Android is rolling out a system-level way to securely transfer passwords and passkeys between credential managers, eliminating the need to export passwords as unencrypted text files or manually recreate passkeys. The feature initially supports Google Password Manager, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane, with other providers able to integrate through Android’s Credentials Transfer API. 9to5Google reports on how to initiate the system-backed transfer method: 1. Start the move: Open your new password manager app and choose the option to import or copy your passwords and passkeys from another provider. The password manager will then hand the task over to Android.
2. Let Android securely coordinate the data transfer: Android will automatically detect existing password managers on your device and show you which you can import from.
3. Review and authorize: Once you tap “Continue,” Android will bring you to your existing password manager to select, review, and authorize the transfer. Then your data will be quickly and securely transferred between the apps in just a few seconds.
The Irish technology company is undergoing a period of growth which is being driven by new leadership and an expanded team.
PC Peripherals, an Irish technology company that works with schools and businesses to provide technology services and solutions is undergoing a rebrand to Eduvolve as part of the company’s next chapter.
The rebrand comes amid a major investment of €2.5m and an acquisition by Grafton Education. Pc Peripherals, now Eduvolve, will create up to 20 new jobs in Galway and Dublin “over the coming years”, in technical services, engineering, operations, customer experience, sales and education technology.
The acquisition, investment and jobs creation is also accompanied by a change in leadership. Ian Gaughran has been appointed CEO and Fintan Costello is stepping into the role of technical director. Both will lead Eduvolve through its next phase of growth.
Advertisement
“I’m honoured to take on the role of CEO at such an exciting time for the business,” said Gaughran. “This investment allows us to build on three decades of trusted relationships with schools and businesses across Ireland, while accelerating our vision for the future.
“We’re proud of where we’ve come from as PC Peripherals, and excited about where Eduvolve is headed. My relationship with PC Peripherals goes back more than a decade, so I know first-hand the quality of the people behind this business and the trust it has built with schools and customers across Ireland.”
Erik Jentetics, the founder of Grafton Education, added, “This is much more than an acquisition or a change of name. We are investing approximately €2.5m into the acquisition, capitalisation and growth of the business because we believe there is an opportunity to build something genuinely different in Irish education.
“Technology had a significant impact on my own education and ultimately on my decision to build a career and businesses in technology. That experience has stayed with me. I believe schools should be able to access great technology without having to navigate a fragmented network of different suppliers and support providers.”
Advertisement
Also this week, Irish cybersecurity and compliance company ZeroRisk raised $10m in a Series A funding round led by MiddleGame Ventures with participation from existing investor Elkstone.
The new funding will be used to support expansion globally, further product development and increase operational capacity to deploy the platform across large merchant portfolios of major payment providers.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
Meta is beginning its international expansion of Community Notes. The company said it is starting to test the crowd-sourced fact checks in 16 countries in Latin America more than a year after it rolled out the program stateside and ended its partnership with US-based fact checking organizations.
The company says it plans to take a similar approach with its initial tests in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The platform is starting to onboard contributors to who, if approved, will be able to write notes that add “additional context” to posts on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. During the testing phase, contributors’ notes will not be surfaced to users and “there will be no changes to third-party fact checking,” Meta says in a blog post originally published in Spanish.
But the company goes on to suggest that it intends for Community Notes to eventually replace existing fact-checking arrangements in these countries. “When we’re confident the product is working well and can be successful, we will look at fully launching – beginning to publish Community Notes and transitioning our third-party fact checking program,” Meta writes, according to a translation provided by the company.
Unsurprisingly, Meta’s move to potentially end fact checking in a large swath of Latin America has alarmed fact checking organizations. In a statement published by Poynter, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) said it was “deeply concerned” by the news. “The community notes program alone is simply not adequate when it comes to reducing the impact of harmful falsehoods on its platforms,” the group wrote.
Advertisement
The Oversight Board, which has previously warned Meta that expanding Community Notes outside of the US would come with “significant” risks, also seemed troubled. “We urge Meta not to consider community notes a direct replacement for factchecking, and to use all the tools that best address the challenge of misinformation on its platforms in ways that both protect free expression and address potential harms,” the board said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the group published a 15,000-word policy advisory opinion on how Meta should handle Community Notes’ international expansion. In it, the Oversight Board repeatedly stressed that Community Notes should not replace traditional fact checking. “One doesn’t have to replace or substitute for the other, they can coexist,” board co-chair Paolo Carozza told Engadget at the time. “And in some situations, there are really important reasons for them to coexist.”
In its guidance, the board cautioned against bringing Community Notes to countries experiencing “high polarization,” “protracted conflict” and those with a history of organized disinformation networks. Meta is disregarding that advice, according to the IFCN.
“Meta is testing its community notes in some countries that face precisely one or more of these circumstances. Nicaragua, for example, has abolished elections and is actively practicing arbitrary detention of political dissidents. Disinformation networks have been well documented in El Salvador and Ecuador. And Venezuela has been in an extended state of instability.”
Advertisement
When reached for comment, Meta didn’t address the criticism directly. A spokesperson said there were “no changes to our third-party fact checking program at this time.” The company has said that Community Notes has been a success in the United States, where it has 1.4 million contributors.
Others have raised questions about the effectiveness of Meta’s program compared with X. The publication Indicator found that only 3 percent of Instagram posts that were debunked by the AFP‘s US bureau since last April had also received a Community Note. That would suggest that Meta’s crowd-sourced approach is missing a significant number of social media posts that traditional fact checkers believe are worth addressing.
This also includes gaming-related peripherals, such as one of our favorite gaming headsets, the Corsair Void V2 Wireless. WIRED reviewer Brad Bourque found this model to be a particularly good fit for people with larger heads, while remaining lightweight and comfortable with its breathable earcups.
Claim Your 15% Corsair Student Discount via UNiDAYS
Like many companies, Corsair offers a 15% discount for students, which is always helpful for saving some extra money. It does, however, require a valid student email address and a UNiDAYS account. Once you’re signed up, though, you’re on your way to 15% off Corsair’s entire catalog.
Photograph: Henri Robbins
Photograph: Henri Robbins
Photograph: Henri Robbins
Photograph: Henri Robbins
Corsair
Sabre v2 Pro Ultralight Wireless Gaming Mouse
Advertisement
For college students looking to do some gaming on the weekends, I’d recommend checking out one of the company’s gaming mice, such as the Corsair Sabre V2 Carbon Fiber and Magnesium Gaming Mouse. This pro-level esports mouse, which our mouse reviewer gave a very high 9/10 score, praising its extremely light design and comfortable shape. At the time of publication, it was 30% off, bringing the price down to $120.
Save More With Specials Offers at Corsair
One of the best ways to save on pricey gaming gear like processors, memory storage, monitors, and more, is to check out Corsair’s online deals special offers page. Here, they have deals on a myriad of best-selling tech, including gaming PCs, monitors, gaming deals, memory deals, and discounts on Revival Series items (their refurbished like-new tech line). Right now, some of the best deals are a VENGEANCE a7500 Gaming PC for $3,300—a $500 discount, and the best-selling VIRTUOSO RGB WIRELESS High-Fidelity Gaming Headset for only $90.
Corsair
Scimitar Elite Wireless SE
Advertisement
Maximize Your Savings With a Corsair Discount on Certified Refurbished Tech
Unlike a lot of tech manufacturers, Corsair actually sells its own refurbished products that have been certified by the company itself. Products are up to 50% off the full retail price, and I saw some solid deals while perusing, including on its popular K90 and K70 series of keyboards, which we recently reviewed.
The selection of refurbished products is extensive, including lots of different PC components. That includes CPU coolers, case fans, and power supplies—as well as entire prebuilt gaming PCs.
Sign up for Text Alerts to Get a 10% Corsair Discount Code
There’s one more way to save some extra money when shopping with Corsair. The company has a text alert discount code that you can sign up for. If you sign up for text alerts, you’ll also get a 10% Corsair discount code that can be applied to your shopping cart. Every little bit helps, especially if you’re putting together an entire PC with Corsair components.
Corsair
Advertisement
K100 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Save More With Corsair Refurbished Products
Buying a like-new tech product is a great way to make a small investment with a big pay off. Rather than drop thousands on a brand-new gadget, snag a like-new refurbished item at Corsair. If you’re looking to upgrade your gaming set up or WFH haven for way less, be sure to check out Corsair’s refurbished products page. There you’ll find deeply discounted gaming PCs, LCD touchscreens, and more.
Longtime Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares a report from the BBC: August was the joint-hottest month ever recorded, tying with July 2023, according to the EU’s climate service. The record was driven by a combination of climate change and the rising influence of El Nino, pushing heat into the atmosphere across the Pacific. Temperatures for the month were 1.65C above pre-industrial levels — surpassing the critical 1.5C threshold agreed by countries to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. While a single month above 1.5C does not mean it has been permanently crossed, it shows a trend towards breaching that limit. The month also capped western Europe’s warmest summer, with high temperatures pushing the season past the deadly heat of 2003.
Watch Fremantle vs Geelong live streams from the Optus Stadium as the minor premiers try to avoid an AFL 2026 exit at the earliest opportunity, against the visiting Cats. The Semi-Final winner goes through to the Preliminary Final next week, the loser is out.
The Dockers had enjoyed a club-record 19 home-and-away wins in the regular season but defeat last weekend by Hawthorn was a stunning first home reverse of the season in Perth. Justin Longmuir’s side must now go the long way round to reach a first Preliminary Final since 2015 after the minor premiers lost their third match from four. Josh Treacy endured a bit of a shocker last week – failing to take a mark for just the second time in his 104-game career – but the key forward is determined to prove his elite smarts and bounce back in this crunch clash.
The Cats finished fifth in the ladder and now seek their 12th prelim since coach Chris Scott took the reins in 2011. Geelong are full of experience and last weekend won seven straights games by an average of 35 points. Against the in-form Carlton, last year’s runners-up really stepped and they will want to quieten the crowd early in Perth and put pressure on a Fremantle side that seemed to wilt last time out. Captain Patrick Dangerfield is a big-game player, much-needed too as Max Holmes and Jeremy Cameron have fitness concerns.
Advertisement
The winner goes through to face Hawthorn.
Read on as we explain how to watch Fremantle vs Geelong for free in the AFL 2026 Semi-Final.
Can you watch Fremantle vs Geelong for free?
Yes. Fremantle vs Geelong is being shown on free-to-air Channel 7 in Australia, with live streaming available via 7Plus.
Advertisement
Outside of Australia? You can use a VPN to watch Fremantle vs Geelong for free on 7Plus.
How to watch Fremantle vs Geelong from anywhere
A VPN is handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it’s back in your home country, so you can unlock your usual service. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything and comes with up to 75% off.
Advertisement
How to watch Fremantle vs Geelong live streams in the US
US viewers can watch live Fremantle vs Geelong coverage on FS2.
If you don’t have the channels on cable, FS2 is carried by Fubo, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, each of which offers a free trial to new users.
Traveling away from the US? Use a VPN while you’re abroad to unlock your stream.
Advertisement
How to watch Fremantle vs Geelong live streams in the UK
Fremantle vs Geelong is being shown on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
You can add TNT Sports to your Sky, Virgin Media or EE TV package, or get an HBO Max plan that includes TNT Sports. Prices start at £25.99/month if you commit to a year.
If you’re out of the UK but still want to watch the game on TNT Sports, explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your accounts from anywhere.
Advertisement
How to watch Fremantle vs Geelong live streams in Australia
Free-to-air Channel 7 is showing Fremantle vs Geelong in all regions of Australia, with live streaming available via 7Plus.
Just create an account using a valid Australia postcode (e.g. 2042).
Not in Australia right now? You can use a VPN like NordVPN to watch all the action as if you were back home.
Advertisement
How to watch Fremantle vs Geelong live streams in Canada
(Image credit: Other)
AFL fans in Canada can watch Fremantle vs Geelong on TSN2.
If you don’t have cable, the TSN Plus streaming service costs CA$24.99 a month to access what goes out on regular TSN.
If you’re out of Canada but still want to tune in, explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your accounts from anywhere.
What is the Fremantle vs Geelong start time?
The scheduled Fremantle vs Geelong kick-off time on Friday, September 11, is 6.10pm AWST local time in Perth, which is 6.10am ET / 3.10am PT / 11.10am BST / 8.10pm AEST.
Advertisement
Can I watch Fremantle vs Geelong on my mobile?
Of course, most broadcasters have streaming services that you can access through mobile apps or via your phone’s browser. For example, 7Plus has a dedicated app.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Steven Gong and his University of Waterloo engineering classmates needed a capstone that actually finished a chore companies have chased for years. Folding laundry looks simple until cloth bunches, sleeves hide, and every shirt arrives in a different mess. Their answer was a pair of follower arms that copied two leader arms driven by human hands, a pile of recorded demonstrations, and a single night of training.
Leader arms sat in front of the operators, with follower arms on the table beside them, echoing every joint angle in real time, while cameras monitored the entire workstation. Over the course of four hours, they collected approximately 200 teleoperated runs of a fairly standard sequence: a shirt is lifted out of a basket, dragged onto the table, and then, straightening out the fabric as they go, before folding each side in toward the middle, folding it in half, and finally plopping the finished rectangle down on a growing stack. The cloth was kept fast by 3D-printed grippers, albeit one of them had a little meltdown later on when the older model sent the arms swinging wildly out of control.
LEGO SET FOR ADULTS – The WALL-E and EVE (43279) building set offers adults 18 years old and up an immersive construction challenge featuring…
4 DISNEY PIXAR CHARACTERS – Builders can create iconic robots WALL-E, EVE, M-O and Hal from the hit movie—each with authentic functionality like…
MINDFUL BUILDING EXPERIENCE – This detailed construction set lets builders practice advanced construction techniques for an immersive and relaxing…
ACT, a transformer that tries to predict what a robot will do next, attempted to predict small bursts of motion but, despite hundreds of efforts, refused to shut the shirt. The Diffusion Policy caused motion that was too harsh for the hardware to tolerate, leaving a last resort: π0.5, Physical Intelligence’s 3.3-billion-parameter foundation model, already well-seasoned from training on large collections of robot manipulation, and effectively a work in progress to date. They fine-tuned it during their own demos before firing up a powerful external computer to cycle through all of the checkpoints.
A last-minute move to the presentation room changed the lighting and the background. Another 30 demonstrations went into the set. Training and testing went late into the night, and after roughly 30 checkpoints, that specific combination of settings worked. By 8 a.m., the following arms were operating independently, plucking a shirt from the basket, laying it out, folding the sides over, folding it in half, and stacking it, with no human intervention on the leader arm.
The motion was still a little clumsy, and the folds weren’t exactly perfect, but it got the job done, as the loop from basket to stack occurred all by itself for the first time ever. Testing later revealed that an overly ambitious start had overloaded one of the arms, which then broke mechanically, leaving only a reminder that, while foundation models and student hardware are improving, they both still have some quite obvious flaws. [Source]
Watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 as the Finals Series gets underway in the build-up to the Grand Final in October. The teams ranked first to fourth in the ladder (Panthers vs Roosters and Warriors vs Dolphins) meet to decide who advances straight to the Preliminary Finals, while fifth to eighth (Sharks vs Cowboys and Rabbitohs vs Knights) meet in the elimination matches – winners advance to next week’s semi-finals, losers are out.
We begin on Friday with the Rabbitohs (6) vs Knights (7) at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium. South Sydney are back in the finals for the first time since 2022 and in good form after walloping the Roosters 50-20 with Latrell Mitchell looking good. The Knights have done well to get this far after propping up the ladder last year and Kalyn Ponga, Bradman Best and Fletcher Sharpe have been in fine form.
On Saturday, ladder runners-up the New Zealand Warriors take on the third-place Dolphins in the first Qualifying Final. The Go Media Stadium hosts a first playoffs game since 2023 and Wahs Nation will be all over this.
Advertisement
That’s followed by the Sharks (5) vs Cowboys (8) back at Allianz Stadium in an eliminator. Cronulla-Sutherland have lost four of their past five outings, while North Queensland have been inconsistent all season. Braydon Trindall returns as playmaker for the Sharks, while Griffin Neame, Jeremiah Nanai and Zac Laybutt are all fit again for the Cowboys.
On Sunday, we close with minor premiers the Panthers facing the Roosters at CommBank Stadium. Penrith topped the ladder on the final day and welcome back skipper Isaah Yeo to the lineup. The Roosters went down 26-12 to the Dolphins last time out after challenging for the minor title, and lost star man Sam Walker to injury for the rest of the season.
Here’s how to watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 from anywhere in the world.
Advertisement
Can you watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 for free?
Yes. Every game in the NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 is being shown on free-to-air Channel 9 and 9Now in Australia.
Traveling abroad right now? You can use a VPN to watch the NRL Finals Series 2026 for free as if you were right at home.
Use a VPN to watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 live streams
A VPN is handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it’s back in your home country, so you can unlock your usual service. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything and comes with up to 75% off.
Advertisement
How to watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 live streams in the USA
NRL fans in the US can watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 on either FS2 or Fox One.
Dedicated streaming service Fox One costs $19.99/month after a 3-day FREE trial.
FS2 is also available through Sling, specifically the Blue plan with the Sports Extra add-on, which starts at $56.99/month.
Advertisement
The channel is carried by several other OTT streaming platforms too, including YouTube TV and Fubo, which each offer new customers a free trial.
Outside of the US? Use a VPN whilst you’re traveling away from home to unlock your stream.
How to watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 live streams in the UK
(Image credit: Future)
NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 are being shown on Sky Sports in the UK, via the Sky Sports Action channel.
Advertisement
Sky Sports plans start from £35/month or £20 if you’re an existing Sky subscriber. Alternatively, grab a Now Sports subscription from £14.99/day or £34.99/month.
Outside the UK right now? Use NordVPN to access your preferred coverage of the NRL Finals 2026.
How to watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 live streams in Canada
NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 coverage is going out on Sportsnet in Canada.
Advertisement
That means you can also watch online thanks to its Sportsnet+ streaming service (from $29.99 a month / $249.99 a year). And the Watch NRL platform will show the fixture.
If you already subscribe to these services but find yourself outside Canada, download a VPN and watch NRL Finals Series 2026 as if you were back at home.
How to watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 live streams in Australia
(Image credit: free)
In Australia, NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 is free-to-air on Channel 9 and via the 9Now streaming service.
If you’re out of Australia but still want to tune in, explore the VPN route set out above, which will help you access your accounts from anywhere.
Advertisement
How to watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 live streams in New Zealand
Sky Sport NZ is the NRL rights holder in New Zealand.
You can access Sky Sport through satellite TV or get a live stream with the Sky Sport Now subscription service starting at $29.99 per day or $54.99 per month.
Overseas? NordVPN will give you access to your home streaming service.
Advertisement
How to watch NRL Qualifying and Elimination Finals 2026 live streams in Rest of World
Every single match of the 2026 NRL Premiership season, including the Qualifying and Elimination Finals, will be shown on the dedicated Watch NRL streaming platform, which is available in all territories except for Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and other selected sanctioned jurisdictions (e.g. Russia, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea).
Subscriptions cost $20 per week, $39 per month or $72 for the whole of the Finals Series. Check the website for pricing in your region.
Many countries also show games on TV and online through their domestic broadcasters:
What is the Rabbitohs vs Knights start time?
Rabbitohs vs Knights kicks off at 7.50pm AEST / 10.50am BST / 5.50am ET / 2.50am PT on Friday, September 11.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Once upon a time, you had to carefully budget your microcontroller’s resources if you wanted to do something as simple as flash a bunch of LEDs. These days, they’re powerful enough to humiliate the game consoles of yesteryear. [alexkid77] demonstrates this well, having the ESP32-P4 run Tomb Raider.
Now, [alexkid77] hasn’t gone so far as to create a PlayStation emulator on the ESP32 or anything quite like that. Instead, this is a port—and not of the original Tomb Raider release, either. [alexkid77] started with OpenLara—the classic game running in an open-source engine. With the ESP32-P4 having two cores running at 400 MHz each, there was plenty of processing power on tap to run the engine with a software renderer at 320×240, which is hardware scaled up to 1024×600 via the Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA) built into the chip. There’s also stereo audio with an ES8311 codec hooked up, while input is via a USB HID keyboard.
It’s funny to think that it could actually be cheaper and quicker to get Tomb Raider running on an ESP32 and a cheap LCD display versus actually going out to buy a PlayStation and an original game disc. But that’s the way the cookie crumbles in 2026. At least you don’t have to play it on an S3 Verge.
In the latest installment of “my AI model is more dangerous than yours,” Anthropic on Thursday warned that cybercriminals and state-sponsored hackers alike are using its Claude models to automate cyberattacks, build kamikaze drone swarms, conduct mass surveillance operations, and try to develop an even more dangerous version of a deadly mosquito-borne virus.
The baddies have come a long way since November, when an earlier Anthropic report documented Chinese spies using Claude to automate digital intrusions and steal sensitive data at a handful of critical organizations. Now everyone from ShinyHunters to Russian freelancers is getting in on the illicit model usage.
This is not to say that Anthropic – nor any other frontier AI lab – plans to slow down its model development or testing initiatives, or take responsibility when its AI commits crimes. It does, however, “hope that the findings in this report will help other developers recognize similar patterns on their own platforms, give governments and civil society a clearer view of how emerging threats take shape, and strengthen collective defenses.”
Advertisement
The model maker’s latest very lengthy report on AI misuse covers activity Anthropic disrupted between December 2025 and August 2026 across seven “harm areas” where miscreants used – or attempted to use – Claude Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus models for evil.
These span cyber operations, influence operations, surveillance, scams and fraud, biological misuse, conventional weapons development, and distillation. Anthropic also noted that its most powerful Claude Fable or Mythos-class models weren’t used, except in one distillation case.
Even without those most advanced systems, the case studies in the report highlight some pretty bad behavior.
Autonomous cyberattacks
For example, a Russian espionage crew that Anthropic tracks as GTG-20006 – the state-sponsored cyber espionage arm of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), also known as Midnight Blizzard, APT29, or Cozy Bear – increased the speed of its attacks by using AI to automate the entire kill chain. Anthropic identified more than 20 organizations targeted in these attacks, including embassies, think tanks, defense-industrial companies, and government, defense, and intelligence agencies across Ukraine, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa.
Advertisement
“We observed GTG-20006 operate through customized AI-driven workflows that automated much of their operations from development, infrastructure acquisition, phishing, persistence through command and control, to data exfiltration,” Anthropic said.
Meanwhile, “multiple clusters” linked to the data-theft-and-extortion gang ShinyHunters used Claude to scale their smash-and-grab operations. One affiliate that specializes in supply-chain attacks breached a software-as-a-service provider, and used that foothold to steal data from about 200 of the SaaS company’s customer organizations.
“It then conducted a session-store dump containing over 2,100 Azure AD token sets spanning more than 40 corporate tenants in about 34 hours,” according to the report. “AI agents performed nearly all of the work.”
Biological misuse
Moving on to a serious health-and-safety risk that looks even scarier when given an AI boost: Anthropic’s report documents five cases of users in “unsupported regions” using Claude to support biological weapons development.
Advertisement
In one, a scientist attempted to use Claude to help write a grant application for research related to chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne virus that can cause severe disease and death. The research focused on the virus’ transmissibility and immune evasion properties, which Anthropic admits could be used to help develop better vaccines.
Or “it could also be used to make the pathogen more dangerous,” the report authors said, noting that the military research institute where the research would be performed gave them “cause of concern.”
In May, Anthropic discovered a user outside the US using Claude in their research on adaptations of highly pathogenic avian influenza – bird flu.
“Unlike other influenza variants, H5 viruses (of which this avian virus is one) often show striking brain involvement in cats, foxes, ferrets, and some human cases,” the report says. “A pandemic variant with such properties would be especially concerning due to its potential to increase disease severity, confuse diagnosis, and hinder treatment.”
Advertisement
Weapons development
Since its November report, Anthropic has identified new categories for Claude misuse that violate its terms of service. One of these involves users outside the US using Claude to develop software for conventional weapons – firearms, missiles, armed drones, bombs, and other munitions, plus targeting and control systems that operate them.
In its new report, the model maker shares details on six cases: three in China, two in Russia, and one in Yemen.
In Yemen, a weapons development program used Claude instead of human software engineers to develop guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) software that steers and stabilizes a flying vehicle. “Our safeguards blocked many of their requests, but not all of them,” Anthropic says.
The same team used Claude to try to develop guided weapons. While Anthropic says it has no evidence that the actors produced an operational device, it says they did test-fire a guided rocket.
Advertisement
“We banned accounts associated with the actors and shared threat information with public- and private-sector partners to mitigate risks posed by the actors,” the report says. “Nevertheless, we have evidence that the actors had already built an offline simulation toolkit that does not rely on Claude or other engineering computing environments.”
In China, someone used Claude to draft a Chinese-language specification for an anti-torpedo fire control system, and then benchmark their system against specific US anti-torpedo and anti-submarine programs. Anthropic assesses that the user was associated with a Chinese defense industry manufacturer aiming to produce a weapons specification and acquisition proposal for the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
According to the report:
The actor used Claude to write the acquisition proposal, refining it over many drafts. After each draft, the actor instructed Claude to role-play a hostile expert reviewer to critique the proposal, then used that feedback to sharpen the next version. In parallel, the actor used Claude to build pieces of the anti-torpedo weapons system’s fire control software and a test matrix to validate them.
Advertisement
Anthropic uncovered this during an internal investigation into suspected weapons development and banned the account.
In yet another case, Anthropic identified a likely Russian “freelance team” attempting to build a full-stack autonomous first-person-view (FPV) kamikaze drone swarm. They used Claude to write and test the code, building the drones’ core software system. Anthropic also banned these accounts. ®
Anthropic says it has disrupted several cases this year in which scientists used Claude for biological research that could potentially aid bioweapons development. “In a report describing misuses of its A.I. models, Anthropic said it could not determine whether the research served a legitimate or nefarious purpose because valid biological inquiry — the kind that can lead to breakthroughs like vaccines — can also help engineer dangerous pathogens,” reports The New York Times. “In the face of that uncertainty, Anthropic said it erred on the side of caution because the consequences of missing malicious activity could be severe.” From the report: The potential for cutting-edge A.I. models to facilitate the development of known or entirely new biological pathogens is among the gravest concerns experts have about a technology that is developing so rapidly that even its leading architects doubt whether humans will be able to fully control it. Andrew Weber, a senior fellow on the Council on Strategic Risks who reviewed Anthropic’s report before its release, said the findings were “chilling examples of state-sponsored biological weapons developers tapping into the rapidly advancing capabilities” of leading A.I. models.
The lengthy report Anthropic published on Thursday cataloged a litany of misuses of its A.I. models, including the chatbot Claude, over the past eight months. Some examples were similar to past disclosures from Anthropic and other A.I. labs, including suspected Chinese and Iranian government-linked actors targeting dissident and diaspora communities for surveillance.
The report also highlighted cases of Russian state media using Claude to generate online propaganda masquerading as independent reporting, including fabricated claims about an election in Moldova. Anthropic documented another genre of abuse it said was new: attempts to use Claude to develop software for conventional weapons design and development, including firearms, missiles, armed drones and bombs. It detailed three cases in China, two in Russia and one in Yemen. The report does not identify by name which parties were involved in the Yemeni case, but the context makes clear that it is referring to the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login