US

Real, workable quantum computers do not yet exist, but new cryptography standards should already ensure that they do not immediately crack all security.   The US government has chosen new standards for a 'post-quantum' world. After a six-year competition, the government organization National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), which manages technical standards, has chosen four cryptographic algorithms that must be able to withstand cracking attempts by quantum computers. For general encryption to secure websites, NIST chose Crystals-Kyber, which uses fairly small encryption keys and thus can be exchanged quickly and efficiently between two computers. There are three different algorithms for digital signatures, i.e. to prove which data was sent by whom. The first is Cryst...

Former President Donald Trump wanted to force a federal judge to regain access to his blocked Twitter account, but he dismissed the case.   Twitter and other social media platforms banned Trump last year after his supporters stormed the Capitol. The judge indicated that Trump's lawyers could amend the complaint and try again, but then they must demonstrate that blocking Trump's account is tantamount to government censorship. "That is not an easy claim," the judge warned. Trump's team of lawyers says they are thinking about the next steps. The former president believes that Twitter has unfairly 'censored' him by placing warnings with his messages. Since the presidential elections in November, the platform has placed warnings on messages from the president in which he spread inaccu...

Two American crewmembers from the International Space Station ISS started a spacewalk on Tuesday, as could be seen directly on NASA TV.   Kayla Barron and Raya Chari switched to their spacesuits' internal systems at 1:12 PM GMT, officially beginning a spacewalk that would last approximately 6.5 hours. The duo must assemble and install infrastructure to upgrade the solar panels, NASA says. Ultimately, the spacemeccano will have 215 kilowatts of power compared to 160 kilowatts now. For Barron, it is the second spacewalk of her career; for Chari, it is the first. Four Americans, two Russians, and one German currently live and work on the ISS on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). According to NASA, "nothing has changed" since the Russian invasion of Ukraine concerning the spa...