Criterion Completely Focused on Next Battlefield, EA Boss Foresees Revival of Need for Speed Series - Related to social, series, into, alchemists:, from

Criterion Completely Focused on Next Battlefield, EA Boss Foresees Revival of Need for Speed Series

Carlyle2020hs As far as apologies go his wasn´t half bad.

If you were referring to Zampella's apology. It honestly wasnt his fault. He had nothing to do with the franchise at all until the last battlefield game flopped and Andrew Wilson let him take over.Zampella is being professional by taking responsibility for the faults of his predecessors even though it was beyond his control. He's not the guy I and many of the community have grievances with. Its his bosses that have allowed the franchise to be lead down the path of destruction and attacked the community. The fans and veterans of the franchise when they spoke out against it.Everyone remembers how much drama Battlefield 5 caused with EA trying to re-write history and insert certain things into the game that shouldnt be there and never would have been there. TheAndrew Wilson speech and thespeech from Patrick Soderland. Not to forget the #NotMyBattlefield afterparty where they mocked the players and the community that wouldnt accept what they had done with the franchise. And then 2042 happened and oooooohhhhhhhhh boy.Zampella has been in the industry long enough to know that you dont piss off the community/fans. But it doesnt help that he's always been tripped up by the people above him. It happened in Activision and its happening in EA because these publishers cant let people have a fun game without them shitting all over it one way or another before or after its release one stinky long drawn out turd at a [website] over anyway.Zampella should have formed his own publishing firm. Im sure he has the contacts to do it but I dont think he wants to be the guy in charge of that stuff.

Arcade Mode - A faithful replication of the original arcade experience, with a 4:3 ratio and a pseudo vertical screen.

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The in the recent past released DeepSeek-R1 model family has brought a new wave of excitement to the AI community, allowing enthusiasts and developers to run st......

(PR) SWORN Launches into Early Access

Soulforged, it's finally time to bind you and your friends in an oath to overthrow a corrupted Arthur! SWORN is now available in Early Access ! We can't express enough how thankful we are to our community for joining us on this journey to Early Access—helping us refine and shape SWORN into a game that we are immensely proud of. We hope you enjoy SWORN! The Early Access launch version of the game is packed full of highly polished content. Our development process means that the game we release into Early Access, while not containing all of the aspects and content we plan to have in the final game, plays like the base version of a finished game—without major aspects missing or work-in-progress [website] is a 1-4 player action roguelike that sets you and your friends on a unique quest to reclaim a fallen Camelot in a dark retelling of the Arthurian tale. A co-op first roguelike with a classic fast-paced dungeon crawler combat. You must work together, with aid from familiar Camelot characters to become knights worthy of facing Arthur himself. You can play solo or unite with up to four friends to stand off against the Knights of the Round Table. Choose from four characters: Vigilante, Rook, Spectre, and Monk and combine the strengths of each character in surprising ways and master abilities to become knights worthy of standing off against Arthur [website] soulforged with our launch trailer:You can combine your blessings with unique character, weapon, and ability selections. This allows you to test thousands of unique builds as you become a seasoned knight.Upgrades from the Beacon of Avalore will forge your squire into a worthy champion over time. However, if you believe you are already worthy of facing Arthur, get ready for a challenge that will put your skills to the [website] Early Access will be swift and exciting. Our goal is to fully launch SWORN in the Summer of [website] plan to have 4 major updates to the game before full release that expand and refine the overall experience. We have a packed development roadmap that we will share in more detail soon, but we aim to expand in key areas—run variety to keep the format exciting, new weapons and abilities, creating more co-op magic moments and overall polish—as well as continual improvement to balancing and polishing throughout Early [website] the Speedrunning Community, we appreciate your continued support by playing the demos (and breaking them) over the past year. We wanted to let you know that we're working with a fellow runner (Nikoheart) to create an official autosplitter for your SWORN runs. We know you're itching to go fast, but please engage patience and slow down; This will be released alongside one of our major updates during Early Access: [website] The gates of Camelot are officially open. Thank you, and good luck! You and your companions will need it.

Apple showed off a robot lamp in a new research paper.

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Alan Smithee Der8auer covered this in his 5090 review video. Dropping the slot to PCIe gen 4 fixes it.

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The Attention Alchemists: crafting gold from social engineering

We live in a world where a new breed of alchemist has emerged. These modern-day sorcerers aren't toiling over bubbling cauldrons or searching for the philosopher's stone. Instead, they're mining the most valuable resource of our age: human attention.

The world of social engineering isn’t just about exploiting people for money - it's more about engaging people and competing for attention. Because once you’ve hooked someone, they become easier to influence and manipulate.

Javvad Malik Social Links Navigation Lead security awareness advocate at KnowBe4.

At the heart of this digital alchemy lies a simple truth: humans are predictable in their unpredictability. “Dr. Firewall”, a cybersecurity elder, shared his thoughts with me. His meticulously crafted post on zero-day vulnerabilities was met by crickets, while a hastily scribbled doodle of a melancholic robot went viral.

"People don't want to be educated," he mused, sipping a coffee that tasted of disillusionment. "They want to be entertained, outraged, or validated."

And this observation lies at the heart of audience engagement - which are the same techniques and reactions that social engineers are looking for.

Advertising: The original social alchemy.

Influencing human behavior isn’t new. Advertising agencies have been trying to understand and manipulate behavior since before the days of Mad Men. It’s not uncommon to see corporate giants like Nike and Pepsi experiment with the volatile elements of public opinion.

Nike's 2018 campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick is a masterclass in corporate social alchemy. By embracing the controversial NFL quarterback, known for kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, Nike didn't just create an ad – they ignited a cultural firestorm.

The initial reaction was explosive. #BoycottNike trended, videos of people burning their Nike shoes went viral, and the business's stock dipped briefly. But Nike had calculated this risk. They understood their core demographic and the power of taking a stand in a polarized world.

The result? Nike's online sales jumped 31% in the days following the campaign launch. More importantly, they positioned themselves as a brand willing to stand for something, resonating deeply with younger, socially conscious consumers. This wasn't just marketing; it was social engineering on a massive scale, transforming potential controversy into brand loyalty and significant financial gain.

On the flip side, Pepsi's 2017 ad featuring Kendall Jenner demonstrates how this corporate alchemy can go terribly wrong. The ad, which showed Jenner seemingly resolving tensions between protesters and police by offering an officer a Pepsi, was intended to project a message of unity and peace.

Instead, it sparked immediate backlash, with critics accusing Pepsi of trivializing serious issues like police brutality and co-opting imagery from real protests. The ad was pulled within 24 hours, and Pepsi issued an apology.

This miscalculation highlights the risks of corporate social engagement experiments. Pepsi misread the room, underestimating the complexity and sensitivity of the issues they were attempting to leverage. The backfire served as a reminder that in the attention economy, negative engagement can be just as viral. But while negative engagement can be damaging for brands, it sometimes can be the key to success for individuals.

Whereas negative engagement and ethical implications can prevent organizations from crossing certain thresholds, individuals, or anonymous entities on social media can exploit human nature with little to no restrictions. Turning our curiosity, outrage, desire for connection, and other emotions into a powerful tool of engagement.

Take, for instance, the "rage-bait" phenomenon. Content creators intentionally post inflammatory or incorrect information, knowing it will trigger a flood of corrective responses. A YouTuber once confided, "I always mispronounce a popular tech brand in my videos. The comments section explodes with corrections, and engagement skyrockets." This tactic weaponizes our innate desire to be right, turning pedantry into profit.

The "outrage machine" is perhaps the most insidious of these dark arts. Platforms like Facebook have admitted that anger is the emotion that spreads most easily online. Content creators exploit this by crafting posts designed to provoke moral outrage. A seemingly innocuous tweet about pineapple on pizza can spiral into a viral storm of righteous fury, with each indignant share feeding the algorithm's hunger for engagement.

Even more troubling is the rise of deepfake technology. In 2019, a manipulated video of Nancy Pelosi, altered to make her appear drunk, spread like wildfire across social media. Despite being quickly debunked, the video had already shaped perceptions for millions of viewers. This incident highlighted how our brains are wired to remember the initial emotional impact of content, even after we learn it's false.

The "astroturfing" technique creates the illusion of grassroots support for ideas or products. In 2006, Sony faced backlash for creating a fake blog to promote their PSP console. More in the recent past, investigations have uncovered networks of bots and paid actors creating artificial buzz around everything from political candidates to cryptocurrency schemes. These campaigns exploit our tendency to follow the crowd, manufacturing social proof out of thin air.

Perhaps most pervasive is the art of "dopamine hacking." Social media platforms are designed to trigger small bursts of pleasure with each like, share, or notification. This creates a feedback loop that keeps us scrolling, much like a slot machine keeps gamblers pulling the lever. By understanding and exploiting the brain's reward system, these platforms turn our own neurochemistry against us.

These dark arts of virality aren't just annoying or manipulative – they're reshaping our information landscape. They exploit the human element that cybersecurity experts have long warned about, turning our quirks into vulnerabilities. As these techniques become more sophisticated, the line between engagement and exploitation grows ever thinner.

In this new frontier of social engineering, awareness is our first line of defense. By understanding these tactics, we can begin to recognize when we're being manipulated. The challenge lies not just in hardening our systems, but in cultivating a kind of behavioral immune system – one that can recognize and resist these viral incantations of the digital age.

With this new phase of social engineering, information itself has become a weapon of mass influence. This isn't just about fake news or propaganda; it's about the strategic deployment of information to manipulate emotions, shape perceptions, and even incite real-world action. The consequences of this weaponization stretch far beyond the digital realm, seeping into the fabric of our societies and democratic institutions.

Take the case of the UK, where digital whispers transformed into physical violence. In 2020, conspiracy theories linking 5G networks to the COVID-19 pandemic spread like wildfire across social media platforms. The result? Over 70 cell towers were vandalized or burned in the UK alone. This incident starkly illustrates how misinformation, when weaponized, can leap from screens to streets, endangering lives and infrastructure.

But the weaponization of information isn't always so overt. In 2016, the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed how harvested Facebook data was used to create psychographic profiles of voters, allowing for hyper-targeted political messaging. This wasn't just advertising; it was a precision-guided information weapon, designed to exploit individual psychological vulnerabilities for political gain.

The rise of "troll farms" adds another layer to this digital arms race. In 2018, the Internet Research Agency in Russia was indicted for interfering in the 2016 US election through a coordinated campaign of disinformation and social media manipulation. These operations don't just spread false information; they sow discord, amplify existing tensions, and erode trust in institutions.

Even more insidious is the weaponization of truth itself. Techniques like "firehosing" – overwhelming the public with a rapid, continuous stream of information, regardless of its consistency or veracity – exploit our cognitive limitations. When faced with an onslaught of conflicting narratives, many people simply disengage, creating a fertile ground for further manipulation.

The health sector hasn't been spared either. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed an "infodemic" alongside the viral outbreak. Anti-vaccine misinformation, often weaponized and spread by coordinated groups, led to vaccine hesitancy that cost lives. Here, the weaponization of information directly impacted public health outcomes.

In the corporate world, "short and distort" schemes show how weaponized information can manipulate markets. Bad actors spread false negative information about a corporation to drive down its stock price, profiting from the artificial decline. This tactic has cost companies millions and undermined investor confidence.

Countering this threat requires a multifaceted approach. Technical solutions like improved content moderation and AI-driven fact-checking are part of the puzzle. But equally significant is fostering digital literacy and critical thinking skills among the general public. Some countries, like Finland, have incorporated media literacy into their national curriculum, aiming to create a citizenry resilient to information warfare.

As cybersecurity professionals, our mandate has expanded. We're no longer just guardians of data and systems; we're on the front lines of a battle for the integrity of information itself.

As the digital landscape evolves, so too must our approach to cybersecurity. Traditional measures like firewalls and antivirus software, while still crucial, are no longer sufficient in a world where the primary target is the human mind. Defending the human element requires a multifaceted approach that combines technological solutions with psychological insights and educational initiatives.

The first line of defense is education, but not in the conventional sense. We need to move beyond dry, technical training and focus on developing "digital street smarts." This means teaching people to recognize the emotional triggers and cognitive biases that social engineers exploit.

For example, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre has developed the "Cyber Aware" campaign, which uses relatable scenarios to teach basic cybersecurity hygiene. Similarly, Google's "Be Internet Awesome" curriculum for kids blends online safety with lessons on digital citizenship, teaching children to think critically about their online interactions from an early age.

Understanding human behavior is key to defending against social engineering attacks.

This is where the Human Risk Management approach comes into play. By understanding individuals’ behaviors and patterns, one can deploy personalized, relevant, and adaptive training and nudges to the people who need it the most at the time when it’s needed, and through a medium that they can engage with.

Building mindful cyber practices can help us develop mental habits that act as a first line of defense against manipulation.

The SIFT method (Stop, Investigate, Find, Trace) developed by digital literacy expert Mike Caulfield, teaches people to pause before sharing information, investigate the source, find advanced coverage, and trace proposes back to their origins. This simple framework can significantly reduce the spread of misinformation.

Creating an environment where it's okay to question and verify is crucial. This is where the value of regular simulated phishing comes into play. Allowing and drilling staff into understanding what to look out for, how to analysis it, and overall making skepticism a habit… not just a one-off training exercise.

Finally, fostering a culture of openness about mistakes and near-misses is crucial. When employees feel safe reporting potential security incidents without fear of punishment, it creates a learning environment that strengthens overall security posture.

Defending the human element is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. It requires constant adaptation as social engineering tactics evolve. By combining technological solutions with a deep understanding of human behavior, we can build a more resilient digital society.

Corporate, societal, and individual challenges lie before us - and many may seem technical, whereas in fact they are deeply human. How do we foster genuine connection in a world of engineered interactions? How do we preserve truth when lies are crafted to be more appealing? These are the questions that will define the next era of digital security.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: [website].

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