A Google Threat Intelligence Group analyst named Larsen ran a covert operation to observe the hacker collective TeamPCP, gaining access to a server where the group stored stolen credentials from numerous victim companies. Google used this visibility to rapidly notify cloud providers like AWS and Microsoft to revoke compromised access tokens before the hackers could exploit them for extortion, rather than trying to contact each victim individually.
Microsoft has submitted a patent application, US 2026/0260258 A1, outlining a system that inserts ads into PC and console games at points the game itself flags as natural breaks—like after a boss fight, at the end of a cutscene, or during a loading screen—rather than on a fixed timer. Players would first get an ad-free window, either time-based or tied to progress, and watching an ad afterward would earn a 'credit' extending uninterrupted play.
Microsoft used AI agents to convert the Copilot runtime's 430,000 lines of TypeScript into 800,000 lines of Rust, a project that took about 14.5 weeks, over 135 releases, roughly $120,000 in AI token costs, and three weeks of human developer oversight to fix dozens of regressions. The Rust version now powers Copilot across VS Code, Visual Studio, the CLI, SDK, and Office apps like Excel and Outlook.
A new analysis reports that as generative AI tools take over drafting, analysis and content creation, founders are spending less time producing work and more time deciding what should represent their business. Citing Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index, the piece notes 82% of business leaders see this as a pivotal year for rethinking operations due to AI, with nearly half expecting to expand capacity through digital labor within 12-18 months. The core argument is that AI can generate output but cannot take responsibility for it, leaving leaders accountable for outcomes.
Windows 11 includes Microsoft Defender, a free antivirus tool within Windows Security that automatically scans for threats and logs its findings under Virus & threat protection. Users can review allowed threats and protection history, run a deeper Full scan, or use an offline scan via Windows Recovery Environment to catch malware that hides from standard scans. The Firewall & network protection settings should also be checked to ensure all three connection types are protected.
Major tech firms including Microsoft, Oracle and Google reported unprecedented numbers of security patches this year, with Microsoft issuing 974 CVE fixes this month alone and Oracle shipping 1,448 patches in July compared to 309 a year earlier. Analysts tracking cve.icu counted 66,401 confirmed vulnerabilities as of this week, nearly double last September's tally, a jump attributed largely to AI tools now used for automated bug discovery.
Court documents in the New York Times' copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, which pulled in Microsoft as OpenAI's top investor, quote Microsoft director Brent Hecht warning that AI systems are undermining the very publishers whose content trains them. CEO Satya Nadella separately acknowledged that chatbot conversations often replace visits to original source websites, cutting off traffic publishers depend on.
Samsung is rolling out a new option letting Gallery app users sync photos and videos directly to Google Photos, replacing the native Microsoft OneDrive integration that shuts down September 30. The feature requires a compatible Samsung phone running Android 13 or later and a personal (non-Workspace, non-supervised) Google account, and is rolling out gradually with availability varying by device, region and account type.
Court documents made public show a Microsoft executive privately warning that AI tools risk creating a 'doom loop,' where AI-generated answers siphon traffic away from the news publishers whose content trains and feeds those same systems. The filings suggest Microsoft's internal discussions about this risk contrast with its public messaging about AI and journalism.
Newly unredacted court documents from copyright lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft reveal internal comments from executives acknowledging that scraping published journalism to train chatbots amounted to theft on a massive scale. Microsoft's Brent Hecht reportedly described it as possibly 'the largest theft of labor in human history,' while an OpenAI executive warned that products like ChatGPT posed an 'existential threat' to publishers.
Newly unsealed court documents in The New York Times' lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft reveal internal statements warning that their AI models were creating a 'doom loop' harming the web. A Microsoft applied science director reportedly described the companies' data scraping practices as the 'largest theft of labor in human history' and a mockery of fair use. Microsoft has distanced itself from these remarks, calling them one employee's personal opinion rather than the company's official stance.
Security firm Sublime found that malicious calendar invites sent via email, known as ICS phishing, have surged dramatically, rising 282% in June, 338% in July, and 1,216% in August, with a projected 2,852% jump in September. These fake invites exploit a default feature in Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail that auto-adds ICS files to a user's calendar before they accept or decline them.