Japanese watchmaker Seiko Group Corp. has been struck by a ransomware attack, with the BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware gang claiming responsibility. The attack, officially described as a data breach, was disclosed by Seiko on Aug. 10 and is said to have taken place on July 28. According to Seiko, an unidentified party or parties gained unauthorized access to ...

Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube today published a set of artificial intelligence music principles and launched the YouTube Music AI Incubator, starting with artists and others from Universal Music Group N.V. YouTube’s AI music principles are claimed to be rooted in the service’s commitment to collaborate with the music industry alongside “bold and responsible innovation in the ...

Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to launch a web version of its Threads microblogging platform early in the coming week, according to a Wall Street Journal report today. Despite its limited features, Threads has regularly been referred to as a competitor to X Inc., formerly known as Twitter. Meta launched it with fanfare and a ...

Security researchers at ESET s.r.o. today warned of a new mass-spreading phishing campaign actively targeting Zimbra account user credentials. First detected in April, the ongoing campaign is targeting a variety of small and medium businesses and governmental entities. The largest number of targets recorded so far have been among users in Poland, but other European and ...

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency has released a plan to address systemic cybersecurity risks in remote monitoring and management software. The Remote Monitoring and Management Cyber Defense Plan was created to address the issue wherein cyberthreat actors gain footholds via RMM software into managed service providers and manage security service providers’ servers. In gaining ...

Artificial intelligence startup Elemental Cognition Inc., founded by David Ferrucci, the former head of the team that created IBM Watson, has raised $60 million in new funding. First reported by CNBC, the fundraise was disclosed in a filing today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing states that Elemental Cognition is attempting to raise $65.7 million ...

Edge cloud platform provider Fastly Inc. today announced that it has acquired domain status application programming interface provider Domainr. The company also made Certainly, its public-trust Transport Layer Security Certification Authority service, generally available. Founded in 2008, Domainr helps users find and create app and business names with an instant search and context-aware suggestion capability that ...

OpenAI LP, the company behind ChatGPT, has acquired Global Illumination Inc., a small digital company that creates “digital products” dedicated to providing incentives for creativity, for an undisclosed price. Founded in 2021, Global Illumination is described by OpenAI as a company that has been leveraging artificial intelligence to build creative tools, infrastructure and digital experiences. The ...

Passwordless multifactor authentication startup Beyond Identity Inc. today announced a new European Union General Data Protection Regulation-compliant tool that helps development and user experience teams understand, plan and optimize different user authentication experiences. Call “The Passkey Journey,” the free tool solves key challenges around passkey adoption and offers clarity into the pain of user interface inconsistencies across browsers and ...

Plans by the U.K. to host a global artificial intelligence summit, first mooted in June, have reportedly progressed, as the event is now expected to be held in the fall. The idea for the summit, which came from U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is to bring together countries, tech companies and researchers to discuss safety measures ...