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It's not easy to bring such cases. That's because the federal government is generally immune from being sued, except in certain circumstances set out by Congress.

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Nearly half of Americans give President Trump a failing grade for his presidency so far, with near record low approval ratings at this point in the job, as he hits the milestone 100 days in office.

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Through ICE arrests, criminal investigations, firings and executive orders, the president has launched a sweeping campaign of retribution. One judge called his actions "a shocking abuse of power."

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In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic the UK has witnessed a seismic shift in work patterns, with a staggering 41% of workers now engaging in remote work. This trend towards hybrid work arrangements has been on a consistent and steep rise, introducing major cybersecurity concerns for organizations around the world.

As companies adapt to this new reality, they face the multifaceted challenge of managing unsecured networks at home, coupled with a lack of IT oversight and insufficient employee awareness.

A paradigm shift

The transition to hybrid work models has been swift and widespread, marking a paradigm shift in how businesses operate. What began as a necessary response to lockdown measures has evolved into a preferred mode of working for many employees and employers alike. It’s not just working from home which is an issue, employees can often work abroad in other countries.

This change in usual business dynamics offers numerous benefits, including improved work-life balance, reduced commuting times, and potential cost savings for businesses. However, it also brings with it a host of cybersecurity challenges that organizations must address urgently to ensure their long-term viability and security.

The weakest link

Many employees work on home Wi-Fi networks that lack enterprise-grade security measures - making them vulnerable to attacks. These networks often use default or weak passwords, outdated firmware, and may not have proper encryption protocols in place. This creates an easy entry point for cybercriminals to intercept sensitive data or gain unauthorized access to corporate systems.

Blurring the lines between work and personal

The use of personal devices for work purposes, often referred to as ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD), can lead to data breaches if these devices are not properly secured or managed. Personal devices may lack the latest security patches, have outdated antivirus software, or contain malicious applications that could compromise corporate data.

Limited IT oversight

Remote work environments make it challenging for IT teams to monitor and manage security effectively, potentially leaving vulnerabilities unaddressed. The inability to physically access devices or networks complicates troubleshooting and security enforcement, leading to potential gaps in the organization's security posture.

The human factor

Without proper training, employees may inadvertently expose company data or fall victim to phishing attacks and other social engineering tactics. The human factor remains one of the most significant vulnerabilities in any security system, and the distributed nature of hybrid work exacerbates this risk.

Employees working remotely may resort to using unauthorized applications or services to facilitate their work, a practice known as shadow IT. This can introduce unknown vulnerabilities into the corporate network and make it difficult for IT departments to maintain control over data flow and security.

Cloud security risks

The increased reliance on cloud services for collaboration and data storage introduces new security challenges that must be carefully managed. While cloud services offer flexibility and scalability, they also present new attack vectors if not properly configured and secured.

Building a resilient defense

As hybrid work becomes the norm, companies must critically address their security systems to protect against evolving cyber threats. It is vital that organizations have comprehensive cyber threat protocols in place, especially considering that cyber attacks are constantly on the rise and evolving to make recovery as difficult as possible.

Key steps that companies should consider include:

Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA adds an extra layer of security to prevent unauthorized access to company systems and data. By requiring multiple forms of verification, such as a password combined with a fingerprint or a one-time code sent to a mobile device, MFA significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access even if credentials are compromised.

Deploying virtual private networks (VPNs): VPNs create secure connections for remote workers, encrypting data in transit and protecting against eavesdropping. This is particularly crucial when employees are using public Wi-Fi networks or working from locations with potentially compromised internet connections.

Enhancing endpoint security: Robust protection for all devices accessing company resources is crucial in a distributed work environment. This includes implementing and regularly updating antivirus software, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems on all endpoints, including mobile devices and laptops.

Adopting cloud-based security solutions: Cloud-based security solutions can provide scalable and flexible security measures that adapt to the needs of a hybrid workforce. These solutions often include features such as real-time threat detection, automated patch management, and centralized security policy enforcement across all devices and locations.

Conducting regular security training: Ongoing cybersecurity awareness programs for all employees are essential to mitigate human error-related risks. This training should cover topics such as identifying phishing attempts, proper handling of sensitive data, and best practices for secure remote work.

Implementing Zero Trust architecture: A Zero Trust security model assumes that no user or device should be automatically trusted, regardless of their location or network connection. This approach requires continuous verification and authorization for all access requests, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

Staying ahead of the curve

The shift to hybrid working has necessitated significant investments in technology and resources. However, it has also presented an opportunity for businesses to modernize their security posture and build resilience against emerging threats. Companies that successfully adapt to these changes can not only protect their assets but also gain a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent.

Beyond implementing technical solutions, organizations should focus on fostering a culture of security awareness among their employees. This involves regular communication about security best practices, recognition of employees who demonstrate good security habits, and integration of security considerations into all aspects of business operations.

We rate the best business VPN.

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: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Birmingham offers solid internet options, including blazing-fast multi-gig fiber. Here are CNET's picks for the best home internet providers in the city.

We've found the best ISPs in the area, from AT&T's lightning-fast fiber to affordable cable plans from Cox.

Looking for reliable internet in Trenton? Here are CNET's top picks for the best providers.

This review first appeared in issue 342 of PC Pro.

HP offers a staggeringly large array of business laptops, with the 800 series sitting in the mid-range. If you want lower prices, choose the 600 series; for the lightest designs, head to the 1040 or Dragonfly series. Even within the 800 series there’s a huge choice, so if you prefer a 2-in-1 design or AMD chips there will be something for you.

The 840 G9 is based on Intel’s 12th generation Core chips, in this case the i7-1255U. With only two performance cores, it’s no match for the i7-1260P in tasks that exploit multiple threads, but it will blast through everyday jobs with ease. Its low power demands also helped the 840 G9 last for between nine and 14 hours in our battery tests, and if the 256GB SSD isn’t big enough, you can open up the chassis and add a second (but physically smaller) M.2 SSD.

At 1.5kg it isn’t the most portable machine around, but it’s sleek and – for a business laptop – stylish. There’s no Ethernet port, but an HDMI port accompanies two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left-hand side. USB-A ports sit on either side, and while our review unit doesn’t include a nano-SIM slot it is available on variants.

There’s no shortage of security features. On the left you’ll find a smart card reader, with a fingerprint reader tucked under the cursor keys plus a Windows Hello-compatible webcam. HP makes much of the 840 G9’s conferencing abilities, and its 1440p webcam is certainly above average. We weren’t blown away by its Auto Frame capabilities – this works but is stutter-y – but we do love the clear audio picked up by the dual-array mics. These cancel out background noise, too.

HP integrates its Wolf Security package within the laptop, but there’s only a single year’s subscription as standard. If you buy direct from HP, you can triple this – and upgrade the single year of return-to-base warranty to three years of on-site cover – for £179. Be careful, though, as you may end up with a Sure View screen (see our Dragonfly review for its pluses and minuses) rather than the excellent panel in our test unit.

We were similarly impressed by the quality of the keyboard, which combines the excellent traits of quietness with a cushioned yet decisive action. It would be a pleasure to belt out a report on this machine. You can even play music in the background, with one of the better pairs of speakers in evidence here.

This is a well-built laptop that may have taken our Labs Winner award if it wasn’t for the limited warranty and the question marks over which screen comes with which model.

We also rated the best 4K monitors.

In 2024, less than 1% of enterprise software applications incorporated agentic AI but, according to Gartner, that number is expected to reach 33% by 2028. Understandably, industrial enterprises have shown a growing interest in agentic AI, hoping to leverage this transformative technology for real-world business applications.

While eager to adopt the next phase of AI innovation, many are facing a dreaded “Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Purgatory,” failing to scale their AI tools beyond pilot stages.

For most, the core question isn’t whether agentic AI can improve their operations but how quickly it will deliver tangible value — and PoC Purgatory is holding them back.

Let’s explore some of the key reasons for this bottleneck, the barriers to unlocking agentic AI’s full potential and strategies to overcome them.

Why are Industrial Enterprises Getting Stuck in PoC Purgatory?

The transition from PoC pilots to large-scale deployment is not a straightforward journey. Agentic AI adoption is unlike any other technological adoption before it, and several challenges are likely to arise as industrial enterprises work to take the next step toward scalable implementation, including:

1. Change Management Concerns: Industrial enterprises are often reluctant to embrace significant changes, especially when adopting technologies that drastically alter their operations. This fear stems from concerns about losing control over key business processes and the uncertainty of how these changes might impact their workflows. As a result, they may delay or abandon initiatives because of apprehension tied to unknown challenges and potential disruptions that come with relinquishing control to automated systems such as agents.

2. Lack of Clear Success Metrics: Without well-defined success metrics, it’s difficult for companies to assess the effectiveness of emerging tools. Determining how agentic AI will impact key business outcomes, such as productivity, cost reduction or operational efficiency, is not a simple task. This lack of clarity can impact decision-making and delay implementation efforts.

3. Appropriate Use Case Assessment: Identifying the right use cases for agent-driven technologies and understanding which complex processes they can effectively manage presents a significant challenge. To do this, businesses need deep domain knowledge and a clear grasp of their internal operations. Without this insight, they risk getting stuck in a testing phase, where only simple, non-representative scenarios are tried, ultimately hindering the potential to leverage agents for more impactful, complex tasks.

4. The Need for a Robust Data Framework: While 86% of organizations recognize data readiness as crucial for AI success, only 23% have built the necessary foundation to make it happen. For industrial enterprises, the challenge is even greater, as outdated technology, fragmented data and legacy systems complicate AI deployment — and scaling agents only complicates things further. Agentic AI requires a powerful framework that can support an army of agents creating vast amounts of data in near real-time, making the process more complex and resource-intensive.

5. Workforce Resistance: Since agentic AI fully automates certain tasks away from humans, employee resistance to the growing roles of agents is almost guaranteed based on early pushback seen from chatbots. While it allows people to focus on high-value items and only engage with agents on items that need approval or are lined with uncertainty, a fair amount of autonomy around work and how it’s done must be relinquished, which can be uncomfortable.

What Steps Can Industrial Enterprises Take to Reach Scaled AI Deployment?

The barriers laid out above can certainly be daunting, but overcoming them is well within reach for forward-thinking enterprises. Those looking to scale their agentic AI applications should start by following these five steps:

1. Define Clear Business Outcomes and Roles for Agents: The first step is to clearly define the business outcomes that AI agents aim to achieve, and then map these outcomes to specific types of agents. For example, a monitoring agent, which operates continuously in the background, might have a KPI focused on uptime improvements while an agent that automates an end-to-end process focuses on productivity gains. By aligning AI agents with strategic business priorities and setting clear KPIs for each, organizations can create a strong foundation for measuring success.

2. Ensure Data and Infrastructure Readiness: Agents rely not only on data quality, availability and efficient processing but also on process readiness. To move beyond PoC, companies must upgrade their data infrastructure and map out their processes. They also need to have a clear understanding of how their operations work, providing well-defined guidelines within which agents can operate. 3. Establishing AI governance frameworks ensures that implementations meet security, compliance and reliability standards while giving agents the structure needed to find effective solutions autonomously.

3. Adopt a Phased Approach to Deployment: Rather than attempting a full-scale rollout from the outset, enterprises should take a phased approach. Begin with a targeted, high-impact agent that is likely to deliver measurable results, then refine and scale the model based on feedback. Continuous iteration is key to ensuring the agents can adapt to real-world conditions and evolve alongside the business needs. Once initial success is found, additional types of agents can be deployed across other business initiatives with greater ease.

4. Drive Organizational and Workforce Alignment: With nearly half of the workforce concerned that AI may replace their jobs, leaders can’t simply introduce agentic AI and walk away. As processes become automated, employees will shift to new tasks such as overseeing outcomes and providing overall sign-off rather than executing each step manually. Companies should invest in robust onboarding initiatives, including training and upskilling programs, to ensure a smooth transition. Engaging cross-functional teams—such as operators, IT management and business leaders—early in the process will help create a sense of ownership and foster collaboration across the business.

5. Measure, Iterate and Scale with Confidence: Once agents are deployed, it’s crucial to continuously monitor their scope and performance against predefined KPIs. This includes assessing whether an agent starts with a relatively simple task and gradually gains more autonomy over time or if there are specific areas where the agent struggles. Enterprises should also evaluate if agents are trusted to go beyond the company’s internal systems, such as negotiating and purchasing from suppliers. By establishing enterprise-wide frameworks for agents, organizations can streamline future projects, improve agent performance and accelerate their ability to scale agent initiatives across the business.

Take Agentic AI from Endless Pilots to Real-World Impact

Moving beyond PoC purgatory to achieve full-scale agentic AI deployment requires overcoming several significant hurdles. Addressing common barriers such as fear of failure, siloed initiatives and infrastructure challenges will be critical for industrial enterprises to unlock the full potential of these autonomous tools.

Despite many organizations having already rolled out standard agents, the path to fully autonomous agents won’t be without challenges. By making strategic investments and taking a methodical approach to not only scaling agents but also defining their specific roles, industrial enterprises can move beyond endless trials and begin reaping the rewards of agentic AI in the real world well before Gartner’s predicted 2028 surge.

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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: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

The four were part of a group known as the "Hong Kong 47," and were rounded up for taking part in an unofficial primary poll in 2020 that drew more than 600,000 people.

(Image credit: Chan Long Hei)

Stargazers oppose the fast-growing constellations of low-orbiting satellites, arguing they spoil observations. Others fear more satellite collisions.

(Image credit: John Raoux)

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 29.

Melania Trump has voiced support for the bill, which is in line with her "BE BEST" initiative. It is dedicated to child welfare and was started during President Trump's first term.

(Image credit: Cliff Owen)

Mark Carney wins Canada's election by a landslide and now faces his next challenge — President Trump.

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The formal announcement is expected ahead of a Tuesday night rally in Michigan marking the president's 100 days in office. It's the latest shift in Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs.

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Columbus Day is still a federal holiday — though some no longer want to celebrate the Italian explorer, and many jurisdictions also mark Indigenous Peoples Day.

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The Gunners make their first appearance in the last four since 2009.

• Perplexity has added AI image generation to its platform
• The images are produced using the OpenAI model, which was recently released for ChatGPT
• Perplexity also made OpenAI's o3-mini and xAI's Grok-3 models available

AI conversational search engine Perplexity can now add some AI visuals to your answer. And if those images look a lot like what ChatGPT would make, well, that's because they use the same model.

If you're unconvinced, the left image was generated using Perplexity, while the one on the right was created by ChatGPT, both with the same prompt. It's like an AI ghostwriter, but for fantasy landscapes with dragons instead of a legal thriller sold in an airport.

Perplexity quietly added the feature to its web platform this week, offering three image generations per day for free users and unlimited generations for Perplexity Pro users. It's pretty straightforward to use it.

Like with ChatGPT, you just have to ask the AI to "generate an image of" something, or use similar language to set up the prompt.

Don't worry if you don't have the model (officially GPT-4.1) chosen from the list of model options, either; Perplexity will automatically use it to produce the visual. That's likely because none of the other models will make a picture on Perplexity at the moment.

you can generate images on perplexity now. the UI is cute and fun. we have also added support for grok 3 and o4-mini for model selection options (which already supports gemini 2.5 pro, claude 3.7, perplexity sonar, gpt-4.1, deepseek r1 1776), and looking into supporting o3 as… pic.twitter.com/RX6L98pf2gApril 25, 2025

Perplexity Pictures

That wasn't the only addition to Perplexity's abilities announced by the company, though. The AI assistant added a couple of other models to its stable.

xAI's Grok 3 model is now one of the choices for Perplexity to use in answering questions, while OpenAI's o4-mini model is now one of the "reasoning" model options.

This all fits with Perplexity's approach to its AI platform. Rather than trying to build everything from scratch, the company is curating models and weaving them into its platform to streamline access.

It’s a smart play, especially considering how many people may want to try an AI tool, but aren't willing to commit to just one among the many. Most people just want to ask a smart machine a question, get a clear answer, maybe see a cool picture of a flying whale while they’re at it, and move on with their lives.

The addition of ChatGPT's image generator is a nice splash of color to the AI search engine. It will likely become especially popular once it joins the voice assistant on the Perplexity mobile app.

You might also like

• Perplexity's voice assistant offers a Siri alternative for iPhones
• Perplexity AI drops new Squid Game-inspired ad that pokes fun at Google starring Lee Jung-jae
• I compared Adobe’s new Firefly Image Model 4 to ChatGPT’s image generator, and it’s like they went to the same art school

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said a nationwide blackout of this scale had never happened before in Spain. He added that the underlying cause remains unclear.

(Image credit: Manu Fernandez)