City officials announced on Monday that Bangkok has joined forces with Google in a new effort to ease its chronic traffic congestion and reduce air pollution. The initiative will rely on Google’s AI and significant data capabilities to optimise traffic signals’ response to real-time driving patterns.
The system will analyse ongoing traffic conditions and suggest changes to signal timings that could help relieve road bottlenecks, especially during rush hours. That adaptive approach marks a shift from fixed-timing traffic lights to a more dynamic and responsive traffic flow management.
According to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) spokesman Ekwaranyu Amrapal, the goal is to make daily commutes smoother for residents while reducing vehicle emissions. He emphasised the city’s commitment to innovative urban solutions that blend technology and sustainability.
Residents are also urged to report traffic problems via the city’s Traffy Fondue platform, which will help officials address specific trouble spots more quickly and effectively.
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A Manhattan-based crypto investor has been charged with kidnapping an Italian man. He allegedly tortured the victim in an attempt to gain access to his Bitcoin wallet.
John Woeltz, 37, was arrested on 24 May and later appeared in court, where he pleaded not guilty to four felony charges, including kidnapping for ransom.
Police said the 28-year-old victim was held inside a rented townhouse in Soho after arriving in the US on 6 May. He was allegedly beaten, electroshocked, and threatened with a firearm when he refused to give up his wallet credentials.
The man eventually escaped and contacted the authorities. Photographs found at the scene appeared to show signs of ongoing abuse.
A woman was also taken into custody, although no charges were filed against her. Investigators have not confirmed whether any cryptocurrency was taken or what the relationship between the parties may have been.
The case comes as more crypto executives and investors seek private security due to a rise in ransom threats. In France, authorities have introduced extra protections for those in the crypto industry.
These measures follow several kidnapping incidents, including the abduction of Ledger co-founder David Balland earlier this year.
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AI agents are becoming common in crypto, embedded in wallets, trading bots and onchain assistants that automate decisions and tasks. At the core of many AI agents lies the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which controls their behaviour and interactions.
While MCP offers flexibility, it also opens up multiple security risks.
Security researchers at SlowMist have identified four main ways attackers could exploit AI agents via malicious plugins. These include data poisoning, JSON injection, function overrides, and cross-MCP calls, all of which can manipulate or disrupt an agent’s operations.
Unlike poisoning AI models during training, these attacks target real-time interactions and plugin behaviour.
The number of AI agents in crypto is growing rapidly, expected to reach over one million in 2025. Experts warn that failing to secure the AI layer early could expose crypto assets to serious threats, such as private key leaks or unauthorised access.
Developers are urged to enforce strict plugin verification, sanitise inputs, and apply least privilege access to prevent these vulnerabilities.
Building AI agents quickly without security measures risks costly breaches. While adding protections may be tedious, experts agree it is essential to protect crypto wallets and funds as AI agents become more widespread.
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Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, threat actors have used generative AI to write malware, craft phishing emails, and execute realistic social engineering schemes.
One notable case from January 2024 involved a finance employee who was deceived into transferring $25 million during a video call with AI-generated deepfakes of company executives.
Criminals have also found ways to bypass safety features in AI models using techniques such as prompt chaining, injection, and jailbreaking to generate malicious outputs.
While generative AI has already lowered the barrier to entry for cybercrime, the report highlights that agentic AI—capable of autonomously executing complex tasks—poses a far greater risk by automating time-consuming attacks like ransomware at scale.
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Staying safe from cybercriminals can be surprisingly simple. While AI-powered scams grow more realistic, some signs are still painfully obvious.
If you spot the letters ‘.TOP’ in any message link, it’s best to stop reading and hit delete. That single clue is often enough to expose a scam in progress.
Most malicious texts pose as alerts about road tolls, deliveries or account issues, using trusted brand names to lure victims into clicking fake links.
These links often lead to freshly created domains designed to look convincing, yet they typically vanish within hours. Millions of such messages are sent monthly, and they’re powered by a constant churn of throwaway domains.
The worst of these is the ‘.TOP’ top-level domain (TLD), which has become infamous for its role in phishing and scam operations. Although launched in 2014 for premium business use, its low cost and lack of oversight quickly made it a favourite among cyber gangs, especially those based in China.
Today, nearly one-third of all .TOP domains are linked to cybercrime — far surpassing the criminal activity seen on mainstream domains like ‘.com’.
Despite repeated warnings and an unresolved compliance notice from internet regulator ICANN, abuse linked to .TOP has only worsened.
Experts warn that it is highly unlikely any legitimate Western organisation would ever use a .TOP domain. If one appears in your messages, the safest option is to delete it without clicking.
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As AI-generated images grow increasingly lifelike, a cyber security expert has warned that families should create secret passwords to guard against deepfake scams.
Cody Barrow, chief executive of EclecticIQ and a former US government adviser, says AI is making it far easier for criminals to impersonate others using fabricated videos or images.
Mr Barrow and his wife now use a private code to confirm each other’s identity if either receives a suspicious message or video.
He believes this precaution, simple enough for anyone regardless of age or digital skills, could soon become essential. ‘It may sound dramatic here in May 2025,’ he said, ‘but I’m quite confident that in a few years, if not months, people will say: I should have done that.’
The warning comes the same week Google launched Veo 3, its AI video generator capable of producing hyper-realistic footage and lifelike dialogue. Its public release has raised concerns about how easily deepfakes could be misused for scams or manipulation.
Meanwhile, President Trump signed the ‘Take It Down Act’ into law, making the creation of deepfake pornography a criminal offence. The bipartisan measure will see prison terms for anyone producing or uploading such content, with First Lady Melania Trump stating it will ‘prioritise people over politics’
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Texas is considering a bill that would ban social media use for anyone under 18. The proposal, which recently advanced past the state Senate committee, is expected to be voted on before the legislative session ends June 2.
If passed, the bill would require platforms to verify the age of all users and allow parents to delete their child’s account. Platforms would have 10 days to comply or face penalties from the state attorney general.
This follows similar efforts in other states. Florida recently enacted a law banning social media use for children under 14 and requiring parental consent for those aged 14 to 15. The Texas bill, however, proposes broader restrictions.
At the federal level, a Senate bill introduced in 2024 aims to bar children under 13 from using social media. While it remains stalled in committee, comments from Senators Brian Schatz and Ted Cruz suggest a renewed push may be underway.
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Telegram founder Pavel Durov will deliver a livestreamed keynote at the Oslo Freedom Forum, following a French court decision barring him from international travel. The Human Rights Foundation (HRF), which organizes the annual event, expressed disappointment at the court’s ruling.
Durov, currently under investigation in France, was arrested in August 2024 on charges related to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) distribution and failure to assist law enforcement.
He was released on €5 million bail but ordered to remain in the country and report to police twice a week. Durov maintains the charges are unfounded and says Telegram complies with law enforcement when possible.
Recently, Durov accused French intelligence chief Nicolas Lerner of pressuring him to censor political voices ahead of elections in Romania. France’s DGSE denies the allegation, saying meetings with Durov focused solely on national security threats.
The claim has sparked international debate, with figures like Elon Musk and Edward Snowden defending Durov’s stance on free speech.
Supporters say the legal action against Durov may be politically motivated and warn it could set a dangerous precedent for holding tech executives accountable for user content. Critics argue Telegram must do more to moderate harmful material.
Despite legal restrictions, HRF says Durov’s remote participation is vital for ongoing discussions around internet freedom and digital rights.
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Authorities across Europe, North America and the UK have dismantled a major global malware network by taking down over 300 servers and seizing millions in cryptocurrency. The operation, led by Eurojust, marks a significant phase of the ongoing Operation Endgame.
Law enforcement agencies from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, the UK, the US and Canada collaborated to target some of the world’s most dangerous malware variants and the cybercriminals responsible for them.
The takedown also resulted in international arrest warrants for 20 suspects and the identification of more than 36 individuals involved.
The latest move follows similar action in May 2024, which had been the largest coordinated effort against botnets. Since the start of the operation, over €21 million has been seized, including €3.5 million in cryptocurrency.
The malware disrupted in this crackdown, known as ‘initial access malware’, is used to gain a foothold in victims’ systems before further attacks like ransomware are launched.
Authorities have warned that Operation Endgame will continue, with further actions announced through the coalition’s website. Eighteen prime suspects will be added to the EU Most Wanted list.
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Five major US banking groups have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to drop its cyber security disclosure rule. The rule requires public companies to report incidents, such as data breaches, within four days.
The American Bankers Association and others said in a letter that the rule conflicts with systems built to protect critical infrastructure. They warned it may hurt law enforcement and cause market confusion.
The rule, introduced in July 2023, also affects crypto firms like Coinbase. However, the exchange recently reported a breach where hackers bribed staff for user data. Coinbase rejected a $20 million ransom but now faces at least seven lawsuits.
Banking groups want the SEC to remove Item 1.05 from Form 8-K rules. They argue investors would still be protected under existing rules for material information, without the risks of rushed public reporting.
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