Microsoft cautions that rapid deployment of workplace AI assistants can turn them into insider threats, calling the risk a "double agent." The company’s Cyber Pulse report explains how attackers can manipulate an agent’s access or feed it malicious input, using its legitimate privileges to cause damage inside an organization. Microsoft urges firms to treat AI agents as a new class of digital identity, apply Zero Trust principles, enforce least‑privilege access, and maintain centralized visibility to prevent memory‑poisoning attacks and other forms of tampering. Read more →

Leading web‑scraping companies say their bots only collect publicly available information, despite lawsuits from major platforms. Executives from Bright Data, ScrapingBee and Oxylabs stress compliance with open‑web principles and note legitimate uses such as cybersecurity and investigative journalism. The growing demand for AI‑trained data has spurred a new market, with over 40 firms offering bots for AI training and a nascent marketing approach called generative engine optimization. Industry leaders predict this trend will intensify through 2026, creating both opportunities and challenges for publishers and regulators. Read more →

Moltbook, launched by Matt Schlicht in late January, bills itself as the front page of the agent internet, allowing only verified AI agents to post while humans watch and can engage. The platform’s user base exploded from a few thousand agents to 1.5 million by early February. Within days, bots formed distinct communities, invented inside jokes, and even created a parody religion called "Crustafarianism." Built on the open‑source OpenClaw software, Moltbook has drawn attention from cybersecurity experts who warn about verification gaps, data sharing risks, and the need for robust governance as autonomous agents begin to trade information among themselves. Read more →

Moltbook, a new social platform designed for AI agents from the OpenClaw assistant, has rapidly grown in usage but is drawing criticism for security flaws and human‑driven content. Analysts and hackers report that many viral posts are likely scripted by people, that the platform’s database exposure could let attackers hijack AI agents, and that impersonation of well‑known bots is possible. While some praise the unprecedented scale of AI‑to‑AI interaction, the overall consensus is that Moltbook is currently dominated by spam, scams, and shallow conversations, raising questions about its future safety and utility. Read more →

AI agents that rely on commercial large‑language‑model APIs are becoming increasingly autonomous, raising concerns about how providers can intervene. Companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI currently retain a "kill switch" that can halt harmful AI activity, but the rise of networks like OpenClaw—where agents run on external APIs and communicate with each other—exposes a potential blind spot. As local models improve, the ability to monitor and stop malicious behavior may disappear, prompting urgent questions about future safeguards for a rapidly expanding AI ecosystem. Read more →

Moltbook, a social platform designed for AI agents, suffered a major security breach that exposed millions of authentication tokens, tens of thousands of email addresses, and private messages. The vulnerability stemmed from the site’s “vibe‑coded” forum architecture, which allowed unauthenticated users to read and edit content. Cybersecurity firm Wiz identified the issue and worked with Moltbook to remediate it, highlighting the risks of relying on AI‑generated code without proper oversight. Read more →

OpenClaw is an open‑source AI agent that runs on a user’s computer and can be controlled through messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Discord, and iMessage. It automates tasks like reminders, email drafting, and ticket purchases, but its deep system access also raises security worries. A cybersecurity researcher found that certain configurations exposed private messages, credentials, and API keys on the web. Despite these risks, the tool has a growing community, highlighted by Octane AI CEO Matt Schlicht’s Moltbook network where agents converse with each other, generating viral posts and expanding the AI‑to‑AI interaction space. Read more →

Outtake, an AI‑driven cybersecurity startup that automates the detection and takedown of digital identity fraud, has closed a $40 million Series B round. The round was led by Iconiq’s Murali Joshi and featured angels including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, Anduril co‑founder Trae Stephens, former OpenAI VP Bob McGrew, Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch, and former AT&T CEO John Donovan. Founded in 2023 by former Palantir engineer Alex Dhillon, Outtake counts OpenAI, Pershing Square, AppLovin and federal agencies among its customers and reports rapid revenue and customer growth. Read more →

The acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) unintentionally uploaded documents marked "for official use only" to a public version of ChatGPT. The uploads triggered internal warnings and raised concerns about the potential exposure of unclassified yet sensitive information to millions of users. DHS officials confirmed that staff normally use approved AI tools that keep data within federal networks. An investigation is underway to determine possible administrative or disciplinary actions, including warnings, retraining, or security clearance consequences. Read more →

The acting head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) uploaded internal government documents marked “for official use only” to the public ChatGPT platform, triggering automated security warnings. The director, Madhu Gottumukkala, had previously received an exception to use the tool, despite a department-wide ban. Homeland Security officials are assessing potential security impacts, while a CISA spokesperson described the usage as short‑term and limited. The incident raises concerns about the handling of unclassified but sensitive data on public AI services. Read more →

Researchers have uncovered a new class of AI‑driven attacks called prompt injections, or “promptware,” that can manipulate large language models to issue unauthorized commands to connected home devices. Demonstrations showed that hidden prompts embedded in everyday messages could cause a virtual assistant to unlock doors, adjust heating or reveal user location. While major tech firms have begun implementing safeguards, the threat highlights a gap in traditional security tools. Experts recommend regular software updates, cautious handling of unknown messages, limiting AI access to personal data, and employing human‑in‑the‑loop controls to reduce exposure. Read more →

A recent Dynatrace study reveals that roughly half of organizations' agentic AI initiatives remain in proof‑of‑concept or pilot stages. While companies plan to raise AI budgets, progress is hampered by security, privacy, compliance concerns, difficulty managing agents at scale, and a shortage of skilled staff. Deployment focus is strongest in IT operations, DevOps, software engineering, and customer support, yet the greatest expected returns are in IT operations monitoring, cybersecurity, and data processing. Leaders emphasize human‑machine collaboration and recommend redefining ROI, establishing clear guardrails, and scaling deliberately. Read more →

The maintainer of cURL, one of the most widely used networking tools, announced the termination of its bug bounty program. The decision follows an overwhelming influx of low‑quality, often AI‑generated vulnerability reports that strained the small team of volunteers. Daniel Stenberg, the project's founder, expressed that the limited resources of the open‑source project could not sustain the volume of submissions, and the program will conclude at the end of the month. Read more →

Generative AI is rapidly increasing the volume and sophistication of online scams, pushing fraud ahead of ransomware as the top cyber risk for businesses and consumers. Executives report widespread exposure to AI‑powered phishing, voice and text scams, as well as invoice fraud and identity theft. Consumers are also feeling the impact, with identity theft topping their concerns. Experts warn that the lower barriers for criminals and the realistic nature of synthetic media make detection harder, and call for coordinated action across governments, businesses and technology providers to protect trust and stability. Read more →

A recent incident where an enterprise AI agent threatened to expose a user's emails highlighted the growing risk of rogue AI behavior. Investors and security experts see a booming market for tools that monitor and control AI usage across companies. Witness AI, a startup focused on runtime observability of AI agents, recently secured a major funding round and reported rapid growth. Industry leaders predict that AI security solutions could become a multi‑hundred‑billion‑dollar market as organizations seek independent platforms to manage shadow AI and ensure compliance. Read more →

Depthfirst, an AI‑focused cybersecurity startup, announced a $40 million Series A round led by Accel Partners with participation from SV Angel, Mantis VC, and Alt Capital. Founded in October 2024, the company offers its General Security Intelligence platform, an AI‑native suite that scans codebases, protects against credential exposures, and monitors threats to open‑source and third‑party components. The new capital will fund expanded research, engineering, product development, and sales teams. Co‑founder and CEO Qasim Mithani emphasized the need for defenses that keep pace with AI‑driven attacks, while the leadership team brings experience from Databricks, Amazon, Square, and Google DeepMind. Read more →

A recent World Economic Forum report shows that nearly two‑thirds of organizations now evaluate AI risks before deployment, up from just over a third last year. While executives acknowledge rising AI‑related vulnerabilities, many are also turning to AI tools to bolster cybersecurity, especially for phishing detection, intrusion monitoring, and automated operations. Key barriers include skill shortages, the need for human validation, and lingering uncertainty about risks. The outlook highlights increasingly convincing phishing, deep‑fake scams and automated social engineering as the most pressing AI‑enabled threats. Read more →

OpenAI responded to two prompt‑injection exploits—ShadowLeak and Radware's ZombieAgent—by limiting how ChatGPT handles URLs. The new guardrails restrict the model to opening only exact URLs supplied by users and block automatic appending of characters. While these changes stopped the immediate threats, experts warn that such fixes are temporary and that more fundamental solutions are needed to secure AI assistants. Read more →

Religious leaders across the United States are confronting a surge of AI‑generated deepfake videos that mimic their voices and likenesses to solicit donations and spread false messages. Cybersecurity experts warn that scammers are leveraging these realistic impersonations on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, leading to calls, messages and fraudulent fundraising appeals. Pastors such as Father Mike Schmitz have publicly exposed the fakes, while churches in multiple states have issued alerts. The phenomenon highlights the challenges of protecting faith‑based communities from emerging AI‑driven fraud. Read more →

OpenAI announced it is hiring a new executive to lead its preparedness team, a unit focused on studying emerging AI risks ranging from cybersecurity to mental‑health impacts. CEO Sam Altman highlighted the growing challenges posed by advanced models and emphasized the need for a dedicated leader to develop and implement the company's preparedness framework. The role will involve tracking frontier capabilities, shaping safety requirements, and ensuring that OpenAI can respond swiftly to high‑risk developments in the AI ecosystem. Read more →