Latest news with #federalagencies
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Federal health agency finalizes mass layoffs after Supreme Court lifts pause
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is moving forward with mass layoffs after the Supreme Court lifted a pause on the Trump administration's sweeping efforts to cut the workforce at federal agencies. The administration began a wave of terminations at HHS on April 1, part of a plan to cut 10,000 jobs at the department and many more across the federal government. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco halted the layoffs, ruling on May 22 that approximately 20 affected agencies, including HHS, wouldn't be able to function as Congress intended. The Supreme Court, in a July 8 ruling, allowed the job cuts to proceed. An HHS spokesperson said July 15 that employees originally targeted for layoffs have now been terminated, with some exceptions. Combined with earlier job cuts and people who accepted early retirement offers, the total Health and Human Services workforce is expected to drop from 82,000 to 62,000 people. President Donald Trump has been pushing big cuts at federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency. The HHS cuts affect a vast array of programs, including the HIV prevention division in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and tobacco prevention efforts at the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration. Word of the cuts prompted concern from leading health experts when they were announced in April. 'The randomness of today's actions is reckless and will harm Americans rather than make them healthy,' Dr. Colleen Kelley, chair of the HIV Medicine Association, said at the time. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in March when the department announced plans for big cuts that the move would reduce "bureaucratic sprawl" and realign his agency "with its core mission and our new priorities." Contributing: Maureen Groppe, Sarah D. Wire, Josh Meyer, Bart Jansen, Ken Alltucker, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Eduardo Cuevas, Sudiksha Kochi, Adrianna Rodriguez, Terry Collins This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's administration finalizes mass layoff of health workers
Crypto Insight
2 days ago
- Business
- Crypto Insight
Bitcoin's quantum countdown has already begun, Naoris CEO says
A hacker-turned-defender warns that most of the industry is asleep on crypto's existential threat: quantum computing. David Carvalho, CEO of post-quantum infrastructure firm Naoris Protocol, began hacking at the age of 13, experimenting with spam emails to attract job offers and gain attention from employers. Eventually, that curiosity shifted into formal cybersecurity work, where he used the same skills to defend systems instead of probing them. Today, he builds quantum-resilient systems for decentralized networks and claims that the cryptographic foundations of blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum are dangerously outdated. 'The cryptography behind nearly every chain is as weak as the rest of the world's cryptography,' Carvalho told Cointelegraph. 'Quantum is coming for it all, like meteors came for the dinosaurs.' Though Bitcoin and other blockchain developers often claim there's still plenty of time to adapt, the window may be closing fast. Efforts to implement quantum-resistant signatures are underway, but Carvalho said they're far from widespread or treated with the urgency the threat demands. The quantum threats harvesting Bitcoin data today For years, the idea that quantum computers could threaten Bitcoin felt like science fiction. But real-world developments suggest the threat is shifting from theory to early practice. Governments and tech giants are already preparing for what's known as the 'harvest now, decrypt later' model. US federal agencies, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, have warned since 2022 about the urgency of adopting quantum-resistant algorithms, while a White House memorandum prompted the NSA to advise government contractors to migrate to post-quantum cryptography by 2035. Today's quantum technology still falls short of cracking Bitcoin's SHA-256 hash function or the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) that secures crypto keys. But researchers like Carvalho argue that exponential breakthroughs — especially when paired with AI — could arrive abruptly. State-sponsored actors and cybercriminal groups are already collecting encrypted blockchain data now, hoping to decrypt it once quantum hardware catches up. 'The adversaries collecting encrypted blockchain data right now aren't waiting to attack today,' Carvalho said. 'They're building data sets for tomorrow. When the tech catches up, they'll unlock a decade of secrets in minutes.' Despite these warnings, most of the Bitcoin community doesn't see quantum computing as an immediate threat, and there's no widespread sense of panic. Bitcoin's current cryptography is still considered robust against existing quantum machines, and developers have begun exploring defenses like BIP-360, which proposes quantum-resistant addresses. Projects like Carvalho's Naoris Protocol are also working to help blockchains transition to post-quantum cryptographic standards. Quantum laced with AI is Bitcoin's real apocalypse While most conversations about quantum threats focus on brute-force attacks on cryptographic keys, Carvalho believes the true danger lies in the convergence of quantum computing and artificial intelligence. Together, he argues, they could enable stealthy, asymmetric attacks that don't overwhelm crypto systems with power but dismantle them with precision. 'Everyone's waiting for a countdown that won't come. You won't get a warning that a 10-year-old Bitcoin wallet has been cracked. You'll just see funds moved, and no one will be able to prove how or by whom,' he said. AI is already embedded in cybersecurity — used for intrusion detection, smart contract auditing and anomaly detection. But in the wrong hands, the same tools could be flipped. An AI attacker could automatically scan open-source wallets for edge-case bugs, simulate validator responses and adapt in real time to network behavior. If paired with a quantum computer capable of breaking elliptic-curve private keys, the result wouldn't be a loud breach, but what Carvalho calls a 'silent collapse.' 'This isn't just about stealing coins,' he said. 'It's about eroding trust invisibly. Entire blockchains could be compromised, governance systems spoofed, and no one would know who did it or how.' AI-driven tests have found vulnerabilities in cryptographic libraries that traditional tools overlook. Combine that with adversaries stockpiling encrypted data under the 'harvest now, decrypt later' model, and the groundwork for a systemic breach may already be in place. Carvalho warned that this could mark Bitcoin's true apocalypse if left unaddressed — not a dramatic livestreamed cracking of SHA-256 but a slow, silent erosion of the trust layers that hold the system together. Bitcoin can't defend against weak links For all the talk of Bitcoin's decentralization, its real-world infrastructure remains deeply centralized. Cloud platforms, mining pools and validator networks all present vulnerable chokepoints that quantum-capable adversaries could exploit. If a single cloud provider hosting hundreds of full nodes is compromised, the damage could ripple across the entire network, regardless of how decentralized the protocol itself claims to be. 'Decentralization is great on paper, but if everyone's routing through the same few backbones or trusting a handful of third-party APIs, the game's already lost.' The quantum threat could exploit the blind spots in the systems around it: centralized infrastructure, aging technology and trust assumptions. Some projects are already being prepared. Carvalho's Naoris, for example, draws on national security frameworks to build decentralized systems designed for a post-quantum world. Others are developing quantum-resistant rollups, new key formats and protocol upgrades through Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) or leveraging inherently secure technologies like StarkWare's STARKs. The threat is approaching, but the response is also growing. What remains is whether the crypto ecosystem will act before it's too late. Source:
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Microsoft Sharepoint server vulnerability puts an estimated 10,000 organizations at risk
A major zero-day security vulnerability in Microsoft's widely used SharePoint server software has been exploited by hackers, causing chaos within businesses and government agencies, multipleoutlets have reported. Microsoft announced that it had released a new security patch "to mitigate active attacks targeting on-premises [and not online] servers," but the breach has already effected universities, energy companies, federal and state agencies and telecommunications firms. The SharePoint flaw is a serious one, allowing hackers to access file systems and internal configurations or even execute code, to completely take over systems. The flaw could put more than 10,000 companies at risk, Cybersecurity company Censys told The Washington Post. "It's a dream for ransomeware operators, and a lot of attackers are going to be working this weekend as well." Google's Threat Intelligence Group added that the flaw allows "persistent, unauthenticated access that can bypass future patching." The US Cybersecurity and Infrastucture Security agency (CISA) said that any servers affected by the exploit should be disconnected from the internet until a full patch arrives. It added that the impact of the attacks is still being probed. The vulnerability was first spotted by Eye Security, which said the flaw allows hackers to access SharePoint servers and steal keys in order to impersonate users or services. "Because SharePoint often connects to core services like Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive, a breach can quickly lead to data theft, password harvesting, and lateral movement across the network," Eye Security wrote in a blog post. The FBI is aware of the attack and is working closely with government and private sector partners. It's not immediately clear which groups are behind the zero-day hacks. In any case, the attack is liable to put Microsoft under the microscope again. A 2023 breach of Exchange Online mailboxes led the White House's Cyber Safety Review Board to declare that Microsoft's security culture was "inadequate."
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
As Palantir Makes a Big Bet on AI-Powered Weather, Is PLTR Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Palantir (PLTR) recently announced that it is partnering with weather-intelligence pioneer to turn global atmospheric data into a machine-readable, decision-making engine for defense departments, airlines, supply-chain giants, and federal agencies. At first glance, linking a company once known for tracking militants to something as prosaic as cloud cover feels almost whimsical. But keep in mind that weather data is increasingly important for satellite and drone-based surveillance, as well as drone strike missions. It's also another customer win for Palantir, which is trying to spread its tentacles over as many government agencies and commercial enterprises as possible. More News from Barchart Dear Google Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for July 23 Dear UnitedHealth Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for July 29 Peter Thiel Is Betting Big on This Ethereum Treasury Stock. Should You Buy Shares Now? Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now! The U.S. tallied $183 billion in weather-related damages in 2024, so there is great incentive to leverage weather data in new ways. Palantir's Deal With Most forecasters still don't have their own constellation of small satellites purpose-built for atmospheric observation. Palantir is trying to solve not only that, but also build a proprietary AI stack that retrains itself and gives minute-by-minute forecasts. The deal also includes onboarding on Palantir's FedStart program. It is an accelerator that lets vendors run inside Palantir's pre-cleared, FedRAMP-compliant cloud so they can sell to federal agencies without the typical security accreditation process. can now sell into the federal workforce, and Palantir adds another high-demand data stream to its ecosystem. How Profitable Will This Be? The climate impact is around $38 trillion annually globally. It's rational to expect that Palantir could capture billions here in the long run if its weather product suite is good enough to court insurance, construction, offshore drilling, and most importantly, military-related clients. However, it remains to be seen just how significant will be for PLTR, as these are early days. The Navy and Air Force could save a lot of money with an all-in-one AI weather platform. Most would be surprised to know that the Air Force has multiple weather squadrons. The USAF and USN are unlikely to disregard a product if it gives them a greater advantage. Is PLTR Stock a Buy on the Weather Deal? This weather deal alone won't lead to a paradigm shift when valuing Palantir, but the relentless execution from management to win more business needs to be considered. Palantir's growth has been off the charts, and the company is consistently beating and raising every quarter. Wall Street no longer cares about the price-earnings ratio here. Instead, most analysts are looking at the horizon and the cash flow. It's a good idea to start doing the same so as not to fall behind. The Verdict Here's how I see PLTR stock now. Palantir's trailing 12-month free cash flow margin is at 42.3%, better than 97.19% of companies in the software industry. It has given free cash flow guidance between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion on $3.89 billion to $3.9 billion in revenue for 2025. In all likelihood, this is a lowball guidance due to Palantir's tendency to beat. But if we take that $1.8 billion FCF figure, you're paying 199 times forward FCF. Analysts expect the FCF margin to hold around 40% in the years ahead. Now, if we look a year ahead, analysts see $5 billion in full-year 2026 revenue. Again, it's likely to be higher if we take the current momentum into account. Regardless, I expect FCF to be around $2.2 billion in 2025 if we take the higher band of revenue estimates. That's 162 times 2026 earnings. And so on for the years ahead… If Wall Street holds the current FCF multiple, PLTR stock could shoot well past $200 next year. However, I'd still give it a 'Hold' rating due to the downside risk once the market cycle turns. That could happen well before 2026 rolls around. Analysts agree and have a consensus 'Hold' estimate on shares. On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Louisiana cancels $3B repair coastal restoration funded by Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana is officially halting a $3 billion coastal restoration funded by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement money, state and federal agencies confirmed Thursday. The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project had been intended to rebuild upward of 20 square miles (32 kilometers) of land in southeast Louisiana to combat sea level rise and erosion on the Gulf Coast.
