Passwords are hard to remember, easy to reuse and easy to steal. Passkeys offer a safer alternative. At CYBERUK 2026, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) announced that it will begin recommending passkeys wherever a service supports them, and two-step verification where it does not. This guide explains what passkeys are and how to use them,…
Companies from Microsoft to Barclays have announced layoffs this year that they link to AI, according to a Reuters factbox. In its latest update on October 22, Reuters lists AI-linked layoffs announced since October 2025, with job losses emerging in the sectors most exposed to automation.Reuters does not print a total. Adding the 31 entries that…
Phishing is when criminals try to get you to open harmful links, emails or attachments that ask for your personal information or infect your device. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) explains in its phishing guide that these messages can arrive by email, text, social media message or phone call. They are usually designed…
PHP released emergency security updates on Wednesday, October 21, fixing two critical flaws that can let an attacker run code on a web server without logging in. Wiz Research, which helped find them, says every PHP version released in the past decade is affected by at least one flaw, going back to PHP 5.4. Researchers have…
Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab say they have found the first public technical proof of zero-click spyware delivered through online ads. In a report published October 15, they say devices at Al Jazeera were infected with spyware from Candiru, an Israeli vendor, after targeted ads loaded. Al Jazeera condemned the attack as an…
The US Federal Trade Commission(FTC) has sent civil investigative demands to OpenAI and Anthropic, seeking records on AI safety incidents. Gizmodo, relaying a scoop from Axios that cites a person familiar with the matter, reports that the demands went out on Wednesday, October 14. A civil investigative demand works like a subpoena. AI Weekly notes that it…
Startup announce new funding almost every day, and the headlines are full of jargon. A single line can mention a Series D, a post-money valuation and an annualized run rate. Once you know seven terms, you can read any funding announcement with confidence. We will use Modal’s October 14 announcement as a live example. 1. The Round…
Modal, a startup that sells cloud infrastructure for AI workloads, has raised $750 million at a $15.75 billion post-money valuation. In its announcement, the company says Accel led the Series D round, Kleiner Perkins joined, and all existing investors took part. SiliconANGLE notes that the valuation is more than triple what Modal was worth after its May…
Smart cameras, speakers and hubs are now ordinary household items, and new ones keep arriving. Each one connects to your home Wi-Fi, so each one deserves basic protection. The good news is that the most important steps are simple and mostly free. Here is how to secure smart home devices, using guidance from the UK’s…
Apple has unveiled HomeView, its first smart home hub with a screen. According to Apple’s announcement, it costs $299 in the US, pre-orders opened on October 13, and it ships on November 13. CNBC notes that this is John Ternus’s first launch outside iPhones since he took over from Tim Cook at the start of September. Our…
Startups are reaching $10 billion valuations faster, and in greater numbers, than ever before. A startup valued at $10 billion or more is called a decacorn. Axios, citing PitchBook data, reports that 42 decacorns have been created globally in 2026, with three months still to go. The previous record was 34, set in 2021. How Fast…
Apple has told some of its suppliers to cut production of components for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, according to an exclusive report from Nikkei Asia. The report says rising memory chip costs forced higher prices, and those prices have dampened consumer demand. If the report holds up, the iPhone 18 Pro…
Google has announced the Fitbit Edge, a fitness tracker with a screen that sits between the screenless Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 5. Pre-orders opened today, October 12, at $179.99. The tracker reaches stores on October 27. The Fitbit Edge is built for people who want phone-free GPS and glanceable stats without paying for…