Hacked Prayer App Sends 'Surrender' Messages to Iranians Amid Israeli and US Strikes
As Israeli airstrikes targeted Tehran, Iranians using the popular prayer app Salaam received push notifications promising "help is on the way" and amnesty for surrender. The psychological operation exploited trusted spiritual infrastructure to deliver wartime propaganda directly to mobile devices. The breach represents a new attack vector targeting religious and wellness applications during active hostilities.
WIRED • Mar 2
SURVEILLANCE CYBERWAR MEMETIC
A Waymo robotaxi stopped in the middle of a road and blocked an ambulance near a mass shooting site in Austin; Waymo confirms it was en route for rider pickup (Nicole Cobler/Axios)
Autonomous Waymo vehicle stopped in roadway blocked ambulance responding to mass shooting in Austin. Incident occurred during active emergency response near Sunday morning shooting scene, with bystander video capturing vehicle stationary as emergency services attempted passage to casualties.
Axios • Mar 2
LABOR AUTOMATION REGULATION
Google wants Intrinsic to be 'Android of robotics' as it pushes into physical AI
Google folds Intrinsic robotics project into core business, positioning it as infrastructure layer for physical AI. Strategy mirrors Android's platform approach, aiming to standardize robotics software across hardware manufacturers while maintaining control over the operating layer that mediates between sensors and actuators.
CNBC • Mar 2
CORPORATE NEOCORP AI
AWS Middle East disrupted after 'objects struck datacenter' amid Iran war
Amazon Web Services' mec1-az2 availability zone in the United Arab Emirates went offline after the facility was struck by unknown objects. The incident occurred during ongoing military operations between Israel and Iran, severing connectivity and forcing reliance on backup systems. Full service restoration was expected to take several hours.
The Register • Mar 2
CORPORATE CYBERWAR INFRASTRUCTURE
Space Force opens secretive space tracking to commercial firms
The U.S. Space Force is integrating commercial data and artificial intelligence into its classified satellite tracking systems. The initiative, part of what the military calls battle management, command and control, aims to improve space domain awareness by distinguishing normal orbital maneuvers from potential hostile intent. Commercial data feeds combined with AI prediction models compress decision timelines ten- to one hundred-fold, allowing operators to assess threats and respond before an attack materializes.
SpaceNews • Mar 1
SURVEILLANCE AI INFRASTRUCTURE
Hackers hit Iranian apps, websites after US-Israeli strikes
Cyber-enabled operations accompanied joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran early Saturday. State-linked Iranian hacking groups conducted data-wiping attacks on Israeli targets, while unidentified actors defaced the BadeSaba religious calendar app—downloaded by over 5 million users—with messages urging Iranian armed forces to disarm. CrowdStrike observed Iranian-aligned threat actors conducting reconnaissance and DDoS attacks alongside physical military operations.
Reuters • Mar 1
SURVEILLANCE CYBERCRIME CYBERWAR
Strikes on Iran will test US cyber strategy abroad, and defenses at home
The federal government's cyber defense agency faces heightened threat levels while operating with significant staffing shortages, cybersecurity experts warn. Iranian-linked groups have historically targeted U.S. financial institutions, infrastructure providers, and industrial control systems through DDoS campaigns, ransomware, and hack-and-leak operations. Former officials anticipate retaliatory operations targeting exposed operational technology and internet-facing PLC hardware.
Defense One • Mar 1
REGULATION CYBERWAR INFRASTRUCTURE
'Silent failure at scale': The AI risk that can tip the business world into disorder
AI systems deployed across business operations are introducing a failure mode distinct from traditional software bugs: the "silent failure at scale" where systems execute instructions literally rather than as intended, compounding minor errors over weeks or months before detection. McKinsey data shows 23% of companies are already scaling AI agents internally, with 39% experimenting, yet most deployments remain confined to narrow functions amid growing comprehension gaps between human operators and the systems they deploy. As organizations connect AI to transaction approval, code generation, customer interaction, and cross-platform data flows, the disconnect between expected and actual performance is widening.
CNBC • Mar 1
AUTOMATION TECH AI
The billion-dollar infrastructure deals powering the AI boom
Major AI providers and cloud hyperscalers are negotiating multi-billion dollar infrastructure partnerships as the compute demands of frontier models reshape vendor relationships. OpenAI has formally diversified beyond exclusive reliance on Microsoft Azure, securing right-of-first-refusal terms while reserving capacity to use other providers if Azure cannot meet infrastructure demands; Microsoft has reciprocated by exploring other foundation models for its own AI products. Meta, Oracle, Google, and emerging players are racing to lock in the physical capacity—data centers, power agreements, and network backbone—that will determine which entities control the next phase of AI deployment.
TechCrunch • Mar 1
CORPORATE NEOCORP TECH
‘Big energy users’: how will datacentres affect Australia’s power prices, water supply and emissions?
Australia hosts 260 operational data centres concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne, with energy consumption from AI facilities projected to exceed national electric vehicle fleet usage by 2030 and approach the annual consumption of four aluminium smelters by 2035. Cooling requirements drive demand for both electricity and potable water, with industry projections showing data centre expansion will slow power sector emissions reductions after 2035 despite closed-loop cooling alternatives. Tech companies are pressuring governments to accept ratepayer protections while maintaining access to grid infrastructure built for public benefit.
The Guardian • Mar 1
CORPORATE INFRASTRUCTURE ENVIRONMENT
Datacentre developers face calls to disclose effect on UK's net emissions
Campaign groups are demanding UK data center developers disclose environmental impacts and fund renewable energy construction proportional to their projects. The government maintains data centers will help meet environmental challenges while acknowledging to MPs that future demand from the sector "remains inherently uncertain." The initiative comes as the UK's target for a virtually carbon-free power grid by 2030 faces mounting pressure from electricity cost increases.
The Guardian • Mar 1
CORPORATE REGULATION AI
Google is building a bevy of renewable energy in Minnesota—including the world's largest battery system providing power for a whopping 100 hours
Google is developing a data center complex in Minnesota powered by 1.4 gigawatts of wind, 200 megawatts of solar, and Form Energy's 300-megawatt iron-air battery system capable of 100 hours of storage—enough to power 200,000 homes. The project relies on a new green tariff agreement allowing Google to self-finance its clean energy mix without passing costs to residents. Form Energy's multiday battery technology aims to solve renewable intermittency problems that have limited grid-scale adoption.
Fortune • Mar 1
CORPORATE NEOCORP INFRASTRUCTURE
Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire - or ruin it?
A 540MW data center proposal near Kilmarnock has sparked debate over water consumption and community benefit. The facility would require millions of liters of water daily for cooling, potentially straining local resources while developers pledge community investments including walkways and water taxis.
BBC • Mar 1
CORPORATE INFRASTRUCTURE ENVIRONMENT
Your utility bills keep going up. Here's everyone you can blame—AI data centers included
Utilities are announcing hundreds of billions in infrastructure spending driven by data center demand, and ratepayers are absorbing the cost in monthly bill increases. Duke Energy CEO Harry Sideris defended rate hikes while acknowledging affordability concerns, as the PJM Interconnection region—where data centers are heavily concentrated—sees the most severe impacts. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has called for selectivity in data center approvals, citing community, cost, and environmental concerns raised by constituents.
Fortune • Mar 1
CORPORATE INEQUALITY AI
Dirty water, death and decline: the inside story of a privatisation scandal
A Guardian investigation reveals UK water privatization has loaded companies with debt while infrastructure crumbles. Secret 2002 government reports predicted this outcome. UN special rapporteur Pedro Arrojo-Agudo criticizes the system, while Thames Water—serving 16 million customers—struggles with £20bn debts and private equity owners demand 15-year exemptions from environmental rules.
The Guardian • Mar 1
CORPORATE REGULATION INFRASTRUCTURE
These former government tech leaders are prepping day-one plans for a future administration
A coalition of former government technology leaders including US Digital Service veterans and former VA CTO Marina Nitze have formed "Tech Viaduct" to prepare comprehensive day-one plans for the next presidential administration. The group aims to reform federal procurement, civil service, and oversight processes to enable effective technology delivery in government. The initiative reflects recognition that institutional capacity for technology governance has eroded and requires structural intervention regardless of political outcome.
Government Executive • Feb 28
CORPORATE REGULATION TECH
How a million new satellites could turn night into day
SpaceX has proposed deploying up to one million satellites to create orbital data centers, while a separate startup seeks FCC approval to deploy reflective satellites that would beam sunlight to Earth at night. The Washington Post reports these proposals threaten to transform the night sky into a permanent artificial twilight, with satellites outnumbering visible stars and fundamentally altering humanity's relationship with the cosmos.
The Washington Post • Feb 28
CORPORATE NEOCORP INFRASTRUCTURE
Could a niche 80s technology be the key to better quantum computers?
SEEQC, a quantum computing startup, is reviving superconducting computing circuits first explored in the 1980s to build more efficient quantum processors. New Scientist reports that the company, operating from a former IBM superconducting computing facility in New York, is developing digital single flux quantum technology that could dramatically reduce the energy costs and error rates plaguing current quantum systems.
New Scientist • Feb 28
CORPORATE TECH INFRASTRUCTURE
FCC approves the merger of cable giants Cox and Charter
The Federal Communications Commission has approved Charter Communications' $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox Enterprises' residential cable, commercial fiber, and managed IT businesses. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr claimed the merger will expand rural connectivity and keep jobs in the U.S. The deal creates one of the largest cable and Wi-Fi providers in the country, consolidating significant telecommunications infrastructure under a single entity. The approval follows a pattern of merger-friendly decisions under the current FCC leadership.
Engadget • Feb 28
CORPORATE NEOCORP ANTITRUST
Trump announced a major deal on data centers. It's still unclear what's in it.
President Trump announced a "Rate Payer Protection Pledge" during his State of the Union address, claiming major tech companies agreed to build their own power plants for data centers so consumers don't pay for AI's energy appetite. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Oracle, and OpenAI are expected to sign the pledge on March 4. Lawmakers from both parties remain skeptical, noting the absence of enforcement mechanisms or policy specifics, and the Data Center Coalition spent nearly $1 million on lobbying in 2025.
Politico • Feb 27
CORPORATE NEOCORP REGULATION
Microsoft's Japan Chief Stresses Compliance With Azure Antitrust Probe
Japan's Fair Trade Commission raided Microsoft Japan's Tokyo offices on February 25, investigating whether Microsoft's cloud service practices violate anti-monopoly laws. The probe examines allegations that Microsoft blocks Azure customers from using rival cloud services—tactics mirroring Microsoft's licensing practices already under scrutiny by UK, EU, and US regulators. Microsoft's Japan president stated the company is "fully cooperating" as regulators also seek information from Microsoft's US parent company.
Bloomberg • Feb 27
CORPORATE NEOCORP ANTITRUST
Critical Cisco SD-WAN bug exploited in zero-day attacks since 2023
Cisco disclosed CVE-2026-20127, a maximum-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager products that has been actively exploited since 2023. The flaw allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain administrative privileges and establish persistent access as rogue peers within SD-WAN fabric networks. CISA issued Emergency Directive 26-03 and added the vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, ordering federal civilian agencies to patch within 24-48 hours.
BleepingComputer • Feb 26
CORPORATE CYBERWAR TECH
America's Digital Empire Has a Trust Problem
The Trump administration's weaponization of American hyperscaler infrastructure for foreign policy objectives is accelerating global efforts to reduce dependence on US tech giants, according to Council on Foreign Relations analysis. Nations are pursuing digital sovereignty through hybrid strategies that balance the technological dominance of American and Chinese cloud providers against the risks of foreign control. Russia's experience illustrates the cost: three years after Western tech withdrawal, the country faces a structural deficit requiring 30,000 new data center racks annually while projecting only 4,600 additions in 2025.
Council on Foreign Relations • Feb 25
CORPORATE GEOPOLITICS TECH
Breaking encryption with a quantum computer just got 10 times easier
Researchers have developed a more efficient quantum computing approach using qLDPC codes that reduces qubit requirements for breaking RSA encryption by an order of magnitude. The new method enables qubits to interact beyond nearest neighbors, increasing information density and reducing the estimated qubit count from millions to approximately 100,000.
New Scientist • Feb 25
CYBERWAR INFRASTRUCTURE CYBERSECURITY
CrowdStrike says attackers are moving through networks in under 30 minutes
CrowdStrike's 2026 Global Threat Report found the average time from intrusion to lateral network movement plummeted to 29 minutes in 2025, a 65% increase in attack speed. State-sponsored threat actors increased cloud intrusion activity by 266% while AI-enabled adversary activity surged 89%. Chinese threat groups achieved immediate system access in two-thirds of vulnerability exploitations, with 40% targeting edge devices. North Korea's Lazarus Group orchestrated the largest cryptocurrency theft in history stealing $1.46 billion from Bybit.
CyberScoop • Feb 24
CYBERCRIME CYBERWAR AI
600+ FortiGate Devices Hacked by AI-Armed Amateur
A Russian-speaking threat actor used commercial generative AI tools to compromise more than 600 Fortinet FortiGate firewalls across 55 countries in five weeks. Researchers from Amazon Web Services found the attacker was not state-sponsored but used LLMs to automate attack scripting, credential extraction, and lateral movement. The campaign exploited exposed management ports and weak credentials, with AI enabling the low-skilled actor to achieve outcomes previously requiring substantial technical expertise.
Dark Reading • Feb 24
CYBERCRIME CYBERWAR AI