Category: Biz Tech

Central Bank of the UAE has rolled out the region’s first biometric payment system based on facial and palm recognition, marking a significant shift in how retail transactions may be authenticated across the country. The initiative aligns with the UAE Digital Economy Strategy and the central bank’s wider effort to create a secure, inclusive and innovation-led payments ecosystem, while reducing reliance on cards, cash and mobile devices. Unveiled through the Central Bank’s regulatory Sandbox Programme and its Innovation Hub at the

  Kaspersky has introduced a new online tool aimed at helping industrial companies in the Middle East quantify cyber risk in operational technology environments, as manufacturers, energy firms and utilities face mounting pressure to justify cybersecurity spending with clearer financial metrics. The cybersecurity company said the OT Cybersecurity Savings Calculator is designed to translate technical exposure in industrial control systems into potential monetary losses, allowing executives to better understand how cyber incidents could affect production continuity, safety and revenue. The launch comes

Google has moved decisively to narrow the gap between smartphones and personal computers, unveiling an Android desktop interface that brings taskbars, resizable windows and advanced window management to the world’s most widely used mobile operating system. The changes, rolling out across tablets, foldables and external-display setups, position Android to compete more directly with Windows and macOS while reframing how everyday computing tasks can be performed across devices. The interface introduces familiar desktop conventions without abandoning Android’s touch-first roots. A persistent taskbar

A major cybersecurity incident affecting Panera Bread has put millions of customer and employee records at risk, as disclosed through multiple industry reports and hacker claims. The breach, attributed to the cybercrime group ShinyHunters, involves the theft of an extensive dataset including names, email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses, with the potential total of affected records estimated at around 14 million. This disclosure underscores widening digital security challenges for large restaurant chains that increasingly rely on interconnected online systems

Shares of cloud security firm Netskope moved higher after Telefónica Tech UK & Ireland unveiled a fully managed Security Edge service built on the Netskope One platform, signalling a deeper alignment between a global telecoms group and a fast-growing specialist in cloud and data protection. The service positions Telefónica’s UK and Ireland technology arm as a one-stop provider of secure access for enterprises grappling with hybrid work, multi-cloud adoption and tighter regulatory expectations. By basing the offering on Netskope’s Security Service

ByteDance is accelerating its expansion into enterprise cloud services as artificial intelligence reshapes demand across China’s technology sector, positioning the social media and content platform owner as a more serious challenger to long-established players in the domestic cloud market. The company has stepped up investment in AI infrastructure, enterprise tools and developer services, signalling ambitions that go well beyond its consumer-facing applications. The move comes as businesses across manufacturing, retail, logistics and media seek scalable computing power and specialised AI models

ChatGPT’s reported payment of about $60 million for a year of access to Reddit content, alongside Google’s deal estimated at roughly $70 million for similar rights, has brought fresh attention to how artificial intelligence companies are reshaping the economics of the open web. The agreements, disclosed through industry reporting and company statements, mark a shift from years in which social platforms generated value largely through advertising, while their vast archives of user conversations were freely scraped to train large language

A humanoid robot with a deliberately unsettling face has shown a new way machines can learn the mechanics of speech, using a mirror and online video rather than human instruction. The system, known as EMO, learned to move its silicone lips with greater accuracy by observing its own facial movements and then analysing how people speak in video clips. Developed by researchers at Columbia University’s engineering school, EMO is designed with a soft, human-like face stretched over an array of motors

Automated software agents powered by generative artificial intelligence are taking control of programmatic advertising workflows in 2026, shifting decision-making from human traders to systems that plan, execute and optimise campaigns with minimal oversight. Major ad-tech platforms and industry bodies say the change is redefining how digital advertising is bought and sold, accelerating efficiency while raising questions around transparency, accountability and market power. Programmatic advertising, which already accounts for the bulk of global digital ad spend, has long relied on algorithms to

Wittytool Disk Clone is being pitched to system administrators and managed service providers as a consolidated utility for changing Windows security identifiers while handling large-scale system migration and network cloning, addressing a set of long-standing operational challenges in enterprise IT environments. The software is presented as combining SID management, disk cloning and partition conversion into a single workflow, a positioning that reflects growing demand for streamlined deployment tools as organisations modernise infrastructure and expand hybrid networks. At the centre of the

Intel’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results point to a company that has steadied its core operations after several turbulent years, even as its ambition to reposition itself as a competitive force in artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing remains largely untested. The numbers indicate improving execution and cost discipline, but they stop short of demonstrating a clear and durable return to growth in the markets now driving the global semiconductor cycle. Revenue for the December quarter was broadly in line with internal

Salesforce has secured a 10-year contract worth up to $5.6 billion with the United States Army to overhaul the service’s digital infrastructure, embedding cloud computing, advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence across a wide range of defence operations. The Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity agreement, executed through Salesforce’s specialised subsidiary Computable Insights, is intended to unify fragmented data systems, streamline workflows and accelerate decision-making from recruitment and training to logistics and field operations. Under the terms of the contract, the Army

Questions over whether authorities in Washington now influence what appears on TikTok have gained traction after an agreement allowed the video-sharing platform to keep operating in the United States under new ownership and oversight conditions. Some users have reported posts disappearing or engagement dropping and have linked those changes to the deal, arguing it has opened the door to government-directed censorship. The arrangement that kept TikTok online followed months of pressure over data security and national security risks tied to the

A quiet but unsettling episode in the artificial intelligence ecosystem has sharpened concerns about how quickly powerful autonomous tools are being deployed without robust safeguards. A single message, sent politely and without any technical wizardry, was enough for an attacker to extract a private cryptographic key from a user within minutes. The breach did not rely on malware, brute force or advanced exploits. It relied on trust, speed and an assumption that “smart” software knows how to protect itself. The incident

Google is preparing a notable shift in Android’s visual language with a leaked system-level feature known as WindowBlur, signalling a more deliberate move towards refined interface effects that have long been associated with Apple’s mobile software. The capability, expected to debut with Android 17, introduces background blur at the operating-system level, allowing apps and system surfaces to soften content beneath translucent panels without relying on custom, app-by-app workarounds. Early indications from development builds suggest WindowBlur is designed as a core rendering

Elon Musk has escalated a high-profile debate over the security of consumer messaging platforms by asserting that “WhatsApp is not secure” and that even Signal, long regarded as a benchmark for encrypted communication, is “questionable,” urging users to consider XChat instead. His remarks, posted on X, have intensified scrutiny of encryption claims by major tech firms and triggered rebuttals from industry leaders defending existing privacy safeguards. Musk’s comments came amid legal and corporate conflict surrounding Meta’s WhatsApp, which faces a

Microsoft and Amazon have issued an unusually blunt warning to policymakers in Washington State, declaring the region’s housing shortage an “emergency” and urging faster action to expand supply as costs rise and availability tightens. The message, delivered through a jointly authored full-page newspaper advertisement and accompanying public statements, marks a rare alignment between two technology rivals that together employ tens of thousands of workers across the Puget Sound region. The companies said they would commit a combined $1.6 billion to support

E-commerce platforms and AI startups are under a sharper spotlight as automation deepens its role in online retail, with one fast-growing software firm facing governance questions even as a major commerce platform discloses a steep rise in AI-assisted transactions. The twin developments underline both the speed of adoption and the growing expectations around transparency and leadership as artificial intelligence moves from experimentation to core operations. Shopify has disclosed that orders influenced by its AI features have climbed eleven-fold since January, according

Digital Twin Consortium has published a set of interoperable digital twin frameworks aimed at reshaping how multimodal transport networks are planned, operated and scaled, marking a shift away from fragmented pilots toward coordinated system-wide deployment. The guidance, released as part of the consortium’s evolving technical reference architecture, sets out common models, interfaces and data-sharing principles designed to allow digital twins across roads, rail, ports and aviation to function as connected elements of a single transport ecosystem. Industry leaders involved in the

Snowflake has rolled out its AI Data Cloud on Amazon Web Services’ UAE region, a move designed to help enterprises build and deploy artificial intelligence workloads while keeping data residency and latency requirements in check. The expansion gives organisations operating in the Gulf access to Snowflake’s platform within the AWS Middle East Region, aligning with regulatory expectations that data generated in the country can be processed locally. The company said the launch is aimed at government bodies, financial services firms,

Google DeepMind chief executive Demis Hassabis has challenged the way artificial general intelligence is being discussed and marketed, pointing to what he described as a “big irony” in OpenAI’s plans to introduce advertising into ChatGPT while simultaneously framing the system as a step towards human-level intelligence. His remarks underline widening philosophical and commercial differences between leading AI labs as competition intensifies and public scrutiny grows. Speaking in a series of public forums and interviews over the past year, Hassabis has questioned

Vertiv has unveiled an artificial intelligence-based predictive maintenance service designed to help data centre operators manage the growing operational strain created by high-density computing and AI-driven workloads. The service, branded Vertiv Next Predict, is positioned as a response to the rising complexity of power and cooling infrastructure as operators race to support advanced computing environments. The company said the new platform uses machine learning models, real-time sensor data and historical performance trends to anticipate equipment issues before they escalate into failures.

Gmail is undergoing a set of structural changes that extend beyond visible interface tweaks, and security specialists warn the quieter updates could leave millions of accounts exposed if users fail to adjust their settings. The most immediate concern centres on how Google is reworking legacy email access and tightening the way third-party messages are handled inside Gmail, at a time when artificial intelligence tools are becoming more deeply embedded across the service. Gmail security shifts expose overlooked account risks as Google

Access to Microsoft’s cloud-based productivity tools was restored after a widespread disruption interrupted email, security and compliance services for users across multiple regions, the company said, following hours of degraded performance that affected businesses, governments and schools. Microsoft confirmed that the incident disrupted several Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview, with users reporting problems sending and receiving email, delays in threat alerts and difficulties accessing compliance dashboards. The company said service health returned to normal after engineers

Momentum is building across the digital design world as designers and product teams rethink long-held workflows, with a noticeable shift away from screen-first tools towards building functional products from the outset. Figma, long regarded as the industry’s default collaborative design platform, remains widely used, but its centrality is being questioned as artificial intelligence reshapes how ideas move from concept to code. For more than a decade, Figma’s browser-based interface and real-time collaboration features helped it dominate interface design, particularly among UI

Taara, a California-based connectivity venture built around high-capacity laser links, has formally separated from Alphabet, marking a decisive shift in how ultra-fast internet could be delivered to hard-to-reach regions. The spin-out places the spotlight on a terrestrial alternative to satellite broadband, with the company arguing that its ground-based approach can deliver fibre-like speeds at lower cost and with fewer regulatory hurdles. Born inside Alphabet’s experimental “moonshot” unit, Taara was developed to transmit data through the air using tightly focused beams of

BirdsEyeView, a London-based insurtech specialising in satellite-driven climate risk analytics, has secured a seven-figure investment to accelerate the development of its artificial intelligence models and support international expansion, as demand grows for more precise tools to assess natural catastrophe exposure. The funding round was led by 24 Haymarket, a London-headquartered venture capital firm known for backing early-stage technology companies, with participation from all existing investors. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the investment marks a significant step for a company positioning

Pressure is building on developers and corporate users of generative AI as “hallucinations” — confident statements that are wrong — continue to surface in customer service chats, legal filings, coding assistants and financial research notes, exposing organisations to reputational harm, regulatory scrutiny and operational risk. The problem has become harder to dismiss as adoption accelerates, because the errors often arrive wrapped in fluent prose, invented citations and plausible-sounding numbers that can pass a quick skim. Industry researchers and regulators increasingly treat

YouTube is preparing to allow creators to appear in Shorts through AI-generated likenesses, a move that expands the platform’s generative toolkit while sharpening its rules against deception, spam and misuse. The initiative, aimed at short-form video makers, will let creators blend real footage with synthetic representations of themselves, opening new ways to scale production and localise content without physically filming every clip. The plan centres on authorised likenesses. Creators who opt in will be able to generate AI avatars trained on

Cybersecurity firm Rubrik has rolled out a sovereign version of its Rubrik Security Cloud, positioning the offering as a response to mounting pressure from governments and regulated industries to keep sensitive data under national control and outside the reach of foreign jurisdictions. Rubrik said the sovereign capability is designed to ensure that customer data, encryption keys, operations and support remain confined within specific countries or regions, aligning with local legal and regulatory requirements. The move comes as public-sector bodies, financial institutions

Amazon is facing renewed questions over its marketplace safeguards after a cluster of high-value graphics card orders went wrong, leaving some buyers unexpectedly enriched while others were left short-changed. The incidents, shared widely across online forums and technology communities, centre on next-generation Nvidia graphics cards sold and shipped by Amazon, and point to weaknesses in returns handling at a time when demand for premium hardware remains intense. One case that drew particular attention involved a buyer who ordered a flagship Nvidia

Intel’s next major graphics move appears set to bypass mainstream PC gamers, with industry chatter pointing to a high-end Battlemage product debuting first as a workstation-class card carrying 32 GB of video memory and a premium price tag. The prospect underscores a growing divide between professional and consumer GPU markets at a time when gamers face limited choice and escalating costs. Talk surrounding a so-called “Big Battlemage” centres on a large silicon variant widely believed to be aimed at creators, engineers

A major ransomware intrusion at a key manufacturing partner of Apple has intensified concerns over cyber resilience across global electronics supply chains, after attackers claimed to have stolen more than one terabyte of confidential data linked to unreleased products and internal operations. The attack, attributed to the criminal group RansomHub, targeted Luxshare, a long-standing supplier involved in assembling and producing components for flagship consumer devices. Information circulating among cybersecurity analysts indicates the stolen material includes detailed schematics, tooling designs, testing documentation

  Boston Dynamics’ four-legged robot, widely known as the robot dog, has moved from laboratory demonstrations into everyday industrial and public-sector settings, reflecting a shift in how mobile robotics is being adopted across inspection, safety and data-collection roles. The machine, marketed as Spot, is designed to traverse environments that are difficult or hazardous for humans, combining advanced mobility with sensors and autonomous navigation software. Developed by Boston Dynamics, the robot dog is a compact, battery-powered quadruped capable of walking, climbing stairs and