HTB AI cyber Range

New AI cyber range launches to test autonomous AI agents under real attack conditions

Hack The Box has announced HTB AI Range, a new, controlled 'AI cyber range' built to test how AI security agents behave under pressure, as well as how well they work alongside human teams.

The platform recreates real attack and defense scenarios so organizations can see how well (or if) the models cope with complex, high stakes environments. It can also flag where human oversight is still needed.

By Wayne Williams -
TeamGroup PD40 Mini External SSD

TeamGroup releases PD40 Mini, a lightweight USB4 drive built for fast transfers

TeamGroup has launched a new portable storage option for users who want fast transfers in a small, pocketable format, and don't want to rely on the cloud for large or sensitive files. The PD40 Mini External SSD is a USB4 drive capable of read speeds up to 4,000MB/s and write speeds up to 3,500MB/s, making it far faster than most everyday portable SSDs.

The PD40, which shares its look with the previously released PD20, is just 75mm in length and weighs 22g, making it one of the smallest high speed USB4 drives available. The drive is built with a rubberized, textured shell to improve grip, and it comes in a smart black and red finish.

By Wayne Williams -
09proton_sheets_PR

Proton launches end-to-end encrypted spreadsheets for secure collaboration

Spreadsheets are essential to modern businesses, used to plan budgets, manage inventory, supervise members, and organize proprietary data. But organizations are becoming increasingly concerned that these tools can leave their internal data exposed to surveillance, tracking, and AI training.

This why Proton is launching Proton Sheets, an easy-to-use private spreadsheet that lets teams collaborate while keeping control of their data.

By Ian Barker -
Cybercrime money

Cybercrime landscape fragments as new groups emerge

Previously, a single dominant group tended to define the cybercrime landscape. Now, several actors sustain large-scale operations, with the number of distinct actors nearly tripling from 33 to 89 since 2020.

The latest Security Navigator report from Orange Cyber Defense shows that in Europe, victims of Qilin and Akira have risen by 324 percent and 168 percent respectively.

By Ian Barker -
Near AI Cloud

Near AI's confidential computing platform lets companies run AI models securely

Near AI has introduced two privacy focused tools that let people use artificial intelligence while keeping control of their information. Near AI Cloud and Near Private Chat handle sensitive data in secure environments, giving users and developers a way to work with AI without giving up their privacy.

Illia Polosukhin, founder and CEO of Near AI, said: “Everyone should own their AI. Today Near AI is taking a major step towards the vision of user-owned AI with the launch of private, verifiable AI products.” He added, “Privacy and verifiability are required to maximize available AI context for users and businesses, with confidentiality and compliance thanks to hardware- and cryptography-based guarantees.”

By Wayne Williams -
Microsoft logo in front of buildings

Microsoft fixes years old actively exploited .lnk flaw in Windows

Microsoft has addressed a security flaw in Windows that has been exploited since at least 2017. The company has not made an official announcement about the fix, but it was spotted by 0patch.

The flaw is known as the Microsoft Windows LNK File UI Misrepresentation Remote Code Execution Vulnerability and has been tracked as CVE-2025-9491. The fix was included in the November batch of updates for Windows.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
RIP Crucial

Crucial brand to disappear as Micron shifts focus to AI data center memory

Micron has announced that it’s shutting down its Crucial consumer business, ending one of the most recognizable names in SSDs and RAM upgrades. The memory giant says it will stop shipping Crucial branded consumer products by the end of February 2026, but support and warranties will continue for a while after then.

Micron says the decision reflects the shift toward data center demand, which is growing rapidly as AI drives a surge in orders for high performance memory and storage. The company will continue selling Micron branded enterprise hardware and focus its manufacturing and engineering resources on commercial clients.

By Wayne Williams -
AI content on YouTube

Study finds AI slop videos spreading fast across YouTube -- and there's a lot of money being made

Anyone who spends time on YouTube knows low quality AI generated videos are flooding the platform. A new global study by Kapwing looked at just how this slop and brainrot content (as it's known) is spreading across different countries and, perhaps more interestingly, how the biggest AI channels compare with traditional creators for both reach and earnings.

The report, which looked at more than fifteen thousand YouTube channels, arrives at a time when people are still arguing over the creative and ethical value of AI in video production. Film schools now teach classes on the use and ethics of generative tools, and brands are experimenting with AI in their creative work -- with mixed results.

By Wayne Williams -
Spotify Wrapped 2025

Spotify Wrapped 2025 is here, and this time it’s interactive and competitive

The yearly roundup you have (probably) been waiting for is here. Spotify Wrapped 2025 has landed, and this time around it is different to previous years.

This year Spotify has chosen to deliver more than just raw stats – although there are definitely still here.  In addition to learning which artist you’ve listened to the most, and how long you have spent listening to music throughout the year, you can also learn your “listening age” and compete in fan leaderboard. But there is more.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Amazon Fire TV

Fire TV update lets viewers jump to memorable moments in movies

Fire TV users can now jump directly to specific movie scenes by describing them to Amazon's generative AI powered Alexa+. The new feature lets viewers start playback from an exact moment in a film, cutting out manual searching or repetitive fast forwarding. It works on thousands of Prime Video titles and is already available for subscribers to try.

Alexa+ is a more conversational version of Amazon's digital assistant and is capable of handling broader and more involved tasks. It was announced in February 2025 at Amazon’s Devices and Services event and first launched in the United States priced at $19.99 a month, although Prime members get it at no extra cost. It’s now available in Canada and is expected to roll out to more countries next year.

By Wayne Williams -
Mouse keyboard shadow IT

Organizations struggle to manage shadow AI

Most organizations lack the monitoring capabilities and governance policies needed to mitigate risks posed by shadow AI according to a new report.

The survey, of 600 IT leaders across North America, EMEA, and APJ, from Cato Networks finds that while 61 percent of respondents found unauthorized AI tools in their environments, only 26 percent have solutions in place to monitor AI usage. Nearly half (49 percent) of the respondents either don’t track AI usage at all or address AI on a reactive basis.

By Ian Barker -
BYOD devices

Mobile security gaps revealed by BYOD and hybrid work

Organizations face massive mobile security vulnerabilities as they increasingly embrace BYOD and hybrid strategies. At the same time traditional mobile security tools are failing to mitigate these risks while also compromising employee privacy.

A new report from secure virtual mobile infrastructure firm Hypori, based on a survey of 1,000 global security, risk, mobility, and BYOD decision-makers, finds 92 percent of security and risk leaders are facing challenges in zero trust implementation.

By Ian Barker -
data foundations

Just six percent of enterprises believe their data infrastructure is AI ready

Only six percent of enterprise AI leaders say their data infrastructure is fully ready for AI according to a new report from CData Software.

The research exposes a divide in AI preparedness. 60 percent of companies at the highest level of AI maturity have also invested in advanced data infrastructure, while 53 percent of organizations struggling with AI implementations are hampered by immature data systems. The gap is costing companies time, money, and competitive advantage.

By Ian Barker -
YouTube Recap

YouTube joins the end of year party with YouTube Recap

The likes of Spotify have normalized the idea of looking back over the previous 12 months’ streaming habits. Spotify Wrapped, and other similar roundups from streaming music service have become something of a tradition, and now YouTube is getting in on the action.

While YouTube Music subscribers already have YouTube Music Recap, the is now a new YouTube Recap that is solely focused on videos. How has Google approached this?

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
SQL server

Dealing with the challenge of creating a unified SQL Server data estate [Q&A]

Many organizations are running SQL Server across Windows, Linux, containers, and Kubernetes. Obviously there are advantages if that environment can be unified into a single data estate, but doing so presents a number of challenges.

We spoke to Don Boxley, CEO and co-founder of DH2i, to look at the problems involved and how to address them.

By Ian Barker -
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