Security news

Internet

Mobile VPN security is not as strong as advertised, research suggests

Many digital users rely on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to combat security threats, allowing the application to view, intercept and handle all user traffic in return for hiding identifying information from third parties. ...

Security

Researchers help close a critical security gap across AI platforms

An AI flaw that can be found today in one model could be quietly replicated across dozens of products and services built on the same underlying technology. Until now, the AI community has lacked a formal pathway to report ...

Energy & Green Tech

Moisture-driven tech can power green batteries—and destroy spy gear

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Rice University have created a nontoxic, stretchable battery that operates by extracting moisture from the ambient environment—even in climates as dry as the desert. The ...

Engineering

Drone-mounted camera can detect plastic landmines without an internet connection

Today's antipersonnel land mines are small and often have plastic casings that standard metal detectors cannot register. Geophysical techniques such as ground-penetrating radar, magnetometry and electromagnetic induction ...

Security

AI model predicts robberies across US cities with 86.3% accuracy

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence model that predicts crime more accurately than several existing approaches by combining information about where crimes occur, when they happen and wider social patterns. ...

Security

Researchers propose 'copyleft' rules for generative AI

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) poses challenges for the free and open-source software (FOSS) community, a global network committed to creating and maintaining publicly available software that anyone can ...

Security

Can people distinguish between AI-generated and human speech?

In a collaboration between Tianjin University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, researchers led by Xiangbin Teng used behavioral and brain activity measures to explore whether people can discern between AI-generated ...

Security

How AI could end online anonymity

The internet is rife with anonymous accounts as users adopt pseudonyms, sometimes for genuine reasons like speaking freely, and other times for nefarious ones. But this era of online privacy could be coming to a close. In ...

Security

Deepfake songs are exploding, but a new tool shuts them down

Artificial intelligence models can now clone a voice with just a few seconds of audio, fueling a surge of deepfake songs online and creating a growing crisis for musicians who don't want their voices hijacked. Beyond the ...

Security

AI often escalates to nuclear action in war games

There are some things perhaps we might not want artificial intelligence to handle, at least for the time being. When leading chatbots were put through war-game simulations, they opted for nuclear signaling or escalation in ...

Security

AI education could be crucial in tackling rising voice scams

A new study from Abertay University reveals that the most effective way to protect people from AI voice scams is not through traditional warning messages, but by educating them about how advanced and authentic AI voices have ...

Security

Your car's tire sensors could be used to track you

Researchers at IMDEA Networks Institute, together with European partners, have found that tire pressure sensors in modern cars can unintentionally expose drivers to tracking. Over a ten-week study, they collected signals ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Ensuring smartphones have not been tampered with

With increasing cyberattacks and government data breaches, one of the most important devices to keep secure is the one in everyone's pocket: smartphones. The problem is that it is difficult to check that a smartphone has ...