More C’s needed beyond the 5C’s

More than 30 years after making darts history, 70-year-old 'Singapore Slinger' Paul Lim continues to achieve new feats - CNA

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sport/darts-paul-lim-singapore-wdf-world-championship-4799906?fast=true

More than 30 years after making darts history, 70-year-old 'Singapore Slinger' Paul Lim continues to achieve new feats

SINGAPORE: The year was 1990. And in about a minute at Lakeside Country Club in Surrey, England, Paul Lim accomplished the extraordinary.

It is a feat which has lived in the record books of darting history – the first player to hit a perfect nine-dart finish at a world championship.

The accomplishment landed him £52,000 – about US$92,600 then – and while he was eliminated in the quarter-finals, Lim won the hearts of darts fans worldwide.

Fast forward 34 years, and Lim was back where it all started.

His features were no longer as youthful, his vision was no longer as sharp, and his polo t-shirt bore the flag of a different country. But it's the same man – the "Singapore Slinger".

On Dec 8, Lim lost in the final of the WDF World Darts Championship after a fairytale run. Ireland's Shane McGuirk, 29, beat the 70-year-old Singaporean 6-3 at Lakeside.

FROM LOCAL PUB TO WORLD STAGE

In the past decades, Lim has travelled the globe, but his story started in England.

After he completed his National Service in the 1970s, Lim packed his bags and headed to London.

"I went through different jobs just to survive," he told CNA. "Eventually I was able to hunt down a hotel because I wanted to be a chef."

With the help of the hotel's head chef, Lim enrolled himself in a cookery course.

"Every morning I would go to college ... After I finished college, I would go back to the hotel and work from afternoon to dinner service, which was about 10 to 11 at night," he recalled.

It was at a local pub where he was first introduced to darts by other chefs.

They competed every Friday night, with everybody chipping in with 50 pence. The winner's prize? A bottle of whisky.

Playing a number of sports as a youngster meant that Lim had good hand-eye coordination, and he was quickly drawn to the dartboard.

"I found that darts is a very interesting sport ... I straightaway bought a dartboard and put it in the apartment," he said.

"And I could practice whether it was snowing, whether it was raining, whenever I wanted. I spent a lot of time doing that, and I eventually just became good."

A number of years later, Lim returned to Singapore where he worked as a chef at the now-defunct Marco Polo hotel. During his time back, he competed in his first Singapore Open and won the tournament.

But the opportunity to further his career as a head chef of a French restaurant came knocking and Lim moved to Papua New Guinea.

A CHANGE OF SCENERY

Lim enjoyed the change in environment.

"It was different but I've always loved the sea, I loved fishing and Papua New Guinea is a great place for that," he said.

Lim represented Papua New Guinea in his first international competition, the Asia-Pacific Cup, where he won his event.

It was during that tournament that he met American darts player Jerry Umberger, who recommended that Lim move to the United States and compete in the professional darts circuit.

"He said that in the USA we have the darts circuit where there is prize money. Every week there's a tournament somewhere in America and you just have to find where to go," recalled Lim.

Lim first moved to Boston. But with the weather proving too cold, he settled down in California and worked at a pub restaurant as a chef.

"It was in a darting environment so it really kind of suited me very well ... I worked from Monday to Thursday and on Friday I would fly to tournaments," he said.

"I didn't know how I was going to be doing (on the circuit) ... so I had to have a job to sustain my travel and pay my rent and things like that."

As Lim made a name for himself on the circuit, sponsors eventually came on board.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Prior to that historic showing at the 1990 World Championship, Lim had never made it past the early stages of the competition.

But that year, everything changed.

"It was a blast. I can't describe it. Until this very day, I still get goosebumps thinking about it," said Lim, who represented the United States at that tournament.

He remembers his achievement vividly to this day.

The money he earned, which far exceeded the amount awarded to the tournament winner, also came in handy for Lim, who used it to start his own darts business.

Over the years, he has continued to compete in major tournaments while working as a consultant for an electronic darts company.

But Lakeside Country Club has always had a special place in his heart.

"I was excited to be back there again after so many years," he said, this time wearing the Singapore flag.

Going into this year's WDF World Darts Championship, Lim's goal was to take it one game at a time – and he saw off challenge after challenge.

"What's going to happen, you never know. But I go with the intent that I want to do well," he said.

Lim first beat the Netherlands' Moreno Blom 2-0, then Hong Kong's Leung Kai Fan 3-2.

The match against Leung, a close friend of Lim's, was particularly tough, he said. Prior to the tournament draw, Leung had invited Lim to stay at his home and prepare for the event.

"He's the guy I spent time with and he's the guy who looked after me ... It's always difficult," added Lim.

Lim's fairytale run continued, as he beat Scotland's Gary Stone 3-2, Dutchman Jarno Bottenberg 4-3 and American Jason Brandon 5-0.

"I always think one step at a time. If I win one step at a time, I'll be in the final," said Lim. 

But he fell short in his bid to become the oldest darts world champion on Dec 8. McGuirk took home the winner's cheque of £50,000 (US$63,500), while Lim collected £16,000. 

"I did prove a point that age is not really a vital thing," he said.

POWERED BY PASSION

Things have changed over the years, admitted Lim. These days, he no longer has as much stamina to compete in a full-day tournament.

"Stamina is very important," he said. "(A) 70-year-old gets tired a lot easier. The funny thing is I have gone through this (sport) for over 40 years now and I've never felt that I could get tired. Until maybe when I was about 68."

Earlier this year, he switched to using glasses after experiencing blurred vision.

"It was a struggle to get used to it," Lim admitted. "I kept practising with my glasses on at home until it became secondary."

While physical problems can be an issue when it comes to darts, having a strong mindset is key, he stressed.

"A lot of people can be great dart players but if your mindset is weak, you're going (to be) rattled ... and you're going to do everything differently."

He wants to continue competing for as long as he can. 

"At the back of my mind, I know one day it will stop. But as of right now, I just don't feel that day is coming," said Lim.

What helps is that Lim enjoys not just the competitive nature of darts but interacting with supporters.

"In every sport, (it is) for yourself but you've got to think about the fans out there and the people that support you. It gives me a lot of joy, it really does," he added.

"(People ask me): 'How come you're always smiling?' It's supposed to be a happy moment. I'm able to play a sport that I love, and I'm able to make a living out of it. What else would you want to ask for?"

When he decides to call it a day competitively, Lim intends to keep promoting the sport.

"I want to bring joy to other people (through) darts and I think it's good for them," he said.

"I'm living proof. I'm 70 years old right now, I can still move around and I'm happy doing it ... My passion actually makes me feel younger."

Source: CNA/mt(mi)

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Pegasus Spyware Proliferates Across iOS, Android Devices

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint-security/pegasus-spyware-infections-ios-android-devices

Pegasus Spyware Infections Proliferate Across iOS, Android Devices

Researchers have discovered seven new Pegasus spyware infections targeting journalists, government officials, and corporate executives that started several years ago and span both iPhone and Android devices, demonstrating that the range of the notorious spyware may be even greater than once thought.

Researchers from iVerify discovered multiple devices compromised by Israeli company NSO Group's spyware via attacks initiated between 2021 and 2023 that affect Apple iPhone iOS versions 14, 15, and 16.6, as well as Android, they revealed in a blog post published on Dec. 4. The infections were discovered in May during a threat-hunting scan of 2,500 devices from iVerify users who opted in to the checks.

Specifically, the investigation uncovered multiple Pegasus variants in five unique malware types across iOS and Android. The researchers detected forensic artifacts in diagnostic data, shutdown logs, and crash logs found on the devices.

"Our investigation detected 2.5 infected devices per 1,000 scans — a rate significantly higher than any previously published reports," Matthias Frielingsdorf, Verify co-founder and iOS security researcher, wrote in the post. Each of the infections "represented a device that could have been silently monitored, its data compromised without the owner's knowledge," he wrote.

Related:Wyden and Schmitt Call for Investigation of Pentagon's Phone Systems

"The discovery supported our thesis about the prevalence of spyware on mobile devices — it was hiding in plain sight, undetected by traditional endpoint security measures."

Pegasus Spyware Reach Underestimated?

The findings also demonstrate that security researchers, in general, may have underestimated the reach of mobile spyware, particularly Pegasus, Rocky Cole, co-founder and COO of iVerify, tells Dark Reading.

Pegasus, developed by NSO Group — an adversary that iVerify tracks as "Rainbow Ronin" — is a particularly nasty piece of spyware that allows the controller to exploit OS vulnerabilities and leverage zero-click attacks to access and extract whatever they want from an exploited mobile device. Attackers can intercept and transmit messages, emails, media files, passwords, and detailed location information without a user's knowledge or interaction.

Pegasus gained initial notoriety in 2021 when security researchers found that it was being used by state-sponsored actors in illegal surveillance against journalists, politicians, human rights advocates, and other persons of interest to government intelligence agencies. Since then, numerous other infections have surfaced that show how governments have wielded the spyware, with journalists in particular in the crosshairs.

Related:Name That Edge Toon: Shackled!

Now iVerify's discovery suggests that state-sponsored actors not only are using mobile spyware in a narrow way to surveil the most high-profile of targets, but also could be spying on people within typically targeted populations who wouldn't seem likely to be on their radar, Cole says.

"Previously considered a rare and highly targeted threat, Pegasus was found to be more prevalent and capable of infecting a wider range of devices, not just those belonging to high-risk users," he says.

Moreover, as iVerify's investigation uncovered multiple Pegasus infections across several iOS versions, some dating back years, it's clear that traditional security measures often fail to detect such threats. This suggests that mobile device users themselves must be included in the detection of malware so they have "the power to understand and defend against threats that were previously invisible," Frielingsdorf wrote.

Hunt Your Own Device Threats

Cole says that best practices for preventing spyware infections before they occur include regularly updating devices to the latest OS as soon as possible, as spyware often exploits unpatched vulnerabilities. And though EDR may not pick up every infection, it can be a useful tool for organizations to use alongside more proactive device-specific threat-hunting to "help detect and respond to threats in real time," he says.

Related:Microsoft Boosts Device Security With Windows Resiliency Initiative

Organizations also should educate employees, Cole adds, especially those in high-risk roles, about the risks and best practices for mobile security as an essential protection against spyware infections.

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Pegasus Spyware Proliferates Across iOS, Android Devices

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint-security/pegasus-spyware-infections-ios-android-devices

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Commentary: Should children learn to play chess? - CNA

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/chess-class-singapore-ding-liren-gukesh-dommaraju-magnus-carlsen-4783566

Commentary: Should children learn to play chess?

SINGAPORE: Throw out old stereotypes of a game only for nerds or retirees, chess is now firmly mainstream.

The 2024 World Chess Championship in Singapore, still ongoing at the time of writing, is livestreamed to millions. The showdown between world champion Ding Liren and 18-year-old challenger Gukesh Dommaraju receives global media coverage. Recent Nobel Laureate Demis Hassabis – a former child chess prodigy himself – was in town to open their first game.

Charismatic top players such as Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura – the current World Number 1 and 3 – do not fit the conventional image of chess grandmasters. Chess influencers stream games and analyses, making chess dynamic and entertaining even for casual viewers.

Technology – from internet chess platforms to social media – has made it easy for people to learn, play and connect online. The surge of popularity can also be attributed to the chance convergence of factors, like the COVID-19 pandemic – during which lockdowns and movement restrictions drove more people to play chess – and the 2020 Netflix series The Queen's Gambit.

The rising global tide has not left Singapore behind. Grassroots chess events have proliferated, with initiatives such as the Aliwal Chess Club gaining attention even on mainstream media.

Participation among young children and youth has similarly surged, with year-on-year increments in enrolment for chess courses and tournaments organised by the Singapore Chess Federation and private operators.

PARENTS MAY HOPE FOR COGNITIVE BENEFITS

Some parents may be wondering if this might be a good time to sign their children up to learn chess. Many who do believe that it can shape young minds in profound and positive ways, or hope it can enhance academic performance.

It is easy to understand why. After all, a game of chess is fundamentally about strategic thinking and problem-solving.

Players plan multiple moves ahead and anticipate consequences. A typical three- to four-hour game requires concentration and patience, increasingly rare qualities in our digital world of instant gratification and short attention spans.

At higher levels of competition, preparation involves knowing and adapting to one's opponents, taking into account their style of play, strengths and weaknesses, and their possible preparation against oneself. These skills should transcend the chessboard.

RESEARCH DOESN'T BACK UP OUR BELIEFS

However, a sense of healthy scepticism with regards to these seemingly logical beliefs is important. Just as in chess, one should assess positions objectively and analyse even "obvious" moves and captures.

Surprisingly, there are only a handful of rigorous and well-designed research studies on the effects of chess on children. And they suggest no effect when it came to attention, focus or creativity.

The most important study was on primary school children in Bangladesh in 2016, conducted by Monash University researchers, led by Associate Professor Lee Wang Sheng, my former Raffles Institution chess teammate and one of the top players of Asia in his youth. The primary positive effect was that the children who learned assessed risks better and were less risk-averse than those who did not.

The Monash University study and another large-scale trial conducted on over 4,000 children in England also found no significant evidence that learning chess enhances mathematical abilities, reading nor science.

In adults, playing chess (and other games such as mahjong and weiqi) is associated with better cognitive health, reducing the risk of dementia as well as slowing cognitive decline. However, most of the published research studies are small and not designed to demonstrate a causal relationship.

CONSIDER THE EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Where chess can benefit players is in the social platform it provides for children and adults from diverse backgrounds to connect. The sport transcends age, ethnicity, language and cultural barriers, creating a meritocratic and inclusive environment.

I remember going to chess clubs as a teenager – then mainly in community centres – after school and over the weekends, playing games for fun or participating in local tournaments. Social status did not matter – one was respected for one's skills and sportsmanship. I made many acquaintances and friends over chess, many of whom I remain in touch with or work closely with today.

Maintaining one's composure under pressure, and coping with loss and failure – often repeatedly at a young age – are invaluable experiences for building resilience.

Such losses are "safe failures" and can teach children to view setbacks as stepping stones for growth rather than reasons to give up. Moreover, being able to objectively track one's improvement with effort – by achieving better results in tournaments or defeating formerly formidable opponents – boosts self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment that extends beyond the game.

These emotional and social development benefits are not unique to chess, of course, but present in many other sports and interactive games.

Related:

ALL SPORTS AND GAMES HAVE POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS

But just like these other sports and games, chess is not without potential drawbacks.

The risk of children and youth becoming overly competitive or experiencing undue pressure is always present, especially if parents or coaches emphasise winning too strongly. Excessive focus and time spent on chess can also lead to reduced physical activity, a narrower range of interests, and in some cases, poorer academic performance.

I found Basic Military Training during National Service gruelling because of the lack of physical fitness. At various points in junior college and university, my results were subpar, usually after taking time off for overseas chess tournaments. My parents and some of my teachers expressed concern about my academic progress, but (perhaps) wisely chose to support and respect my passion for the sport.

It is important to ensure that chess supplements, rather than replaces, a well-rounded lifestyle that includes physical exercise, diverse social interactions and other recreational activities.

SO, SHOULD I SIGN MY CHILD UP FOR CHESS?

From my admittedly biased perspective, there is little harm and much potential benefit in introducing children to chess.

However, it is essential not to have unreasonable expectations about the cognitive or academic benefits of the game, and children should never be pressured to continue if interest wanes. If they develop a passion for the game, providing a supportive environment and offering opportunities – be it enrolling in school chess clubs or participating in local age-group events – can at the minimum enhance their skills and broaden their interests.

For some – which include my fellow chess enthusiasts and myself – it can be a transformative experience that positively shapes lives.

Professor Hsu Li Yang is the President of the Singapore Chess Federation and Vice Dean of Global Health at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore.

Source: CNA/ch

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