Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: government

Thin film solar cells can be integrated into unexpected surfaces, such as building facades, windows, or the growing floating solar market. Thin film’s flexibility opens doors to new applications and helps overcome some of the barriers that have long limited the adoption of solar energy.

A lot of the interest in thin film solar technologies is coming from one company, based right in the heart of the UK: Power Roll. The County Durham-based firm has spent years exploring how to make thin, flexible solar cells that can be applied almost anywhere and has recently been hitting major milestones in commercialising the technology in an effort to get it out across the world.

Solar Power Portal sat down with Power Roll CEO Neil Spann to explore how thin film solar could deliver the government’s promised “rooftop revolution” and how Power Roll’s unique manufacturing process can make solar power a cheap reality worldwide.

Read more | >

Construction of what would be the world’s longest suspension bridge is scheduled to begin this year, according to the Italian government.

The bridge between the island of Sicily and the Italian mainland would cross over the Strait of Messina, a distance of 3,300 meters, though the construction has to grapple with tectonic activity that could cause earthquakes.

Read more | >

The FBI has asked the public for information on Chinese Salt Typhoon hackers behind widespread breaches of telecommunications providers in the United States and worldwide.

In October, the FBI and CISA confirmed that the Chinese state hackers had breached multiple telecom providers (including AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Charter Communications, Consolidated Communications, and Windstream) and many other telecom companies in dozens of countries.

As revealed at the time, while they had access to the U.S. telecoms’ networks, the attackers also accessed the U.S. law enforcement’s wiretapping platform and gained access to the “private communications” of a “limited number” of U.S. government officials.

Read more | >

British scientists could experiment with techniques to block sunlight as part of a £50 million government funded scheme to combat global warming. The geo-engineering project is set to be given the go-ahead within weeks and could see scientists explore techniques including launching clouds of reflective particles into the atmosphere or using seawater sprays to make clouds brighter. Another method involves thinning natural cirrus clouds, which act as heat-trapping blankets. If successful, less sunlight will reach the earth’s surface and in turn temporarily cool the surface of earth. It’s thought to be a relatively cheap way to cool the…

Read more | >

Microsoft on Monday announced that it has moved the Microsoft Account (MSA) signing service to Azure confidential virtual machines (VMs) and that it’s also in the process of migrating the Entra ID signing service as well.

The disclosure comes about seven months after the tech giant said it completed updates to Microsoft Entra ID and MS for both public and United States government clouds to generate, store, and automatically rotate access token signing keys using the Azure Managed Hardware Security Module (HSM) service.

“Each of these improvements helps mitigate the attack vectors that we suspect the actor used in the 2023 Storm-0558 attack on Microsoft,” Charlie Bell, Executive Vice President for Microsoft Security, said in a post shared with The Hacker News ahead of publication.

Read more | >

The U.S. government is preparing to make moves to get food dyes out of what we eat– a plan which may spark curiosity across the nation as to what the potential health risks of artificial food dyes are.

Read more | >

MITRE Vice President Yosry Barsoum has warned that U.S. government funding for the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) and Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) programs expires today, which could lead to widespread disruption across the global cybersecurity industry.

CVE, the most critical of the two, is maintained by MITRE with funding from the U.S. National Cyber Security Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CVE is crucial for providing accuracy, clarity, and shared standards when discussing security vulnerabilities.

The program is widely adopted across various cybersecurity tools, including vulnerability management systems, and it allows tracking all newly discovered vulnerabilities using CVE Identifiers (CVE IDs) assigned by CVE Numbering Authorities (CNAs) worldwide, with MITRE as the CVE Editor and Primary CNA.

Read more | >

🏭 Q: What upgrades are needed for the grid to handle increased energy demand by 2050? A: The grid needs to be upgraded to handle tripled energy throughput by 2050, requiring more power plants, wires, transformers, and substations to support increased demand from EVs, heat pumps, and AI. Innovative Charging Solutions.

🔋 Q: How do Electric Era’s charging stations reduce grid capacity requirements? A: Electric Era’s charging stations with batteries buffer the load, reducing grid capacity requirements by 70% and allowing for faster deployment in better locations like retail amenities and gas station parking lots.

⏱️ Q: What capabilities do Electric Era’s charging stations offer for energy management? A: Electric Era’s stations offer time of use charging and virtual power plant capabilities, storing energy upstream and providing the best time of use pricing to customers, making them more efficient and cost-effective. Energy Storage and Distribution.

☀️ Q: How can the “duck curve” phenomenon be addressed? A: The duck curve can be solved by building extra energy storage to store excess electrons, such as Tesla’s 10–12 GWh deployed last quarter and Electric Era’s smaller storage at more localized locations.

🔌 Q: What is the transformer scarcity problem and how can it be addressed? A: Transformers are being hoarded due to scarcity and strategic importance, exacerbating grid infrastructure issues. A strategic transformer reserve is needed to address this problem, according to Quincy from Electric Era. ## ## Key Insights ## Grid Infrastructure Challenges.

🔌 The 130-year-old grid infrastructure is antiquated and breaking apart, making it expensive and challenging to upgrade for increased energy demand.

Continue reading “SpaceX Engineers Are Racing To Build a Smarter Stronger Energy Future” | >

The threat actor known as Paper Werewolf has been observed exclusively targeting Russian entities with a new implant called PowerModul.

The activity, which took place between July and December 2024, singled out organizations in the mass media, telecommunications, construction, government entities, and energy sectors, Kaspersky said in a new report published Thursday.

Paper Werewolf, also known as GOFFEE, is assessed to have conducted at least seven campaigns since 2022, according to BI.ZONE, with the attacks mainly aimed at government, energy, financial, media, and other organizations.

Read more | >