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Oracle updates Exadata systems to speed database operations

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  Oracle Exadata servers are designed for cloud and data centers oriented around transaction processing If you had forgotten that Oracle was in the hardware business, it’s easy to understand why, as Oracle has not exactly promoted the business very well. Oracle’s hardware is descended from Sun Microsystems servers, which Oracle acquired in 2010. Oracle has since shifted direction with the hardware, dumping its custom Sparc processors for x86 and tuning the hardware specifically to run Oracle software. Oracle is claiming that the data-optimized hardware components and data-intelligent software enhancements in the X11M allow for quicker transaction processing, accelerated analytics, and AI workloads by up to 30 times over the prior generation of servers. Has a variety of deployment options, like traditional on-prem deployments, Oracle Cloud@Customer as-a-Service, public cloud partners and Oracle’s own Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. This gives customers the option of on-premises and o...
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Picking the Right Database Tech for Cybersecurity Defense

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  Graph and streaming databases are helping defenders deal with complex, real-time threat and cybersecurity data to find weak points before attackers. Modern cybersecurity technologies produce massive quantities of data, which requires rethinking how to store and manage all the different types of information being generated. Many cybersecurity platforms are increasingly relying on one of two database technologies — graph or streaming databases — to efficiently represent and query databases of threat indicators, asset inventories, and other critical cybersecurity information. Graph databases  allow for the properties and relationships of various objects — whether threat groups, devices on the network, or software vulnerabilities — to be connected and searchable.  Streaming database  technology allows real-time threat data and status updates to be efficiently processed and stored . Both technologies help companies move beyond the lists used by defenders in the past to ...
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Volkswagen Reveals New In-House AI-Powered Self-Driving Tech

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  I t’s all part of the Group’s “In China, For China” strategy, whereby it leans on local expertise to bring more focused products to the market more quickly. The full-stack solution has been developed by Carizon, a joint venture between VW’s software division Cariad and Beijing’s Horizon Robotics, and has been trained by a new AI-powered platform called GAIA. According to the auto giant, the tech will officially debut in a new Volkswagen-branded EV later this year, before being integrated into a series of affordable electric models based on the China-specific Compact Main Platform from 2026 onwards. That’s reflected by the fact that the JV was only fully established in November 2023. Over the past 18 months, more than 500 engineers in Beijing and Shanghai have worked on the new ADAS tech, resulting in the solution’s speedy development. Key to this has been GAIA, Carizon’s proprietary AI-driven platform for intelligent data collection and analysis. With two terabytes of d...
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NIST Finalizes Guidelines for Evaluating ‘Differential Privacy’ Guarantees to De-Identify Data

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  How can we glean useful insights from databases containing confidential information while protecting the privacy of the individuals whose data is contained within? Differential privacy, a way of defining privacy in a mathematically rigorous manner, can help strike this balance. Newly updated guidelines from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are intended to assist organizations with making the most of differential privacy’s capabilities. Differential privacy, or DP, is a privacy-enhancing technology used in data analytics. In recent years, it has been successfully deployed by large technology corporations and the U.S. Census Bureau. While it is a relatively mature technology, a lack of standards can create challenges for its effective use and adoption. For example, a DP software vendor may offer guarantees that if its software is used, it will be impossible to re-identify an individual whose data appears in the database. NIST’s new guidelines aim to help o...
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184 Million Records Database Leak: Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, PayPal Logins Found

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  The database’s exposure duration is unknown. Signs of infostealer malware were found, but no confirmed breach or misuse of user data, says cybersecurity researcher. A leaked 47GB database has exposed more than 184 million records, potentially placing affected individuals at high risk of identity theft and cybercrime . The stolen login credentials include accounts from major global platforms such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple, as well as government and corporate email addresses spanning at least 29 countries. Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered the exposed Elasticsearch database, which was quickly taken offline after he reported it. However, it remains unclear how long the database was publicly accessible or how many unauthorized parties may have accessed the data prior to its removal. Fowler reported the massive, unprotected database to Website Planet, revealing hundreds of millions of entries containing user credentials . The data included credential...
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NIH autism database announcement raises concerns among researchers

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A new research initiative from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks to gather and analyze multiple autism-related datasets to better understand the underlying causes of the condition. Letters of intent are due tomorrow, but the project’s atypical call for applications has autism scientists divided on whether or not to participate. The Autism Data Science Initiative provides $50 million for an anticipated 10 to 25 projects, according to the 27 May announcement. The funding opportunity uses an Other Transaction (OT) funding mechanism, which tends to be implemented when, among other reasons, a project is expected to evolve over time, more collaboration is required from the NIH or nontraditional research groups are involved, according to an NIH website. For a field that has recently seen budget cuts, some researchers are welcoming the opportunity for funding, says   Helen Tager-Flusberg , director of the Center for Autism Research Excellence at Bosto...
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As health data disappear from government websites, experts push back

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  Trump administration directives to purge government websites of information related to certain topics—such as “gender ideology, ” reproductive rights, and diversity, equity, and inclusion—have resulted in the disappearance of thousands of web pages and datasets. Roughly 8,000 pages were taken down from government websites, according to a Feb. 2 New York Times article—although some pages have since been reinstated . Information about vaccines, veterans’ care, hate crimes, and scientific research have been removed, as well as information about many other topics, according to the Times. Members of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health community are among those who argue that this purge will harm public health in a number of ways, such as by eliminating access to crucial health information used by clinicians and patients, and by concealing data used widely by health researchers. “This has international ramifications—it distorts the science base,” said Nancy Krieger, pro...
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