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Zimbra Zero-Day
CVE-2025-66376 cyber espionage email security Laundry Bear Russian Espionage Group Two-Factor Authentication Vulnerabilities and Exploits Zero-Day Exploit Zimbra Security Zimbra Zero-Day

Russian Cyber Spies Exploited Critical Zimbra Flaw to Access Emails and 2FA Codes


 

Cyber espionage groups backed by the Russian government exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in the Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) in order to steal emails, browser credentials, and two-factor authentication (2FA) recovery codes from government and commercial organizations throughout the world, according to a joint cybersecurity advisory issued by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and international partners. 

In the campaign, CVE-2025-66376 was used to exploit a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting Zimbra's Classic Web Client. According to Proofpoint, the flaw was exploited as a zero-day attack for at least five months before a security patch was available in November 2025, identified by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 as CL-STA-1114. It is reported by the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) that the activity is referred to as Laundry Bear, while cybersecurity vendors continue to use different tracking names for the same or similar threats. 

The vulnerability allowed attackers to compromise users by merely opening or previewing a specially crafted HTML email in a Zimbra session that was vulnerable. Upon activating the malicious JavaScript within the authenticated webmail session, attackers gained access to the victim's mailbox without requiring additional interaction from them. 

The campaign has been described as a "half-click" phishing attack by security researchers, as the victim only needed to browse or open the malicious email in Zimbra's Classic Web Client to gain access. As opposed to conventional phishing campaigns that require the user to click links or download attachments, the exploit executed automatically when the email was rendered, which permitted the execution of arbitrary JavaScript within the authenticated webmail session. 

According to researchers, the ZimReaper malware harvested emails from the last 90 days, the organization's Global Address List, browser-stored passwords, details on Zimbra versions and recovery codes for two-factor authentication. Besides exfiltrating data through DNS queries, attackers also created app-specific passwords for retaining persistent access to compromised accounts even after password changes. 

In accordance with the advisory, the campaign targeted government, military, transportation, financial, and scientific organizations throughout NATO member countries, Ukraine, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa, and the United States. Researchers did not disclose the number or identities of affected organizations. The operation is believed to have been conducted in support of Russian intelligence objectives to gather sensitive information.

One of the longest-running known exploit campaigns against Zimbra was launched in July 2025, according to intelligence officials. It was publicly disclosed and patched in August 2025, making it one of the longest-running known exploit campaigns. Versions 10.0.18 and 10.1.13 of Zimbra addressed the vulnerability, while CISA added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog in March of 2026. 

According to security experts, applying a patch alone will not be sufficient if a system has been compromised since the update occurred. Although Zimbra released a fix in November 2025, the vulnerability was not assigned a CVE identifier until several weeks later and was publicly documented. It has been argued that the delayed disclosure may have contributed to organizations remaining unaware of the active threat while attackers continued to exploit vulnerable servers. 

In addition to upgrading to supported Zimbra releases, organizations are advised to reset passwords for accounts that may be affected, invalidate active sessions, generate 2FA recovery codes, remove unauthorized passwords for applications, and review logs for suspicious activities. Admins should also monitor for unusual DNS requests and inspect email correspondence for indicators associated with the exploit. 

Furthermore, Proofpoint researchers warned that other threat actors have continued exploiting unpatched Zimbra servers, indicating that the vulnerability is still appealing beyond the Russian espionage campaign that originally exploited it. Additionally, the researchers noted that although no evidence has been provided to suggest that the exploit itself was created using artificial intelligence, large language models may assist attackers in identifying future methods for bypassing security patches. 

Despite the absence of activity from the threat group since February 2026, Unit 42 and government agencies remain concerned that attackers continue to target Zimbra environments that are not patched. The advisory warns that Russian espionage actors are likely to continue pursuing email platforms to support intelligence-gathering operations. 

Several zero-day vulnerabilities have been exploited rapidly in this campaign, compromising trusted communication platforms. Organizations using Zimbra are encouraged to ensure that systems are fully patched, review accounts for signs of compromise, revoke unauthorized access, and continuously monitor their environments as a preventative measure against persistent espionage.
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Digital Security
AI Security AI technology API Banking Security Cyber Security Digital Payment Digital Security

Digital Banking’s Expanding Ecosystem Creates New Cybersecurity Challenges, Report Warns

 

Three Russian Nationals Indicted for Operating Bulletproof Hosting Network that Facilitated Ransomware, Phishing, and Malware Attacks that Generated Over $62 Million in Illicit Proceeds Three Russian nationals have been indicted by the United States for allegedly running a bulletproof hosting network that facilitated ransomware, phishing, malware, and other cybercrime activities that generated over $62 million in proceeds. 

The indictment was unsealed by the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio, after a seven-year-long investigation. Alexander Alexandrovich Volosovik, Kirill Andreevich Zatolokin, and Yulia Vladimirovna Pankova, and their companies Media Land LLC and ML.Cloud LLC, have been charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and wire fraud, money laundering, and enabling computer fraud. 

Media Land and ML.Cloud are alleged to have operated out of St. Petersburg, Russia, with servers located in China, Finland, the Netherlands, the United States, and other countries. The companies are accused of providing hosting services that enabled customers to carry out ransomware and malware attacks, phishing, domain name obfuscation, brute-force attacks, criminal marketplaces, and extortion using cryptocurrencies. Media Land and ML.Cloud are also accused of providing technical support that enabled threat actors to carry out attacks while evading detection. 

The companies are alleged to have targeted banks, hospitals, schools, government agencies, media organizations, and other entities in 21 states within the United States. Other victims are reported to be in Australia, Canada, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and other countries. In addition to the indictment, the United States Department of State has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information that could lead to the identification of foreign government officials involved in the companies’ activities. 

The reward is part of the Rewards for Justice program. The indictment followed the imposition of sanctions against Media Land, ML.Cloud, and the three Russians by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, for their alleged role in facilitating ransomware, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), and other cybercrime activities. The European Union also imposed sanctions against the firms and individuals in July 2026. 

The investigation into the companies was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division with the support of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control, and law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Authorities noted that bulletproof hosting companies provide essential infrastructure for ransomware, phishing, and malware-as-a-service criminal organizations and should be prioritized for investigation and disruption.
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Cyber Crime
AI Boko Haram Cambridge Study Chatbot Cyber Crime

Boko Haram Used AI Chatbots to Support Attacks, Cambridge Study Finds

 

Boko Haram has reportedly exploited mainstream AI chatbots to support terror operations, according to a Cambridge University study cited by the South China Morning Post. The research suggests the group used both US and Chinese AI tools for bomb-making, attack planning, propaganda, and day-to-day operational support. 

The study is based on interviews with 27 former Boko Haram members in northeast Nigeria, giving researchers a rare inside look at how the insurgent group adapted to new technology. Former fighters said AI tools were used to answer practical questions about weapons, tactics, surveillance, and movement, showing that the technology was not used only for messaging or recruitment. 

One of the most concerning findings is that Boko Haram reportedly organized internal AI training and created specialized units to help members use chatbot systems more effectively. The report says outside trainers, likely linked to the Islamic State network, helped members learn how to use AI tools with VPNs and encryption software, while also teaching ways to bypass built-in safety restrictions. 

Researchers said the group used AI for operational tasks such as bomb construction, improving attacks, and troubleshooting weapons. Former commanders described using chatbots to solve battlefield problems, including how to modify motorcycles for raids and how to increase the destructive power of improvised explosives. This suggests that extremist groups are no longer treating AI as a novelty, but as a repeatable support system for violence. 

The findings raise a broader security concern for governments and AI companies. If militant groups can regularly extract harmful guidance from consumer chatbots, then safety filters alone may not be enough to stop misuse. The study also strengthens calls for tighter international coordination, especially between the US and China, because the major AI systems being exploited are built in those two countries. As AI becomes more advanced and more accessible, the risk is not just misinformation or fraud, but the possibility that extremist groups will use it to become faster, better organized, and harder to stop.
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USA
Cyber Crime First VPN ransomware Sanctions USA

US Sanctions VPN Provider and Malware Service Operator Accused of Supporting Ransomware Campaigns

 



The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on a virtual private network (VPN) provider, its administrator and a Belarusian malware service operator, accusing them of supplying infrastructure and tools that helped ransomware groups carry out attacks against organisations across the United States.

The sanctions target First VPN Service (1VPNS), its administrator Dmytro Rashevskyi, and Belarusian national Yegeniy Vladimirovich Silayev. US officials say the three played key roles in supporting the wider ransomware ecosystem by providing services that allowed threat actors to conceal their identities, evade security tools and sustain cybercriminal operations.

According to the Treasury Department, 1VPNS has been operating since 2014 and openly marketed its services on cybercrime forums frequented by ransomware operators and other malicious actors. The VPN provider reportedly promoted a strict no-logs policy, claiming it did not retain records of users' online activity or identities and would not cooperate with law enforcement requests. Investigators allege these assurances made the service particularly attractive to cybercriminals seeking to obscure their activities.

Authorities also accuse Rashevskyi of using fraudulent identities, including the aliases "Maksim Sorin" and "Roman Chabanenko," to obtain internet infrastructure from service providers that would otherwise have declined to host the operation because of repeated abuse complaints. Officials say the use of false identities enabled the VPN service to continue operating despite growing scrutiny from infrastructure providers.

The sanctions follow a multinational law enforcement operation that dismantled 1VPNS earlier this year. In May, European authorities, working alongside the FBI's Boston Field Office, seized the service's website and infrastructure as part of Operation Saffron, a coordinated investigation led by French and Dutch law enforcement agencies.

The investigation into 1VPNS began in December 2021, when authorities successfully infiltrated the VPN provider's infrastructure. Investigators quietly gathered intelligence, including access to the service's customer database, before ultimately dismantling the operation after several years of surveillance and evidence collection.

During the coordinated enforcement action, authorities seized 33 servers spread across 27 countries, arrested the service's administrator and identified thousands of users allegedly linked to ransomware operations, online fraud and other forms of cybercrime. Europol previously stated that 1VPNS had appeared in nearly every major cybercrime investigation it supported, underscoring the service's alleged role within the broader cybercriminal ecosystem.

US officials said organisations affected by ransomware attacks involving infrastructure provided by 1VPNS included businesses, hospitals, financial institutions and municipal governments. These sectors have increasingly become frequent targets of ransomware campaigns because operational disruption often places significant pressure on victims to pay extortion demands.

In a separate but related action, OFAC also sanctioned Silayev for allegedly developing and selling cryptors, also known as crypters, to cybercriminals. Cryptors are specialised software tools designed to modify malware so that it appears different to security products, making malicious code significantly harder for antivirus software and endpoint detection systems to identify. While cryptors do not carry out attacks themselves, they are widely used to help ransomware and other malware bypass detection during deployment.

The Treasury Department estimates that ransomware operations using services provided by 1VPNS and malware protected by Silayev's cryptors have collectively contributed to billions of dollars in losses suffered by US businesses and operators of critical infrastructure.

In announcing the sanctions, State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott said the designated individuals supplied ransomware groups with services that concealed their identities, disguised malicious software and helped attackers avoid detection, ultimately enabling campaigns responsible for billions of dollars in damages. Pigott added that the United States and its international partners are increasingly focusing not only on ransomware operators themselves but also on the infrastructure providers and service suppliers that make these attacks possible.

The sanctions were coordinated with the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as part of a broader international effort to disrupt cybercriminal networks. Under OFAC sanctions, any property or financial interests belonging to the designated individuals or entities that fall under US jurisdiction are blocked. In addition, US individuals and organisations are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the sanctioned parties.

The action forms part of a wider strategy aimed at disrupting the ransomware supply chain by targeting the businesses and technical service providers that support cybercriminal operations. Rather than focusing exclusively on the attackers who deploy ransomware, governments are increasingly using financial sanctions, infrastructure seizures and international law enforcement cooperation to dismantle the broader ecosystem that enables these campaigns.

The sanctions were announced as the European Union and the United Kingdom also introduced coordinated sanctions against dozens of Russian individuals and entities accused of supporting a network of hacking groups responsible for cyberattacks across Europe, reflecting continued international efforts to increase pressure on organisations and individuals believed to facilitate malicious cyber activity.

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USDC
Arbitrum blockchain crypto security DeFi attack Ethereum Ostium exploit Ostium hack Technology USDC

Ostium Confirms $23.75 Million Vault Exploit After Off-Chain Price Feed Compromise

 

Ostium, a decentralized trading platform built on the Arbitrum blockchain, has confirmed that hackers stole $23.75 million from its liquidity provider vault after compromising the platform’s off-chain price feed infrastructure.

In an update shared by the company, Ostium explained that the attackers submitted fraudulent price reports disguised as legitimate data. Using the manipulated pricing information, they quickly opened and closed oversized trading positions to generate illicit profits from the liquidity provider’s vault.

The company emphasized that user collateral remained secure as it is stored in a separate smart contract that was not impacted by the attack. Existing trading positions also remain intact and have not been liquidated.

Ostium allows users to trade both traditional and cryptocurrency-linked assets directly from their crypto wallets. The platform relies on external price feeds for market data, while all transactions are settled using USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.

The platform initially disclosed the security incident on July 16, announcing a temporary suspension of trading. At the time, it said that relevant authorities had been informed and that efforts were underway to monitor the movement of the stolen funds.

Providing further details, Ostium said the attackers exploited vulnerabilities in the off-chain infrastructure responsible for supplying market prices to the protocol. The manipulated price feeds enabled them to siphon funds from the liquidity provider vault without affecting trader-held collateral.

According to blockchain security firm PeckShieldAlert, the exploiter converted the stolen USDC into 12,080 Ethereum (ETH) before depositing 10,540 ETH into Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service commonly used to obscure transaction trails.

Ostium reiterated that leveraged trading positions are maintained in a separate smart contract, ensuring that customer collateral was not compromised. Although active long and short positions remain recorded on the platform, they are currently frozen following the suspension of trading, which occurred within an hour of the first exploit transaction.

The company said it is focused on securing the compromised infrastructure and evaluating recovery options for affected liquidity providers.

Five days after the breach, trading on Ostium remains suspended. The platform has stated that users will receive at least 24 hours' notice before trading resumes. Once operations restart, all existing positions will be marked to the reopening price.

Ostium also confirmed that it will release a detailed post-mortem report outlining the technical aspects of the exploit in the coming days.
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Zero-Day Vulnerability
AI cybersecurity AI Security Testing Autonomous AI Cyber defense Cyber Security ExploitGym GPT-5.6 Sol Hugging Face OpenAI Zero-Day Vulnerability

OpenAI Discloses AI-Driven Breach During Cybersecurity Testing


An internal cybersecurity evaluation to evaluate Hugging Face's offensive cyber capabilities allowed two of the company's advanced AI models to hack into the organization's infrastructure autonomously. These models include GPT-5.6 Sol and a more advanced pre-release model. 

One of the first publicly reported cases of autonomous AI systems escaping a controlled testing environment and reaching the real-world production network without human intervention is this incident, which highlights a scenario cybersecurity researchers have long predicted will eventually occur. 

When the models were being tested against ExploitGym, a public benchmark for AI cybersecurity, the incident occurred. It was determined that Hugging Face's production systems could be used to obtain test answers directly, and the models attempted to obtain the answer directly by compromising the platform instead of solving the benchmark using conventional reasoning. 

During an internal evaluation aimed at measuring OpenAI's advanced model cyber capabilities, the incident occurred. Research participants intentionally disabled the cyber safety restrictions associated with the models as part of the assessment to assess their maximum offensive potential under tightly controlled conditions. Although the testing environment was sandboxed, limited network access was provided by a package registry cache that was internally hosted for software dependency installation. 

OpenAI reported that the AI agents identified and chained together several vulnerabilities, including a previously unknown zero-day vulnerability in the package registry cache proxy. Using stolen credentials, they were able to escalate privileges, move laterally, and eventually reach a research node connected to the Internet. As a result of the exploited zero-day vulnerability, the company informed the affected vendor that it had been notified. 

Based on OpenAI's findings, the models expended significant computational resources in escaping the testing environment before achieving internet connectivity. Once online, they determined Hugging Face could host datasets, AI models, and potentially ExploitGym benchmark solutions. Following this, the models switched their objectives from completing the benchmark independently to acquiring answers by attacking the external infrastructure directly. 

An autonomous artificial intelligence agent system breached Hugging Face's production infrastructure last week, according to a report published last week. It was determined in the investigation that the agent exploited two code execution vulnerabilities by exploiting malicious datasets, allowing it to execute code on processing workers and steal credentials for cloud and cluster services. This resulted in the system being able to move between several internal clusters laterally. 

In response to the anomalous activity observed by OpenAI's security team during the evaluation, Hugging Face contacted the company immediately after the external activity was identified. The two organizations are currently conducting a joint forensic investigation to determine the complete sequence of events and assess the vulnerability involved in the incident. 

In addition, the company indicated that the AI agent executed thousands of automated actions across numerous short-lived sandbox environments, establishing self-migrating command-and-control systems through public services. Hugging Face noted during containment efforts that some of the defensive AI models initially deployed were governed by built-in safety guardrails, whereas the attacking autonomous agent operated without these restrictions. 

The CEO of Hugging Face, Clément Delangue, has stated that despite the sophistication of the incident, no evidence of malicious intent has been found by OpenAI, and emphasized that the two organizations have been working in close collaboration throughout the investigation. In the wake of the incident, OpenAI announced it had strengthened its internal evaluation safeguards to prevent AI models from attempting the same behaviors in the future. 

Additionally, the company is considering additional protections for high-capability models utilized in cybersecurity research. In response to the incident, OpenAI has increased infrastructure controls that were used during internal model evaluations, even at the cost of slowing research as a result. A zero-day vulnerability has been responsibly disclosed by the company, remediation is being conducted with the affected vendor, and security monitoring and containment measures have been implemented to ensure future cyber capability testing is secure. 

As part of its defense defense capabilities, Hugging Face was also granted access to OpenAI's Trusted Access program. In its description of the incident, OpenAI describes it as the first example of an autonomous AI conducting a multi-stage cyberattack against a real-world infrastructure. It was noted in the company's report that the findings underscored the need to strengthen safeguards, containment mechanisms and monitoring since frontier AI models are becoming increasingly capable of identifying and exploiting previously unknown attack paths without access to source code.

According to experts, this event represents a significant milestone for AI cybersecurity research and emphasizes the increasing importance of developing defensive measures alongside increasingly powerful AI technologies. There is growing concern that today's powerful AI agents may one day be capable of committing long-running, multi-stage cyberattacks on real-world targets, which underscores the urgent need for stronger AI safety and cybersecurity safeguards. 

A number of recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities are transforming the cybersecurity landscape at an astonishing speed. As autonomous AI systems become more capable of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities, organizations will need to strengthen security safeguards, monitor continuously, and collaborate in order to ensure these technologies strengthen cyber defense without posing new risks.
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financial services
AI Risks AI technology API Banking Security Cyber Security Digital Payment Digital Risk financial services

Digital Banking’s Expanding Ecosystem Creates New Cybersecurity Challenges, Report Warns

 

The rapid development of digital banking services and financial technologies is resulting in an unprecedented cybersecurity paradigm, which the current security posture is not equipped to handle,” says the report titled ‘Digital Threat Report 2025-26’, complied by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), CERT-In, CSIRT-Fin, and cybersecurity firm SISA. “The cyber security landscape for banking is shifting due to an increasing reliance on connected financial systems, embedded finance, artificial intelligence (AI), real-time payments, APIs, and third-party services,” says the report. 

“Unlike isolated legacy banking systems, where the attack surface was limited to the core banking application, contemporary interconnected systems allow attackers to target relationships rather than the bank itself”. It further says that modern cyber threats are now exploiting the trust surface between systems rather than infiltrating individual institutions and organizations. “Modern cyber threats are targeting the biometric onboarding, partner applications, AI-driven payments, processing and settlement flows, APIs, programmable finance, and connected payment ecosystems. 

The attack surface has broadened with the interconnectedness of finance and the involvement of numerous entities in delivering financial services,” the report says. According to the report, the cyber security challenges for the banking sector and the financial ecosystem at large are also exacerbated by a lack of harmonization in regulatory oversight; hence, a regulatory lag is allowing threat actors to expand their reach. 
“Banking identities in digital payment systems are the cornerstone of contemporary finance,” the report states. “An attacker compromising an individual’s digital identity would be able to threaten, disrupt, and impact multiple financial accounts, applications, and platforms rather than individual banking applications as traditionally known. 

Attackers could also compromise the integrity of compliance monitoring systems, masking their actions or suppressing critical security alerts by modifying logs or monitoring tools.” “The traditional network perimeter is no longer the exclusive domain of a bank or financial institution,” the report adds. 

“Banks should transition from a mindset of protecting the network to securing the extended, distributed ecosystem comprising interconnected platforms, partnerships, APIs, cloud infrastructures, AI, and identity management.” The report says that as digital finance grows more sophisticated, organizations need to rethink their security approaches and strategies to account for the dynamic and distributed nature of such a platform.
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technology
AI Anthropic Banks Canada Claude Mythos Financial Institutions technology

Claude Mythos Just Caught the Attention of Canada's Banking Regulator

 



Canada's federal banking regulator has privately warned financial institutions that advances in frontier artificial intelligence are shrinking the time available to detect and contain software vulnerabilities, according to an internal email that specifically identified Anthropic's Claude Mythos, an uncommon move for a regulator that typically avoids naming individual technologies.

The email, sent on April 29 by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), was addressed to chief technology officers, chief information security officers and chief risk officers at federally regulated banks and insurance companies. Obtained by Reuters through Canada's Access to Information Act, the communication described advanced AI models such as Anthropic's Claude Mythos as accelerating the pace at which cyber risks can emerge, prompting institutions to strengthen the speed of risk identification, mitigation and incident response.

Unlike most regulatory guidance, which generally refers to broad categories such as generative AI or emerging technologies, the OSFI email explicitly referenced Claude Mythos by name. Financial regulators typically adopt technology-neutral language to ensure guidance remains applicable as technologies evolve, making the direct reference to a specific frontier AI model particularly notable.

According to the released correspondence, OSFI warned that advanced AI systems are compressing the timeframe available for organizations to respond to newly identified vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. The regulator indicated that the bulletin accompanying the email outlined sound practices that federally regulated financial institutions could adopt to improve the speed and effectiveness of identifying, mitigating and responding to cyber risks.

However, portions of the document released under Canada's Access to Information Act were redacted, leaving many of the regulator's recommended practices undisclosed. While the details of the guidance remain partially withheld, the available sections reveal OSFI's assessment that rapidly advancing AI capabilities are challenging long-standing assumptions underpinning vulnerability management.

For decades, many cybersecurity programs have operated on the expectation that defenders would have days or even weeks to evaluate newly disclosed vulnerabilities, test patches and deploy mitigations before attackers developed reliable exploits. Frontier AI models capable of rapidly analyzing software code and identifying exploitable weaknesses could substantially reduce that window, increasing pressure on organizations to accelerate patch management and defensive operations.

The concern is particularly relevant for financial institutions, many of which continue to operate complex legacy infrastructure supporting critical banking services. Core banking platforms often consist of decades-old software integrated with newer digital systems, making security updates and vulnerability remediation significantly more complex than in less regulated technology environments. A shorter interval between vulnerability discovery and exploitation therefore presents operational challenges for institutions responsible for maintaining highly available financial services.

Claude Mythos has drawn attention within the cybersecurity community for its reported ability to assist with sophisticated vulnerability research and exploit development in controlled environments. Anthropic introduced the model through Project Glasswing, a restricted-access initiative designed to provide selected organizations with advanced cybersecurity capabilities for defensive research rather than broad public deployment. Access to the model remains limited and subject to eligibility requirements established by Anthropic.

The timing of OSFI's communication coincided with a series of regulatory discussions surrounding frontier AI models. Earlier in April, senior executives from Canadian banks reportedly met with regulators to discuss the implications of Claude Mythos. Around the same period, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and then-Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also convened bank chief executives to examine the potential cybersecurity implications associated with increasingly capable AI systems.

International regulators have since demonstrated similar interest. Authorities at the European Central Bank and the Bank of England have reportedly discussed the implications of frontier AI for financial sector resilience, while Australia's corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has confirmed that it is monitoring developments related to the technology.

Following questions from Reuters regarding the internal email, OSFI subsequently published a public bulletin addressing the governance of generative and agentic artificial intelligence. The regulator reiterated that its supervisory approach focuses on how federally regulated financial institutions identify, govern and manage risks arising from AI adoption rather than regulating individual AI models themselves.

"Our focus is not the technology itself, but how federally regulated financial institutions govern and manage the risks associated with its use," OSFI said in its public statement.

Nevertheless, the regulator's internal correspondence referred to Anthropic's Claude Mythos by name on multiple occasions, distinguishing it from the more general language typically used in regulatory communications concerning emerging technologies.

OSFI oversees Canada's federally regulated banks, insurance companies and pension plans, with responsibilities that include monitoring financial stability risks arising from cybersecurity, foreign interference, geopolitical developments and technological change. The emergence of highly capable AI models has increasingly placed these categories of risk in closer alignment as governments evaluate both the opportunities and security implications associated with frontier AI.

While the Canadian government has confirmed that it has access to Claude Mythos, it remains unclear whether any of Canada's major financial institutions currently participate in Anthropic's controlled-access Project Glasswing program. Several banks declined to comment publicly on whether they have access to the model, referring questions instead to the Canadian Bankers Association.

In response, the Canadian Bankers Association said member institutions have invested substantially in protecting Canada's financial system and continue to comply with OSFI's cybersecurity risk management and incident reporting requirements, without addressing whether banks currently have access to the frontier AI model.

At the same time, Canada's largest banks continue expanding their AI strategies across customer services, internal operations and software development. Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank and Bank of Montreal have outlined initiatives aimed at integrating AI into business operations while reducing reliance on external technology vendors. Scotiabank, CIBC and National Bank have also disclosed AI-related programs intended to improve operational efficiency and customer services.

Bruce Ross, Royal Bank of Canada's Group Head of Artificial Intelligence, said in June that models such as Claude Mythos are changing the cyber threat environment by enabling exploit code to emerge much sooner after vulnerabilities are discovered. He said the bank's response has focused on strengthening AI-powered defensive capabilities to counter increasingly sophisticated attacks.

Anthropic has also expanded Project Glasswing in recent months, reporting that participating organizations have collectively identified more than 10,000 high- and critical-severity software vulnerabilities using the platform's advanced cybersecurity capabilities. The company has positioned the initiative as a defensive research program intended to improve software security while maintaining controlled access to highly capable AI systems.


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YouTube
Cyber Security Eating Disorders Online Harm Algorithm Risk Teen Safety YouTube

YouTube Faces Backlash Over Eating Disorder Recommendations

 

YouTube is still facing criticism over the way its recommendation system serves harmful eating-disorder content to teenagers, despite stronger online safety rules introduced in the UK. New research cited by the BBC says the platform continues to surface videos linked to thinspiration, extreme dieting, and body-image harm in its “Up Next” recommendations. 

The findings matter because teenagers are especially vulnerable to algorithmic feeds that can reinforce unhealthy behavior. According to the report, around one in 10 recommended videos in the study contained material tied to eating disorders or extreme weight-loss messaging, even though the overall situation has improved compared with two years ago. 

The BBC says the issue comes at a time when platforms are under legal pressure to do more. Since July 2025, the UK’s Online Safety Act has required sites such as YouTube to protect under-18s from dangerous content, including material that encourages self-harm, suicide, and eating disorders. 

Researchers and campaigners argue that the main weakness is not just user-uploaded content, but the logic of recommendation systems themselves. In the examples described by the BBC, YouTube still suggested videos promoting unsafe calorie restriction and content that glamorized being underweight, even as the company removed the specific videos after they were flagged.

The incident underlines a bigger challenge for social platforms: moderation alone is not enough if algorithms keep pushing harmful material back into teens’ feeds. The BBC report also notes that regulators and advocacy groups want stronger protections, while YouTube says it has taken down the videos identified in the report for violating community guidelines.
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Online Privacy
Chat Control CSAM scanning Cyber Security EU surveillance Online Privacy

EU’s ‘Chat Control 1.0’ Revived, Rekindling Privacy and Surveillance Fears

 

The European Union has reignited a fierce debate over privacy and surveillance with the revival of its so‑called “Chat Control 1.0” framework. The measure restores a legal basis for major technology companies to voluntarily scan users’ private communications for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), months after the original temporary regime expired in April 2026. Lawmakers say the goal is to give platforms legal cover to detect and report CSAM, while critics warn it normalizes mass scanning of personal messages under the banner of child protection. 

The turning point came with a European Parliament vote on 9 July, which, in procedural terms, allowed the interim regulation to return almost by default. A majority of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) present actually voted to stop the framework, but they fell short of the absolute majority threshold needed to block it. As a result, Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, informally known as Chat Control 1.0, remains in force and again derogates from ePrivacy rules so that online services can scan communications for known and new CSAM and grooming attempts.

Under the renewed framework, scanning remains voluntary rather than mandatory, but the legal door is fully open for large platforms to resume or expand automated analysis of messages, images, and other content sent via their services. Email providers, mainstream chat platforms, gaming networks, and social networking services are among those potentially covered. Companies that choose to participate can detect, report, and remove suspected CSAM without needing a specific warrant for each account, although law enforcement bodies themselves still require judicial authorization for targeted surveillance activities. 

One important limitation is that the revived rules do not extend to end‑to‑end encrypted (E2EE) messaging services such as Signal and, under current language, other providers using comparable encryption. That exemption is seen as a partial victory for digital rights advocates and cryptographers, who argue that any obligation to scan encrypted chats would undermine the core security guarantees of E2EE. However, opponents of Chat Control insist that even voluntary scanning on non‑encrypted platforms creates a dangerous precedent for generalized monitoring of interpersonal communications. 

The renewed validity of Chat Control 1.0 runs until 2028 or until a permanent framework, widely referred to as Chat Control 2.0, is agreed and adopted. In the meantime, the EU faces a difficult balancing act between aggressively combating online child abuse and upholding fundamental rights to privacy and confidentiality in digital communications. The outcome of this debate will shape how far governments can push platform‑level surveillance in the name of safety, not just in Europe but as a global policy benchmark.
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Google security
Censorship CloudFlare Content Censorship copyright protection Cyber Security Digital Rights DNS Blocking Google security

French Court Orders Google and Cloudflare to Block Piracy Sites, Sparking Internet Freedom Debate

 

A French court ruled that upstream internet intermediaries, including Google and Cloudflare, must block access to certain websites engaged in piracy and illegal streaming upon the request of the sports rights holders. The ruling holds intermediaries responsible for the proliferation of illicit streams despite their efforts not to host such services due to their ability to use alternative domains, offshore hosting, and redundant servers. 

Google Challenges the Decision as Ineffective, With the Ability to Circumvent Being “Near Certain Death” Google has filed a complaint against the decision, arguing that the measures, including DNS filtering, IP blocking, and blocking virtual private networks (VPNs), are ineffective and pose a threat to the free core internet. 

The company asserted that the recommended methods “would be largely ineffective” and “risk stifling legitimate online services,” noting that circumvention techniques would allow illicit sites to continue operating with relative ease. The company highlighted the possibility of overblocking, with numerous reputable services and websites being impacted since multiple domains or DNS providers host the same content. 

Google provided examples of services that were previously blocked in France, including Google Drive, Amnesty International, UNICEF, the Australian Senate, and the Stanford Law Review. Electronic Frontier Foundation Warns About Loss of Internet Freedom and Big Tech Control, Calling the Ruling an Anti-Technology Fundamentalist EFF has also criticized the decision, arguing that the ruling’s broad language could jeopardize internet freedom by encouraging the use of major technology companies as censors. The organization has repeatedly opposed indiscriminate filtering of disallowed content, arguing that it suppresses lawful speech. 

Additionally, the Electronic Frontier Foundation warned that the ruling set the stage for even more restrictive content moderation policies in the broader technology industry. Similar Upstream Content Blocking Rules Could Be Debated in Congress The intensified fight against piracy has seen similar proposals introduced in Congress. In the United States, several lawmakers are considering legislation that would require internet intermediaries to adopt similar policies regarding copyright infringement. 

The issue has gained momentum as the use of unlawful streaming services has skyrocketed throughout the country. Increased costs, including hikes in subscription services, advertisement, and the segmentation of works across different platforms, have prompted consumers to resort to illegal streaming sites. Technology companies have been lobbying to stop broad measures that could impact the entire internet core while copyright holders push for stronger actions against rampant infringement.
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RaaS
ALPHV BlackCat Ransomware Cyber Attacks DigitalMint FBI RaaS

Former DigitalMint negotiator sentenced to 70 months for conspiring with BlackCat ransomware affiliates

 



A former ransomware negotiator who was hired to help organizations respond to cyber extortion incidents has been sentenced to 70 months in federal prison after admitting he secretly worked with BlackCat ransomware affiliates, using confidential client information to increase ransom payments while participating in additional ransomware attacks.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Angelo Martino, 41, abused his position at incident response firm DigitalMint by sharing privileged information obtained during ransomware negotiations with BlackCat, also tracked as ALPHV. Prosecutors said the information allowed the ransomware group to negotiate from a stronger position while victims remained unaware that details intended to protect them had been disclosed to the attackers.

As part of his role, Martino managed active ransomware cases for organizations seeking assistance after cyberattacks. His work gave him access to confidential information that companies typically share only with trusted negotiators, including cyber insurance policy limits, internal assessments of how much they were prepared to pay, and negotiation strategies developed during incident response.

According to court documents, Martino began providing that information to BlackCat operators in April 2023. Prosecutors said he communicated with the group through multiple channels connected to BlackCat's extortion platform. While one conversation took place through the standard negotiation interface used during ransomware incidents, he also relied on an intermediary chat feature within the group's panel and the encrypted messaging application Tox to exchange information directly with the attackers outside the victims' view.

Federal prosecutors said those private communications were intended to help BlackCat maximize ransom demands. In exchange for sharing confidential information, including insurance coverage limits and the negotiating positions of victim organizations, Martino received a portion of the cryptocurrency paid by ransomware victims.

The Justice Department said five organizations whose cases were handled by Martino collectively paid more than $75 million to BlackCat affiliates between April and September 2023. Prosecutors argued that access to confidential negotiation data enabled the attackers to demand higher payments than they otherwise might have secured. The affected organizations operated in the financial services, healthcare, retail, hospitality, and nonprofit sectors, with several experiencing operational disruption alongside the financial losses associated with the attacks.

Investigators also determined that Martino later became an active participant in BlackCat's ransomware operation. In May 2023, he obtained affiliate access to the ransomware-as-a-service platform, permissions generally granted to trusted partners responsible for compromising victim networks and deploying the malware.

Court filings state that Martino shared those affiliate credentials with Kevin Martin and Ryan Goldberg, both cybersecurity professionals. The three men subsequently carried out additional ransomware attacks and agreed to divide ransom proceeds among themselves while paying 20% of each payment to BlackCat's administrators in exchange for continued access to the group's malware and extortion infrastructure.

One attack targeted a medical device manufacturer that ultimately paid approximately $1.2 million in ransom. Other organizations refused to pay but still incurred costs associated with business interruption, system recovery, and incident response following the attacks.

Prosecutors said Martino received millions of dollars in cryptocurrency through the conspiracy. Federal investigators recovered and seized more than $10 million in assets connected to the case, although authorities said some proceeds had already been used to purchase residential properties, vehicles, and a boat. As part of his sentence, Martino must forfeit assets linked to the criminal activity and pay 10% of his future income following his release from prison.

Before sentencing, Martino requested a reduced 24-month prison term, citing his cooperation with investigators during the prosecution of his co-conspirators. Martin and Goldberg were each sentenced to four years in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty for their involvement in the BlackCat attacks.

"Angelo Martino sold out the very victims he was hired to represent, handing their confidential negotiating positions to BlackCat actors to drive up ransoms and enrich himself," FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman said following the sentencing.

BlackCat operates as a ransomware-as-a-service platform, providing malware and extortion infrastructure to affiliates that compromise organizations and share a percentage of ransom payments with the group's administrators. The FBI has linked the operation to more than 1,000 victims and at least $300 million in ransom payments through September 2023. Although law enforcement disrupted parts of the group's infrastructure and previously released a decryptor for some victims, affiliates continued launching attacks after those actions.

DigitalMint said it was unaware of Martino's conduct until it was contacted by the Department of Justice and described itself as another victim of the scheme. The company said the employees involved were terminated immediately after the allegations came to light and that it fully cooperated with investigators throughout the criminal investigation.

The company also said Martino deliberately bypassed internal safeguards by communicating with threat actors through unauthorized channels that were not visible within its monitoring systems. According to DigitalMint, its security controls aligned with industry practices, but the unauthorized communications were intentionally concealed from the company's oversight mechanisms.

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UK Cyber Sanctions
cyber espionage Cyber Security France Cyberattack FSB Cyber Operations Germany Cyber Response Russia Cyber Campaign Russia Sanctions State-Sponsored Cyberattacks UK Cyber Sanctions

France, Germany Summon Russian Envoys Over Alleged Cyber Espionage Campaign


France and Germany have announced diplomatic action against Russia following allegations that a coordinated cyber espionage and sabotage campaign target multiple European countries. In the coming days, the Foreign Minister said France would summon the Russian ambassador to Paris and impose sanctions on individuals and organizations thought to be involved. 


In Barrot's view, the alleged operation targeted more than a dozen countries, including France, and was orchestrated by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The alleged operation was allegedly intended to conduct both espionage and sabotage across multiple European nations, according to Barrot. The campaign is believed to have targeted approximately 12 countries and is attributed to the coordination of cyber activities by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). 

During an interview with French broadcaster BFM TV, Barrot described the operation as a multi-national cyber campaign aimed at both espionage and sabotage. Several Russian individuals and entities are expected to be sanctioned by France for their alleged involvement. The announcement comes at a time when European governments are intensifying efforts to counter cyber threats related to Russia, exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict. 

On Monday, Germany summoned the Russian ambassador as well after joining other European nations in condemning the alleged cyber activities. According to a statement from the German foreign ministry, cyberattacks targeting Germany, European Union member states, and Ukraine are unacceptable and will be retaliated against, including additional sanctions. 

In recent years, French authorities have repeatedly accused Moscow of conducting cyberattacks against the nation's government and public institutions. While geopolitical tensions remain high, these allegations add to a series of cyber-related disputes between Russia and several European nations. As the European Union is preparing its 21st sanctions package against Moscow as a result of the war in Ukraine, diplomatic actions are coming in conjunction with the finalization of the 21st sanctions package. It is also being discussed whether the sanctions list should be expanded to include additional entities and individuals allegedly involved in cyber operations and other conflict-related activities. 

A number of France's institutions have been hacked in recent years, which makes the latest accusations part of a broader pattern of increasing cyber tensions between Russian and European governments. As well as this, the United Kingdom announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russian cyber networks. 24 individuals and entities alleged to be involved in cyber and hybrid operations linked to Russian intelligence services have been restricted by the UK government. 

Senior officials from Russian military intelligence (GRU), such as Vyacheslav Stafeyev, Ivan Senin, and Ivan Kasyanenko, have been sanctioned. According to British authorities, the measures aim to disrupt cybercriminal networks and proxy groups accused of engaging in malicious cyber activities aimed at undermining security and stability across Europe. 

France has not disclosed technical details about the alleged cyber campaign, nor has it provided evidence publicly linking the attacks to Russia. The latest allegations have not been responded to by Moscow. The coordinated actions by France, Germany, the European Union, and the United Kingdom demonstrate the growing efforts of the international community to deter state-sponsored cyberattacks through targeted sanctions and diplomatic pressure.
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User Privacy
Cyber Security Instagram AI Meta Muse User consent User Privacy

Meta’s Muse AI: How Instagram Users Can Opt Out After Privacy Backlash

 

Meta’s short‑lived Muse Image AI on Instagram let users remix public photos into AI images by default, triggering a storm of privacy and consent backlash before Meta pulled the feature. Meta’s Muse Image tool was designed to turn Instagram into a generative AI playground, allowing people to create new images using photos from any public account. 

By tagging a public handle in an AI prompt, users could generate stylised visuals that borrowed someone else’s likeness or feed without ever asking permission. Meta framed Muse as a creative upgrade, promising strong safety guardrails and quick controls for those who wanted to opt out. But that framing collapsed almost immediately once people realised just how much quiet data sharing sat behind the feature.  

The core problem was consent: adult users with public profiles were opted in automatically, with no upfront notice or explicit choice. Anyone could be remixed into AI art by strangers simply because their account wasn’t private. Reports showed Muse could generate images of people who had never interacted with the tool at all, including photos featuring children who obviously couldn’t consent to such reuse. To make matters worse, Meta’s own policy confirmed users would not be notified when their content was used in AI features, keeping the whole process largely invisible.  

Creators, unions and privacy advocates quickly denounced the opt‑out model as an inversion of basic digital rights. Hollywood unions and talent agencies warned that Muse normalised non‑consensual manipulation of someone’s image and could undermine control over professional likeness and copyrighted work. Digital rights groups called the rollout a “privacy landmine”, pointing to existing harms from deepfakes and non‑consensual AI imagery elsewhere on the internet. Their argument was simple: protection should be the default, and any AI reuse of identity should require explicit, informed opt‑in.  

Under pressure, Meta stressed that private accounts and users under 18 were automatically excluded from Muse, and that any public user could disable the feature with a few taps in Instagram’s Sharing and Reuse settings. Users could also flip their profile to private to lock themselves out of AI remixes entirely. But critics noted these controls were buried, easy to miss and did nothing to remove AI images already generated from someone’s posts. For many, this reinforced the sense that meaningful control arrived only after the data had already been exploited.  

Within days of launch, the backlash forced Meta to pause and then remove the Instagram implementation of Muse Image, admitting the feature “missed the mark” on user expectations. The episode has become a case study in how not to roll out AI features on social platforms, especially when they touch identity and consent. It underscores a wider shift in user sentiment: AI creativity is welcome, but only when people remain clearly informed, empowered and in control of how their content trains or feeds the machine.
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Technology
AI music labels AI-assisted music AI-generated music Apple Music Deezer Generative AI IFPI music streaming RIAA Spotify Technology

Music Industry Introduces Voluntary AI Labels to Improve Transparency in Recordings

 

Several leading music industry organisations have introduced a new voluntary labelling framework for recordings created using generative artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to improve transparency for listeners and encourage wider adoption across the global music ecosystem. 

The initiative, announced on July 10, is backed by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Recording Academy (Grammys), and six other industry bodies. 

Highlighting the need for greater transparency, the chief executives of IFPI and RIAA said in a joint statement, "Fans want to know whether and how generative AI has been used. These labels will provide an immediately understandable and easily scalable approach to transparency." 

The framework introduces two categories of labels. The first, "AI-generated," is intended for recordings where artificial intelligence is responsible for generating the entire recording or the majority of its creative elements. This includes music created entirely from AI prompts, as well as tracks featuring AI-generated lead vocals or key instrumental components. 

The second category, "AI-assisted," applies to recordings that remain primarily human-created while incorporating certain AI-generated expressive elements. Under this classification, lead vocals and primary instrumental performances must still be delivered by human artists. 

The organisations said the voluntary system is designed for broad global adoption and could eventually be implemented by music streaming platforms to provide listeners with greater clarity about how AI is used in music production. 

The announcement comes as streaming platforms continue to experience a rapid increase in AI-generated music. Deezer currently identifies AI-generated tracks on its platform and recently reported that nearly half of all new uploads contain AI-generated content. In June, the company also introduced an AI music detection tool that it claims delivers 99.8% accuracy. 

Earlier this year, an Apple Music executive told Billboard that more than one-third of newly uploaded tracks on the platform were created entirely using AI. 

Responding to the announcement, the Digital Media Association (DiMA), which represents streaming services including Apple Music, Amazon Music and Spotify, welcomed the move and said it looks forward to receiving more detailed AI-related metadata to improve transparency for listeners. 

DiMA CEO Graham Davies said, "DiMA has long advocated for the creators, owners, and distributors of music to provide accurate and timely metadata on all music released and distributed to streaming services."  

Spotify has also been expanding its efforts to address AI-generated content. In April, the company introduced its "Verified by Spotify" label to help users identify authentic artists, following earlier initiatives aimed at improving AI disclosure and preventing impersonation. 

Spotify declined to comment on the latest industry initiative, while Apple Music and the Digital Media Association did not immediately respond to media queries.
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Technology
Bitcoin cryptocurrency Cryptography Galaxy Digital Quantum Advisory Quantum Innovation Research Technology

Galaxy Digital launches $5M initiative to boost Bitcoin against future quantum computing threats

 

Galaxy Digital has announced a new initiative aimed at helping the Bitcoin ecosystem prepare for the long-term cybersecurity risks posed by unprecedented advances in quantum computing, committing up to $5 million in funding for developers and researchers working on technologies designed to safeguard the cryptocurrency's cryptographic foundations. 

The announcement comes as governments, standards bodies and private-sector organizations increasingly accelerate efforts to prepare critical digital infrastructure for a future in which sufficiently powerful quantum computers could undermine many of today's encryption methods. 

The crypto financial services firm said applications are now open for its newly established Galaxy Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative, which is designed to support the development of practical tools and research that could help Bitcoin transition toward quantum-resistant security over time. 

According to Galaxy, grant funding will prioritize several areas considered essential for Bitcoin's long-term resilience. These include the development of post-quantum digital signature schemes capable of replacing today's cryptographic mechanisms, tools that would help cryptocurrency wallet providers and custodians migrate users to new security standards, formal security audits of proposed implementations, and technical work evaluating quantum-resistant transaction proposals before they are introduced to the Bitcoin network. Rather than distributing funds upfront, Galaxy said grants will be awarded individually and released as development milestones are achieved. 

The initiative extends beyond developer funding. Galaxy is also establishing a dedicated research program that will publish ongoing analysis examining quantum-related risks to Bitcoin while tracking emerging mitigation strategies. In addition, the company has formed a Quantum Advisory Council consisting of specialists in quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography to evaluate grant proposals and provide technical guidance for future research efforts. 

Galaxy said it also hopes other organizations across the cryptocurrency ecosystem will participate by contributing funding, collaborating on research, or supporting open-source development that could accelerate Bitcoin's eventual transition to quantum-resistant cryptography. 

Bitcoin currently relies on elliptic curve cryptography to verify ownership of wallets and authenticate transactions. Existing classical computers are considered incapable of breaking these cryptographic protections within any practical timeframe. However, cybersecurity researchers have long warned that sufficiently advanced fault-tolerant quantum computers could eventually execute algorithms capable of recovering private keys from exposed public keys, potentially allowing attackers to forge transactions and steal digital assets if the network remains unchanged. 

Although experts broadly agree that no quantum computer currently possesses the capability to compromise Bitcoin's cryptography, many researchers argue that preparations must begin well before such systems become available. Unlike conventional software updates, major protocol changes within Bitcoin require extensive technical review, community consensus, testing and gradual deployment across a decentralized global network, making the transition to post-quantum protections a multi-year effort. 

Industry concerns have also been reinforced by research estimating the potential scale of future exposure. CryptoQuant has projected that approximately 6.9 million bitcoin, valued at roughly $461 billion at current market prices, could become vulnerable if quantum computers eventually develop the ability to defeat Bitcoin's existing cryptographic protections before the network adopts stronger security mechanisms. While researchers do not consider such a scenario imminent, they increasingly describe proactive migration planning as essential because of the time required to update wallets, infrastructure and network software. 

Preparations for the post-quantum era are also gaining momentum outside the cryptocurrency industry. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology finalized its first post-quantum cryptography standards in 2024, providing organizations with standardized algorithms intended to replace vulnerable public-key cryptography as quantum technology advances. 

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Commerce is investing more than $2 billion through the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen domestic quantum computing capabilities. The funding package spans nine companies working across multiple quantum hardware approaches, reflecting the U.S. government's broader effort to accelerate quantum innovation while simultaneously preparing national infrastructure for the cybersecurity challenges that future quantum systems may introduce. 

Bitcoin was trading at approximately $66,300 on July 21, while shares of Galaxy Digital had declined roughly 8% over the previous 12 months to trade near $25.20 per share, according to market data referenced alongside the company's announcement.
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Google Gemini
AI adoption AI Chatbots AI Privacy AI Survey Artificial Intelligence ChatGPT Claude AI Consumer Technology Generative AI Google Gemini

AI Chatbot Usage Declines as Privacy and Trust Concerns Influence User Adoption

 

A new survey conducted by Future, the parent company of TechRadar, published today reveals the interesting truth that the adoption of AI in the sphere of consumer technology is taking place in the world. People, however, are not using AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude as consistently as they did a year ago. 

32% of respondents said that they limit their use of artificial intelligence due to privacy concerns, and another 31% said that they would rather interact with people than AI chatbots. Users believe that chatbots invade their privacy since businesses utilize them to collect, store, and process personal information. 

32% of respondents limited their use of artificial intelligence due to privacy concerns, and this number was the same as last year. It suggests that users are still concerned about the collection, storage, and processing of their data by artificial intelligence systems. 31% of respondents said that they would rather engage with people than AI chatbots. Many users, however, believe that conversational AI cannot match human interaction, even though the technology has improved significantly in recent years. As such, there has been a noticeable shift in the attitudes of consumers toward the use of artificial intelligence, especially chatbots. 

29% of respondents said that they do not require artificial intelligence for their daily tasks, which is a decrease from the same survey last year. Users, however, still feel that generative AI is useless and do not want to adopt it. 

The other concerns regarding the use of AI by the consumers include becoming too dependent on the technology (26%), and having to communicate with others using generic responses and writing, with no personality, as a result of using chatbots (24%). Some respondents were not aware of the capabilities of artificial intelligence (19%) or simply had no interest in the technology (17%). Users also cited the complexity of artificial intelligence, doubts about its usefulness, negative effects on the world, and philosophical views against artificial intelligence as reasons for not being interested in learning more about generative AI technology. 

The survey also stated that 17% of respondents use AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini several times a day, while 14% engage with them multiple times a day. 30% of respondents never used AI chatbots, while the number was just 16% in the same survey last year. 

Artificial intelligence chatbots, however, are not engaging many people regularly. 21% of respondents use them only once or several times a week, while 11% use them a few times a month, and 8% use them even less frequently. In comparison, 30% of respondents never engage with AI chatbots, which is an increase from 16% in the previous survey. 

Interestingly enough, over 42% of Future publication readers use generative AI to communicate daily, which is double the percentage of respondents who usually read the Future website or books published by Future publishers. 

There is an evident change in the attitude of the consumer towards the use of artificial intelligence in their everyday lives. While many people are adopting AI-powered technology both in the workplace and at home, it appears that the engagement of consumers with artificial intelligence is nuanced. As businesses continue to innovate, consumers are rethinking their relationships with the technology. As such, with the increasing concerns over the privacy, trust, and authenticity of artificial intelligence solutions, it is evident that the consumer will continue to engage selectively with this emerging technology.
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StealC Malware
AI Security FakeGit Campaign GitHub malware MCP Servers SmartLoader Malware Software Supply Chain Security StealC Malware

FakeGit Malware Campaign Abuses GitHub Repositories and AI Tools

 

There has been an extensive malware campaign, dubbed FakeGit, that utilizes thousands of counterfeit GitHub repositories to distribute SmartLoader malware, which is increasingly targeted at exploiting artificial intelligence (AI) tools and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers in order to distribute the malware. 

Researchers at Island have discovered that approximately 7,600 malicious GitHub repositories have been constructed by using approximately 6,600 false developers profiles, creating nearly 7,600 malicious GitHub repositories. 

Thousands of repositories are masquerading as AI skills or MCP servers, offering integration with services such as Google Mail, WhatsApp, Docker, Jenkins, and Databricks. It is believed that FakeGit is an evolution of a previous malware operation that was previously associated with Water Kurita and that used Lumma Stealer. 

Research by Island researchers indicates that in March 2026, the campaign began focusing on artificial intelligence-based repositories, peaking in April with hundreds of repositories impersonating artificial intelligence tools before expanding into a broader ecosystem of fake AI agents, workflows, and MCP servers. By copying code, creating convincing README files, and impersonating developer identities, the fake repositories are very closely resembling legitimate open-source projects. 

A multi-stage infection chain is triggered by the download of malicious ZIP archives. Upon activation, the attack launches a LuaJIT-based loader that launches an obfuscated Lua script to install SmartLoader. SmartLoader establishes persistence on the compromised system and launches StealC, a malicious program capable of harvesting sensitive data from infected devices once it has been activated. 

After installation, SmartLoader creates persistence using scheduled tasks, retrieves its C2 server using the Polygon blockchain smart contract, downloads encrypted payloads hosted on GitHub, and ultimately deploys the StealC information stealer by deploying the C2 server. A new advanced tactic, AgentBaiting, has also been identified, which highlights how AI-powered coding assistants and autonomous agents can unintentionally aid hackers in gaining control of a computer. 

By optimizing fake repositories, threat actors can provide users with legitimate resources instead of forcing them to visit malicious links. Research conducted by Island researchers demonstrated that Claude Code automatically replicated malicious repositories and downloaded the associated files onto a test system, resulting in the discovery and recommendation of legitimate resources by AI models searching for free AI skills or MCP servers. 

In spite of this, the AI assistant detected suspicious indicators before executing the payload, which suggests that even though AI agents can be manipulated into retrieving malicious content, they may still be capable of detecting threats later on during the execution phase. In spite of the fact that these limited tests were not intended to measure the overall detection capabilities of artificial intelligence coding assistants, Island research demonstrated that AI assistants, such as Anthropic Claude Code, Google Gemini, and OpenAI ChatGPT, could detect malicious repositories during routine searches in response to user requests. 

Through artificial intelligence-assisted discovery processes, attackers can potentially pass malicious installation instructions to users without direct human interaction. More than 14 million downloads were recorded between the 335 malicious release assets hosted in approximately 211 FakeGit repositories as a result of GitHub's public statistics. 

In analyzing this figure, researchers cautioned that it represents cumulative download requests, including automated activity, and should not be interpreted as a count of successful infections. According to security experts, FakeGit illustrates how trust in open-source ecosystems and AI-assisted software discovery can be exploited without directly compromising any platforms. 

It is more common for attackers to distribute malware through convincing branding, fictitious developer identities, and public registries. To prevent malicious code from entering development environments, organizations should verify repository publishers, evaluate AI skills and MCP servers in isolated environments before deployment, maintain approved catalogs of trusted AI plugins, and monitor AI-assisted workflows to ensure that they are not compromised. 

A number of the fake repositories were also observed to be more credible by using duplicate project descriptions, fabricating star ratings and fork counts, and impersonating legitimate developer identities, as well as impersonating legitimate developers. In this manner, malicious projects were significantly more likely to be trusted and downloaded by developers and AI-assisted coding tools. 

AI agents are increasingly involved in the discovery and deployment of software, but researchers warn that the security of these automated workflows is as important as ensuring that human users are protected from traditional social engineering attacks. Using trusted developer platforms and AI-assisted workflows, cybercriminals are adjusting to the AI era through the FakeGit campaign. 

The increasing reliance on AI tools and open-source repositories calls for verification of software sources, limiting untrusted AI integrations, and strengthening supply chain security.
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