Latest news with #AndrewFox
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Our forces must be stronger than Germany's
Without wanting to go all two-world-wars-and-one-world-cup, are we really content for our armed forces to be outstripped by the Germans? For one thing, ever since the Second World War, the Bundeswehr, as well as the Austrian Bundesheer, have observed a rule whereby their troops cannot be used for combat operations. As a result, they have zero battlefield experience and once had to take part in Nato exercises wielding broomsticks. They have little leadership and planning experience, too, for much the same reason. Nato has always had an American supreme commander and a British deputy, a hangover from 1945. The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, Nato's headquarters for deploying forces at short notice, has been based in Gloucestershire since 2010 and has always been under British command. The Germans, who won't deploy troops in anger and have no nuclear capabilities, have always sat way down the pecking order. All that may be poised to change. In his first major speech to the German parliament this week, the new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, committed to spending 5 per cent of his annual GDP on defence and said that Germany must have a stronger army than Britain. If that didn't send a shiver of irritation up the spine of the Prime Minister, it certainly sent one up those of many in British uniform. This is not a case of keeping up with the Germans. We need to be leading them. Never trust the Boche, people used to say. Thankfully, those days are far behind us. The fact remains, however, that our world-leading armed services are simply much better than theirs. Frankly, if that wasn't the case after our major deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention Bosnia and the Falklands, something would be seriously wrong. Andrew Fox, a former Parachute Regiment Officer and researcher at the Henry Jackson Society, can attest to that. 'Austrian airborne was good when we fought in Bosnia but their tactics were mental, as they had never been used in real life,' he told me. 'Our experience on the battlefield outstrips anyone in Europe. Man-to-man, our soldiers can beat anyone. Whenever we had competitions with American companies, we would crush them. It was embarrassing. Then came the kicker. 'In Bosnia, the Romanians and Austrians thought we were rock stars. The problem is, there aren't enough of us.' The depletion of Britain's armed forces is hardly something new. It has caused us serious operational damage already. In Iraq, the Multinational Division (South-East), which contained Basra, Maysan, Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar, was under British command. The episode was a debacle. The reasons were plentiful, but the fundamental one was a lack of adequate troop numbers. Similarly, in Afghanistan we deployed well under 10,000 troops to Helmand, an area of about 36,500 square miles. To place that in context, the Gaza Strip spans less than 1 per cent of that territory. Since 2023, the Israelis have sent in about 300,000 troops. We simply can't have even ten German bombers in the air without British expertise behind them. Our fates have long been linked: Waterloo would not have been won without the Prussians. This week, satellite images showed a buildup of Russian forces at forward operating bases just miles from the Finnish border. We've got to get serious quick. Obviously, that means emergency surgery – right now – on public spending. For too long, successive governments have tried to buy votes by flattering a pampered population with a bloated welfare state, a disgracefully wasteful NHS and corrosive and costly immigration, while neglecting everything that made us strong. Goodbye, luxury Britain. Once again, Europe needs us. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
CBC
13-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
N.W.T.'s medical record system under the microscope after 2 reported cases of snooping
Medical records are among the most sensitive pieces of information that a government agency keeps on citizens. But these records are not impervious to snooping, as evidenced by two distinct cases reported this year by the Northwest Territories Information and Privacy Commissioner. The privacy commissioner issues reports on cases in which an investigation yields evidence of intentional and unauthorized access to private health information, commonly known as "snooping." This year, commissioner Andrew Fox publicly reported two distinct cases of snooping in electronic medical records. They both involved employees of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA). Taken together, the cases illustrate vulnerabilities in the NTHSSA's electronic medical record (EMR) system. According to at least one expert, the EMR system doesn't appear to meet the highest ethical standards for patient privacy. An EMR is a digital version of a patient's medical history. It can include things like test results, X-rays and prescriptions. One of the cases published online this year by the privacy commissioner involves an instance in 2021 of an administrative clerk with NTHSSA deliberately opened a person's EMR and relayed some of their private health information to another person. The clerk did this "without consent and without lawful authority," wrote Fox. The clerk admitted to wrongdoing during an NTHSSA investigation, and was fired some months later. Fox called this a "particularly egregious, intentional privacy breach." He said the health authority's response was appropriate, but that the agency should have revoked the employee's EMR access as soon as it confirmed the breach. The health authority uses "role-based access" to the EMR system, meaning an employee's access is limited to what is necessary for their role. Fox noted that on occasions when the clerk was assigned to other roles, the NTHSSA didn't restrict her EMR access in accordance with those roles. 'I felt incredibly violated' The second case published this year involved two NTHSSA employees who, on multiple occasions, snooped in the medical records of a patient who wasn't in their care. The employees were siblings and the patient had previously been in a relationship with one of them. It wasn't until the patient filed a "record of activity" request in July of 2023 — a report on who had looked at her EMR — that she learned of the breach. "I was disgusted. I felt incredibly violated," said Maryse Gravelle, the patient who had her medical records snooped. "Our financial institutions have software in place to identify when there's a fraudulent charge possibly being made on our accounts," she said. "How can a banking institution have those sorts of safeguards in place, but there's no alerts on hospital software, on emergency medical records, to alert when there's a suspicious action in somebody's chart?" In his report, the privacy commissioner said the siblings' jobs granted them "broad access" to the EMR system. Their motivation for opening the patient's records seems to have been "curiosity proceeding from a personal relationship." Fox called the privacy breach a "deliberate and serious breach of trust," and said it caused the patient "significant distress." Both siblings admitted to misconduct, were suspended without pay for 10 days and had their EMR access revoked for at least 18 months. The health authority is required by law to notify a patient about a breach of their medical records "as soon as reasonably possible." In a statement, NTHSSA CEO Kim Riles said the health authority must investigate all reports of privacy breaches, and upon completion of an investigation, notify the affected people. "At times, the investigation process can take a significant amount of time," wrote Riles. She added the NTHSSA is reviewing its practices and "has committed to ensuring the notification occurs as soon as a privacy breach is confirmed, regardless of whether a full investigation has been completed." She said the agency accepted the privacy commissioner's recommendations and continues to improve and update mandatory training. Auditing EMRs 'a real challenge' Livia Kurinska-Hrdlickova is the territory's chief health privacy officer. She said routine audits check for suspicious activity in the EMR system, which if found, is flagged to the health authority. But Fox told CBC that auditing EMRs for instances of unauthorized access is "a real challenge." "If you looked at some random sample of employees looking at health records, there's really nothing that you could infer from the fact that a lab assistant looked at someone's medical record," he said. "You couldn't tell whether that was authorized or not." Neither of the two snooping cases Fox published this year were flagged by a routine audit. Kurinska-Hrdlickova explained that an employee with role-based access to the EMR system has gone through mandatory privacy training, and taken an oath of confidentiality. They need a patient's first and last name, and their date of birth or health-care number, to open their medical record. The system also relies on trust that employees with access will only use the EMR system when it's required for their work on a specific case. "Any system across Canada is not perfect," said Kurinska-Hrdlickova. "You never go to a zero risk, right? Because that's impossible." EMR system not structured 'according to ethics': expert As Fox noted, NTHSSA extended trust to the employees with EMR access, and the employees breached that trust. Eike Kluge, a University of Victoria biomedical ethics professor, said in the case of the siblings, the EMR system shouldn't have allowed them to open Gravelle's record in the first place. "There should be a challenge. Justify who you are and what right you have to access that record," he said. Kluge said the system shouldn't just flag improper access, it should prevent it. If the system isn't blocking improper access, "it's not properly structured," he said. "Certainly not according to ethics." Kurinska-Hrdlickova disagreed with Kluge's assertion and said the territory's EMR system complies with territorial privacy legislation. She also said the territory's EMR system is set to be replaced in the near future, and that the new system will have even stronger privacy protections. There isn't readily available data on the prevalence of medical record snooping in the N.W.T. or in Canada.
7NEWS
23-04-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
Algae bloom may be behind ‘Brucey' coming close to Adelaide beaches
The algae bloom haunting beaches in southern Australia may be affecting the greater ocean after a number of shark sightings. The micro-algae karenia mikimotoi is causing the seafoam along and murky water across South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula. The foam — likened by some to the froth on a milkshake — and its effects were first noticed by surfers at Waitpinga, about 100km from Adelaide, on March 15, with the EPA reporting the algae has since been found on beaches from Cape Jervis to Encounter Bay. A shark expert has told 7NEWS the animals may be sick from the toxic algae that has already killed sealife near Goolwa, their usual feeding grounds, but said the sharks are not worried about swimmers. Andrew Fox told 7NEWS that the risk of being bitten is low, as the shark desperately tries to survive the lack of oxygen in the waters. 'It's possible that sharks are in a lot of strife, the last thing in its mind is to be a potential shark bite risk factor,' he said. A mystery white pointer nicknamed 'Brucey' was seen near Normanville on Tuesday in waters so shallow its fin stuck out of the water metres from shore. Fox said the sharks are in the shallows due to the higher oxygen levels. 'We know that this is probably related to the record temps (of the water) and the algal blooms,' he said. 'I suspect that the respiration of the sharks are being affected and they're trying to get more oxygenated waters in the shallows.' Since March 15, the pristine cost of the eastern side of the Fleurieu Peninsula has been filled with thousands of dead cockles and fish remain on beaches from Goolwa to Victor Harbour, with Alexandrina Council advising the public to not touch or consume the sealife. Human exposure, which includes breathing in algae particles, can cause respiratory and eye irritation or skin rashes in some people, while ingestion could cause stomach upsets or flu-like symptoms. The particles can become airborne and affect nearby beachside properties. Fox also said that the government should fund further investigations into what is adversely affecting the sharks along the coastlines. 'I think a bit of funding should be put into working out what is going on,' he said. In the last few days, two monster-sized sharks come close to busy pristine Adelaide beaches and two smaller sharks have washed ashore, dead. A bronze whaler was spotted at Maslin beach on April 17, so close to shore that he could be filmed by swimmers from the safety of the sand. All shark sightings have been on the western side of the Fleurieu Peninsula. On Tuesday, SharkAlert SA posted the sighting of the 'Mystery Brucey' suspecting this may be the same shark spotted at Maslin's and Aldinga in the previous week. In the video, Lexi Grabb, who handed the footage to SharkAlert SA, is walking along the beach recording the shark in waters so shallow both its massive fin and tail can be seen poking out of the water. The shark is estimated to be about 3m in length, with SharkAlert SA telling its followers that it could be a 'pointer'. A white pointer is a great white shark, and can grow from 4m to almost 6m in length depending on sex, with the females often being larger.
India.com
21-04-2025
- India.com
Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu's deadly plan to defeat Hamas in Gaza, unmanned bulldozers to..., experts say...
IDF has deployed unmanned bulldozers in Gaza. Israel-Hamas war: Israel has employed various methods to weed out the Palestinian armed group Hamas over the course of the Israel-Hamas war in the embattled Gaza Strip, and now the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have deployed unmanned bulldozers in the war-torn city to prevent any casualties of its personnel. IDF using unmanned bulldozers against Hamas According to a report by the Times of Israel (TOI), the heavy machine, nicknamed the 'Robodozer', is a driverless, robotic version of the D9 bulldozer, and can be remotely operated from a good distance. IDF's Robodozer is well-armored and hard to disable, and will prevent casualties of soldiers as it does not require a human driver to operate. Developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, the Robodozer, which was displayed at a recent military exhibition in Alabama, United States, has been deployed in Gaza to raze Hamas bases, and is also being used by the IDF in Lebanon in a limited manner. As per defense experts, the Robodozer could change the course of the Israel-Hamas war as it is completely robotic and does not require human soldiers to enter the battlefield. How IDF is using Robodozer? The D9 bulldozer has been a staple of the Israeli army for years, and has been used to build roads, clear debris, and raze enemy sites. But the machine required a human operator whose life came under threat in case of an attack. The Robodozer nullifies that risk as it can be operated remotely, and used to demolish suspected Hamas hideouts in the Gaza Strip. Experts are touting this robotic heavy machine as the future of unmanned warfare, but some have raised questions about how a remotely-operated machine is more prone to commit errors than a human operator. It could mistakenly target residential buildings resulting in deaths of civilians, resulting in a human rights crisis. Robodozer 'future of warfare' According to Andrew Fox, a Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society in London and retired Major of the British Army, IDF is the first to use remote-controlled machines and weapons on a large scale inside a warzone, and is taking a major chance on the Robodozer. But so far, there have no been no error on IDF's part, and the machine has reduced mortal dangers to Israeli soldiers. 'The use of unmanned weapons such as drones has increased in recent times, and now Israel has come up with a technology like the Robodozer, and although it has not been used directly in a war yet, it is clear that it is very unique and is the future of the battlefield,' says John Spencer of the Modern War Institute at West Point, US.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Yahoo
Israel's unmanned bulldozers breaking ground in Gaza war
At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the bulky bulldozer turning up soil at a testing site in central Israel, but as it pulled closer it became clear: the driver's cabin is eerily empty. This is the Robdozer, a fortified engineering vehicle manned remotely, and in this case operated from a military expo halfway across the globe in Alabama. Army engineers and military experts say that the Robdozer -- the robotic version of Caterpillar's D9 bulldozer -- is the future of automated combat. The Israeli military has used D9 for years to carry out frontline tasks like trowelling roads for advancing troops, removing rubble and flattening terrain. But since war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 and later in Lebanon, the Israeli military has increasingly deployed this robotic version in a bid to enhance its field operations and reduce the risks to its troops. "The idea is to eliminate the person from the cockpit of the dozer," said Rani, whose team at the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries developed the Robdozer. During the Gaza war, the military has increasingly opted for the unmanned version, which can carry out a full range of tasks "even better than a human", said Rani, using his first name only for security reasons. While such vehicles and other systems are currently operated by humans, future versions could be autonomous, raising ethical and legal concerns over the unchartered future of warfare being shaped by the Israeli military in the Gaza war. - 'Changing the paradigm' - Israel's increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defence systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticised for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law. Analysts say the growing Israeli deployment of the Robdozer reflects broader global trends towards automation in heavy combat vehicles, like remote-controlled personnel carriers that operate much like drones. An Israeli military official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP that the army has been using "robotic tools for over a decade, but in very small numbers. Now it is being used in large-scale warfare". Troops can now operate machinery without having to enter enemy territory, said the official. Andrew Fox, a retired British army major and a research fellow at the London-based Henry Jackson Society, said the Israeli military was likely the first force to use remote-controlled combat machinery in an active war zone. "It's a really big development" that is "changing the paradigm" of warfare, carrying out tasks as effectively but at a far reduced risk to personnel, he said. - New era - "This is the future," said John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the US military's Modern War Institute at West Point. Many "have been experimenting with it, but nobody has seen direct deployment into active modern combat," he added. "It is very unique." But beyond ethical and legal drawbacks to such advanced technology, there is also the need for an overriding human presence to make decisions particularly in unusual situations. Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war was a disastrous example for that, when Palestinian militants breached the high-security border, said Tal Mimran of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "I think that October 7 showed us that you can build a wall that may cost $1 billion, but if you do not patrol the border, then someone will infiltrate your country," said Mimran, a lecturer and researcher of international law who has been closely following the Israeli military's technological developments. "We must take note of the opportunities and of the risks of technology," he said. "This is the era in which artificial intelligence is exploding into our lives, and it is only natural that it will also have a manifestation in the security field." reg/acc/jd/ami
