One of the two major issues impacting web security this morning has had a ripple effect. In the wake of an announcement from the PHP Foundation that it was issuing a security release to patch two critical vulnerabilities, several government websites in the EU and Canada were taken offline as a preventive measure. Reuters reported that governments in the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Finland took down at least some websites as a preventive measure. Meanwhile Evan Solomon, Canada's Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, posted on X about the decision to temporarily go offline, while seconding the call for any website operators using PHP to update as soon as possible. PHP is a programming language for websites.

A drone attack on a market in Abyei, a border region disputed by South Sudan and Sudan, has killed at least 153 people, according to a South Sudanese official. The Abyei administration's caretaker minister of information on Tuesday blamed the attack, which took place a day earlier on Amiet Market, north of Abyei town, on Sudan's military. He told the news agency Reuters that the "situation is terrible", adding that some bodies had been burned to ashes. Blaming the Sudanese military for the attack, South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said drones hit several locations in the market. It said it has summoned Sudan's ambassador and called for its northern neighbour to "refrain" from acts that endanger civilian lives and property.

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) company known for creating the chatbot Claude, recorded a net loss of more than $80bn in the first half of 2026, according to the Wall Street Journal, as the market anticipates its looming initial public offering (IPO). The corporation also indicated it could spend up to $750bn in coming years to acquire more computing capacity, including potential deals currently under discussion, the Journal said on Tuesday. The loss figure was up from $13bn a year earlier, according to a draft prospectus, a legal document corporations submit to financial regulators, for its IPO. The figures show the hefty costs of the AI race, even as investors look more closely at whether the money companies are pouring into chips and data centres will pay off. Anthropic also shared a list of potential risk factors, including uncertainty over how to prevent its products from doing harm, whether through sophisticated cyberattacks or blackmail by uncontrolled models.

Chinese hackers have been impersonating artificial intelligence (AI) experts in the United States, including a former government official, according to a new report from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint. The report, released on Thursday, found that in July, a China-aligned hacking group called TA419 targeted a slate of US policy experts by impersonating prominent figures, including Lynne Edwards Parker, the former principal deputy director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The targets included policy experts at think tanks, defence contractors, universities and law firms in both the US and Japan. The report used a technique that creates a fake browser pop-up window inside a legitimate webpage that mimics an authentic-looking sign-in prompt to deceive victims and make it harder for them to realise they are handing over their information to hackers. Proofpoint did not specifically name the targets hacked, but the Reuters news agency was able to confirm at least one of them as Alex Engler, a former White House official who now heads the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

Plus: the Pentagon has tapped Elon Musk to co-lead a future warfare project. An AI "mind-reading" tool can reconstruct what you're looking at based on a brain scan A new AI tool can guess what you're looking at just by analyzing your brain scans--and recreate that image with remarkable precision. It can go the other way too, and predict a person's brain activity based on what they're looking at. The researchers hope the "mindreading" tool could reveal more about how the brain works. It could also help locked-in people communicate and, incredibly, maybe even allow scientists to recreate the content of dreams. But other scientists warn that a similar approach could reveal people's inner thoughts and mental imagery, potentially without their consent.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG . Is your personal data changing what you pay online? Apple's $250M Siri settlement: How to claim up to $95 The next connected device could be the shirt you're wearing Hacker claims 7.49M customer records stolen from American utility company Is everyone bricking their phone to stop doomscrolling? The secret list that tells scammers you're an easy target How the'Squatter Hunter' is fighting home takeovers with tech AI robot may stop your dog from barking while you're gone This will be'such a gift' to humankind: Charles Payne Andrew Bailey blasts FBI exit'lies' and reveals why he's leaving the bureau President Trump: Data centers will be'very popular' Trump says America.gov will streamline government paperwork: 'We believe that your time matters' 'We know how to find you': FBI issues direct video warning to ShinyHunters hacking group Emily Compagno blasts Bill Gates' AI doom warnings as tech dangers persist AI technology is'founded on theft,' Ocasio-Cortez warns'We know how to find you': FBI issues direct video warning to ShinyHunters hacking group Following the arrest of an alleged leader in the Netherlands, a top FBI cyber official released an unusual public address urging the remaining cybercriminals to turn themselves in while the choice is still yours.

Mashable Selects Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more In My Bag Look Up Creator Playbook Say More AI at School Safety Net Versus Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age All Series Reuters reviewed Anthropic's IPO prospectus, revealing new details about the AI company's financials. Matt Binder joined Mashable's tech vertical in 2018, where he covers social media, tech policy, cybersecurity, online scams, cryptocurrency, AI, creator news, weird tech, and other related tech beats. Anthropic lost billions of dollars last year, according to its prospectus to potential investors. Anthropic, one of the biggest AI companies in the world, is currently gearing up to go public. As the Claude-maker prepares for a potential blockbuster IPO later this year, Reuters has got its hands on the company's prospectus, which lays out Anthropic's financials and risks for investors.

McDonald's has been using artificial intelligence to dynamically price menu items in the US and some global markets, according to a report by Reuters. This involves finding the "optimal price" to match what a particular store's patrons would be willing to pay. This fluctuates according to location, and even stores in the same city can have different cost amounts for the same exact items, according to information reviewed by Reuters. This is basically surge pricing, like with ride-share platforms, but for hockey puck burgers that have been sitting under a hot lamp. Reuters got a look at the interface that franchisees use to access this technology and it's pretty creepy. Messages show stuff like "your restaurant is showing MEDIUM SENSITIVITY to price" based on "customer willingness to pay in your area."

Top economic officials from China and the United States have begun talks in New York City aimed at clearing the way for possible agreements on trade, artificial intelligence and critical minerals ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng began talks at JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan headquarters on Sunday morning, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also taking part. "I'm looking forward to having focused, fulsome and constructive talks today that will set the stage for our leaders' meeting," Bessent told reporters as he arrived. At the top of the agenda is a fragile US-China trade truce due to expire on November 10. The agreement, reached in Busan, South Korea, last November, capped US tariffs on Chinese goods at about 20 percent after a tit-for-tat trade fight briefly pushed tariffs into the triple digits.

Anthropic has established a biology research lab in the San Francisco Bay Area to conduct physical experiments, according to Reuters. Eric Kauderer-Abrams, the company's Head of Life Sciences, has confirmed the lab's existence to the news organization. "We believe that to do biology, the final test is still and will be for a while in real lab work," he said. "We absolutely are doing that today..." He also said that while Anthropic is doing lab work in-house, it's also working with external partners when it makes sense.