Articles by Benedict Collins, Senior Writer, Security

A hand holding a mobile phone scans a QR code on a blurry laptop screen. The phone issues a warning that the QR code could be malicious.

QR code phishing surges 146% as Microsoft detects and analyzes 8.3 billion phishing threats in Q1 2026 – attackers are changing tactics to bypass security

By Benedict Collins Published 1 May 26

Microsoft has seen attackers changing tactics to get around security tools, and they keep adapting even when disrupted.

Error in Medicare database exposes US healthcare providers Social Security numbers – Trump administration directory designed to modernize Medicare encounters another setback

By Benedict Collins Published 1 May 26

A Trump administration directory designed to help seniors find healthcare inadvertently exposed Social Security numbers.

Mountain View, CA, USA - May 1, 2022: Google sign is seen at Googleplex, the corporate headquarters complex of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, Inc., in Mountain View, California.

Google says it is ‘proud’ to serve the Pentagon – new DoD contract expansion says Gemini will only be used for ‘any lawful purpose’, but what happened to 'Don’t Be Evil'?

By Benedict Collins Published 30 April 26

Google's contract with the Pentagon allows the DoD to use Gemini for 'any lawful purpose', and that is a big ethical concern.

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'The Internet is falling down': Critical cPanel CRLF injection vulnerability puts tens of millions of websites at risk of total compromise – hosting providers urged to apply CVE-2026-41940 patch immediately

By Benedict Collins Published 30 April 26

A new critical severity vulnerability can give attackers full control over WHM servers, allowing them to steal data, upload malware, and delete websites.

A robotic hand using a key with the word 'Bluekit' on it to smash through a holographic security firewall.

Researchers discover new all-in-one ‘Bluekit’ phishing kit capable of bypassing enterprise 2FA protocols and emulating 40+ global brands

By Benedict Collins Published 30 April 26

Bluekit centralizes and automates entire phishing campaigns, and is capable of stealing sessions, avoiding detection, and spoofing locations.

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Prompts now, pollutants later: Report claims data centers are harming the environment to the tune of $25 billion and inducing a debt on the health of current and future generations

By Benedict Collins Published 29 April 26

A new paper theorizes that the cost of gross external damages generated by data centers could exceed $25 billion.

‘You don’t cook a Thanksgiving turkey in the microwave’: Pentagon confirms Department of Defense will use Google Gemini for ‘classified projects’ – US military to expand AI vendors as ‘overreliance on one vendor is never a good thing’

By Benedict Collins Published 29 April 26

Google's Gemini joins OpenAI's ChatGPT as AI models being leveraged by the Department of Defense for warfighting capabilities.

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'Watching, keeping tabs, and sharing': New report claims workplace apps gathering far more personal data than we all think — and its even being used for advertising

By Benedict Collins Published 29 April 26

Your personal data is being collected by your workplace app, and sometimes passed on to advertisers

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New figures show March 2026 was the worst month for tech job layoffs since 2024 — but it's probably going to get worse

By Benedict Collins Published 28 April 26

If you managed to get a job in March, you're one of the lucky few.

‘Human lives are already being lost’: Open letter signed by hundreds of Google employees requests CEO reject ‘unethical and dangerous’ US military AI use

By Benedict Collins Published 28 April 26

An open letter signed by over 600 employees calls on Google's CEO to not offer its technology to the Department of Defense.

‘You feel radicalized’: A Meta AI exec watched agents beat her top workers. Now she’s built a nonprofit to help Gen Z find jobs before they disappear

By Benedict Collins Published 28 April 26

Entry level jobs are being done by AI, and that has left Gen Z up a river without a paddle

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‘This was not an isolated incident’: Chinese national exposed by NASA investigation in serial defense software theft phishing campaign that lasted years

By Benedict Collins Published 27 April 26

NASA, the military, and numerous universities and private companies were targeted by this phishing campaign.

‘Extraction and distillation’: US State Department upgrades AI theft accusations to target China’s Deepseek, Moonshot AI and MiniMax

By Benedict Collins Published 27 April 26

The State Department says Chinese AI companies are 'distilling' US AI models.

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'We will be taking action to protect American innovation': White House accuses China of 'systematically' extracting American AI technologies

By Benedict Collins Published 24 April 26

The US says China has been stealing American AI models to develop its own open source models.

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'It was awesome to see it work': OpenAI deploys GPT-5.5 Codex across Nvidia Blackwell systems – 50x efficiency boost and 35x cost reduction makes AI ‘viable at enterprise scale’

By Benedict Collins Published 24 April 26

Nvidia boasts of extreme efficiency and cost savings after deploying OpenAI's Codex on its Blackwell systems.

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Best People Search Finder Service of 2026: Top Services Reviewed & Ranked

By Pawan Singh Last updated 24 April 26

Updated The best people search finder service can help you scour public databases to find friends and family.

This new Microsoft 365 Copilot feature could throw your GDPR compliance into question — here's how to check, and how turn it off

By Benedict Collins Published 23 April 26

Microsoft wants to ease EU Copilot processing by having some data processed in the US, Canada, and Australia.

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'Hacktivist attacks at scale’: UK could face hacktivist threats akin to some of the biggest ransomware incidents but with 'no option to pay a ransom to help recover'

By Benedict Collins Published 22 April 26

Hacktivists could attack the UK at a scale rivaling some of the costliest ransomware attacks in recent memory

Mythos accessed by unauthorized users as Anthropic says 'We’re investigating' — Cracks may be showing in Project Glasswing as unknown users access model via third parties

By Benedict Collins Published 22 April 26

Anthropic is investigating unauthorized access to its Claude Mythos AI model, which is capable of identifying and exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities.