Consumers are putting more trust in AI searches
A new survey of over 2,000 consumers across the US, UK, France and Germany looks at how people are adopting, and trusting, AI tools to discover, evaluate, and choose brands.
The study from Yext finds that 62 percent of consumers now trust AI to guide their brand decisions, putting it on par with traditional search methods used during key decision moments. However, 57 percent still prefer traditional search engines when researching personal, medical or financial topics.
MSPs struggle with complexity and tool sprawl
Newly released research from cybersecurity platform Cynet shows managed service providers (MSPs) are facing growing operational strain as they race to meet demand for cybersecurity services.
While cybersecurity services are driving growth and deepening client relationships, most MSPs are hitting operational roadblocks, held back by fragmented tools, limited automation and lean security teams.
60 percent of enterprise firewalls fail critical checks
New research from FireMon shows that 60 percent of enterprise firewalls fail high-severity compliance checks immediately upon evaluation, with another 34 percent falling short at critical levels.
Using data collected anonymously from AI-powered analytics platform FireMon Insights deployments across large enterprises and regulated industries, the study found misconfigurations, outdated rules, and bloated policies that bog down performance and leave security teams struggling to keep up.
Organizations face cost and security risks as Windows 10 end-of-life deadline approaches
With support for Windows 10 ending on 14 October 2025, new research from Panasonic Toughbook highlights growing concern among organizations about the risks and challenges of migrating to Windows 11. The findings point to worries around security, software compatibility, and rising costs for those delaying the upgrade, which is something the UK government also warned about recently.
Panasonic’s whitepaper, Navigating the Shift: The Business Case for Upgrading to Windows 11, outlines how many businesses are struggling to manage the transition, especially those with large device fleets.
YouTube is experimenting with comment threading
Following the lead of just about every website and social platform, YouTube is introducing comment threading. But before you get too excited about gaining the ability to view nested replies and being able to follow conversations more easily, there are a couple of quirks.
Firstly, this is – for now, at least – limited to the iOS and Android apps, so if you access YouTube via a web browser, you are out of luck. Secondly, this is an experiment so try not to get too attached to it.
PayPal World launches to let users pay globally with their domestic wallets
PayPal has launched PayPal World, a new global platform designed to connect some of the world’s largest digital wallets and payment systems, starting with full interoperability between PayPal and Venmo.
The platform is set to roll out this fall and includes launch partners such as Mercado Pago, UPI (via NPCI International), Tenpay Global, PayPal, and Venmo.
What’s behind the recent rise in identity-based attacks? [Q&A]
Cybercriminals are increasingly using sophisticated identity-based attacks (phishing, social engineering, leveraging compromised credentials) to gain access as trusted users and move laterally across systems undetected.
We spoke to Cristian Rodriguez, field CTO, Americas at CrowdStrike, about the company’s recent research into these attacks and now organizations can defend against them.
iOS 26 beta 4 includes warning-laden Apple Intelligence news summaries
Apple has released the latest beta versions of its operating systems to developers – iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26. Among the changes are the return of Apple Intelligence news summaries which was the subject of controversy several months ago.
With the first public (non-developer) beta versions expected to land in the next week or so, these developer previews give us a very good idea of what to expect. As such, the appearance of Apple Intelligence news summaries and tweaks to Liquid Glass are very much in line with what we’d expect at this stage.
Business users can soon get a Surface Laptop 5G from Microsoft
Microsoft’s range of Surface devices quickly developed a following of business users, with Surface Laptop proving popular. But there were complaints about the absence of a key connectivity option; now with the Surface Laptop 5G this is being addressed.
As the name suggests, this is a 5G version of the Surface Laptop, and Microsoft says that it is “built for business”. While users will see the addition of 5G connectivity as a way to eliminate phone tethering, Microsoft is instead billing it as a way to “stay continuously connected to Microsoft 365 Copilot and other cloud tools”.
Windows Resiliency Initiative hits Windows 11 in KB5062660 update
Microsoft has released the KB5062660 preview update for Windows 11 ahead of next month’s Patch Tuesday. Being a preview update, it is optional and does not include security fixes, but it is packed with new features including the Windows Resiliency Initiative.
This initiative is something Microsoft spoke about back at Ignite 2024 and it aims to boost security and reliability. The update delivers two components of this. It sees the arrival of Quick machine recovery as well as the new Black Screen of Death.
Free tool uncovers API vulnerabilities
According to Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, API-related breaches have increased nearly 40 percent year-on-year, with broken authorization cited as one of the most exploited flaws.
Now though Intruder, a leader in attack surface management, has launched Autoswagger -- a free, open-source tool that scans OpenAPI-documented APIs for broken authorization vulnerabilities.
Some employees feel so pressured to use AI, they're pretending they are
A new survey of more than 1,000 full-time professionals across the USA highlights widespread AI adoption at work and reveals the growing pressures that come with it. While most workers report benefits, others struggle to keep pace with the changes.
Artificial intelligence has become a fixture in white-collar jobs across the country. A new survey shows that 75 percent of full-time workers are expected -- officially or unofficially -- to use AI tools at work.
83 percent of IT and engineering professionals bypass security controls
A new survey of 1,000 IT, security, and engineering professionals across North America uncovers a fractured landscape of legacy VPNs, slow manual processes, and overlapping tools -- with 99 percent of respondents saying they'd like to redesign their company’s access and networking setup from the ground up.
The study from Tailscale also shows that 83 percent of IT and engineering professionals admit to bypassing security controls in order to get their work done. Also worrying is that 68 percent say they have retained access to internal systems after leaving a previous employer, revealing critical gaps in offboarding and identity lifecycle management.
New AI-driven features set to help security remediation efforts
Security teams today are overwhelmed by fragmented data, inconsistent tagging, and the manual burden of translating findings into fixes.
A new release of the Seemplicity platform introduces an AI Insights feature along with Detailed Remediation Steps, and Smart Tagging and Scoping, three new capabilities that use AI to solve some of the most painful and time-consuming cybersecurity tasks.
Mercury is in retrograde, so yes, your phone is probably acting weird
If your texts aren’t sending, your email’s gone missing, or your phone’s just feeling extra cursed lately, no, you’re not imagining it -- Mercury is officially in retrograde. From July 17 through August 11, the universe is (allegedly) hitting shuffle on communication and tech, and yes, we’re all invited.
Mercury retrograde is an optical illusion that happens a few times a year when Mercury appears to move backward in the sky from our point of view on Earth. In astronomy, it’s just the result of how Mercury orbits the Sun faster than Earth does, but in astrology, it’s a whole different story.
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.