How can businesses close the digital skills gap when the COVID-19 pandemic, analytics, automation, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and other tech trends keep changing business needs? To find out, TechRepublic Premium surveyed 89 respondents across a range of disciplines, company sizes, industry verticals and job functions. The survey explored the different ways technology helps business leaders build their future workforce, how to update employees’ skills and the pros and cons of offering employees educational and development opportunities....

Since the end of 2019, the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs has been seeking for Services Australia and Reynolds to provide information regarding the legal advice it received in implementing the robo-debt system. Both have refused to provide that information under claims of public interest immunity. This is despite Services Australia’s claim of public interest immunity being rejected in February last year as the Senate committee said the reasons provided for that claim to exist were insufficient....

At a time when tensions between Russia and Ukraine are high, with world leaders concerned that the former is intending to invade, there is already digital warfare at hand. In recent weeks, Ukraine has been subject to defacement and tampering of numerous government-run websites, Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) has warned that destructive malware is being used in assaults against Ukrainian organizations, and the US Treasury Department has sanctioned Ukrainian nationals for allegedly trying to help create “instability” ahead of a potential invasion....

This year, Samsung looks to stay on top with its market-leading entrant, the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The phone is ultra-big, packed with ultra-specs and features, and… ultra-expensive. But if the best smartphone available is what you’re after – and you’re willing to pay for it – then I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Samsung’s latest flagship alongside Apple’s tried and tested iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Also: Samsung unveils Galaxy S23 series live at Unpacked Both devices represent the best of their respective brands....

According to IDC, 46 million tablets shipped worldwide in Q4 2021, an 11.9% decline year over year as demand slowed following strong tablet sales driven by virtual learning, remote work and media consumption during the pandemic. However, shipments were up 3.2% for the full year (168.8m units), with Apple leading the way at 34.2% market share, followed by Samsung (18.3%) and Lenovo (10.5%). All three Galaxy Tab S8 models are built on frames made from Samsung’s durable Armor Aluminum and come in Wi-Fi-only (Wi-Fi 6E) and 5G versions (4G LTE is also supported on latter)....

Specifications The main upgrade with this year’s Z Flip is its cameras. The rear setup now includes the same 12MP wide and a 12MP ultra-wide as the Galaxy S22 Plus, which is a significant step up from the Z Flip 3’s camera array. To leverage the improved hardware, Samsung has introduced a series of features and camera tricks. For video creatives, the Z Flip 4’s FlexCam helps you record content hands-free....

Also: CES 2023 tech you can actually buy now First up is a new OLED variant of the Odyssey G9. Like its predecessors, this display comes in at 49 inches, but wraps that around a gentler-than-usual 1800R curve. It uses Samsung’s quantum dot and OLED display technologies to provide “brighter whites, deeper blacks, and near infinite color contrast.” Also: CES 2023 tech to watch: Metaverse, ER of the future, food tech, NFTs In more numerical terms, Samsung pegs the contrast ratio at 1,000,000:1....

Speaking at its Tech Day event in San Jose on Wednesday, the company said it aims to enhance the performance of its chips to a level at which they can carry out human tasks on par with how people can. Samsung System LSI Business, the company’s business unit that designs processors, was focusing on improving the performance of its essential IPs like neural processing unit, modem, CPU, GPU and others with its partners, the South Korean tech giant said....

These figures exceeded analyst expectations of a three-fold increase. Samsung also reported that it took just a month of selling the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 to surpass total accumulative sales of all Samsung foldable devices in 2020. As a fan of Samsung’s foldable devices, this trend is encouraging and likely to lead to even better products in the years ahead. It’s been more than four months since I started using a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, and it serves as my trusted daily driver....

A threat actor going by ZeroX told ZDNet on Telegram that it had stolen 1T of “sensitive data” ranging from 1993 to 2020. The group said it hacked Saudi Aramco’s network, stealing information on refineries in Yanbu, Jazan, Jeddah, Ras Tanura, Riyadh, and Dhahran. The cybercriminals also contacted other news outlets like Bleeping Computer, which first reported the hack. The group provided samples of the data, which included documents covering project specifications, electrical and power systems, machinery at the refineries, analysis reports, unit prices, business agreements, network documents, company clients, invoices, and more....

The Razer Kraken V3 is a wired gaming headset that comes with a heavy set of perks to give you the upper edge during your gaming. The headset offers THX 7.1 surround sound spatial audio so you can enjoy true-to-life acoustics. Under the hood is a three-part driver system that creates crystal clear highs, mids, and lows to deliver the sound, too. This hardware coupled with the software also optimizes the sound, putting you right at the center of your gaming....

Not only is that a shame, it’s also no longer necessary when the Mobile Pixels DUEX Plus: Portable Dual-Screen Laptop Monitor can give you everything you could ask for from a second display. Best of all, you can use coupon code GREEN20 to get one for just $239.99 during our Green Monday sale instead of the usual $339, saving you almost $100. The DUEX Plus is an extremely user-friendly plug-and-play monitor that is compatible with all laptops, as well as mobile devices such as the Nintendo Switch....

The pandemic had most tech device makers scrambling, frantic to prove their products were somehow responsive to the dramatic changes in work routines. The attempts were mostly spin. Products like laptops and smartphones, which require years of lead time, could not respond to COVID-19 during the pandemic’s height. And some features, such as souped-up webcams or microbial coatings, would have moved forward regardless. In contrast, the Poly Studio P21 looks like one of the first products to anticipate the new world of remote work, answering the question: “What if the monitor were reinvented for the age of ubiquitous video chat?...

DHS officials repeatedly said the new rules were made after consultation with industry experts and meetings with rail companies. They added that the rules were pushed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) after CISA informed them of legitimate threats facing the rail industry. The government agency has faced backlash this year from companies in a variety of industries – as well as senior Republican lawmakers – for cybersecurity rules that some have called onerous and unnecessary....

Google replied by officially denying the likelihood of sentience in the program, and Lemoine was put on paid administrative leave by Google, according to an interview with Lemoine by Nitasha Tiku of The Washington Post. There has been a flood of responses to Lemoine’s claim by AI scholars. University of Washington linguistics professor Emily Bender, a frequent critic of AI hype, told Tiku that Lemoine is projecting anthropocentric views onto the technology....

Work to connect Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) infrastructures were targeted for completion by July 2022, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It added that the initiative was established in partnership with the Reserve Bank of India. The linkage would enable residents in both countries to make real-time, low-cost fund transfers directly between their respective local bank account. Funds from India could be transferred to Singapore via mobile numbers, while funds from Singapore could be transferred to India using UPI virtual payment addresses....

These efforts would look to drive its target of hitting $1 billion in gross merchandise value by end-2022 as well as grow its user base 25-times over the next year, said Pace in a statement Monday. it also was eyeing expansion into Japan, South Kore, and Taiwan. Apart from Singapore, it currently also operates in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Pace’s BNPL offering lets consumers split their purchases in three interest-free payments, over 60 days....

It would deepen collaboration between CERTs amongst Asean member states and boost the region’s cybersecurity posture, said Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, who was speaking at the Asean ministerial conference held Thursday in Singapore. Noting that the region already had conducted annual CERT incident drills since 2006 to boost the readiness of CERTs within the individual countries, Teo said setting up the Asean CERT was an important step in building regional cyber resilience....

Called ChangiVerse, the “virtual reality airport” is accessible on the games platform Roblox, where users will be able to explore familiar sights such as the control tower, said Changi Airport Group (CAG). It touted its debut in the metaverse as the first time an airport had created a virtual world on Roblox, which has a global base of 59.5 million daily active users. Also: Hacking the metaverse: Why Meta wants you to find flaws in its newest headsets Roblox has created more than 30 million immersive experiences, spanning concerts, sports, and fashion shows....

The agreement with the four Pacific Alliance (PA) member states also establishes Singapore as the bloc’s first associate member. This enables the nations to explore trade cooperation in sectors of mutual interest, such as digital economy, logistics and infrastructure, and food trade, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). Comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, the PA is the world’s eighth largest economy, with a combined GDP of more than $2 trillion in nominal terms....