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Outtake, an AI security startup founded by ex-Palantir engineer Alex Dhillon, has raised $40 million in Series B funding led by Iconiq. The cybersecurity startup uses autonomous artificial intelligence agents to detect and eliminate digital identity fraud, attracting investments from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Bill Ackman, and other prominent tech executives. The company's annual recurring revenue has grown sixfold year-over-year.
Security researchers have uncovered a sophisticated Android malware strain that uses Google's TensorFlow machine learning library to automate ad clicks in hidden browsers. The malware affects over 155,000 downloads across games distributed through Xiaomi's GetApps store and third-party platforms, operating covertly while draining batteries and inflating mobile data charges.
Microsoft has disrupted RedVDS, a $24-per-month cybercrime subscription service that enabled AI-powered fraud at global scale. The coordinated operation with European law enforcement seized critical servers and took the marketplace offline. RedVDS facilitated payment diversion scams using generative AI tools, face-swapping technology, and voice cloning to impersonate trusted parties and redirect funds.
Roblox rolled out AI-powered age verification globally to protect young users from predators, but the system is misclassifying ages and can be easily fooled. Users report being placed in wrong age groups, while age-verified accounts are being sold on eBay for as little as $4, raising serious questions about the platform's child safety measures.
Cryptocurrency fraud reached unprecedented levels in 2025, with scammers stealing an estimated $17 billion through AI-enhanced tactics and impersonation schemes. Chainalysis reports that AI-powered scams extracted 4.5 times more revenue than traditional methods, while impersonation fraud surged by 1400% year-over-year. The average scam payment jumped from $782 to $2,764, highlighting the growing sophistication of crypto criminals.
A federal judge ruled that Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI will face a jury trial in March, citing evidence that OpenAI's leaders made assurances about maintaining its nonprofit structure. Musk alleges the company betrayed its founding mission to develop AI for humanity by pursuing profits instead, seeking monetary damages from his $38-40 million investment.
Scammers are using AI-generated deepfakes to impersonate popular religious figures like Father Mike Schmitz, who has 1.2 million YouTube subscribers. The fake videos solicit money for fraudulent blessings and church trips, exploiting the trust between pastors and their congregations. Religious leaders from Alabama to Florida have issued warnings as these sophisticated AI-powered scams spread across social media platforms.
Deepfakes evolved dramatically in 2025, with AI-generated faces and voices becoming indistinguishable from authentic media for most viewers. Cybersecurity firm DeepStrike reports deepfakes surged from 500,000 in 2023 to 8 million in 2025—nearly 900% annual growth. Researchers warn 2026 will bring real-time interactive deepfakes capable of responding instantly, making detection increasingly difficult and shifting defense strategies from human judgment to infrastructure-level protections.
UPS-owned Happy Returns is testing its Return Vision AI tool to tackle return fraud, a $76.5 billion problem affecting U.S. retailers. The AI-powered fraud detection system flags suspicious packages and works with human auditors to verify fraudulent returns. Early tests with Everlane, Revolve, and Under Armour show the tool catches sophisticated fraud schemes that cost retailers hundreds of thousands annually.
Visa and Akamai Technologies are collaborating to address security vulnerabilities in AI-led shopping transactions. The partnership integrates Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol with Akamai's cybersecurity protections to help merchants distinguish trusted AI agents from malicious bots. With AI-powered bot traffic surging 300% over the past year, the collaboration aims to create safer agent-based commerce experiences across Visa's 175 million merchant locations.
Musicians are discovering fake AI-generated tracks appearing on their own Spotify and Apple Music profiles, designed to steal royalties. British folk musician Emily Portman found an entire fake album mimicking her style, while Australian bassist Paul Bender uncovered four fraudulent songs on his band's profile. With almost all listeners now unable to distinguish AI-generated music from authentic work, artists are demanding stricter security measures from streaming platforms.
Threat actors are weaponizing generative AI to automate 80-90% of cyberattacks, targeting identity security through deepfake-enabled remote IT worker scams and sophisticated phishing campaigns. With 75% of organizations experiencing SaaS-related incidents involving compromised credentials, the exploitation of stolen credentials has become the primary attack surface, bypassing traditional security measures entirely.
South Korea will require advertisers to label AI-generated ads starting in 2026 as deceptive promotions surge across social media platforms. The government identified over 97,600 illegal online ads in 2024, up from 59,000 in 2023. Officials plan punitive fines up to five times the losses incurred, with platforms responsible for ensuring compliance as the country balances AI innovation with consumer protection.
Cybercriminals are manipulating AI search results by poisoning public web content with fraudulent phone numbers. Research from Aurascape reveals how threat actors use Generative Engine Optimization to inject scam call center numbers into AI chatbots like Google's AI Overview and Perplexity, steering unsuspecting users toward fake customer support lines for major airlines and other services.
Australian prog-rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard removed their entire catalog from Spotify in July to protest CEO Daniel Ek's investments in AI weapons technology. Months later, fans discovered an AI-generated impersonator called 'King Lizard Wizard' hosting knockoff tracks with identical titles and lyrics. The fake account accumulated tens of thousands of streams before removal, exposing serious gaps in Spotify's content moderation despite new policies against artist impersonation.
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