Microsoft has addressed an Exchange Online outage that disrupted access to email and calendar services for users worldwide. The issue affected multiple connection methods, including Outlook on the web, Outlook desktop, and Exchange ActiveSync.
The company first acknowledged the problem early in the day, saying it was investigating reports of users being unable to access their mailboxes. According to a Microsoft 365 admin centre update, several Exchange Online connection protocols were impacted during the outage.
Although Microsoft later reported that telemetry indicated the issue was no longer occurring for most users, some customers continued to experience access problems. At one point, the Office.com portal also displayed an error message, preventing users from logging in.
Microsoft linked the disruption to an issue within its supporting network infrastructure, which affected how traffic was processed. Engineers implemented configuration changes to restore normal service and continue monitoring the platform to ensure stability.
In a later update, Microsoft confirmed that the Exchange Online outage had been mitigated and that services had been restored. The company said it is still investigating the root cause and will provide further details in a post-incident report, while a separate issue affecting Microsoft 365 Copilot web access remains under review.
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NVIDIA has unveiled the Vera CPU, designed specifically for agentic AI and reinforcement learning. It delivers 50% faster performance and double the energy efficiency, already adopted by Alibaba, Meta, ByteDance, Oracle Cloud, CoreWeave, and Lambda.
Vera features 88 Olympus cores, high-bandwidth memory, and advanced multithreading, supporting large-scale AI deployments. Liquid-cooled racks can host over 22,500 concurrent CPU environments, allowing enterprises and research labs to scale agentic AI efficiently.
The CPU integrates with NVIDIA GPUs via NVLink-C2C and includes ConnectX SuperNIC and BlueField-4 DPUs to enhance networking, storage, and security. Early users like Cursor and Redpanda report major gains in AI agent throughput and real-time data processing.
High performance, energy efficiency, and GPU integration make Vera a new standard for faster, scalable, and responsive AI systems. The platform supports coding assistants, reinforcement learning, and large-scale data, making it suitable for enterprise and scientific use.
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Rising demand for AI and cloud computing is driving a surge in data centre construction, pushing operators to adopt new security solutions. Companies are increasingly deploying robotic dogs to patrol sites and monitor operations.
These four-legged machines can inspect equipment, detect anomalies and alert staff before issues escalate. Merry Frayne, senior director of product management at Boston Dynamics, noted a sharp increase in interest as investment in data infrastructure continues to grow.
Developed by firms such as Boston Dynamics and Ghost Robotics, the robots are designed to support rather than replace human guards. Their use can reduce costs by requiring fewer personnel while maintaining continuous monitoring.
The machines can travel long distances on a single charge and operate across both external and internal environments. Some facilities already use them on pre-programmed patrols to collect data and flag unusual activity.
At the same time, competition in robotics is intensifying globally, with companies exploring humanoid and AI-powered systems. Advances from firms like Nvidia and Tesla highlight how automation is expanding beyond security into broader industrial use.
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The European Commission has delayed a flagship tech sovereignty package for the second time, according to its latest College agenda. The measures are now scheduled for adoption on 27 May, after previously being postponed from March to April.
The tech sovereignty package includes several major initiatives aimed at strengthening EU tech sovereignty, such as the Cloud and AI Development Act, the Chips Act 2, an open-source strategy, and a roadmap for digitalisation and AI in energy. European Commission officials have not provided a reason for the latest delay.
The Cloud and AI Development Act is expected to define what constitutes a ‘sovereign’ cloud and simplify rules for building data centres. The proposal is designed to accelerate infrastructure development as Europe seeks to compete in the global AI race.
Chips Act 2 will follow up on the EU’s earlier semiconductor strategy, which struggled to boost domestic chip production significantly. The new proposal is expected to refine industrial policy efforts to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.
Meanwhile, the planned open source strategy aims to support European software ecosystems and reduce dependence on large US technology firms. By encouraging commercially viable open source projects, the EU hopes to strengthen its long-term digital autonomy.
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A service disruption has affected users of Microsoft Exchange Online, and Microsoft has confirmed ongoing investigations into mailbox access issues affecting enterprise customers worldwide.
Reports indicate that Microsoft users encountered difficulties connecting via multiple access points, including the Microsoft Outlook desktop and mobile applications and browser-based email services. The issue affects specific connection methods rather than the entire platform.
Organisations relying on cloud-based communication tools experienced interruptions in email workflows, calendar scheduling, and shared mailbox functionality. Such disruptions can significantly disrupt operational continuity, particularly for businesses that depend on real-time communication systems.
Updates through Microsoft’s service health channels suggest that engineering teams are working to identify the root cause, though no definitive explanation has yet been provided.
Such incidents highlight broader concerns around resilience in cloud infrastructure, as enterprises increasingly depend on centralised platforms for critical communication services.
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According to reports, OpenAI is preparing to integrate its AI video generator Sora directly into ChatGPT, a move that could expand the platform’s capabilities beyond text and image generation.
Sora currently operates as a standalone application and web service. Integrating the tool into ChatGPT could dramatically increase its visibility and usage, particularly given the chatbot’s massive global user base.
The company released an updated version of the model in 2025 that allows users to create, remix and even appear inside AI-generated videos. Bringing those features into ChatGPT would represent a major step toward making video generation a mainstream function within conversational AI systems.
Competition in the generative video market is intensifying. Companies, including Google, are developing similar technologies, with the company’s Gemini platform offering video creation powered by the Veo system. Other developers are also launching text-to-video models as the field rapidly expands.
Despite the potential growth, integrating video generation into ChatGPT may significantly increase operating costs. Running large AI systems requires vast computing resources and energy, and the chatbot already costs billions of dollars annually to operate.
Although OpenAI earns revenue from subscriptions, the majority of ChatGPT users currently use the free version. The company is therefore exploring additional monetisation strategies, including advertising and new premium services.
Integrating Sora into ChatGPT could therefore serve both strategic and financial goals, strengthening the platform’s position in the competitive generative AI market while expanding the types of content users can create.
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Chrome is bringing its advanced AI features to users in India, New Zealand and Canada, aiming to simplify daily browsing tasks and provide instant support. The updates include the integration of Gemini in Chrome and support for over 50 languages.
Users can now interact with a personalised browsing assistant without switching tabs, receiving instant answers, summaries or creative suggestions. Gemini in Chrome allows multitasking and remembers previously visited pages for easier navigation.
Integrations with Google apps such as Gmail, Maps and YouTube enhance productivity directly from the browser. Users can draft emails, schedule meetings, or extract key points from videos without leaving their current page.
Chrome’s AI can also consolidate information from multiple open tabs, streamlining tasks like research or shopping. Nano Banana 2 allows users to transform images on the web in real time, without uploading files or switching windows.
Security remains a priority, with Chrome designed to detect threats and require confirmations for sensitive actions. Gemini in Chrome benefits from automated testing and updates to maintain robust protection as users explore new AI features.
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Competition authorities in the EU are broadening their oversight of the AI sector, examining every layer of the technology’s value chain.
Speaking at a conference in Berlin, Teresa Ribera explained that regulators are analysing the full ‘AI stack’ instead of focusing solely on consumer applications.
According to the competition chief, scrutiny extends beyond visible AI tools to the systems that support them. Investigations are assessing underlying models, the data used to train those models, as well as cloud infrastructure and energy resources that power AI systems.
Regulatory attention has already reached the application layer.
The European Commission opened an investigation in 2025 involving Meta after concerns emerged that the company could restrict competing AI assistants on its messaging platform WhatsApp.
Following regulatory pressure, Meta proposed allowing rival AI chatbots on the platform in exchange for a fee. European regulators are now assessing the proposal to determine whether additional intervention is necessary to preserve fair competition in rapidly evolving digital markets.
Authorities have also examined concentration risks across other parts of the AI ecosystem, including the infrastructure layer dominated by companies such as Nvidia.
Regulators argue that effective competition oversight must address the entire technology stack as AI markets expand quickly.
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Google has completed the largest acquisition in its history, finalising the $32 billion purchase of cloud security firm Wiz. The company confirmed that Wiz will join Google Cloud while continuing to operate under its existing brand and maintaining support for multiple cloud platforms.
Wiz has built its reputation as a cloud and AI security platform designed to monitor risks across different cloud environments. The company’s technology connects code, cloud infrastructure, and runtime operations into a single security context, allowing development and security teams to detect vulnerabilities earlier and respond to threats affecting cloud workloads.
Google Cloud leaders say the acquisition strengthens the company’s broader security strategy. Wiz will complement existing services such as Google Threat Intelligence, Google Security Operations and Mandiant Consulting, contributing to a unified security platform designed to protect cloud-native applications and enterprise infrastructure.
Both companies emphasise that Wiz will remain committed to a multicloud approach. Its products will continue to operate across platforms, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud, reflecting the company’s existing model of providing visibility and security across competing cloud ecosystems.
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A new Android malware called BeatBanker is targeting users in Brazil through fake Starlink and government apps. The malware hijacks devices, steals banking credentials, tampers with cryptocurrency transactions, and secretly mines Monero.
Infection begins on phishing websites mimicking the Google Play Store or the ‘INSS Reembolso’ app. Users are tricked into installing trojanised APKs, which evade detection through memory-based decryption and by blocking analysis environments.
BeatBanker initially combined a banking trojan with a cryptocurrency miner. It uses accessibility permissions to monitor browsers and crypto apps, overlaying fake screens to redirect Tether and other crypto transfers.
A foreground service plays silent audio loops to prevent the device from shutting down, while Firebase Cloud Messaging enables remote control of infected devices.
The latest variant replaces the banking module with the BTMOB RAT, providing full control over devices. Capabilities include automatic permissions, background persistence, keylogging, GPS tracking, camera access, and screen-lock credential capture.
Kaspersky warns that BeatBanker demonstrates the growing sophistication of mobile threats and multi-layered malware campaigns.
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