Tech
Buick’s Rarest ’70s Muscle Car Was Only Produced For Three Years
At the height of the muscle car era, Buick made a very rare vehicle. This Buick came with an amazingly powerful engine that set it apart from most others of its type. This Buick muscle car was called the Buick GSX. The GSX was a higher-performance evolution of the GS, or Gran Sport, moniker that Buick had used since it first shoehorned a 401-cubic-inch “nailhead” engine from the larger Wildcat into the intermediate-sized Skylark in 1965. The Buick GSX definitely qualified as having one of the classic muscle car engines that made tons of torque.
Without a doubt, the 455-cubic-inch engine in the GSX did make a huge amount of torque. Even though the base 455 in the GSX was rated at 350 horsepower, which has generally been acknowledged as severely underrated to keep the car insurance underwriters calm, it was also rated at 510 lb-ft of torque, the highest-listed torque rating during the muscle-car heyday.
The Buick GSX was made during a three-year period, during which the fortunes of the muscle cars would both rise and fall. The GSX’s run started in 1970, which could be considered the peak year for American muscle cars, particularly those from General Motors, and ended in 1972. A total of 678 GSX examples were produced in 1970, with just 124 in 1971 and an even lower 44 in 1972. And then the GSX was done, with only 846 units having ever been produced.
What was so special about the GSX?
In reality, the 1970 Buick GSX was essentially a package of appearance items that was applied to the 1970 GS model, which came with either the standard 350-horsepower 455 or the 360-horsepower Stage 1 engine. The buyer had a choice of two exterior colors: the unique Saturn Yellow and the non-exclusive Apollo White.
The GSX also received a front chin spoiler in black, a Buick-branded hood tach originally popularized on Pontiac’s GTO and Grand Prix, a rear spoiler that sat atop the trunk lid, body-colored racing-type mirrors and headlight bezels, a padded steering wheel, and, of course, the two distinctive broad hood stripes, complemented by the narrower stripe running along the body sides from front to rear and crossing at the rear spoiler. A firmed-up suspension called the “Rallye ride package” used gas shocks, sway bars, stiffer springs and bushings, and power front discs to improve the Buick GSX’s handling.
The 455-cubic-inch Buick GSX motor could be upgraded with the Stage 1 package, which added larger valves, a higher-compression cylinder head, a more aggressive camshaft, an upgraded four-barrel Rochester Quadrajet carburetor, and a retimed distributor. This made it one of the most powerful Buick engines, ranked by horsepower. Transmission options were either a three-speed Turbo Hydramatic or a four-speed manual. Performance numbers for the 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1, as performed by Motor Trend, were a quarter-mile time of 13.38 seconds at 105.5 mph. Pretty fast.
What happened to the Buick GSX in 1971 and 1972?
The 1971 Buick GSX saw some changes, as both emission regulations and the heavy hand of the insurance industry began to rein in performance. General Motors required all of its vehicles to run on regular gasoline, which lowered the standard 455’s compression ratio from 10:1 to 8.5:1, while the Stage 1 lost a full two points of compression. Horsepower dropped accordingly, from 350 to 315 in the standard 455 and from 360 to 345 in the Stage 1. One more change that Buick made to the GSX for 1971 and 1972 was the availability of a smaller, lower-powered engine — a 350-cubic-inch mill with a four-barrel carburetor producing 260 horsepower in 1971. Instead of the original two colors of Saturn Yellow and Apollo White, an additional nine colors became available.
1972 marked the final year for this fading muscle car, now available in 12 colors, even though total production amounted to just 44 cars. Power was also down, thanks to the use of “net” horsepower numbers, which lowered the output of the Stage 1 455 engine to 270 horsepower, the standard 455 engine to 250 horsepower, and the 350 engine to just 195 horsepower.
The Buick GSX is a distinctive muscle car that lived during both the best and the worst times of the muscle car era. Its rarity makes it one of the classic American muscle cars worth every penny.
Japanese musicians commemorated Wikipedia’s 25th anniversary with a unique composition made up entirely of Wikipedia entries. Open Reel Ensemble produced the song as part of a virtual birthday celebration, and it’s a true journey because it’s totally made up of ancient reel-to-reel equipment that also function as instruments. Every sound is produced by physically moving the tape over the heads, with no artificial samples added after the fact.
The video shows the trio jamming at a table surrounded by recorders. Snippets of Wikipedia material appear on screen, and the lads are completely freestyling their way through them; grab an entry on how a term is defined, and the machines come to life. One of them is rewinding quickly to fit the description, producing a wonderful smooth swooshing sound across the speakers. Another one goes into fast-forward mode whenever the text flashes by, raising the pitch and adding a little of edge to the beat.
Each one flows seamlessly into the next, and the overall effect just seems natural Pitch control slows down for deeper tones and speeds up for brighter ones. Loops take small pieces and repeat them to create these steady rhythms below, while vibrato puts in some wavey portions by slowly changing the pace. Tremolo reduces the loudness in these rapid little pulses, and when they scratch the tape edges, they make these sharp little snappy noises. Then there are the wow effects, which are simply natural wobbles that go up and down in the same rhythm as your breathing.
The layers just develop as the devices interact with one another; definition after definition for reel-to-reel recording, tension, cut-up technique, and even magnetic punk all appear on screen, activating their corresponding action. The music remains techno and dance-friendly throughout, but it is all anchored in the mechanical slapping and hissing of the tape. The moniker “Cyklepedia” refers to the entire cycle of information that repeats itself through these physical rotations. Masaru Yoshida composed the song, Haruka Yoshida was in charge of the camera and editing, and the entire group collaborated to bring the performance to life, with even Wikipedia getting in on the action, with the anniversary event playing a role.
[Source]
At an event at Sony’s TV headquarters in Tokyo last month, we were treated to some one-on-one time with Sony’s upcoming RGB LED-backlit LCD TV, and I can say this TV is clearly something special. We got to see the new set, which Sony is calling “True RGB,” in its final form and with its LCD panel and screen removed, exposing the RGB backlight unit. Next to it was Sony’s current Mini LED flagship TV, the BRAVIA 9, also in complete form and also with its LCD panel and screen removed, exposing the Mini LED back light unit for comparison.
Compared to the BRAVIA 9, the True RGB TV exceeded the performance of that set in just about every measurable (and subjective) way, with wider color gamut, impressive peak brightness and freedom from artifacts like aliasing and color banding. It also had black levels and contrast that will give an OLED TV a run for its money. The new set offered excellent off-axis viewing with minimal dimming and color shift when viewing it from the sides. The upcoming set, which will be publicly unveiled later this spring, does all this while actually using less power than its predecessor, thanks to highly efficient power management and precise control over its RGB backlighting system.
Mini LED/LCD TVs like the BRAVIA 9 have a relatively easy job when it comes to color reproduction. The blue LED elements combine with a quantum dot layer to generate a white backlight. Each pixel on the LCD panel itself creates colors by adjusting the opaqueness of each LCD pixel’s red, green and blue subpixel. Because the backlight is uniform in color, the color filter process is entirely predictable and uniform from pixel to pixel.
With an RGB backlit TV, the image processor has to decide how to adjust both the intensity of each individual red, green and blue LED diode in each zone of the backlight unit and do further adjustment at the pixel level adjusting each of the red, green and blue LCD subpixels in order to create each pixel’s final color. This two-step process can lead to more accurate and more vivid color reproduction, wider color gamut and higher overall brightness, but at the expense of requiring more processing power. It is just this complexity that has led to Sony taking its time in releasing its first RGB-lit TV of the new era.
At Sony’s headquarters, we got to see the new True RGB set up against several RGB-backlit models from competitors. In this comparison, the Sony True RGB set was better able to remain in its true RGB backlighting mode, taking full advantage of its wide color gamut reproduction with independent control over its red, green and blue diodes, while at least one competitive model switched to a full white backlight whenever multiple contrasting colors were displayed on the screen concurrently. This caused the competing set to lose its RGB color advantage by reverting to a uniform white backlight. And this was evident in visible loss of color saturation.
We’ve seen some RGB backlit TVs struggle with reproduction of multiple colors onscreen at the same time, due to a condition called “color crosstalk.” This occurs when you have multiple colors on screen at a time, or white objects next to or surrounded by colored backgrounds. Some of that background color can bleed into the white due to less than perfect backlight and color filter management. The Sony True RGB set we saw in Japan exhibited none of these color crosstalk issues or color bleed.
Off-axis viewing and glare reduction were both exceptionally good on the True RGB TV, with the new TV able to maintain its colors and rich black levels, even when viewed from the sides in a fairly bright room. While there was occasionally some mild blooming on brightly colored images set against a black background, the use of RGB lighting elements made these faint artifacts nearly imperceptible. On traditional LED/LCD TVs, the bloom or halo around a bright object is typically white, while on a True RGB TV, the light bloom matches the color of the on-screen object, making it much less noticeable.
We viewed several challenging 4K/HDR clips highlighting HDR tone mapping and found that the new True RGB set outperformed the BRAVIA 9 MiniLED TV in both specular highlights and shadow detail. And the BRAVIA 9 is already a strong performer for tone mapping, so this was a pretty impressive feat.
The True RGB TV we spent time with in Japan was a 65-inch version, but, because these TVs use standard LCD “mother glass,” we can expect Sony’s True RGB tech to be available in much larger screen sizes. Certainly larger than OLED TVs which currently max out at 97 inches diagonally. More details will follow later this spring.
The Bottom Line
While Sony was the first TV maker to use RGB LED backlights in an LCD TV, with the Qualia 005 from 2004, they were not first to market with this new wave of RGB-backlit LCD TVs. Models from Samsung, TCL and Hisense were introduced last year, and second generation models are coming soon from these same manufacturers. LG also unveiled their own RGB-backlit LCD TVs this year, though they are still standing behind OLED technology for their flagship TVs.
Sony has been working on perfecting RGB backlighting in LCD TVs for several years. About a year ago, we saw Sony’s then current prototype RGB backlit TV, which was impressive, but this latest version is even more so. From what we can gather, the company wanted to make sure their version of RGB backlighting was truly ready for prime time before its release. And, from what we’ve seen so far, the wait will be worth it.
Stay tuned to eCoustics for more details on Sony True RGB TVs, including industrial design, model numbers, screen sizes, prices and more, coming later this spring.
Related Reading:
We’ve Seen the Future of Sony TVs in All its Red, Green and Blue Glory: Here’s What’s Coming
It’s Here! Check Out the 116-inch Hisense 116UX RGB Backlit TV
Sony, TCL Finalize Joint Venture for TVs and Audio; Say Hello to BRAVIA, Inc.
Arcee, a tiny 26-person U.S. startup that built a massive, 400B-parameter open source LLM on a $20 million shoestring budget, has released its new reasoning model. Arcee calls the model Trinity Large Thinking — and it’s the most capable open-weight model “ever released by a non-Chinese company,” claims CEO Mark McQuade to TechCrunch.
As that comment implies, Arcee has a goal that I can’t help but root for: It wants to give U.S. and Western companies a model that gives them no reason to use a Chinese-based one.
While Chinese models are extremely capable, they are perceived as risky, putting power, and perhaps data, into the hands of a government that doesn’t share all of the Western world’s ideals.
With Arcee, companies can download the model, train it to their own needs, and use it on premises. Companies can also use Arcee’s cloud-hosted version, accessible via API.
While Arcee’s models are not outperforming the closed source models from the big labs like Anthropic or OpenAI, they’re not being held hostage by the whims of those giants, either.
For instance, Claude, with its exceptional abilities to code, has been a popular choice for users of open source AI agent tool OpenClaw. But Anthropic pulled the rug out from them last week when it told users that their Anthropic subscriptions will no longer cover OpenClaw usage — they will have to pay additionally for that. (In February, OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger said he was joining Anthropic’s biggest rival, OpenAI.)
In contrast, McQuade proudly points to data from OpenRouter that says it has become one of the top models used with OpenClaw.
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So, how good is Trinity Large Thinking? It is comparable to some of the other top open source models, according to the benchmark results it shared with TechCrunch.
As we previously reported, it is not a head-to-head threat to the big cheese among U.S.-built open models: Meta’s Llama 4. But it also doesn’t have the odd, not-really open source license issues of Meta’s model. All of Arcee’s Trinity models are released under the gold standard for OS licenses, Apache 2.0.
Just to be clear, there are also countless other U.S. startups offering open source models and, as a fan of the ingenuity of startups, I’m rooting for them, too.
The internet has given us many things, including the infamous “Florida Man” trope. That last one isn’t the nickname of an unknown cryptid stalking the swamps of the Sunshine State; instead, it refers to a seemingly never-ending series of headlines featuring random Floridians doing wild and crazy things, usually involving one of the state’s many creatures (think possums, alligators, snakes, and iguanas). Oh, and they’re all true.
Florida is also home to some truly weird traffic laws, but “Florida Man Drives With Expired Registration” doesn’t have quite the same ring as “Florida Man Ties Elephant to Parking Meter Without Paying Fee.” Still, the rule around expired tags in the state is a bit odd. Fundamentally, though, it’s not too dissimilar to other states: vehicles in Florida must have a valid registration, and letting it lapse can lead to a range of unpleasant consequences.
However, section 320.07 (subsection 3A) of the state statutes lays out that anyone with an expired registration of less than six months is only committing “a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation.” There’s also a caveat to this otherwise very straightforward law: Police can’t write up a citation for it “until midnight on the last day of the owner’s birth month of the year the registration expires.” If it’s been expired for more than six months, though, the proverbial can of worms gets opened. First-time offenders may be subjected to a monetary penalty, while second-time offenders could face a second-degree misdemeanor with a $500 fine plus up to 60 days in prison.
Vehicle registrations in Florida
Florida wouldn’t make it difficult for itself, would it? Barring some truly obscure traffic laws that most drivers don’t know about, no, because most registrations expire at midnight on the owner’s birthday. They can be renewed for one or two years, beginning three months before expiration, at least for individual car owners. However, while registration technically expires on the owner’s birthday, penalties can’t be assessed — and the vehicle can still be driven — until the last day of the owner’s birthday month. If and when you do get a ticket, you can either pay the fee (which varies by county, not to exceed $500) or show up for your day in court.
Initially, registering a vehicle in Florida will set you back $225 plus proof of insurance with minimum coverage levels ($10,000 in Personal Injury Protection and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability). Annual license taxes on privately owned vehicles are based on weight. One weighing less than 2,500 pounds costs a mere $14.50, while one weighing between 2,500 and 3,499 pounds incurs a fee of $22.50, and those over 3,500 pounds cost $32.50.
Furthermore, anyone cited for expired tags has 10 working days to obtain a valid certificate of registration. But there’s yet another caveat to this law, and it pertains to active service members. If their vehicle registration expires while they’re deployed, they will not be dinged — as long as the soldier can provide official military orders or a written statement from their commanding officer attesting to their deployment.
Verdict
A great-looking convection heater, available in black or white, the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater is also great value for a smart heater. Its front control panel is a little basic, but the smart app offers versatility and remote control.
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Great price
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Flexible installation
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Useful smart app
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Feet are fiddly to attach
Key Features
Introduction
Convection heaters might all work in the same way, but that doesn’t mean that you have to compromise on style or features, as the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater demonstrates.
Available in black or white, this panel heater can stand on the floor or you can wall-mount it to keep it out of the way. Its front control panel is a little basic, but connect this well-priced 2kW heater to Wi-Fi and you get more via the app.
Design and features
- Can stand on the floor or be wall-mounted
- Black or white versions
- Compatible with the SmartLife app
A lot of convection heaters are very ugly, but the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater is much more attractive than most. As the name says, this heater has a glossy glass finish to it that gives it an air of quality and makes this heater look at lot more expensive than it is. I’ve got the black version, but there’s also a white version.
The eagle-eyed may spot that the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater looks very similar to the Princess Glass Smart Panel Heater that I reviewed a few years ago. Both have the same finish, screen and controls. While the Princess heater was a 1.5kW model, there was also a 2kW model – the same rating as the MasterPlug here.
However, the MasterPlug version is cheaper at the time of review, and there are a few app differences, too.
As with the Princess, the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater can be wall-mounted, or you can attach the provided feet to the base and have it freestanding. The feet are as annoying to attach here as they were to the Princess heater.
Thanks to a deep recess on the feet, the tiny screws are hard to get through the holes. I recommend a magnetic screwdriver to hold the screws while you delicately move them into position.
Once attached, the legs provide a lot of stability, but if the heater is knocked over, tip-over protection cuts the power to prevent damage.
Once plugged in, the heater has a physical power switch on the side that cuts power off. For most cases, you can leave this switch on, but it’s handy to have the option to fully cut power in the warmer months or if you won’t be using the heater for a while.
With the main switch on, the heater is controlled via the touch buttons on the front. There’s a simple power button that turns the heater on and brings the screen to life, showing the current room temperature.
The plus/minus buttons let me select the target temperature in 1°C increments up to 40°C. Once the target has been reached, the heater turns off until the temperature drops, and then the heating process starts again.
There’s a timer button, which cycles through hourly increments up to 24 hours. It’s handy to have if you want to give a room a boost, but want the heater to shut down after a set time.
Finally, there’s a control to switch between high and low power modes (2000W and 1000W). Lower power mode is useful if it’s either slightly warmer weather and you’re worried about overshooting the target temperature, or you have solar power and want to keep power usage below your energy generation on a bright day.
To get more from the heater, you need to connect it to the app. This heater is compatible with the SmartLife app, where you can mix and match devices from different manufacturers, or you can use the MPSmartEnergy app instead. Both give you the same interface, so there’s no good reason to us the MPSmartEnergy app over SmartLife.
Be careful, as the app gives the wrong instructions for getting the radiator connected to Wi-Fi: it shows a flashing LED and says to hold the reset button, showing a diagram of someone holding down the power button; the flashing icon is actually on the LCD and shows what looks like a ringed-planet, and the reset button is actually the mode select button.
Once connected to the app, you get the same controls as on the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater itself, plus the timer can be set in minutes as well as hours.
Scheduling is available via simple rules: you need one for each time the heater should turn on and which temperature it should aim for, and another rule for each time you want to turn it off. It’s handy to have this option, but it’s not as thorough as the full scheduling tool you get with Mill WiFi Max Portable Heater 1500W.
What MasterPlug offers over the similar Princess heaters is full energy monitoring in-app, so you can see how much energy the heater is using and how much it has used over time.
Performance
One of the main benefits of a convection heater is that it’s completely silent. Aside from a clunk as the heating element turns on or off, there’s no sound to be heard from the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater at all.
The front gets hot, but no so hot as you’d burn yourself, but most of the heat comes out of the vent at the top. As the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater heats up, it causes air to circulate, warming the room.
Testing it in the large front room of the Trusted Reviews Home Technology Lab (just shy of the 25m2 maximum that I’d recommend for a 2kW heater), it didn’t take long to raise the temperature from 17°C to a more pleasant 21°C. For living rooms and larger bedrooms, this heater would be all that you need.
I measured the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater as drawing just under 2kW on maximum power and just over 1kW on low-power. How much energy is uses will depend on many things: the target temperature, starting temperature, outdoor temperature and target temperature. But, overall running costs are the same for this electric heater as for any other model specified for a target room size.
Should you buy it?
You want a cheap, good-looking smart heater
Versatile with wall- or floor-mounting and a smart app, this heater is well priced and attractive.
You want something smaller or with more features
If you’re limited on space, a fan heater might be better, and many of those can also double up as cooling fans in the summer.
Final Thoughts
Impressively cheap, the MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater also looks great and comes with a very useful smart app to get more out of it. If you want a fan heater or something for a smaller room, then check out my guide to the best electric heaters.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every heater we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
- Used as our main heater for the review period
- We measure the fan speed (if available) using an anemometer so that we can accurately compare performance between models
- We measure the heat output of the fan and its effect on our test lab.
FAQs
Using the app you can set schedules and more detailed timers, and view power usage.
Test Data
| MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater |
|---|
Full Specs
| MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £91.99 |
| Manufacturer | – |
| Size (Dimensions) | 920 x 235 x 430 MM |
| Weight | 7.4 KG |
| Release Date | 2026 |
| First Reviewed Date | 26/03/2026 |
| Model Number | MasterPlug Auraline Black Glass Panel Heater |
| Modes | 1000W, 2000W |
| Stated Power | 2000 W |
| App Control | Yes |
| Timer | Yes (hourly up to 24 hours) |
| Heater type | Convection heater |
| Thermostat | Yes |
| Safety features | Overheat and tip-over protection |
Over a dozen companies have suffered data theft attacks after a SaaS integration provider was breached and authentication tokens stolen.
While numerous cloud storage and SaaS vendors were targeted using the stolen tokens, BleepingComputer has learned that the majority of the data theft attacks targeted the cloud-based data warehouse platform Snowflake.
Snowflake confirmed “unusual activity” to BleepingComputer, stating that a small number of its customers were impacted.
“We recently detected unusual activity within a small number of Snowflake customer accounts linked to a specific third-party integration,” Snowflake told BleepingComputer.
“We immediately launched an investigation and, out of an abundance of caution, locked down potentially impacted customer accounts. We also notified potentially impacted customers and provided precautionary guidance to help them further protect their accounts.”
Snowflake stressed that the attacks did not involve any vulnerability or compromise of its systems.
As part of these attacks, the threat actor allegedly attempted to use the stolen authentication tokens to steal data from Salesforce, but was detected before they could succeed.
Data theft after alleged Anodot breach
While Snowflake would not confirm which third-party integration partner was linked to these attacks, BleepingComputer was told by numerous sources that the attacks stem from a security incident at data anomaly detection company Anodot.
Anodot is an AI-based analytics company that provides real-time anomaly detection for business and operational data, helping organizations automatically spot unusual changes in revenue, transactions, and system performance using machine learning. Data analytics company Glassbox acquired the company in November 2025.
BleepingComputer was told that numerous companies are now being extorted by the ShinyHunters extortion gang, which is demanding ransom payments to prevent the release of stolen data.
After learning of the attacks, the ShinyHunters group confirmed to BleepingComputer that they were behind them, claiming to have stolen data from dozens of companies this past Friday. They also confirmed their attempts to steal data from Salesforce, but said they were blocked by AI detection.
The blocked attempt comes amid a wave of data theft attacks over the past year targeting Salesforce customers.
The threat actors also claimed the attack stems from a security incident at Anodot, hinting that they allegedly had access to the company for some time.
The threat actor shared some of the companies allegedly affected by the incident, but BleepingComputer will not name them without confirmation.
Only one company, Payoneer, replied to our emails, stating that it aware of the integrator breach but was not impacted.
“We’re aware of a security incident involving a third-party service provider, Anodot. Based on our review, Payoneer has not been impacted,” Payoneer said in a statement to BleepingComputer.
Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, which has been tracking many of this year’s data theft campaigns, also confirmed to BleepingComputer that it is aware of the incident and is tracking it, but had nothing further to share at this time.
BleepingComputer has sent multiple emails to Anodot and its parent company, Glassbox, but has not yet received a reply.
Automated pentesting proves the path exists. BAS proves whether your controls stop it. Most teams run one without the other.
This whitepaper maps six validation surfaces, shows where coverage ends, and provides practitioners with three diagnostic questions for any tool evaluation.
U.S. victims lost nearly $21 billion to cyber-enabled crimes last year, driven primarily by investment scams, business email compromise, tech support fraud, and data breaches, the Federal Bureau of Investigation says.
The figure continues the year-over-year record trend as it is up 26% compared to 2024, when Americans lost $16.6 billion to cybercrime.
A similar uptick was recorded in the number of complaints the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received, which surpassed 1 million last year, up from 859,000 the year before.
Source: FBI
The most frequent complaints received last year referred to phishing attacks (191,000), extortion (89,000), and investment scams (72,000), which continued to drive massive losses.
Although smaller in absolute numbers, there were still a significant number of reports for serious attack types such as business email compromise (24,700 cases), data breaches (3,900), ransomware attacks (3,600), and SIM swapping (971).
Investment fraud accounted for 49% of all scam-related incidents recorded last year and resulted in losses of $8.6 billion. However, cybercrime targeting cryptocurrency caused the largest loss, exceeding $11 billion across 181,565 cases.
Cyber-enabled fraud was present in 453,000 complaints and accounted for $17.7 billion of the total losses submitted to the IC3 in 2025.
According to the IC3, Americans over the age of 60 were hit the hardest, with reported losses of $7.7 billion, a 37% increase compared to the previous year.
For the first time, the FBI’s report includes AI-related scams, which accounted for 22,300 complaints and $893 million in losses. These schemes involved voice cloning, fake profiles, forged documents, and deepfake videos.
In two cases, attacks targeting critical infrastructure (dams and nuclear facilities), the FBI labeled the incidents as data breaches.
The most targeted critical infrastructure sectors in 2025 were healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, information technology, and government facilities.
Source: FBI
FBI fighting back
The FBI says that it has upgraded its efforts to block attacks, notify victims, and freeze stolen funds, in some cases even being able to retrieve them.
The agency initiated 3,900 Financial Fraud Kill Chain (FFKC) interventions in 2025, successfully blocking a portion of fraudulent transactions. Of the $1.16 billion targeted by attackers, the FBI froze $679 million.
Additional efforts from the agency to prevent cyber-enabled crimes included ‘Operation Level Up’ at the start of the year, a proactive approach to prevent financial losses by identifying and alerting victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud.
Of the 3,780 victims notified last year, 78% were unaware that they were being scammed.
The FBI recommends people not to rush when they receive urgent requests and face pressure tactics, and to use all available means to verify the authenticity of the communication before sending money or data.
Those who suspect compromise by hackers or scammers are urged to report the incidents with full details to ic3.gov.
Automated pentesting proves the path exists. BAS proves whether your controls stop it. Most teams run one without the other.
This whitepaper maps six validation surfaces, shows where coverage ends, and provides practitioners with three diagnostic questions for any tool evaluation.
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From being merely an auxiliary element, artificial intelligence has now become an integral part of the driving force behind businesses. Be it the analysis of large data sets or the execution of repetitive functions, the importance of artificial intelligence has already been demonstrated in multiple industries. However, the introduction of generative artificial intelligence has now added a new dimension to the capabilities that are being offered.
While traditional AI has been widely used for years, the rise of generative AI is making it important for businesses to understand how the two differ. Although these technologies are part of the same broad category, namely ‘artificial intelligence solutions,’ but they have very distinct functionalities and differences.
Understanding Traditional AI
Conventional AI systems are created to perform data handling, pattern recognition, and predictions.
Core Characteristics of Traditional AI
Predictive Capabilities
Traditional AI is trained to make predictions based on the data they have been trained on.
Structured Data Dependency
This system is most suitable for handling structured data, i.e., tables and databases.
Task-Specific Design
They are built to perform specific jobs.
Rule-Based or Supervised Learning Models
They are based on algorithms that use rule-based systems or supervised learning.
Common Use Cases
• Fraud detection in financial systems
• Recommendation systems in online platforms
• Demand forecasting in supply chains
• Risk assessment in insurance and banking
Traditional AI is an excellent choice for businesses that need accuracy and precision in handling data. Due to this excellent feature, it is the backbone of enterprise-level AI solutions.
What Is Generative AI?
Generative AI, on the other hand, is a distinct concept. It is more focused on producing new outputs instead of analysis. It can learn from large data sets and produce different outputs such as text, images, and codes.
Key Characteristics of Generative AI
Content Creation
It can create original content instead of predictions.
Unstructured Data Handling
Generative AI can handle complex data such as natural language and images.
Contextual Understanding
It is capable of responding based on the context.
Adaptive Learning
This model can learn and improve its output.
Corporations can create programs that facilitate creative and strategic operations and go beyond technology through the use of generative AI services.
Generative AI vs Traditional AI: A Side-by-Side Comparison
|
Aspect |
Traditional AI |
Generative AI |
|
Primary Function |
Data analysis and prediction |
Content creation and generation |
|
Data Type |
Structured data |
Structured and unstructured data |
|
Output |
Predictions, classifications |
Text, images, code, and more |
|
Flexibility |
Limited to predefined tasks |
Highly flexible and adaptive |
|
Learning Approach |
Task-specific training |
Large-scale deep learning models |
|
Interaction Style |
Reactive |
Context-aware and interactive |
|
Use Case Scope |
Narrow |
Broad and multi-functional |
This comparison emphasizes how generative AI development increases the opportunities of AI beyond conventional boundaries.
Technical Perspective: How They Work
Traditional AI Workflow
1. Data collection and preprocessing
2. Feature selection and engineering
3. Model training using algorithms such as regression or classification
4. Output generation based on learned patterns
Traditional systems are heavily dependent on structured workflows and objectives.
Generative AI Workflow
1. Training on large datasets with deep learning models
2. Learning patterns and relationships
3. Generating outputs based on inputs or prompts
4. Improving outputs with feedback and iterations
Generative AI employs transformer models to process the context and generate outputs similar to humans.
Why Generative AI Is Driving New Opportunities
The increased interest in generative AI services is attributed to the potential they have to enable innovation and efficiency in multiple functions.
Key Benefits of Generative AI
1. Scalable Content Creation
Generative AI enables businesses to generate large quantities of content within a short time, such as marketing content, reports, and product descriptions, thus helping them save time and be consistent in the content they generate.
2. Enhanced Customer Engagement
Businesses can use AI-based chat tools to produce more personalized & engaging content, thus giving the customer a superior experience and effectively fulfilling their needs.
3. Quicker Product Development
Generative AI enables faster product development through the generation of prototypes, codes, and testing.
4. Personalization
Businesses can use generative AI to create a personalized experience based on individual needs, hence providing a better experience and satisfying users.
5. Data Augmentation
Artificial data helps improve models, especially when there is a lack of data, hence providing accurate results and improved performance.
These advantages make generative AI development a vital part of digital strategy for many organizations.
Real-World Applications Across Industries
Traditional AI Applications
• Financial fraud detection
• Predictive maintenance in manufacturing
• Inventory management
• Customer segmentation
Generative AI Applications
• AI chatbots and conversational agents
• Marketing content creation
• Code generation and debugging
• Image and video generation
• Virtual assistants and knowledge systems
These examples show how generative AI solutions extend beyond traditional automation into areas that require creativity and adaptability.
Combining Both Approaches
In fact, most organizations use a mix of traditional and generative AI to get the best out of the systems.
Example Use Case
• Traditional AI systems process customer information to find patterns
• Generative AI systems use the patterns to create personalized content
This enables businesses to use the advantages of both systems to create a more robust artificial intelligence system.
Challenges and Considerations
Traditional AI Limitations
• Limited flexibility
• Difficulty in dealing with unstructured data
• Need for manual updating for new applications
Generative AI Challenges
• Higher computational costs
• Chances of inaccurate or biased outcomes
• Need for effective governance and compliance
Understanding regulatory requirements is equally important, as generative AI regulatory compliance helps businesses manage risks effectively while adopting new technologies.
Business Impact of Generative AI
The rise of generative AI services is influencing how businesses operate and compete.
Key Areas of Impact
• Marketing and Content Creation
Faster production of high-quality content
• Customer Support
Improved interaction through intelligent chat systems
• Product Innovation
Rapid prototyping and idea generation
• Operational Efficiency
Automation of complex workflows
Organizations investing in generative ai development are finding new ways to improve productivity and deliver value.
Choosing the Right Approach
Selecting the right AI approach depends on the nature of your business needs.
Use Traditional AI When:
• Working with structured data
• Focusing on prediction and analysis
• Managing risk and compliance tasks
Use Generative AI When:
• Creating content or designs
• Building conversational interfaces
• Driving innovation and personalization
Key Factors to Consider
• Data availability and quality
• Infrastructure requirements
• Integration with existing systems
• Long-term scalability
A thoughtful evaluation helps businesses select the most suitable generative AI solution or combination of tools.
Concluding Thoughts
The difference between traditional AI and generative AI is based on how they approach problems and how they deliver the results. While traditional AI is based on analyzing data and making predictions, generative AI creates new information and allows for more interactive experiences.
As the business world continues to look into more sophisticated technology, the development of generative AI is a significant part of the current business plans. This is because it opens up more opportunities for creativity and efficiency in the customer world.
However, traditional AI is still a viable tool in the world of data-based tasks. The most viable approach to artificial intelligence solutions is a mix of traditional and generative AI. This ensures a balance between traditional and generative artificial intelligence solutions and allows businesses to thrive and become more competitive in a more data-based world.
As US President Donald Trump threatens wholesale demolition of Iran’s infrastructure in the midst of an escalating war, Iran now appears to have already reciprocated with its own form of infrastructure sabotage: A hacking campaign hitting industrial control systems across the United States, including energy and water utilities, that US agencies say has had disruptive and costly effects.
In a joint advisory published Tuesday, a group of US agencies including the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned that a group of hackers affiliated with the Iranian government has targeted industrial control devices used in a series of critical infrastructure targets including in the energy sector, water and wastewater utilities, and unspecified “government facilities.” According to the agencies, the hackers have targeted programmable logic controllers (PLCs)—a type of device designed to allow digital control of physical machinery—in those facilities, including those sold by industrial tech firm Rockwell Automation, with the apparent intention of sabotaging their systems.
By compromising those PLCs, the advisory warns, the hackers sought to change information on the displays of industrial control systems, which can in some scenarios cause system downtime, damage, or even dangerous conditions. “In a few cases, this activity has resulted in operational disruption and financial loss,” it reads.
When WIRED reached out to Rockwell Automation, a company spokesperson responded in a statement that it “takes seriously the security of its products and solutions and has been closely coordinating with government agencies in connection with” Tuesday’s advisory, and pointed to documents it has published for customers on how to better secure their PLCs.
Though the advisory doesn’t specify a particular group responsible for the hacking campaign, it notes that the attacks are similar to those carried out in by the Iran-linked group known as CyberAv3ngers, or the Shahid Kaveh Group, starting in late 2023. That team of hackers, believed to work in the service of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, inflicted several waves of attacks against Israeli and US targets in recent years, including gaining access to more than a hundred devices sold by industrial control system technology firm Unitronics and most commonly used in water and wastewater utilities.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
After years of rumors and leaks, Apple’s iPhone Fold is finally inching closer to a launch, and according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, arguably the most reliable Apple oracle, the foldable is on track for a September 2026 debut.
Earlier this week, Nikkei Asia raised eyebrows by flagging development snags with the iPhone Fold, particularly during testing. Gurman, however, pushes back, reporting that despite the device’s complex design, Apple remains committed to its September launch window.
Is the iPhone Fold’s launch on track?
The supply at launch might be tighter than for other iPhones, but the launch timeline itself stands. Does that mean that the purported iPhone Fold will be available to purchase alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in September 2026? It doesn’t seem so.
While Apple intends to reveal or showcase the iPhone Fold alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max in September this year, shipping may follow later. In his newsletter, Gurman drew a parallel between the rumored foldable and the iPhone X.
When will Apple chip the iPhone Fold?
Apple announced the revolutionary iPhone X in September 2007, but deliveries began in November. The Fold, at least for now, could follow a similar path, potentially hitting hands as late as December this year.
In exchange for the long wait, buyers could get a book-style foldable that unfolds from a 5.5-inch outer screen to a 7.8-inch inner screen that mimics the aspect ratio and look of the iPad mini, has a 4.5-4.8 mm side profile, runs on a new Apple chip, and has a dual-rear-facing camera array.
Pricing, however, is the most sensitive aspect of the iPhone Fold, which, in my opinion, can make or break the company’s product lineup. For now, the general consensus on the internet points toward a starting price of over $2,000 for the baseline variant.
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