Alex Pasternack

United States

Freelance Writer at Freelance

~ still human in the strange loop •writer /editor /producer on energy security etc º contributing ed Fast Company ⟴ founding ed Motherboard; cofounder Bandwagon

Articles

How New York is battling hackers despite Trump budget cuts

6 days ago | fastcompany.com | Alex Pasternack

When the state of New York adopted a new whole-of-state approach to cybersecurity a few years ago, encompassing everything from transit to schools to power and water supplies, officials were still reeling from an attack that plunged part of Long Island into the paper-and-fax era of the '90s.
How Trump is hacking away at America's cyber defenses

2 weeks ago | fastcompany.com | Alex Pasternack

"We've had many, many threats against our nation," President Trump said in the Oval Office in November 2018, as he announced the creation of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
The ‘living globe’ that can help drones fly without GPS

1 month ago | fastcompanyme.com | Alex Pasternack

Before the advent of GPS, especially at sea, navigation meant finding your position by looking up at the stars. Today, when the Global Positioning System isn’t working—or gets jammed by electronic warfare—drones are learning to do something similar, orienting themselves by looking down at the Earth instead.
The 'living globe' that can help drones fly without GPS

1 month ago | fastcompany.com | Alex Pasternack

Before the advent of GPS, especially at sea, navigation meant finding your position by looking up at the stars. Today, when the Global Positioning System isn’t working—or gets jammed by electronic warfare—drones are learning to do something similar, orienting themselves by looking down at the Earth instead.
The most innovative companies for energy in 2025

1 month ago | fastcompany.com | Alex Pasternack

The global energy transition has been on an extraordinary tear in recent years, one that even President Donald Trump, with his dismantling of U.S. climate policy, will struggle to reverse. Propelled by record levels of public and private investment, utility-scale solar and wind power accounted for close to 90% of all new energy build-outs in the first nine months of 2024, a nearly 30% surge over 2023. Still, the low carbon, electrified future can’t come quickly enough.
The 10 most innovative security companies of 2025

1 month ago | fastcompany.com | Alex Pasternack

Why Abnormal Security, Nozomi Networks, Huntress, and Shift5 are among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in security for 2025. Cybersecurity has always been a cat and mouse game, but lately the mice have been mutating in new and stunning ways. AI means they can hit our inboxes and phones with increasingly convincing phishing messages built on more precise personal details gleaned from ever mounting piles of stolen data.
AI data centers run hot. These lightweight motors keep them cool with less energy

1 month ago | fastcompany.com | Alex Pasternack

Infinitum is No. 19 on the list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025. Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture. The data centers powering the AI revolution require energy—lots of it. And up to 40% of that energy goes toward cooling equipment, especially the electric motors of industrial-grade fans.
Small businesses increasingly face cyberattacks. These ex-government hackers are fighting back

1 month ago | fastcompany.com | Alex Pasternack

Huntress is No. 31 on the list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025. Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture. After nearly a decade spent as an elite hacker for the U.S. military, Kyle Hanslovan noticed a discrepancy: While Fortune 500 companies hired dedicated teams to protect them from cybercrimes, smaller businesses typically lacked that expertise—even as they increasingly faced the same threats.
AI data centers run hot. These lightweight motors keep them cool with less energy

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Alex Pasternack

NowFBI Warns Chrome, Safari And Edge Users—Do Not Use These WebsitesUpdate: Republished on March 18 with examples of the dangerous websites behind this latest FBI warning and additional advice on staying safe.
Cash-strapped businesses turn to this company when they want to get energy efficient

1 month ago | fastcompany.com | Alex Pasternack

Budderfly is No. 25 on the list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025. Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture. When a Taco Bell franchise in Tracy, California, wanted to develop the chain’s first all-electric outpost, it tasked energy-management company Budderfly with finding efficiencies.