UK domain registrar 123 Reg says it was the victim of an “AI-driven cyberattack” that exposed customer data. Customers began receiving their notification emails this week, informing them that their contact information, “related customer relationship data,” company VAT numbers, and “product information from an application programming interface (API)” were compromised. A company spokesperson elaborated, saying this means that names, phone numbers, countries, language and currency preferences, account creation dates, the products on the account, and marketing preferences were affected.
An AI startup has claimed that it hacked Anthropic’s systems in less than 12 hours, exposing internal messages and data. US-based Cathedral, which was founded this year by former staff members of the US Department of Government Efficiency, said it breached the artificial intelligence company’s internal network as part of a bug bounty program that encourages outsiders to look for security flaws. First reported by the , the breach exposed Slack messages, meeting transcripts, staff salaries and job offers. Independent
Amazon has long offered a wide variety of smart speakers and smart displays, all powered by Alexa, and more recently, many have gotten the upgrade to Alexa+. Now, after several new devices, from Kindles to tablets with a glare-free Nano Matte coating, Amazon has five more, and the most intriguing is the $199 / £184.99 / AU$379 . A device that earns a spot on your bedside table needs to clear a high bar, and the devices team at Amazon, led by Panos Panay, thinks they’ve cracked it with this one. Speaking to press and creators, Panos called the Echo Time the ‘smartest clock in the world,’ and, first and foremost, it’s meant to show you the time in a range of ways. Tech Radar
Amazon’s latest is big, gorgeous, and eye-wateringly expensive. Announced today, the Echo Show 16 costs $499.99 (wall mount included) and is available to preorder now. There’s a Nanomatte display option for $569.99, plus a $100 preorder discount ahead of its release later this year. After spending time with the device at a small media event in New York City this week, I think the Echo Show 16 could be the versatile family hub Alexa users have been asking for. The sleek hardware brings with it a completely new software experience, including better smart home controls, a much-improved calendar interface, and a real photo frame option — all fully customizable. The Verge
AI bots flooded a government consultation with tens of thousands of fake responses in a failed attempt to stop the UK’s ban on disposable vapes. Three-quarters of all the responses to the 2023 consultation on the tobacco and vapes bill were machine-generated, in what is thought to be the first coordinated attempt to use AI to derail health policymaking in the UK. The attempt to manipulate the outcome of the consultation was disclosed on Tuesday in research published in the journal Tobacco Control by the health policy experts Dr Nason Maani, from the University of Edinburgh, and Prof Anna Gilmore, of the University of Bath. The Guardian
Nature lover Ashley Schmidt no longer spends much time in her garden, in the Dallas suburb of North Garland. She’s also given up on cycling to the local parks where she previously enjoyed taking close-up photos of the bugs, lizards and toads. It’s all because she can’t stand the sound of the delivery drones that fly overhead, depositing her neighbours’ online orders. “They emit this very annoying buzz. It triggers my fight or flight response,” says the 44-year-old administrative assistant. BBC
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