Today's Recap

AI & Tech Highlights – 24 Dec 2025

LLMs & Code Reliability
Research on large language models shows that a small subset of neurons—dubbed H‑Neurons—often trigger hallucinations and over‑compliance during pre‑training. Targeting these units could cut false outputs, while modular library reuse, programmatic oversight and automated QA are being championed to lower friction for developers working with code‑generation models.

Consumer AI in Appliances & Apps
Samsung has quietly added Google Gemini AI to its refrigerators, letting the device suggest recipes, auto‑create shopping lists and monitor food spoilage via vision and door‑opening data. The move raises privacy questions about consumption patterns and insurance impacts. In parallel, a new photo‑to‑coloring app called Retro Splat uses generative AI to turn images into printable pages; it offers weekly or annual subscriptions with parental controls.

Robotaxi Rollouts
Uber and Lyft are slated to test Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous vehicles in London starting 2026. The partnership reflects a broader trend of ride‑share firms collaborating with AV developers to accelerate global robotaxi deployments.

OpenAI’s Growth & Safety Work
ChatGPT now powers roughly 800 million weekly users worldwide. Recent releases—GPT‑5.1, GPT‑4.1 and lightweight models like o3 and o4‑mini—boost reasoning, coding accuracy and cost efficiency. Enterprise features such as business agents, cloud integrations and an Apps SDK have expanded OpenAI’s partnership portfolio to include Apple, Microsoft/Bing, Disney and Walmart. The company has also ramped up safety tooling after an 80× spike in CSAM reports linked to new image‑upload features; it now offers enhanced review pipelines, parental controls and a “Teen Safety Blueprint.”

Financial AI & Security
Visa plans to launch AI‑powered shopping agents by 2026 under a “Trusted Agent Protocol” that incorporates Akamai bot‑detection safeguards. The rollout will enable automated payment flows while addressing identity‑theft risks.

Retail & Pricing AI
Instacart paused its Eversight pricing experiments after inconsistent results and regulatory scrutiny, following a $60 million deceptive‑advertising settlement. iRobot’s recent Chapter 11 filing highlights the limits of current consumer‑appliance AI, as Roomba struggled to navigate unpredictable home environments.

Data Center Expansion
Hyperscale data centers have seen a 170% capacity increase over three years, with U.S. facilities accounting for 55% of this growth. A pipeline of 770 new sites could create oversupply risks if AI demand slows.

These developments underscore the rapid pace at which AI is being woven into everyday products—from refrigerators to autonomous taxis—while companies grapple with safety, privacy and regulatory challenges.

CyberSec Daily Recap – Oct 2025

Silence is the new weapon. Adversaries are turning to low‑profile exploits on everyday infrastructure, forcing defenders to patch, monitor, and rethink supply chains.

Quiet Attacks Go Mainstream
- Fortinet, SonicWall, Cisco (AsyncOS CVE‑2025‑20393), WatchGuard, HPE OneView, NVIDIA, Microsoft Windows Admin Center, Apache—all hit with critical bugs. Rapid remediation is non‑optional.
- Real‑world exploitation of Fortinet and WatchGuard firewalls confirmed; attackers now hold full control over 125k+ devices via CVE‑2025‑14733.

Malware on the Mass Scale
- Chrome/Edge extension siphoned AI chat prompts from 8 million users; “Ink Dragon” and “LongNosedGoblin” target government hosts.
- Kimwolf botnet controls ~1.8 M Android TVs, while a North Korean QR‑phishing campaign spreads Android malware.
- “Scripted Sparrow” BEC attacks push 3 million phishing emails monthly, draining funds through multiple bank accounts.

IoT and Browser Vulnerabilities
Smart devices ship embedded browsers that can be three years out of date, creating hidden phishing surfaces. Wave Browser’s eco‑friendly design cuts background processes and ad traffic, saving power while keeping performance high.

Insider Threats on the Rise
Dark‑web forums sell insider access for $3–$15k to finance, crypto, telecom, and tech firms. Tighten privileged‑account monitoring and enforce least‑privilege policies.

AI‑Powered Malware & Dark LLMs
MaaS platforms like AuraStealer spread via TikTok videos; LLMs accelerate ransomware lifecycles by auto‑generating phishing content and code. The new DIG AI on Tor offers uncensored models for phishing, ransomware, deepfakes, and CSAM—an emerging “fifth domain of warfare.”

Phishing & OAuth Token Theft
Microsoft 365 device‑code phishing surges with SquarePhish2 and Graphish campaigns. Defenders must enforce conditional access, restrict device‑code flows, and train users to spot fake login pages.

Patch Alerts
- Exim 4.99 (CVE‑2025‑26794) requires disabling SQLite support or patching.
- Microsoft’s BFS.sys minifilter driver is vulnerable; apply the January 2025 fix.
- ASUS Live Update CVE‑2025‑59374 is EOS and needs no action beyond existing measures.

Event & Tool Highlights
Cyber Forum 2026 will spotlight AI in security ops. Open‑source tools Tracecat and Metis gain traction for workflow automation and threat hunting.

Bottom Line
Attackers now favor quiet, high‑frequency exploits on everyday software. Immediate CVE remediation, stricter extension vetting, vigilant social‑engineering defense, and proactive IoT monitoring are the only way to prevent silent breaches from escalating into catastrophic incidents.