Eclipse & Daylight Savings

Why Daylight Savings?

Why do we even change our clocks twice every year? Especially since we’re students, many of us here at weeklystemblog were annoyed at getting an hour less of sleep. According to The New York Times, daylight savings time traces its roots to the late 19th century and Benjamin Franklin's idea of utilizing daylight more efficiently. The practice aimed to shift more sunlight from the morning to the evening. This was to save energy, as people wouldn’t have to do things such as turning their lights on until later on in the day. However, with conflicting studies on its energy-saving benefits, recent attempts to make daylight-saving time permanent have stalled. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has called for its abolition, citing potential health risks.

Eclipse Safety

Have you heard about this year’s total solar eclipse? It’s happening on the 8th of April. According to NASA, “[the] total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The total solar eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean. Weather permitting, the first location in continental North America that will experience totality is Mexico’s Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT.” This will be a great experience, however, it might not be for those who don’t protect their eyes. According to The Washington Post, our eyes are not evolved for direct sun-gazing and we need to be wearing special eclipse glasses during eclipses. Looking at the sun without proper protection, such as eclipse glasses, can cause eye damage within seconds. According to the same article, this is because “[w]hen you look directly at the sun, you are exposing the photoreceptor cells of the eye’s retina — the light-capturing structure at the rear of the eye — to radiation that can quickly do damage. The result is “solar retinopathy.”

Russian Hacking Campaign

Hackers have been extremely prominent in today’s online world. Thus, Cybersecurity is predicted to rise extremely fast in the upcoming years. However, how will government-funded hacking be used? And how hard will it be to guard data against them? According to The Washington Post, this week, Microsoft has warned that Russian hackers linked to the SVR foreign intelligence service have intensified their attacks, using stolen data to target customers' computer systems. The ongoing campaign, known as Midnight Blizzard or APT29/Cozy Bear, has expanded its targets beyond national agencies to include aviation, education, law enforcement, local government, and military entities. The success of the attacks has raised global concerns, prompting recommendations from the U.S. National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security to assess vendor security records. Microsoft's ability to defend itself and its customers is in question, with worries about potential flaws in its Azure cloud system.

Facebook & Instagram Outage

Facebook and Instagram are both social media platforms used by hundreds of millions of people every single day. Thus, many were distressed this week when they went down. According to CNN, on Tuesday, Meta's platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, experienced a widespread outage affecting thousands of users due to a reported "technical issue." Up to 500,000 Facebook users and additional users on Instagram and Facebook Messenger reported problems accessing the platforms. The outage was resolved within two hours, and Meta apologized for any inconvenience caused.

AMEX Data Breach

According to The Washington Post, American Express reported a potential data breach, urging cardholders to monitor accounts for fraudulent activity. The breach exposed account numbers, card expiration dates, and customer names. The article advises changing passwords, implementing two-factor authentication apps, recovering compromised accounts, considering credit freezes for sensitive information, and keeping devices updated with the latest software.