1. Concerns About AGI Development

DeepMind’s 108-page report outlines four major risks of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI):

Misuse: AGI used maliciously (e.g., creating viruses).

Misalignment: AGI acting contrary to intended goals.

Mistakes: Errors causing unintended harm, especially in high-stakes sectors like defense.

Structural Risks: Long-term impacts on trust, power, and truth in society. While safety measures are urged, full control of AGI remains uncertain.

2. Improving Machine Learning Security

The open-source community is adopting model signing (via Sigstore), applying digital signatures to AI models. This ensures the model’s authenticity and integrity—helping prevent the use of tampered or untrusted code in AI systems.

3. Risks from AI Coding Assistants

A newly identified threat—Rules File Backdoor—allows attackers to embed malicious instructions in configuration files used by AI coding assistants (like GitHub Copilot or Cursor). This can lead to AI-generated code with hidden vulnerabilities, increasing risk through shared or open-source repos.

4. Italy’s Controversial Piracy Shield

Piracy Shield, Italy’s system for blocking pirated content, has mistakenly blacklisted legitimate services like Google Drive. Critics highlight issues around lack of transparency, violations of net neutrality and digital rights, and risks of censorship. Despite backlash, the system is being expanded, raising further concerns.

5. EU’s Push on Data Access and Encryption

The EU’s ProtectEU strategy includes strengthening Europol into a more FBI-like agency and proposing roadmaps for law enforcement access to encrypted data. This indicates a potential push toward backdoor access, reigniting debates on privacy vs. security.

6. Cyberattacks on Australian Pension Funds

Coordinated cyberattacks have compromised over 20,000 accounts across Australian retirement funds, with some user savings stolen. The incidents expose vulnerabilities in financial infrastructure, prompting a government initiative to bolster sector-wide cybersecurity.

7. Lessons from Oracle’s Security Breaches

Oracle reported two separate breaches in a short span. The latest involved theft of outdated login credentials. These incidents reveal persistent challenges in securing large tech platforms and highlight the need for ongoing security improvements and scrutiny of legacy systems.

8. Closure of OpenSNP Genetic Database

OpenSNP is shutting down after 14 years, deleting all user data due to rising concerns over misuse of genetic data, especially amid growing political threats from authoritarian regimes. The founder emphasized protecting vulnerable populations and reevaluated the risks of continued data availability versus its research value.