial to the future of transportation, you probably think of California, Michigan and maybe Nevada. Ohio, however, is determined to put itself on the map. Thanks to a mix of federal and local funds, the state is wiring a 35-mile portion of Route 33 for vehicle-to-infrastructure communication tests. Ideally, this will solve traffic issues by helping connected and self-driving cars talk to both highway systems and each other. With enough test data, these smarter cars could both take better advantage of the available lanes and drive in closely-packed platoons.
Texas bill could mean jail time for flying a drone over oil facilities
The ebb and flow of legal rules when it comes to flying a drone, whether it's a cheap mainstream model or something a little more intense, is confusing. It also differs depending on country, and even state. When it comes to Texas, both the House and the Senate are pushing a bill that could attach jail sentences to any pilot found guilty of flying something over oil and gas drilling facilities, as well as telecomms infrastructure and concentrated animal feeding operations -- factory farms. Politicians want these structures added to a "critical infrastructure" list, where flying a drone lower than 400 feet aboveit would be a Class B misdemeanor and could even mean up to 180 days in jail.
Hack sets off all of Dallas' emergency sirens
Some hacks are clearly worse than others, but Dallas can at least lay claim to facing one of the loudest hacks to date. The city reports that attackers managed to set off all 156 of its emergency sirens for roughly an hour and a half between late Friday and early Saturday -- no mean feat when siren hacks usually trigger just one or two devices. Workers had to disable the sirens entirely to stop the incessant noise, and they only expect the emergency system to return to normal later on April 9th.
BT fined £42 million for fudging late broadband payments
Ofcom's crackdown of BT and Openreach continues. The UK regulator has dealt the pair a £42 million fine for late broadband installations fitted on behalf of rival internet service providers, such as Sky and Virgin Media. Openreach handles the bulk of Britain's broadband infrastructure -- so to keep the market fair, it's legally obliged to set up new lines within 30 working days. Inevitably, Openreach encounters problems and occasionally can't meet that deadline. In exceptional circumstances, it can assume a contract extension by the ISP and reduce the compensation it would normally have to pay. However, Ofcom found that BT did this "retrospectively over a sustained period" to avoid fines. Tut-tut.
California Republicans want to block high-speed rail funding
A 14-member contingent of the California GOP have sent a letter to newly-installed Transportation Secretary, Elaine Chao, asking that the DOT halt approval of a $650 million dollar grant for an electrification project that would have directly benefitted the proposed bullet train system running between San Francisco and San Jose. That grant would have gone to California's Caltrain agency (as early as this week) and be used to install a power system for the future train system. The letter cites cost increases and a lack of private funding as reasons to defund the project.
