All posts tagged: severity

Uffizi Museum Denies Severity of Security Breaches From Cyber Attack

Uffizi Museum Denies Severity of Security Breaches From Cyber Attack

Published by Jenni Sidey

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, home to one of the world’s most well-known collections of Italian Renaissance art, is denying a report that a recent cyber attack gave hackers “access everywhere” in the museum. The article, published on Apr. 3 in the Italian daily newspaper Correre della Sera, said that the hackers infiltrated the museum complex’s IT network, demanded a ransom directly from museum director Simone Verde, and threatened to sell information stolen from the Uffizi’s servers on the dark web. Related Articles However, a report in Reuters several hours after the Correre della Sera news came out cites a statement from the museum explaining that while the Uffizi was indeed targeted in a cyber attack on Feb. 1, nothing was stolen and the hackers did not in fact acquire security maps of the museum or employees’ personal contact information. Corriere della Serra pointed to several sudden changes at the museum as evidence of the attack, specifically related to the Pitti Palace, which is part of the Gallerie deglie Uffizi complex. (The Boboli Gardens are …

Amazon’s Ring And Google’s Nest Unwittingly Reveal The Severity Of The U.S. Surveillance State

Amazon’s Ring And Google’s Nest Unwittingly Reveal The Severity Of The U.S. Surveillance State

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Glenn Greenwald via Substack, That the U.S. Surveillance State is rapidly growing to the point of ubiquity has been demonstrated over the past week by seemingly benign events. While the picture that emerges is grim, to put it mildly, at least Americans are again confronted with crystal clarity over how severe this has become. One of Google’s Nest surveillance cameras, whose recordings can be accessed by Google even if users don’t subscribe to the security firm’s services. CC Photo Lab / Shutterstock The latest round of valid panic over privacy began during the Super Bowl held on Sunday. During the game, Amazon ran a commercial for its Ring camera security system. The ad manipulatively exploited people’s love of dogs to induce them to ignore the consequences of what Amazon was touting. It seems that trick did not work. The ad highlighted what the company calls its “Search Party” feature, whereby one can upload a picture, for example, of a lost dog. Doing so will activate multiple other Amazon Ring cameras in the neighborhood, …

Biological sex influences how blood markers reflect Alzheimer’s severity

Biological sex influences how blood markers reflect Alzheimer’s severity

Published by José Betancourt

A new study suggests that a promising blood test for Alzheimer’s disease may need to be interpreted differently depending on whether the patient is male or female. The researchers found that for the same concentration of a specific protein in the blood, men exhibited more severe brain damage and cognitive decline than women. These findings were published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease has historically been a difficult and expensive process. Physicians currently rely on a combination of subjective memory tests and invasive or costly biological measures. The most accurate biological tools available today involve positron emission tomography, known as PET scans, or lumbar punctures to analyze cerebrospinal fluid. PET scans use radioactive tracers to visualize plaques and tangles in the brain, while lumbar punctures require inserting a needle into the lower back to collect fluid for analysis. Because these methods are not easily scalable for routine screening, the medical community has sought a blood-based biomarker that could indicate the presence and severity of neurodegeneration without the need for specialized equipment or invasive …

Inflammation in a key dopamine hub correlates with depression severity

Inflammation in a key dopamine hub correlates with depression severity

Published by José Betancourt

Recent research identifies specific biological alterations in the brain’s reward center that correlate with depression. The study reveals that the physiological signs associated with a history of depression differ remarkably from the signs associated with the severity of current depressive symptoms. These findings appear in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. Depression is frequently understood as a disorder of mood, but growing evidence suggests it involves significant interactions with the body’s immune system. Biological responses to stress or illness often trigger inflammation. This immune response can affect the brain and disrupt the neural circuitry responsible for motivation and pleasure. The impact of inflammation on these brain networks may lead to anhedonia, which is the inability to feel pleasure and a primary symptom of depression. Central to this reward network is the ventral tegmental area. This small structure resides deep within the midbrain and serves as a primary source of dopamine. Dopamine acts as a chemical messenger that regulates motivation and goal-directed behavior. Disruption in the ventral tegmental area can lead to the lethargy …