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Grandparents Targeted by Ransomware, Young Adults by TikTok Scams

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New research from Avast (LSE: AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy, today revealed that older and younger generations are being targeted by different online threats based on the primary device that they use to go online.

The research, which forms part of a comprehensive global study with YouGov into digital citizenship trends, found that a majority of those aged 55-64 (58%) and over 65 (69%) primarily use their desktop computer or laptop to go online. This makes them more susceptible to ransomware, tech support scams, spyware/Trojans, and Botnets, which can be accidentally or unknowingly downloaded or accessed via links in emails or through malicious websites.

In contrast, younger generations mainly use their smartphone to go online (18-24 – 78%; 25-34 – 80%; 35-44 – 76%) making them targets for Adware, mobile banking Trojans, downloader and FluBot SMS scams spreading malware, and Instagram and TikTok scams promoting adware apps or Fleeceware. Across all devices, younger and older generations are also targets for phishing attacks and romance scams.

According to Avast Threat Labs data, on desktops Avast blocked on average over 1.46 million ransomware attacks each month in 2021, and between January and April this year, there were 5.9 million tech support scam attack attempts worldwide each month.

On mobile devices, the top threats last quarter were: adware (59%), mobile banking Trojans (9.7%), and downloaders (7.9%), which are harmful apps that use social engineering tactics to trick victims into installing more malicious or otherwise unwanted apps. FluBot has also been spreading widely on mobile in most countries, including the United Kingdom, where Avast blocked 3,500 attacks monthly in August and September this year, out of 35,000 attacks blocked on average globally per month in Q3.

“Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to steal your data, personal details or money through increasingly sophisticated scams and online threats. They often take into account how younger and older generations use different devices to launch targeted attacks, adapting them to current cultural and usage trends to make them more relevant and likely to hit their mark,” said Jaya Baloo, Chief Information and Security Officer at Avast.

The most important internet activity for 18–24-year-olds is using social media (37%). For 25–34-year-olds, it’s staying in contact with friends and family via messenger services and emails (37%), and for 35–44-year-olds, it’s banking and finance activities (43%). This shows why the younger generation are targeted on their smartphone with scams on Instagram and TikTok, FluBot SMS and email phishing scams that look like they’ve come from friends or family, and mobile banking Trojans.

In comparison, the most important activities for the older generation are banking and finance activities (55-64: 56%, 65+: 61%), followed by staying in contact with friends and family via messenger services and email (55-64: 40%, 65+: 47%), and using a search engine (55-64: 42%, 65+: 44%). This helps to explain why they are more likely to be targets for key threats on computers including ransomware, email phishing scams and spyware/Trojans targeting their finances, and tech support scams.

Jaya Baloo added, “Of course, younger generations are also susceptible to desktop-related threats as they use desktop devices as their secondary tool to go online, and vice versa older generations also use smartphones, but it’s important that Brits understand the different types of online threats that are targeted at different devices and that you discuss all of these threats as a family so each person is up to date and aware of how to stay safe whatever device they happen to be using.”

“Different generations may see the internet with different eyes and have different online experiences, which is something to keep in mind when having conversations about online safety at home.”

“As a rule of thumb, when going online, whether it’s on your computer, laptop or smartphone, if something doesn’t feel right, don’t continue. Don’t click on a link in an email, SMS, social ad or website, don’t input your personal or payment details, and don’t download. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

“It goes without saying that you should also make sure that you have strong digital protection not only for your computer but for your smartphone, which is becoming even more important with growing mobile threats. Look for an all-in-one solution, like Avast One which is available for individuals and families, that can offer protection for every device and protect you from different types of threats, including ransomware, adware, malware, spyware and phishing attacks, while also securing your network via a firewall to prevent hackers from accessing your computer via Wi-Fi and the internet.”

To find out more about Avast’s new Avast One product, available for PC, Mac, iOS, and Android, visit: https://www.avast.com/en-au/avast-one#pc

Artificial Intelligence

Tencent Announces Winners of Flagship CarbonX Program to Combat Climate Change

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SHENZHEN, China, May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Tencent (00700.HK) is awarding 13 exceptional teams that won the first phase of its groundbreaking CarbonX Program, which is aimed at boosting promising new climate technologies. The winners, which emerged from a pool of 30 finalists and more than 300 initial applications, will receive a total of around RMB 100 million (US$14 million) in financial support from Tencent. It showcases the company’s commitment to driving sustainable social innovations in the fight against climate change.

CarbonX was launched in March 2023 to advance the next generation of low-carbon technologies. Tencent has committed RMB 200 million (US$28 million) in catalytic funding over the next three years to innovative ideas that might otherwise languish or fail to gain traction.
CarbonX’s first phase focused on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), as well as technology-based carbon removal. These solutions were chosen for their unique ability to curb emissions from hard-to-abate industries such as steel and cement, mitigate the continued reliance on fossil fuels, and reduce legacy emissions created from decades of industrialization.
Backed by Tencent’s mission of Tech for Good and an alliance of like-minded industry partners, CarbonX aims to help these cutting-edge technologies make the leap from the research or early startup stage to commercial scale. The ultimate goal is supporting them in making a significant impact toward the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement, which includes a 45 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Dr. Hao Xu, Tencent’s Vice President of Sustainable Social Value and Head of Tencent’s Carbon Neutrality Lab, said: “Technology innovation serves as the driving force to accelerate our progress toward achieving carbon neutrality. CarbonX program is aimed at fostering the growth of these technologies, driving positive impact across society, and laying the groundwork for a more sustainable future.”
Professor Jerry Yan, Chair Professor of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Co-chairman of the CarbonX expert committee, said: “To pave the path for a greener economy, we must champion the development of cutting-edge low-carbon technologies. Just as solar and wind power were nurtured in their infancy, emerging solutions like CCUS and tech-based carbon removal demand our early support.”
The program assembled a panel of experts from academia, industries, and the investor community as the jury, and welcomed submissions from diverse participants across three distinct tracks:
CarbonX Lab: Designed to incubate research institutions, universities, or labs that bring in game-changing climate solutionsCarbonX Accelerator: Designed to accelerate the growth of climate-tech startups that exhibit commercialization potentialCarbonX Infrastructure: Designed to support capacity building to facilitate industry developmentThe finalists comprise four projects from the Lab track, six from the Accelerator track, and three from the Infrastructure track. These projects explore innovative solutions, such as using steel slag to capture and store carbon directly from furnace exhaust, converting CO2 into sustainable aviation fuel and valuable chemicals through electrochemical reactions or microorganisms, and employing new approaches to directly capture CO2 from the atmosphere with the hope of slashing the cost to less than US$150 per ton.
Meanwhile, Tencent is also collaborating with Tsinghua University to develop a comprehensive system of Measure, Reporting and Verification (MRV) tools to accurately gauge progress toward decarbonization.
Aside from receiving financial and advisory support, several projects will also have the opportunity to collaborate with industry partners and test their research beyond the laboratory setting.
Building upon the success of the first phase, Tencent is poised to launch the second iteration of CarbonX globally as early as later this year in pursuit of early-stage climate tech innovation.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/tencent-announces-winners-of-flagship-carbonx-program-to-combat-climate-change-302153596.html

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NEXCOM Delivers Exceptional Performance in Edge AI Video Analytics

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TAIPEI, May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — NEXCOM, a leading supplier of network solutions, published AI and storage performance test results of its NSA 7160R: high-performance Edge server. NSA 7160R is powered by dual Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors for high computing, and enhanced with DDR5 memory, high-bandwidth PCIe Gen5 LAN modules, and high-capacity NVMe storage modules. The test results show the efficiency of the NSA 7160R in processing edge video server workloads and were explained in the accompanying paper. 

Edge AI Is the Future
With the rise of smart cities, processing data from cloud to the edge is becoming increasingly critical. Imagine the surge of visual data from ubiquitous security cameras – that information needs real-time analysis right where it’s collected. This is just the tip of the iceberg. As artificial intelligence permeates our lives, certain AI tasks will also need edge computing for efficient, lightning-fast performance. The key is to avoid bottlenecks in the data center by keeping things localized and streamlined.
Your Turnkey Solution Awaits
When it comes to Edge video servers, you need top-notch hardware and software that can handle all the “heavy lifting”. To speed up the total solution bringing up Intel comes in with their Intel® Edge Video Infrastructure (Intel® EVI) reference design. NEXCOM ran a bunch of tests using this design to evaluate its NSA 7160R for essential tasks including storage, image retrieval, and AI features such as inference and feature matching.
After conducting all tests, the results have shown that NSA 7160R meets all performance expectations with outstanding results. For a detailed breakdown of the solution description, test configuration, and results, please refer to the accompanying paper.
Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries.
About NEXCOM
Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, NEXCOM integrates its diverse capabilities and operates six global businesses, including the Network and Communication Solutions (NCS) unit. NCS focuses on the latest network technology and helps to build reliable network infrastructure, by delivering professional design and manufacturing services for customers all over the world. NCS’s network application platform is widely adopted in Cyber Security, Load Balancing, 5G uCPE, SD-WAN, SASE, Edge Computing, OT Security, Storage, NVR, and other network applications for businesses of all sizes.
Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WlO8fyWnu4

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/nexcom-delivers-exceptional-performance-in-edge-ai-video-analytics-302153555.html

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Qiming Venture Partners Promotes Alex Zhou to Managing Partner

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SHANGHAI, May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Qiming Venture Partners, a global-leading venture capital firm, is pleased to announce the promotion of Alex Zhou to Managing Partner.

As a Qiming home-grown Managing Partner, Alex first joined the firm in 2014 as a Vice President and has since emerged as one of the most active investors in frontier technologies, especially in the field of artificial intelligence. Alex will join fellow Managing Partners Duane Kuang, Nisa Leung and William Hu in managing Qiming’s operations.
In the past few years, Alex has actively participated in or led investments in many outstanding technology companies across the artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors, new energy vehicles, and software sectors. Notable among these include Roborock, UBTech, Unisound, Biren Technology, ROX Motor, VIEWTRIX Technology, Zhipu AI, Mech-Mind Robotics, Axera, HyperStrong, DeepWay, etc.
“I am deeply grateful for the guidance and trust I received from Qiming over the past 10 years.” Alex said. “We are at the forefront of a new wave of technological revolution. This era will undoubtedly bring about many bold innovators who will shape the future. Together with all the Managing Partners and colleagues at Qiming, I am excited and fully committed to seize the opportunities, embrace any potential challenges, explore new possibilities and build a better Qiming.”
Since its inception 18 years ago, Qiming has always committed to upgrading its institutional capabilities and team development in order to stay ahead in an ever-evolving technological and market landscape. The success achieved in the fields of healthcare, mobile internet and frontier technology is a testament to this strategic approach. Alex’s promotion to the most senior position in the firm demonstrates Qiming’s continued confidence in the future of technology innovation.
About Qiming Venture Partners
Qiming Venture Partners was founded in 2006. Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages eleven US Dollar funds and seven RMB funds with $9.5 billion in capital raised. Since our establishment, we have invested in outstanding companies in the Technology and Consumer (T&C) and Healthcare industries at the early and growth stages.
Since our debut, we have backed over 530 fast-growing and innovative companies. Over 200 of our portfolio companies have achieved exits through IPOs at the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, Shanghai Stock Exchange, or Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or through M&A or other means. There are also over 70 portfolio companies that have achieved unicorn or super unicorn status.
Many of our portfolio companies are today’s most influential firms in their respective sectors, including Xiaomi, Meituan, Bilibili, Zhihu, Roborock, Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, Tigermed, Zai Lab, CanSino Biologics, Schrödinger, APT Medical, New Horizon Health, Sanyou Medical, AmoyDx, Berry Genomics, SinocellTech, UBTech, Yuanxin Technology, Caidya, Belief BioMed, WeRide, among many others.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/qiming-venture-partners-promotes-alex-zhou-to-managing-partner-302153306.html

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