Cybersecurity

The risky rise of all-in-one AI companions

A concerning new trend is emerging: AI companions are merging with mental health tools, blurring ethical lines. Human therapists are required to maintain a professional distance. Yet AI doesn’t follow such rules; it can be both confidant and counsellor.

AI chatbots are increasingly marketed as friendly companions. At the same time, they can offer mental health advice. Combined, you get an AI friend who also becomes your emotional guide. The mix might feel comforting, but it’s not without risks.

Unlike a human therapist, AI has no ethical compass. It mimics caring responses based on patterns, not understanding. One prompt might trigger empathetic advice and best-friend energy, a murky interaction without safeguards.

The deeper issue? There’s little incentive for AI makers to stop this. Blending companionship and therapy boosts user engagement and profits. Unless laws intervene, these all-in-one bots will keep evolving.

There’s also a massive privacy cost. People confide personal feelings to these bots, often daily, for months. The data may be reviewed, stored, and reused to train future models. Your digital friend and therapist might also be your data collector.

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Google signs groundbreaking deal to cut data centre energy use

Google has become the first major tech firm to sign formal agreements with US electric utilities to ease grid pressure. The deals come as data centres drive unprecedented energy demand, straining power infrastructure in several regions.

The company will work with Indiana Michigan Power and Tennessee Valley Authority to reduce electricity usage during peak demand. These arrangements will help divert power to general utilities when needed.

Under the agreements, Google will temporarily scale down its data centre operations, particularly those linked to energy-intensive AI and machine learning workloads.

Google described the initiative as a way to speed up data centre integration with local grids while avoiding costly infrastructure expansion. The move reflects growing concern over AI’s rising energy footprint.

Demand-response programmes, once used mainly in heavy manufacturing and crypto mining, are now being adopted by tech firms to stabilise grids in return for lower energy costs.

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The US launches $100 million cybersecurity grant for states

The US government has unveiled more than $100 million in funding to help local and tribal communities strengthen their cybersecurity defences.

The announcement came jointly from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), both part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Instead of a single pool, the funding is split into two distinct grants. The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) will provide $91.7 million to 56 states and territories, while the Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program (TCGP) allocates $12.1 million specifically for tribal governments.

These funds aim to support cybersecurity planning, exercises and service improvements.

CISA’s acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, said the grants ensure communities have the tools needed to defend digital infrastructure and reduce cyber risks. The effort follows a significant cyberattack on St. Paul, Minnesota, which prompted a state of emergency and deployment of the National Guard.

Officials say the funding reflects a national commitment to proactive digital resilience instead of reactive crisis management. Homeland Security leaders describe the grant as both a strategic investment in critical infrastructure and a responsible use of taxpayer funds.

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Weak cyber hygiene in smart devices risks national infrastructure

The UK’s designation of data centres as Critical National Infrastructure highlights their growing strategic importance, yet a pressing concern remains over vulnerabilities in their OT and IoT systems. While IT security often receives significant investment, the same cannot be said for other technologies.

Attackers increasingly target these overlooked systems, gaining access through insecure devices such as IP cameras and biometric scanners. Many of these operate on outdated firmware and lack even basic protections, making them ideal footholds for malicious actors.

There have already been known breaches, with OT systems used in botnet activity and crypto mining, often without detection. These attacks not only compromise security in the UK but can destabilise infrastructure by overloading resources or bypassing safeguards.

Addressing these threats requires full visibility across all connected systems, with real-time monitoring, wireless traffic analysis, and network segmentation. Experts urge data centre operators to act now, not in response to a breach, but to prevent one entirely.

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AI’s transformation of work habits, mindset and lifestyle

At Mindvalley’s AI Summit, former Google Chief Decision Scientist Cassie Kozyrkov described AI as not a substitute for human thought but a magnifier of what the human mind can produce. Rather than replacing us, AI lets us offload mundane tasks and focus on deeper cognitive and creative work.

Work structures are being transformed, not just in factories, but behind computer screens. AI now handles administrative ‘work about work,’ multitasking, scheduling, and research summarisation, lowering friction in knowledge work and enabling people to supervise agents rather than execute tasks manually.

Personal life is being reshaped, too. AI tools for finance or health, such as budgeting apps or personalised diagnostics, move decisions into data-augmented systems with faster insight and fewer human biases.

Meanwhile, creativity is co-authored via AI-generated design, music or writing, requiring humans to filter, refine and ideate beyond the algorithm.

Recognising cognitive change, AI thought leaders envision a new era where ‘blended work’ prevails: humans manage AI agents, call the shots, and wield ethical oversight, while the AI executes pipelines of repetitive or semi-intelligent tasks.

Scholars warn that this model demands new fairness, transparency, and collaboration skills.

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Hackers infiltrate Southeast Asian telecom networks

A cyber group breached telecoms across Southeast Asia, deploying advanced tracking tools instead of stealing data. Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 assesses the activity as ‘associated with a nation-state nexus’.

A hacking group gained covert access to telecom networks across Southeast Asia, most likely to track users’ locations, according to cybersecurity analysts at Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42.

The campaign lasted from February to November 2024.

Instead of stealing data or directly communicating with mobile devices, the hackers deployed custom tools such as CordScan, designed to intercept mobile network protocols like SGSN. These methods suggest the attackers focused on tracking rather than data theft.

Unite42 assessed the activity ‘with high confidence’ as ‘associated with a nation state nexus’. The Unit notes that ‘this cluster heavily overlaps with activity attributed to Liminal Panda, a nation state adversary tracked by CrowdStrike’; according to CrowdStrike, Liminal Panda is considered to be a ‘likely China-nexus adversary’. It further states that ‘while this cluster significantly overlaps with Liminal Panda, we have also observed overlaps in attacker tooling with other reported groups and activity clusters, including Light Basin, UNC3886, UNC2891 and UNC1945.’

The attackers initially gained access by brute-forcing SSH credentials using login details specific to telecom equipment.

Once inside, they installed new malware, including a backdoor named NoDepDNS, which tunnels malicious data through port 53 — typically used for DNS traffic — in order to avoid detection.

To maintain stealth, the group disguised malware, altered file timestamps, disabled system security features and wiped authentication logs.

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The US considers chip tracking to prevent smuggling to China

The US is exploring how to build better location-tracking into advanced chips, as part of an effort to prevent American semiconductors from ending up in China.

Michael Kratsios, a senior official behind Donald Trump’s AI strategy, confirmed that software or physical updates to chips are being considered to support traceability.

Instead of relying on external enforcement, Washington aims to work directly with the tech industry to improve monitoring of chip movements. The strategy forms part of a broader national plan to counter smuggling and maintain US dominance in cutting-edge technologies.

Beijing recently summoned Nvidia representatives to address concerns over American proposals linked to tracking features and perceived security risks in the company’s H20 chips.

Although US officials have not directly talked with Nvidia or AMD on the matter, Kratsios clarified that chip tracking is now a formal objective.

The move comes even as Trump’s team signals readiness to lift certain export restrictions to China in return for trade benefits, such as rare-earth magnet sales to the US.

Kratsios criticised China’s push to lead global AI regulation, saying countries should define their paths instead of following a centralised model. He argued that the US innovation-first approach offers a more attractive alternative.

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AI tools like Grok 4 may make developers obsolete, Musk suggests

Elon Musk has predicted a major shift in software development, claiming that AI is turning coding from a job into a recreational activity. The xAI CEO believes AI has removed much of the ‘drudgery’ from writing software.

Replying to OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Musk compared the future of coding to painting. He suggested that software creation will be more creative and expressive, no longer requiring professional expertise for functional outcomes.

Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, left the organisation after a public dispute with the current CEO, Sam Altman. He later launched xAI, which now operates the Grok chatbot as a rival to ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.

Generative AI firms are accelerating efforts in automated coding. OpenAI recently launched Codex to create a cloud-based software engineering agent, while Microsoft released GitHub Spark AI to generate apps from natural language.

xAI’s latest offering, Grok 4, supports over 20 programming languages and integrates with code editors. It enables developers to write, debug, and understand code using commands.

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Hackers use steganography to evade Windows defences

North Korea-linked hacking group APT37 is using malicious JPEG image files to deploy advanced malware on Windows systems, according to Genians Security Centre. The new campaign showcases a more evasive version of RoKRAT malware, which hides payloads in image files through steganography.

These attacks rely on large Windows shortcut files embedded in email attachments or cloud storage links, enticing users with decoy documents while executing hidden code. Once activated, the malware launches scripts to decrypt shellcode and inject it into trusted apps like MS Paint and Notepad.

This fileless strategy makes detection difficult, avoiding traditional antivirus tools by leaving minimal traces. The malware also exfiltrates data through legitimate cloud services, complicating efforts to trace and block the threat.

Researchers stress the urgency for organisations to adopt cybersecurity measures, behavioural monitoring, robust end point management, and ongoing user education. Defenders must prioritise proactive strategies to protect critical systems as threat actors evolve.

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Eswatini advances digital vision with new laws, 5G and skills training

Eswatini is moving forward with a national digital transformation plan focused on infrastructure, legislation and skills development.

The country’s Minister of ICT, Savannah Maziya, outlined key milestones during the 2025 Eswatini Economic Update, co-hosted with the World Bank.

In her remarks, Maziya said that digital technology plays a central role in job creation, governance and economic development. She introduced several regulatory frameworks, including a Cybersecurity Bill, a Critical Infrastructure Bill and an E-Commerce Strategy.

Additional legislation is planned for emerging technologies such as AI, robotics and satellite systems.

Infrastructure improvements include the nationwide expansion of fibre optic networks and a rise in international connectivity capacity from 47 Gbps to 72 Gbps.

Mbabane, the capital, is being developed as a Smart City with 5G coverage, AI-enabled surveillance and public Wi-Fi access.

The Ministry of ICT has launched more than 11 digital public services and plans to add 90 more in the next three years.

A nationwide coding initiative will offer digital skills training to over 300,000 citizens, supporting wider efforts to increase access and participation in the digital economy.

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