Security news

Security

Rush is on to patch a software vulnerability that could impact 70% of websites worldwide

Governments and corporations worked throughout the night on urgent security updates after the AI-assisted discovery of vulnerabilities in a programming language vital to 70% of websites globally.

Security

What to know about the AI-detected security bug impacting wide swaths of the internet

The language that's known as the backbone of the internet is now subject to what experts describe as one of the most notable vulnerabilities in recent memory.

Security

OpenAI says its AI agents disabled their own safety monitors

OpenAI has revealed that two of its artificial intelligence agents disabled or weakened systems built to catch them misbehaving, with one later denying it had done so.

Internet

Websites down: What is PHP and how has it raised AI hacking fears?

Artificial intelligence has found critical security flaws in a major programming language called PHP, with many websites taken offline Thursday as organizations worldwide scramble to fend off would-be hackers.

Security

Why the most dangerous AI may be the one we trust too much

Machines don't have to become superintelligent to cause catastrophic harm. As artificial intelligence spreads through military decision-making, they just have to be wrong—and trusted by the humans in charge.

Robotics

Secret trigger words could make AI-powered robots dangerous

Large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google Gemini are increasingly being used to help robots perform tasks, but what if LLMs could be exploited to turn helpful robots into harmful robots?

Security

When a ship's systems lie, cybersecurity gets complicated

Sailors at sea rely on electronic equipment to keep ships on course and out of danger, but what happens when hackers get involved? Are the mariners equipped to handle modern cybersecurity threats like GPS spoofing?

Software

Your car's weakest spot may not be in the car

A car is a computer on wheels. It communicates with the car manufacturer's cloud services, the driver's phone and charging stations, and when children stream movies in the back seat, data travels over the internet. All these ...

Security

New cyber threat to water systems exposes limits of encryption

University of British Columbia researchers have uncovered a vulnerability that could allow hackers to target and disrupt critical infrastructure such as water treatment plants and energy grids without needing to break into ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Do neurotechnologies threaten our mental privacy?

Consumer devices may soon be able to directly access and interfere with the human brain—but this raises unprecedented ethical and legal questions. How can we leverage the benefits of this technology for therapeutic purposes ...

Internet

Meta says working to thwart WhatsApp scammers

Meta on Tuesday said it shut nearly seven million WhatsApp accounts linked to scammers in the first half of this year and is ramping up safeguards against such schemes.

Security

Quantum scheme protects videos from prying eyes and tampering

We have developed a new way to secure video transmissions so even quantum computers in the future won't be able to break into private video livestreams or recordings. We are computer scientists who study computer security. ...

Consumer & Gadgets

States pass privacy laws to protect brain data collected by devices

More states are passing laws to protect information generated by a person's brain and nervous system as technology improves the ability to unlock the sensitive details of a person's health, mental states, emotions, and cognitive ...