Latest Technology News

Artificial intelligence continues to hog the headlines, as more people discover the power of tools like OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 and especially ChatGPT. These futuristic-seeming tools work by taking a human’s query or prompt and returning an intelligent textual or visual response.

From an enterprise perspective, AI adoption is growing rapidly. According to Forrester, spending on AI software is set to accelerate from $33 billion in 2021 to $64 billion in 2025 -- growing twice as fast as the overall software market. But while tools like ChatGPT may seem like magic, it’s important to understand these solutions aren’t perfect.

Insecure authentication is a primary cause of cyber breaches and cumbersome login methods take an unacceptable toll on employees and business productivity, according to a new report.

The 2023 State of Passwordless Security Report, released by HYPR and Vanson Bourne, shows that 60 percent of organizations have reported authentication breaches over the last 12 months and that three out of the top four attack vectors are connected to authentication.

Cloud Native Security delivers a detailed study into minimizing the attack surfaces found on today's Cloud Native infrastructure.

Throughout the work, hands-on examples walk through mitigating threats and the areas of concern that need to be addressed. The book contains the information that professionals need in order to build a diverse mix of the niche knowledge required to harden Cloud Native estates.

Of businesses with between 21 and 100 protected endpoints, only five percent encountered a malware infection in 2022. For smaller firms with one to 20 endpoints, the rate is 6.4 percent, but as companies grow so do infections.

For businesses between 101 and -500 endpoints the rate rises to 58.7 percent and over 500 it's 85.8 percent. These findings are from a new report by OpenText Cybersecurity which looks at the latest threats and risks to the small and medium business (SMB) and consumer segments.

A new report shows that 2022 saw a 569 percent increase in malicious phishing emails and a 478 percent increase in credential phishing-related threat reports published.

The report from Cofense also looks at emails bypassing SEGs and hitting users' inboxes and highlights that delivery methods for carrying out phishing campaigns continue to keep up with the advancement of technology. Cofense has witnessed a continued blending of tactics to make detection and mitigation even more difficult for organizations.

The latest State of API Security Report from Salt Security shows a 400 percent increase in unique attackers in the last six months.

In addition, around 80 percent of attacks happened over authenticated APIs. Not surprisingly, nearly half (48 percent) of respondents now say that API security has become a C-level discussion within their organization.

The past few years have seen a boom in digital transformation as enterprises have sought to modernize their operations to take advantage of a new, more flexible world of work.

But this change has often led to unwieldy data structures that are difficult to manage, which means that extracting value from the data is harder than it should be.

Spotify has launched a new personalized playlist option which gives users a unique way to create mixes to suite any mood, occasion or activity.

The company describes Niche Mixes as "a set of personalized playlists that combines all that our Mixes offer in a playful way". What this means in practice is that you can search for an "activity, vibe or aesthetic" (running, 80s, meditative, for instance), add the word "mix", and you'll be provided with a custom playlist to suit.

Adoption of Windows 11 may well be much slower than Microsoft would have hoped or expected, but this isn't stopping the company forging ahead with its successor. The project is currently dubbed CorePC, but it is being referred to by many as -- naturally -- Windows 12.

What can be expected from Windows 12? Leaks from sources close to the company mean that plans for the next generation of the operating system have been exposed. Predictably, Microsoft is said to be leaning heavily on AI as it looks to modernize Windows. There is also a strong focus on security and faster delivery of updates on the cards.

Microsoft has released a new cumulative update for Windows 11 22H2 that sees the arrival of Microsoft account notifications in the Start menu. There are also new features and improvements in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.

The KB5023778 update is a preview of the update that will be released more widely next Patch Tuesday, and as such it is an optional update that you will need to manually install. Installing KB5023778 not only adds Start menu features, but also updates the taskbar search box, adds new functionality and fixes a large number of issues that have been found in Windows 11.

Linux Mint is a fairly popular operating system. But why do so many people use that Ubuntu-based distribution? People may tell you several reasons, but the reality is, many Ubuntu users are just not comfortable with the default desktop environment.

Because Unity, and now GNOME, are so radically different from the traditional Windows interface, some people flocked to Linux Mint and its familiar Cinnamon desktop environment. Mate and Xfce are Mint desktop options too, but make no mistake, Cinnamon is the crown jewel of the distro. Sure, there are other nice aspects of Linux Mint, but ultimately, it is familiarity with former Windows users that make the OS attractive to many.

Today, a prerelease version of Apple Pay Later is being launched. This is a new service that allows Apple Pay users to split their purchases into four equal payments -- over six weeks -- with no interest or fees. Apple Pay Later is available for purchases in apps and online when customers check out with Apple Pay.

Apple Pay Later is a convenient way to finance purchases that customers may not be able to afford to pay for all at once. However, it is important to note that Apple Pay Later is not a loan. Customers are not borrowing money from Apple or from a bank. Instead, they are simply splitting their purchase into four equal payment. Goldman Sachs is involved with the process, however.

Microsoft today announced Security Copilot, a new tool designed to bring its next generation AI to cybersecurity.

The software can quickly detect and respond to threats, and also gain a better understanding of the threat landscape. In addition, Microsoft says it "will learn from existing intelligence, correlate threat activity, and make more informed, efficient decisions at machine speed".

A new survey of retail and consumer brands shows that nearly 40 percent of all respondents suffer customer-impacting disruptions, which cost up to $1 million per month.

The survey, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Catchpoint, finds 61 percent of respondents say internet disruptions have resulted in lost revenue, while 64 percent report damage to their brand's reputation that led to lack of consumer confidence.

Although more than 70 percent of companies say they have an insider risk management (IRM) program in place, the same companies experienced a year-on-year increase in data loss incidents of 32 percent, according to a new report from Code42 Software.

Based on a survey of 700 cybersecurity leaders, cybersecurity managers and cybersecurity practitioners in the US, conducted by Vanson Bourne, the report shows 71 percent expect data loss from insider events to increase in the next 12 months.