What are the most pressing cyber security concerns going into 2025?
How can we mitigate and bolster our resilience against emerging AI-driven threats?
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The People Search Sites in the Suspected Minnesota Killer’s Notebook Are a Failure of Congress
On Monday, federal and state authorities charged Vance Boelter with the murders of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. An affidavit written by an FBI Special Agent, published here by MSNBC, includes photos of a notepad found in Boelter’s SUV which included a long list of people search sites, some of which make it…
UNT Cybersecurity Team Snags $3M to Use Advanced AI to Overhaul Defense Department Hiring Processes
Aiming to safeguard national security using advanced AI, cybersecurity experts at the University of North Texas have received $3 million from the Department of Defense to help the department overhaul its hiring processes. The UNT researchers, led by computer science and engineering faculty Ram Dantu and Cihan Tunc, received $2.1 million in funding from the…
John Deere Must Face FTC Lawsuit Over Its Tractor Repair Monopoly, Judge Rules
A judge ruled that John Deere must face a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission and five states over its tractor and agricultural equipment repair monopoly, and rejected the company’s argument that the case should be thrown out. This means Deere is now facing both a class action lawsuit and a federal antitrust lawsuit over…
The Latest Defense Against ICE: 3D-Printed Whistles
Chicagoans have turned to a novel piece of tech that marries the old-school with the new to warn their communities about the presence of ICE officials: 3D-printed whistles. The goal is to “prevent as many people from being kidnapped as possible,” Aaron Tsui, an activist with Chicago-based organization Cycling Solidarity, and who has been printing…
‘It’s Just a Mess:’ 23 People Explain How Tariffs Have Suddenly Ruined Their Hobby
Less than two weeks ago, the Trump administration ended de minimis, a rule that let people buy products from overseas without paying tariffs or associated processing fees if the item cost less than $800. As we predicted, the end of de minimis has made having basically any sort of hobby that requires the purchase of…
Behind the Blog: Is This Headline ‘Clickbait’?
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss conversational AI, a behind the scenes of the zine, and more. EMANUEL: I made the terrible mistake of looking at some Hacker News comments this week for…
New Research Shows Deepfake Harassment Tools Spread on Social Media and Search Engines
A new analysis of synthetic intimate image abuse (SIIA) found that the tools for making non-consensual, sexually explicit deepfakes are easily discoverable all over social media and through simple searches on Google and Bing. Research published by the counter-extremism organization Institute for Strategic Dialogue shows how tools for creating non-consensual deepfakes spread across the internet….
What’s in Your Head? A Plastic Spoon and Lost Baby Memories
Welcome back to the Abstract! You are all in for a treat this week. Scientists have opened up a new book of genomes and discovered a swashbuckling saga for the ages written inside. I don’t even want to say anything more to spoil it. I’m excited for you! Then, microplastics are in the air you…
Donald Trump just announced a huge AI plan with Sam Altman. Elon Musk quickly threw cold water on it.
Stargate is supposed to spend $500 billion on AI infrastructure, President Trump said. But Elon Musk suggested that the venture has much less cash.