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Sam Sabin

@samsabin.bsky.social
5.9K followers 364 following 408 posts

Axios cybersecurity reporter, taking it day by day ✨ | 📩: sam.sabin@axios dot com, signal: SamSabin.01 (no pitches!), she/her

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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Governments around the world have been using Claude to build new surveillance platforms, per a new @anthropic.com report. + after Anthropic banned accounts, some gov'ts just swapped Claude for open-source models. more on @axios.com : www.axios.com/2026/09/10/a...
axios.com
AI is making government surveillance easier
Anthropic detailed several cases of governments using Claude to surveil people.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Exclusive: Meta found and removed dozens of accounts tied to what appears to be an Iran-based, AI-enabled operation targeting politicians + journalists. The accounts had close to 80,000 followers — far more than what we typically have seen from these disinfo ops. www.axios.com/2026/08/27/f...
axios.com
Iranian operatives used AI to impersonate Americans
Meta takes down Iranian influence operation that used AI
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Reposted by Sam Sabin
David DiMolfetta @ddimolfetta.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The NSA wants access to AI models across the commercial market and is holding extensive discussions with leading developers as it moves to carry out new White House directives on the technology, the agency’s deputy director said Thursday --> www.nextgov.com/artificial-i...
nextgov.com
NSA wants access to ‘all’ AI models, top official says
The spy agency is taking a key role in the government’s new voluntary model-testing program, though its deputy director did not say which companies are participating.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
AI agents trying to escape testing environments actually isn't a new phenomenon. Founders of agentic security cos. tell me they've been experiencing and mitigating these issues for years. If anything, it's surprising how new this is for AI labs. www.axios.com/2026/08/11/a...
axios.com
AI agents have been trying to break out of pre-deployment tests for years
Experts say it's surprising AI labs are just now encountering these problems.
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Reposted by Sam Sabin
evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Researchers find a flaw in Apple's Private Relay that exposes users' real IP addresses, which also affects users of Tor's OnionBrowser in iOS: www.404media.co/apples-priva...
404media.co
Apple's ‘Private Relay’ Is Exposing Users’ Real IP Addresses
Researchers found a group of issues that mean Private Relay isn't actually protecting users' real IP addresses. 404 Media verified the issues do expose IP addresses.
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Dustin Volz @dustinvolz.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
NEW: Cyberattacks on U.S. water supply now being reported in 12+ states and 100+ municipalities, though some may be unrelated to wave of suspected Iranian attempts. The nationwide threat follows years of ignored warnings and neglect to water systems. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/u...
nytimes.com
Hacks on U.S. Water Supply Follow Years of Warnings and Neglect (Gift Article)
Federal and state officials are racing to address an assault on the nation’s water supply that they believe is the work of Iranian hackers.
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Techmeme @techmeme.com · 05/08/2026
Demis Hassabis is leaving his role as CEO of Google DeepMind to be the unit's chairman and chief scientist for Alphabet (Ina Fried/Axios) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
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Techmeme @techmeme.com · 31/07/2026
Anthropic says three of its models, including an internal research model, gained unauthorized access to real-world systems during internal cybersecurity testing (Sam Sabin/Axios) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
an AI agent framework led an attack on Hugging Face's internal systems. Hugging Face then used AI (specifically GLM-5.2 👀) to detect the intrusion and reconstruct what happened. the AI vs. AI cybersecurity reality is starting to take shape. www.axios.com/2026/07/20/h...
axios.com
Hugging Face says an AI agent carried out an end-to-end cyberattack
The attack is one of the first public cases of an AI agent conducting an operation from beginning to end.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
don't worry, i've been asking the White House about some of GPT-5.5-Cyber's benchmarks beating Mythos since yesterday. so far: silence www.axios.com/2026/06/23/w...
axios.com
White House quiet on OpenAI's Mythos-like model
The seemingly straightforward model release raises questions about what actually triggered the Trump administration's concerns about Anthropic.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
OpenAI is updating GPT-5.5-Cyber so it's more capable and permissive for advanced security work. The move comes at Anthropic's Fable 5 & Mythos 5 remain in limbo with the Trump admin. more on @axios.com: www.axios.com/2026/06/22/o...
axios.com
OpenAI rolls out more capable version of its cybersecurity model
Even as Anthropic's Fable remains in limbo, the race to get advanced AI models in the hands of defenders continues to heat up.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
China-based operatives used ChatGPT to try and influence online debates about AI data centers and Trump's tariffs, OpenAI said in a report today. www.axios.com/2026/06/10/o...
axios.com
China-based operatives used ChatGPT to shape AI data centers and tariff debates
The campaigns show how pro-China actors are testing AI tools.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Two months after deeming Mythos so powerful that no existing safeguards were sufficient, Anthropic is rolling out its first Mythos-class model — Fable 5 — to the public. Anthropic is also working on a program to vet access to its new Mythos 5 model. www.axios.com/2026/06/09/a...
axios.com
Anthropic releases first Mythos-level model for general use
Fable 5 includes safeguards to help protect against hacking and bio-terrorism.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
of course he signed it when i’m on a plane
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Sen. Hassan has requested a briefing with CISA on the reported GitHub repository that a private contractor left exposed online containing internal agency passwords & files www.axios.com/2026/05/19/c...
axios.com
Senator requests
Researchers uncovered an exposed GitHub repository that included internal credentials and files.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
small bit of news in my story today: an Anthropic spokesperson says the company recently held a briefing with a majority of states and the District of Columbia on supporting their critical cybersecurity efforts. www.axios.com/2026/05/19/a...
axios.com
AI hacking era could hit hardest at state and local level
Small towns, schools and utilities lack the staff and basic cyber defenses needed to fend off such threats.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Palo Alto Networks tells me the company found 75 bugs in its products in its first month of using Mythos + GPT-5.5-Cyber. Get ready for an influx of vulns from other vendors, too. My latest: www.axios.com/2026/05/13/p...
axios.com
Major cybersecurity firm says new AI models uncovered 7x more flaws
Palo Alto Networks says it found 75 flaws in its products after starting to use advanced AI cybersecurity models.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
sorry but the way that so many stories are framing gpt-5.5-cyber as the first tiered access openai model for cyber defenders is wild to me — like you guys know they did this with 5.4 too, right? & announced this strategy nearly a month ago? from 4.14--> www.axios.com/2026/04/14/o...
axios.com
OpenAI expands access to cyber AI as hacking risks grow
Facing similar risks as Anthropic, OpenAI is trying a different strategy.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
OpenAI is rolling out GPT-5.5-Cyber, a model for vetted cyber defenders who want to use the tool for do malware analysis, write proof-of-concepts for bugs and more. The release comes as safety tests suggests the model is nearly just as powerful as Mythos 👀 www.axios.com/2026/05/07/o...
axios.com
OpenAI makes its rival to Anthropic's Mythos more widely available to cyber defenders
Recent security testing suggests that GPT-5.5. model is nearly as good at finding and exploiting software bugs as Anthropic's Mythos Preview.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
New on @axios.com: As part of meetings with tech/cyber cos. + tech trade groups last week, ONCD floated an AI security framework that was already in the works before Mythos. On the table: DoD red-teaming of AI deployments at the federa/state/local government levels. www.axios.com/2026/05/04/t...
axios.com
Trump administration considering safety review for new AI models
In a post-Mythos world, the White House is re-evaluating its hard line against the AI security measures it once shrugged off.
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David DiMolfetta @ddimolfetta.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
New: Tom Parker, a security services lead at IBM, has emerged as a potential contender to lead CISA after the most recent nominee withdrew himself from consideration for the role, five people familiar tell me: www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
nextgov.com
IBM security executive emerges as possible contender to lead CISA
Tom Parker doesn’t have prior government experience, characteristics the Trump administration may be seeking in its next pick to lead the cyber agency, a person familiar said.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
"While GPT‑5.5 didn’t reach Critical cybersecurity capability level, our evaluations and testing showed that its cybersecurity capabilities are a step up compared to GPT‑5.4." openai.com/index/introd...
openai.com
Introducing GPT-5.5
Introducing GPT-5.5, our smartest model yet—faster, more capable, and built for complex tasks like coding, research, and data analysis across tools.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Trump's science + tech adviser issued a memo today accusing China-based actors of "deliberate, industrial-scale campaigns" to distill and copy American AI models. www.axios.com/2026/04/23/u...
axios.com
U.S. accuses China of "industrial-scale" campaigns to steal AI secrets
The accusation could complicate President Trump's upcoming visit to Beijing.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
exclusive on @axios.com: OpenAI has been briefing federal agencies, state governments and Five Eyes allies on GPT-5.4-Cyber — including a D.C. event Tuesday with ~50 government cyber pros, a source familiar tells me. www.axios.com/2026/04/22/o...
axios.com
Exclusive: OpenAI briefs feds and Five Eyes on new cyber product
Officials have been clamoring to get their hands on the latest AI tools, which promise huge security gains.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Scoop: CISA doesn't have access to Anthropic's Mythos model, two sources tell me. Interestingly, Anthropic briefed both CISA and NIST's Center for AI Standards and Innovation ahead of its public announcement, and NIST is testing Mythos. @axios.com www.axios.com/2026/04/21/c...
axios.com
Scoop: Top U.S. cyber agency doesn't have access to Anthropic's powerful hacking model
CISA is not on the list of more than 40 organizations with access to Anthropic's Mythos Preview.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
scoop w/ @mccuri.bsky.social: The NSA has been using Anthropic's Mythos despite the Pentagon's instance that Anthropic is a "supply chain risk," according to two people. The NSA was one of the 40+ orgs that got initial access to the model weeks ago, one source added. www.axios.com/2026/04/19/n...
axios.com
Scoop: NSA using Anthropic's Mythos despite blacklist
The government's cybersecurity needs are outweighing the Pentagon's feud with Anthropic.
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Techmeme @techmeme.com · 19/04/2026
Sources say NSA is using Mythos Preview, and a source says it is also being used widely within the DoD, despite Anthropic's designation as a supply chain risk (Axios) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
scoop w/ @mccuri.bsky.social: The NSA has been using Anthropic's Mythos despite the Pentagon's instance that Anthropic is a "supply chain risk," according to two people. The NSA was one of the 40+ orgs that got initial access to the model weeks ago, one source added. www.axios.com/2026/04/19/n...
axios.com
Scoop: NSA using Anthropic's Mythos despite blacklist
The government's cybersecurity needs are outweighing the Pentagon's feud with Anthropic.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
hello from World’s Lift Off event in SF this morning where Sam Altman’s “proof of human” company is unveiling a new World ID protocol and a slew of new partnerships this AM (tinder, zoom, Docusign, Shopify & more). my story on the news here: www.axios.com/2026/04/17/w...
axios.com
Sam Altman's "proof of human" company pushes into mainstream services
The company known for its iris-scanning identity verification technology is partnering with Tinder, Zoom and more.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
exclusive from me: Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) is demanding info from four major AI voice cloning companies about their strategies to stop scammers from abusing their tools. www.axios.com/2026/04/16/h...
axios.com
Exclusive: Sen. Hassan presses AI voice cloning companies on preventing scams
The letters are one of the first steps for lawmakers eyeing new legislation and regulations.
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Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
NEW: We documented almost 100 cases of deepfake sexual abuse happening in schools around the world—with more than 600 children being victimized by their peers. Mostly boys in 25+ countries created explicit imagery of girls they often know from school over the last couple of years
wired.com
The Deepfake Nudes Crisis in Schools Is Much Worse Than You Thought
An analysis by WIRED and Indicator found nearly 90 schools and 600 students around the world impacted by AI-generated deepfake nude images—and the problem shows no signs of going away.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
OpenAI rolled out its GPT-5.4-Cyber model on Tuesday and is giving access to anyone approved for the highest tier of its Trusted Access for Cyber program. more on @axios.com: www.axios.com/2026/04/14/o...
axios.com
OpenAI expands access to cyber AI as hacking risks grow
Facing similar risks as Anthropic, OpenAI is trying a different strategy.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
oh sure, why not www.scworld.com/brief/claude...
scworld.com
Claude Code leak leveraged to distribute malware
Researchers at Zscaler's ThreatLabz discovered a GitHub repository disguised as a leaked TypeScript source code for Anthropic's Claude Code CLI.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
pretty notable post-mortem from the Axios maintainer who says hackers tricked him via a bespoke Slack channel, fake microsoft team calls and initial communications that imitated the founder of a legit company
A comment on Github from Axios maintainer Jason Saayman that, in part, reads: 

"they tailored this process specifically to me by doing the following:

they reached out masquerading as the founder of a company they had cloned the companys founders likeness as well as the company itself.
they then invited me to a real slack workspace. this workspace was branded to the companies ci and named in a plausible manner. the slack was thought out very well, they had channels where they were sharing linked-in posts, the linked in posts i presume just went to the real companys account but it was super convincing etc. they even had what i presume were fake profiles of the team of the company but also number of other oss maintainers."
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
weird week to be an Axios cybersecurity reporter :) www.axios.com/2026/03/31/n...
axios.com
North Korean hackers implicated in major supply chain attack
Hackers briefly turned a widely trusted developer tool into a vehicle for malware.
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Distributed Denial of Secrets @ddosecrets.org · 27/03/2026
Kash Patel emails (1.1 GB) The first tranche of emails from the mailbox of Kash Patel, the director of the FBI, which was hacked by Handala, a hacking group that is believed to have ties to Iranian intelligence. ddosecrets.org/article/kash... Help us keep publishing: donorbox.org/ddosecrets
ddosecrets.org
Kash Patel emails - Distributed Denial of Secrets
Emails from the mailbox of Kash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was hacked by Handala, a hacking group that is believed to have ties to Iranian intelligence. Patel…
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
A group linked to Iranian intelligence services claims it hacked FBI Director Kash Patel's emails, documents and potentially classified files. FBI hasn't commented yet, but a DOJ source confirmed to Reuters that Patel's inbox was breached. more @axios.com: www.axios.com/2026/03/27/f...
axios.com
Iran-linked group claims hack of FBI Director Kash Patel
Handala Hack Team claims it has stolen mails, documents and potentially confidential files in a breach.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
FBI says it took down four domains linked to Iranian cyber operations, including two linked to pro-Iranian hacktivist group Handala. Last week, Handala claimed credit for a cyberattack on U.S. medical tech giant Stryker. more on @axios.com: www.axios.com/2026/03/20/i...
axios.com
FBI says hackers tied to Stryker attack carried out broader intimidation campaign
Domains linked to the group also sent emails threatening Iranian dissidents, journalists.
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Thomas Brewster @thomasbrewster.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
🚨NEW🚨 Cops used an AI-generated teenager to catch pedophiles on Kik Messenger, an app notorious as a hive of predator activity. A rare insight into how police can spin up AI teens for sting operations on social media. But where else are cops using AI personas? www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...
forbes.com
Undercover Cop Generated An AI Teenager To Catch Pedophiles
A DHS investigator generates an AI for catching pedophiles on Kik Messenger, a known hotspot for predators.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
new NSA/cyber command leader just dropped www.axios.com/2026/03/10/n...
axios.com
Senate confirms Trump's new pick to run the NSA, Cyber Command
Senators voted 71-29 to confirm Rudd, who Trump picked as his nominee after passing up on two other choices.
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Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai @lorenzofb.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
SCOOP: The iPhone mass hacking toolkit used by Russian spies was developed at U.S. military contractor L3Harris, former employees said. The Coruna toolkit was used against Ukrainians and by Chinese cybercriminals, according to Google. But the toolkit was initially developed for Western governments.
techcrunch.com
The mystery of a globetrotting iPhone-hacking toolkit
Tools used in a series of hacking campaigns by hackers in Russia, Ukraine, and China may have originated inside U.S. government contractor L3Harris, TechCrunch has learned.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
honestly it's on me for not thinking that this could drop on a random friday afternoon after months of anticipation -- my b www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...
whitehouse.gov
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
OpenAI is starting to roll out Codex Security today, entering the growing market of frontier AI labs offering code security agents. The last time an AI co. introduced a similar offering, the news rattled share prices for major cyber companies for several days. www.axios.com/2026/03/06/o...
axios.com
OpenAI rolls out Codex Security to automate code security reviews
Frontier AI labs are increasingly rolling out new ways to help defenders beef up their own security.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Gen. Nakasone, former head of the NSA & an OpenAI board member, called out the Pentagon's move to designate Anthropic as a "supply chain risk" at a conference in Sausalito last night. "This is not a good space for our nation." more @axios.com: www.axios.com/2026/03/03/n...
axios.com
Ex-NSA leader, OpenAI board member calls out Anthropic-Pentagon fight
"This is not a good space for our nation," Gen. Paul Nakasone said at a conference in the Bay Area.
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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 26/02/2026
Scoop: CISA CIO Bob Costello is being pushed out, per three people familiar with the matter, ending a standoff between Costello and CISA's beleaguered acting director, who tried and failed to get him reassigned last month. Two sources said Costello is being reassigned to FEMA.
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Kevin Collier @kevincollier.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
New w @janetimm.bsky.social: In the feds' first call with states since gutting CISA's election programs, they promised no ICE at polling places, but weirdly refused to reaffirm states run elections, per people on the call.
nbcnews.com
DHS official tells state election chiefs there won't be ICE agents at polling places
Members of the Trump administration held a call with state election officials around the country ahead of this year's midterm elections.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
the future looks more like "war games" than "terminator," ex. No. 323389 www.newscientist.com/article/2516...
newscientist.com
AIs can’t stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations
Leading AIs from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google opted to use nuclear weapons in simulated war games in 95 per cent of cases
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I spent the last few weeks asking former senior gov't officials & leading cyber experts the same question: What will the major AI-powered cyberattack look like? Attacks on utilities. Agents going rogue. Humans overly trusting AI systems. It's all on the table: www.axios.com/2026/02/24/c...
axios.com
The Big One: The cyberattack scenarios that keep officials up at night
We asked seven ex-officials and industry leaders what scares them the most.
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Sam Sabin @samsabin.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
i had a lot of feelings about the (sorry not sorry, overreaction!) of the markets on cyber stocks after Anthropic's code security tool release! maybe i'm wrong in the long term, but idk, a lot of folks seem to share my POV: www.axios.com/2026/02/23/c...
axios.com
Anthropic's new code security tool causes market panic
Investors are panicking, and security executives are now on the defense. But if anything, AI is only likely to cause a minor stir — not a total identity crisis.
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David DiMolfetta @ddimolfetta.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
NEW –> DEF CON has banned Vincenzo Iozzo, Joichi Ito and Pablos Holman after DOJ files released in January revealed their roles in efforts to secure Jeffrey Epstein’s access to the popular hacker conference: www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
nextgov.com
DEF CON bans hackers, technologists named in Epstein documents
Vincenzo Iozzo, Joichi Ito and Pablos Holman are barred from future attendance after Justice Department files revealed their roles in efforts to secure Jeffrey Epstein’s access to DEF CON.
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