UK must boost cyberattack capacity, PM says
Razor Labs develops AI solutions to improve manufacturing processes, makes machines into smart machines
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain needs to boost its capacity to conduct cyber attacks on foreign enemies, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said before the publication of a national security review next week.
“Cyber power is revolutionizing the way we live our lives and fight our wars, just as air power did 100 years ago,” Johnson said in a statement released by his office on Saturday.
Johnson is due to present a long-term review of national security strategy to parliament on Tuesday which media reports suggest could lead to a reduction in armed forces personnel.
“The review will set out the importance of cyber technology to our way of life – whether it’s defeating our enemies on the battlefield, making the Internet a safer place or developing cutting-edge tech to improve people’s lives,” Johnson’s office said.
In 2019, Britain spent $59 billion, or 2.1% of national income, on defense, more than any other large European country but far below the 3.5% of income spent by the United States.
Britain has invested heavily in costly aircraft carriers in recent years and maintains nuclear weapons, but its ground forces have shrunk since the Cold War ended.
Some British media have reported that the review will call for the number of army personnel to be reduced by a further 12,500 to around 70,000.
The defense ministry said on Saturday that talk of cuts “at this stage is speculation”.
Johnson said the National Cyber Force – including spies, defense officials and scientists – would have a permanent base in northern England as the government tries to boost regional development outside London.
The NCF targets threats including foreign air defense systems and the mobile phones of people the government views as serious criminals or terrorists.
It was created last year alongside a dedicated army regiment focused on cyber warfare. In 2016, a National Cyber Security Centre was set up to advise the government and public on how to reduce the risk of cyberattacks.
We are blessed to witness many of the most groundbreaking technological innovations in our lifetime. From video games, to personal computers, to mobile devices, to virtual reality headsets and so much more – it’s impossible to pick favorites. The techies among us marvel over the wide range of industries that Artificial Intelligence managed to disrupt, and even create. We all know that AI enhances processes in areas such as e-commerce, finance, and healthcare. However, there are other spaces that have yet to be transformed at scale, such as industrial manufacturing.
The Industrial Revolution, which took place in the 19th century, was the start of manufacturing as we know it. It was the beginning of human labor’s infamous switch from farming to machine and chemical manufacturing. This also sparked changes in the workforce, as wage labor became normalized. With the exception of initiatives to become greener (with regard to the effects of climate change), not much has changed in industrial manufacturing. That is, until the Tel Aviv-based Razor Labs stepped into the arena.
Founded in 2016, Razor Labs made a name for itself by developing Neural Networks that utilize deep Reinforcement Learning business processes optimization. The company’s flagship product, DataMind AI, virtualizes manufacturing processes. It transforms heavy industrial machinery to smart machines and operates as SaaS in the cloud. The product integrates with the machine’s sensors remotely and can identify malfunctions and optimize manufacturing processes, achieving results of accuracy and understanding even beyond human intelligence.
DataMind AI learns the machine autonomously and presents a model that will transform it to be smarter. This is all done while making use of the client’s existing equipment, without the need for investment in additional costs on their part. DataMind AI increases asset utilization and facilitates a huge reduction in resources and CO2 footprint, as well as enables compliance with regulatory requirements.
Additionally, DataMind AI identifies hidden patterns in the data so as to predict malfunctions in advance and alert to maintenance needs, thereby reducing the downtime costs and allowing organizations to repair and maintain the machinery at their convenience, ahead of time.
Innovations such as DataMind AI explain why Razor Labs’ clients include some of the largest mining companies in the world, and leading industrial manufacturers in Australia, Europe and Israel.
Razor Labs was founded by the serial entrepreneur Raz
Roditti, who serves as the company’s CEO; by CTO Michael Zolotov, an expert in Deep Learning algorithms and with extensive experience in research and development of AI; and by Ido Rozenberg, an AI expert, researcher and developer of complex AI systems. He was also a former commander in the 8200 technological unit in the IDF.
The company recently completed an IPO, raising $36 million in a book-building process and was traded on the first day by an increase of 10%, and at a valuation higher than NIS 500 million. The IPO closed at the price of NIS 12.6. Up until that point, Razor Labs was bootstrapped, and operated on the basis of equity and revenue from sales. In the company’s official announcement, Roditti expressed gratitude toward the institutional investors in Israel for their vote of confidence in participating in the IPO, and stated that the next goal is to register on NASDAQ within 24 months.
Razor Labs is also an official professional service partner of NVIDIA in its most exclusive partnership program including only 24 partners worldwide, and the first one in Israel, the rest of the Middle East, and Australia.
It’s great to know that the Israeli Razor Labs is pioneering the new Industrial Revolution worldwide in the industrial manufacturing space. Its DataMind AI is transforming heavy industrial machinery into smart machines, without the need to purchase new expensive hardware. By improving processes autonomously, this solution is the change that manufacturers didn’t know they needed, yet can’t do without.
In the latest example of cancel culture’s long and seemingly indiscriminate arm, Winston Marshall, the banjo player for Mumford & sons, says he’s “taking time away from the band” to examine his “blind spots” after praising right-wing writer andy ngo for his recent book, Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy.
“congratulations @Mrandyngo. Finally had the time to read your important book. you’re a brave man,” Marshall tweeted saturday.
the post, which has since been deleted, included a photo of the book’s cover showing an endorsement from Fox news personality tucker carlson.
a pile-on ensued, with many people calling Marshall things such as “a literal nazi.” It all prompted him to tweet out an apologetic statement tuesday evening (which launched a second flood of people bagging on him for “caving to the mob”).
“over the past few days I have come to better understand the pain caused by the book I endorsed,” the British musician said. “I have offended not only a lot of people
I don’t know, but also those closest to me, including my bandmates, and for that I am truly sorry. as a result of my actions I am taking time away from the band to examine my blind spots.
“For now, please know that I realize how my endorsements have the potential to be viewed as approvals of hateful, divisive behavior. I apologize, as this was not at all my intention.”
In its review of Unmasked, the LA Times described ngo’s work – released in early February – as a “supremely dishonest new book on the left-wing anti-fascist movement known
as antifa.”
“Unmasked is a culmination of ngo’s single-minded quest to depict an assortment of leftists as a unified vanguard whose mission is to ‘destroy the nation-state, america in particular,’” reviewer alexander nazaryan wrote.
“only in its final pages does he explain the roots of that fixation, his parents’ immigration from war-torn Vietnam. he calls this book ‘a letter of gratitude to the nation that welcomed’ them. as an immigrant from a communist country, I understand the sentiment. as a journalist, however, I must point out that he is churning out the very kind of propaganda that keeps authoritarians in power.”
some conservative writers expressed dismay over the musician’s decision to step away.
“the Mumford & sons guy really apologized and left the band because he read a book,” tweeted Matt Walsh of the daily Wire conservative website. “Whenever I think we have reached the farthest depths of insanity, and the cowardice that enables that insanity, we find still deeper depths to plunge.”
on Wednesday, ngo offered thoughts that alluded to the Mumford musician’s situation.
“I grieve for those who are made to suffer because they dare to read my work, or talk to me,” he tweeted.
the outrage hasn’t gone too far beyond social media, however. as of Wednesday, ngo’s Unmasked was still available for purchase on amazon. powell’s Books in portland, oregon, decided to ban the title from its shelves but not from its online store in january, after protesters showed up outside its flagship shop. (los angeles times/tns)