Cybersecurity

WhatsApp adds passkey encryption for safer chat backups

Meta is rolling out a new security feature for WhatsApp that allows users to encrypt their chat backups using passkeys instead of passwords or lengthy encryption codes.

A feature for WhatsApp that enables users to protect their backups with biometric authentication such as fingerprints, facial recognition or screen lock codes.

WhatsApp became the first messaging service to introduce end-to-end encrypted backups over four years ago, and Meta says the new update builds on that foundation to make privacy simpler and more accessible.

With passkey encryption, users can secure and access their chat history easily without the need to remember complex keys.

The feature will be gradually introduced worldwide over the coming months. Users can activate it by going to WhatsApp settings, selecting Chats, then Chat backup, and enabling end-to-end encrypted backup.

Meta says the goal is to make secure communication effortless while ensuring that private messages remain protected from unauthorised access.

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Trainium2 power surges as AWS’s Project Rainier enters service for Anthropic

Anthropic and AWS switched on Project Rainier, a vast Trainium2 cluster spanning multiple US sites to accelerate Claude’s evolution.

Project Rainier is now fully operational, less than a year after its announcement. AWS engineered an EC2 UltraCluster of Trainium2 UltraServers to deliver massive training capacity. Anthropic says it offers more than five times the compute used for prior Claude models.

UltraServers bind four Trainium2 servers with high-speed NeuronLinks so 64 chips act as one. Tens of thousands of networks are connected through Elastic Fabric Adapter across buildings. The design reduces latency within racks while preserving flexible scale across data centres.

Anthropic is already training and serving Claude on Rainier across the US and plans to exceed one million Trainium2 chips by year’s end. More computing should raise model accuracy, speed evaluations, and shorten iteration cycles for new frontier releases.

AWS controls the stack from chip to data centre for reliability and efficiency. Teams tune power delivery, cooling, and software orchestration. New sites add water-wise cooling, contributing to the company’s renewable energy and net-zero goals.

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National internet shutdown grips Tanzania during contested vote

Tanzania is facing a nationwide internet shutdown that began as citizens headed to the polls in a tense general election. Connectivity across the country has been severely disrupted, with platforms like X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, and Instagram rendered inaccessible.

The blackout, confirmed by monitoring group NetBlocks, has left journalists, election observers, and citizens in Tanzania struggling to share updates as reports of protests and unrest spread. The government has reportedly deployed the army, deepening concerns over efforts to control information during this volatile period.

The move mirrors a growing global pattern where authorities restrict internet access during elections and political crises to curb dissent and manage narratives. Amnesty International has condemned the shutdown, warning that it risks escalating tensions and violating citizens’ right to information.

‘Authorities must ensure full internet access and allow free reporting before, during, and after the elections,’ said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

Tanzania’s blackout follows similar crackdowns elsewhere, such as Afghanistan’s total internet shutdown, which left citizens completely cut off from the world.

These incidents underscore the fragility of digital freedoms in times of political turmoil. When governments ‘pull the plug,’ societies lose not only communication but also trust, transparency, and the fundamental ability to hold power to account.

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AI-driven cybercrime rises across Asia

Cybersecurity experts met in Dubai for the World Economic Forum’s Annual Global Future Councils and Cybersecurity meetings. More than 500 participants, including 150 top cybersecurity leaders, discussed how emerging technologies such as AI are reshaping digital security.

UAE officials highlighted the importance of resilience, trust and secure infrastructure as fundamental to future prosperity. Sessions examined how geopolitical shifts and technological advances are changing the cyber landscape and stressed the need for coordinated global action.

AI-driven cybercrime is rising sharply in Japan, with criminals exploiting advanced technology to scale attacks and target data. Recent incidents include a cyber attack on Asahi Breweries, which temporarily halted production at its domestic factories.

Authorities are calling for stronger cross-border collaboration and improved cybersecurity measures, while Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, pledged to enhance cooperation on AI and cybersecurity with regional partners.

Significant global developments include the signing of the first UN cybercrime treaty by 65 nations in Viet Nam, establishing a framework for international cooperation, rapid-response networks and stronger legal protections.

High-profile cyber incidents in the UK, including attacks on Jaguar Land Rover and a nursery chain, have highlighted the growing economic and social costs of cybercrime. These events are prompting calls for businesses to prioritise cyber resilience.

Experts warn that technology is evolving faster than cyber defences, leaving small businesses and less developed regions highly vulnerable. Integrating AI, automation and proactive security strategies is seen as essential to protect organizations and ensure global digital stability.

Cyber resilience is increasingly recognised not just as an IT issue but as a strategic imperative for economic and national security.

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OpenAI unveils new gpt-oss-safeguard models for adaptive content safety

Yesterday, OpenAI launched gpt-oss-safeguard, a pair of open-weight reasoning models designed to classify content according to developer-specified safety policies.

Available in 120b and 20b sizes, these models allow developers to apply and revise policies during inference instead of relying on pre-trained classifiers.

They produce explanations of their reasoning, making policy enforcement transparent and adaptable. The models are downloadable under an Apache 2.0 licence, encouraging experimentation and modification.

The system excels in situations where potential risks evolve quickly, data is limited, or nuanced judgements are required.

Unlike traditional classifiers that infer policies from pre-labelled data, gpt-oss-safeguard interprets developer-provided policies directly, enabling more precise and flexible moderation.

The models have been tested internally and externally, showing competitive performance against OpenAI’s own Safety Reasoner and prior reasoning models. They can also support non-safety tasks, such as custom content labelling, depending on the developer’s goals.

OpenAI developed these models alongside ROOST and other partners, building a community to improve open safety tools collaboratively.

While gpt-oss-safeguard is computationally intensive and may not always surpass classifiers trained on extensive datasets, it offers a dynamic approach to content moderation and risk assessment.

Developers can integrate the models into their systems to classify messages, reviews, or chat content with transparent reasoning instead of static rule sets.

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Automakers and freight partners join NVIDIA and Uber to accelerate level 4 deployments

NVIDIA and Uber partner on level 4-ready fleets using the DRIVE AGX Hyperion 10, aiming to scale a unified human-and-robot driver network from 2027. A joint AI data factory on NVIDIA Cosmos will curate training data, aiming to reach 100,000 vehicles over time.

DRIVE AGX Hyperion 10 is a reference compute and sensor stack for level 4 readiness across cars, vans, and trucks. Automakers can pair validated hardware with compatible autonomy software to speed safer, scalable, AI-defined mobility. Passenger and freight services gain faster paths from prototype to fleet.

Stellantis, Lucid, and Mercedes-Benz are preparing passenger platforms on Hyperion 10. Aurora, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, and Waabi are extending level 4 capability to long-haul trucking. Avride, May Mobility, Momenta, Nuro, Pony.ai, Wayve, and WeRide continue to build on NVIDIA DRIVE.

The production platform pairs dual DRIVE AGX Thor on Blackwell with DriveOS and a qualified multimodal sensor suite. Cameras, radar, lidar, and ultrasonics deliver 360-degree coverage. Modular design plus PCIe, Ethernet, confidential computing, and liquid cooling support upgrades and uptime.

NVIDIA is also launching Halos, a cloud-to-vehicle AI safety and certification system with an ANSI-accredited inspection lab and certification program. A multimodal AV dataset and reasoning VLA models aim to improve urban driving, testing, and validation for deployments.

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Microsoft restores Azure services after global outage

The US tech giant, Microsoft, has resolved a global outage affecting its Azure cloud services, which disrupted access to Office 365, Minecraft, and numerous other websites.

The company attributed the incident to a configuration change that triggered DNS issues, impacting businesses and consumers worldwide.

An outage that affected high-profile services, including Heathrow Airport, NatWest, Starbucks, and New Zealand’s police and parliament websites.

Microsoft restored access after several hours, but the event highlighted the fragility of the internet due to the concentration of cloud services among a few major providers.

Experts noted that reliance on platforms such as Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud creates systemic risks. Even minor configuration errors can ripple across thousands of interconnected systems, affecting payment processing, government operations, and online services.

Despite the disruption, Microsoft’s swift fix mitigated long-term impact. The company reiterated the importance of robust infrastructure and contingency planning as the global economy increasingly depends on cloud computing.

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Global alliance strengthens response to crypto crime

Global experts are stepping up efforts to combat the misuse of cryptocurrencies as criminal networks become increasingly sophisticated.

The 9th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptoassets was held in Vienna and co-organised by Europol, the UNODC and the Basel Institute on Governance. The event brought together over 250 participants and 1,000 online attendees to discuss how to strengthen the global response.

Delegates emphasised the need for unified standards, stronger cooperation and greater investment in training to tackle the evolving threats posed by crypto-enabled crime.

Speakers warned that blockchain misuse has expanded beyond scams to include terrorism financing, sanctions evasion and organised money laundering. Europol’s Burkhard Mühl said tackling these complex crimes needs greater innovation and collaboration.

Advanced tracing tools and successful cross-border operations demonstrate progress, yet significant legislative and capacity gaps remain.

Participants urged harmonised standards and quicker information sharing between financial institutions and virtual asset providers. The Wolfsberg Group noted that private sector collaboration is as vital as public partnerships in disrupting illicit crypto activity.

Building capacity through hands-on training and peer learning was also identified as a priority. According to Elizabeth Andersen of the Basel Institute, equipping agencies with the skills to trace and recover illicit assets can transform how nations respond to crypto-related crime.

Experts agreed that continued dialogue, shared expertise and consistent standards are key to ensuring innovation in blockchain benefits society rather than enabling criminal networks.

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Character.ai restricts teen chat access on its platform

The AI chatbot service, Character.ai, has announced that teenagers can no longer chat with its AI characters from 25 November.

Under-18s will instead be limited to generating content such as videos, as the platform responds to concerns over risky interactions and lawsuits in the US.

Character.ai has faced criticism after avatars related to sensitive cases were discovered on the site, prompting safety experts and parents to call for stricter measures.

The company cited feedback from regulators and safety specialists, explaining that AI chatbots can pose emotional risks for young users by feigning empathy or providing misleading encouragement.

Character.ai also plans to introduce new age verification systems and fund a research lab focused on AI safety, alongside enhancing role-play and storytelling features that are less likely to place teens in vulnerable situations.

Safety campaigners welcomed the decision but emphasised that preventative measures should have been implemented.

Experts warn the move reflects a broader shift in the AI industry, where platforms increasingly recognise the importance of child protection in a landscape transitioning from permissionless innovation to more regulated oversight.

Analysts note the challenge for Character.ai will be maintaining teen engagement without encouraging unsafe interactions.

Separating creative play from emotionally sensitive exchanges is key, and the company’s new approach may signal a maturing phase in AI development, where responsible innovation prioritises the protection of young users.

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Humanoid robots set to power Foxconn’s new Nvidia server plant in Houston

Foxconn will add humanoid robots to a new Houston plant building Nvidia AI servers from early 2026. Announced at Nvidia’s developer conference, the move deepens their partnership and positions the site as a US showcase for AI-driven manufacturing.

Humanoid systems based on Nvidia’s Isaac GR00T N are built to perceive parts, adapt on the line, and work with people. Unlike fixed industrial arms, they handle delicate assembly and switch tasks via software updates. Goals include flexible throughput, faster retooling, and fewer stoppages.

AI models are trained in simulation using digital twins and reinforcement learning to improve accuracy and safety. On the line, robots self-tune as analytics predict maintenance and balance workloads, unlocking gains across logistics, assembly, testing, and quality control.

Texas, US, offers proximity to a growing semiconductor and AI cluster, as well as policy support for domestic capacity. Foxconn also plans expansions in Wisconsin and California to meet global demand for AI servers. Scaling output should ease supply pressures around Nvidia-class compute in data centres.

Job roles will shift as routine tasks automate and oversight becomes data-driven. Human workers focus on design, line configuration, and AI supervision, with safety gates for collaboration. Analysts see a template for Industry 4.0 factories running near-continuously with rapid changeovers.

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