The White House reported recently that the President had implemented a new framework to safeguard the privacy of personal data transferred between the United States and Europe.

Since a European court invalidated an earlier version in 2020, the new framework significantly closes a gap in data protections on both sides of the Atlantic. The court determined that the U.S. had an excessive amount of power to monitor European data transferred under the previous arrangement.

The court case, known as Schrems II, “created enormous uncertainty about the ability of companies to transfer personal data from the European Union to the United States in a manner consistent with EU law,” then-Deputy Assistant Commerce Secretary James Sullivan wrote in a public letter shortly after the decision. The result increased business complexity by requiring U.S. corporations to use several "EU-approved data transmission protocols" on an as-needed basis, according to Sullivan.

The so-called Privacy Shield 2.0 seeks to address European concerns about possible surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies. In March, after the U.S. and EU agreed in principle to the new framework, the White House said in a fact sheet that the United States is “committed to implement new safeguards to ensure that signals intelligence activities are necessary and proportionate in the pursuit of defined national security objectives.”

With the new system, EU citizens will have access to a Data Protection Review Court (DPRC) that is independent of the U.S. government and composed of members from other countries. According to the March fact sheet, the committee "would have complete authority to adjudicate allegations and direct remedial steps as needed."

The civil liberties protection officer in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will also carry out an initial inquiry of complaints before a matter reaches the DPRC. Its judgments are final and enforceable, subject to review by the impartial body.

The executive order instructs the American intelligence community to change its policies and practices to conform to the framework's new privacy protections. It gives the independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board instructions to go over these revisions and undertake an annual evaluation of the intelligence community's compliance with binding redress rulings.
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“The EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework includes robust commitment to strengthen the privacy and civil liberties safeguards for signals intelligence, which will ensure the privacy of EU personal data,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters Thursday.

A new, highly dangerous malware called “Erbium” has been making the rounds over the last couple of months, and it’s highly likely that it will spread exponentially to new channels.

Erbium is an information-stealing tool that targets passwords, credit card information, cookies, cryptocurrency wallets, and more.

Today, this malware is being shared under the disguise of pirated games and cheats for popular titles. However, because of its nature, it can spread like wildfire, because Erbium is a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS)—essentially subscription malware.

Initially, Erbium was priced at just $9 per week, but now it’s $100 per month or $1,000 for a year-long license. This pricing is still cheap (it costs about a third of RedLine stealer, according to Bleeping Computer), and it’s getting a lot of praise on lots of hacker forums.

The license they buy entitles threat actors to customer support, updates, and the tool itself, with its rich set of capabilities.

Cyfirma, a threat identification and cyber-intelligence business, made the initial discovery of Erbium after finding the virus discretely tucked away among game cracks.

Erbium may also steal cold cryptocurrency wallets for a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Exodus, Atomic, Bytecoin, Ethereum, and more. Additionally, it can steal 2FA codes from a variety of password and 2FA managers, including Trezor, EOS Authenticator, Authy 2FA, and Authenticator 2FA.

Erbium steals Telegram authentication files, Steam and Discord tokens, and screenshots from each connected monitor. Threat actors are supplied a detailed breakdown of everything that was taken from the victim in real time.

Given how versatile it is, it is likely that someone will ultimately include it into something other than gaming cracks, and at that point, it will probably spread more widely.
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Right now, all you need to do to ensure that you're not at risk is to not download any unlawful downloads (such as cracked games or bots for games). It's also a good idea to be cautious and to use the best antivirus software, keep it updated, and scan every file you download. If you possess cryptocurrency, think about switching from a desktop wallet to a fully offline cold wallet.

Over the past 25 years, Wi-Fi has emerged as the standard wireless internet technology for confined linked locations all over the world. Wi-Fi is the standard method used to provide dependable, quick wireless internet access to a home, workplace, café, or educational facility. The first few Wi-Fi generations had some substantial drawbacks compared to conventional internet connectivity, but a lot has improved since then. The most recent Wi-Fi generations have significantly improved the connectivity standard's strength, dependability, security, and speed.

Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E are the two most current iterations of the Wi-Fi standard. Most users are currently on either Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 with organizations who need more functionality implementing Wi-Fi 6E. Wi-Fi 7, like its forerunners, promises quicker connections, lower latency, and the ability to manage seamlessly more connections than ever.

Wider Channels. The first notable upgrade from Wi-Fi 6E will be the breaking of the three bands (2.4-GHz, 5-GHz, and 6-GHz) into discreet channels. The 2.4-GHz band comprises 11 channels of 20-MHz width. The 5-GHz band has 45 channels which can combine to create 40-MHz or 80-MHz width. The 6-GHz band supports 60 channels with a width of 160MHz.

Wi-Fi 7 will support channels up to 320MHz wide. The wider the channel, the more data it can transmit at the same time. As a simple analogy, consider how much traffic a single-lane road can carry compared to a three- or six-lane freeway.

Higher QAM. Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) is a method to transmit and receive data in radio-frequency waves. The higher it is, the more information you can pack in. Wi-Fi 5 supported 256-QAM and Wi-Fi 6 quadrupled that to 1024-QAM. When Wi-Fi 7 comes out, it will support 4K-QAM.

Multi-Link Operations (MLO). Perhaps the most exciting advance in Wi-Fi 7 is Multi-Link Operation. All previous Wi-Fi versions established a connection between two devices on a single band. MLO can join multiple frequencies from different bands together. A Wi-Fi 7 router may simultaneously establish a connection with a Wi-Fi 7 device across two or more channels in several bands. MLO might offer wider channels that can transport more data. Returning to the highway example, you might send traffic on both the 2-lane highway and the superhighway at the same time.

Although it will probably be more than a year before the first Wi-Fi 7 routers and devices are released, the new standard is starting to take shape.
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Qualcomm has unveiled its Wi-Fi 7 chipset and the Networking Pro Series platform, which can deliver up to 33 Gbps of quad-band connectivity over 16 streams. Partners are already working on integrating its technologies into devices. Broadcom and MediaTek have also announced Wi-Fi 7 technologies.

For years, each cellphone included a tiny smart card called a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) that contained the “identity” of that device so that it could connect to a specific cellular network.

Data on SIM cards includes user identification, location, and phone number, network authorization information, personal security keys, contact lists, and saved text messages.

When Apple introduced the new iPhone 14, they repeated something they had done years before. They removed a piece of hardware from the phone. First, it was the earphone jack and now it was the removable SIM card and tray. Just like the earphone jack, Apple is touting this change as a boon for consumers. Now, all iPhone 14s sold in the US will use eSIM technology.

"I think it's transformational," Ahmed Khattak, founder and CEO of US Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator that offers service on Verizon and T-Mobile's respective networks. "I think the fact that it even happened ... I'm shaking my head ... because it really democratizes connectivity." 

A type of programmable SIM card known as an eSIM (embedded-SIM) consists of software put onto a chip permanently installed in a device, as opposed to an integrated circuit on a releasable universal integrated circuit card, which is commonly constructed of PVC.
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Once an eSIM carrier profile has been installed, it operates the same as a physical SIM, complete with a unique integrated circuit card identifier (ICCID) and network authentication key generated by the carrier.
So, why is this change so important? For users, there are three advantages to eSIMs over physical SIM cards:
     •  It’s more secure, because no one can remove it from the phone and use it to intercept phone calls or text messages. (This isn’t the most common form of SIM card hijacking, but it is still possible for someone with physical access to the phone.)
     •  Switching carriers is easier, because you don’t have to wait for a SIM card to arrive or pick one up at a store.
    •  Adding extra lines is easier, because you no longer need a phone with dual SIM card trays. (On the iPhone, Apple supports up to two phone numbers and eight data lines with eSIM.)

An eSIM also benefits phone manufacturers and wireless carriers.
    • By getting rid of the SIM tray, Apple will gain more valuable interior space it can use to install more technology.
     • For carriers, it's a money-saver because they no longer must spend between $10-$20 per physical SIM card.

Like almost every change, there are going to be some growing pains. Not all US carriers are eSIM compatible. Some alternative providers that lease capacity from the major carriers–known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators, or MVNOs, in industry jargon–don’t support eSIM today, which means you can’t use an iPhone 14 on their networks. Some notable examples include Ting, Walmart Mobile, US Mobile, Net10, and Tello.

Conversely, there are small carriers like Mint Mobile, US Mobile and Boost Mobile in the US who have been preparing for this change for some time.
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"Mint has always believed in digital technologies that enhance and ease wireless services," Aron North, Mint Mobile's chief marketing officer, said in a statement. "Mint has been supporting [the] eSIM for almost two years because we knew, even back then, this innovation would allow users to switch faster and easier."

According to the head of the European Space Agency (ESA), Europe is exploring the development of space-based solar power to boost its energy independence and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

"It will be up to Europe, ESA and its Member States to push the envelope of technology to solve one of the most pressing problems for people on Earth of this generation," said Josef Aschbacher, director general of the space agency, an intergovernmental organization of 22 member states.

In the past, the space agency hired British and German consultancy companies to do studies on the costs and advantages of creating space-based solar power. To give European policymakers technical and programmatic knowledge, the ESA published the studies this past August.

Aschbacher will propose his Solaris Program to the ESA Council in November. Aschbacher has been trying to increase support for solar energy from space in Europe as a route to energy de-carbonization. This council determines the budget and priorities for ESA. The construction of the solar power system would start in 2025, according to Aschbacher's proposals.

The Positives. Space-based solar energy is simple to understand conceptually. Solar energy is captured by satellites orbiting high above the Earth's atmosphere. The satellites would then transform that energy into current and transmit it back to Earth via microwaves, where it is captured by photovoltaic cells or antennas and transformed into electricity for homes or businesses. There is no night or cloud cover to impede collection, and the solar incidence is significantly higher than in northern latitudes of the European continent, which are the main advantages of collecting solar energy from space as opposed to the ground.

The program proposes enormous installations in geostationary orbit that could supply between 25% and 30% of the yearly electricity demand for Europe, which is now estimated to be over 3,000 TWh. These technologies would be expensive to develop and implement, costing hundreds of billions of euros.

Why will it cost so much? Because it would take a constellation of many enormous satellites situated 36,000 kilometers from Earth to enable space-based solar power. Each of these satellites would be 10 or more times heavier than the 450 metric ton International Space Station, which took over a decade to build in low Earth orbit. The final launch of these satellites' components would need hundreds or, more likely, thousands of heavy lift rocket missions.

"Using projected near-term space lift capability, such as SpaceX’s Starship, and current launch constraints, delivering one satellite into orbit would take between 4 and 6 years," Frazer-Nash, the British Firm involved in the study states. "Providing the number of satellites to satisfy the maximum contribution… to the energy mix in 2050 would require a 200-fold increase over current space-lift capacity."

The Negatives. Although the idea of solar energy generated in space is intriguing, it is not without its detractors. Elon Musk, who one might expect supporting a system that is in space and produces solar energy, is one of the biggest opponents.

"It's the stupidest thing ever," he said, several years ago. "If anyone should like space solar power, it should be me. I've got a rocket company, and a solar company. I should be really on it. But it's super obviously not going to work. It has to be better than having solar panels on Earth. With a solar panel in orbit, you get twice the solar energy, but you've got to do a double conversion: Photon to electron to photon, back to electron. What's your conversion efficiency? All in, you're going to have a real hard time even getting to 50%. So just put that solar cell on Earth."

He is not alone either. Physicist Casey Handmer identified four cost drivers in an online analysis that will render space-based solar power unaffordable: transmission losses, heat losses, logistics expenses, and a space technology penalty. According to Handmer, the cost of space-based solar energy is at least "three orders of magnitude" more than energy sources on Earth.

"I can relax assumptions all day," Handmer wrote. "I can grant 100 percent transmission efficiency, $10/kg orbital launch costs, complete development and procurement cost parity, and a crippling land shortage on Earth. Even then, space-based solar power still won’t be able to compete. I can grant a post-scarcity fully automated luxury communist space economy with self-replicating robots processing asteroids into solar panels, and even then, people will still prefer solar panels on their roof."

Perhaps the conflict in Ukraine and the dearth of Russian natural gas will spur this project along. A major space agency trying out a technique that has been considered science fantasy for literally decades would be good. But there are many obstacles to overcome and a lengthy time frame.
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The Earth will probably get its energy from space in the future. But will that happen in the next century or even later? Without a doubt, the most comprehensive and ambitious project the European Space Agency has ever done would be space-based solar power. It would undoubtedly be the Apollo program of the twenty-first century. Only much bigger.