TechCapsules

Republicans in Congress have proposed the SECURE Data Act, a law that aims to establish national standards for protecting privacy rights. The legislation seeks to end the growing number of lawsuits targeting U.S. companies, often with no proof of harm. The proposed law, dubbed the "Safeguarding and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Understanding Rights of Every Data Subject Act," aims to address a "patchwork" of state privacy protection laws that have generated billions of dollars for trial lawyers. The [...]

Ayo Akinyele, Chief Engineer at RippleX, has outlined a security upgrade strategy to protect the XRP Ledger (XRPL) from threats posed by quantum computing and artificial intelligence. The upgrade, which has been in development since 2024-2025, involves implementing a hybrid signature method that allows the blockchain to operate normally under standard conditions but switch to a protected cryptographic stack if a quantum attack is detected. This approach balances security with operational continuity and avoids the performance overhead [...]

The FBI, in collaboration with Google and Black Lotus Labs, has disrupted a China-based phishing service known as Outsider Enterprise. This service used artificial intelligence to send fake texts and create scam websites, resulting in the theft of personal data, including credit cards and passwords. Authorities report that the service powered thousands of phishing websites, leading to millions of stolen credit cards and significant financial losses. The disruption of this service is a significant development in the [...]

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has ordered a comprehensive overhaul of the National Cyber Crime Helpline, integrating Artificial Intelligence to enhance its efficiency. The 1930 helpline will utilize AI for intelligent call routing and complaint logging, aiming to transform it into a tech-driven first line of defence against cyber crimes. The modernisation aims to ensure a zero-pendency approach, with all citizen calls for help being answered. The Ministry of Home Affairs will provide necessary support for hardware [...]

South African Small and Medium-Sized Businesses are leading the world in cybersecurity investment, with 69% planning to increase spending over the next year. Despite this, they face a resilience gap, with one in two experiencing a cybersecurity incident or data breach in the past year. The IDC study surveyed over 2,200 SMBs globally, finding that South African businesses are highly alert to digital danger, with 37% describing their security posture as proactive. However, the high incident rate [...]

A new cyberattack campaign, dubbed ClickFix, has been targeting Windows users through fake CAPTCHA pages since April 2026. The campaign combines three techniques - EtherHiding, a blockchain-based payload method; ClickFix, a social engineering trick; and GULoader, a memory-based malware downloader - to evade standard security defenses. The attack begins on a compromised European small-business website and ends with an attempt to load GULoader onto a victim's machine. The campaign targets users who arrive at a legitimate-looking website [...]

Microsoft claims its Defender catches nearly all malicious email on its own, with integrated third-party tools improving detections by less than 1%. The company's quarterly benchmarking data shows Defender misses the fewest malicious emails compared to competitors and removes nearly 100% of dangerous emails that reach the inbox. However, security experts urge caution, stating that percentages obscure the true quantity and severity of emails that get through. Microsoft's data ranks itself against other security vendors, including Mimecast [...]

A security researcher discovered a vulnerability in FIFA's internal system, allowing her to access and control the TV stream of every World Cup game. By registering as a player agent on FIFA's official platform, she exploited a flaw in the back-end API, gaining access to internal systems, including the one controlling TV broadcasts. The researcher reported the issue, and FIFA fixed it within hours without acknowledging her report.