Across the United States, K-12 schools have spent the past decade building one-to-one device programs. These initiatives have established an essential baseline for digital access, making it easier for students to complete daily schoolwork across grade levels and subjects. By putting a device in the hands of every learner, districts have created a standard foundation for digital literacy, research and everyday classroom engagement.

As STEM programs continue to grow and mature, however, school leaders are beginning to encounter new questions about how well those standardized devices support more advanced coursework. Pathways in fields like robotics, engineering, cybersecurity and data science increasingly rely on specialized professional applications that reach well beyond general-purpose classroom software.

In many cases, students can successfully complete introductory work on school-issued devices. But as instruction progresses, the tools required for STEM programs place different demands on student computing resources. As a result, educators and technology directors are taking a closer look at how hardware capacity can keep pace with shifting curricular needs.

STEM Tools and Computing Demands

While web-based applications work well for introductory coursework and daily assignments, many expanding STEM pathways introduce entirely different technical requirements. Courses in engineering, 3D modeling, cybersecurity and data science rely on industry-standard applications that demand substantial local computing capacity, robust memory and dedicated graphics processing.

A prime example is SolidWorks, a professional computer-aided design (CAD) platform used extensively in both higher education and engineering industries. When students build detailed, multipart models or run stress-test simulations, the performance of the device directly affects how efficiently they can work. Insufficient hardware can lead to severe rendering delays, software lag or sudden crashes that disrupt the entire classroom flow. 

This reality highlights a practical procurement consideration for districts: As STEM curricula mature beyond basic web-browsing activities, classroom devices must have sufficient local processing power to keep up.

A Robotics Program in Practice

To see how these hardware dynamics play out in a real classroom, consider the experience of the Firebots robotics team at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, California. The team competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition, a global program where students design, build and program large robots to complete complex engineering challenges under tight, real-world constraints.

The work inside a competitive robotics program closely mirrors a commercial engineering environment, spanning mechanical design, fabrication, electrical systems and software development. Students use CAD tools to design components from scratch, test digital iterations and refine mechanisms on a tight competition timeline.

In robotics programs like this, student devices are not just tools for looking up information; they are central workbenches used across multiple stages of the design process. Students rely on them for modeling, code compilation, data logging, documentation and coordination among subteams.

Reliable on-device performance eliminates a common source of classroom friction. When software runs consistently and responsively, students can spend their limited class time troubleshooting their designs and iterating on ideas rather than troubleshooting their devices. Ultimately, the Firebots’ systematic approach and focus on execution earned them the FIRST Excellence in Engineering Award, which recognizes strong engineering design and system integration.

What This Means for STEM Instruction

The experience of programs like the Firebots raises a broader question for school leaders and instructional technology directors: How should district-wide device strategies evolve as STEM instruction becomes more technically demanding?

One-to-one computing programs continue to serve as the foundation for most day-to-day classroom learning, providing the baseline connectivity needed for a modern education. At the same time, STEM courses can reveal distinct moments where standardized, general-purpose devices reach the limits of demanding software and workflow requirements.

In many districts, this variation is already being managed through a mix of approaches. Some schools rely on shared physical lab spaces equipped with higher-performance workstations dedicated to specialized software. Others use cloud-based streaming solutions where possible, while reserving more resource-intensive local applications for specific instructional settings.

The goal is not to dismantle existing one-to-one initiatives, but to recognize where a single hardware standard may limit technical pathways. As STEM education continues to expand and diversify, school leaders find themselves balancing the competing priorities of deployment consistency, procurement cost and instructional fit.

In this changing landscape, device planning is no longer treated as a separate IT purchasing decision. Instead, it is increasingly part of a larger conversation about how schools design learning environments that accurately reflect the kinds of hands-on work students are being asked to do.

Kevin Cate created Open Door, a 3-minute horror short that has went viral. A couple of coworkers get into an elevator for a typical ride, but then it just stops and dips, and you start hearing whispers and getting the impression that something is lurking down in the darkness. Nearly 15 million people have watched it on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, and they’re still going crazy trying to figure out what happens next.

The only question that keeps coming up is, “What did those two people see when all hell broke loose?” Kevin Cate has been dealing with that question pretty much every day since the short came out, and his contagious excitement has secured him a nice six-figure deal to make it into a feature film. He collaborated with IO writer Charles Spano to enhance the script, and they now have a completely new version ready to go.

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Sean Anthony Baker and Mia Matthews are reprising their roles from the original short for the full-length movie. Kevin Cate is overjoyed to be working with the same cast and crew who brought the short back to life in the first place, and he believes the new characters are among the greatest they’ve created yet. Getting asked every day what the two saw down there is driving him insane, but he’s ready to eventually reveal them, and he’s dropping hints along the way.

They’ve even set up a website (opendoorfilm.com) where you can sign up and express your interest. The website has the most recent news, behind-the-scenes looks, and even a section where fans can share their wildest ideas. Skysound producer Daniel Faber is on board with this one, as well as Kevin Cate’s upcoming comedy Unbearable Christmas, starring Julia Stiles and David Cross.

Now that the budgeting process is over, the next steps are to address finance, casting, and pre-production. They want to start filming later this year and release it to the public in 2027. Kevin Cate provided a sneak glimpse of what’s coming on social media, claiming that it’s the completion of his ultimate dream.
[Source]

Last year, the AGCM found that Apple abused its market dominance with its treatment of third-party developers.

Months after being hit with a nearly €100m penalty, Apple is once again under investigation by the Italian competition authority – this time over concerns around its interoperability obligations under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM)’s second probe into Apple concerns iOS and iPadOS, which it said might be unfairly treating third-party cloud providers.

According to the DMA, companies with the gatekeeper designation must ensure that third-party sellers receive the same free and effective interoperability with their operating systems as the company’s own services.

The Italian authority pointed to “indications” of an apparent lack of access third-party cloud providers have to the same features that are available to Apple’s own iCloud. The global technology giant holds more than 40pc of the mobile operating system market share in Europe.

“For example, it appears that Apple does not allow alternative cloud storage services to use the iOS and iPadOS features enabling end users to perform a full backup of their devices’ data, while those same features are available to Apple’s iCloud,” the AGCM said in a statement.

This marks the first time the AGCM is running an investigation alongside the European Commission.

Italy’s competition authority hit Apple with a penalty of more than €98.6m last December after finding that the company abused its “super-dominant position” in the app distribution market with its App Store.

The probe stemmed from Apple’s 2021 policy on App Tracking Transparency (ATT) on iOS which forced third-party app developers to double user consent requests for the same purposes. The AGCM concluded that the policy did not comply with the bloc’s privacy requirements.

Apple, at the time, said that it disagreed with the AGCM’s decision and planned to appeal.

This also isn’t Apple’s first encounter with the DMA. Last year, the company – alongside Meta – became the first penalty recipients under the law, with Apple alone receiving a €500m fine for restricting app developers from informing customers of alternative offers outside its App Store.

A few months later, the company introduced changes to its App Store policies to comply with the law, which carries fines of up to 10pc of a company’s total annual worldwide turnover. For Apple, this could be as much as $41.6bn.

Meanwhile, the EU is also considering whether to designate Apple’s Maps and Ads services as gatekeepers under DMA.

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Illumina Ventures announced the two winners of the inaugural competition designed to recognise high-potential start-ups.

UCD’s Nax Bioscience and TCD’s Imragen were today (16 June) awarded the top spot at the inaugural Irish Genomics Business Plan Competition, which is an initiative established to identify and support high-potential genomics-focused start-ups and research ventures in Ireland’s life sciences ecosystem.

Illumina Ventures, which announced the winners, is an independently managed venture capital firm that is focused on genomics and precision health investing and aims to strengthen the genomics innovation landscape in Ireland. 

Nax Bioscience is a deep-tech life science start-up that focuses primarily on improving the efficiency of next generation sequencing. By developing an innovative nucleic acid extraction technology, Nax aims to ensure higher input quality that delivers more reliable, cost-effective sequencing results.

Leading the Nax Bioscience team are, Dr Jaythoon Hassan, of the National Virus Reference Laboratory at UCD, professor Michael Gilchrist from the UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and Edward Simons, a commercial lead. The multi-disciplinary project is supported by the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund and is preparing for spin-out in early 2027.

Imragen, which is a new commercial venture being spun out of the Campbell lab at TCD’s Smurfit Institute of Genetics, is developing a range of methodologies to restore the integrity of the blood-brain and blood-retina barriers. The technology will seek to treat a range of neurological and ophthalmological conditions. 

Following a competitive review process of submitted entries from across Ireland, Nax Bioscience and Imragen were selected as the two winners in recognition of their innovative genomics-driven technologies and strong commercial potential. 

For winning, both start-ups will receive a comprehensive support package that includes access to Illumina sequencing consumables and technical expertise, strategic mentorship from Illumina Ventures, intellectual property guidance, legal support and access to Ireland’s genomics data science ecosystem.

Commenting on the win, Nick Naclerio, a founding partner at Illumina Ventures, said, “Ireland has become an increasingly important centre for genomics innovation, supported by exceptional scientific talent, a strong entrepreneurial culture, and a collaborative ecosystem.

“We were highly impressed by the quality of applications received and we are excited to support Nax Bioscience and Imragen as they advance technologies with the potential to make a meaningful impact on healthcare and the life sciences.”

Mark Robinson, the vice-president and general manager, for the UK, Ireland, and Northern Europe, at Illumina, added, “Through this competition, we wanted to help accelerate the next generation of genomics-enabled companies in Ireland. The winning teams demonstrated compelling scientific innovation alongside a clear vision for translation and commercialisation.”

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SpaceX passed Amazon to become the fifth-most valuable company in the world, after its stock price climbed 20% on Monday and more than 8% in early trading Tuesday, pushing its valuation past $2.7 trillion.

That’s despite Amazon turning a $78 billion profit in 2025 on $717 billion in sales last year, compared to SpaceX’s $4.9 billion loss on $18.7 billion in revenue. SpaceX has recently added new revenue streams in the form of compute leasing deals with Anthropic and Google, though, and the company has added $1 trillion to its valuation since going public on Friday.

Tuesday’s stock price jump came after SpaceX announced it is acquiring AI coding startup Cursor in an all-stock deal worth $60 billion. SpaceX first revealed a collaboration with Cursor in April, at a time when CEO Elon Musk said his AI company xAI — now a part of SpaceX — “was not built right [the] first time around” and that he was rebuilding it “from the foundations up.”

SpaceX’s historic IPO saw it debut with a valuation of around $1.7 trillion, and the transaction raised nearly $86 billion for Musk’s company. SpaceX only made about 4% of its total shares available for trading, which experts predicted would make the stock more susceptible to wild swings.

Most security teams think of NTFS junctions and symbolic links as niche file system features. They let one directory point to another, like a shortcut that the OS treats as real. They exist for backward compatibility, storage management, things that rarely come up in a SOC. But they have a property that makes them interesting from an offensive perspective: any user can create them.

No admin privileges are required, and no special permissions beyond write access to the target folder.

We discovered that by pointing a junction back at its own parent directory, an attacker can create recursive loops that generate effectively infinite file paths. Tools that try to scan the directory recursively, including EDR products, could follow the loop and never finish.

The malicious files sitting in the same folder go unexamined, creating a technique we’ve dubbed GhostTree.

How NTFS junctions work

Windows file paths are a fundamental part of the operating system, but they come with complexities. While most users interact with simple folder structures, the NTFS file system introduces advanced capabilities like junctions and symbolic links.

These features serve legitimate purposes, such as redirecting directories, maintaining backward compatibility with legacy applications that expect files to be in specific locations, or reorganizing files without physically moving them.

A junction is a type of NTFS reparse point that redirects one directory to another. Creating one requires only write permissions and a single command in CMD:

mklink /J C:\LinkToFolder C:\TargetFolder

This creates a junction named “LinkToFolder” that transparently points to “TargetFolder.” Any application accessing files through the junction sees the contents of the target directory as if they were local.

One constraint matters here though. Classic Windows systems impose a maximum path length of 260 characters, which is rooted in legacy software and file system design.

It is technically possible to extend this limit up to 32,767 characters via a registry key, but many applications and utilities are not equipped to handle paths beyond 260. 

Even though NTFS supports longer paths, practical usage remains restricted by existing software. That limit determines how deep the recursive loops can go, and how many unique paths GhostTree can produce.

GhostBranch

GhostBranch is the simpler of the two techniques. Any user can create a folder junction, setting both the junction’s name and destination. Consider this folder structure:

C:\Parent\program.exe

Run the command:

mklink /J C:\Parent\Child C:\Parent

This creates a logical loop by pointing a child folder back to its parent folder. The child directory now contains everything the parent does, including itself. The result is an unlimited number of valid paths to the same file:

C:\Parent\Child\Program.exe
C:\Parent\Child\Child\Program.exe
C:\Parent\Child\Child\Child\Child\Program.exe

Due to the loop, you can add multiple “Child” folders to the path, and it remains valid. Every one of these paths resolves to the same executable.

GhostTree

GhostTree builds on the GhostBranch concept by creating multiple child folders instead of one. For example, you can create two child folders:

mklink /J C:\Parent\Child1 C:\Parent
mklink /J C:\Parent\Child2 C:\Parent

Now every level in the path can branch through either Child1 or Child2, and both loop back to the parent. This allows various paths:

C:\Parent\Child1\Program.exe
C:\Parent\Child2\Program.exe
C:\Parent\Child1\Child1\Program.exe
C:\Parent\Child1\Child2\Program.exe

Path calculations

Both GhostBranch and GhostTree produce paths that can extend to the maximum length Windows allows. The difference is in path diversity, which is where GhostTree’s additional child folder changes things considerably.

GhostBranch

Within Windows, the maximum traditional path length is 260 characters. To maximize the number of directories, one can create single-letter folders (e.g., “P”) directly under the C: drive and employ an executable named 1.exe. 

Example paths include:

C:\P\1.exe
C:\P\P\1.exe
C:\P\P\P\...\1.exe

This configuration allows for approximately 126 unique directory structures due to path length limitations.

GhostTree

The GhostTree method introduces two parent folders, “P” and “B”, in contrast to the single-folder structure used previously. Examples include:

C:\B\1.exe
C:\P\B\1.exe
C:\P\B\P\B\...\1.exe

While the maximum depth remains around 126 folders, each level may be named either “P” or “B,” effectively creating a binary tree-like structure. With this configuration, each node represents a distinct path, and the total number of possible nodes is calculated as:

2^126 ≈ 8.5 × 10^37

How big is that? It’s vastly larger than the number of grains of sand on Earth (8.5 × 10^18) or even the atoms in your body (10^27).

Why this matters for defenders

With just two lines of code, a user can generate endless valid paths, making it impossible to finish scanning parent directories with the dir command recursively. The same applies to EDR products that scan folders for malicious files. An attacker places malware in the parent directory, sets up the GhostTree structure, and the containing folder becomes effectively unscannable. The scan hangs. The malicious files go unexamined.

We tested this technique against Windows Defender and confirmed it could be used to evade folder scans.

We reported the issue to Microsoft. The ticket was closed with the explanation that “bypassing Defender is not crossing a security boundary.” The issue was subsequently patched regardless.

Techniques like GhostTree are a reminder that endpoint scanning is only one layer of defense. Monitoring file system activity at the data layer catches what scanners miss, including anomalous junction creation and recursive directory structures that should not exist in normal operations.

Varonis monitors file access patterns and detects this kind of anomalous activity across file systems and cloud infrastructure.

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Sponsored and written by Varonis.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned that Americans lost $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, with reported losses nearly tripling since 2020.

Imposter scams were also the most reported fraud category last year, accounting for nearly one in three fraud reports filed with the FTC. In these scams, the fraudsters reach victims through text messages, phone calls, emails, social media, and search engine results. The costliest schemes typically involve a fake bank security alert that prompts targets to transfer funds to “protect” their accounts.

According to the FTC, victims lost nearly $1 billion to business impersonators (with bank impersonators being behind the most lucrative scams) and approximately $920 million to government impersonators. Social media was the most cost-effective attack vector for impersonators, with more than $2.1 billion in 2025 losses traced to social platforms (an eightfold increase since 2020).

Nearly one in three Americans who lost money in such scams were first contacted through social media, with Facebook losses alone exceeding those from text and email combined, while WhatsApp and Instagram ranked second and third.

“The FTC will use every tool available to combat one of the most pernicious forms of fraud—government and business impersonation—and to protect the integrity of the digital economy,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Overall reported fraud losses across all categories have surged to about $16 billion in 2025, the highest on record and roughly 25% above the prior year.

In March 2024, the FTC also warned that scammers were impersonating its employees to steal money after receiving many reports of scams in which fraudsters impersonated agency personnel to pressure Americans via phone calls, email, or text messages into wiring or transferring money.

Since its Impersonation Rule took effect in April 2024, the FTC has brought a dozen enforcement actions, securing more than $70 million in consumer redress and halting some imposter schemes.

Last year, the FTC announced law enforcement actions under this rule against MediaAlpha (government imposter scheme), American Tax Service (IRS imposter scheme), Blackstone Legal (phantom debt business imposter scheme), Click Profit (business imposter money-making scam), and Accelerated Debt Settlement (government and business imposter scheme).

It also filed a complaint against Innovative Partners in April 2026, alleging the company impersonated the government and insurance carriers to sell fraudulent health plans.

The same month, the FBI warned in its 2025 Internet Crime Report that U.S. victims lost almost $21 billion to cyber-enabled crimes throughout last year.

Security teams log 54% of successful attacks and alert on just 14%. The rest move through your environment unseen.

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If you’ve ever used a pillow spray or lotion designed for sleep, you understand the power that scent can have on rest. So does Kimba, a new sleep technology company whose clinically validated, AI-powered Kimba device is now available for preorder in the US. The Kimba tracks your health metrics to release scents while you snooze, aiming to guide you into a deeper, more restorative sleep without the need for pills, the company said in a press release.

Unlike wearable devices that passively track your sleep, the Kimba seeks to actively improve it. It does so with built-in ambient sensors that monitor breathing patterns, movement, room disturbances, light levels and snoring, along with the ability to connect to wearables such as the Whoop, Oura Ring, Apple Watch, Fitbit and wearables by Garmin. Then it delivers personalized scents using three capsules contained in the device.

Kimba was founded by Ben Fuxbruner, a former special forces commander who dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic insomnia after a near-death injury. Sleep and brain science researchers, including olfactory and neuroscience expert Anat Arzi, who holds a doctoral degree in neurobiology, helped develop the Kimba device. 

“The influence of sensory input during sleep is significant,” Arzi in a statement. “Olfactory stimulation is uniquely beneficial for this because it can influence brain activity without waking the individual.”

Once the Kimba is released, I plan to test the product to see if it lives up to its promises and the price of about $600 a year.

It begins with a sleep assessment

It all starts with a sleep assessment on the Kimba app. This assessment helps the sleeper “to understand their sleep challenges, goals, preferences and lifestyle factors,” Fuxbruner told CNET. Those who preorder a Kimba will take the sleep assessment to create a personalized sleep profile and determine which three scent capsules they receive first.

There are currently 12 water-based, plant-derived scent formulations packaged in proprietary scent capsules that are replaced every three months. Scents include Soft Blue, created with Roman chamomile to support sleep initiation; Golden Grove, made with Austrian sandalwood to ground the body; and Lemon Calm, built with Bulgarian melissa (also known as lemon balm) to downshift anxiety. 

New capsules are scheduled to ship before replacements are needed, and these shipments are part of the Kimba membership.

According to Fuxbruner, the $299 preorder price includes the Kimba device, app access, a six-month membership with personalized scent deliveries and free shipping. After that, preorder you can continue receiving scents through your membership at the same discounted rate of $299 every six months (about $49.90 a month). That comes out to about $600 a year.

AI uses your data to pick your sleep scents

Following the sleep assessment, once you go to sleep, the Kimba will monitor nightly health metrics, including heart rate variability, movement, breathing patterns and data from wearable devices. Fuxbruner explained that it uses its proprietary adaptive AI to analyze this data and determine when, what and how much scent to deliver, and to make adjustments throughout the night to optimize recovery, sleep continuity and depth. 

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Kimba’s machine learning models “learn how sleep patterns evolve over time and differ across individuals using physiological signals from wearables and Kimba’s own sensing systems,” said Fuxbruner. “Because Kimba’s objective is measurable: better sleep quality, continuity, recovery and cognitive performance, Kimba can continuously evaluate and optimize its models based on real-world outcomes.”

In other words, the more you use the Kimba system, the more personalized your scent experience should become. 

New scents are delivered quarterly

During the first few months of use, Kimba establishes a baseline using information from the onboarding questionnaire, sleep data collected from a wearable and using the Kimba’s built-in sensors. The device doesn’t use cameras but can detect sleep-related sounds, such as snoring.

“The system is designed to filter for specific sleep-relevant signals only, collecting only the information necessary to generate personalized sleep insights and scent recommendations,” said Fuxbruner. Conversations and other audio are not recorded, stored or retained, he said.

As data is gathered, the system identifies patterns between specific scent combinations and positive sleep outcomes, such as longer periods of deep sleep or fewer nighttime awakenings.

Then, each quarter, Kimba users will receive updated scent recommendations and before shipment, they can review these scents and why they’ve been endorsed in the Kimba app.

Kimba’s privacy policy 

All data is encrypted both in transit and at rest within the Kimba ecosystem, including the device and cloud infrastructure, Fuxbruner said.

Kimba’s privacy and security practices align with HIPAA requirements and the international ISO 27701 privacy management principles. Data is used solely to personalize and optimize your sleep experience and is not sold or shared with third parties for advertising purposes.

Current and future research

Arzi conducted a study with 50 participants over 48 nights and found that Kimba improved their sleep quality and cognitive performance. These findings are to be presented at conferences later this year. 

Under the guidance of sleep expert Peretz Lavie, Kimba is advancing two additional clinical studies: one using polysomnography (PSG, also known as a sleep study) to evaluate physiological sleep outcomes, and another focused on mental health and PTSD to explore Kimba’s impact on sleep and recovery.

You can register for preorder at kimba.ai. Shipping will begin this fall.