Mwalola wa Mwalola, a longtime fisherman in the Indian Ocean on the Kenyan coast, vividly remembers the events of the deadly tsunami of 20 years ago. Mwalola said the fisherfolk's experience and knowledge of the ocean saved his life after they sensed danger and decided to keep off the ocean on the fateful day. “My place of work was hit, but I was not affected because I heeded the warning," he said. "We avoided losses because we warned our colleagues of the impending danger and asked everyone to keep off the ocean that day.” On December 26, 2004, a powerful earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra generated a devastating tsunami that was observed worldwide and caused tremendous devastation and deaths throughout the Indian Ocean region, including in East Africa. Out of the 228,000 people killed, more than 300 were from the East African countries of Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya, according to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The disaster raised awareness about the threat tsunamis pose to coastal communities around the world and the need for improved tsunami detection, forecasting, warning and preparedness. Observers say more remains to be done in the East African countries that were affected. Shamim Wasii Nyanda, an environmental activist at the Tanzania Ocean Climate Innovation Hub in Dar es Salaam, said, "There’s an increase of vulnerability due to climate change but also ... limited adaptation funding. Most of the coastal cities lack sufficient financial resources to implement these climate adaptation measures, particularly in urban, under-resourced communities. They do not have that kind of technology or resources for them to be able to work on these problems that we are experiencing," especially tsunamis. Nyanda said increasing urbanization is compounding the risk. “Coastal cities like Dar es Salaam itself have continued to expand, with informal settlements encroaching on vulnerable areas where facilities like disasterproof housing and infrastructure are not available." People then build housing in areas where they shouldn't, "so, when these disasters come, like the tsunami, they are not prepared. They do not have the technology. They do not have the infrastructure ... and what happens? They are just swept away.” As countries observe the 20th anniversary of the 2004 tsunami, experts say preparedness, prevention and mitigation measures are key in preventing such disasters in the future.INVESTIGATION NOTICE: Kaskela Law LLC Announces Shareholder Investigation of Innovid Corp. ...
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WASHINGTON — A top White House official said Wednesday at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations were impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. FILE - The American and Chinese flags wave at Genting Snow Park ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Zhangjiakou, China, on Feb. 2, 2022. A top White House official on Wednesday said at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File) Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that the number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could grow. The U.S. believes the hackers were able to gain access to communications of senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures through the hack, Neuberger said. “We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger added during a call with reporters. She added that Biden was briefed on the findings and the White House “made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom this.” US officials recommend encrypted messaging apps amid "Salt Typhoon" cyberattack, attributed to China, targeting AT&T, Verizon, and others. The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the accusations that it was responsible for the hack Tuesday after the U.S. federal authorities issued new guidance. “The U.S. needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The embassy did not immediately respond to messages Wednesday. White House officials believe the hacking was regionally targeted and the focus was on very senior government officials. Federal authorities confirmed in October that hackers linked to China targeted the phones of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, along with people associated with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. The number of countries impacted by the hack is currently believed to be in the “low, couple dozen,” according to a senior administration official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said they believed the hacks started at least a year or two ago. The suggestions for telecom companies released Tuesday are largely technical in nature, urging encryption, centralization and consistent monitoring to deter cyber intrusions. If implemented, the security precautions could help disrupt the operation, dubbed Salt Typhoon, and make it harder for China or any other nation to mount a similar attack in the future, experts say. Trump's pick to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kash Patel was allegedly the target of cyberattack attempt by Iranian-backed hackers. Neuberger pointed to efforts made to beef up cybersecurity in the rail, aviation, energy and other sectors following the May 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline . “So, to prevent ongoing Salt Typhoon type intrusions by China, we believe we need to apply a similar minimum cybersecurity practice,” Neuberger said. The cyberattack by a gang of criminal hackers on the critical U.S. pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard, sent ripple effects across the economy, highlighting cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation’s aging energy infrastructure. Colonial confirmed it paid $4.4 million to the gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems as it scrambled to get the nation's fuel pipeline back online. Picture this: You're on vacation in a city abroad, exploring museums, tasting the local cuisine, and people-watching at cafés. Everything is going perfectly until you get a series of alerts on your phone. Someone is making fraudulent charges using your credit card, sending you into a panic. How could this have happened? Cyberattacks targeting travelers are nothing new. But as travel has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so has the volume of hackers and cybercriminals preying upon tourists. Financial fraud is the most common form of cybercrime experienced by travelers, but surveillance via public Wi-Fi networks, social media hacking, and phishing scams are also common, according to a survey by ExpressVPN . Spokeo consulted cybersecurity sources and travel guides to determine some of the best ways to protect your phone while traveling, from using a VPN to managing secure passwords. Online attacks are not the only type of crime impacting travelers—physical theft of phones is also a threat. Phones have become such invaluable travel aids, housing our navigation tools, digital wallets, itineraries, and contacts, that having your phone stolen, lost, or compromised while abroad can be devastating. Meanwhile, traveling can make people uniquely vulnerable to both cyber and physical attacks due to common pitfalls like oversharing on social media and letting your guard down when it comes to taking risks online. Luckily, there are numerous precautions travelers can take to safeguard against cyberattacks and phone theft. Hackers can—and do—target public Wi-Fi networks at cafés and hotels to gain access to your personal information or install malware onto your device, particularly on unsecured networks. Travelers are especially vulnerable to these types of cybersecurity breaches because they are often more reliant on public Wi-Fi than they would be in their home countries where they have more robust phone plans. This reliance on public, unsecured networks means travelers are more likely to use those networks to perform sensitive tasks like financial transfers, meaning hackers can easily gain access to banking information or other passwords. One easy way to safeguard yourself against these breaches is to use a virtual private network, or VPN, while traveling. VPNs are apps that encrypt your data and hide your location, preventing hackers from accessing personal information. An added bonus is that VPNs allow you to access websites that may be blocked or unavailable in the country you are visiting. To use a VPN, simply download a VPN app on your phone or computer, create an account, choose a server, and connect. Pickpockets, scammers, and flagrant, snatch-your-phone-right-out-of-your-hand thieves can be found pretty much everywhere. In London, for instance, a staggering 91,000 phones were reported stolen to police in 2022 , breaking down to an average of 248 per day, according to the BBC. Whether you're visiting a crowded tourist attraction or just want peace of mind, travel experts advise taking precautions to make sure your phone isn't physically stolen or compromised while traveling. There are several antitheft options to choose from. If you want a bag that will protect your phone from theft, experts recommend looking for features like slash-resistant fabric, reinforced shoulder straps, hidden zippers that can be locked, and secure attachment points, like a cross-body strap or a sturdy clip. For tethers, look for those made of tear-resistant material with a reinforced clip or ring. If your phone falls into the wrong hands, there's a good chance you won't be getting it back. Out of those 91,000 phones stolen in London in 2022, only 1,915 (or about 2%) were recovered. The good news is that you can take precautions to make the loss of your phone less devastating by backing up your data before you travel. With backed-up data, you can acquire a new device and still access your photos, contacts, messages, and passwords. Moreover, if you have "Find My Device" or "Find My Phone" enabled, you can remotely wipe your stolen phone's data so the thief cannot access it. It's safest to back up your data to a hard drive and not just the cloud. That way, if you have to wipe your device, you don't accidentally erase the backup, too. In order for the previous tip on this list to work, "Find My Phone" must be turned on in advance, but remotely wiping your device isn't the only thing this feature allows you to do. The "Find My Phone" feature enables you to track your device, as long as it's turned on and not in airplane mode. This is particularly helpful if you misplaced your phone or left it somewhere since it can help you retrace your steps. While this feature won't show you the live location of a phone that has been turned off, it will show the phone's last known location. With "Find My Phone," you can also remotely lock your phone or enable "Lost Mode," which locks down the phone, suspends any in-phone payment methods, and displays contact information for returning the phone to you. If your phone was stolen, experts caution against taking matters into your own hands by chasing down the thief, since this could land you in a potentially dangerous situation and is unlikely to result in getting your phone back. Strong passwords for important accounts help protect your information while you travel, but it's just a first step. The National Cybersecurity Alliance recommends creating long, unique, and complex passwords for every account and combining them with multifactor authentication to create maximum barriers to entry. If you're worried about remembering these passwords, password managers can be a vital tool for both creating and storing strong passwords. Password managers are apps that act as secure vaults for all your passwords. Some even come with a feature that allows you to temporarily delete sensitive passwords before you travel and then easily restore them once you return. Story editing by Mia Nakaji Monnier. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick. This story originally appeared on Spokeo and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
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Coleen Rooney had an unexpected encounter with nature during her stint on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! , requiring medical assistance after a critter got stuck in her ear. The 38-year-old star was taking part in the Arcade of Agony challenge during Wednesday night's episode on ITV. The task saw Coleen braving a box filled with fish guts to retrieve coins needed to operate a grabbing machine, which contained balls with tickets hidden inside. The wife of footballer Wayne Rooney was competing with fellow campmates to win the most amount of tickets to help secure immunity from the next two public votes and to win a spot on the Celebrity Cyclone trial. However, at the end of the trial, Coleen appeared from the grabbing booth saying: "I've got one in my ear." A medic emerged to take a closer look with a syringe before the critter crawled out of her ear. Co-host Ant McPartlin exclaimed: "Oh my god, it just jumped out." It is not the first time medics have been called in after a jungle trial. In 2022, England footballer Jill Scott needed attention to remove a cockroach from her ear after volunteering to take part in an Unlucky Dip challenge. It came 11 years after Olympic gold medallist Fatima Whitbread got a cockroach stuck up her nose during a time trial which saw her encased in a plastic helmet full of critters. Before appearing on the ITV show, Coleen had been embroiled in a high-profile libel battle with fellow footballer's wife Rebekah Vardy, who previously competed on the ITV reality show in 2017. She was dubbed Wagatha Christie in 2019, when she accused Rebekah, the wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, of leaking her private information to the press in a viral post on social media. In July 2022, a judge at the High Court found the post was "substantially true". Speaking about going on the programme, Coleen said: "It has been year after year I have been asked to go on a programme, and it's always been a straight 'no'. "Over the years, there have been different things going on in my life and also, my children have been really young. But they are at an age now where I can go away for this length of time. "I also feel it's time to have a challenge for me and do something different. It has taken many, many years but I'm finally doing it. And I have always said, if I was going to do one – then it would be this show. I think it will be good for me." I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! continues on ITV at 9pm.
White House says at least 8 US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaign