New Orleans has become the first US city to use real time facial recognition through a privately operated system. The technology flags wanted individuals as they pass cameras, with alerts sent directly to police despite ongoing disputes between city officials.
A local non profit runs the network independently and sets its own guard rails for police cooperation. Advocates claim the arrangement limits bureaucracy, while critics argue it bypasses vital public oversight and privacy protections.
Debate over facial recognition has intensified nationwide as communities question accuracy, fairness and civil liberties. New Orleans now represents a major test case for how such tools may develop without clear government regulation.
Officials remain divided over long term consequences while campaigners warn of creeping surveillance risks. Residents are likely to face years of uncertainty as policies evolve and private systems grow more influential.
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Cybersecurity researchers are urging greater caution as Christmas approaches, warning that seasonal scams are multiplying rapidly. Check Point has recorded over 33,500 festive phishing emails and more than 10,000 deceptive social ads within two weeks.
AI tools are helping criminals craft convincing messages that mirror trusted brands and local languages. Attackers are also deploying fake e-commerce sites with AI chatbots, as well as deepfake audio and scripted calls to strengthen vishing attempts.
Smishing alerts imitating delivery firms are becoming more widespread, with recent months showing a marked rise in fraudulent parcel scams. Victims are often tricked into sharing payment details through links that imitate genuine logistics updates.
Experts say fake shops and giveaway scams remain persistent risks, frequently launched from accounts created within the past three months. Users are being advised to ignore unsolicited links, verify retailers and treat unexpected offers with scepticism.
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Amazon has published the most frequently asked questions to its Alexa virtual assistant during 2025, providing insight into how people interact with voice-activated AI throughout the year.
Practical questions, such as cooking tips like ‘How long do I poach an egg for?’ and basic science queries like the diameter of Earth, topped the list, showing that many users rely on Alexa for everyday information.
The report also revealed regional and topical variety: in Australia, users asked about sleep help and food classification (e.g. whether a tomato is a fruit), while global queries included questions about celebrities’ heights, weights and net worth.
One of the year’s most frequently asked questions was ‘What does AI stand for?’, indicating ongoing curiosity about the technology that powers the assistant itself. Music and entertainment featured prominently, with Taylor Swift identified as the most played artist of the year and the song ‘APT’ cited as the most played track in multiple regions.
These usage patterns reflect how voice assistants have become integrated into daily routines, from practical tasks to leisure and curiosity-driven searches.
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Google has released a new AI playbook aimed at helping organisations streamline and improve sustainability reporting, sharing lessons learned from integrating AI into its own environmental disclosure processes.
In a blog post published on The Keyword, Google states that corporate sustainability reporting is often hindered by fragmented data and labour-intensive workflows. After two years of using AI internally, the company is now open-sourcing its approach to help others reduce reporting burdens.
The AI Playbook for Sustainability Reporting is presented as a practical, implementation-focused toolkit. It includes a structured framework for auditing reporting processes, along with ready-made prompt templates for common sustainability reporting tasks.
Google also highlights real-world examples that demonstrate how tools such as Gemini and NotebookLM can be used to validate sustainability claims, respond to information requests, and support internal review, moving AI use beyond experimentation.
The company says the playbook is intended to support transparency and strategic decision-making, and has invited organisations and practitioners to explore the resource and provide feedback.
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The US tech company, Oracle, has expanded Oracle Database@Google Cloud to India, making the service available through Google Cloud’s Mumbai region.
Enterprises can access Oracle Exadata, Autonomous AI Database and AI Lakehouse services while keeping data in the region to meet sovereignty and regulatory requirements.
The multicloud offering allows organisations to combine Oracle enterprise data with Google Cloud analytics and AI tools, including BigQuery, Vertex AI and Gemini models.
Customers can modernise applications and migrate mission-critical workloads without sacrificing performance, security or low-latency access.
Oracle Database@Google Cloud is available through the Google Cloud Marketplace, enabling customers to procure services via trusted partners instead of navigating complex contracting models.
Oracle and Google Cloud partners can also integrate the service into broader multicloud solutions.
The launch reflects growing demand for flexible multicloud architectures in India, supporting AI-driven innovation, advanced analytics and accelerated IT modernisation across regulated and data-intensive industries.
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NVIDIA has announced the acquisition of SchedMD, the developer of Slurm, a widely used open-source workload manager for high-performance computing and AI environments.
The company stated that Slurm will continue to be developed and distributed as open-source, vendor-neutral software, with support maintained across a broad range of hardware and software platforms used by the HPC and AI communities.
Slurm plays a central role in managing complex workloads on large computing clusters, handling job scheduling, queuing, and resource allocation. It is used by more than half of the top 10 and top 100 systems on the TOP500 supercomputer list, reflecting its widespread adoption and significant impact.
NVIDIA stated that the software is also critical infrastructure for generative AI, helping developers manage large-scale model training and inference. The company has collaborated with SchedMD for over a decade and plans to increase investment in Slurm’s ongoing development.
SchedMD said the deal will enable Slurm to evolve in tandem with accelerated computing demands while remaining open source. NVIDIA said it will continue to provide support, training, and development to existing customers across various use cases, including research, industry, and public sectors.
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Visa has launched a Stablecoins Advisory Practice through its Visa Consulting & Analytics unit, reflecting rising institutional interest in stablecoin-based payment infrastructure. The service aims to help banks, fintech firms, merchants, and enterprises assess strategy, market fit and implementation.
The move comes as the global stablecoin market exceeds $250 billion in value and emerging reports of an annualised stablecoin settlement run rate of $3.5 billion as of late November. According to the company, demand is rising among financial institutions exploring faster and lower-cost payment rails.
Visa Consulting & Analytics will offer services ranging from market education and strategy development to use case sizing and technical integration. The programme draws on Visa’s network of consultants, data scientists and product specialists to support clients navigating regulatory and operational complexity.
Several financial institutions have already participated in early engagements, citing the need for clearer frameworks as stablecoins gain traction in cross-border payments and digital finance. The advisory practice reflects broader efforts to support responsible adoption alongside emerging standards.
Visa has previously piloted stablecoin settlement using USDC and now supports more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programmes across 40 countries. The company is also testing stablecoin-based pre-funding for international payouts.
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US credit reporting company 700Credit has confirmed a data breach affecting more than 5.6 million individuals after attackers exploited a compromised third-party API used to exchange consumer data with external integration partners.
An incident that originated from a supply chain failure after one partner was breached earlier in 2025 and failed to notify 700Credit.
The attackers launched a sustained, high-volume data extraction campaign starting on October 25, 2025, which operated for more than two weeks before access was shut down.
Around 20 percent of consumer records were accessed, exposing names, home addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, while internal systems, payment platforms and login credentials were not compromised.
Despite the absence of financial system access, the exposed personal data significantly increases the risk of identity theft and sophisticated phishing attacks impersonating credit reporting services.
The breach has been reported to the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI, with regulators coordinating responses through industry bodies representing affected dealerships.
Individuals impacted by the incident are currently being notified and offered two years of free credit monitoring, complimentary credit reports and access to a dedicated support line.
Authorities have urged recipients to act promptly by monitoring their credit activity and taking protective measures to minimise the risk of fraud.
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SoundCloud has confirmed a recent security incident that temporarily affected platform availability and involved the limited exposure of user data. The company detected unauthorised activity on an ancillary service dashboard and acted immediately to contain the situation.
Third-party cybersecurity experts were engaged to investigate and support the response. The incident resulted in two brief denial-of-service attacks, temporarily disrupting web access.
Approximately 20% of users were affected; however, no sensitive data, such as passwords or financial details, were compromised. Only email addresses and publicly visible profile information were involved.
In response, SoundCloud has strengthened its systems, enhancing monitoring, reviewing identity and access controls, and auditing related systems. Some configuration updates have led to temporary VPN connectivity issues, which the company is working to resolve.
SoundCloud emphasises that user privacy remains a top priority and encourages vigilance against phishing. The platform will continue to provide updates and take steps to minimise the risk of future incidents.
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The UK government has announced plans to bring cryptoassets firmly within the regulatory perimeter, aiming to support innovation while strengthening consumer protection and attracting long-term investment into the sector.
From 2027, cryptoasset firms will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under rules similar to those governing traditional financial products, such as stocks and shares. The move is intended to provide legal clarity and increase confidence among consumers and businesses.
Ministers say that proportionate regulation will support innovation, ensure competitive markets, and strengthen the UK’s position as a global hub for digital assets. Enhanced oversight will boost transparency, aid sanctions enforcement, and help detect and tackle illicit activity.
The initiative forms part of a broader strategy to shape global crypto standards, including ongoing cooperation with the United States through the Transatlantic Taskforce, as the UK seeks to secure its role in the future of digital finance.
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