Microsoft was once the exclusive provider of data center infrastructure for OpenAI to train and run its AI models. No longer. As part of Stargate, OpenAI’s massive new AI infrastructure deal with SoftBank, Oracle, and others, Microsoft says it has signed a new agreement with OpenAI that gives it “right of first refusal” on new…
Category: Microsoft
Global Security News, Microsoft, Ransomware, sophos
Ransomware groups pose as fake tech support over Teams
Researchers at cybersecurity firm Sophos are tracking multiple clusters of hacking activity leveraging Microsoft 365 instances, Microsoft Teams and email bombing tactics to deliver ransomware. In new research released Tuesday, the company said it had identified at least two distinct clusters of hacking activity using the tactics to infect targets between November and December 2024.…
business email compromise, CloudFlare, Cybersecurity, Global Security News, group-1b, Microsoft, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office, microsoft outlook, phishing, phishing-as-a-service, Security, Sekoia, sneaky 2fa, sneaky log, Social Engineering, Telegram, trac labs, two factor authentication
‘Sneaky Log’ Microsoft Spoofing Scheme Sidesteps Two-Factor Security
The phishing-as-a-service kit from Sneaky Log creates fake authentication pages to farm account information, including two-factor security codes.
Gaming, Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft previews Game Assist in-game browser in Edge Stable
Microsoft has announced that Game Assist, its recently unveiled in-game browser, is now also available in preview for Microsoft Edge Stable users. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft: Exchange 2016 and 2019 reach end of support in October
Microsoft has reminded admins that Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019 will reach the end of extended support in October and shared guidance for those who need to decommission outdated servers. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft fixes Windows Server 2022 bug breaking device boot
Microsoft has fixed a bug that was causing some Windows Server 2022 systems with two or more NUMA nodes to fail to start up. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft shares temp fix for Outlook crashing when writing emails
Microsoft has shared a temporary fix for a known issue that causes classic Outlook to crash when writing, replying to, or forwarding an email. […]
AI, Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Enterprise, FTC, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google, Government & Policy, Microsoft, openai
FTC says partnerships like Microsoft-OpenAI raise antitrust concerns
The Federal Trade Commission said in a staff report issued Friday that there are potential competitive issues in partnerships between big tech companies and generative AI developers — specifically, Microsoft’s backing of OpenAI and Amazon and Alphabet/Google’s partnerships with Anthropic. “The FTC’s report sheds light on how partnerships by big tech firms can create lock-in,…
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft removes Assassin’s Creed Windows 11 upgrade blocks
Earlier this week, Ubisoft released Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Assassin’s Creed Origins patches to fix Windows 11 24H2 compatibility issues that caused crashes, freezes, and audio problems. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft fixes Office 365 apps crashing on Windows Server systems
Microsoft has fixed a known issue that caused Microsoft 365 applications and Classic Outlook to crash on Windows Server 2016 or Windows Server 2019 systems. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft starts force upgrading Windows 11 22H2, 23H3 devices
Microsoft has started the forced rollout of Windows 11 24H2 to eligible, non-managed systems running the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2. […]
Department of Justice (DOJ), FSB, Geopolitics, Global Security News, Government, Microsoft, phishing, Russia, Star Blizzard, Threats, WhatsApp
Microsoft catches Russian state-sponsored hackers shifting tactics to WhatsApp
The cat-and-mouse game between state-sponsored Russian hackers and one of the world’s biggest technology companies has continued into 2025. Microsoft’s threat intelligence team published research Thursday examining how a state-sponsored Russian threat actor group, known as Star Blizzard, has altered its longstanding attack strategies to target WhatsApp accounts. This attack vector is a significant change…
Exploits, Global Security News, Microsoft, Security
New UEFI Secure Boot flaw exposes systems to bootkits, patch now
A new UEFI Secure Boot bypass vulnerability tracked as CVE-2024-7344 that affects a Microsoft-signed application could be exploited to deploy bootkits even if Secure Boot protection is active. […]
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Asia Pacific, china, CISA, Congress, critical infrastructure, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Global Security News, Google, Government, Jack Cable, Microsoft, Policy, regulation, Salt Typhoon, secure by design, telecommunications, Treasury Department, Volt Typhoon
A CISA secure-by-design guru makes the case for the future of the initiative
One of the chief architects of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency campaign to get software developers to design their products with security in mind said he believes it could be one of the best tools the Trump administration has to counter China. Jack Cable, who is departing his role as senior technical adviser Thursday,…
Global Security News, Microsoft, Security
CISA shares guidance for Microsoft expanded logging capabilities
CISA shared guidance for government agencies and enterprises on using expanded cloud logs in their Microsoft 365 tenants as part of their forensic and compliance investigations. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft ends support for Office apps on Windows 10 in October
Microsoft says it will drop support for Office apps in Windows 10 after the operating system reaches its end of support on October 14. […]
citrix, git, GitHub, Global Security News, Microsoft, microsoft powerpoint, microsoft visual studio, microsoft windows, Patch Tuesday, Security, Software, vulnerabilities
Patch Tuesday: January 2025 Security Update Patches Exploited Elevation of Privilege Attacks
Microsoft’s monthly patches cover Hyper-V NT Kernel Integration VSPs, Git in Visual Studio, and more.
Global Security News, Microsoft
Windows BitLocker bug triggers warnings on devices with TPMs
Microsoft is investigating a bug triggering security alerts on systems with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) processor after enabling BitLocker. […]
agents, AI, Copilot, Copilot Chat, Enterprise, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, Microsoft, Microsoft 365, microsoft 365 copilot
Microsoft’s newest Copilot plan for business is pay-as-you-go
Microsoft is launching a pay-as-you-go plan for corporate customers that bundles together several, but not all, of the company’s existing AI-powered productivity features for Microsoft 365. The new plan, Copilot Chat — not to be confused with Microsoft’s Copilot Business Chat or GitHub Copilot Chat — is underpinned by OpenAI’s GPT-4o AI model and lets…
Global Security News, Microsoft
January Windows updates may fail if Citrix SRA is installed
Microsoft is warning that the January 2025 Windows 11 and Windows 10 cumulative updates may fail if Citrix Session Recording Agent (SRA) version 2411 is installed on the device. […]
Cybersecurity, Exploits, Global Security News, Microsoft, Patch Tuesday, Technology, vulnerabilities
Microsoft fixes 159 vulnerabilities in first Patch Tuesday of 2025
In its latest security update, Microsoft has addressed a total of 159 vulnerabilities, covering a broad spectrum of the tech giant’s products, including .NET, Visual Studio, Microsoft Excel, Windows components, and Azure services. The update covers several critical and high-severity flaws across various systems, impacting Windows Telephony Services, Active Directory Domain Services, Microsoft Excel and…
Global Security News, Microsoft
Windows 10 KB5049981 update released with new BYOVD blocklist
Microsoft has released the KB5049981 cumulative update for Windows 10 22H2 and Windows 10 21H2, which contains an updated Kernel driver blocklist to prevent Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attacks. […]
Exploits, Global Security News, Microsoft, Security
Microsoft January 2025 Patch Tuesday fixes 8 zero-days, 159 flaws
Today is Microsoft’s January 2025 Patch Tuesday, which includes security updates for 159 flaws, including eight zero-day vulnerabilities, with three actively exploited in attacks. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft, Software
Windows 11 KB5050009 & KB5050021 cumulative updates released
Microsoft has released the Windows 11 KB5050009 and KB5050021 cumulative updates for versions 24H2 and 23H2 to fix security vulnerabilities and issues. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft 365 apps crash on Windows Server after Office update
Microsoft says a known issue is causing Classic Outlook and Microsoft 365 applications to crash on Windows Server 2016 or Windows Server 2019 systems. […]
.org, AI, Enterprise, Global Security News, In Brief, Microsoft, reorg, team
Microsoft forms new internal dev-focused AI org
Microsoft has created a new engineering org aimed at accelerating AI infrastructure and software development within the company. According to Bloomberg, Jay Parikh, previously VP and global head of engineering at Meta, will lead the new division. He’ll report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and oversee groups including the company’s AI platform and developer teams.…
Apple, Global Security News, Microsoft, Security
Microsoft: macOS bug lets hackers install malicious kernel drivers
Apple recently addressed a macOS vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass System Integrity Protection (SIP) and install malicious kernel drivers by loading third-party kernel extensions. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft MFA outage blocking access to Microsoft 365 apps
Microsoft is investigating an ongoing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) outage that is blocking customers from accessing Microsoft 365 Office apps. […]
AI, Azure OpenAI Service, dall-e, Global IT News, Global Security News, lawsuit, Microsoft, Security
Microsoft accuses group of developing tool to abuse its AI service in new lawsuit
Microsoft has taken legal action against a group the company claims intentionally developed and used tools to bypass the safety guardrails of its cloud AI products. According to a complaint filed by the company in December in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a group of unnamed 10 defendants allegedly used…
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft to force install new Outlook on Windows 10 PCs in February
Microsoft will force install the new Outlook email client on Windows 10 systems starting with next month’s security update. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft fixes OneDrive bug causing macOS app freezes
Microsoft has fixed a known issue causing macOS applications to freeze when opening or saving files in OneDrive. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft fixes bug causing Outlook freezes when copying text
Microsoft has fixed a known issue causing the classic Outlook email client to stop responding when copying text with the CTRL+C keyboard shortcut. […]
AI, Election Security, Global Security News, lawsuit, Microsoft, North America, Technology
Microsoft moves to disrupt hacking-as-a-service scheme that’s bypassing AI safety measures
Microsoft is petitioning a Virginia court to seize software and shut down internet infrastructure that they allege is being used by a group of foreign cybercriminals to bypass safety guidelines for generative AI systems. In a filing with the Eastern District Court of Virginia, Microsoft brought a lawsuit against ten individuals for using stolen credentials…
AI, AI model, Apps, Bing, bing image creator, DALL-E 3, Global IT News, Global Security News, image generator, Media & Entertainment, Microsoft, model, pr16
Microsoft rolls back its Bing Image Creator model after users complain of degraded quality
Ahead of the holidays, Microsoft said it was upgrading the AI model behind Bing Image Creator, the AI-powered image editing tool built into the company’s Bing search engine. Microsoft promised that the new model — the latest version of OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 model, code-named “PR16” — would allow users to create images “twice as fast…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, India, Microsoft
Microsoft backs its $3B AI push in India with public and private sector deals
Microsoft announced a sweeping series of artificial intelligence partnerships across India’s core sectors on Wednesday, a day after pledging to invest $3 billion in the country over the next two years as it intensifies competition with rivals Google and Amazon. The tech giant’s chief executive Satya Nadella (pictured above) unveiled agreements with five major organizations…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, India, Microsoft, Satya Nadella
Microsoft to pump $3 billion into cloud and AI push in India
Microsoft plans to invest an additional $3 billion to expand capacity for its artificial intelligence and cloud Azure services in India, the software giant’s chief executive said Tuesday. The software giant, among the top cloud and AI providers in India, is already seeing many of its clients in the South Asian market use its newest…
Global Security News, Google, Microsoft
Microsoft Bing shows misleading Google-like page for ‘Google’ searches
Microsoft Bing is displaying what is being categorized as a misleading Google-esque search page when users search for Google, making it look you are on the competing search engine. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft, Software
Microsoft may have scrapped Windows 11’s dynamic wallpapers feature
Microsoft has many good ideas for Windows 11 that often do not ship, and one of them was “Dynamic Wallpapers,” which, as the name suggests, could have made the wallpaper dynamic, similar to third-party tools like Lively Wallpaper. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft, Security
Windows 10 users urged to upgrade to avoid “security fiasco”
Cybersecurity firm ESET is urging Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 or Linux to avoid a “security fiasco” as the 10-year-old operating system nears the end of support in October 2025. […]
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft to spend $80 billion in FY’25 on data centers for AI
Microsoft has earmarked $80 billion in fiscal 2025 to build data centers designed to handle artificial intelligence workloads, according to a company blog post. Specifically, the tech giant plans to build out AI-enabled data centers “to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications around the world.” Of that $80 billion allocation, more than…
Apps, ccleaner professional, Global Security News, Hardware, Microsoft, microsoft windows, pc optimization tool, Security, Software, TR Academy
This Trusted App Helps Sluggish PCs Work Faster
CCleaner speeds up sluggish PCs by clearing junk files, fixing registry issues, and optimizing performance.
Adobe, Cybersecurity, Global Security News, Microsoft, microsoft windows, patch management, Security, Software
What Is Patch Tuesday? Microsoft’s Monthly Update Explained
Patch Tuesday is Microsoft’s monthly update day for fixing vulnerabilities. Learn its purpose, benefits, and how it enhances system security.
Cloud, Cybersecurity, Global Security News, Hardware, Microsoft, microsoft copilot plus, Microsoft Windows 11, physical media, Security
Windows 11 Media Update Bug Stops Security Updates
Microsoft advises users not to install recent security updates using physical media. The company is working on a fix.
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft issues urgent dev warning to update .NET installer link
Microsoft is forcing .NET developers to quickly update their apps and developer pipelines so they do not use ‘azureedge.net’ domains to install .NET components, as the domain will soon be unavailable due to the bankruptcy and imminent shutdown of CDN provider Edgio. […]
AGI, AI, ChatGPT, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Microsoft, openai, TC
Microsoft and OpenAI have a financial definition of AGI: report
Microsoft and OpenAI have a very specific, internal definition of artificial general intelligence (AGI) based on the startup’s profits, according to a new report from The Information. And by this definition, OpenAI is many years away from reaching it. The two companies reportedly signed an agreement last year stating OpenAI has only achieved AGI when…
Global Security News, Microsoft, Security
Windows 11 installation media bug causes security update failures
Microsoft is warning of an issue when using a media support to install Windows 11, version 24H2, that causes the operating system to not accept further security updates. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft, Software
Five lesser known Task Manager features in Windows 11
Windows 11 is far from perfect, but it does make Task Manager significantly better. In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at some of our favourite Task Manager features. […]
Android, Apple, Cybersecurity, encryption, Global Security News, Google, identity theft, Microsoft, Mobile Security, password manager, phishing, privacy, Ransomware, Security, spam, TR Academy, trend micro
Protect 3 Devices With This Maximum Security Software
Trend Micro guards desktop and mobile devices from ransomware, phishing schemes, spam, and more for one year.
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft fixes bug behind random Office 365 deactivation errors
Microsoft has rolled out a fix for a known issue that causes random “Product Deactivated” errors for customers using Microsoft 365 Office apps. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft 365 users hit by random product deactivation errors
Microsoft is investigating a known issue randomly triggering “Product Deactivated” errors for customers using Microsoft 365 Office apps. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Windows 11 24H2 upgrades blocked on some PCs due to audio issues
Microsoft has added another Windows 11 24H2 upgrade block for systems with Dirac audio improvement software due to compatibility issues breaking sound output. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft says Auto HDR causes game freezes on Windows 11 24H2
Microsoft is now blocking Windows 11 24H2 upgrades on systems with Auto HDR enabled due to a compatibility issue that causes game freezes. […]
AI, Artificial Intelligence, chips, Enterprise, Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, Microsoft, nvidia
Microsoft bought nearly 500,000 Nvidia Hopper chips this year
Microsoft bought more than twice as many Nvidia Hopper chips this year than any of its biggest rivals. The tech giant bought 485,000 Nvidia Hopper chips across 2024 according to reporting from the Financial Times, which cited data from tech consultancy Omdia. To compare, Meta bought 224,000 of the same, flagship Nvidia chip this year.…
CryptoCurrency, Global Security News, Microsoft, Security
Malicious Microsoft VSCode extensions target devs, crypto community
Malicious Visual Studio Code extensions were discovered on the VSCode marketplace that download heavily obfuscated PowerShell payloads to target developers and cryptocurrency projects in supply chain attacks. […]
Global Security News, Microsoft, Security
CISA orders federal agencies to secure Microsoft 365 tenants
CISA has issued this year’s first binding operational directive (BOD 25-01), ordering federal civilian agencies to secure their Microsoft 365 cloud environments by implementing a list of required configuration baselines. […]
AI, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, Microsoft, open source, phi-4, Research
Microsoft debuts Phi-4, a new generative AI model, in research preview
Microsoft has announced the newest addition to its Phi family of generative AI models. Called Phi-4, the model is improved in several areas over its predecessors, Microsoft claims — in particular math problem solving. That’s partly the result of improved training data quality. Phi-4 is available in very limited access as of Thursday night: only…
agentic ai, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, coding assistant, Developer, developer tools, gemini 2.0 flash, generative ai, Global Security News, Google, google gemini, Microsoft, openai, Security
Google Launches Gemini 2.0 with Autonomous Tool Linking
Gemini 2.0 Flash is available now, with other model sizes coming in January. It adds multilingual voice output, image output, and some trendy “agentic” capabilities.
Apple, CXO, Global Security News, Google, linux, Microsoft, mozilla, Security, Software, vulnerabilities
Patch Tuesday: Microsoft Patches One Actively Exploited Vulnerability, Among Others
December marked a quiet month with 70 vulnerabilities patched, plus updates from outside of Microsoft.
Global Security News, Microsoft
Microsoft lifts Windows 11 24H2 block on PCs with USB scanners
Microsoft has lifted a compatibility block preventing Windows 11 24H2 upgrades after fixing a bug causing USB connection issues to some scanners. […]
Cybersecurity, Exploits, Geopolitics, Global Security News, Microsoft, Research, Threats, Turla
Turla living off other cybercriminals’ tools in order to attack Ukrainian targets
A Russian nation-state threat actor has been observed leveraging tools from other cybercriminal groups to compromise targets in Ukraine, a recent report by Microsoft Threat Intelligence disclosed. This clandestine approach, which is the second time in as many weeks that Microsoft has highlighted the group’s effort, shows how Turla uses a wide range of attack…
Apple, Australia, Big Data, Cloud Security, CXO, Global Security News, Google, Innovation, International, Microsoft, Security, tech conferences, tech events, United Kingdom
Top Tech Conferences & Events to Add to Your Calendar in 2025
A great way to stay current with the latest technology trends and innovations is by attending conferences. Read and bookmark our tech events guide.
Adobe, Cybersecurity, Exploits, Global Security News, Microsoft, Patch Tuesday, Technology
Microsoft closes 2024 with extensive security update
In its final Patch Tuesday update of 2024, Microsoft has addressed 71 new security vulnerabilities, including a zero-day flaw that is currently being actively exploited. The zero-day vulnerability, documented as CVE-2024-49138, is a bug in the company’s Windows Common Log File System (CLFS). It poses a significant threat as it enables attackers to achieve system-level…
Adobe, Cybersecurity, Exploits, Global Security News, Microsoft, Patch Tuesday, Technology
Microsoft closes 2024 with extensive security update
In its final Patch Tuesday update of 2024, Microsoft has addressed 71 new security vulnerabilities, including a zero-day flaw that is currently being actively exploited. The zero-day vulnerability, documented as CVE-2024-49138, is a bug in the company’s Windows Common Log File System (CLFS). It poses a significant threat as it enables attackers to achieve system-level…
AI, ChatGPT, Global Security News, Google, Law & order, Microsoft, openai, Podcast, privacy, robot, The AI Fix
The AI Fix #26: Would AI kill sentient robots, and is water wet?
In episode 26 of The AI Fix, an AI does surgery on pork chops, holographic Jesus wants your consent to use cookies, Mark opens the pod bay doors, our hosts discover OpenAI’s couch potato health coach, and Graham finds a robot made of drain pipes. Graham pits Mark against an AI in a morality quiz…
data breach, Data loss, Global Security News, Guest blog, Microsoft, NHS, Power Pages, privacy
Data leaks from websites built on Microsoft Power Pages, including 1.1 million NHS records
A security researcher has blamed misconfigured implementations of Microsoft Power Pages for a slew of data breaches from web portals – including the leak of 1.1 million NHS employee records. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.