Anthropic has outlined a multi-layered safety plan for Claude, aiming to keep it useful while preventing misuse. Its Safeguards team blends policy experts, engineers, and threat analysts to anticipate and counter risks.
The Usage Policy establishes clear guidelines for sensitive areas, including elections, finance, and child safety. Guided by the Unified Harm Framework, the team assesses potential physical, psychological, and societal harms, utilizing external experts for stress tests.
During the 2024 US elections, a TurboVote banner was added after detecting outdated voting info, ensuring users saw only accurate, non-partisan updates.
Safety is built into development, with guardrails to block illegal or malicious requests. Partnerships like ThroughLine help Claude handle sensitive topics, such as mental health, with care rather than avoidance or refusal.
Before launch, Claude undergoes safety, risk, and bias evaluations with government and industry partners. Once live, classifiers scan for violations in real time, while analysts track patterns of coordinated misuse.
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Adult site traffic in the UK has fallen dramatically since the new age verification rules were enacted on 25 July under the Online Safety Act.
Figures from analytics firm Similarweb show Pornhub lost more than one million visitors in just two weeks, with traffic falling by 47%. XVideos saw a similar drop, while OnlyFans traffic fell by more than 10%.
The rules require adult websites to make it harder for under-18s to access explicit material, leading some users to turn to smaller and less regulated sites instead of compliant platforms. Pornhub said the trend mirrored patterns seen in other countries with similar laws.
The clampdown has also triggered a surge in virtual private network (VPN) downloads in the UK, as the tools can hide a user’s location and help bypass restrictions.
Ofcom estimates that 14 million people in the UK watch pornography and has proposed age checks using credit cards, photo ID, or AI analysis of selfies.
Critics argue that instead of improving safety, the measures may drive people towards more extreme or illicit material on harder-to-monitor parts of the internet, including the dark web.
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Russian authorities have begun partially restricting calls on Telegram and WhatsApp, citing the need for crime prevention. Regulator Roskomnadzor accused the platforms of enabling fraud, extortion, and terrorism while ignoring repeated requests to act. Neither platform commented immediately.
Russia has long tightened internet control through restrictive laws, bans, and traffic monitoring. VPNs remain a workaround, but are often blocked. During this summer, further limits included mobile internet shutdowns and penalties for specific online searches.
Authorities have introduced a new national messaging app, MAX, which is expected to be heavily monitored. Reports suggest disruptions to WhatsApp and Telegram calls began earlier this week. Complaints cited dropped calls or muted conversations.
With 96 million monthly users, WhatsApp is Russia’s most popular platform, followed by Telegram with 89 million. Past clashes include Russia’s failed Attempt to ban Telegram (2018–20) and Meta’s designation as an extremist entity in 2022.
WhatsApp accused Russia of trying to block encrypted communication and vowed to keep it available. Lawmaker Anton Gorelkin suggested that MAX should replace WhatsApp. The app’s terms permit data sharing with authorities and require pre-installation on all smartphones sold in Russia.
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The Netherlands’ competition authority will meet with 12 major online platforms, including TikTok, Facebook and X, on 15 September to address the spread before the 29 October elections.
The session will also involve the European Commission, national regulators and civil society groups.
The Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), which enforces the EU’s Digital Services Act in the Netherlands, is mandated to oversee election integrity under the law. The vote was called early in June after the Dutch government collapsed over migration policy disputes.
Platforms designated as Very Large Online Platforms must uphold transparent policies for moderating content and act decisively against illegal material, ACM director Manon Leijten said.
In July, the ACM contacted the platforms to outline their legal obligations, request details for their Trust and Safety teams and collect responses to a questionnaire on safeguarding public debate.
The September meeting will evaluate how companies plan to tackle disinformation, foreign interference and illegal hate speech during the campaign period.
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A new fraud tactic is emerging, with con artists posing as lawyers to target cryptocurrency scam victims. They exploit desperation by promising to recover lost funds, using elaborate ruses like fabricated government partnerships and forged documents.
Sophisticated tactics, including fake websites and staged WhatsApp chats, pressure people into paying additional fees.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a warning about the scam. Fake law firms use detailed knowledge of a victim’s prior losses to appear credible, knowing the exact amounts and dates of fraudulent transactions.
The scheme often escalates when victims are directed to deposit money into what appear to be foreign bank accounts, which are sophisticated facades designed to steal more funds.
The FBI recommends a ‘Zero Trust’ approach to combat fraud. Any unsolicited recovery offer should be met with immediate scepticism. A major red flag is if a representative refuses to appear on camera or provide their licensing details.
The bureau also advises keeping detailed records of all interactions, like emails and video calls, as documentation could prove invaluable for investigators.
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Google Play is introducing new policies for cryptocurrency wallet applications. The new rules will require them to be licensed in more than fifteen countries, including the United States and the European Union.
The changes, which come into effect on 29 October, will require providers in the US to register as a money services business or money transmitter. Those in the EU, meanwhile, must register as a crypto-asset service provider.
The updated rules, which aim to ensure compliance with industry standards, will not apply to non-custodial wallets. Following initial concerns from the crypto community, Google clarified the policy on X, stating that non-custodial apps are not in scope.
The new regulations could lead to a broader adoption of Know Your Customer checks and other anti-money laundering measures for the affected apps.
Google Play has a mixed history with cryptocurrency, having previously banned crypto mining apps in 2018 and removed several crypto news and video games. In 2021, the company removed several deceptive apps for allegedly tricking users into paying for an illegitimate cloud service.
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Law enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad have coordinated a raid to dismantle the BlackSuit ransomware operation, seizing servers and domains and approximately $1 million in cryptocurrency linked to ransom demands.
The action, led by the Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations, the Secret Service, the IRS and the FBI, involved cooperation with agencies across the UK, Germany, France, Canada, Ukraine, Ireland and Lithuania.
BlackSuit, a rebranded successor to the Royal ransomware gang and connected to the notorious Conti group, has been active since 2022. It has targeted over 450 US organisations across healthcare, government, manufacturing and education sectors, demanding more than $370 million in ransoms.
The crypto seized was traced back to a 2023 ransom payment of around 49.3 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $1.4 million. Investigators worked with cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze and recover roughly $1 million of those funds in early 2024.
While this marks a significant blow to the gang’s operations, officials warn that without arrests, the threat may persist or re-emerge under new identities.
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Chrome security update fixes six flaws that could enable arbitrary code execution. Stable channel 139.0.7258.127/.128 (Windows, Mac) and .127 (Linux) ships high-severity patches that protect user data and system integrity.
CVE-2025-8879 is a heap buffer overflow in libaom’s video codec. CVE-2025-8880 is a V8 race condition reported by Seunghyun Lee. CVE-2025-8901 is an out-of-bounds write in ANGLE.
Detection methods included AddressSanitizer, MemorySanitizer, UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer, Control Flow Integrity, libFuzzer, and AFL. Further fixes address CVE-2025-8881 in File Picker and CVE-2025-8882, a use-after-free in Aura.
Successful exploitation could allow code to run with browser privileges through overflows and race conditions. The automatic rollout is staged; users should update it manually by going to Settings > About Chrome.
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Tesla is recruiting drivers in Queens, New York, to operate vehicles fitted with automated driving systems. The company has not yet secured the permits required for autonomous vehicle testing in the city.
The roles involve driving specially equipped cars for extended periods while collecting audio and video data to train Tesla’s self-driving technology. However, the New York City Department of Transportation confirmed Tesla has yet to apply for the necessary authorisation.
By law, any approved operator must have a trained safety driver ready to take control at all times.
Tesla is advertising similar roles in Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Orlando, Miami and Palo Alto, hinting at a nationwide expansion of its Full Self-Driving trials. In Texas, the company has approval to run a driverless robotaxi service, now limited to Austin employees but likely opening to the public soon.
The company’s push into autonomous driving faces significant hurdles, including regulatory scrutiny, legal disputes and safety concerns. Meanwhile, electric vehicle sales have slowed, with critics blaming product missteps and CEO Elon Musk’s divisive remarks.
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Zenity Labs warned at Black Hat USA that widely used AI agents can be hijacked without interaction. Attacks could exfiltrate data, manipulate workflows, impersonate users, and persist via agent memory. Researchers said knowledge sources and instructions could be poisoned.
Demos showed risks across major platforms. ChatGPT was tricked into accessing a linked Google Drive via email prompt injection. Microsoft Copilot Studio agents leaked CRM data. Salesforce Einstein rerouted customer emails. Gemini and Microsoft 365 Copilot were steered into insider-style attacks.
Vendors were notified under coordinated disclosure. Microsoft stated that ongoing platform updates have stopped the reported behaviour and highlighted built-in safeguards. OpenAI confirmed a patch and a bug bounty programme. Salesforce said its issue was fixed. Google pointed to newly deployed, layered defences.
Enterprise adoption of AI agents is accelerating, raising the stakes for governance and security. Aim Labs, which had previously flagged similar zero-click risks, said frameworks often lack guardrails. Responsibility frequently falls on organisations deploying agents, noted Aim Labs’ Itay Ravia.
Researchers and vendors emphasise layered defence against prompt injection and misuse. Strong access controls, careful tool exposure, and monitoring of agent memory and connectors remain priorities as agent capabilities expand in production.
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