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Another year, another Game Awards trailer drop that gets people’s hackles up on Reddit. This time it’s Borderlands 4, a game that has the unenviable task of outdoing both the series’ phenomenal second installment and the highly mixed response to Borderlands 3. No, I’m not going to discuss the movie here, I wiped my memories of it with a Neuralyzer I borrowed from Will Smith.

We already knew a fourth Borderlands title was on the way thanks to a CGI reveal trailer back in August, but this new trailer gave us both some actual in-engine gameplay footage (which, unsurprisingly, looks much like the third game) and our first look at the new title’s four playable Vault Hunters. And boy, some Redditors sure aren’t happy about them.

I actually think this might be one of the better Siren designs. I like her earrings and her weird gauntlet thing. (Image credit: Gearbox)

The main concern, from reading through several lengthy comment chains about these new protagonists, is that they’re simply a bit generic. “Not one of them has the same amount of personality in their look as anything from every game but Wonderlands”, says user u/SmileJakoby, referring to the (pretty mediocre) spin-off title Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Another user, u/k_afka_, says: “Those vaulthunters look kinda bland to me, but hopefully they're more interesting than they appear”.

I get it, I do. These four new heroes don’t fill me with excitement purely based on their looks. Here’s the thing, though: Borderlands has basically never been good at making truly iconic player character designs.

The new Vault Hunters are cut from the same cloth as the old

I’m being serious here: the Borderlands games might feature some visually striking characters here and there, but what makes most of the larger-than-life figures you meet on Pandora and beyond interesting are their stellar voice performances and unusual abilities.

Let’s take a look at the earlier Vault Hunters, for example. Look at these four right here:

Come on, you can't tell me these four are the pinnacle of visually striking character designs. (Image credit: Gearbox)

Mordecai from the original game is basically just a skinny dude with a goatee, a sword, and a tight-fitting outfit. What made him interesting and likable was his extremely angry pet bird, low-key offbeat humor, and the extra characterization he got in the sequel as a friendly NPC. The same goes for Roland, who was essentially just ‘ex-soldier guy’ in the first game before getting a starring role in the narrative of Borderlands 2. Hell, Brick - who I love - is at first glance literally just a big muscly man in a tank top. Not exactly world-shattering character design there, Gearbox.

Sure, we’ve got some fun ones: the playable Sirens Lilith, Maya, and Amara all look fairly interesting, though again, it’s their magical abilities that make them pop from an aesthetic standpoint. And I can’t ignore Zer0 and his funky holographic faceplate, though what really makes him stick in my memory is his deadpan, exclusively-in-haiku dialogue.

The thing is, the world of Borderlands is full of characters who, in a less violent and unhinged universe, could’ve probably been pretty ordinary people. That’s part of the appeal: you’re not playing as the Chosen One, you’re just some random treasure-seeker who gets wrapped up in a world-saving adventure wearing whatever ragged-ass clothes you happened to put on that morning.

So I’m asking you, unhappy Redditors: give these newbies a chance. Sure, we’re getting those same old tropes - cool guy, beefy guy, techy girl, magic girl - but let’s at least see what cool ways they have to murder people before we pass judgment on them, yeah?

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• CISA is requiring organizations in critical sectors to update their security
• MFA, vulnerability management, and data encryption will be enforced
• These changes will help mitigate the potential theft of data by state-sponsored and nation state actors

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has unveiled a set of proposed security requirements aimed at reducing risks posed by unauthorized access to American data.

The move is due to concerns about the vulnerabilities exposed by recent cyberattacks, state-sponsored hacking campaigns, and the misuse of personal data by hostile nations.

The proposal aligns with Executive Order 14117, signed by President Biden earlier in 2024, which seeks to address gaps in data security that could compromise national interests.

Strengthening protections against foreign threats

The proposed requirements focus on entities that handle large-scale sensitive data, particularly in industries such as artificial intelligence, telecommunications, healthcare, finance, and defence contracting.

Companies operating in these fields are seen as critical targets due to the nature of the data they manage, with the US telecommunications industry recently being hit by a huge attack.

CISA's primary concern is that data from these organizations could fall into the hands of “countries of concern” or “covered persons” - terms used by the U.S. government to refer to foreign adversaries known for engaging in cyber espionage and data breaches.

These new security standards aim to close loopholes that could expose sensitive data to state-sponsored groups and foreign intelligence actors.

Businesses will need to keep an updated inventory of their digital assets, including IP addresses and hardware configurations, to stay prepared for potential security incidents. Companies will also be required to enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all critical systems and require passwords that are at least 16 characters long to prevent unauthorized access.

Vulnerability management is another key focus, and organizations must remediate and address any known exploited vulnerabilities or critical flaws within 14 days, even if exploitation has not been confirmed. High-severity vulnerabilities must be fixed within 30 days.

The new proposal also emphasizes network transparency, and companies are required to maintain accurate network topologies to enhance their ability to identify and respond to security incidents.

Immediate revocation of access for employees following termination or changes in role is mandated to prevent insider threats. Additionally, unauthorized hardware, such as USB devices, will be prohibited from connecting to systems that handle sensitive data, further reducing the risk of data leakage.

In addition to system-level protections, CISA’s proposal introduces robust data-level measures aimed at minimizing the exposure of personal and government information. Organizations will be encouraged to collect only the data that is essential for their operations and, where possible, mask or de-identify it to prevent unauthorized access. Encryption will play a vital role in securing data during any transaction that involves a “restricted entity,” ensuring that even if data is intercepted, it cannot be easily deciphered.

A critical requirement is that encryption keys must not be stored alongside the data they protect, particularly in regions identified as countries of concern. Furthermore, organizations will also be encouraged to adopt advanced privacy-preserving techniques, such as homomorphic encryption or differential privacy, which allow data to be processed without exposing the underlying information.

CISA is seeking public feedback on the proposed requirements to refine the framework before it is finalized. Interested stakeholders, including industry leaders and cybersecurity experts, are invited to submit their comments via regulations.gov by entering CISA-2024-0029 in the search field and following the instructions to provide input.

Via BleepingComputer

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• The "product introduction phase" has started
• Design changes are predicted for the iPhone 17 Air
• Apple still exploring the idea of an iPhone Fold

It could be the most interesting model in the iPhone 17 series, and it could be the slimmest iPhone ever – and now the iPhone 17 Air (or is it the iPhone 17 Slim?) has officially entered production, according to a new report.

As per DigiTimes (via MacRumors), the iPhone 17 Air has now officially entered the "product introduction phase" at Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturer that puts together a lot of gadgets for Apple.

It means pilot production runs can begin, alongside design validation and prototype testing. It's a precursor to mass production on the device getting underway, which puts it on course for a debut in September next year.

We don't get too much more information about the iPhone 17 Air from this report, but DigiTimes again draws a link to a potential folding iPhone. If Apple can successfully produce a super-thin iPhone, it will help in the development of a folding model too.

Squeezing space

Like this, but significantly thinner (Image credit: Future)

The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be a mere 6mm thick, which makes it substantially slimmer than the iPhone 16 Plus that it's supposedly replacing – that phone measures a relatively chunky 7.8mm from front to back.

Sources have suggested that the phone is going to come with a single rear camera, placed in the center at the top. The handset might also be too slim to fit a SIM card slot in, so it'll rely entirely on eSIM technology.

There are obvious challenges with making a super-skinny iPhone, such as managing to fit all the necessary circuitry in there without it overheating. No doubt the experience of manufacturing the various iPads will stand Apple in good stead here.

Whatever Apple has got planned for the iPhone 17 Air, it should make an appearance alongside three other iPhone 17 models sometime in September 2025. Before then, we should get the launch of the iPhone SE 4.

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