Author: Carter

A recently discovered malware campaign is leveraging Microsoft’s Phone Link feature to steal SMS-based one-time passwords (OTPs) and other sensitive mobile data directly from Windows PCs. Discovered by Cisco Talos in January 2026, the campaign uses a remote access trojan (RAT) called CloudZ alongside a custom plugin named Pheno. This combination allows hackers to collect login details and potentially intercept authentication codes synced from a user’s phone, according to researchers Alex Karkins and Chetan Raghuprasad in a blog post. The goal, as outlined by the researchers, was to steal victim credentials and gain access to OTPs. Notably, the attack doesn’t…

The IRS is exploring ways to accelerate the onboarding process for new hires and staff reassigned from other roles by leveraging artificial intelligence. Typically, IRS customer service representatives undergo 14 weeks of training. However, Ken Corbin, head of Taxpayer Services, noted at a recent industry event that the agency’s current training programs haven’t kept up with the learning styles of today’s digitally native workforce. “This generation learns differently. Using AI as a tool to streamline and simplify complex material during training should make the process faster and more effective,” Corbin explained on April 8 at a conference organized by ACT-IAC…

Your phone holds an incredible amount of sensitive information — from banking apps and saved passwords to private conversations and years of photos. While most people don’t think much about mobile security, the risks are real and constantly evolving.The upside? Today’s mobile antivirus tools offer far more than basic virus scanning. They can stop phishing attempts the moment they happen, notify you if a data breach exposes your info, and warn you about suspicious Wi-Fi networks before you join them. I’ve put the top solutions through their paces to help you figure out which one truly earns a spot on…

If you’ve ever managed a production AI system handling long-running tasks — like overnight prompt processing, running a Deep Research agent, or generating lengthy videos — you’ve likely wrestled with polling. This means your application repeatedly sends GET requests, asking “Is it done yet?” every few seconds. This wastes resources, increases latency, and becomes a significant reliability challenge at scale. Google has now delivered a solution. Google has rolled out event-driven Webhooks for the Gemini API. This push-based notification system removes the need for wasteful polling. The feature is currently available for all Gemini API users and addresses a major…

In brief OpenMythos is a ground-up recreation of the Claude Mythos framework, pieced together solely from publicly available research and informed speculation. Claude Mythos is Anthropic’s most formidable AI, sealed away under Project Glasswing after independently uncovering 271 Firefox flaws and executing 32-step penetration attacks. The codebase serves as conceptual scaffolding—architecture without pre-trained weights. This mirrors a parallel initiative by Vidoc Security that recreated Mythos’s vulnerability discoveries using commodity models. If Anthropic refuses to pull back the curtain on its riskiest AI, someone on GitHub will take their best shot at it.Developer Kye Gomez has released OpenMythos, an open-source blueprint…

Marques, J. C., Li, M., Schaak, D., Robson, D. N. & Li, J. M. Internal state dynamics shape brainwide activity and foraging behavior. Nature 577, 239–243 (2019). Article PubMed Google Scholar Anderson, D. J. Circuit modules linking internal states and social behavior in flies and mice. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 17, 692–704 (2016). Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar Pereira, T. D., Shaevitz, J. W. & Murthy, M. Quantifying behavior to understand the brain. Nat. Neurosci. 23, 1537–1549 (2020). Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Mathis, M. W. & Mathis, A. Deep learning tools for measuring animal behavior in neuroscience. Curr.…

User IconRavie LakshmananCalendar IconMay 04, 2026Cybersecurity / Hacking While organizations were still responding to last month’s security alerts, threat actors were already exploiting new weaknesses. They transformed administrative dashboards into destructive tools, turned operating system cores into entry points, and weaponized software supply chains as silent malware delivery systems. Attacks have evolved from temporary break-ins to prolonged intrusions. Criminals now operate inside cloud-based services, inject malicious code using forged developer credentials, and scale their operations like legitimate enterprises — but their end goal is pure disruption. Cybercriminal networks are becoming disturbingly sophisticated. Complete weekly summary of cybersecurity events follows: ⚡…

Last week, I spent some downtime in York, England, a place widely known as the country’s most haunted city. I explored the ruins of abbeys that have been standing for close to a millennium, strolled along medieval walls, and joined an evening ghost tour filled with stories passed down over the centuries. Standing in a place that has seen so much history is deeply grounding. Now that I’m back at my desk, the contrast is impossible to ignore: those ancient abbey stones have remained nearly unchanged for a thousand years, yet in just one week away, technology took yet another…

Samsung/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.The Samsung Galaxy S26 is a superb version of the company’s top-tier smartphone, delivering longer battery life and better overall performance compared to the previous model. And right now, Verizon is offering a generous promotion where you can get one at no cost when you add a new line on an eligible plan. On top of that, you’ll receive a complimentary Galaxy Watch 8 and Samsung Tab S10 FE tablet, plus if you place your order online, Verizon will throw in a $100 e-gift card toward your next purchase.Also: Samsung Galaxy…

# Introduction Most people concentrate on crafting SQL that “functions correctly,” but hardly anyone verifies whether it will continue functioning properly the next day. Even a single additional row, a modified assumption, or a code reorganization can cause a query to fail without any obvious indication. This guide presents an end-to-end process for handling SQL the way software engineers do: keeping it under version control, testing it thoroughly, and setting up automated checks. We’ll work through an actual Amazon interview challenge that asks you to identify customers who spent the most each day. Afterward, we’ll transform the SQL into a…