The GOP presidential primary debate was livestreamed on Rumble, a platform used by white nationalist Nick Fuentes to spread antisemitic hate speech. OpenAI's ChatGPT was hit by a suspected DDoS attack, claimed by Anonymous Sudan. The US arm of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was hit by a ransomware attack by Lockbit. Signal is beta testing usernames to enhance privacy. Cooperation between government, researchers, and tech companies to counter online disinformation is dwindling due to a campaign by US Republicans. The FBI has reportedly halted communications with social media firms about foreign influence campaigns following a court ruling.
Key takeaways:
- The animal liberation group Direct Action Everywhere is using high-tech equipment like drones and hidden cameras to target factory farms and rescue animals.
- Extremist groups are using generative AI to flood social media with propaganda and misinformation, prompting the development of a new tool called Altitude by Tech Against Terrorism and Google to address the issue.
- Israel has reportedly imposed devastating internet blackouts in Gaza, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
- The Russian military intelligence agency, Sandworm, carried out a power grid attack targeting a Ukrainian electric utility last year, causing a blackout for Ukrainian civilians.