investigating Archives

There are people investigating whether AIs are better hackers than human hackers. And we don’t have very nice news

December 13, 2025 by usatoday24

The technology companies do not stop talking about AGIalthough there are many doubts that it is so close how they want to sell us. General artificial intelligence is one that will be capable of surpassing humans in all facets of knowledge. We don’t know if it will be able to surpass us in everything, but there is already a niche in which it is overtaking us: hacking. The experiment. It was carried out by Stanford University researchers and we have known him through a Wall Street Journal report. What they did was develop a hacking bot called Artemis whose objective is to scan the network in search of possible bugs or vulnerabilities through which it can sneak in. They released Artemis into the university’s own engineering network and confronted her with ten pentestersprofessional hackers who are dedicated to simulating attacks to find bugs and then correct them. The bot had a ‘kill switch’ so it could be turned off at any time if things got complicated and the human hackers had instructions to force and test, but without actually penetrating the network. The results. To the surprise of its creators, Artemis achieved excellent results, outperforming nine of the ten human hackers. The bot managed to find bugs much faster than its competitors and, above all, at a much lower price. It is estimated that a pentester charges between $2,000 and $2,500 per day, while Artemis only “charges” $60 per hour. Another “look”. Artemis didn’t do everything right. At least 18% of his bug reports were false positives and he also ignored a very obvious bug on a website that human hackers saw the first time. Instead, he detected a bug that no human had detected. The reason is that the failure was on a website that did not work in Chrome or Firefox, the browsers used by hackers. Artemis is not a person and does not use browsers, but instead used a program and was able to read the website, finding the bug. AI and hacking. The Cybercriminals have been using AI for some time to make malware more effective. Recently Anthropic discovered that a Chinese hacking group was using Claude Code for a large-scale espionage campaign. What is striking is that Claude functioned as an agent who was in charge of the entire attack cycle, not just a part of the process. AI to do good. AI is lowering the barrier to entry for developing attacks, but it can also be used for protection. Research such as that from Stanford shows that AI can also be used to test insecure systems, find bugs and thus be able to patch them. The problem that arises is where the role of professionals such as pentesters will be if AI ends up doing its job for much less money. Image | Sora Shimazaki, Pexels In Xataka | Agents are the great promise of AI. They also aim to become the new favorite weapon of cybercriminals

Iniesta promised them happy retirement. Now they are investigating him in Peru for an alleged $600,000 scam

November 12, 2025 by usatoday24

Andres Iniesta it’s news. And it is for something that has little to do with football, sports or entertainment. On this occasion the headlines are monopolized in the pages of the judicial chronicle on account of a controversy that arose in Peruwhere the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the former midfielder for his role in an alleged chain of scams against businessmen in the country for a sum of around $600,000. Iniesta’s surroundings already has denied the accusations and talks about “malicious” information to take advantage of his image. It is not the first time that the former soccer player has been in the spotlight for his role as a businessman: years ago he did it for his wineries, both for a dispute with the Treasury as for your losses. What has happened? That the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office is investigating Iniesta for an alleged “aggravated fraud.” The news has been reported by the country’s media, such as The Republic, Trome either Libero and it has been echoed in Spain by Efe agency, The Country either The Sixthwho has even spoken with one of those affected. Basically, the Public Ministry has opened a tax file on the former soccer player following a complaint related to the company NSN Barcelona, linked to Iniesta. In the Prosecutor’s document (reproduced partially by The Republic) it can be read that the complaint is filed against Iniesta and at least two other people for “the alleged commission of crimes against property in the form of aggravated fraud.” The document also details that the “prestige” of the former Barça player played a key role in raising funds and committing the alleged scam. What is investigated? The facts reported by Gucho Entertainment and other Peruvian businessmen who claim to have invested around $600,000 in a series of events (sports and artistic) that supposedly had the support of NSN Sudamérica, a subsidiary of the company linked to Iniesta. His name would have made it easier for the Peruvian businessmen who have now gone to court to hand over thousands of dollars to organize a series of shows. Specifically, four are mentioned: the Upa Upa Fest, a friendly between the club Scientist of Cusco and the National of Ecuadora K-pop festival and another legends match between Peru and Spain. Of all of them, only one was held, the Upa Upa Fest, and it did not turn out as investors expected. In fact, it left considerable losses. And what happened? The problem is that the firm that was supposed to be in charge of the executive production of the events, NSN Sudamérica, declared bankruptcy in June 2024. The subsidiary entered into the liquidation process and allegedly did not return the money invested by the Peruvian businessmen to finance the rest of the shows. “No notification. We found out that the company was in liquidation. They never took responsibility for anything, although they were supposed to do so” reported on Monday Emilio Lozano, one of the supposedly affected businessmen, in an interview with ‘And now Sonsoles’, a La Sexta program. What does that have to do with Iniesta? That NSN South America is a delegation of NSN Barcelona. The former La Roja footballer himself celebrated the launch in 2023, according to statements collected by The Country: “We are very excited to be present in a country like Peru and a continent like South America to continue growing and promoting our values around the world.” The subsidiary was established at the beginning of that year by a group of Peruvian and Spanish businessmen, the starting signal for attracting investors. The Prosecutor’s Office document not only cites the former soccer player, but it does underline that his name was essential for raising funds. How key was it? The writing is very clear. “The facts that will be detailed below involve Andrés Iniesta, who is a figure of international recognition for his achievements in professional football as a former player of the Club Barcelona of Spain and having been a former world champion with the Spanish team, who using this prestige authorized and supported the foundation of NSN Sudamérica to act as a subsidiary of his company NSN Barcelona throughout South America. However, that prestige was only used to raise capital from Peruvian businessmen under the deception that they were going to be invested in large events that were approved in coordination between NSN Barcelona and NSN South America,” reads the writing of the Prosecutor’s Office cited by The Republic. At the moment the agency has initiated preliminary proceedings for an alleged crime against property, a phase that will last several weeks. What does the company say? Mark distances. Through a blunt statement Iniesta and NSN make several points clear. To begin with, they “outrightly” deny the accusations that have been published in recent days. Second, they claim that the information has been published “maliciously” with the purpose of taking advantage of the image of “a public figure” like Iniesta. “We trust that the Peruvian justice system will clarify this situation very soon and we reserve the right to file appropriate actions in defense of our work and honor, requesting maximum rigor in the information published regarding this case,” concludes the official statement. From the ex-footballer’s entourage they have something beyond and they have explained to La Sexta that the former soccer player and NSN are also affected: they created a subsidiary in Peru “led by people who were not the right ones and harmed them and third parties.” “Those in charge made a mistake when it came to putting the right people in place,” abound. Images | Wikipedia and Carlos Fernández (Unsplash) In Xataka | If the question is how to add more epic to LaLiga, in Russia it is very clear: with AI, many muscles and topics

that of private detectives investigating them

November 5, 2025 by usatoday24

In recent years, work absenteeism has ceased to be just an indicator in statistical reports and has become a serious labor problem because of the dimensions it has reached. In turn, this increase in the number of workers who, for justified reasons or not, they do not go to their workplace has caused a collateral effect: massive hiring of private detectives to investigate possible fraud in medical leave. According to industry sourcesSince the pandemic, the number of assignments from companies and medical societies has grown exponentially to account for almost 80% of the investigative work of private detectives. Work absenteeism and its meaning. Work absenteeism occurs when an employee does not show up for work Whether this absence is justified or not. However, this concept is increasingly being used as a synonym for absenteeism due to temporary disability (medical leave), something that is not correct because there is an important nuance. Medical leave is a justified absence due to temporary disability by medical prescription from a Social Security doctor, while not showing up at work without justified cause is a decision made by the employee unilaterally. The difference between one reason and another is obvious. The figures are worrying. According to data from the ReportAbsenteeism from work in the second quarter of 2025′ prepared by Randstad, warn that total absenteeism in Spain has caused the loss of 7% of agreed working hours. However, if that figure is broken down between justified and unjustified, we find that the absences due to temporary disability (medical leave) account for 5.5% of those hours. Therefore, the unjustified ones affect 1.5% of the agreed hours. Taking into account that according to the EPA the number of employed people amounted to 22.27 million contributors, the data from the Randstad study indicate that, on average, 1,558,809 people did not go to their workplace daily, of which, 1,224,778 people did not go to work be on medical leave and, therefore, for a justified medical reason. Total work absenteeism and absenteeism due to temporary disability. Source: Randstad How long does a medical leave last in Spain? It is true that it is a doctor who grants medical leave to a patient. However, the doctor It does not decide how long that leave lasts.. This calculation is estimated from a Social Security database in which factors such as the patient’s profession, age or pathology are taken into account. According to data from ‘Absenteeism Barometer for the first half of 2025′prepared by Mutua Navarra, the average number of sick days in 2025 is 31.07 days. Leaves of less than 15 days accounted for almost 73% of the total number of registered absences (representing 8.9% of the total days not worked) while those leaving for 12 months accounted for 1.85% (32.5% of the total days not worked). That is, the vast majority of absences for medical reasons They are 15 days or less. As they point out the authors According to the Mutua Navarra report, “the problem of absenteeism is not so much due to the number of people who do not go to work, but rather to the excessive duration of sick leave”, something that the worker cannot control since it is a Social Security doctor who determines whether medical recovery has occurred. Detective boom. Given the increase in times and cases of sick leave, companies have taken measures to avoid fraud, and since 2021, the hiring of private detectives to investigate their workers has skyrocketed. Jordi Briñoldirector of Brininvest Detectivesconfirms that “currently we can perfectly well be talking about the fact that, in a standard detective office, these requests represent 80% of the requests.” As highlighted from Sentinel Private Detectivescompanies and mutual societies resort to their services when they already have well-founded signs of fraud, some of which originate from “rumors, information, suspicions” from colleagues or by the anomalous extension of medical leave. “It may also be due to the attitude that the employee has maintained prior to that sick leave situation, in which he almost expressed his intentions due to internal friction,” his spokesperson told us, “many times it is almost to confirm the obvious thing that they already have, rather than the fact of investigating it, it is to obtain proof, because the company cannot proceed with a dismissal for the simple fact that a worker is on sick leave.” According to these detective offices, these previous indications already determine that a high number of cases that are investigated end up being proven to be fraud. The cost of these services for a complete investigation ranges between 1,500 and 4,000 euros depending on the case, which means that companies only investigate those cases in which it is evident that fraud is occurring in sick leave. Criticism from the unions. The proliferation of private detectives has not gone unnoticed by unions, which denounce a tendency to criminalize sick employees. Kings Solaz, national secretary of UGT of Catalonia, points out that “we are concerned that sick workers will be criminalized when what companies should do is reinforce prevention and medical care.” According to the union representative, mutual societies and companies dedicate more and more budget to private surveillance than to diagnostic tests to speed up reinstatements, “the real problem is the increase in waiting lists in public health, and that lengthens the times of diagnosis and treatment and therefore medical leaves are lengthened”, distributing responsibilities to both Social Security and medical mutual societies. Solaz criticized the mutual companies that invest part of the public resources assigned to them from the Security to hire detectives, “both workers and companies pay a part of our salaries to have that mutual company for when we have a work accident or an occupational disease. The mutual companies spend it on detectives, but then They don’t hire professionals necessary to do the tests and give you the care you need to return to work. Transparency with fraud. Although it is true that detective offices recognize that the vast majority of the cases they investigate … Read more

If we want to eat less, eating more slowly is a valid strategy. In Japan they are investigating how to achieve it

March 31, 2025 by usatoday24

Losing weight, or maintaining our weight under control is more than solving the simple calorie equation consumed against burned calories. Numerous more or less hidden factors can unbalance this balance, factors ranging from the metabolic to the sociological. The other factors. A Japanese researchers team He has investigated in how factors such as the number of bites, the rhythms we perceive in our environment and gender affect the duration of food. The goal is to eat more slowly to make us easier to have our weight under our control. Slowly. The idea of stopping the rhythm with which we eat to eat less and be able to lose weight is not new but we can find it in guides and recommendations of More than a decade ago. It is not an infallible recipe, but According to expertsaid. The logic behind has to do with how the stomach and other organs of the digestive system transmit information to the brain and how it processes it. This occurs in two ways: first through nerve impulses, and then through the chemical signal that some hormones transmit. Replicating one of the hormonal signals that indicate that food has satiated us is precisely one of the mechanisms for which the consumption of Drugs like Ozempic makes us lose weight. An aid. Now, even when we talk about a “trick” like this, say it is easier than doing so. That is why the new study has analyzed how different factors affect the speed with which we swallow food. And in this, men and women have differentiated guidelines. “While the science of nutrition often deals with the metabolism and absorption of food, and dietary content, there are limited evidence in Japan that eating behavior connects both (points). This intrigue led me to study eating behavior, which involved gender differences,” pointed in a press release Katsumi Iizuka, co -author of the study. 33 participants. To put these ideas to the test, the team responsible for the study He put pizza portions to 33 participants, healthy adults between 20 and 65. They measured the number of bites and the times they already chewed what rhythm. They also used metronomes and headphones to induce more or less accelerated rhythms to check the response of the participants. As expected, the team observed important differences in the habits of men and women: on average these took longer to eat their portion (87 seconds in front of the 63 d them men). They also chewed more (107 times against 80 on average) and took more bites (more than double). Change the rhythm. However, gender was not the only factor that affected eating habit: rhythmic stimuli affected the time required to consume food. A 40 pulse tempo per minute (BPM) markedly elongated the duration of food compared to those who ate without rhythmic stimulation. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Nutrients. Facilitating work. Now, there are also reasons why being cautious when generalizing the results of the study. First, we must take into account the limited sample (33 participants). Second, also for the existence of cultural differences between our context and Japanese. These differences both to gastronomic culture and gender differences between men and women and the way in which each society expects to behave when they eat in public. Despite this, the results can help us design strategies to facilitate weight loss that best suits each person, taking into account, for example, their gender. The study can also allow us to know more about how changes in context can help us influence our eating behavior, such as using music with slow tempos to force more leisurely meals. In Xataka | Beyond tobacco: we have just discovered that food can also affect the risk of developing lung cancer Image | Surprising_media

The United Kingdom has been investigating why there is a giant hole in a street. The problem is that another

February 21, 2025 by usatoday24

At the beginning of February there was such an unusual event in Japan that it was news worldwide. In the north of Tokyo it had appeared a giant hole that “swallowed” a truck and its driver. Worse: every day that passed it became bigger. The story in Asia is not over yet, but in Europe the scene has just been repeated. On Monday, the United Kingdom dawned with a mysterious and giant hole in a street. And then there were two. An unexpected collapse. The story began last Monday night. A huge crater appeared on a very busy street in the town of Godstonein Surrey County, England, growing rapidly until reaching 20 meters long, six meters wide and five meters deep. Shortly after, a second hole of five by five meters and the same depth arose on the other side of the street. Although both have stopped expanding at this time, the magnitude of the sinking has forced to evacuate around 30 homes and has generated serious concerns about the structural safety of the area. The solution goes for long. What the hell is happening. The big question. Although the exact cause is still unconfirmed, Geologists suggest several hypotheses. The region is settled on weakly cemented sandstones dating from the lower Cretaceous period, more than 100 million years ago, an area that It can easily erode with the action of water. In this regard, Pete Burgess, expert from the Wealden Cave and Mines Society, explained that The nineteenth -century maps show an area marked as a “sand quarry”. This quarry would have been exploited for decades to extract sand used in construction and gardening, leaving unstable land. Plus: factors such as heavy rainsexacerbated by climate change, could be further weakening underground structures, causing collapse or collapse. In addition, and as it happened in the case of Tokyoit is possible that a broken pipe has eroded the rocky substrate, or even that the roof of one of those old sand mines has collapsed, triggering the sinking and in turn, damaging a water pipe. That said, what is most repeated among experts is that The growing urbanization in the United Kingdom has increased pressure on infrastructure of sanitation already aged. Impact on the community. Although they have not reported injured, the life of residents if it has been seriously affected. Cases such as Noosh Miri, one of the evacuated people, who declared that His house is no longer safe and does not know when he can return. Traffic, of course, has diverted, and the country’s media speak of a car that was dangerously close to the edge of the second hole, without its owner being able to withdraw it. In addition, some residents have had to Spend the first nights in their vehicles due to uncertainty about the stability of their homes. For all this, Tandridge District Council has enabled an information center to attend those affectedwhile Bletchingley Parish Council has offered its sports hall as Temporary refuge for those who do not have housing insurance. Councilor Linda Baharier stood out The difficulty facing tenants who do not have insurance coverage and must find a long -term housing alternative. A call to the community has even been released so that who have available rooms can host. Economic impact: closure of shops. The economic repercussions of the disaster are also significant. I told the BBC Shane Fryowner of the mechanical workshop DD Services, of his concern about the closure of the road and the restricted access to his business, which has drastically reduced its clientele. “We have lost an important part of our income because people cannot get here or simply choose not to come,” he lamented. With four employees in charge and families that depend on the workshop, Fry anticipates difficult months. Other businesses in the area face the same uncertainty. Graham Bristow, owner of Blossoms Café, told the British chain that his daughter, who manages the business with him, is trying to stay optimistic, but fears that the next months will be devastating. “If we suffer losses, will there be any kind of help, such as tax reductions? We don’t know it,” he said. Measures to repair a giant hole. Local authorities have cataloged the incident as A “major emergency case”. Currently, they are being carried out Structural studies to evaluate security of the area and determine how to fill the craters definitively. The bad news? Than repairs They could take at least months. Meanwhile, some residents have been able to return to their homes to collect essential belongings, although there is still no clear date for their final return. Let’s think that repairs not only involve filling the holes, but completely rebuild the road from the baserelocating and reconnecting all public service pipes and networks before being able to repair. Are these undercuts common? The truth is that sinkings in the United Kingdom They are usually smaller and occur in rural areasalthough occasionally they emerge in urban areas. In December 2023, a sinking in Wales affected the house of a reality winner Love Island. That said, the collapse in Surrey has been particularly striking, and geologists repeat that although Most housing are not built on land of old registered minesin some cases the houses have been built on those undicted medieval mines, which It generates unforeseen risks. In short and As in Tokyothe two undercuts in the United Kingdom have evidenced the vulnerability of certain urban areas to geological and climatic factors. While experts work in solutions and in determining the exact cause of collapse, residents face the uncertainty of an uncertain return to their homes, possibly months. If you want also, the incident stands out The need to review and reinforce infrastructure in areas with sinking potentialespecially in a context of growing urbanization and climatic changes that could aggravate this type of phenomena in the future. Image | Peter McDermott In Xataka | Japan has been trying to get a man out of a hole for six days. … Read more

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