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Google is testing a new security feature as part of Android Advanced Protection Mode (AAPM) that prevents certain kinds of apps from using the accessibility services API. The change, incorporated in Android 17 Beta 2, was first reported by Android Authority last week. AAPM was introduced by Google in Android 16, released last year. When enabled , it causes the device to enter a heightened security state to guard against sophisticated cyber attacks. Like Apple's Lockdown Mode, the opt-in feature prioritizes security at the cost of diminished functionality and usability so as to minimize the attack surface. Some of the core configurations include blocking app installation from unknown sources, restricting USB data signaling, and mandating Google Play Protect scanning. "Developers can integrate with this feature using the AdvancedProtectionManager API to detect the mode's status, enabling applications to automatically adopt a hardened security posture or restrict h...

China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team (CNCERT) has issued a warning about the security risks stemming from the use of OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot and Moltbot), an open-source and self-hosted autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agent. In a post shared on WeChat, CNCERT noted that the platform's "inherently weak default security configurations," coupled with its privileged access to the system to facilitate autonomous task execution capabilities, could be explored by bad actors to seize control of the endpoint. This includes risks arising from prompt injections, where malicious instructions embedded within a web page can cause the agent to leak sensitive information if it's tricked into accessing and consuming the content. The attack is also referred to as indirect prompt injection (IDPI) or cross-domain prompt injection (XPIA), as adversaries, instead of interacting directly with a large language model (LLM), weaponize benig...

Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a new iteration of the GlassWorm campaign that they say represents a "significant escalation" in how it propagates through the Open VSX registry. "Instead of requiring every malicious listing to embed the loader directly, the threat actor is now abusing extensionPack and extensionDependencies to turn initially standalone-looking extensions into transitive delivery vehicles in later updates, allowing a benign-appearing package to begin pulling a separate GlassWorm-linked extension only after trust has already been established," Socket said in a report published Friday. The software supply chain security company said it discovered at least 72 additional malicious Open VSX extensions since January 31, 2026, targeting developers. These extensions mimic widely used developer utilities, including linters and formatters, code runners, and tools for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered coding assistants like Clade Code and Google...

A suspected China-based cyber espionage operation has targeted Southeast Asian military organizations as part of a state-sponsored campaign that dates back to at least 2020. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 is tracking the threat activity under the moniker CL-STA-1087 , where CL refers to cluster, and STA stands for state-backed motivation. "The activity demonstrated strategic operational patience and a focus on highly targeted intelligence collection, rather than bulk data theft," security researchers Lior Rochberger and Yoav Zemah said. "The attackers behind this cluster actively searched for and collected highly specific files concerning military capabilities, organizational structures, and collaborative efforts with Western armed forces." The campaign exhibits hallmarks commonly associated with advanced persistent threat (APT) operations, including carefully crafted delivery methods, defense evasion strategies, highly stable operational infrastructure, and custom ...

Meta has announced plans to discontinue support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for chats on Instagram after May 8, 2026. "If you have chats that are impacted by this change, you will see instructions on how you can download any media or messages you may want to keep," the social media giant said in a help document. "If you're on an older version of Instagram, you may also need to update the app before you can download your affected chats." When reached for comment, this is what Meta had to say: "Very few people were opting in to end-to-end encrypted messaging in DMs, so we're removing this option from Instagram in the coming months. Anyone who wants to keep messaging with end-to-end encryption can easily do that on WhatsApp." The American company first began testing E2EE for Instagram direct messages in 2021 as part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's "privacy-focused vision for social networking." The feature is currently " only ...