Questões sobre Sinônimos

As American federal authorities and cybersecurity experts rush to identify the full scope of the SolarWinds compromise, the list of known targets grows. The fallout from the cyberattack on the Texas-based software company appears to be vast, with a slew of powerful U.S. government agencies and businesses seemingly being infected by hackers who are believed to be affiliated with Russia.

SolarWinds says it has identified 18,000 customers potentially affected by the incident, which saw the culprits hijack software updates for a widely-used IT monitoring tool called "Orion" to spread malware, seemingly with the intention of espionage. The consequences of the brazen cyber-assault, which was first discovered by security firm FireEye after it too was infiltrated by the same group, are yet to be understood. But experts fear the hackers' access could be exploited to steal sensitive information or destroy and falsify government data, and warn it could take years to fix.

While the full list of victims is unclear — and expanding almost daily — Microsoft said its teams had identified more than 40 of its customers the attackers had aimed at "more precisely and compromised through additional and sophisticated measures."

It now seems likely the scope of the victims could be broad. Microsoft said the initial list included security, technology and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) alongside the government targets. It said 80 percent of attacks that it logged were U.S. based. "This is not 'espionage as usual,' even in the digital age. Instead, it represents an act of recklessness that created a serious technological vulnerability for the United States and the world," Brad Smith, president of the U.S. tech giant, wrote on Thursday.

"The attack unfortunately represents a broad and successful espionage-based assault on both the confidential information of the U.S. government and the tech tools used by firms to protect them. The attack is ongoing," the executive continued. Analysis is ongoing to determine which companies were impacted by the hack, as just because an entity used Orion is not evidence that it was actively compromised.

 Internet: <www.newsweek.com> (adapted).

    As a young democracy, Brazil has confronted economic and financial upheavals in the past. The country’s economic crisis of 2014—2017 saw a drastic fall in gross domestic product (GDP), stark rise in unemployment, a severe fiscal crisis, and an increased budget deficit. Since then, the economy has been a prominent issue in political conversations, especially regarding globalization and the ways in which trade liberalization can affect economic growth. Those running for office in 2018 differed slightly in this debate, and comparing the proposals and backgrounds of their economic advisors was as important as comparing the candidates themselves.

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China has unveiled ambitious plans to drastically reduce single-use plastics by 2025. China's National Development and Reform Commission is fast-tracking a number of measures designed to slash the production and use of plastics over the next five years. It announced that by the end of 2020, non-biodegradable plastic bags will be banned in supermarkets and shopping malls in major cities. The ban will also apply to food delivery services, which use vast amounts of the plastics. Single-use plastic straws and cutlery used by food takeaway services will be banned nationwide by the end of this year. China will encourage the use of alternative materials such as non-plastic products and biodegradable shopping bags.

Single-use plastics are one of the world's biggest sources of plastic pollution. They have become a ubiquitous part of daily life and a part of our throwaway culture. The Chinese authorities set a goal of reducing the "intensity of consumption" in order to reverse our reliance on single-use plastics. Previous regulations to curb plastic use, in 2008, led to an estimated cut in plastic bag production of 67 billion bags. The United Nations said it is urgent that all countries adopt policies similar to those China is introducing. It said: "We are already unable to cope with the amount of plastic waste we generate, unless we rethink the way we manufacture, use and manage plastics."

 Available on: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2001/200122-single-use-plastics.html. Accessed on January, 22nd 2020.