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Universities across the U.S. have announced hiring freezes, citing new financial uncertainty as the Trump administration threatens a range of cuts to federal contracts and research grants.In February, the administration announced deep cuts to National Institutes of Health grants for research institutions, a shift that could reduce the money going to some universities by over $100 million. Some schools already have shelved projects because of the cuts, which have been delayed temporarily by a court challenge. Recently, President Donald Trump has shown appetite for targeting colleges’ funding more directly. His administration has vowed to take federal money from colleges that…

A rush of agentic AI solutions is hitting the enterprise market, and now one of the bigger players in automation has scooped up a startup in the space in hopes of taking a bigger piece of that market. UiPath, as part of its quarterly results report last night, said it had acquired Peak.ai, a startup out of Manchester that builds “decision-making” pricing and inventory management AI solutions for companies in retail and manufacturing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources familiar with the deal told TechCrunch that Peak.ai was not looking for a buyer, nor was it at…

Researchers at security firm Tenable have analyzed the ability of the Chinese gen-AI DeepSeek to develop malware such as keyloggers and ransomware. The DeepSeek R1 chatbot was released in January and it has made many headlines since, including regarding its susceptibility to jailbreaks. Just like all major LLMs, DeepSeek has guardrails designed to prevent its use for malicious purposes, such as creating malware. However, these guardrails can be fairly easily bypassed using jailbreak methods.  When directly asked to write the code for a keylogger or a piece of ransomware, DeepSeek refuses to do so, arguing that it cannot assist users…

A North Korean APT actor has been targeting Korean and English-speaking users with an Android surveillance tool distributed via Google Play, cybersecurity firm Lookout warns. Dubbed KoSpy, the spyware has been in use since March 2022, posing as utility applications to infect unsuspecting users, and abusing Google Play and the Firebase Firestore for app distribution and configuration retrieval. The surveillance tool has been attributed to the North Korean APT ScarCruft, also known as APT37, which has been active since 2012, targeting mainly entities in South Korea, along with China, India, Japan, Kuwait, Nepal, Romania, Russia, Vietnam, and Middle Eastern countries.…

Since June 2021, Medusa ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) affiliates have hit over 300 critical infrastructure organizations, the US government warns. Medusa was initially operated as a closed ransomware, and, although it is currently using an affiliate model, ransom negotiations are still conducted by the malware developers, CISA, the FBI, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) note in a joint alert. The group engages in double extortion, encrypting victims’ data but also stealing it and threatening to leak it unless a ransom is paid. Medusa’s operators offer payments ranging between $100 and $1 million to affiliates working exclusively for them,…

The UK government has announced plans to dissolve the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and merge its functions with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). According to The Financial Times, this move is part of an initiative to streamline regulatory processes, reduce overlap, and eliminate redundancies within the country’s financial sector. The merger is expected to enhance the regulatory framework, promoting a more agile and innovative environment for investment and growth.The decision to consolidate the PSR into the FCA comes as the government aims to simplify the existing complex regulatory landscape, which has been criticized for stymieing economic expansion. “For too long,…

NEW YORK (AP) — Demonstrators from a Jewish group filled the lobby of Trump Tower on Thursday to denounce the immigration arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who helped lead protests against Israel at Columbia University.The Jewish Voice for Peace protesters, who carried banners and wore red shirts reading “Jews say stop arming Israel,” chanted “Bring Mahmoud home now!”After warning the protesters to leave the Fifth Avenue building, officers arrested 98 of them on various charges including trespassing, obstruction and resisting arrest, a police official said at a news briefing.Khalil, a 30-year-old permanent U.S. resident who is married to…

Russia has yet to make any response to a 30-day ceasefire proposal agreed by the United States and Ukraine after representatives from both countries engaged in talks in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Tuesday. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who attended the Jeddah talks, said during a news conference afterwards: “I will talk to my Russian counterpart in the coming days.” On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, clad in military fatigues, visited Kursk for the first time since Ukraine’s incursion last year, hailing Russian war efforts. But experts say it is unlikely that Russia would accept the US-Ukraine proposal without demands of…

Amid the government-led push toward more secure software design, developers and executives are focusing on established software security models, which can guide companies toward embedding secure development best practices as part of routine operations. Organizations can align their processes with one of two global industry standards for self-assessment and security maturity—the Building Security In Maturity Model, known as BSIMM (pronounced “bee-sim”) and the Open Worldwide Application Security Project’s Software Assurance Maturity Model, aka OWASP SAMM. The frameworks take different approaches to helping organizations uplift their security. BSIMM acts as a descriptive model, offering a template of best practices drawn from…

Administrative tasks make up a substantial portion of the over $4tn annual healthcare expenditure in the United States. Despite digital advancements, only a quarter of healthcare members actively engage with existing digital portals and apps. As a result, call centres remain overwhelmed, struggling to meet demand. But Ushur is helping to change that through its AI Agent for Member Service.The demand for private, accessible, and empathetic member services is increasing. However, factors such as privacy concerns and low digital engagement create significant challenges.According to a McKinsey report, 66% of Americans feel uncomfortable scheduling sensitive medical appointments over the phone due…