Folk singer Emily Portman has become the latest artist targeted by fraudsters releasing AI-generated music in her name. Fans alerted her to a fake album called Orca appearing on Spotify and iTunes, which she said sounded uncannily like her style but was created without her consent.
Portman has filed copyright complaints, but says the platforms were slow to act, and she has yet to regain control of her Spotify profile. Other artists, including Josh Kaufman, Jeff Tweedy, Father John Misty, Sam Beam, Teddy Thompson, and Jakob Dylan, have faced similar cases in recent weeks.
Many of the fake releases appear to originate from the same source, using similar AI artwork and citing record labels with Indonesian names. The tracks are often credited to the same songwriter, Zyan Maliq Mahardika, whose name also appears on imitations of artists in other genres.
Industry analysts say streaming platforms and distributors are struggling to keep pace with AI-driven fraud. Tatiana Cirisano of Midia Research noted that fraudsters exploit passive listeners to generate streaming revenue, while services themselves are turning to AI and machine learning to detect impostors.
Observers warn the issue is likely to worsen before it improves, drawing comparisons to the early days of online piracy. Artists and rights holders may face further challenges as law enforcement attempts to catch up with the evolving abuse of AI.
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Poland has become the leading global target for politically and socially motivated cyberattacks, recording over 450 incidents in the second quarter of 2025, according to Spain’s Industrial Cybersecurity Center.
The report ranked Poland ahead of Ukraine, the UK, France, Germany, and other European states in hacktivist activity. Government institutions and the energy sector were among the most targeted, with organisations supporting Ukraine described as especially vulnerable.
ZIUR’s earlier first-quarter analysis had warned of a sharp rise in attacks against state bodies across Europe. Pro-Russian groups were identified as among the most active, increasingly turning to denial-of-service campaigns to disrupt critical operations.
Europe accounted for the largest share of global hacktivism in the second quarter, with more than 2,500 successful denial-of-service attacks recorded between April and June, underlining the region’s heightened exposure.
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Entities holding Ethereum treasuries now collectively control over $10 billion worth of ETH. Data from the Strategic ETH Reserve shows 64 organisations hold 2.73 million ETH, accounting for 2.27% of the total supply, highlighting the growing corporate adoption of Ethereum.
Leading the accumulation are Bitmine Immersion Tech, Sharplink Gaming, and The Ether Machine, together holding more than 1.3 million ETH. Most of these acquisitions occurred in under three months, with Bitmine alone now holding over $2 billion worth of ETH.
Public companies continue to plan further purchases, though they are taking a measured approach to limit risks.
Ethereum’s price has steadied around $3,700–$3,800, stalling short of the $4,000 mark investors had hoped to see on the token’s 10th anniversary. Despite this, on-chain activity remains strong, with over 680,000 active wallets and ETH showing significant gains independent of Bitcoin.
DeFi protocols, crypto-native organisations, and even governments also feature among the largest ETH holders. The Ethereum Foundation ranks fourth with 234,600 ETH, while the US government, Michigan State, and Bhutan maintain reserves, demonstrating Ethereum’s broad adoption across sectors.
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China has unveiled draft rules to rein in pricing practices on internet platforms, responding to long-standing complaints from both merchants and consumers about unfair or misleading costs. The proposed measures, announced by the National Development and Reform Commission on 23 August, are designed to make pricing more transparent and equitable across the country’s vast digital marketplace.
The draft regulations would require platforms and merchants to follow standardised pricing guidelines, clearly disclose their rules, and notify users promptly of any fee changes. Authorities in China say prices should be set and adjusted through standardised contracts or formal orders to reduce arbitrary or hidden charges.
The move comes after repeated allegations that major platforms have manipulated prices to their advantage, leaving consumers and smaller sellers at a disadvantage. By tightening oversight, Beijing hopes to rebuild trust in online commerce while ensuring a fairer playing field.
The draft will remain open for public comment for one month, allowing businesses and citizens to weigh in before the measures are finalised.
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The United Kingdom has unveiled a strategy to grow its digital economy to £1 trillion by harnessing AI, quantum computing, and cybersecurity. The plan emphasises public-private partnerships, training, and international collaboration to tackle skills shortages and infrastructure gaps.
The initiative builds on the UK tech sector’s £1.2 trillion valuation, with regional hubs in cities such as Bristol and Manchester fuelling expansion in emerging technologies. Experts, however, warn that outdated systems and talent deficits could stall progress unless workforce development accelerates.
AI is central to the plan, with applications spanning healthcare and finance. Quantum computing also features, with investments in research and cybersecurity aimed at strengthening resilience against supply disruptions and future threats.
The government highlights sustainability as a priority, promoting renewable energy and circular economies to ensure digital growth aligns with environmental goals. Regional investment in blockchain, agri-tech, and micro-factories is expected to create jobs and diversify innovation-driven growth.
By pursuing these initiatives, the UK aims to establish itself as a leading global tech player alongside the US and China. Ethical frameworks and adaptive strategies will be key to maintaining public trust and competitiveness.
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Cyberattacks are intensifying worldwide, with Australia now ranked fourth globally for threats against operational technology and industrial sectors. Rising AI-powered incursions have exposed serious vulnerabilities in the country’s national defence and critical infrastructure.
The 2023–2030 Cyber Security Strategy designed by the Government of Australia aims to strengthen resilience through six ‘cyber shields’, including legislation and intelligence sharing. But a skills shortage leaves organisations vulnerable as ransomware attacks on mining and manufacturing continue to rise.
One proposal gaining traction is the creation of a volunteer ‘cyber militia’. Inspired by the cyber defence unit in Estonia, this network would mobilise unconventional talent, retirees, hobbyist hackers, and students, to bolster monitoring, threat hunting, and incident response.
Supporters argue that such a force could fill gaps left by formal recruitment, particularly in smaller firms and rural networks. Critics, however, warn of vetting risks, insider threats, and the need for new legal frameworks to govern liability and training.
Pilot schemes in high-risk sectors, such as energy and finance, have been proposed, with public-private funding viewed as crucial. Advocates argue that a cyber militia could democratise security and foster collective responsibility, aligning with the country’s long-term cybersecurity strategy.
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Google is urging its workforce to adopt AI in everyday tasks instead of relying solely on traditional methods.
CEO Sundar Pichai has warned that falling behind in AI could risk the company’s competitive edge, especially as rivals like Microsoft, Amazon and Meta push their staff to embrace similar tools.
Early trials inside Google suggest a significant boost in efficiency, with engineers reporting a 10% increase in weekly productivity after adopting AI.
The company has launched a training initiative called AI Savvy Google to accelerate the shift. The programme provides courses, toolkits and hands-on sessions to help employees integrate AI into their workflows.
One of the standout tools is Cider, an AI-powered coding assistant already used by half of the engineers with access to it.
Executives believe AI will soon become an essential part of software engineering. Brian Saluzzo, a senior leader at Google, told staff that internal AI tools will continue to improve and become deeply embedded in coding work.
The company stresses the importance of using AI to support rather than replace workers, with the training programme designed to upskill employees instead of pushing them aside.
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American technology company Nvidia has unveiled Spectrum-XGS Ethernet, a new networking technology designed to connect multiple data centres into unified giga-scale AI factories.
With AI demand skyrocketing, single facilities are hitting limits in power and capacity, creating the need for infrastructure that can operate across cities, nations and continents.
Spectrum-XGS extends Nvidia’s Spectrum-X Ethernet platform, introducing what the company calls a ‘scale-across’ approach, alongside scale-up and scale-out models.
Integrating advanced congestion control, latency management, and telemetry nearly doubles the performance of the Nvidia Collective Communications Library, allowing geographically distributed data centres to function as one large AI cluster.
Early adopters like CoreWeave are preparing to link their facilities using the new system. According to Nvidia, the technology offers 1.6 times greater bandwidth density than traditional Ethernet and features Spectrum-X switches and ConnectX-8 SuperNICs, optimised for hyperscale AI operations.
The company argues that the approach will define the next phase of AI infrastructure, enabling super-factories to manage millions of GPUs while improving efficiency and lowering operational costs.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described the development as part of the AI industrial revolution, highlighting that Spectrum-XGS can unify data centres into global networks that act as vast, giga-scale AI super-factories.
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Visa is expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities by supporting new digital assets and blockchains. The payments giant will now include Global Dollar (USDG), PayPal USD (PYUSD), and Circle’s euro-backed EURC.
Settlement will extend to Stellar and Avalanche, broadening its support beyond Ethereum and Bitcoin. A new Paxos partnership aims to improve settlement speed and cut cross-border costs.
Visa executives said stablecoins could help fix inefficiencies in emerging markets. They also argued that trusted, scalable, interoperable assets can transform cross-border payments.
Visa is also pushing into new regions, with plans to expand settlement across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Recent Yellow Card and Bridge deals will enable stablecoin cards for daily use.
The firm stressed that a stablecoin strategy will become essential for institutions moving money globally.
According to Visa, the expansion will improve liquidity management, lower settlement costs, and provide 365-day transaction support. The network has processed over $225 million in stablecoin settlements, cementing its lead in digital payments.
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The Instagram accounts of Adele, Future, Tyla, and Michael Jackson were hacked late Thursday to promote an unauthorised meme coin. Posts showed an AI image of the Future with a ‘FREEBANDZ’ coin, falsely suggesting ties to the rapper.
The token, launched on the Solana platform Pump.fun, surged briefly to nearly $900,000 in market value before collapsing by 98% after its creator dumped 700 million tokens. The scheme netted more than $49,000 in Solana for the perpetrator, suspected of being behind the account hijackings.
None of the affected celebrities has issued a statement, while Future’s Instagram account remains deactivated. The hack continues a trend of using celebrity accounts for crypto pump-and-dump schemes. Previous cases involved the UFC, Barack Obama, and Elon Musk.
Such scams are becoming increasingly common, with attackers exploiting the visibility of major social media accounts to drive short-lived token gains before leaving investors with losses.
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