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  • U.S. Sanctions Russians Behind ‘Doppelganger’ Cyber Influence Campaign

    On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against two 46-year-old Russian nationals. Sanctions were also placed on the respective companies they own. These sanctions were enacted due to engaging in cyber influence operations. Ilya Andreevitch Gambashidze (Gambashidze) is the founder of the Social Design Agency (SDA), a Moscow-based…

  • Commercial Bank of Ethiopia head warns ‘no escape’ for clients who profited from glitch

    The head of Ethiopia’s largest commercial bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), has issued a warning that customers who withdrew more money than they had in their accounts due to a glitch will face legal consequences if they do not return the funds. CBE President Abe Sano stated in an interview with the BBC…

  • Giorgia Meloni: Italian PM seeks damages over deepfake porn videos

    Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, is pursuing €100,000 in damages after deepfake pornographic videos of her surfaced online. Scheduled to appear in court on July 2nd in Sassari, Sardinia, Meloni aims to testify against a 40-year-old man and his 73-year-old father, who are under investigation for producing the videos. The images, digitally manipulated to depict…

  • HK security law is final nail in coffin, say critics

    The recent passage of Hong Kong’s new security law, known as Article 23, has sparked widespread criticism from Western leaders, the UN, and rights groups, who view it as a further erosion of freedoms in the city. The law, unanimously passed by Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing parliament, targets offenses deemed treasonous and allows for closed-door trials,…

  • Leo Varadkar: I am no longer best man to be Irish PM

    Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has announced his resignation as both party leader and taoiseach, expressing pride in his accomplishments during his tenure, which included advancing equality and modernization through legalizing same-sex marriage and abortion. Varadkar cited personal and political reasons for his decision, emphasizing that while he believes the current government could be re-elected,…

  • Atlassian Patches Critical Vulnerability in Bamboo Data Center and Server

    Atlassian has announced patches for two dozen vulnerabilities across its Bamboo, Bitbucket, Confluence, and Jira products, including a critical-severity SQL injection flaw (CVE-2024-1597) affecting Bamboo Data Center and Server versions. This vulnerability, with a CVSS score of 10, could allow an unauthenticated attacker to expose assets susceptible to exploitation without user interaction. Additionally, a high-severity…

  • Microsoft Hires Influential AI Figure Mustafa Suleyman to Head up Consumer AI Business

    Microsoft has appointed Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, to lead its consumer artificial intelligence business, overseeing products like Copilot, Bing, and Edge browser. Suleyman, known for advocating AI’s potential benefits and addressing its risks, will bring his expertise to Microsoft AI. The tech giant also hired Inflection’s chief scientist and top engineers, signaling its commitment…

  • 1 in 4 Organizations Shut Down OT Operations Due to Cyberattacks: Survey

    A survey by Palo Alto Networks conducted in December 2023 across 16 countries in the Americas, Europe, and the APAC region revealed that three-quarters of nearly 2,000 industrial organization respondents detected malicious cyber activity in their operational technology (OT) environment. Moreover, 24% reported shutting down OT operations due to successful attacks in the past year.…

  • Intel to receive $8.5bn in US funding for high-end chip manufacturing

    Intel will receive $8.5bn in direct funding and $11bn in loans from the US government to expand its capacity to make high-end chips, as it seeks to reinvent itself as a national champion in the sector and compete with the likes of Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung. US President Joe Biden will travel to…

  • French watchdog fines Google 250M euros for AI IP infringement

    Google has accepted a fine from the French government’s competition watchdog for a past breach of European Union intellectual property (IP) laws relating to its media publishers. The French competition authority cited concerns about Google’s AI service, Gemini, previously known as Bard, alleging it was trained on content from local publishers and news agencies without…

  • Why Microsoft’s surprise deal with $4 billion startup Inflection is the most important non-acquisition in AI

    Microsoft stunned the tech world on Tuesday when it announced that it has hired Mustafa Suleyman, the cofounder of $4 billion AI startup Inflection, to run Microsoft’s AI operations. Karén Simonyan, another Inflection cofounder, is also joining Microsoft, along with an unspecified number of staffers. Essentially, the cloud giant, worth $3.12 trillion, has nabbed one of…

  • The most innovative companies in robotics for 2024

    One of the traditional hot spots for robots has been warehouses—large facilities that often require moving heavy objects and are usually off-limits to all but authorized personnel, making them a relatively safe space to introduce robots. But robots these days are taking on tasks in more complex, dynamic, and even dangerous environments. For example, Gecko Robotics…

  • Is Microsoft Building an Unassailable Lead in A.I.?

    The heavyweight fight to dominate artificial intelligence just entered a new round. Microsoft has poached an A.I. pioneer just as Apple and Google discuss forming a united front to make up lost ground. The latest maneuvers add serious firepower to Microsoft’s bid to lead in artificial intelligence. But they could lead to more regulatory scrutiny…

  • Insider threats are AI developers next hurdle

    AI developers hiring quickly to keep pace with market demand are struggling with a new threat: spies and employees looking to steal company secrets. U.S. artificial intelligence companies are likely already prime targets for nation-state adversaries’ espionage campaigns. Experts predict that AI developers could become even bigger targets than chip manufacturers and biotechnology companies. This month,…

  • Nvidia enlists humanoid robotics’ biggest names for new AI platform, GR00T

    It’s tough to argue with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang when he notes, “Building foundation models for general humanoid robots is one of the most exciting problems to solve in AI today.” The humanoid form factor is one of the most hotly contested topics in the world of robotics at the moment, raising venture capital by…

  • Sam Altman is over GPT-4: ‘I think it kind of sucks’

    Generative artificial intelligence might be driving the markets and forcing businesses to prepare for a new potential future, but the CEO of OpenAI isn’t real impressed about where the technology stands at the moment. In an interview with computer scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, Sam Altman had some surprising words about GPT-4, the latest AI…

  • Nvidia’s AI boom is only getting started. Just ask CEO Jensen Huang

    “In the 1920s, water went into a generator, and DC power came out. Now electrons go into a generator, and intelligence comes out.” I’m chatting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the chip giant’s Silicon Valley headquarters, where one of its DGX H100 computing modules sits partially disassembled before us. Stuffed with blazingly fast processors and…

  • Nvidia reveals Blackwell B200 GPU, the ‘world’s most powerful chip’ for AI

    Nvidia’s must-have H100 AI chip made it a multitrillion-dollar company, one that may be worth more than Alphabet and Amazon, and competitors have been fighting to catch up. But perhaps Nvidia is about to extend its lead — with the new Blackwell B200 GPU and GB200 “superchip. Nvidia says the new B200 GPU offers up…

  • Blinken Boosts U.S. Ties to Philippines Amid China Maritime Aggression

    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Chinese security risks on Tuesday with senior Philippine leaders, as Washington and Manila seek to bolster ties in the face of increasingly aggressive Chinese action against Philippine targets in the South China Sea. The visit was the latest effort by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to fortify his…

  • Tensions High After Pakistan Launches Cross-Border Attacks into Afghanistan

    Pakistan has launched overnight air attacks inside Afghanistan, while the Taliban claimed hours later to have fired across the border. Pakistan said the attack had targeted armed groups hiding out in border regions. The Afghan defense ministry claimed later on Monday to have fired across the border at Pakistan positions. Tension has risen between Pakistan…

  • Israeli Negotiators Head to Qatar for Cease-Fire Talks, Officials Say

    Israeli negotiators arrived in Qatar on Monday to participate in a new round of in-person talks aimed at achieving a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants, a senior Israeli official said. The trip to the Qatari capital, Doha, comes after Israel and Hamas failed to reach an…

  • Chinese APT Hacks 48 Government Organizations

    An advanced persistent threat (APT) actor likely operating on behalf of the Chinese government has compromised dozens of foreign government entities worldwide, Trend Micro reports. Referred to as Earth Krahang, the hacking group appears linked to Earth Lusca, which is believed to be a penetration team within the Chinese company I-Soon. Earth Krahang, Trend Micro…

  • Nissan Breach Exposed Data of 100,000 Individuals

    Nissan Oceania has confirmed that the data breach it suffered in December 2023 affected around 100,000 individuals and has begun notifying them. At the time, they couldn’t confirm the extent nor the type of incident, but a few weeks later, the Akira ransomware group claimed responsibility for the attack and leaked data supposedly stolen from…

  • UnitedHealth Says It Has Made Progress on Recovering From Massive Cyberattack

    UnitedHealth is testing the last major system it must restore from last month’s Change Healthcare cyberattack. The health care giant said Monday that it is testing software for submitting medical claims. It already has largely restored systems for handling pharmacy claims and processing payments. The American Hospital Association has called the cyberattack “the most significant…

  • The Department of Homeland Security Is Embracing A.I.

    The Department of Homeland Security has seen the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence firsthand. It found a trafficking victim years later using an A.I. tool that conjured an image of the child a decade older. But it has also been tricked into investigations by deep fake images created by A.I. Now, the department is…

  • Why Figma CEO Dylan Field is optimistic about AI and the future of design

    Figma is a fascinating company; the Figma design tool is used by designers at basically every company you can think of. And importantly, it runs on the web — it’s really easy to share Figma designs with other people and work on them together. That sounds obvious now, but it was a revolution in design…

  • AI-powered robotics will fuel jobs disruptions in ways we don’t realize

    Wellness startup Aescape’s pending launch of AI-powered robotic masseuses is one of the unexpected ways the technology could disrupt the labor market. Founder Eric Litman has raised $80 million to develop “the first commercially available fully automated, customizable massage experience to give people more control of their self-care.” New York-based Aescape is partnering with 10…

  • Google researchers unveil ‘VLOGGER’, an AI that can bring still photos to life

    Google researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence system that can generate lifelike videos of people speaking, gesturing and moving — from just a single still photo. The technology, called VLOGGER, relies on advanced machine learning models to synthesize startlingly realistic footage, opening up a range of potential applications while also raising concerns around deepfakes…

  • Apple Is in Talks to Let Google Gemini Power iPhone AI Features

    Apple Inc. is in talks to build Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone, according to people familiar with the situation, setting the stage for a blockbuster agreement that would shake up the AI industry. The two companies are in active negotiations to let Apple license Gemini, Google’s set of generative AI models, to…

  • Russia’s Putin Hails Victory in Election Criticized as Illegitimate

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has cemented his grip on power in a landslide election victory that has been widely criticized as lacking democratic legitimacy. In a post-election news conference, Putin cast the outcome as a vindication of his decision to defy the West and invade Ukraine. Putin’s victory was never in doubt as his critics…

  • Ukrainian Drones Target Russia on Final Day of Voting, Russian Officials Say

    Ukraine fired a volley of exploding drones at Moscow and other targets on the final day of Russia’s presidential vote on Sunday, the local authorities said. The assaults combine strategic goals, diverting Russian troops from the front inside Ukraine and destroying energy infrastructure, with a political objective, namely undermining President Vladimir V. Putin’s long-cultivated image…

  • EU Announces $8bn Package for Egypt as part of Deal to Check Migration

    The European Union has announced a 7.4 billion-euro ($8.06bn) aid package and an upgraded relationship with Egypt, part of a new deal to stem migrant flows to Europe that has been criticized by rights groups. The aid package includes both grants and loans over the next three years, with the EU saying it is upgrading…

  • North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles as Blinken Visits Seoul

    North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles towards its eastern waters as United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to open a democracy summit in neighboring South Korea, officials have said. The launches come days after the US and South Korea wrapped up 11 days of so-called Freedom Shield joint military drills. North Korea has…

  • IMF Emails Hacked

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently detected a cybersecurity incident that involved nearly a dozen email accounts getting hacked. The hacked accounts were ‘re-secured’ and there is no indication at this point in the ongoing probe that the attacker gained access beyond these email accounts. It’s unclear what the attackers’ goal was and what type…

  • Apple’s New AI Move Just Changed The Game For All iPhone Users

    Apple has just ramped up its AI plans after buying Canadian startup DarwinAI. Ahead of the iOS 18 launch, which is already earmarked for a number of AI enabled features, Bloomberg describes how DarwinAI makes technology that can “inspect components during the manufacturing process.” Another advantage of DarwinAI that will benefit Apple specifically is the…

  • Google Chrome Warning Issued For All Windows Users

    Google chrome is the default browser for a billion-plus Windows users, almost off of whom also default to Google for their search. This situation appears to irk Microsoft, and the company seemingly can’t understand why all those Windows users don’t also use Microsoft Edge as their browser and Microsoft’s Bing as their search engine. As…

  • Abu Dhabi in talks to invest in OpenAI chip venture

    A new Abu Dhabi investment company is in talks to back OpenAI’s ambitious chip venture, in the latest effort by the United Arab Emirates to become a global powerbroker in the development of artificial intelligence. State-funded MGX is in early stage discussions over a funding deal with OpenAI, according to two people with knowledge of…

  • Hackers can read private AI-assistant chats even though they’re encrypted

    AI assistants have been widely available for a little more than a year, and they already have access to our most private thoughts and business secrets. People ask them about becoming pregnant or terminating or preventing pregnancy, consult them when considering a divorce, seek information about drug addiction, or ask for edits in emails containing…

  • Mercedes is trialing humanoid robots for ‘low skill, repetitive’ tasks

    Mercedes-Benz is the latest automotive company to trial how humanoid robots could be used to automate “low skill, physically challenging, manual labor.” On Friday, robotics company Apptronik announced it had entered into a commercial agreement with Mercedes to pilot how “highly advanced robotics” like Apollo — Apptronik’s 160-pound bipedal robot — can be used in…

  • Apple Buys Canadian AI Startup as It Races to Add Features

    Apple Inc. has acquired Canadian artificial intelligence startup DarwinAI, adding technology to its arsenal ahead of a big push into generative AI in 2024. The iPhone maker purchased the business earlier this year, and dozens of DarwinAI’s employees have joined Apple’s artificial intelligence division, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not…

  • Microsoft to Release Security AI Product to Help Clients Track Hackers

    Microsoft Corp. plans to release artificial intelligence tools on April 1 that will help cybersecurity workers produce summaries of suspicious incidents and ferret out the devious methods hackers use to obscure their intentions. Microsoft unveiled its Copilot for Security about a year ago and has been trialing it with corporate customers ever since. Testers include…

  • Vessel Struck in Red Sea as Houthis Promise Attacks on More Shipping Lanes

    A merchant vessel has been damaged in a missile strike in the Red Sea off Yemen, marine security monitors said. This comes as the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels threatened to expand their attacks on shipping which have disrupted global trade. The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November…

  • Russia Strengthens Its Internet Controls in Critical Year for Putin

    Russia is ratcheting up its internet censorship ahead of elections this weekend that are all but assured to give President Vladimir V. Putin another six years in power. The Russian authorities have intensified a crackdown against digital tools used to get around internet blocks, throttled access to WhatsApp and other communications apps in specific areas…

  • US Senate Leader Chuck Schumer Calls for New Israel Elections Amid Gaza War

    The top legislator in the United States Senate, Chuck Schumer, has offered his most strident criticism of Israel since the war in Gaza began. Schumer has called for Israel to hold elections to replace Netanyahu and said the prime minister had “lost his way” in his pursuit of “political survival”. President Joe Biden and other…

  • NATO Allies Must do More as Ukraine Runs Out of Ammunition: Stoltenberg

    Ukraine is running out of ammunition and NATO members are not doing enough to help Kyiv, said Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s secretary-general, . More than two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s military has recently been grappling with significantly reduced weapons supplies from the West. On Tuesday, the US announced a new $300m weapons package…

  • OpenAI swoops up French and Spanish news partners for AI chatbot training

    OpenAI continues to expand its partnerships in the media and entertainment industry with the announcement of new collaborations with French newspaper Le Monde and Spanish media company Prisa Media. On March 13, the ChatGPT developer revealed the partnerships, saying it would help bring news content in French and Spanish to deliver “real-time, authoritative information to…

  • The World’s First Major AI Law Has Arrived. What the EU’s Rules Mean for Big Tech

    The world’s first comprehensive legal framework for artificial intelligence has been finalized. European Union lawmakers on Wednesday approved the bloc’s AI Act, which is likely to shape the approach of U.S. technology companies. As whole, the legislation aims to protect European citizens’ rights from certain applications of AI and bring stricter oversight to the technology…

  • China hits out at US push to ban TikTok as Steven Mnuchin plots bid

    Beijing has hit out at US legislation to ban TikTok as former Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was assembling a consortium to buy the app from its Chinese owner. Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that the US had shown a “robber’s logic” towards the app, which has 170mn users in America.…

  • ABB Opens Revamped Robotics Center in Michigan Amid Growing Demand for AI Robots

    ABB, a Zurich-based automation technology provider, Wednesday opened a $20 million expansion to its U.S. robotics headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. The move comes as demand for automation grows not just in traditional industries like logistics and manufacturing, but also new ones, such as construction and healthcare. Advancements in the software side through artificial intelligence are…

  • How work devices may evolve to keep up in the AI era

    The emergence of the neural processing unit (NPU) may be heralded as a game changer for personal computers (PCs), but finding the right balance in product design remains critical to deliver what consumers want. Growing workplace demand for artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including generative AI (GenAI), has prompted industry players such as chipmakers and device manufacturers…

  • Putin warns the West: Russia is ready for nuclear war

    On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that from a technical standpoint, Russia is ready for nuclear war. Continuing, he stated that if the U.S. sent troops to Ukraine it would be considered a significant escalation of the conflict. Putin added that he saw no need for the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Furthermore,…

  • Plan to install new leaders in Haiti appears to crumble after political parties reject it

    On Wednesday, the Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, a 74-year-old neurosurgeon resigned. The resignation was met with both celebration and uncertainty as the future of Haiti’s leadership hangs in the balance. The next elections to find Henry’s replacement are going to be the first since 2016. A proposal on Wednesday to install a new…

  • LockBit Ransomware Affiliate Sentenced to Prison in Canada

    Mikhail Vasiliev, a Russian-Canadian national was sentenced to about four years to Canadian prison with the possibility of additional U.S. charges following his participation in the LockBit ransomware operation. Vasiliev, a 34-year-old was arrested in Bradford, Ontario in October 2022. This past February, Vasiliev pleaded guilty to both stealing computer data and holding the data…

  • Stanford University Data Breach Impacts 27,000 Individuals

    Standford University has begun the process of notifying around 27,000 individuals of a data breach wherein personal information was stolen. The breach came as a result of a ransomware attack on the university’s Department of Public Safety (DPS). The ransomware attack was initially discovered on September 27, 2023. However, the attackers had access to the…

  • North Korea’s Kim ‘drives’ new tank during mock battle

    On Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a military demonstration with a new battle tank according to state media KCNA. This military exercise is the latest show of force as both South Korea and the US recently concluded joint drills. According to the KCNA, Kim had “great satisfaction” over the first performance of…

  • Vietnam urges respect of international law as China draws Gulf of Tonkin baseline

    On Thursday, Vietnam’s foreign ministry stated that both international law and the rights of other countries must be respected. This comment comes in response to a question regarding China’s demarcation of a baseline in the Gulf of Tonkin. Earlier this month, China’s government delineated the baseline located in the Gulf of Tonkin. China stated its…

  • Kubernetes Vulnerability Allows Remote Code Execution on Windows Endpoints

    An attacker can exploit a high-severity Kubernetes vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on Windows endpoints. This vulnerability impacts default Kubernetes installations and has been found in the processing of YAML files by the open-source container orchestration system. This process is used for almost every function. This vulnerability was witnessed during the creation of a pod…

  • Government Launches Probe Into Change Healthcare Data Breach

    The US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is currently launching an investigation to determine whether confidential health information has been compromised. Following the recent Change Healthcare data breach on February 21, 7,000 pharmacies and hospitals were unable to process prescriptions. As a result of a ransomware attack, Change Healthcare’s…

  • AI startup Cerebras unveils the WSE-3, the largest chip yet for generative AI

    The race for ever-larger generative artificial intelligence models continues to fuel the chip industry. On Wednesday, Cerebras Systems, one of Nvidia’s most prominent competitors, unveiled the “Wafer Scale Engine 3,” the third generation of its AI chip and the world’s largest semiconductor. Cerebras released the WSE-2 in April 2021. Its successor, the WSE-3, is designed…

  • Ethereum Network Finishes Cost-Cutting ‘Dencun’ Software Upgrade

    Ethereum has successfully completed a major software upgrade that should make using the blockchain network ecosystem cheaper. Referred by developers as Dencun, the update lowers expenses for so-called Layer 2 networks — dozens of chains like Arbitrum, Polygon and Coinbase Global Inc.’s Base that link to Ethereum. A transaction that used to cost $1 can…

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