Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. All your Apple devices need to be patched ASAP - here's why Security updates for iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and Vision Pro just rolled out. Jada Jones is a journalist based outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Apple releases 12 software updates to patch security issues. The security patches target wireless vulnerabilities.

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. New research provides a stark look at the AI supply chain and the risks it brings to businesses. Charlie Osborne is a cybersecurity journalist and photographer who writes for ZDNET and CNET from London. AI companies worldwide are failing to reach basic security standards. Supply chain monitoring is paramount when adopting new AI tech.

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Can you still trust Proton? The Swiss software company has built its reputation on a commitment to privacy. Did its CEO just destroy the trust of its customer base? Comments by Proton's CEO caused a backlash in its privacy-focused community.

DeepMind researchers were able to formally verify that the widely used encryption protocol works as intended. Do the same for "all the software of the world." Google DeepMind researchers used agentic AI to mathematically prove, or "formally verify," a number of the Signal protocol's key cryptographic guarantees--a landmark development for the widely used cryptography and AI itself. Conducted as a sort of proof-of-concept project in just four weeks, the work is significant in two ways. It serves as further independent validation of the cryptography that protects massive quantities of the world's communications on platforms like the Signal app, Google Messages, and WhatsApp.

Hot fridges, a fake nuclear alert and a $6bn heist: are we in the foothills of a hacking epidemic? Alex Pearce was doing the morning rounds at his fruit and vegetable wholesale business in London on Monday last week when he noticed something odd. The defrost light on refrigeration unit 2 was on, and the panel reading was 150C. Unit 4 was the same. As he approached his biggest unit, its defrost light also blinked on.

An experiment in which AI models were asked to break into simulated networks showed the hacking skills of DeepSeek and GLM to be not far behind OpenAI's most advanced cyber model, which isn't public. Open-weight artificial intelligence models are now almost as capable of hacking into computer networks as the best closed ones, according to new research that heralds a much-anticipated turning point in the cybersecurity landscape. Vals, a company that measures AI capabilities, set out to test how well different AI models could carry out complex, multi-step network instructions on mock corporate networks. "The best frontier models, locked up inside the labs and available only through trusted access programs, are now starting to be matched by open models that anybody can download," says Nikil Ravi, a researcher at Vals. The company's findings suggest that closed models no longer have a definitive edge in cyber skills, meaning recent efforts by frontier labs to limit access to their models, and thereby slow the proliferation of such capabilities, may potentially be moot.

Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Say More Trending Now Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Safety Net Mashable @Home In My Bag Versus Creator Playbook Getting Technical with Mashable All Series OpenAI says its new GPT-6 Cyber has already uncovered'thousands' of exploits Is this good or bad? Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car.

PCWorld reports that Microsoft Paint contains a serious zero-click security vulnerability, meaning attackers could exploit it without any user interaction. This flaw is particularly concerning because many Windows PCs may not have received the patch yet, leaving systems potentially exposed. Users are advised to check their Windows Update settings and ensure their system is fully up to date to stay protected. Dangerous security vulnerabilities can occur in virtually any Windows app.

PCWorld reports that Google's Chrome 157 update addresses 213 security vulnerabilities, including seven critical flaws and 77 high-risk issues, with external researchers rewarded $31,000 for discoveries. Common bugs involved use-after-free errors and V8 engine data leaks, making this update essential for user protection. Chrome users should update immediately via the Help or Settings menu to stay secure against these significant risks. Google just released Chrome 157.0.8103.38/39

Why AI could threaten much of the world's digital infrastructure Share Why AI could threaten much of the world's digital infrastructure on social media Earlier this month, authorities worldwide urged website administrators to execute emergency updates after a nonprofit programming foundation flagged critical security flaws that could allow hackers to breach systems. Government and corporate websites briefly went offline to patch the vulnerabilities, nicknamed PHP2Shell, which were discovered by independent cybersecurity experts using artificial intelligence (AI). They had gone unnoticed, however, because it would have been too complicated for humans to exploit them without the use of advanced AI. But cybersecurity experts, as well as those maintaining important software, say PHP2Shell could be the first in a deluge of security flaws exposed by emerging AI. They say much of the world's most critical digital infrastructure is maintained by volunteers, who often lack the resources and time to respond to newly discovered threats.