Technology

70% of UK financial organizations now cite cyberattacks as a main risk to financial stability. This is no surprise, considering financial institutions are 300 times more likely to confront cyberattacks than any other industry. It’s a difficult landscape for leaders in the banking industry to navigate – banks are increasingly interacting with more technology; however, this also increases risk by introducing more entry points for bad actors.

This raises an important question: What are some of the biggest cybersecurity challenges that banks are facing, and how can they safeguard their systems in an increasingly hostile digital environment?

The era of the endpoint

Every device, from servers to employee laptops and mobile phones, represents a potential entry point for attackers. The rise of remote work, and digital consumer banking services, only perpetuates this challenge. In the last couple of years, we’ve witnessed two-thirds of banks offer workers the chance for hybrid work, exposing more remote access for their employees. With this, financial institutions are managing more heterogeneous devices than ever before, which dramatically expands their attack surfaces.

Banking on the cloud

Financial institutions are rushing to reap the rewards of digital transformation through public cloud infrastructure, with 82% of banking executives planning to move over half of their mainframe workloads to the cloud. This introduces another potential attack surface, making the financial sector an increasingly attractive target.

While cloud security follows similar principles as traditional security measures, the principal difference is that it operates over the public internet, leaving security no room for error. Therefore, existing security solutions might not be enough to protect against the unique risks of the cloud. Security teams must update their plans to address the specific needs of the cloud environment.

Thankfully, there are many ways banks can reduce their attack surface and improve their ability to prevent, detect, and respond to attacks regardless of if the endpoint is remote, in a private data center, or in a public cloud.

Here are six steps banks can take to mitigate security threats:

1. Monitor, identify and fix misconfigurations: Misconfigured cloud resources, SaaS applications, or any internet-exposed device can be the root cause of incidents where data is inadvertently exposed or stolen by a threat actor. For financial institutions, this type of threat will have both a monetary impact and can harm their brand and customer trust. To mitigate these risks, banks must not only maintain an accurate inventory of their cloud, SaaS application, and corporate environments but also ensure comprehensive visibility into all endpoints. Active monitoring and detailed visibility allow banks to identify and remediate misconfigurations before they result in serious harm.

2. Enforce multi-factor authentication: Along with strong passwords, multi-factor authentication provides a huge boost to security. The most effective options are hardware security keys or time-based one-time password (TOTP) applications, like Google Authenticator. This ensures that even if a malicious actor obtains a username and password, they won’t be able to log in without access to a physical key or device.

3. Backup data and gain insight: Ransomware is a serious risk to organizations because it brings operations to a screeching halt. To build resilience and ensure access to critical information, even in the event of a successful attack, security and IT teams should not only back up cloud and endpoint data but again, maintain visibility across their environments. By backing up their data and monitoring endpoint activity, banks can better protect themselves and recover more effectively from ransomware attacks.

4. Exercise the principle of least privilege and limit third party access: Compromised user accounts are a leading cause of breaches. Limiting user access to the absolute minimum reduces the impact of a bad actor assuming the identity of a legitimate user. Additionally, overly permissive third-party access can inadvertently expose sensitive information to unintended recipients.

5. Keep patches up to date across all endpoints: Patching is an essential security control. Out-of-date operating systems and applications can leave doors open for intrusion or exploits. To make this easier, banks can use patch management tools to automate numerous updates across all their machines.

6. Use threat detection and response tools: To ensure nothing slips through the cracks, banks should use a threat detection and response tool as part of an in-depth cybersecurity plan. It can also monitor and gain awareness into threats both in the cloud and on endpoints, before they come to fruition, halting them in their tracks.

Cyber attackers commonly target sectors that offer reams of sensitive data and the possibility of lucrative pay outs when held for ransom – making financial services a handsome target. To combat this, IT teams at banks, insurance carriers, and other financial institutions, need to partner with security teams to reduce their attack surface, harden endpoints, and address known vulnerabilities quickly.

By taking a few smart steps and partnering with the right solution providers, banks can rest easy knowing that their data is safe.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Sustainability has never been higher on the boardroom agenda, as both consumers and regulators alike keep a keen eye on how businesses are impacting the environment. Failing to recognize this could cost a business, both financially and reputationally, as individuals no longer want to interact with brands that are failing to become more sustainable. In fact, taking that even further, with recent research from PWC discovering that consumers are willing to pay 9.7% more on sustainable produced or sourced goods, despite ongoing inflationary pressures.

To add to this, regulatory pressures, especially when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, are only set to increase. The Climate Change Act commits the UK to reach net zero by 2050. However, earlier this year, a high court ruled the UK government’s climate action plan ‘unlawful’, citing that there is currently not enough evidence of sufficient policies in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A revised plan will be created in the next 12 months which ensures that the UK will achieve its pledge to cut emissions by more than two-thirds by 2030. It’s likely that the majority of UK businesses will be expected to play some sort of role in this.

Transitioning away from fossil fuels or decarbonizing emissions-intensive industries are often identified are key pathways to net-zero emissions. Another key area that would have a positive impact on organizations' sustainability is efficient data storage. Today, redundant, obsolete or trivial (ROT) and dark data continues to plague organizations, with minimal or no effort made to address data storage issues. This presents a big opportunity for businesses operating in today’s increasingly sustainability-conscious landscape.

What a waste! Data hoarding and sustainability

With the proliferation of digital devices and online applications, individuals are more aware of their data than ever before. However, whilst the topic of data breaches and how to prevent them is often getting airtime, sustainability and the impact that certain data management practices could have on the environment is not.

For example, waste remains a major concern in data storage. The energy consumption of procured storage remains the same regardless of how much of it is used. Thus, using as much of the available capacity as possible, and procuring no more than is needed, must be a priority if businesses want to achieve both efficiency and sustainability.

Data hoarding is a catalyst for poor decision making. As a business's data pile grows, it becomes harder to keep track of everything and easier for cybercriminals to take advantage. Data breaches have devastating consequences and, whilst we’re all aware of the financial and reputational damage that can follow, many of us might not be so aware of the environmental cost of data hoarding, with data centers currently pumping out tons of emissions to manage global data storage, equivalent of almost 2 percent of the world’s emissions, which is the same as the airline industry.

The message is clear. Businesses need to assume responsibility when it comes to data storing, by turning away from poor data management practices, and considering solutions to lessen their carbon footprint.

Making a positive impact

As the pressure to be more sustainable increases, businesses need to get one step ahead. One way to ensure this is to proactively set up emission tracking systems and explore optimizing services that are both eco-friendly and cost-efficient. It is important to get the balance between ensuring that data is securely protected but also that any solutions are being deployed in a way that limits the environmental impact of long-term data storage and management.

Businesses should begin by taking stock of their current data management and storage practices and assessing how they line up with any wider environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. Through this, areas for improvement can be identified and business leaders can seek advice from internal or external resources.

To minimize waste in data storage, IT leaders can embrace lean principles with techniques such as data compression, de-duplication and thin provisioning. It is beneficial for organizations to establish an official data lifecycle to understand the relevance of data, archive infrequently used data and purges data that is no longer required.

Of course, when it comes to adopting more sustainable data management practices, organizations can consider partnering with cloud service providers to assist in managing their carbon footprint efficiently. Specifically, by dynamically allocating resources across customers’ workloads, cloud data centers can achieve higher resource utilization and energy efficiency – translating into lower carbon footprint associated with the same workload.

A more sustainable future

Moving forward, business leaders will need to be more conscious about the environmental impact of their operations. Dark data should not be considered a natural consequence of digitalization and data waste and data hoarding are two issues that need to be tackled head on. By adopting cloud-based autonomous data management solutions that combine automation, artificial intelligence and elastic architecture, organizations can pave the way for a more cost-effective and sustainable business model.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Despite AI tools now being implemented in organizations of all sizes, cybersecurity professionals have reproted they are being excluded from the development process.

Despite the increasing use of AI in security operations, a new survey from ISACA has revealed almost half (45%) of companies shut out cybersecurity teams from the development, onboarding, and implementation of AI solutions.

The threat landscape is rapidly developing, as are the tools security professionals use to combat them, with the survey showing 28% of cybersecurity teams are now using AI to automate threat detection and response, and 27% use the tech for endpoint security.

Shifting focuses

AI has the potential to be used by cybersecurity teams to streamline tasks and lighten workloads, but there’s also evidence AI tools are being increasingly used in cyberattacks against businesses.

With more and more regulations also being introduced regarding AI software, like Europe’s AI Act, governance is becoming much more significant. Shockingly, only 35% of cybersecurity professionals are actively involved in the development of policy governing the use of AI tech within their business.

“Cybersecurity leaders cannot singularly focus on AI’s role in security operations," said Jon Brandt, ISACA Director, Professional Practices and Innovation.

"It is imperative that the security function be involved in the development, onboarding and implementation of any AI solution within their enterprise – include existing products that later receive AI capabilities.”

Staffing difficulties are a persisting problem in the cybersecurity industry, and the survey reveals that there has been an increase in the use of contractors and consultants to plug the gap.

There is an increased reliance on AI or automation to address shortages - making it even more important for security professionals to be included in implementation stages.

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A new mystery thriller series titled Prime Target is set to debut on Apple TV Plus in 2025 and it sounds like it will be packed with puzzles to unravel.

The new show was first announced in February earlier this year, when the streamer revealed that it had cast a leading duo that are familiar faces from the best streaming services. Leo Woodall is known for The White Lotus and Netflix rom-com One Day, and will star alongside Quintessa Swindell, who was in Black Adam, which is streaming on Max in the US.

The duo will star in the eight episode series and looking at the first-look images released today (Thursday, October 24), Prime Target has the potential to be one of the best Apple TV Plus shows.

What do we know so far about Prime Target? Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

The plot for Prime Target reads like it will see the maths genius from A Beautiful Mind at the center of a major global security threat like what was portrayed in WarGames. In the series, Woodall plays Edward Brooks, a brilliant young maths postgraduate who is on the cusp of a major mathematical breakthrough.

Said breakthrough involves finding a pattern in prime numbers, so get your calculators ready! Solving this will hold the key to accessing every computer in the world, which undoubtedly has big consequences. Of course, such a search for discovery hasn't gone unnoticed and there's an "unseen enemy" on the hunt for Brooks to stop him from solving the puzzle.

This is where Swindell comes in. The actor plays Taylah Sanders, who's a member of the National Security Agency that's been tasked with monitoring Brooks. Of course, something deeper is afoot, which brings the duo together to unravel a deeper mystery shrouded in conspiracy that Brooks is now at the center of.

The cast of Prime Target also includes Stephen Rea (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles), David Morrissey (The Walking Dead), Martha Plimpton (The Regime), Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen), Jason Flemyng (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones), Ali Suliman (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan), Fra Fee (Rebel Moon) and Joseph Mydell (The Eternal Daughter).

January is shaping up to be a big month for Apple TV Plus as we also have the highly-anticipated sci-fi series Severance season 2 returning on January 27, so there will be plenty of mysteries to unravel.

The first two episodes of Prime Target will be released globally on Apple TV Plus on January 22, 2025, and will see a new episode added every Wednesday through March 5, 2025.

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More movies are set to leave Netflix in November 2024, and although we're always expecting this every month, it isn't the best news to hear. However, you won't be saying goodbye to any of our picks for the best Netflix movies, which has given me a big sigh of relief.

As it is every month, Netflix's list of departing movies and show tends to be very short and sweet, and just like everything that's leaving Netflix in October 2024, it's another brief list for one of the best streaming services. But while you only have a few weeks left to catch these movies before they go, Netflix is making up for it by replacing them with even more titles coming in November 2024.

Everything leaving Netflix in November 2024

Leaving on November 5

A Man Called Otto (movie)

Leaving on November 6

Edge of Tomorrow (movie)

Leaving on November 10

Night School (movie)

Leaving on November 14

First Man (movie)
Nothing to Lose (movie)
Nothing to Lose 2 (movie)

Leaving on November 15

Harriet (movie)

Leaving on November 19

Shahs of Sunset seasons 1-2 (TV show)

Leaving on November 22

Evil Dead Rise (movie)
Sausage Party (movie)

Leaving on November 30

A Beautiful Life (movie)
Ali (movie)
The Devil's Own (movie)
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (movie)
Frances Ha (movie)
Glengarry Glen Ross (movie)
Hunter Killer (movie)
It Chapter Two (movie)
The Little Things (movie)
The Matrix Resurrections (movie)
National Security (movie)
Pain & Gain (movie)
Point Break (movie)
Space Jam: A New Legacy (movie)
Troy (movie)
What to Expect When You're Expecting (movie)

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The Monster Hunter Wilds open beta will let players try out the game ahead of its release next year. There's a variety of missions to take on, from a small slice of a story mission to repeatable monster hunts. All in all, it looks set to give players a good opportunity to experience some of the new weapon mechanics and see the new environments in action.

From what we've seen so far, and from what we played in our Monster Hunter Wilds preview, the game is primed to push the series forward, with evolving landscapes and more complex monster behaviors. This time around, you can bring multiple weapons into hunts with you, a huge change that'll likely allow for more build experimentation. It's changes like these that make us hopeful that Monster Hunter Wilds will end up on our best crossplay games list by the end of the year.

Here's when you'll be able to play the Monster Hunter Wilds open beta, whether that's as a PS Plus subscriber, a PS5 player, an Xbox player, or someone playing on PC. We'll also detail what to expect from the beta, including rewards that'll transfer over to the full game at launch.

Monster Hunter Wilds open beta release date for PlayStation, Xbox and PC

(Image credit: Capcom)

The Monster Hunter Wilds open beta starts on Tuesday, October 28, and runs through until Thursday, October 30. This is the first open beta period, available for those on PlayStation Plus. If you're not a PS Plus subscriber, or if you're playing on Xbox or PC, you can find the precise timings below:

• PS5 with PS Plus subscription: October 28 at 11PM ET / 8PM PT (October 29 at 3AM GMT) - October 30 at 10:59PM ET / 7:59PM PT (October 31 at 2:59AM GMT)
• PS5 (no PS Plus subscription): October 31 at 11PM ET / 8PM PT (November 1 at 3AM GMT) - November 3 at 9:59AM ET / 6:59AM PT (November 4 at 1:59AM GMT)
• Xbox Series X|S: October 31 at 11PM ET / 8PM PT (November 1 at 3AM GMT) - November 3 at 9:59AM ET / 6:59AM PT (November 4 at 1:59AM GMT)
• Steam: October 31 at 11PM ET / 8PM PT (November 1 at 3AM GMT) - November 3 at 9:59AM ET / 6:59AM PT (November 4 at 1:59AM GMT)

Monster Hunter Wilds open beta preload

(Image credit: Capcom)

You'll be able to preload the Monster Hunter Wilds open beta on Sunday, October 27 at 11PM ET / 8PM PT (Monday, October 28 at 3AM GMT) if you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber on PS5. If you're on other platforms, or on PS5 without a PS Plus subscription, you'll find preload times below:

• PS5 (no PS Plus subscription): Wednesday, October 30 at 11PM ET / 8PM PT (Thursday, October 31 at 3AM GMT)
• Xbox: Wednesday, October 30 at 11PM ET / 8PM PT (Thursday, October 31 at 3AM GMT)
• PC (Steam): Wednesday, October 30 at 11PM ET / 8PM PT (Thursday, October 31 at 3AM GMT)

Monster Hunter Wilds beta rewards

(Image credit: Capcom)

There are two main Monster Hunter Wilds beta rewards that can be transferred to the full game at launch:

• Open Beta Test Bonus Pendant (Pictured above)
• Open Beta Test Bonus Item Pack (Mega Potion x10, Ration x5, Lifepowder x5, Max Potion x2, Herbal Medicine x2, Mulberry x2, Armor Sphere x5)

Note that in order to redeem the rewards at launch, you will need to be playing on the same platform where you played the beta.

Monster Hunter Wilds open beta - what to expect

(Image credit: Capcom)

The Monster Hunter Wilds open beta will feature a character creator, as well as two main missions to take on. The first mission is the Story Trial, where you'll experience the opening cutscene and play the Chatacabra Hunt with some basic tutorials enabled. Once you've gotten the hang of the basics, you can take on the Doshaguma Hunt. The goal here is to defeat the alpha of the Doshaguma pack. Explore on your Seikret, and switch between two different weapon types on the fly.

Monster Hunter Wilds FAQ Does progress from the beta carry over into Monster Hunter Wilds?

While main progress from the Monster Hunter Wilds doesn't carry over into the full game, you will earn the aforementioned rewards for participating. In addition, you can import your Character data over once the game launches. This means your main Hunter design, as well as your main Palico companion.

Does the Monster Hunter Wilds beta feature crossplay?

Yes, the Monster Hunter Wilds open beta will feature crossplay, across PS5, Xbox and PC. Note that during the PS Plus open beta test, only PS5 players with a PS Plus subscription will be able to participate. Once things open up later on, crossplay will be enabled.

Can you play the Monster Hunter Wilds beta Solo?

You can play the Monster Hunter Wilds beta solo if you wish. There's also the SOS Flare function, which allows you to call in other online players, or to call for help from NPC Support Hunters.

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Google has announced the addition of an Enterprise Web Store for browser extensions for businesses using the Chrome browser and ChromeOS.

Set to enter preview later in 2024, businesses will soon be able to curate a selection of company-approved extensions to showcase within the employee-facing store, helping to standardize extensions across the business.

In doing so, companies will be able to minimize security risks by blocking access to unverified or potentially harmful extensions, which could compromise sensitive and confidential data.

Chrome extension stores

Behind the scenes, the new extensions store option will also feature Google’s security operations (SecOps) tools, offering real-time telemetry and risk scoring to give IT admins detailed insights into extension usage and potential threats.

At the same time, Google also announced several AI-powered enhancements for Chrome Enterprise and ChromeOS, including a ‘Help Me Read’ feature that summarizes documents, ‘Welcome Recap’ which helps users continue from where they last left off, and ‘Live Translate,’ which offers real-time audio translation.

Google also announced a handful of new and improved security features, like copy and paste control policies and screenshot protections, all in a bid to keep company data protected against third parties.

There’s also a new rollback feature for ChromeOS, which allows users to revert to a previous version of the operating system without losing data.

Mark Berschadski, Director for Product Management at Chrome Enterprise, and Naveen Viswanatha, Head of Product Management at ChromeOS, commented: “Securing the browser is a critical step to protect your organization from threats. Securing your physical devices is an equally important step.”

Via BleepingComputer

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Leica is a specialist in pricey special edition cameras, but its latest creation isn't simply a new colorway, but one to mark 70 years of its legendary M-system. The new Leica M3 Edition 70 is a nod to the rangefinder camera that started it all back in 1954, the M3, and it's a stunner.

Naturally, the M3 Edition 70 costs a pretty penny, but even by Leica standards it's an ultra-rare, ultra-expensive proposition – it'll set you back £19,000 (that's around $25,000 / AU$37,000).

That's if you can get your hands on one. Leica has limited this special platinum-plated edition M3 to just 250 units, with each unit's unique number engraved on the camera's hotshoe (see 001/250, below).

(Image credit: Leica)

It's not just the camera that comes in what we expect is an extravagant presentation box. The M3 Edition 70 is bundled with a Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 APSH lens, Leciavit M fast winder and a film container (probably the sexiest film container ever and yes, there's a roll of film inside).

Film container not sold separately

The Leica M3 Edition 70 is limited to just 250 units – with an engraving on the hotshoe marking which one it is. (Image credit: Leica)

That Leicavit M fast winder is also available separately in three versions; black-painted, glossy black-painted and silver-chromed, for £900 (about $1,200 / AU$1,750). Sadly for most of us, we don't think that gorgeous film container is available separately.

Leica M3 Edition 70 will be available in 2025 from select Leica stores, although there's no specific sales start date just yet.

If you want a piece of Leica history but can't quite stretch to the M3 Edition 70, Leica is also publishing a new Leica M' book, which covers the history of the Leica M-System over 250 pages, complete with iconic photographs, which costs £45 (around $60 / AU$90). The book will hit online stores and authorized dealers from November 5.

Interested in giving film photography a go? Check out our best film cameras guide for our favroite options. It includes the recently reviewed the Leica MP, another rangefinder in Leica's M-System which, like the M3, is a wonderful antidote to today's fast-paced digital world.

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I have been waiting to try Visual Intelligence since Apple first unveiled the iPhone 16 in September. After all, there’s a new button (Camera Control) on my iPhone, and I haven’t been using it for photography.

Camera Control hasn't clicked with me after a month with the iPhone 16 Pro Max. I take a decent amount of photos with my iPhone, but any time I try to use the dedicated button, it feels cumbersome and confusing – so much so that I’ve resorted back to my trusty touchscreen and Lock Screen shortcut.

Enter iOS 18.2 Developer Beta, and I must emphasize: Developer Beta. Please do not try this on your primary device as it’s very much so still in development and not ready for the public. Anything I write about in this article is related to the feature itself, not the performance. Further, if you want to try Visual Intelligence for yourself, I recommend waiting until the official release of iOS 18.2 later this year.

I digress, back to Visual Intelligence. iOS 18.2 is now installed on my iPhone 16 Pro Max, and so far, I’m a big fan at the prospect of what Visual Intelligence can become.

What is Visual Intelligence? I hear you ask. Well, it’s an Apple Intelligence feature exclusive to the iPhone 16 lineup and takes full advantage of Camera Control. You launch it by long-pressing Camera Control and then snap a photo of whatever you’re looking at. From there, you can ask ChatGPT for information, search Google, or highlight any text in the photo. Think of Visual Intelligence as Apple’s version of Google Lens with its own hardware button to access on the fly.

My first impressions of Visual Intelligence

(Image credit: Future / Apple)

You can launch Visual Intelligence from anywhere, even the Lock Screen, which makes it incredibly useful whenever you want to do a quick search. My first test was taking a picture of my Game Boy Camera on my desk. As mentioned above, visual Intelligence gives you a few options, so I first used Google Search to find the product. Then, I asked ChatGPT for information, and it was able to tell me all about the Game Boy Camera’s history. From there, you can ask follow-up questions, so I asked, “When did the Game Boy Camera launch in Europe?” ChatGPT obliged with the correct answer.

While it’s still in development, Visual Intelligence worked a treat with a recognizable product like the Game Boy Camera - I’m not sure how often I’d use it to search for an item, but considering it’s just a simple long press away, it might become my go-to way of searching the web for things.

Another great use for Visual Intelligence is when you’re out and about and want to see information about a shop, cafe, bar, or restaurant. I tested it with a local coffee shop, and while it didn’t work like Apple showed off in its demo, I think that’s more down to the early beta version I’m testing than the feature itself.

In that demo, Apple showed that Visual Intelligence could determine a dog breed. I tried this with my French Bulldog, and while I could search Google for similar dogs, it couldn’t give me a straight-up answer.

(Image credit: Apple)

That kind of sums up Visual Intelligence in its current form. It has huge potential: I love the way it gives Camera Control a genuine purpose, and when it works, it’s fantastic. But it’s in very early development, and there’s a lot that, as expected, needs ironing out.

One thing is for sure, however: Visual Intelligence makes total sense to me now, and I finally understand why Apple added Camera Control to the new iPhones. It’s the kind of Apple Intelligence feature that I can see people turning to when they need a quick answer, as long as it works smoothly, and the ChatGPT and Google integration make it multi-faceted.

I love testing new iOS features, every year my iPhone’s lifespan is mostly spent in a beta state, and the iOS 18.2 developer beta feels like the most exciting one yet. After just a few hours with the software and without access to Genmoji or Image Playground yet (I’m on the waitlist), I can still confidently say that iOS 18.2 feels like the iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence we were waiting for.

I’ve just had a glimpse of what Visual Intelligence has to offer, and I’m incredibly excited to see the finished product later this year. Exclusive to the best iPhones, this could be the reason to buy an iPhone 16 - who would’ve thought it could be Camera Control?

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Sony has released a new PlayStation 5 software update.

Version 24.07-10.20.00 is now live on the platform and is a fairly small update that consists of quality-of-life improvements for system software performance and stability while also improving the message and usability on some select screens.

The main takeaway, however, is how Activities are now presented. According to the patch notes, Activities now display as 'In Progress', 'Not Started', or 'Completed', "depending on whether you have ever started or completed the activity".

PS5 Version 24.07-10.20.00 - Patch Notes:

• Activities now display as In Progress, Not Started, or Completed, depending on whether you have ever started or completed the activity.
• We've improved system software performance and stability.
• We've improved the messages and usability on some screens.

Last month, Sony released the PS5's biggest software update yet, which added a ton of new features ahead. Highlighted in the huge patch included an all-new Welcome Hub, a new control panel for players on the main page that allows a bunch of customizable options.

Trophy tracking was also added among the numerous widgets, as well as a battery life panel for DualSense, DualSense Edge, and PSVR 2 Sense controllers, among other improvements.

These recent PS5 updates arrive ahead of the global launch of the PS5 Pro on November 7, an enhanced version of the 2020 console featuring all-new tech, including Sony's new AI upscaling software, PlayStation Spectral Super Revolution (PSSR).

If you're still looking to get your hands on the mid-generation console, be sure to check out our PS5 Pro pre-order guide.

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As the final sprint in the US presidential election nears, online interference attempts by Russia, Iran and China are holding steady, new research claims.

The latest in a series of Microsoft reports notes how the respective nation states are each maintaining its own areas of focus, with Russia attempting to undermine the Harris-Walz campaign, while China has coordinated its attempts at members of Congress and down-ballot Republican candidates.

Iran has also demonstrated its ability to run concurrent cyber influence campaigns, maintaining its effort to influence the US elections while continuing to launch new activity as the situation in the Middle East escalates.

Increasing use of AI and deepfakes

Russia’s trend towards using AI and deepfake videos continues, with Russian threat actors releasing three new fake videos of the Harris-Walz campaign.

The first being an altered video of Harris supposedly making derogatory comments about her rival, former President Donald Trump. The second, generated by Storm-1516, alleges that Harris carried out illegal poaching in Zambia. A final deepfaked and AI enhanced video has been spotted doing the rounds on X (formerly Twitter) spreading disinformation about Democratic vice president nominee Tim Walz.

As for China, the focus has been on amplifying messages of antisemitism and corruption against down-ballot Republican candidates and members of congress who push for anti-China policies, such as Rep. Barry Moore, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, and Sen. Marco Rubio.

Iran has used escalating tensions in the Middle East to fuel its election interference, including attempting to organize election boycotts and rallies against US support for Israel. The main focus of these efforts being an attempt to further ostracize certain groups, and sow distrust and violence between communities.

Microsoft highlights that manipulated media can spread rapidly in times of heightened emotion, conflict, and competition. Disinformation spread by nation states is often shared widely between audiences on social media and taken as truth before being verified or debunked.

"History has shown foreign actors’ ability to rapidly distribute deceptive content can significantly impact public perception and electoral outcomes," noted Clint Watts - General Manager, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center.

"With a particular focus on the 48 hours before and after Election Day, voters, government institutions, candidates, and parties must remain vigilant against deceptive and suspicious activity online. Early detection and fact-checking remain essential to countering these efforts and maintaining election integrity."

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