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The North Pole is on the verge of a civil war. Santa is missing. It’s elf vs. elf. Factions have formed, and it's up to you to save the day, block a ransomware attack, and untangle multiple cybersecurity snafus to ensure this year's holiday gifts don't get buried under a mountain of snowballs. No, it's not a children's story with a cyber twist. The Holiday Hack Challenge from SANS Institute is back for another season of wintery fun. Open to players of all skill levels, the online competition with real-world cybersecurity problems is set in the world of Santa, elves, and Christmas mayhem. This year's competition is open and will run through Jan. 3, 2025. "There's some really good stuff in there with ransomware analysis, Web application penetration testing, incident response and incident analysis," says Ed Skoudis, founder of the Holiday Hack Challenge and president of the SANS Institute. Skoudis calls the Holiday Hack Challenge, now in its 21st year, SANS's gift to the cybersecurity community. The goal is to provide a learning environment that is freely available to everyone in the world to learn skills while having fun, as well as to build a community where people work together and get to know each other. Players don't have to play through the game in one sitting or in order. Anyone who needs help can ask the elves in the game — the elves are very promiscuous hint-givers, Skoudis says — or join the Discord server to chat with other players. Many of the challenges are taken from real-world cybersecurity incidents. Each challenge is ranked by difficulty, from one to five snowballs, with five being the most difficult. What's new this year is that every challenge can be solved in two ways: an easy mode and hard mode. Players don't know which mode they are in, but if their solution took the easy method, they'll "receive" a silver trophy. Solving the hard way results in a gold trophy. And skipping a challenge gives them a bronze participation trophy. A certain number of points are assigned for bronze, silver, and gold for each challenge, which are then summed into the player's score. A leaderboard displays player scores — and people who signed up as a cohort have their own private scoreboard. "All year long, we're canvassing, looking for ideas of novel attacks that everybody should know about and know how to investigate, know how to do penetration tests for, and we're pulling those ideas together and putting them in holiday hack at the highest quality we can," Skoudis says. This year's challenges fall into the following categories: Winners will be announced in a webcast on Jan. 16, 2025. The grand prize winner will get a free SANS on-demand course, though some previous winners have found themselves with something more: a full-time job. Janusz Jasinski first participated in the Holiday Hack Challenge in 2018 and was hired as a senior technical engineer by Counter Hack in 2023 after networking with people he encountered in the community. He is now involved with the challenge as a game designer. Finding the sweet spot of something that's not too easy yet not too hard is the greatest challenge in designing the game, Jasinski said. He designed this year's mobile app penetration test challenge. "My challenge this year was [a difficulty level of] two or three out of five,” Jasinski says. "It's easy to do [create] a very easy challenge, it's easy to do a very hard challenge. It's very hard to do those in the middle, and just getting the right amount of complexity in there was a bit challenging. But further this year, we had the gold and silver, i.e., easy and hard routes. So to bake that in was now an extra level of difficulty." But the fun part, he says, is having people in the real world playing and actually succeeding in the challenge, then sharing their solutions on Discord or social media. Participating in the Holiday Hack Challenge and joining the community also led Kyle Parrish to a role behind the scenes. Parrish first played the Holiday Hack Challenge in 2018, winning an honorable mention early in his cybersecurity career. "I played it and absolutely loved it — the practical application of the challenges and the just goofy video game feel," he says. "It was a ton of fun. I learned a lot of tools that I literally was able to start using in my work and help me progress as a young security engineer." Parrish says he enjoyed the competition and sense of community so much that he played annually and volunteered to be a concierge in Discord, helping others with the challenges, in 2023. In January 2024, he joined the Counter Hack team as a senior technical engineer and is also now involved in designing the challenges. "My favorite part is how, basically, the entire game is run off an Excel spreadsheet, which just kind of blew my mind," Parrish says. "And to see the skill that was put into it by some of our other teammates on building this game engine ... to create these environments in this virtual world where players can interact with these challenges. It's so much fun." It's also exciting to see how people solve his challenge, he adds. "Somebody found an exploit in it and was able to get root against the challenge, which was awesome," Parrish says. "It was really cool to see that I had an intended path, but you were able to have an alternate path and were able to escalate your privileges. And that just makes for an even better write-up and a better learning experience for everybody involved." Though it may come cloaked in snowball fights and elf espionage, real-world training and building a peer community is the real point of the challenge. "I hope players develop cybersecurity skills that they can use in their actual job," Skoudis says. "That's the bottom line. And at the same time, I hope we have spoonfuls of holiday sugar that helps make the medicine go down, you know?" Jennifer Lawinski is a writer and editor with more than 20 years experience in media, covering a wide range of topics including business, news, culture, science, technology and cybersecurity. After earning a Master's degree in Journalism from Boston University, she started her career as a beat reporter for The Daily News of Newburyport. She has since written for a variety of publications including CNN, Fox News, Tech Target, CRN, CIO Insight, MSN News and Live Science. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and two cats.
Our sleep experts have been lying on mattresses for years -- some members for eight years at this point. Having tested around 350 beds from dozens of different mattress brands, our team has a good grasp on bed firmness levels. Even with our honed-in testing processes and extensive experience comparing firmnesses, our assessments have been solely subjective -- until recently. Built by CNET Labs' tech experts Bryan Adams, lab engineer, Jared Hannah, technical product testing analyst and Steve Conaway, the director of CNET Labs, our proprietary Mattress Smasher 9000 device offers an objective way to determine mattresses' firmness levels. This nifty machine officially launched in July and has smashed nearly 100 beds thus far. This number rises weekly as our experts continue to smash the beds currently stored in our expansive mattress warehouse and the new mattresses we regularly receive to review. Read more : We Use Tech to Test Beds: Say Hello to the Mattress Smasher 9000 Watch senior video producer Owen Poole explain how the Mattress Smasher works and why it changed the way we test beds. The mattress-smashing process On average, smashing each bed takes about thirty minutes. Moving the beds into our designated Mattress Smasher room and situating them on the platform takes some time. Once the bed is appropriately positioned and the machine is ready, we hit "start" and wait between three to five minutes for the machine to work its magic and provide us with the objective firmness level. This "magic" happens as the powerful actuator arm pushes its pressure-sensitive plate down into the mattress until it reaches a pre-determined amount of force, simulating body weight. The machine calculates the firmness based on the distance the arm and plate traveled into the mattress until they reached that force amount, traveling further (or deeper) into softer beds and not as far into firmer beds. With our custom programming software, we can change the amount of force applied to the bed to simulate different body weights, allowing us to see how the firmness would feel for lighter and heavier body types . We can adjust the actuator arm of the Mattress Smasher 9000 to test multiple areas of each bed. We can also adjust the location of the actuator arm. Moving the actuator's positioning over the bed enables us to test various areas of the mattress, which is essential for determining whether the zoned support sections are actually softer or firmer, as the brands might claim. Read more: Using Tech to Test Beds: Say Hello to the Mattress Smasher 9000 Mattress Smasher results, ranked by firmness Firmness is rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the softest and 10 the firmest. We use industry terms such as "medium-soft" or "true firm" to describe it. The firmness ratings provided by the Mattress Smasher are provided from the perspective of an average person weighing between 150 and 230 pounds, but we also test and discuss what the firmness might feel like for someone weighing above or below that range. We smash each bed at least three times but often four or five (sometimes up to six or seven), taking the average of those scores to determine the final objective firmness level. Of the nearly 100 beds we've smashed to date, the average firmness level is 5.7, or just a hair above medium. The graph below shows the firmness levels of the beds we’ve smashed with the Mattress Smasher 9000, organized from softest to firmest. The Nectar Luxe Hybrid and Helix Midnight Core mattresses were the softest, with firmness levels by the smasher of 2.1 and 2.17, respectively. Soft scores like this are best suited for strict side sleepers who need the most pressure relief for the shoulders and hips possible. The Mattress Smasher 9000 pushes the actuator arm into the bed. To no one's surprise on our team, the extra firm side of Plank Firm ranked the firmest of them all, landing at an impressive 9.5 out of 10 by the Mattress Smasher -- confirming that it's best for back and stomach sleepers seeking the most support possible from a mattress. As we continue to test and smash beds, we anticipate that the average firmness level will stay between 5 and 6. Many mattress companies offer middle-of-the-road beds that can accommodate all sleeping positions and body types and offer a combination of pressure relief and support. Read more: Best Firm Mattresses of 2024 What we've learned about mattress firmness Not to toot our own horns, but we will... This new addition to our testing process has confirmed that our team of sleep experts is highly accurate when evaluating and ranking a bed's firmness level. Brands are also pretty accurate in how they rank the firmness of their mattresses. For the Bear Original mattress, the Mattress Smasher provided 7.6, 7.6 and 7.8 scores for a total average firmness ranking of 7.65 out of 10, while Bear clocks it at 7.1. While not exactly the same, it's close, considering we have different methods and means of assessing and determining firmness -- and both rankings mean the mattress lands around medium-firm. We always test mattress firmness subjectively first, followed by its objective score. It's important to remember that even when technology is used to find the objective firmness level, firmness is still subjective at the end of the day. How one person perceives the firmness and feel of a bed may differ from another, depending on body type and weight. Our sleep team consists of members of different body types, weights and genders, allowing us to test each mattress from various perspectives and provide an all-encompassing review of the bed. Many mattresses feature zoned support, meaning different firmness levels throughout the bed provide support and pressure relief where your body needs it most. It's intended to help keep the spine neutrally aligned throughout the night. This is accomplished by altering the bed's construction, typically by having slightly firmer foam or a layer of individually wrapped coils in the center for enhanced support for your torso and hips. The outer thirds are often slightly softer to provide pressure relief for your head and shoulders. An example is the Saatva Classic , which features an additional layer of thin memory foam in the center third of the bed. The Mattress Smasher 9000 has proven that the brands' claims of zoned support are generally true and accurate. Even if we can't necessarily feel the zoned support while lying on certain beds, the Mattress Smasher can confirm that different firmness levels are present. The Saatva Rx is a prime example of this. Specifically designed for those with chronic back and joint pain, it features patented Lumbar Zone Technology. This technology provides more support in the center third of the mattress, aiming to keep your spine neutrally aligned. We moved the actuator to test each third of the mattress and confirmed this to be true -- the inside ranked around 6.1 out of 10, and the outer thirds were slightly softer, around 5.4 out of 10. With the Mattress Smasher, we can test the firmness of various areas in mattresses with zoned support, like the Saatva Rx. Interesting discoveries we had during testing Like any technology, the Mattress Smasher 9000 is not always 100% accurate. It might occasionally rank a bed higher or lower than we know it to be, and we always use our best judgment and discretion to determine why and whether the score is off from what its firmness rating truly is. We've encountered a few interesting realizations as we continue to work out any kinks with the Mattress Smasher. Mattresses with super unique construction, such as the Layla Hybrid , can sometimes throw off the firmness score provided by the smasher. We always investigate to determine the cause, and in this case, since the Layla Hybrid is flippable, the base of the mattress is soft when the firm side is up, which resulted in a few funky scores. We've also found that beds with soft top comfort layers or cushioning pillow tops tend to score softer than they are. This is because the actuator arm of the Mattress Smasher does not press down as far into the mattress layers as in a bed without a pillow top, causing it to provide a score that's softer than it would feel for a real person lying on the whole bed. An example of this is the Titan Plus Luxe . In our testing, we found this bed to be around medium-firm, while the Mattress Smasher consistently gave us lower scores between 3 and 4, which would be medium-soft. We know this is because of the soft quilted gel foam top on the Titan Plus Luxe. The Titan Plus Luxe has a thick pillow top that slightly affected the Mattress Smasher's scoring. When the bed (particularly one with memory foam) is cold from being outside in cool weather or a room with no heat, it will score higher (firmer). The bed can become more rigid when it reaches a certain threshold, as memory foam is sensitive to temperature fluctuations. The foam molecules become more tightly packed when cold, resulting in a harder feel. Typically, memory foam beds feel best between 68 and 72 degrees . Read more: The Foam in Your Mattress Matters. Here’s How It's Made Our sleep team knows this well. We are patient when unboxing memory foam mattresses from the cold delivery truck in the winter, as they're much more rigid and firm than they will be once they've had a chance to warm up and properly inflate. It's the same when lying on a memory foam bed in a cold room -- it takes extra time for your body heat to warm before the foam begins to respond appropriately, sinking and contouring around you. The building where our mattress warehouse is situated recently encountered heating issues, which meant there was no heat in the rooms where we store, film and smash beds. The resulting cooler room temperatures affected the Mattress Smasher scores for memory foam mattresses, causing them to rank higher than they should. Watch us unbox the extremely cold Casper Snow Max. Why we use technology to test beds Our sleep experts always provide in-depth descriptions of a bed's firmness and feel in our reviews to help you decide if it's the right bed for you. These qualities are largely subjective. How a bed feels from person to person will differ. We take turns lying on and dissecting the mattress's construction, collecting opinions on the firmness level from multiple CNET sleep experts with varying body types and preferred sleeping positions because it's critical to test and review this characteristic from a wide range of perspectives. Until CNET Labs created the Mattress Smasher 9000, this was the only way we could test a bed's firmness. Now, having an objective way to test and determine firmness supplements our expert assessments and makes our reviews even more precise by providing entirely unbiased data. As a dedicated member of CNET's sleep team, the Mattress Smasher 9000 will continue to test and analyze beds alongside the rest of us for the foreseeable future. Read more: How CNET's Sleep Experts Test Mattresses
Toyota Australia is keen to reclaim the large SUV sales crown it will lose to the Ford Everest for the first time this year, and it’s well on the way with a solid order bank and an even bigger number of new-generation LandCruiser Prado 250 Series vehicles on their way Down Under in the next 12 months. Deliveries of the new fifth-generation Prado commenced earlier this month and the Japanese carmaker says it holds more than 17,000 orders. The 250 Series has a lot to live up to in terms of sales volume, as the now out-of-stock 150 Series it replaces had dominated the large SUV segment in Australia for years prior to its departure. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now . However, this year has been a different story due to stock of the old Prado drying up several months ago, and the Ford Everest taking its place as the large SUV sales leader this year. When asked whether the Prado will once again become Australia’s most popular large SUV, Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations Sean Hanley told CarExpert the first all-new Prado in 15 years is expected to do well from a sales perspective. “We’re very confident that the Prado will do well in the end,” said Mr Hanley. “We believe at Toyota that we put a really compelling, well specced, well packaged, four-wheel drive SUV in the market. “Prado, of course, has fantastic heritage and proven reliability, and it appeals particularly to families and those with a sense of lifestyle adventure. “You know it will sell its volume already. We’re seeing a very healthy order bank, and we expect it to do well on the market. Very well. “Whether it’s number one, customers will decide that, but we think it’s good enough to be certainly a market leader.” As recently reported , Toyota Australia says it will take delivery of almost 27,000 Prados in the first 12 months of 250 Series sales, which should result in a new record for the popular nameplate in 2025. The Prado’s current annual sales record of 21,299 deliveries was set in 2021. To the end of October 2024, only 3525 Prados – consisting mainly of the outgoing 150 Series and a handful of 250 Series vehicles – have been delivered. In contrast, 21,281 examples of the Ford Everest have been sold in the same period. This marks the first time the Prado has been outsold by the Everest, along with other direct competitors like the Isuzu MU-X and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport . But even with over 17,000 pre-orders, many 250 Series customers could wait several months for delivery, depending on when they placed their order. To avoid extreme wait times of up to three or even four years, as we saw with the RAV4 Hybrid and LandCruiser 70 Series , Toyota Australia has confirmed a new retailing policy that will prevent dealers taking open-ended orders amid high demand. Instead, the company will allocate each dealer a rolling 12-month supply of stock. Dealers won’t be able to take more Prado orders after they reach their stock threshold until more vehicles are allocated, and they will be discourage from taking deposits until then. Toyota Australia claims the new policy will give both dealers and customers a clearer and more accurate indication on the wait times. As a result of its revised order taking process, Toyota says the maximum wait time for a new Prado will be 12 months after an order is placed with a dealer. From launch, there are five variants in the 2025 Toyota LandCruiser Prado range – GX, GXL, VX, Altitude, and Kakadu. Pricing starts at $72,500 before on-roads for the GX, and extends to $99,990 before on-roads for the Kakadu. They are powered by the same 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine as the old 150 Series, this time fitted with 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance, although power and torque outputs remain the same at 150kW and 500Nm. The new Prado’s turbo-diesel engine is mated to a new eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission (up two ratios from the outgoing model) and a two-speed transfer case, once again offering low-range gearing and sending power to all four corners via a full-time four-wheel drive system. MORE: Everything Toyota LandCruiser Prado
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets running back Breece Hall could play Sunday at Jacksonville after missing a game with a knee injury. Hall has been dealing with a hyperextension and injured MCL in his left knee that at Miami. But he was a full participant at practice Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday. Hall was officially listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report. “He looks good right now,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “So it’s promising.” Hall leads the Jets with 692 yards rushing and four touchdown runs, and he also has 401 yards receiving and two scores on 46 catches. A pair of rookies helped New York offset Hall’s absence last weekend, with Braelon Allen rushing for 43 yards on 11 carries, and Isaiah Davis getting 40 yards on 10 attempts and scoring his first rushing touchdown. “We’re hopeful and we’ll see how it goes,” Ulbrich said of Hall. The Jets will get star cornerback Sauce Gardner back after he missed a game with a hamstring injury, but New York’s secondary appears likely to be without cornerback D.J. Reed because of a groin injury. Reed was listed as doubtful after he didn’t practice Thursday or Friday. “It’s been something that’s kind of lingered here and there,” Ulbrich said. “It’s gotten aggravated and then it went away, and then it got aggravated again. So, it’s just dealing with that.” Backup Brandin Echols is out with a shoulder injury, so veteran Isaiah Oliver or rookie Qwan’tez Stiggers could get the start opposite Gardner if Reed can’t play. Kendall Sheffield also could be elevated from the practice squad for the second game in a row. Ulbrich said kick returner Kene Nwangwu will be placed on injured reserve after breaking a hand last weekend at Miami. The injury came a week after he was selected the AFC special teams player of the week in his Jets debut, during which he returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and forced a fumble in a loss to Seattle. “To put him out there with a broken hand, just thought it’d be counterproductive for him and for us as a team, so it unfortunately cuts the season short and what a bright light he was,” Ulbrich said. “What an amazing future I think he has in this league. With saying that, he’s already been a really good player for quite a while, so (it’s) unfortunate, but he’ll be back.” Offensive lineman Xavier Newman (groin) is doubtful, while right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle) and RT Morgan Moses (wrist) are questionable. ___ AP NFL:Mandate To Crown King Of Maha Politics Today: Pawar Or FadnavisLucintel Forecasts the Global Adhesive in the Aerospace Market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 5.8% from 2024 to 2030 12-19-2024 11:50 PM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: ABNewswire According to a market report by Lucintel, the future of the global adhesives in the aerospace market looks promising with opportunities in the original equipment manufacturer and maintenance, repair & operation markets. The global adhesive in the aerospac According to a market report by Lucintel, the future of the global adhesives in the aerospace market looks promising with opportunities in the original equipment manufacturer and maintenance, repair & operation markets. The global adhesive in the aerospace market According to a market report by Lucintel, the future of the global adhesives in the aerospace market [ https://www.lucintel.com/adhesives-in-aerospace-market.aspx ] looks promising with opportunities in the original equipment manufacturer and maintenance, repair & operation markets. The global adhesive in the aerospace market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 5.8% from 2024 to 2030. The major drivers for this market are rising production of commercial & military aircraft, growing focus on lightweight materials, and increasing demand for high-performance aerospace adhesives. A more than 150-page report to understand trends, opportunity and forecast in adhesives in the aerospace market to 2030 by resin type (epoxy, polyurethane, silicone, and other), technology (waterborne, solvent borne, and reactive), function (structural and non-structural), end use (original equipment manufacturer and maintenance, repair & operations), and region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World). Lucintel forecasts that epoxy is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period. Within this market, original equipment manufacturer is expected to witness higher growth. Download sample by clicking on adhesives in the aerospace market [ https://www.lucintel.com/adhesives-in-aerospace-market.aspx ] PPG Industries, Scigrip Adhesives, Hexcel Corporation, DuPont, Illinois Tool Works, Huntsman Corporation, Beacon Adhesives are the major suppliers in the adhesives in the aerospace market. This unique research report will enable you to make confident business decisions in this globally competitive marketplace. For a detailed table of contents, contact Lucintel at +1-972-636-5056 or write us at helpdesk@lucintel.com To get access of more than 1000 reports at fraction of cost visit Lucintel's Analytics Dashboard About Lucintel At Lucintel, we offer solutions for you growth through game changer ideas and robust market & unmet needs analysis. We are based in Dallas, TX and have been a trusted advisor for 1,000+ clients for over 20 years. We are quoted in several publications like the Wall Street Journal, ZACKS, and the Financial Times. Contact: Roy Almaguer Lucintel Dallas, Texas, USA Email: roy.almaguer@lucintel.com Tel. +1-972-636-5056 Explore Our Latest Publications Inventory Management Drone Market Last-Mile Deliver Drone Market Lithium Battery for Drone Market New Robotics and Drone Market Oil Plant Protection Drone Market Passenger Drone Market Media Contact Company Name: Lucintel Contact Person: Roy Almaguer Email:Send Email [ https://www.abnewswire.com/email_contact_us.php?pr=lucintel-forecasts-the-global-adhesive-in-the-aerospace-market-is-expected-to-grow-with-a-cagr-of-58-from-2024-to-2030 ] Phone: 972.636.5056 Address:8951 Cypress Waters Blvd., Suite 160 City: Dallas State: TEXAS Country: United States Website: https://www.lucintel.com/ This release was published on openPR.
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Game-changing holiday gifts for building fires, printing photos, watching birds and moreJets running back Hall 'looks promising' to play vs. Jags, but cornerback Reed is doubtful