TheRegister
Bossware booms as bots determine whether you're doing a good job
The COVID-19 lockdown meant a surge in remote work, and the trend toward remote and hybrid workplaces has persisted long after the pandemic receded. That has changed the nature of workplace management as well. Bosses can't check for butts in seats or look over their employees' shoulders in the office to make sure they're working instead of having a LAN party. So they've turned to software tools to fill the gap.…
It's TEE time for Brave's AI assistant Leo
Brave Software has joined the rush to make using cloud-based AI services more private.…
Copackaged optics have officially found their killer app - of course it's AI
SC25 Power is becoming a major headache for datacenter operators as they grapple with how to support ever larger deployments of GPU servers - so much so that the AI boom is now driving the adoption of a technology once thought too immature and failure-prone to merit the risk.…
Self-destructing thumb drive can brick itself and wipe your secret files away
If you’ve ever watched Mission Impossible, where Jim Phelps gets instructions from an audio tape that catches fire after five seconds, TeamGroup has an external SSD with your name on it. The T-Create Expert P35S is a portable USB-powered SSD that comes with a self-destruct button, which wipes all your data and physically renders the device useless.…
Researchers get inside the mind of bots, find out what texts they trained on
If you've ever wondered whether that chatbot you're using knows the entire text of a particular book, answers are on the way. Computer scientists have developed a more effective way to coax memorized content from large language models, a development that may address regulatory concerns while helping to clarify copyright infringement claims arising from AI model training and inference.…
ShinyHunters 'does not like Salesforce at all,' claims the crew accessed Gainsight 3 months ago
EXCLUSIVE ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for the Gainsight breach that allowed the data thieves to snarf data from hundreds more Salesforce customers.…
Makers slam Qualcomm for tightening the clamps on Arduino
Qualcomm quietly rewrote the terms of service for its newest acquisition, programmable microcontroller and SBC maker Arduino, drawing intense fire from the maker community for grabbing additional rights to user-generated content on its platform and prohibiting reverse-engineering of what was once very open software.…
Pentagon pumps $29.9M into bid to turn waste into critical minerals
The US Department of Defense is asserting its desire to be an integral part of the American rare earths and critical minerals supply chain with a deal to establish a domestic pipeline of gallium and scandium production.…
Big Red borrows a lot of green, hopes AI will put it in the black
opinion The weather's cooling, and so is Wall Street's patience with Oracle's AI makeover. Big Red is spending big, and the risk metrics aren't looking cozy.…
Rhyme is the key to set AIs free when verse outsmarts security
Are you a wizard with words? Do you like money without caring how you get it? You could be in luck now that a new role in cybercrime appears to have opened up – poetic LLM jailbreaking.…
Google's AI is eating your email by default. Here's how to shut its mouth
Google's "don't be evil" ethos is so 2015. These days, the Chocolate Factory is all about integrating users with bots, whether they like it or not. Now, it's rolling out Workspace "smart features" that process personal content with AI, and many users are finding the settings enabled by default.…
SpaceX loses debut V3 Super Heavy in ground test mishap
SpaceX has responded to Blue Origin's announcement of a heftier version of its New Glenn rocket in the only way it knows how – by accidentally destroying a Starship booster.…
Four charged over alleged plot to smuggle Nvidia AI chips into China
Four people have been charged in the US with plotting to funnel restricted Nvidia AI chips into China, allegedly relying on shell firms, fake invoices, and covert routing to slip cutting-edge GPUs past American export controls.…
You are likely to be eaten by the MIT license: Microsoft frees Zork source
Microsoft developer boss Scott Hanselman saved the company's Ignite shindig this week by unveiling the source code for Zork I-III, all available under the MIT license.…
Magician forgets password to his own hand after RFID chip implant
It's important to have your login in hand, literally. Zi Teng Wang, a UK magician who implanted an RFID chip in his appendage, has admitted losing access to it because he forgot the password.…
Russia-linked crooks bought a bank for Christmas to launder cyber loot
On Christmas Day 2024, a Russian-linked laundering network bought itself a very special present: a controlling stake in a Kyrgyzstan bank, later used to wash cybercrime profits and funnel money into Moscow's war machine, according to the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA).…
Lawsuit seeks to probe Uncle Sam's role in ICE-tracking app takedowns
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is suing two government departments to understand how they compelled tech companies to remove ICE-tracking apps and websites from their platforms.…
Nvidia's green500 dominance continues as France's Kairos super takes efficiency title
SC25 There's a new efficiency champ at the top of the Green500 ranking of the world's most sustainable supercomputers.…
AI nudification site fined £55K for skipping age checks
The UK's online regulator has lobbed a £50,000 fine at an AI nudification website for failing to implement mandatory age checks, potentially allowing under-18s to waltz past the virtual velvet rope.…
UK minister ducks cost questions on nationwide digital ID scheme
A UK tech minister has declined to put a figure on the cost of the government's digital ID plans as MPs question the contributions expected from central departments.…