Luglio, 2022

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Our new Quantum Virtual Machine will accelerate research and help people learn quantum computing

Several decades ago, quantum computers were only a concept — a distant idea discussed mostly in lecture halls. Flash forward to today, and the race is on to build fault-tolerant quantum computers and discover new algorithms to apply them in useful ways.

For all the aspirations of quantum computing, the reality is that unlocking its potential to solve real-world problems is as challenging as building the quantum computers themselves. This got us thinking…how can we empower more people to join us on the quest to discover quantum algorithms and applications? Can we make prototyping quantum algorithms for near term quantum computers free of cost and easy to get started with so that people can focus on the challenge at hand? Can we provide people with the tools they need to equip themselves with the quantum programming skills required for application development?

At Google Quantum AI, we have a long history of making tools we build for our own research available to the public free of cost. Today we are adding the Quantum Virtual Machine to the list. The Quantum Virtual Machine (QVM) emulates the experience and results of programming one of the quantum computers in our lab, from circuit validation to processor infidelity. We feed measurements from our Sycamore processors, such as qubit decay, dephasing, gate and readout errors into the QVM and combine these with the qubit connectivity of the device to simulate quantum processor-like output, using our physics research team’s models. You can see comparisons between results obtained from experiments on a Sycamore chip and the QVM here.

The Quantum Virtual Machine can be deployed instantly from a Colab notebook and is available free of cost. You do not have to wait in a queue to get your program’s results and can iterate on results quickly. This, combined with processor-like output makes the QVM a great tool for prototyping, testing and optimizing your quantum circuit for near term quantum hardware. Users can currently emulate two of our processors: Weber and Rainbow. Weber is the Sycamore processor that was used in our beyond-classical experiments published in Nature in 2019. Rainbow was used in our experiments demonstrating the variational quantum eigensolver on quantum chemistry problems published in Science.

Once you have deployed your Quantum Virtual Machine, you can run your quantum program on a grid of virtual qubits. If you require more qubits than can be simulated through Colab, the QVM can be supercharged with additional high-performance compute of your choice. This workflow helps you set up a simulation on multiple parallel compute nodes with Google Cloud. To build your quantum program, you can use Cirq 1.0, the newly released version of our open-source quantum programming framework.

We hope that you will find the Quantum Virtual Machine useful while exploring quantum computing, whether for research or education. For educators and their students, the QVM makes it possible to complete coursework and projects on a top quality processor, without running into the long and unpredictable queues that are common in the industry. We have also created supporting documentation that exposes several of the features of the QVM and Cirq 1.0 to enable students to onboard quickly.

With every major improvement in quantum hardware, the need to discover useful applications and to develop the global quantum workforce of the future grows. Join us on our quest to push the boundaries of innovation in quantum algorithms using the Quantum Virtual Machine. Get started at quantumai.google/software.

19 Luglio 2022
Continued cyber activity in Eastern Europe observed by TAG
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6

Continued cyber activity in Eastern Europe observed by TAG

Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) continues to closely monitor the cybersecurity environment in Eastern Europe with regard to the war in Ukraine. Many Russian government cyber assets have remained focused on Ukraine and related issues since the invasion began, while Russian APT activity outside of Ukraine largely remains the same. TAG continues to disrupt campaigns from multiple sets of Russian government-backed attackers, some of which are detailed in our previous updates.

Similarly, Russian observed disinformation efforts are also focused on the war in Ukraine and TAG has disrupted coordinated influence operations from several actors including the Internet Research Agency and a Russian consulting firm as detailed in the TAG Bulletin. Most of these coordinated influence operations are Russian language efforts aimed at ensuring domestic support in Russia for the war.

Here is a deeper look at some campaign activity TAG has observed since our last update:

Turla, a group publicly attributed to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), recently hosted Android apps on a domain spoofing the Ukrainian Azov Regiment. This is the first known instance of Turla distributing Android-related malware. The apps were not distributed through the Google Play Store, but hosted on a domain controlled by the actor and disseminated via links on third party messaging services. We believe there was no major impact on Android users and that the number of installs was miniscule.

The app is distributed under the guise of performing Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against a set of Russian websites. However, the ‘DoS’ consists only of a single GET request to the target website, not enough to be effective. The list of target websites for the app can be seen in the CyberChef recipe here.

An example of the Turla website disseminating fake DoS Android Apps.

Turla website disseminating fake DoS Android Apps.

During our investigation into the Turla CyberAzov apps, we identified another Android app first seen in the wild in March 2022 that also claimed to conduct DoS attacks against Russian websites. In this case, the Android app name was stopwar.apk (com.ddos.stopwar) and was distributed from the website stopwar.pro. This app is quite different from the Turla apps described above and written by a different developer. It also downloads a list of targets from an external site, but unlike the Turla apps, it continually sends requests to the target websites until it is stopped by the user.

An example of a pro-Ukrainian website used for disseminating StopWar.apk.

Pro-Ukrainian website used for disseminating StopWar.apk.

Based on our analysis, we believe that the StopWar app was developed by pro-Ukrainian developers and was the inspiration for what Turla actors based their fake CyberAzov DoS app off of.

Indicators:

The Follina vulnerability (CVE-2022-30190), first disclosed in late May, received significant usage from both APT and cybercrime groups throughout June after it was patched by Microsoft. Follina is a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT).

Consistent with CERT-UA reporting, TAG observed multiple Russian GRU actors – APT28 and Sandworm – conduct campaigns exploiting the Follina vulnerability. The Sandworm campaign used compromised government accounts to send links to Microsoft Office documents hosted on compromised domains, primarily targeting media organizations in Ukraine.

TAG has also observed an increasing number of financially motivated actors targeting Ukraine. One recent campaign from a group tracked by CERT-UA as UAC-0098 delivered malicious documents with the Follina exploit in password-protected archives, impersonating the State Tax Service of Ukraine. We assess this actor is a former initial ransomware access broker who previously worked with the Conti ransomware group distributing the IcedID banking trojan based on overlaps in infrastructure, tools used in previous campaigns, and a unique cryptor.

Ghostwriter/UNC1151, a threat actor attributed to Belarus, has remained active targeting accounts of webmail and social media networks of Polish users. They continue to use the ‘Browser in the Browser’ phishing technique that TAG first observed and described in March. An example of this technique, used to target Facebook users, can be seen in the screenshot below.

An image of a technique used to target Facebook users

An example of this technique used to target Facebook users

COLDRIVER, a Russian-based threat actor sometimes referred to as Callisto, continues to send credential phishing emails to targets including government and defense officials, politicians, NGOs and think tanks, and journalists. In addition to including phishing links directly in the email, the attackers also link to PDFs and/or DOCs, hosted on Google Drive and Microsoft One Drive, that contain a link to an attacker-controlled phishing domain. In at least one case, unrelated to Ukraine, they have leaked information from a compromised account.

These phishing domains have been blocked through Google Safe Browsing – a service that identifies unsafe websites across the web and notifies users and website owners of potential harm.

Image of an example of a recent COLDRIVER phishing lure

Example of a recent COLDRIVER phishing lure

Recently observed COLDRIVER indicators:

In another campaign tracked by CERT-UA as UAC-0056 we observed compromised email addresses of a Regional Prosecutor’s office of Ukraine leveraged to send malicious Microsoft Excel documents with VBA macros delivering Cobalt Strike. In just two days, the volume observed and categorized as spam by Gmail exceeded 4,500 emails. Email contents vary from COVID-19 vaccine policy to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

19 Luglio 2022
4 Secret Successes of B2B Influencer Marketing
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4 Secret Successes of B2B Influencer Marketing

4 secret successes of B2B influencer marketing black and white mystery man image

4 secret successes of B2B influencer marketing black and white mystery man image

Does B2B influencer marketing work? 

We asked marketers that question for our new 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report. The result: 86% said their programs were either moderately or very successful.

But what’s more interesting is how the marketers we surveyed are defining success. 

We tend to think of influencer marketing as a top-of-funnel tactic. While it’s definitely effective for raising awareness and building credibility, the benefits don’t stop there.

Here are four surprising benefits that B2B marketers are seeing with smart influencer marketing.

#1 — Lead Gen & Revenue

Influencer marketing can bring in prospects to your brand, even without having the influencer endorse your solution or give a sales pitch. In fact, over half of our respondents said their influencer program is directly responsible for generating new leads. What’s more, 33% said they can directly attribute revenue to their program.

To effectively use influencer content for lead gen, don’t create an amazing asset and then lock it behind a gate. Influencers will be less likely to amplify gated content, since they’re giving their followers extra work to see the good stuff.

Instead, let your central asset go free and offer a value-add behind a gate. It could be a downloadable PDF, a checklist, template, or even a deeper dive piece of content aimed at a specific vertical.

If you must gate an influencer asset, make sure to put it on a robust landing page that features your influencers’ content and profiles. That way, you can have your lead gen and influencer amplification, too.

#2 — Customer Relationships

Influencer marketing can bring more customers to your brand. Beyond that, it can help strengthen your relationship with your existing customers. Our research found that nearly half of respondents are looking to their customer base for part of their influencer mix. 

Your customers may not have hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, but they have priceless practical experience. Including them in your influencer content helps enrich the content, increases your credibility, and contributes to your customers’ success. 

#3 — Executive & Employee Morale

Your employees and executives can also get a boost from appearing in your influencer content. For executives, it helps build their thought leadership and credibility in the industry — direct benefits to their careers that can be directly attributed to the marketing department. 

Featuring employees in the content brings in more practical experience, helps humanize your brand and promote your corporate culture, and makes employees feel seen and valued.

All told, 56% of our respondents are looking to executives for influencer content, and 46% are tapping employees as influencers. All of these internal influencers can make your content better, and including them can improve morale and strengthen relationships.

#4 — Community Building

Speaking of relationship-building, you can use ongoing influencer programs to create a community of influencers. You can introduce influencers to each other, your most valued customers, and even your brand executives. Give them a space to bounce ideas off of each other and offer opportunities for them to connect in person or on video calls.

An influencer community benefits everyone involved:

  • It contributes to overall success: 100% of respondents with always-on influencer engagement said their program was successful
  • Influencers have the opportunity to network and brainstorm with other industry leaders
  • Executives can participate in the conversation and build their own credibility and influence
  • All of these conversations can generate more cool content to fuel your next asset

It’s Time to Level Up Your B2B Influence

Influencer marketing for B2B is on the rise. Seventy-three percent of our respondents report an increase in interest over the past year, while 80% said they expect interest to continue to grow for the next year and beyond.

It’s time for B2B marketers to approach influencer marketing with more strategy, greater discipline, and dedicated, ongoing effort. Our research shows that always-on programs with documented strategy are more likely to be successful than one-off campaigns. 

Ready to win some of these secret successes for your brand? Check out the full report to learn more, or contact us to get started.

Download 2022 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report

The post 4 Secret Successes of B2B Influencer Marketing appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank®.

19 Luglio 2022
notizie dai blog
4

An update on Google Play billing in the EEA

Google has been a leader in platform openness for more than a decade, allowing for multiple app stores and avenues of distribution on Android, and piloting user choice billing. We intend to continue these important efforts, while also recognizing that the recent passage of the Digital Markets Act will require Google Play and other industry players to adjust their current operating model for users in the European Economic Area (EEA). We are committed to meeting these new requirements while ensuring that we can continue to keep people safe on our platforms and invest in Android and Play for the benefit of the entire ecosystem.

As part of our efforts to comply with these new rules, we are announcing a new program to support billing alternatives for EEA users. This will mean developers of non-gaming apps can offer their users in the EEA an alternative to Google Play’s billing system when they are paying for digital content and services.

Developers who choose to use an alternative billing system will need to meet appropriate user protection requirements, and service fees and conditions will continue to apply in order to support our investments in Android and Play. When a consumer uses an alternative billing system, the service fee the developer pays will be reduced by 3%. Since 99% of developers currently qualify for a service fee of 15% or less, those developers would pay a service fee of 12% or lower based on transactions through alternative billing for EEA users acquired through the Play platform.

As of today, Google will not remove, or reject updates of, non-gaming apps from participating developers for offering alternative billing systems for EEA users. Google Play’s billing system will continue to be required for apps and games distributed via Play to users outside the EEA, and for games distributed to users within the EEA. We expect to expand billing alternatives to developers of gaming apps for their users in the EEA, in advance of the DMA’s effective date.

Although the DMA does not take effect for some time, we are launching this program now to allow us to work closely with our developer partners and ensure our compliance plans serve the needs of our shared users and the broader ecosystem. Developers interested in learning more about the program and signing up can visit our Help Center, which we will continue to update with more details in the coming weeks.

Google Play has enabled millions of developer businesses to connect with consumers around the world. In the EU alone, the Android ecosystem supported more than 1.1 million jobs, and Android developers generated €7.9 billion in annual revenue in 2021.[a6ea2f]We believe that users and developers are best served by a safe and secure environment for in-app purchases, and by our investments in the Android and Play ecosystem. As always, we’ll continue to listen to feedback and continue to invest to help developers thrive on Google Play.

19 Luglio 2022