Articles by Benedict Collins, Senior Writer, Security

The United States Capitol Building at sunset in Washington DC, USA.

‘Powerful AI systems can go rogue, behave in extremely dangerous ways, or even resist human intervention’: A bill requiring AI systems to have a ‘kill switch’ is now in Congress

By Benedict Collins Published 24 July 26

The bill would give the Secretary of Homeland Security the ability to shut down AI models that are advancing too quickly

Best Data Removal Service of 2026: Expert Reviews, Comparisons, and Real-World Testing

By James Capell Last updated 24 July 26

We've tested and reviewed all the best data removal services to help keep your data safe and out of the hands of data brokers online

‘Our nation depends on our men and women who fight on the front lines’: Nvidia donates DGX GB300 AI supercomputer to US Naval Postgraduate School to train AI leaders, run high-fidelity simulations, and create naval digital twin environments

By Benedict Collins Published 23 July 26

The supercomputer will now be used across a range of applications, from simulations and digital twins, to weather prediction and cybersecurity

OpenAI is spending $30 billion on a new mega 3.2 GW data center in Georgia — and it's trying really hard to quell local opposition

By Benedict Collins Published 23 July 26

OpenAI really wants to avoid the local opposition seen at other data center projects, and is willing to offer commitments to the locals to ensure its campus gets built.

White House wants to shift billions of dollars of research funding away from ‘slow consensus peer review’ and into individual scientists and AI

By Benedict Collins Published 22 July 26

Moving funding to individual scientists and AI could undermine US scientific credibility at home and abroad.

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200 US utility firms join Trump electricity pledge as data center electricity use expected to quadruple by 2035 — but does the President's pledge have the teeth to regulate electricity pricing?

By Benedict Collins Published 22 July 26

The huge rise in consumer electricity pricing across the US has largely been fueled by data center construction and grid updgrades to connect them.

Trump’s head of AI safety agency just resigned, but he was only on the job for three months

By Benedict Collins Published 21 July 26

Chris Fall was only in the job for three months before resigning, and no reason has been provided for his departure.

Industrial interior of water pump, valves, pressure gauges, motors inside engine room. Valve and pumps in an industrial room. Urban modern powerful pipelines and pumps, automatic control systems

UK AI data centers could be given water priority during heatwaves and hosepipe bans — trade body warns that usage hasn’t been factored into AI growth zone projections

By Benedict Collins Published 21 July 26

The trade body representing UK water companies says that the UK government hasn't properly estimated projections for AI water usage.

A US flag with a large green eye peering through the red and white stripes of the flag.

70% of Americans don’t want data centers built nearby, but the government is seizing private property to force construction to start

By Benedict Collins Published 20 July 26

'Eminent domain' is being used to force landowners to sell their personal property to help build infrastructure for data centers.

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‘Parliament has not been immune to AI slop’: The EU is about to roll out its own AI platform — including tools from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and Mistral

By Benedict Collins Published 20 July 26

The platform will provide secure access to Meta’s Llama, OpenAI’s GPT-OSS, Mistral Small, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet.

Best Antivirus Software of 2026: Expert Reviews, Testing, and Rankings

By Benedict Collins Last updated 17 July 26

Updated Antivirus software secures your device against malware and harmful files. We've tested more than 20 solutions and ranked the best ones here for your convenience.

Meta says it will spend an extra $40 billion on its nearly 4,000-acre data center campus in Louisiana in its quest for more compute power

By Benedict Collins Published 14 July 26

Meta mega campus covers 4,000 acres and will require 10 methane-burning gas turbine plants to power the data center, which is set to use three times more electricity than New Orleans.

Satya Nadella CEO of Microsoft at the 50th Anniversary event

'You essentially pay for intelligence twice, once with money, and again with something even more valuable': Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warns AI users not to give away too much

By Benedict Collins Published 14 July 26

By moving to on-prem models trained on the data businesses already keep in the cloud, their is less risk of the big AI companies selling business secrets to the competition.

Checking windows update on laptop screen close up view

Watch out Windows users, a Secure Boot update has been blocked on Windows 11 PCs due to failing on some devices — here's how to check if you're affected

By Benedict Collins Published 13 July 26

Certain older devices that cannot receive updates via their OEM may not be able to install the latest Secure Boot certificate.

An illustration depicting peaks and troughs in stock prices with an AI brain representing AI technologies and firms.

‘The fate of humanity must not be decided behind closed doors’: US artificial intelligence sovereign wealth fund sees surge in support as AI job losses mount — 69% of Americans want to see half of AI stock placed into new state-owned investment fund

By Benedict Collins Published 13 July 26

There is now overwhelming support in the US for AI firms to contribute to a sovereign wealth fund designed to redistribute wealth to working class Americans.

Power cables stretching out in front of the horizon

Ireland’s data center electricity consumption rises 360% in ten years, and is set to account for as much power as every home combined — 23% of national power sent to servers despite moratorium on new data center grid connections

By Benedict Collins Published 13 July 26

Ireland's grid is struggling to handle data center electricity consumption growth, so new data centers have to meet stringent power demand considerations.

A data center with racks of servers and lots of lights glowing

‘The new battle ground for scaling and protecting margins’: AI servers set to consume more power than every conventional data center by 2027

By Benedict Collins Published 10 July 26

Gartner recommends infrastructure providers focus on efficiency upgrades to grids and cooling systems.

Decodo proxy service review

By Stefan Ionescu Last updated 9 July 26

Updated Decodo is a proxy platform that offers a wide range of features and very competitive pricing.

An artistic depiction of Meta's new data center in Alberta, Canada.

Meta announces its first data center in Canada — estimated $9 billion 1GW Alberta mega facility sees the AI expansion cross the border

By Benedict Collins Published 9 July 26

The 1GW facility will be built outside of Edmonton, and is predicted to create about 300 operational jobs once completed.

A close up of a person's eyes and face. They are wearing glasses and in one eye there's. a reflection of a digital brain

‘The gap between AI ambition and infrastructure reality is widening’ Google Cloud report finds 83% of organizations must overhaul their infrastructure in order to maximize the agentic AI opportunity

By Benedict Collins Published 9 July 26

Businesses are struggling to integrate agentic AI effectively, but Google's recommendations can help improve efficiency and reduce costs when implementing AI initiatives.

Multiple US Army websites defaced by hackers critical of Trump — error page displays message criticizing President

By Benedict Collins Published 8 July 26

The websites were defaced with pro-Kurdish media, and messages directed at Trump and Tom Barrack.

Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, October, 30, 2025: Vantage Data Centers CWL1 Cardiff Hyperscale Data Center Campus

UK government gives data centers the ability to skirt building regulations and local authority oversight by applying for fast-track ‘national importance’ status

By Benedict Collins Published 8 July 26

By being approved as a project of 'national significance', new projects are able to avoid local building regulations and council oversight, receiving approval direct from Whitehall.

Parental monitoring of teens. Curious mother spying daughter, girl messaging on smartphone on sofa at home. Family and modern technologies

Best parental control app of 2026: Our security experts and parents give their verdict

By James Capell Last updated 7 July 26

Updated Our team of security experts tested the top parental apps to find out which help you stay in control of what your children do online.

Baby Boomers beat Gen Z in password hygiene, but both generations still don’t stick to the best practices — and many people are still using decades-old passwords that they made as kids

By Benedict Collins Published 7 July 26

Baby Boomers are the most likely to frequently change passwords, but often rely on unsecure methods of storage.

‘A very, very unpleasant surprise’: Meta forced to halt data center water discharges after polluting city's water reclamation system with resistant bacterium — shutdown and cleaning of two water reclamation plants expected lasted months

By Benedict Collins Published 6 July 26

Meta has been named as the source of contamination for a rare metal and drug resistant bacterium that shut down two water reclamation plants.

Benedict Collins

Articles by: Benedict Collins

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