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- Zero-day vulnerabilities (ZDVs) are flaws within a system or software that are unknown to the vendor and lack any available patch or means of mitigation at the time of discovery. The term "zero-day" specifically denotes the absence of days between the vulnerability's discovery and the initiation of the first attack.
- Zero-day attacks occur when threat actors exploit these vulnerabilities with malware, executing attacks before security researchers and developers are aware of them and can provide a solution. Consequently, zero-day exploits pose significant risks to users for several reasons:
- Cybercriminals swiftly capitalize on these vulnerabilities to carry out malicious activities.
- Systems remain vulnerable until the vendor releases a patch.
- Once a zero-day vulnerability is publicly disclosed, it becomes known as an "n-day" or "one-day" vulnerability.
- The Supreme Court has recently taken notice of a petition alleging breaches of privacy rights by four foreign credit information companies operating within India.
- Credit Information Companies (CICs) play a vital role in collecting public data, credit transactions, and payment histories of both individuals and companies, particularly concerning loans and credit cards. They gather information from various sources, including banks, financial institutions, and lenders, to compile credit reports and generate credit scores. These scores, typically ranging from 350 to 850, are utilized by banks and non-banking financial institutions to assess the creditworthiness of potential borrowers before extending loans or issuing credit cards.
- Recently, a leopard cat was sighted in Maharashtra's Pench Tiger Reserve for the first time, as confirmed by a senior forest official.
- The leopard cat, scientifically known as Prionailurus bengalensis, belongs to the family Felidae and is renowned for its striking leopard-like appearance. These cats are widely distributed across Asia, ranging from the Amur region in the Russian Far East to the Sunda Islands of Indonesia.
- Preferring forested habitats, leopard cats inhabit tropical evergreen rainforests, plantations at sea level, and subtropical deciduous and coniferous forests in the foothills of the Himalayas. They exhibit considerable variation in size and appearance, with colors ranging from pale tawny to yellow, red, or grey, complemented by distinctive black stripes and spots.
- The Madras Naturalist’s Society's Project Raptor Watch (PRW) has been diligently monitoring peregrine falcons in Chennai for two years, with the overarching goal of documenting, studying, and monitoring raptor species across select districts of Tamil Nadu.
- The peregrine falcon, known for its remarkable global distribution, can be found on every continent except Antarctica, as well as numerous oceanic islands. Thriving in open habitats such as grasslands, tundra, and coastal regions, they often nest on cliff faces and crevices.
Active during daylight hours, peregrine falcons exhibit solitary behavior outside of the breeding season, establishing and defending territories. As high-level predators, they play a crucial role in regulating the populations of their prey, notably pigeons and doves.
- Researchers have made a fascinating discovery regarding Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode worm known for its small size, simplicity, and precise structure.
- C. elegans undergoes rapid development, maturing from a fertilized egg to a millimeter-long adult within just 3-5 days. Despite its diminutive size, this worm has provided invaluable insights into human biology and other aspects of life sciences. Widely utilized in research, C. elegans serves as a model organism for studying neuronal and molecular biology.
- Remarkably, C. elegans was the first multicellular organism to have its entire genome sequenced and its neural wiring mapped. It exhibits two sexes—hermaphrodite and male—with the hermaphrodite capable of self-fertilization or cross-fertilization after mating with a male.
- The C295 Transport Aircraft represents a new generation of tactical airlifters, positioned within the light and medium segment, and is the brainchild of Airbus, a prominent European multinational aerospace corporation renowned for its innovative aircraft designs.
- This aircraft stands as a reliable and incredibly versatile tactical transport solution, adept at fulfilling a diverse array of missions. From troop and cargo transport to maritime patrol, airborne surveillance, reconnaissance, and even signals intelligence, the C295 is tailored to handle an extensive range of operational requirements. Additionally, it excels in roles such as armed close air support, medical evacuation, VIP transport, Air-to-Air refueling, and airborne firefighting.
- The 7th edition of the India-France Joint Military Exercise SHAKTI recently kicked off at the Joint Training Node in Umroi, Meghalaya, underscoring the continued partnership between the two nations in bolstering their military cooperation.
- Exercise Shakti, held biennially and alternating between India and France, saw its last iteration take place in France in 2021. The primary aim of this joint exercise is to augment the combined military capabilities of both countries, particularly in executing multi-domain operations within a Sub-Conventional scenario under Chapter VII of the United Nations Mandate.
- The State Bank of India (SBI) recently made headlines by becoming the inaugural trading-cum-clearing member at the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), marking a significant milestone in the country's financial landscape.
- Established as India's premier International Bullion Exchange, the IIBX finds its home within the vibrant precincts of the Gujarat International Finance Tech City (GIFT City) IFSC in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Envisioned as a conduit for importing bullion into India, the exchange aims to cultivate a world-class ecosystem for bullion trading, investment in bullion financial products, and vaulting facilities within IFSCs.
- Regulated by the International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA), the IIBX is committed to fostering transparent price discovery, ensuring responsible sourcing and supply chain integrity, and maintaining stringent quality assurance and standardization measures.
- In a recent ruling, a single judge bench of the Madras High Court clarified that employees do not have an automatic entitlement to pension benefits solely based on deductions made under the General Provident Fund (GPF) scheme, shedding light on an important aspect of government employee benefits.
- The General Provident Fund (GPF) serves as a specialized form of the Public Provident Fund (PPF) exclusively available to government employees across India. This scheme enables government personnel to allocate a portion of their salaries towards their GPF accounts, with the accumulated corpus being disbursed upon their retirement, reflecting their cumulative contributions over their years of service.
- OpenAI's latest innovation, ChatGPT, has taken a significant leap forward with the introduction of GPT-4o ("o" standing for "omni"), bringing forth the capabilities of GPT-4 in a groundbreaking new model.
- GPT-4o represents a monumental advancement in artificial intelligence, offering intelligence at the level of GPT-4 while significantly enhancing speed and expanding capabilities across text, vision, and audio domains.
- Noteworthy features of GPT-4o include revolutionizing human-to-machine interaction, making it more natural and intuitive than ever before. In the realm of audio, the voice mode on GPT-4o stands out for its efficiency and intuitive voice recognition capabilities, seamlessly identifying the voices of speakers, whether singular or multiple.
- The Prerana program is a pioneering initiative designed to infuse the ethos of the Indian education system with the foundational principles of value-based education, as outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
- Operating from a Vernacular School that has stood since 1888, nestled within the historic confines of Vadnagar, a district in Mehsana, Gujarat, the program embodies a rich heritage and tradition of learning in one of India's oldest living cities.
- Led by the Department of School Education & Literacy under the Ministry of Education, the Prerana program is poised to be executed by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, marking a collaborative effort to revolutionize education delivery and foster holistic development among students across the nation.
- Oleander, known also as rosebay, is a versatile plant cultivated extensively across tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions globally.
- Recognized for its remarkable resilience to drought conditions, oleander is a favored choice for landscaping and ornamental purposes, adorning gardens and landscapes with its vibrant blooms and lush foliage.
- While esteemed for its aesthetic appeal, oleander holds significance in traditional medicine as well. The Bhavaprakasha, a revered treatise on Ayurveda, acknowledges oleander as a poisonous plant but also recommends its use in the treatment of various ailments. From infected wounds to skin diseases, and from microbial infections to itching, oleander finds mention in ancient medicinal texts for its therapeutic properties.