Top of the Day

 

Targeted by Ransomware, Middle East Banks Shore Up Security

 

(Robert Lemos – Dark Reading – 28 February 2025) Banks and financial services firms across the Middle East weathered simulated attacks at the fourth annual Cyber Wargaming exercise in the United Arab Emirates last week, but security experts continue to worry that the region’s quick digital transformation and unfulfilled demand for cybersecurity workers puts the financial sector at risk. The financial services industry in UAE — and the Middle East at large — sees cyber wargaming as an important way to identify weaknesses and develop defenses to the latest threats, Jamal Saleh, director general of the UAE Banks Federation, said in a statement announcing the completion of the event. – https://www.darkreading.com/cyber-risk/targeted-ransomware-middle-east-banks-security

As space becomes more crowded, Space Force turns to AI

(Patrick Tucker – Defense One – 27 February 2025) The Space Force will need to use AI in new ways to identify and track objects in space—also called “space domain awareness”—as space becomes increasingly congested, the service’s acting deputy chief of space operations for cyber and data said Wednesday at a Booz Allen Hamilton event. Long gone are the days when a single airman observed one satellite or space object to make sure it wasn’t acting strangely or veering toward possible collision, Seth Whitworth said. Now, one of the big questions for the Space Force is how many space objects can a single guardian fly, monitor, or track at once, with the possible help of automated tools. – https://www.defenseone.com/defense-systems/2025/02/space-becomes-more-crowded-space-force-turns-ai/403356/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary

OpenAI launches its most knowledgeable model GPT-4.5 with improved ability, greater EQ

(Prabhat Ranjan Mishra – Interesting Engineering – 27 February 2025) OpenAi has launched GPT-4.5, which is the company’s largest and best model. The company is releasing a research preview of GPT‑4.5 that’s a step forward in scaling up pre-training and post-training. The latest model improves its ability to recognize patterns, draw connections, and generate creative insights without reasoning. OpenAI revealed that as per early testing, interacting with GPT‑4.5 feels more natural. It has broader knowledge base, improved ability to follow user intent, and greater “EQ” make it useful for tasks like improving writing, programming, and solving practical problems. – https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/openai-launches-gpt-4-5-largest-model

 

The Great AI shift: The rise of ‘services as software’

 

(Nisha Holla – Observer Research Foundation – 27 February 2025) Human effort has traditionally driven the adoption of technology services—programmers coding algorithms and business logic into executable programmes, analysts managing data, system integrators deploying and maintaining infrastructure, and consultants optimising enterprise workflows. However, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), a fundamental shift is underway: human-led services are becoming AI-led software. Instead of hiring large teams of human specialists, businesses will increasingly incorporate AI-powered tools and platforms that automate complex tasks once thought impervious to automation and digitalisation. The AI-driven shift is compelling enterprises to reimagine fundamental work at an unprecedented pace. It raises several critical questions about what happens to human labour when AI replaces labour-intensive services, how AI-driven automation will redefine the relationship between enterprises and the software they adopt, and what new opportunities will emerge in a paradigm where enterprise-grade AI takes centre stage. – https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-great-ai-shift-the-rise-of-services-as-software

 

AWS unveils its quantum chip prototype, Ocelot

(Alexandra Kelley – NextGov – 27 February 2025) Amazon Web Services launched its first computing chip designed specifically to support quantum computing on Thursday, joining IBM, Microsoft and Google in debuting such products. Created between researchers at AWS and the California Institute of Technology, the new Ocelot chip’s starring feature is its error-correcting architecture that prevents external noise from disrupting calculations the chip and its corresponding hardware are working to execute. In a press release, AWS noted that Ocelot’s architecture has the potential to reduce the resources needed for sufficient error correction by five to 10 times. – https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2025/02/aws-unveils-its-quantum-chip-prototype-ocelot/403306/?oref=ng-homepage-river

 

Paris AI Action Summit: A missed opportunity?

 

(Megha Shrivastava – Observer Research Foundation – 25 February 2025) World leaders, tech moguls, and AI advocates gathered in Paris on 10-11 February 2025 for the third Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit. Compared to the 2023 inaugural “AI Safety Summit” at Bletchley (UK) and the 2024 “AI Seoul Summit” (South Korea), the re-wording i.e., “AI Action” signals a shift from theoretical safety concerns to the nuances of implementation. While the focus on ‘action’ is imperative, the Paris AI Action Summit showcases that the world’s current AI priorities may not entirely be aligned with optimal outcomes. By prioritising ‘action’ at the front and centre of AI-related concerns, the summit focused on discussion around employment, investment, ethics, regulation, and public interest AI. The 2025 AI Action Summit secured a non-binding declaration entitled “Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence,” with 61 signatories pledging an open, ethical, safe, and secure use of AI. The event also launched the ‘public interest’ partnership called ‘Current AI’ with an initial investment worth US$400 million, aiming to raise US$2.5 billion over the next five years to facilitate open-source access to databases, software, and tools to trusted AI actors. – https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/paris-ai-action-summit-a-missed-opportunity

Security

Generative AI Shows Promise for Faster Triage of Vulnerabilities

(Robert Lemos – Dark Reading – 27 February 2025) Systems linking together generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models to analyze software for exploitable flaws are proving effective at speeding security analysts’ efforts to triage vulnerabilities, according to early models developed by NVIDIA, Amazon, and other providers. – https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/gen-ai-accelerates-triage-of-software-vulnerabilities

Microsoft names developers behind illicit AI tools used in celebrity deepfake scheme

(Joe Warminsky – The Record – 27 February 2025) Four foreign and two U.S. developers unlawfully accessed generative AI services, reconfigured them to allow the creation of harmful content such as celebrity deepfakes and then resold access to the tools, Microsoft said Thursday in a legal filing. Users created “non-consensual intimate images of celebrities and other sexually explicit content” with the modified AI tools, including Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI services, the tech giant said in a blog post about its amended civil litigation complaint. The lawsuit was filed in December in a Virginia federal court and was unsealed in January. – https://therecord.media/microsoft-names-developers-behind-illicit-ai-used-in-deepfake-scheme

Philippine army confirms attack on its networks

(Daryna Antoniuk – The Record – 27 February 2025) The Philippine Army has disclosed a cyberattack following reports that a local hacking group claimed to have breached its systems and accessed highly confidential documents. Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala confirmed the incident on Wednesday, describing it as an “illegal access attempt” that was swiftly contained. He did not name the group behind the attack but stated that it had been identified, adding that no damage or data theft had been detected so far. – https://therecord.media/philippines-army-confirms-hack

 

Defense, Intelligence, and Warfare

Pentagon needs further industry collaboration on O-RAN development for 5G interoperability

(Carley Welch – Breaking Defense – 27 February 2025) The Department of Defense needs industry partners to become more involved in the process of making open radio access network (O-RAN) capabilities a reality, Pentagon leaders and warfighters said Thursday. O-RAN architectures allow users to mix and match different hardware and software components from various vendors when creating 5G networks. The goal is to provide more flexibility, cost efficiency and seamless interoperability, all while ensuring the network is as secure as possible. O-RAN has been a hot topic within 5G circles in recent years, but official direction on the principle wasn’t released until last October in the DoD’s most recent 5G guidance. – https://breakingdefense.com/2025/02/pentagon-needs-further-industry-collaboration-on-o-ran-development-for-5g-interoperability/

NATO trials naval drones in Baltic Sea demo

(Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo – Defense News – 27 February 2025) NATO showed off its underwater surveillance capabilities in an unmanned surface vessel demonstration in the Baltic Sea as part of alliance efforts to deter acts of sabotage against critical undersea infrastructure in the strategic area. The trials took place in waters near Denmark from Feb. 17 to 20 and involved integrating manned and unmanned assets in live-firing events and tactical maneuvers. – https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2025/02/27/nato-trials-naval-drones-in-baltic-sea-demo/

Smaller polygons and cell alerts: How Israel’s Home Front Command honed its civilian alert system

(Seth J. Frantzman – Breaking Defense – 26 February 2025) Israel’s warfighting in Gaza and Lebanon may have spawned some technological leaps when it comes to combat operations, but according to an Israeli security official, advances weren’t constrained only to the fighting itself. Israel’s Home Front Command, which is charged with protecting Israeli civilians, also evolved over the course of the year-plus conflicts, honing existing technology and developing new communication techniques to alert the populace to any threats — mostly coming in the form of rocket or drone attacks. “Our motto is to get the early warning to every citizen in any place in Israel in any time,” the official, who requested their name not be used for security reasons, told Breaking Defense. “Because of the threats Israel has, it’s the most advanced system in the world.” – https://breakingdefense.com/2025/02/smaller-polygons-and-cell-alerts-how-israels-home-front-command-honed-its-civilian-alert-system/

Vendors flock to the United Arab Emirates to sell naval drones

(Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo – Defense News – 26 February 2025) The UAE military’s focus on autonomy has translated into growing investments in naval assets and made it an increasingly attractive player for foreign manufacturers of undersea vehicles. The emphasis on uncrewed maritime systems serves to plug manpower shortages and capability gaps, as the Gulf country’s naval branch is its smallest force at roughly 3,000 active personnel. – https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2025/02/26/vendors-flock-to-the-united-arab-emirates-to-sell-naval-drones/