Tech

AI chatbots may carry cyber risks, warn British authorities

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

British officials are advising firms against incorporating artificial intelligence chatbots into their operations, saying that a growing body of research has revealed that they can be misled into carrying out damaging tasks.

In a pair of blog posts published Wednesday, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said that experts had not yet got to grips with the potential security problems tied to algorithms that can generate human-sounding interactions — dubbed large language models, or LLMs.

The AI-powered tools are seeing early use as chatbots that some envision displacing not just internet searches but also customer service work and sales calls.

The NCSC said that could carry risks, particularly if such models were plugged into other elements organisation’s business processes. Academics and researchers have repeatedly found ways to subvert chatbots by feeding them rogue commands or fooling them into circumventing their own built-in guardrails.

For example, an AI-powered chatbot deployed by a bank might be tricked into making an unauthorised transaction if a hacker structured their query just right.

“Organisations building services that use LLMs need to be careful, in the same way they would be if they were using a product or code library that was in beta,” the NCSC said in one of its blog posts, referring to experimental software releases.

“They might not let that product be involved in making transactions on the customer’s behalf, and hopefully wouldn’t fully trust it. Similar caution should apply to LLMs.”

Authorities across the world are grappling with the rise of LLMs, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which businesses are incorporating into a wide range of services, including sales and customer care. The security implications of AI are also still coming into focus, with authorities in the US and Canada saying they have seen hackers embrace the technology.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found many corporate employees were using tools like ChatGPT to help with basic tasks, such as drafting emails, summarising documents and doing preliminary research.

Some 10% of those polled said their bosses explicitly banned external AI tools, while a quarter did not know if their company permitted the use of the technology.

Oseloka Obiora, chief technology officer at cybersecurity firm RiverSafe, said the race to integrate AI into business practices would have “disastrous consequences” if business leaders failed to introduce the necessary checks.

“Instead of jumping into bed with the latest AI trends, senior executives should think again,” he said. “Assess the benefits and risks as well as implementing the necessary cyber protection to ensure the organisation is safe from harm.”

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Tessori promises to teach 50,000 children IT courses.

Published

2 weeks ago

Farwa

In order to provide children with technical education and training, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori has made the decision to set up IT classes for 50,000 children.

The governor urged the youth to play a vital part in the nation’s growth during a ceremony held here on Thursday.

“Pakistan has an abundance of skill. We will have to play our role in the development of the country. We will have to work to improve our economy,” the governor said.

He urged the overseas Pakistanis to invest in Pakistan and play their role in making the country prosperous.

Addressing the youth of the country, Kamran Tessori said, “Pakistan should be our priority. We need to do everything for Pakistan.

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Cybersecurity firm reports exposure of sensitive DeepSeek data on the internet.

Published

3 weeks ago

Farwa

The New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz has discovered a cache of sensitive data from the Chinese artificial intelligence business DeepSeek that was mistakenly exposed to the public internet.

In a blog post released on Wednesday, Wiz reported that examinations of DeepSeek’s infrastructure revealed that the company had inadvertently exposed over a million lines of unencrypted data. The materials were digital software keys and chat logs that seemingly documented prompts transmitted from consumers to the company’s complimentary AI assistant.

The chief technical officer of Wiz stated that DeepSeek promptly safeguarded the data following the notice from his organisation.

“It was removed in under an hour,” stated Ami Luttwak. “However, this was exceedingly easy to locate, leading us to believe we are not the sole discoverers.”

DeepSeek did not promptly respond to a request for comment.

DeepSeek’s rapid success after the introduction of its AI helper has exhilarated China and incited concern in America. The Chinese company’s evident capacity to rival OpenAI’s skills at a significantly reduced cost has raised concerns regarding the viability of the business models and profit margins of U.S. AI behemoths like Nvidia and Microsoft.

By Monday, it surpassed the U.S. competitor ChatGPT in downloads from Apple’s App Store, prompting a worldwide decline in technology stocks.

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WhatsApp launches bulk channel management functionality

Published

1 month ago

Farwa

WhatsApp has initiated testing of a bulk channel administration feature on iOS for select beta users, enabling the simultaneous selection of many channels, hence enhancing the efficiency of managing following channels.

This essential update enables users to perform bulk activities, including muting many channels simultaneously, designating them as read, and altering notifications. If the chosen channels are muted, users will now have the option to activate notifications. Users can swiftly silence unmuted channels in one action.

Additionally, this feature enables users to unfollow many channels simultaneously, thereby optimizing the process of decluttering their channel list. This change is particularly beneficial for users that oversee numerous subscriptions, as reported by WABetaInfo.

Previously, users were required to manage each channel individually, rendering tasks such as muting or designating channels as read laborious and time-consuming.

The functionality provides enhanced flexibility and control over channel subscriptions, enabling users to efficiently manage notifications. The solution streamlines laborious operations for consumers who subscribe to numerous channels, hence enhancing their entire experience.

Accessibility
The bulk management feature is presently accessible exclusively to a limited number of beta testers who installed the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS using the TestFlight application. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, plans to expand the feature’s availability to a larger user base in the next weeks.

This update demonstrates WhatsApp’s dedication to enhancing user experience by offering a clear and efficient method for managing channels and notifications.