Microsoft Patches a Record 570 Security Flaws in July as AI Accelerates the Pace of Vulnerability Discovery

Microsoft released software updates Tuesday to fix at least 570 security vulnerabilities across Windows and its other products, nearly tripling the number of flaws the company patched in last month’s already record-setting release, as the company points to artificial intelligence as a major driver behind the surging patch counts.

Nearly 60 of the vulnerabilities addressed in this month’s release earned a “critical” severity rating, meaning attackers could potentially exploit them to seize remote control of a Windows device with little or no action required from the user. Microsoft also patched three zero-day vulnerabilities as part of the release, including two flaws that were already being actively exploited before the fix became available.

Two of the zero-day vulnerabilities allow attackers to elevate their level of access on a compromised Windows system, joining roughly 250 other elevation-of-privilege flaws fixed this month. Among them are CVE-2026-56155, a bug affecting Active Directory Federation Services, and CVE-2026-56164, a vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint. Separately, Microsoft addressed CVE-2026-50661, a security feature bypass affecting Windows BitLocker that could allow an attacker with physical access to a device to gain entry to encrypted data. Microsoft said that flaw had been publicly detailed but that the company was not aware of any active exploitation of it at the time of the patch’s release.

Microsoft has attributed the dramatic rise in disclosed vulnerabilities directly to artificial intelligence tools now being used to hunt for security flaws across its massive codebase. In a blog post published July 9, Microsoft Executive Vice President Pavan Davuluri wrote that users would begin noticing “a higher volume of security updates included in each security release” as AI-assisted discovery methods continue to mature. Davuluri explained that advances in AI are changing how quickly vulnerabilities can be found, allowing researchers to identify more issues across larger volumes of code than was previously possible using traditional manual review methods.

Among the vulnerabilities drawing particular attention from security researchers is CVE-2026-48561, a remote code execution flaw in Microsoft Copilot carrying a severity score of 9.6 out of a possible 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System. Jack Bicer, director of vulnerability research at the cybersecurity firm Action1, flagged the bug as especially serious, noting that Microsoft has said an attacker could exploit it simply by hosting a malicious website capable of automatically sending crafted prompts to Copilot when a victim visits the site using Microsoft Edge on an Android device.

The same forces accelerating Microsoft’s ability to find and patch vulnerabilities are also making it easier for attackers to develop working exploits for known flaws more quickly. Microsoft has traditionally used an internal measure called the “exploitability index” to estimate how likely it is that a given vulnerability will be reliably exploited by attackers. But Satnam Narang, a senior staff research engineer at the cybersecurity firm Tenable, argued that Microsoft’s current approach to rating exploitability has not kept pace with how quickly AI tools can now generate working exploits. Narang pointed to this month’s SharePoint zero-day as an example, noting that Microsoft had initially rated it as “less likely” to be exploited, even though the flaw had already been added to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list by July 1.

Narang cited internal research from Anthropic’s red team as evidence of how quickly the landscape has shifted, noting that the company’s Mythos Preview model was able to independently produce proof-of-concept exploits for 13 of 14 known vulnerabilities that Microsoft had rated as unlikely to be exploited. “What this means is that our way of looking at Patch Tuesday has changed, because the exploitability index is centered around humans, not AI tools, and as these tools continue to improve, defense needs to improve alongside it,” Narang said.

Microsoft is not alone in scaling up its patch cadence in response to AI-assisted vulnerability discovery. Chris Goettl, a security researcher at the IT management firm Ivanti, noted that several other major software makers have similarly increased how frequently they release security fixes. Adobe announced this week that it is shifting to a twice-monthly security bulletin schedule, publishing updates on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, and specifically cited AI as a factor accelerating its own patch cycles. Goettl added that Cisco, Mozilla and Oracle have also increased the frequency of their security updates recently, while Google’s cumulative patch releases in June 2026 alone totaled more than 900 individual security fixes.

Security professionals recommend that organizations and individual users back up their systems and data before applying large batches of operating system updates. Given the unusually high volume of patches included in this month’s release, some experts suggested users consider waiting a few days before installing the updates, since large patch releases can occasionally introduce system stability issues alongside the security fixes they deliver. That risk appears to have grown alongside the dramatic increase in patch volume seen in recent months, as Microsoft and other vendors race to keep pace with AI-accelerated vulnerability discovery on both the defensive and offensive sides of the security landscape.

The record patch count adds to a broader industry conversation about how artificial intelligence is reshaping both cybersecurity research and the software development practices that produce the underlying code in the first place. While AI tools have proven effective at surfacing previously undiscovered flaws in massive, decades-old codebases that would be impossible for any single researcher to fully review manually, the same technology is simultaneously lowering the barrier for attackers to weaponize newly disclosed vulnerabilities, a dynamic that security researchers say is forcing companies like Microsoft to rethink how they prioritize and communicate risk to their customers going forward.

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Jordan Pickford’s nine-year run as England’s undisputed No. 1 goalkeeper should come to an end, according to a growing chorus of pundits in the wake of the Three Lions’ painful World Cup semifinal exit against Argentina.

The debate erupted on talkSPORT’s Kick Off program Thursday, with the panel largely agreeing that England needs a change between the posts heading toward Euro 2028, even as they acknowledged Pickford’s substantial contributions to the national team over nearly a decade at the top of the goalkeeping pecking order.

Pickford, 32, has made 91 appearances for England since debuting in November 2017, becoming a mainstay through three World Cups and two European Championships. His tenure has produced some of the country’s most memorable moments in major tournament football, including a crucial penalty save against Colombia’s Carlos Bacca at the 2018 World Cup that helped England secure its first-ever penalty shootout win at the tournament, and two saves in the Euro 2020 final shootout against Italy at Wembley, though England ultimately lost that match on penalties. He also denied Manuel Akanji in a quarterfinal shootout win over Switzerland at Euro 2024, and this summer broke the record for the most World Cup appearances by an England goalkeeper, with 18 caps across the tournament.

Despite that résumé, former England international Dean Ashton opened the discussion on Kick Off by suggesting the time had come for a new goalkeeper to take over the position heading into the next European Championship. “Pickford might be there, but it’s probably time for somebody to come and step in,” Ashton said.

Fellow panelist Rory Jennings went further, arguing that Pickford’s international career should be considered finished entirely. “I think Jordan Pickford shouldn’t play for England again. I think it’s over,” Jennings said. He pushed back on what he characterized as a common misconception that Pickford has never made a costly mistake in an England shirt, pointing specifically to Wednesday’s semifinal defeat to Argentina, in which Pickford was unable to stop a long-range effort from Enzo Fernández in the 85th minute that helped complete Argentina’s dramatic comeback. Jennings noted that midfielder Jude Bellingham appeared visibly stunned as the ball crossed the line, suggesting even Pickford’s own teammates were surprised by the goalkeeper’s inability to keep the shot out.

Jennings, a self-described Chelsea supporter, was blunt in his overall assessment of Pickford’s ceiling as a goalkeeper, arguing that the lack of transfer interest from bigger clubs throughout his career reflected a broader truth about his level. He described Pickford as an “all-right Premier League goalkeeper” and said England needs someone better as it looks toward the future.

Not every voice on the panel framed Fernández’s goal purely as a technical error. Former England goalkeeper Ben Foster agreed that Pickford should have done better on the shot but attributed part of the issue to Pickford’s physical stature rather than a lapse in technique. Foster explained that Pickford, listed at 6-foot-1, lacks the imposing height of some of the tournament’s other elite goalkeepers, contrasting him with Argentina’s Emiliano Martínez, who stands 6-foot-6. According to Foster, Pickford’s positioning and the timing of his glance toward the ball as it traveled around defender John Stones left him unable to react in time, a sequence he suggested a taller goalkeeper might have handled differently. Foster rated Pickford’s overall tournament performance at roughly a 6 out of 10, praising a strong showing in England’s round-of-16 win over Mexico but noting shakier moments in matches against DR Congo and Norway.

With the position potentially open heading into the next major tournament cycle, England manager Thomas Tuchel has several options to consider. Dean Henderson, who has five England caps and was part of this summer’s squad following a strong season with Crystal Palace, represents one alternative. Aaron Ramsdale, who has represented major clubs including Arsenal and Newcastle over his career and earned five caps of his own, could also factor into the conversation despite missing out on selection for the current squad.

The goalkeeper most frequently mentioned as Pickford’s eventual successor, however, is James Trafford, who currently has just two England caps and is fighting for regular playing time behind Gianluigi Donnarumma at his club. Asked directly who should take over from Pickford, Jennings named Trafford as his choice. “I think at the moment it would be James Trafford,” Jennings said, adding that he hoped Trafford would earn a bigger opportunity at Manchester City and continue developing into the goalkeeper he believes he can become.

For now, Pickford remains part of England’s squad as the tournament winds down. He is set for a possible 19th World Cup appearance Saturday, when England faces France in the third-place playoff match in Miami, with kickoff scheduled for 10 p.m. local time.

Wednesday’s semifinal defeat marked another agonizing near-miss for England, which came within minutes of reaching the World Cup final before Argentina scored twice in the closing stages to complete a 2-1 comeback victory. The result extended England’s wait for a first World Cup final appearance since 1966, a drought that has now spanned three consecutive tournaments in which the team reached at least the quarterfinal stage without ultimately breaking through.

Whether Tuchel shares the panel’s view on Pickford’s future remains to be seen, and no official decision on the national team’s long-term goalkeeping plans has been announced. But with growing public debate over whether Pickford’s near decade-long hold on the position should continue, the coming months are likely to bring further scrutiny over who wears the gloves for England as the team begins looking ahead to Euro 2028.

On Thursday, the company reported a 39% YoY rise in consolidated revenue to Rs 8,210 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. The strong performance was driven by robust growth in its Wires & Cables (W&C) business and continued momentum in the Fast-Moving Electrical Goods (FMEG) segment.

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EBITDA rose 32% YoY to Rs 1,136 crore, driven by improved operational efficiency and a favourable business mix. The EBITDA margin stood at 13.8%, while the net profit margin came in at 9.7%.

The FMEG business posted 71% YoY revenue growth across all product categories, with solar products remaining the largest segment and more than doubling from a year ago. Segment EBIT margin expanded to 8%, aided by operating leverage and a richer product mix, in line with the company’s Project Spring target of 8-10% EBITDA margins by FY30.

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The Wires & Cables (W&C) business, Polycab’s largest segment, reported 39% YoY revenue growth, led by a 43% rise in domestic sales on the back of healthy demand and strong execution under Project Spring. While the wires business outpaced cables, international revenue declined 13% YoY. The company, however, said its diversified global footprint and healthy order book provide strong growth visibility.
The EPC business saw revenue decline 11% YoY due to project execution timing but maintained an 11% EBIT margin, supported by a healthy order backlog and strong execution pipeline.”We have entered FY27 with strong momentum, achieving our highest-ever first-quarter revenue and profit performance,” Chairman and Managing Director Inder T. Jaisinghani said, adding that government infrastructure spending, capacity expansion, innovation, and distribution network growth will support long-term growth.

The company also paid a final dividend of Rs 47 per share, amounting to Rs 7,079.85 million, after shareholder approval at its AGM on June 30, 2026.

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In the past six months, the stock has gained 25.12%, while it is up 16.29% so far in the current calendar year. Over the last three and five years, it has delivered returns of 128% and 361%, respectively.

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Andy Burnham has been warned to rule out a wealth tax before he even reaches Downing Street, with one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory firms claiming that speculation alone is already driving capital, and the entrepreneurs who deploy it, out of Britain.

The warning from Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, follows an interview in which Burnham, who replaces Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister on Monday, declined to rule out a levy on the assets of Britain’s wealthiest citizens. Speaking to Gary Lineker’s podcast, the incoming PM suggested people may eventually be asked for “a little more” and said fairness demanded difficult decisions ahead.

For business owners, the concern is less the tax itself than the uncertainty. “A wealth tax that has not been proposed is already doing damage,” Green said. “Money does not sit around waiting for legislation. It moves the moment a government signals it is willing to go there, and Mr Burnham just signalled it.

“He needs to put this to rest today, not let it hang over Britain for months while capital quietly heads for the door.”

The timing is awkward for a new administration promising stability. The UK lost an estimated 16,500 millionaires in 2025, one of the largest single-year outflows recorded anywhere in the world, and industry forecasts suggest that figure could double again in 2026 as the effects of the abolition of the non-dom regime continue to ripple through. Analysts had already warned that Britain faced the largest exodus of millionaires globally before the leadership change, and more recent research suggests the non-dom exodus is running far worse than forecast, putting billions in expected tax receipts at risk.

The competition is not standing still. The UAE, Switzerland and Italy have all positioned themselves as beneficiaries of Britain’s loss, actively courting the capital and talent that London once took for granted.

Green argues the precedents are not encouraging. “History has run this experiment more than once, and the result never changes,” he said. “France tried it and watched tens of thousands of its wealthiest residents leave before scrapping the policy. Sweden tried it and lost entrepreneurs and headquarters it never got back.

“Wealth is mobile in a way wages are not, and every government that has taxed it hard has ended up chasing capital that has already gone.”

The economic maths, he contends, rarely works as proponents assume. “A wealth tax reads well on a policy paper and collapses on contact with reality. Tax accumulated assets and the people holding them start planning their exit immediately. What follows is not new revenue for the Treasury. It’s a shrinking base of investment, jobs and philanthropy, all disproportionately reliant on the very people this tax would target.”

For the SME community, the second-order effects may matter most. Departing wealth takes with it the angel investment, family office backing and consumer spending that smaller firms depend on, and Green says the damage is already underway.

“Family offices are having relocation conversations this week that would not have happened a year ago. Entrepreneurs are asking advisers whether Britain is still worth building in. None of that needs a wealth tax to pass. It only needs the idea to stay alive.”

His conclusion is blunt: “Andy Burnham has a choice in his very first weeks as Prime Minister. Rule out a wealth tax now, or watch Britain’s record wealth exodus become his opening legacy.

“There’s no version of this where keeping the door open on a wealth tax helps Britain compete for capital. Every day it stays open, more of that capital walks through it.”

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk