Latest news with #SchoolOfTheArts
CNA
6 days ago
- CNA
SOTA parent portal taken down in response to systems vulnerability targeted by global cyberattacks
SINGAPORE: The School of the Arts (SOTA) has taken down its parent portal to address a vulnerability that it said is the target of a global cyberattack campaign. In a message to parents on Wednesday (Jul 23) morning, SOTA said the cyberattacks started around Jul 18 and are specifically targeted at school-managed systems. "To safeguard our systems and data against this critical threat, we are initiating an immediate and mandatory patching process for all school-managed servers that support our parent portal," said SOTA in its message. The school said it had identified the vulnerability in the third-party server infrastructure supporting the portal and that the third-party service provider has acknowledged such reports from their server customers. It added that it is working to complete the patching and restore full service safely as soon as possible, and will inform parents when the portal is back up. A CNA check on the SOTA website on Wednesday afternoon showed that the school's student and staff portals appear to have been taken offline as well. The global cyberattack campaign has already compromised organisations globally, including government agencies and multinational corporations, said SOTA. The school did not name the third-party service provider. However, this comes after the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) issued an alert on Tuesday for users of Microsoft SharePoint to update to the latest version, citing "critical vulnerabilities". On the same day, Microsoft issued a threat intelligence note warning of active attacks targeting SharePoint servers via known vulnerabilities. It said security updates have been released to address the flaws. The note linked the attacks to three China-based groups, and added that investigations into other threat actors are ongoing.
Straits Times
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
AI gotta feeling: Mother-daughter duo create SG60 album that hits all the right notes
Siv and her daughter Thashi using AI technology to make music. PHOTO: COURTESY OF SIV AI gotta feeling: Mother-daughter duo create SG60 album that hits all the right notes A mother-daughter duo have released an original album to mark Singapore's 60th birthday. Siv Gandi, 40, and her daughter Thashi, 14, composed the album using a blend of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and cloned vocals. The duo's musical journey started when Thashi was in primary three. "Her best friend had moved away, and to cope with the emotions, she wrote her very first song," Siv recounted. "With encouragement from her music teacher, she composed it into a heartfelt piece. That moment ignited her passion for songwriting. Since then, she has remained deeply committed to developing her musical talents and eventually joined School Of The Arts to further pursue her artistic growth." Without a background in music, Siv was initially unsure how to support Thashi's passion. But in June this year, they began exploring AI music tools. "These tools enabled us to compose, customise and extract stems, making the production more accessible and manageable," Siv said. The duo calls themselves "techbeats85," and their album, dubbed "SG60 Celebration," can be found on Spotify and YouTube . "Each song is lovingly crafted to reflect community, pride, progress and unity, using music as a bridge that connects emotions, technology and identity for listeners to truly celebrate," Siv said. When asked about the process of creating the songs, Siv told Stomp that it typically begins with a core idea or emotion. "For this SG60 project, I led the lyric writing while Thashi helped define the mood and musical direction. Together, we input the lyrics and vocal references into the AI platform, adjusted parameters to align with our vision, and finalised each track with edits and mastering. "The built-in AI mixing and mastering tools delivered surprisingly polished results. To enhance the sound further, we experimented with both live vocal recordings and AI voice cloning, allowing us to achieve clean, cohesive tracks." To the duo, music is more than just melodies and words. Siv shared: "It's a magical tool to express emotions, tell stories and inspire others. Whether it's joy, nostalgia, or national pride, we believe music has the power to connect generations, uplift spirits and bring people together. "We see AI tools as a transformative force in music, opening new possibilities for artists to express themselves in unique and powerful ways." Click here to contribute a story or submit it to our WhatsApp Get more of Stomp's latest updates by following us on:
