A cyber attack targeting the British Library has led to a leak of employee data, the institution said. The Rhysida ransomware group has claimed it has access to passports along with other data files. The group said it has started bidding in an auction for access at 20 bitcoin (around £600,000) on an online site. The British Library, which has one of the largest book collections in the world, previously reported that a “major technology outage” had hit online services, public wifi at the site and its website. Ransomware is the key cyber threat facing the UK, and all organisations should take immediate steps to limit risk by following our advice on how to put in place robust defences to protect their networks National Cyber Security Centre spokesperson It said in October that the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and cybersecurity specialists were investigating. On Tuesday, an NCSC spokesperson said: “We are working with the British Library to fully understand the impact of an incident. “Ransomware is the key cyber threat facing the UK, and all organisations should take immediate steps to limit risk by following our advice on how to put in place robust defences to protect their networks.” The British Library, near St Pancras railway station, remains open and visitors can access the reading rooms for personal study. On Monday, the library posted a statement to X confirming internal HR files had been leaked. It said: “We’re continuing to experience a major technology outage as a result of a cyber-attack, affecting our website, online systems and services, and some onsite services too. “We anticipate restoring many services in the next few weeks, but some disruption may persist for longer. “Following confirmation last week that this was a ransomware attack, we’re aware that some data has been leaked. This appears to be from our internal HR files. “We have no evidence that data of our users has been compromised.” The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection watchdog, has confirmed it is looking into the breach. An ICO spokesperson said: “The British Library reported an incident to us and we are making inquiries.” Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (MS-ISAC) warned about Rhysida. In a joint statement they said the group has launched attacks “against the education, healthcare, manufacturing, information technology, and government sectors since May 2023”.

We’ve heard of following the yellow brick road, and even following the white rabbit, but scientists have just made a landmark discovery by following a trail of ghostly crabs. For some 20 years, experts believed there was a hydrothermal vent field off the western Galápagos Islands, but they hadn’t been able to pinpoint its exact location. However, while exploring the area they spotted a galatheid crab (also called a squat lobster), and then another, and then another. They traced the crustaceans excitedly as their number grew until, finally, they were led to the elusive hydrothermal goldmine. There are only around 550 known hydrothermal vents in the world, only half of which have actually been seen. The rest have been identified via chemical and temperature signatures in the surrounding water, as Live Science notes. Hydrothermal vents are formed when water seeps into the rock of the seafloor at either a plate margin or where magma is rising to the surface in another part of the plate. The magma heats the water, which causes it to rise, before it’s expelled through fissures in the rock, often forming what are known as chimneys. The new Galápagos field, discovered thanks to the crabs which aggregate around deep-sear vents, extends more than 98,800 square feet (9,178 square metres), and consists of five geyser-like chimneys and three hot springs. The highest temperature so far recorded there is a staggering 288C (550F). As well as the the geysers, hot springs and crabs, the team, from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, found a thriving ecosystem of incredibly adapted organisms. "There were giant tube worms, which can be a couple (of) metres long. There were very large clams, sometimes called dinner plate clams, as well as mussels," said Roxanne Beinart, a biological oceanographer who co-led the expedition. To locate the hydrothermal field, the researchers first began searching the general region where a chemical anomaly had been identified in 2008. "One of the anomalies that we look for is a lens of low oxygen water," expedition co-leader Jill McDermott, a chemical oceanographer at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, told Live Science. "Oxygen is completely removed through circulation in the seafloor. So the water that's expressed at the seafloor is devoid of oxygen." The team then followed this plume of oxygen-poor water until it disappeared — implying they were close to the vent. They then launched a remotely operated vehicle to inspect the seafloor and traced the breadcrumb trail of crabs to the vent field itself. “With 75 per cent of the seafloor still to map, finding this new vent field shows how much we still have to learn about our planet and those who live on it,” the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Executive Director Dr Jyotika Virmani said in a statement. “I am continually amazed by the otherworldly beauty of our seafloor and look forward to uncovering more.” And what did the team christen the new hydrothermal vent field? Why, the “Sendero del Cangrejo,” or “Trail of the Crabs,” of course. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

Microsoft stock has hit a record high after hiring sacked OpenAI boss Sam Altman and other key figures from the AI firm. The US tech giant, which is a key investor in OpenAI, is the second most valuable company in the world behind Apple. The firm’s market cap on 21 November reached above $2.8 trillion – up $1 trillion since the start of the year. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella announced that Mr Altman, who headed ChatGPT creator OpenAI until he was ousted on Friday, would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team alongside fellow OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman “We’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team,” Mr Nadella wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success.” Despite his new role, Mr Altman is reportedly keen on returning to his former company following a revolt among OpenAI employees against the board. More than 700 OpenAI workers signed a letter threatening to quit unless the board resigns and reappoints Mr Altman as chief executive. “The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardised all of this work and undermined our mission and company,” the open letter stated. “Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI.” OpenAI board member Ilya Sutskever said on Monday that he “deeply regrets” his role in Mr Altman’s sacking, adding that he was now working to reunite the company. Following his exit from OpenAI last week, Mr Altman wrote on X: “I loved my time at OpenAI. It was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. Most of all I loved working with such talented people. Will have more to say about what’s next later.” After rumours emerged that he was looking to rejoin his former company after being hired by Microsoft, Mr Altman wrote: “Satya [Nadella] and my top priority remains to ensure OpenAI continues to thrive. “We are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers. The OpenAI/ Microsoft partnership makes this very doable.” Read More Microsoft chief hints Sam Altman may return as OpenAI staff demand board resignation OpenAI staff ‘threaten to quit over ousting of Sam Altman’ Microsoft’s new AI tool cleans up messy backgrounds in video calls

Half of adults who have conversations with strangers online do not check how old they are, research suggests. A survey of 2,558 people over the age of 16 for child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation found that a quarter of adults in the UK chat to people they do not know, with 55% not checking their age. The poll also suggested that one in 10 men (11%) over the age of 25 would not immediately stop the conversation if they discovered that they were talking to a child under the age of 16. Our message to all adults having online conversations with anyone under 16 is to be crystal clear about your boundaries and the law. These are your responsibility. Online sexual conversations with under-16s are illegal – no ifs, no buts, no excuses Donald Findlater, Stop It Now! The charity has warned that while it is not illegal for an adult to speak to a child online, any sexual communications are against the law and come with a potential two-year prison sentence. It runs a helpline Stop It Now! aimed at stopping offenders or potential offenders from abusing children. Director of Stop It Now! Donald Findlater said: “Our message to all adults having online conversations with anyone under 16 is to be crystal clear about your boundaries and the law. “These are your responsibility. Online sexual conversations with under-16s are illegal – no ifs, no buts, no excuses.” There can be many different reasons why people offend online, but there are no excuses. To prevent harmful and illegal behaviour and protect children, we must recognise these reasons and help people to stop the behaviour and ensure it stays stopped Dr Alexandra Bailey, Lucy Faithfull Foundation More than two-in-five (44%) of those surveyed said it could be difficult to determine what constituted online grooming, while more than a third (37%) said they would not know what to do if they caught someone having a sexual conversation with a child online. In the past two years, Stop It Now! has seen a 64% rise in the number of people getting in touch with concerns about their own or a loved one’s behaviour. Dr Alexandra Bailey, a psychologist for the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, said: “There can be many different reasons why people offend online, but there are no excuses. “To prevent harmful and illegal behaviour and protect children, we must recognise these reasons and help people to stop the behaviour and ensure it stays stopped.” Stopping online offending taking place in the first place is of course the ideal, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation carries out an extremely important service in preventing this criminality Wendy Hart, National Crime Agency Wendy Hart, deputy director for child sexual abuse at the National Crime Agency, said: “We see first-hand the life-shattering effect these online interactions can have on victims, as well as the devastation this brings to the family of the perpetrator. “Stopping online offending taking place in the first place is of course the ideal, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation carries out an extremely important service in preventing this criminality. “However, if you do go on to commit abuse, we will work relentlessly to ensure you are arrested and brought to justice. “You and only you will be responsible for the life-changing impact your offending has on the victim and your family.” The Stop It Now! helpline is available by calling 0808 100 0900 or online. – 2,558 adults over the age of 16 were surveyed online by Kantar between September 26 and October 2. Read More Businesses embracing generative AI but fear cyberattacks, survey finds Young Britons turning to AI chatbots for help with school and work – survey Police to trial use of drones as first responders to emergencies Apple to adopt system to improve texting between iPhones and Android devices ICO seeks permission to appeal against Clearview AI tribunal ruling Users of iPhones can now check bank balance from Wallet app

By Louisa Gouliamaki SESKLO, Greece The fires came first. Then the floods. In the small village of Sesklo

A cold snap will spread across Europe from the weekend, testing the region’s energy systems for the first

Sam Altman might still return to OpenAI after his ouster from the company, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella hinted. Chaos erupted at OpenAI on Friday as the company’s board abruptly fired its founder and chief Mr Altman, saying it “no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI”. Later, hundreds of the ChatGPT company’s employees threatened to quit unless its board resigned. When asked on Monday whether Mr Altman would join Microsoft, that has invested billions in the ChatGPT company, Mr Nadella said he was “open to both options”. “Look, that is for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose,” he told CNBC. “We obviously want Sam and Greg to have a fantastic home if they’re not going to be at OpenAI,” the Microsoft chief said. “We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and we want to continue to do so, and obviously, that depends on the people of OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft,” Mr Nadella had said. Microsoft later officially announced it was hiring Mr Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, who resigned on Friday. “Extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team,” Mr Nadella said in a post on X. “We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success,” he said. Mr Altman’s sacking was followed by about 500 staff at the company demanding the board’s resignation and the reinstatement of their dismissed boss. The employees signed a letter demanding OpenAI’s board resign and reinstate Mr Altman, claiming the decision to oust him jeopardised the company’s work. The letter was reportedly signed by several senior staff at OpenAI. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer who was appointed as the interim chief following Mr Altman’s exit, was one of the signatories. Another signatory, Ilya Sutskever, the company’s chief scientist and one of the board members, expressed “deep regret” over the decision to remove Mr Altman. Employees at the company’s headquarters reportedly refused to attend an emergency all-hands meeting with new OpenAI boss Emmett Shear that was scheduled on Sunday. Some had responded to a Slack announcement with a middle-finger emoji, according to reports. Mr Nadella also said “it’s clear something has to change around the governance” at OpenAI. “We’ll have a good dialogue with their board on that, and walk through that as that evolves,” he said. Mr Altman said on X that his “top priority” remains to “ensure OpenAI continues to thrive”. “We are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers,” the ousted tech boss said on Monday. “We have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before. We are all going to work together some way or other, and I’m so excited. one team, one mission,” Mr Altman said. Read More OpenAI staff ‘threaten to quit over ousting of Sam Altman’ Microsoft’s new AI tool cleans up messy backgrounds in video calls First carbon capture plant opens in the US to help avoid climate catastrophe One of the world’s most hyped tech products just launched – and made a big mistake Musk files defamation suit against Media Matters over Nazi X post claims ‘We are broken’: Armenia looks to technology to rebuild

South Africa is likely to prioritize energy security over its decarbonization aspirations to avoid further damage to its

X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a federal defamation suit on Monday in Texas against Media Matters for America, accusing the media watchdog group of kicking off an advertiser exodus with a “harmful” article alleging the social network let top brands display ads near antisemitic and pro-Nazi posts. The liberal-leaning media observer allegedly curated a feed specifically with fringe accounts and those belonging to corporations like IBM, Comcast, Apple, and Oracle, then displayed screenshots of the unsavoury posts appearing near company ads in a critical article, according to the lawsuit. The Media Matters analysis, published last week, also alleges that X owner Elon Musk has increasingly begun a “descent into white nationalist and antisemitic conspiracy theories.” The lawsuit does not dispute that some top brands’ ads were featured near the inflammatory content. Rather, it suggests Media Matters gamed X to produce extremely unlikely pairings that are usually screened out by the service’s advertising tools, alleging that one harmful match appeared for “only one viewer (out of more than 500 million) on all of X: Media Matters.” “Not a single authentic user of the X platform saw IBM’s, Comcast’s or Oracle’s ads next to that content, which Media Matters achieved only through its manipulation of X’s algorithms,” the suit continues. “Media Matters created these pairings in secrecy, to manufacture the harmful perception that X is at best an incompetent content moderator (a harmful accusation for any social media platform), or even worse that X was somehow indifferent or even encouraging to Nazi and racist ideology,” the suit argues elsewhere. Media Matters told The Independent in a statement that its analysis of X and its content policies remains valid. “This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence,” Media Matters President Angelo Carusone said in the statement. “Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.” Top executives at X have railed against Media Matters in recent days. “If you know me, you know I’m committed to truth and fairness. Here’s the truth,” Linda Yaccarino wrote on X on Monday. “Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article. Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters. Data wins over manipulation or allegations.” Mr Musk, meanwhile, called the organisation “pure evil” in an X post of his own. Outside of the disputed accuracy of the Media Matters report, Mr Musk has openly endorsed a right-wing conspiracy theory on X in recent days, prompting criticism that he’s fueling antisemitism. Last Wednesday, the billionaire X owner responded to a tweet echoing claims of the racist and often antisemitic “great replacement” theory, including that Jewish people were “flooding” America with “hordes of minorities” to promote “dialectical hatred against whites.” Mr Musk called the claim “the actual truth.” The theory referenced in the original post was among the hateful ideas directly referenced by the gunman who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history. “At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one’s influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League civil rights group, which monitors antisemitism and other forms of extremism, wrote on X in response to Mr Musk. The White House also weighed in, alleging the tech CEO was contributing to the spread of “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.” “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” the White House said in a statement. The Independent contacted Mr Musk during the backlash against his response to the post and did not receive an answer. Amid the controversy, Mr Musk has alternatively defended X’s content policies and appeared to mock critics who allege the network is harbouring hateful content. Last week, he shared a clip of someone playing a video game level called “Echo of Hatred,” with the caption “defeating hatred is never easy.” “Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension,” he wrote elsewhere on X on Friday. This summer, a study from the Center for Countering Digital Hate alleged X failed to take down 99 per cent of a selection of hate content flagged by the group. The group alleged that “the platform is allowing them to break its rules with impunity and is even algorithmically boosting their toxic tweets.” Read More Musk's X sues liberal advocacy group Media Matters over its report on ads next to hate groups' posts Elon Musk and Trump aide want journalists jailed over X Hitler exposé IBM pulls ads from Elon Musk's X after report says they appeared next to antisemitic posts Dates and venues for three 2024 presidential debates announced 2024 polls: Three presidential debates revealed for next year Torso found washed up on New York beach could be missing Irish filmmaker: NYPD

Suppliers for consumer electronics sold by companies including Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google need to accelerate efforts

Billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. approved $750 million of investments in an initial slate of three

The big question is what management will say about its progress in alleviating supply constraints.