Outdoor furnishings create places for community and offer a sense of welcome. These selections focus on designs for more friendly and inclusive outdoor spaces. (Courtesy Vestre) Tellus Vestre The first furniture to be made with “fossil-free” steel, Tellus was designed by Emma Olbers. It takes on a familiar park bench form but in a sleeker, more sustainable fashion. (Courtesy Tuuci) Meritage Collection Tuuci The Meritage Collection offers sofas, sectionals, lounge chairs, ottomans, sun loungers, and tables. The design merges clean lines, nautical influences, and modular flexibility. (Courtesy Fermob) Bistro 2-Seater Bench Fermob Manufacturers of the classic New York Bryant Park chairs, Fermob’s latest 2-seater comes in vibrant hues and folds up for easy functionality. The bench brings charm to public spaces with its endearingly conjoined and romantic design. (Courtesy Tournesol) Camino Tournesol Camino is a modular bench collection designed to create engaging outdoor gathering spaces. Benches can be connected for scalability and customization, and optional integrated lighting helps illuminate outdoor evening activities. (Courtesy mmcité) Morse Dot mmcité The Morse Collection expands with its newest member, Morse Dot, a single steel leg with a wood seat that acts as a backrest and table all in one. The Morse Dot adapts to the versatility of outdoor spaces, serving as an impromptu work meeting spot or a place to rest and people-watch. (Courtesy Nola) Svall Bench Nola Designed from a child’s perspective by Matilda Lindstam, Svall is a whimsically contoured bench that offers different seating heights, a form inspired by the swirls and pastries. (Courtesy Maglin) Urban Canopee Corolle Maglin Corolle is an innovative solution designed to cool down cities and combat the urban heat island effect. The design incorporates vines and plants for biophilic properties and a biodiverse area. (Courtesy Miramondo) Roofus Miramondo Roofus is a sturdy table and bench combination that features a large, bright roof—a necessity as cities get hotter and hotter. The piece encourages chatting, eating, and working with constellations that vary in table height and type of seating.

Published April 22, 2025 10:00am EDT close 'CyberGuy' warns of cyberscams costing Americans billions a year Tech expert Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson joins "Fox & Friends" to warn of new cyberscams and give his tips on how to avoid them. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from covering data breaches over the years, it’s that you should never take a company’s initial numbers at face value. When a breach becomes public, most companies try to minimize the damage by reporting fewer victims or staying vague about what kind of data was exposed.Sometimes, to be fair, they genuinely don’t have the full picture yet. But that rarely gets communicated clearly. The same thing just happened again with an insurtech company that has now doubled the number of people affected by a breach it disclosed last year.STAY PROTECTED & INFORMED! GET SECURITY ALERTS & EXPERT TECH TIPS – SIGN UP FOR KURT’S ‘THE CYBERGUY REPORT’ NOW A woman working on her laptop (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)What you need to knowTexas-based insurance administrative services provider Landmark Admin has revised the scope of its May 2024 cyberattack, revealing that nearly twice as many people were impacted as initially reported. Back in October 2024, Landmark disclosed that suspicious activity was detected in its network on May 13, prompting an investigation. At the time, it was estimated that the breach affected 806,519 individuals. But in a recent update filed with the Maine Attorney General’s office, that number has now jumped to 1,613,773.Landmark serves as a third-party administrator offering backend support to major insurers like Liberty Bankers Life and American Benefit Life. This means millions of sensitive insurance policy records flow through its systems, making it a tempting target for cybercriminals.The compromised information varies for each individual but may include a wide range of sensitive personal data. This includes full names, home addresses, Social Security numbers, tax identification numbers, driver's license or state-issued identification numbers, passport numbers and bank account details. In some cases, medical information, dates of birth, health insurance policy numbers and details related to life and annuity policies may also have been exposed. A hacker at work (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)What is Landmark doing now?The company says the forensic investigation is still ongoing and that the total number of affected individuals may continue to rise. Personalized notification letters are being mailed out in phases, detailing exactly what type of data was compromised in each case."Landmark began reviewing the affected systems to identify the specific individuals and the types of information that may have been compromised," reads the latest notice. "While this process remains ongoing, Landmark will notify affected individuals by mail as the information becomes available."To help mitigate the fallout, Landmark is offering 12 months of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. The notice also advises recipients to monitor their credit reports and consider placing fraud alerts or a security freeze for extra protection. A dedicated helpline is available for 90 days after notification to address questions and concerns. A man working on his laptop and scrolling on his phone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)6 ways you can stay safe from insurance data breachIf your information was part of the Landmark breach or any similar one, it’s worth taking a few steps to protect yourself.1) Consider identity theft protection services: Since the Landmark data breach exposed personal and financial information, it’s crucial to stay proactive against identity theft. Identity theft protection services offer continuous monitoring of your credit reports, Social Security number and even the dark web to detect if your information is being misused. These services send you real-time alerts about suspicious activity, such as new credit inquiries or attempts to open accounts in your name, helping you act quickly before serious damage occurs.Beyond monitoring, many identity theft protection companies provide dedicated recovery specialists who assist you in resolving fraud issues, disputing unauthorized charges and restoring your identity if it’s compromised. They often include up to $1 million to cover losses and legal fees and a white-glove fraud resolution team in which a U.S.-based case manager helps you recover any losses. See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft.2) Monitor your accounts and transactions: The Landmark data breach revealed bank details to attackers, which means they can misuse those details to steal your money. You should check your online accounts and transactions regularly for any suspicious or unauthorized activity. If you notice anything unusual, immediately report it to the service provider or authorities. You should also review your credit reports and scores to see if there are any signs of identity theft or fraud.3) Contact your bank and credit card companies: Since Landmark hackers obtained bank and credit card information, they could use it to make purchases or withdrawals without your consent. You should inform your bank and credit card companies of the situation. They can help you freeze or cancel your cards, dispute any fraudulent charges and issue new cards for you. You should also contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) and request a fraud alert to be placed on your credit file. This will make it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name without verification. 4) Use personal data removal services: The data breach leaks loads of information about you, and all this could end up in the public domain, which essentially gives anyone an opportunity to scam you. One proactive step is to consider personal data removal services, which specialize in continuously monitoring and removing your information from various online databases and websites. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.5) Have strong antivirus software: Landmark hackers have people's email addresses and full names, which makes it easy for them to send you a phishing link that installs malware and steals all your data. These messages are socially engineered to catch them, and catching them is nearly impossible if you're not careful. However, you’re not without defenses.The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.6) Enable two-factor authentication: While passwords weren’t part of the data breach, you still need to enable two-factor authentication (2FA). It gives you an extra layer of security on all your important accounts, including email, banking and social media. 2FA requires you to provide a second piece of information, such as a code sent to your phone, in addition to your password when logging in. This makes it significantly harder for hackers to access your accounts, even if they have your password. Enabling 2FA can greatly reduce the risk of unauthorized access and protect your sensitive data.Kurt’s key takeawayThe real risk with breaches like this isn't just the initial leak. It's the slow drip of consequences that follow. As more names and numbers surface, the fallout becomes harder to contain, and the people impacted are left scrambling to protect themselves. Landmark’s delayed clarity is a reminder that in the world of cyberattacks, timelines rarely work in the public’s favor. By the time the full picture emerges, the damage may already be done. Do you think companies are investing enough in their cybersecurity infrastructure? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

In 2024, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) celebrated a decade of its baseline cyber security certification, Cyber Essentials (CE). While the NCSC has touted the scheme’s benefits, CEO Richard Horne has nonetheless been explicit about the “widening gap” between the UK’s cyber defences and the threats faced. This comes amid a heightened level of physical threat from state actors, including via sabotage and espionage, as well as greater awareness of state threats to research and innovation. This changing threat picture cast greater attention on the work of the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), the UK’s national technical authority for physical and personnel protective security. The elevated threat raises the question of whether the NPSA should follow the NCSC’s suit and develop its own baseline protective security certification as an equivalent to CE. However, to address the threat and build genuine resilience, we believe the UK needs an approach that goes beyond baselines and is informed by risk.  The CE certification was launched in 2014. It outlines a baseline level of security that is intended to be universally applicable and risk agnostic. The NCSC asserts that CE is “suitable for all organisations, or any size, in any sector”. CE is assessed without reference to the organisation or its risk profile because the CE controls are aimed at commodity attacks that are ubiquitous for Internet-connected organisations. After 10 years the number of organisations certified under CE continues to increase year-on-year. The NCSC also has plans to expand the scheme further to better address supply chain risks. These achievements notwithstanding, there have been suggestions that the adoption of CE has been lower than expected, with one report stating that uptake remains below 1% of eligible organisations. The argument for a baseline cyber security certification is a good one; strengthening the cyber security of individual organisations leads to a more resilient ecosystem and is a public good. The controls involved in CE are sufficiently universal that there is no need for application to refer to an organisation’s specific risk assessment. However, there are reasons to question whether a CE-equivalent baseline security certification for protective security could be effective. First, it is harder to identify a single shared ‘baseline’ level of protective security. CE is focused on five core security controls applicable to any organisation. It is not clear that a similar baseline set of controls could be constructed to simultaneously address areas as diverse as physical security, insider threat, or the security of research collaboration. Second, the CE controls would almost certainly be duplicated in any protective security certification. This might deter organisations that already have CE from seeking the new certification – at a time when relatively few organisations have CE. Third, the creation of separate NCSC and NPSA baseline certifications would reinforce silos between different aspects of security. We should be moving towards an approach in which organisations adopt a proportionate approach to security that addresses threats regardless of their means of realisation. An attempt to mirror CE in the protective security space therefore risks falling between two stools; being overly strenuous for most organisations, while insufficient to tackle genuine threats. At the same time, it risks reinforcing an unhelpful physical-cyber divide in many organisations’ approach to security. CE remains relevant at a technical level, but the way it is framed increasingly appears as a hold over from an earlier geopolitical age. The cyber security industry often portrays its work as primarily technical and unobjectionable. Cyber threats can be presented as impersonal – an inevitable consequence of being online. The NCSC refers to CE as “basic cyber hygiene” and similar metaphors from public health or ecology are regularly deployed to ‘de-securitise’ these security controls. In contrast, the UK has become increasingly explicit about the deteriorating threat environment and the necessity of a concerted response. That messaging is likely to accelerate as the UK government builds the public case necessary for a significant increase in defence spending. This would also align with the UK’s widening national conversation on resilience across domains and sectors. The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill (CSRB) is an example of this trend. Although the CSRB is primarily targeted at bolstering cyber defences for critical services, it is part of a set of parallel efforts on physical security, economic stability, and community preparedness that aim at a holistic approach to threats.  The UK Government’s Resilience Framework outlines an all-hazards approach, covering everything from extreme weather and pandemics to supply chain disruptions and CNI failures, and emphasises preparation and prevention across society. A new National Security Council on resilience has also been created, chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and is made up of the Secretaries of State for a wide range of sectors. A separate 'physical security' certification scheme would run contrary to the trend towards a holistic approach to resilience. Read more about the NCSC's work IBM signs on to a partnership deal in support of the popular NCSC CyberFirst Girls scheme designed to foster gender diversity in the cyber security profession. The NCSC urges service providers, large organisations and critical sectors to start thinking today about how they will migrate to post-quantum cryptography over the next decade. NCSC CEO Richard Horne is to echo wider warnings about the growing number and severity of cyber threats facing the UK as he launches the security body’s eighth annual report. Rather than developing separate certifications, a better option would be a unified security resilience certification for at-risk organisations. This model would complement established baselines like CE. Unlike the baseline approach of CE, the starting point for the new certification would be a credible organisational security risk assessment. This assessment would be integrated, bridging security domains such as cyber, physical, and personnel security. Beyond this the framework would be modular, reflecting the absence of a single organisation-agnostic baseline in protective security. The scheme would certify that the organisation had taken proportionate protective security measures in response to its own risk assessment. Achieving this standard would require substantial effort and would not be appropriate for most organisations. The certification process would necessarily be more in-depth than the process for CE. Nonetheless, by leveraging unified risk profiling and cross-sector collaboration between the NCSC and NPSA, this approach would enable organisations to go beyond compliance checklists to achieve genuine, outcome-focused resilience. This certification would be accompanied by an awareness campaign that is frank about the geopolitical threat faced by at-risk organisations. It would be important to make clear that this is not ‘business as usual’. This approach would reduce certification fatigue while delivering a robust, adaptive defence posture. It aligns with forthcoming resilience legislation, and with a broader national view of resilience as a desirable achievement in an increasingly turbulent geopolitical landscape. Neil Ashdown is head of research for Tyburn St Raphael, a security consultancy. Tash Buckley is a former research analyst at RUSI and a security educator and lecturer, researching cyber power and the intersection of science, technology innovation, and national security.

Not everyone wants an iPad. If you prefer Android, Samsung makes some of the best devices, especially tablets. Whether you're after productivity or a compact screen for streaming, Samsung's lineup has something for every use case. And unlike Apple, your options aren't just limited to just a handful of models. Right now, the best Samsung tablet on the market is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra.What is the best Samsung tablet right now?We've tested and compared the top Samsung tablets on the market, and our top pick is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, thanks to its large size, ultra-responsive S Pen, Galaxy AI capabilities, and ability to act as a replacement for your laptop. Read on to see how other Samsung tablets compare and what model you might want based on your needs.  Sort by All The best Samsung tablets of 2025 Show less View now at Amazon If you're looking for an Android tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is one of the best Android tablets. The Tab S10 Ultra features a 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, runs on the Android 14 operating system, and Samsung's S Pen stylus is included in the box. The base model comes with 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage, and a microSD card for adding up to an extra 1TB of storage to the tablet, the combination of which should be enough for most. Plus, new for this generation is Galaxy AI capabilities thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor. Among these AI features that the S10 Ultra can handle include Sketch-to-Image, an improved version of Note Assist, and Circle to Search.Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 UltraZDNET's Maria Diaz reviewed the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and said she found it a superb option for creative professionals and productivity-focused users looking to take advantage of a strong processor and reliable AI features. She added, "Even those looking for an AI-powered tablet like an iPad Pro would do well to consider the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra."If you opt for the $350 Book Cover Keyboard, you can effectively turn the tablet into an Android-powered 2-in-1 device with plenty of space for multitasking and using more than one app at a time. Just keep in mind the tablet isn't as portable as some other options on this list--it weighs 2.35 pounds (compared to the S9 Ultra's 1.6 pounds. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra specs: Display: 14.6-inch, 120Hz refresh rate, Dynamic AMOLED 2X 2960 x 1848 display | Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ | Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Memory: 12GB, 16GB | Colors: Moonstone gray and platinum silver | Cameras: Rear: 13MP main, 8MP ultrawide, Front: 12MP main, 12MP ultrawide | Weight: 2.35lb | Dimensions: 12.85 x 8.21 x 0.21 inches | Connections: 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth v5.3 | Battery: Up to 16 hours Pros Snappy processor AI capabilities Supports up to seven years of OS upgrades Cons Not super portable Minor design flaw where S Pen stores awkwardly on the back If you're looking for an Android tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is one of the best Android tablets. The Tab S10 Ultra features a 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, runs on the Android 14 operating system, and Samsung's S Pen stylus is included in the box. The base model comes with 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage, and a microSD card for adding up to an extra 1TB of storage to the tablet, the combination of which should be enough for most. Plus, new for this generation is Galaxy AI capabilities thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor. Among these AI features that the S10 Ultra can handle include Sketch-to-Image, an improved version of Note Assist, and Circle to Search.Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 UltraZDNET's Maria Diaz reviewed the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and said she found it a superb option for creative professionals and productivity-focused users looking to take advantage of a strong processor and reliable AI features. She added, "Even those looking for an AI-powered tablet like an iPad Pro would do well to consider the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra."If you opt for the $350 Book Cover Keyboard, you can effectively turn the tablet into an Android-powered 2-in-1 device with plenty of space for multitasking and using more than one app at a time. Just keep in mind the tablet isn't as portable as some other options on this list--it weighs 2.35 pounds (compared to the S9 Ultra's 1.6 pounds. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra specs: Display: 14.6-inch, 120Hz refresh rate, Dynamic AMOLED 2X 2960 x 1848 display | Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ | Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Memory: 12GB, 16GB | Colors: Moonstone gray and platinum silver | Cameras: Rear: 13MP main, 8MP ultrawide, Front: 12MP main, 12MP ultrawide | Weight: 2.35lb | Dimensions: 12.85 x 8.21 x 0.21 inches | Connections: 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth v5.3 | Battery: Up to 16 hours Read More Show Expert Take Show less Show less The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus was intended to be a second-level tablet in the Galaxy S10 line of tablets. The specs are similar to that of the S10 Ultra, but the Tab S10 Plus costs $200 less. This tablet features a screen 2.2 inches smaller than the S10 Ultra, but both models have the same Dynamic AMOLED display and refresh rate. Included with the purchase of this tablet is Samsung's S Pen, which provides a realistic paper-on-pen experience. In addition, you can add the $229 keyboard accessory to the tablet, turning it into a DeX-powered 2-in-1 that you can use to hammer out emails, crush work reports, write your next novel, or watch your favorite YouTube channel. I went hands-on with the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and found that movies and shows were a joy to watch with bright colors, flawless performance, and outstanding audio playback. Even my wife was shocked that the output came from the tablet, not an actual speaker. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Plus tech specs: Display size:12.4-inch | Display type: Dynamic AMOLED 2X | Resolution: 2,800 x 1,752 | Refresh rate: 120Hz | RAM: 12GB | Storage: 256GB, 512GB, microSD up to 1TB  Pros Great stereo speakers Updated and bright display 5G option Cons Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 7 The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus was intended to be a second-level tablet in the Galaxy S10 line of tablets. The specs are similar to that of the S10 Ultra, but the Tab S10 Plus costs $200 less. This tablet features a screen 2.2 inches smaller than the S10 Ultra, but both models have the same Dynamic AMOLED display and refresh rate. Included with the purchase of this tablet is Samsung's S Pen, which provides a realistic paper-on-pen experience. In addition, you can add the $229 keyboard accessory to the tablet, turning it into a DeX-powered 2-in-1 that you can use to hammer out emails, crush work reports, write your next novel, or watch your favorite YouTube channel. I went hands-on with the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and found that movies and shows were a joy to watch with bright colors, flawless performance, and outstanding audio playback. Even my wife was shocked that the output came from the tablet, not an actual speaker. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Plus tech specs: Display size:12.4-inch | Display type: Dynamic AMOLED 2X | Resolution: 2,800 x 1,752 | Refresh rate: 120Hz | RAM: 12GB | Storage: 256GB, 512GB, microSD up to 1TB  Read More Show Expert Take Show less Show less In 2023, Samsung launched two new FE tablets with the same internal components and two display/battery capacity options. The smaller Tab S9 FE is available for $450 and offers a lot in a sleek package. The high-powered tablet comes with an S Pen and even an IP68 dust/water resistant rating to make it a good choice for first-time tablet owners.The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE has an 8,000mAh battery, 6 or 8 GB of RAM, 128 or 256 GB of included storage, and support for a microSD card up to 1TB. Color options include gray, silver, mint, and lavender. In addition, the FE series remains a media powerhouse with AKG-tuned dual speakers. Video calling is well supported with a front 12MP ultra-wide camera and a rear 8MP camera to help you capture documents. Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FEZDNET contributor Max Buondonno went hands-on with the Tab S9 FE and said that it's "great for getting work done on the go and watching movies while you're traveling," noting that the battery life was solid. "[Battery] standby is surprisingly great; I left this tablet unattended all night at 100 percent, and it only dropped to 96 percent by the next morning," Buondonno wrote. "It's reminiscent of the kind of endurance you can get from an iPad Air."Reddit users note that this particular Samsung tablet is great for lighter uses like web browsing and watching Netflix, but doesn't hold up as well in gaming instances. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE tech specs: Display: 10.9-inch, 90Hz refresh rate, TFT LCD, 1200 x 800 display | Processor: Samsung Exynos 1380 (S5E8835) | Storage: 128GB or 256GB | Memory: 6 or 8 GB | Colors: Gray, silver, mint, and lavender | Cameras: Front: 12MP ultra-wide, Rear: 8MP | Weight: 1.15 lb | Dimensions: 10.01 x 6.53 x 0.26 inches | Connections: Wi-Fi 6 or 5G + Wi-Fi 6 , Bluetooth v5.3 | Battery: 8,000mAh Pros Affordable Expandable storage Good battery life Cons Display could be better In 2023, Samsung launched two new FE tablets with the same internal components and two display/battery capacity options. The smaller Tab S9 FE is available for $450 and offers a lot in a sleek package. The high-powered tablet comes with an S Pen and even an IP68 dust/water resistant rating to make it a good choice for first-time tablet owners.The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE has an 8,000mAh battery, 6 or 8 GB of RAM, 128 or 256 GB of included storage, and support for a microSD card up to 1TB. Color options include gray, silver, mint, and lavender. In addition, the FE series remains a media powerhouse with AKG-tuned dual speakers. Video calling is well supported with a front 12MP ultra-wide camera and a rear 8MP camera to help you capture documents. Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FEZDNET contributor Max Buondonno went hands-on with the Tab S9 FE and said that it's "great for getting work done on the go and watching movies while you're traveling," noting that the battery life was solid. "[Battery] standby is surprisingly great; I left this tablet unattended all night at 100 percent, and it only dropped to 96 percent by the next morning," Buondonno wrote. "It's reminiscent of the kind of endurance you can get from an iPad Air."Reddit users note that this particular Samsung tablet is great for lighter uses like web browsing and watching Netflix, but doesn't hold up as well in gaming instances. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE tech specs: Display: 10.9-inch, 90Hz refresh rate, TFT LCD, 1200 x 800 display | Processor: Samsung Exynos 1380 (S5E8835) | Storage: 128GB or 256GB | Memory: 6 or 8 GB | Colors: Gray, silver, mint, and lavender | Cameras: Front: 12MP ultra-wide, Rear: 8MP | Weight: 1.15 lb | Dimensions: 10.01 x 6.53 x 0.26 inches | Connections: Wi-Fi 6 or 5G + Wi-Fi 6 , Bluetooth v5.3 | Battery: 8,000mAh Read More Show Expert Take Show less Show less View now at Amazon Samsung's tablet lineup spans all aspects of price, capability, and screen size, and the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is a small tablet that combines affordability and usefulness. The 8.7-inch screen features a 1340x800 display, making it worthy of streaming, working, and more.The lightweight design and small display make it portable enough to take anywhere, especially if you're using it to entertain kids with educational apps. Plus, the Tab A7 Lite has a metal frame for some added ruggedness. You can expand your storage beyond the 32 or 65GB allotted. The tablet allows up to 1TB of expandable storage, which is twice as much as the previous model. Overall, 91% of Best Buy customers would recommend buying this tablet, and gave it an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite tech specs: Display: 8.7-inch, 1340x800 display | Processor: MediaTek MT8768N, Octa-core, PowerVR GE8320 | Storage: 32GB, 64GB,  microSD up to 1TB | Memory: 3GB | Colors: Grey and silver | Cameras: 2MP front and 8MP AF rear | Weight: 0.81lbs | Dimensions: 8.37 x 4.91 x 0.31 inches | Connections: Bluetooth v5.0 and Wi-Fi | Battery: 5,100mAh Pros Expandable storage Low price point Long-lasting battery Cons Performance could be better Samsung's tablet lineup spans all aspects of price, capability, and screen size, and the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is a small tablet that combines affordability and usefulness. The 8.7-inch screen features a 1340x800 display, making it worthy of streaming, working, and more.The lightweight design and small display make it portable enough to take anywhere, especially if you're using it to entertain kids with educational apps. Plus, the Tab A7 Lite has a metal frame for some added ruggedness. You can expand your storage beyond the 32 or 65GB allotted. The tablet allows up to 1TB of expandable storage, which is twice as much as the previous model. Overall, 91% of Best Buy customers would recommend buying this tablet, and gave it an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite tech specs: Display: 8.7-inch, 1340x800 display | Processor: MediaTek MT8768N, Octa-core, PowerVR GE8320 | Storage: 32GB, 64GB,  microSD up to 1TB | Memory: 3GB | Colors: Grey and silver | Cameras: 2MP front and 8MP AF rear | Weight: 0.81lbs | Dimensions: 8.37 x 4.91 x 0.31 inches | Connections: Bluetooth v5.0 and Wi-Fi | Battery: 5,100mAh Read More Show Expert Take Show less What are the tariffs in the U.S.?The recent U.S. tariffs on imports from countries like China, Vietnam, and India aim to boost domestic manufacturing but are likely to drive up prices on consumer electronics. Products like smartphones, laptops, and TVs may become more expensive as companies rethink global supply chains and weigh the cost of shifting production.Tablets are also hit hard by the new US tariffs, with import duties potentially increasing prices by up to 35%. Many major brands still rely on Chinese and Vietnamese factories for assembly, meaning consumers could soon pay significantly more for everything. These tariffs may accelerate efforts to move production to regions like Mexico or India, but shoppers can expect higher costs and fewer discounts in the short term.Right now, it looks like some tech may be exempt from the issued tariffs, but since it's always changing and developing, we are keeping an eye on it and will update you on the latest. What is the best Samsung tablet? Our pick for the best Samsung tablet is the Samsung Galaxy S10 Ultra since its large and stunning display is extremely capable and impressive, allowing it to act as a laptop replacement.  Samsung tablet PriceDisplayStorageSamsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra $1,050 14.6 inches 256GB, 512GB, microSD up to 1TB     Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Plus$1,00012.4 inches         256GB, 512GB, microSD up to 1TBSamsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE $450 10.9 inches          128GB or 256GB Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite $154 8.7 inches          32GB, 64GB, microSD up to 1TB  *MSRP at the time of writing. Please note that actual prices may vary depending on available sales, deals, discounts, and coupons. Show more Which Samsung tablet is right for you? It really depends on what size tablet you're looking for, what features are most important to you, and how much money you're willing to spend. Below, we've broken down the best Samsung tablets to help make your decision easier. Choose this Samsung tablet... If you want... Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra The best overall option. It can work as a laptop replacement thanks to its large screen and powerful performance. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 PlusA mid-range Samsung tablet with much of the same features as the S10 Ultra, but slightly cheaper. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE A budget tablet with a 10.9-inch display. It also comes in unique color options like mint and lavender.  Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite A small, lightweight Samsung tablet. Its portable enough to take with you anywhere, thanks to its 8.7-inch display and its light weight of less than a pound. Show more Factors to consider when choosing a Samsung tablet: We know there are many Samsung tablets to choose from, so pay attention to the following factors before making your final purchase. Features: Not all Samsung tablets are created equal. Some are better for kids, others are simply for entertainment purposes, and then there's the one's that can act as a laptop for working professionals and students. Consider your own use-case before buying. Price points: Tablets are an expensive piece of tech, especially if you're planning on investing in compatible accessories. However, Samsung tablets come at different price points so there is something for every budget. Battery life: Whether you're using your tablet for work or play (or both), you'll want it to last the duration of your task. Look for tablets that have substantial battery lives. Show more How did we choose these Samsung tablets? The ZDNET team chose all of the tablets included in this list based on their performance when tested in the real world. When we test tablets, we typically follow the same routine for each one to see which performs best.Display: We measure the brightness level in different lighting conditions and assess color accuracy. We also compare the display's performance with what the manufacturer promised, test the screen's responsiveness to touch, and assess the performance of any extra features, like a manufacturer's stylus.Performance: For real-world performance metrics, our reviewers measure how quickly the tablet reacts to input, assess game performance and frame rates, test how the tablet handles having multiple apps running simultaneously, measure the time it takes to launch apps, and even assess the tablet's temperature during intensive tasks. Battery life: We test different scenarios for battery life, including measuring how long the battery lasts while streaming, web browsing, using productivity apps, and playing games.Camera and audio: For cameras, we evaluate features like resolution, aperture, low-light performance, autofocus accuracy, dynamic range, color accuracy, image quality, sharpness, and video quality. For audio, we look at the sound quality and overall listening experience, including audio clarity at different volumes, stereo separation of left and right audio channels, maximum volume level in various environments, and if there is perceived distortion.For a deeper look into our testing process, check out our comprehensive tablet testing methodology.  Show more FAQs on Samsung tablets What's new in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 tablets? Samsung announced the new Tab S10 series last year with two new tablets: the Galaxy Tab S10+ and the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. New to both tablets is a new chipset powered by MediaTek's Dimensity 9300+ processors and allows for Galaxy AI capabilities such as Circle to Search, Instant Translation, Handwriting Assist, Note Assist, and Sketch to Image. While both models support Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, Samsung is giving the Galaxy Tab S10+ Wi-Fi 6E support, while the S10 Ultra supports Wi-Fi 7.Also: Samsung's new Galaxy Tab S10 series may be the iPad Pro for Android users (but better)The battery life, display and resolution, and storage options all remain the same in the S10 series. The Galaxy Stab S10+ starts at $1,000, and the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra starts at $1,200.  Show more What is the difference between Samsung A and S tablets? The Galaxy Tab S series is ideal for users who need power, such as creators or professionals. The tablets in this series have larger screens and more processing power.In comparison, the Galaxy Tab A series comes at a lower price point with smaller screens for those who need a simple tablet for everyday tasks and entertainment.  Show more What makes Samsung tablets stand out? Compared to their biggest competitor (the iPad), Samsung tablets have more storage options thanks to expandable storage via microSD cards. In addition, you have to buy an Apple Pencil separately with an iPad, whereas most current Samsung tablets come with the S Pen included. Plus, where Apple only has four iPad models, Samsung currently has 11 tablets available on its website, with even more older models and generations available at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.  Show more What is the lifespan of a Samsung tablet? Generally, Samsung tablets are built to last for several years, but their lifespan may be shorter compared to iPads due to differences in software support longevity. Factors that affect lifespan include model quality, usage, maintenance, software updates, and battery health. Show more Is a tablet better than a laptop? It depends on what you plan to use your device for. For example, digital artists usually prefer tablets over laptops since they're easier to draw on with a stylus. Tablets are also great for photo editing and streaming movies.However, if you want to create spreadsheets, type in a word processing program, or do intensive 3D animation or modeling, a laptop is better suited than a tablet. Show more Other Samsung tablets we've tested ZDNET’s Tablet Guide Tablet Roundups Tablets Reviewed & Compared Tablets Explained ZDNET Recommends

ZDNET's key takeaways The Boox Note Air 4C is a color ePaper tablet for notes and reading, available for $500. The tablet's display is crisp and paper-like, and the included pen is accurate and sensitive, making it easy to create highly detailed sketches. The Note Air 4C isn't cheap, at $530, and the included pen is much thicker than the tablet, so it falls off easily. $529.99 at Amazon For several months, I've used the Boox Note Air 4C tablet as my go-to digital notebook. This tablet is the perfect companion for those who like taking notes on the go, but it's also become the best substitute for my bullet journal.Writing on the Boox Note Air 4C tablet feels similar to writing on paper, though it's never exactly the same. However, the included pen is fast and responsive. The pressure-sensitive Boox pen is unforgiving, providing a contrasting experience to the Apple Pencil Pro. Also: I discovered the hidden benefit of E Ink tablets, and this study proves itI've been using the Apple Pencil Pro on the iPad Mini 7 and iPad Air, and it makes calligraphy easy, disguising mildly uneven strokes and making most handwritten cursive fonts look appealing. The Boox pen on the Note Air 4C is better than the Apple Pencil Pro for more precise, meticulous work, like sketching and drawing. The pressure-sensitive mechanism also works beautifully for calligraphy, but it sometimes fails to transition smoothly from thick to thin lines.  details View at Amazon I'm an avid bullet-journaler -- I love the freedom of creating calendar and page layouts that suit my needs. Naturally, I transitioned to making the Boox Note Air 4C my new journal, especially because bullet journaling as a hobby is hard to maintain, with work consuming a lot of my time and my kids consuming my pens.The Boox Note Air 4C's 10.3-inch display is a Kaleido 3 color E Ink screen. This display's black-and-white resolution is 300 ppi, but its color resolution is only 150 ppi. Color images won't appear crisp and detailed on the Boox Note Air 4C; instead, they look slightly blurry and noisy. Also: Can an iPad replace a MacBook? I tested the M3 Air for weeks, and here's my verdictThe Kaleido 3 display, also used in the Kindle Colorsoft, uses a base monochromatic E Ink layer with electrophoretic technology that renders sharp detail at 300 ppi. But adding color is done through a color filter array layered on the black-and-white screen. This divides each pixel into RGB subpixels, each taking up the space of a single pixel, halving the color display's resolution.  An example of the visual texture when using color Maria Diaz/ZDNETAside from photos often looking unintelligible from up close, this display also shows some color images with a denim-like texture, which bothers some users. The Boox Note Air 4C colors are also limited, so you don't get a full spectrum of over 16 million colors, and they look more muted than on traditional tablets. The same applies to other color ePaper devices, like the Kindle Colorsoft and reMarkable Paper Pro. Though muted, I like the Boox Note Air 4C colors because they keep the same aesthetic throughout my work. I like having a dedicated note-taking tablet, so I don't mind the limitations of color ePaper. Also: I tested an E Ink tablet that runs on Android, and it made my Kindle feel insufficientPerformance-wise, the Boox Note Air 4C runs on Android 13, with an octa-core processor and 6GB of RAM. It has up to 64GB of internal storage, expandable up to 2TB with a microSD card. Don't expect it to be as fast as an iPad, though. While you can considerably speed up its refresh rate by changing its settings, the Note Air 4C is sluggish compared to a traditional tablet -- but is not as slow as a Kindle.  Pressure-sensitive pen test Maria Diaz/ZDNETSome ghosting issues are common with E Ink tablets, including the Note Air 4C, when switching from one page to another, but this didn't bother me.My bigger complaints with the Boox Note Air 4C are highly specific. Depending on the content, each page takes a long time to render, up to 30 seconds, which can get annoying. The display's palm recognition fails when I've zoomed in to work on detailed drawings, shifting my image with the accidental touch of my hand, and causing the tablet to pause to render for a few seconds.Also: This 14-inch Samsung tablet gave me a productivity boost (and is even better for entertainment)The Boox's AI features have a lot of room for improvement, but that's common across many companies' AI offerings. I tried all the features and found they failed so often that it was best to keep them toggled off. The most glaring one was when the tablet automatically "corrected" my drawings, inadvertently deleting part of my work. The Boox Note Air 4C tablet's Smart Scribe AI features. Maria Diaz/ZDNETI also wish handwriting optical character recognition (OCR) were possible by default, but it's included as an AI feature and isn't very accurate. Handwriting conversion tends to require computer resources that are often beyond a tablet's capabilities, which may be why the Boox Note Air 4C, like the reMarkable Paper Pro, doesn't offer it as a default feature.The Boox's pen attaches magnetically to the side of the tablet but is prone to falling off, likely due to the tablet's 5.8 mm thin profile. I recommend buying a case to keep the pen attached when transporting. The pen works with electromagnetic resonance (EMR), so it doesn't need charging; it attaches magnetically for convenience. Also: I tested an E Ink tablet worthy of replacing my Remarkable (and it wins in some ways)The Boox Note Air 4C works wonderfully as a bullet journal, especially because the pen is accurate and responsive, making precise drawing or coloring easy. I can save all my pages in a single, lightweight device and don't have to lug around a pencil case full of pens and markers when I want to sit down and catch up on my journaling. I also like the bonus of adding external files, like photos, to add memories without printing them out. ZDNET's buying advice After weeks of use, my nib is ready for a replacement. Maria Diaz/ZDNETThe Boox Note Air 4C is great for professionals and creatives. It's not a productivity tablet or one to replace a laptop, but it is perfect for note-takers who like handwriting, journalers, reading enthusiasts, and even designers.  Aside from other Boox tablets, the only real competitor for the Boox Note Air 4C is the reMarkable Paper Pro, a color ePaper tablet that retails for $629. Though both tablets share similar shortcomings, I'd choose the Boox Note Air 4C of the two. Aside from being $100 cheaper, the new Boox is an Android tablet and doesn't require a paid subscription to access extra features, as reMarkable does with the Connect membership.Also: The best iPad stylus of 2025: Expert testedLike any traditional Android tablet, the Boox Note Air 4C lets you download any apps available in the Google Play Store, like games and social media apps. But those looking for a device focused on writing and reading can keep their Boox tablet distraction-free. I downloaded the Kindle app for reading, Google Docs for work, and OneDrive to transfer files and add photos to my notes, keeping my Boox Note Air4 C as a versatile device.Featured reviews

A worker at Fortech company shows metals recycled from electric car batteries in Cartago, Costa ... More Rica,on February 20, 2023. - The Fortech company in Costa Rica recycles lithium batteries from telephones, computers, electric cars and other items to sell the resulting materials for the construction of new batteries. (Photo by Ezequiel BECERRA / AFP) (Photo by EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images The global clean energy transition is increasingly vulnerable to geopolitical tensions. On April 4th, Donald Trump announced plans to impose sweeping tariffs on most U.S. trading partners. Notably, critical minerals vital to technologies like electric vehicles and renewable energy were exempt. In response to Trump’s tariffs, China retaliated with tariffs of its own and new export restrictions on rare earth elements – underscoring how fragile and politicised critical mineral supply chains have become. The International Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that disruptions to critical mineral supplies could significantly slow electrification and the adoption of clean technologies. These risks are magnified by the fact that China strategically built its dominance in critical material supply chains, now controlling over half of global lithium, cobalt, and graphite processing and refining capacity. From wind turbines to batteries, the resources essential for the energy transition are now caught in the crosscurrents of geopolitics. Without urgent action to mitigate these vulnerabilities, progress toward decarbonisation could stall. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Embracing Circular Batteries Reducing dependencies and securing stable, sustainable, circular supply chains offers one of the most viable paths forward. Batteries, which are the heart of electric vehicles and a key enabler of balancing intermittent renewable energy, are a perfect example of how circularity can mitigate geopolitical risks and supply chain vulnerabilities. Despite their importance to the energy transition, batteries are heavily reliant on critical minerals such as cobalt, nickel, lithium, graphite, and manganese. To address such dependencies, applying the principles of the circular economy – reducing, reusing, and recycling – provide a practical pathway toward a more resilient and sustainable battery supply chain. Infographic illustration depicting the minerals found in an electric vehicle (EV) battery. The ... More average EV lithium-ion battery with a 65 kilowatt per hour capacity contains around 185 kilograms of minerals. Graphite is the largest component (28.1%) and is used for the anode. The cathode is composed of several metals with cobalt being the most expensive. Data from the European Federation for Transport and Environment based on the average EV battery in 2020getty Reducing Demand Through New Battery Chemistries The first step is to reduce Beyond reducing the need for virgin materials, improving efficiency within the manufacturing process is also critical, not only by increasing yield but also by ensuring that valuable “scrap” generated during production is captured and reintegrated into the manufacturing loop. This approach helps mitigate raw material constraints and complements end-of-life recycling efforts. In parallel, addressing what happens to batteries at the end of their life is equally important. With the EV and storage market taking off in recent years, the European end-of-life battery market is expected to be at 570 kilo tons a year by 2040, according to the consultancy PWC. This is where reusing and recycling become essential solutions.Rechargeable sodium-ion battery and salt farm for lithium-ion alternative concept. Sustainable ... More energy. Battery technology. Technician use soldering iron to solder metal and wire of sodium-ion battery.getty Reusing Batteries To Extend Their Lifetime Electric vehicle batteries go through frequent charging and discharging cycles, which gradually reduces their performance. An EV battery at 85% capacity means lower range and performance, but it may be entirely sufficient for stationary storage, which puts completely different demands on the battery. Giving batteries a “second life” can extend their lifespan by 15–20 years, helping to stabilise the power grid and store excess renewable energy. New technologies are tackling the challenges associated with reusing batteries, turning used or overproduced EV batteries into stationary storage systems with guaranteed lifetime and integrated management systems dedicated to stationary storage. However, not all batteries can or will be reused and repurposed. The state of health of some batteries may no longer be sufficient. Re-use may be particularly relevant for LFP batteries, which have a longer lifetime and contain fewer precious metals. For other lithium-ion batteries, it may be more lucrative to recycle them due to the value of their materials. But even after reuse, batteries will eventually reach the end of their life. And then recycling will be key.Stack of many used car batteries for recycling in a hazardous waste facility, used car batteries ... More backgroundgetty Closing The Circle Through Battery Recycling Through mechanical and chemical recycling, we can recover a battery’s valuable materials. Start-ups as well as incumbents are reporting very high recovery rates, successfully extracting metals and minerals from used batteries. With collection rates for EV batteries above 90% in China, South Korea, and Europe and recovery rates equally high, we may be able to fully close critical material cycles and reduce the need for virgin metals substantially. With distributed recycling centres the reduced transport demand will further reduce the environmental impact. Moreover, innovation is strong. Start-ups are inventing new technologies that not only reduce the environmental footprint of recycling, but also have the potential to lower its associated costs. In the US, more than $2 billion in equity and a $2 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy have supported efforts to produce 200 GWh of circular battery materials annually across two production sites in Nevada and South Carolina. In Europe, innovative recycling processes are being developed that reduce environmental impact, while achieving high recovery rates. Breakthroughs are being made through the use of hydrometallurgical processes to recycle graphite, while research from London's Imperial College suggests that small batteries made with recycled cathode active materials can perform better than those made with virgin materials from Chinese suppliers.Components of dead vehicle batteries in a factory. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberggetty A Strong Policy Push For Battery Recycling Through reducing, reusing, and recycling, circularity offers a solution to the geopolitical risks of highly concentrated and contested critical raw materials supply chains. It helps making countries independent from single suppliers, such as China, and reduces the risks of geopolitical conflict. But for a truly circular battery supply chain, policy must provide the right incentives. In both the EU and the US, policymakers have started to pave the way for circularity. In the US, the Inflation Reduction Act has, among others, accelerated battery recycling to reduce dependency on China. Its subsidies for recycled battery materials create strong incentives for circularity, though their future under a Trump administration is uncertain. Europe, meanwhile, leads on supportive regulation. The EU’s Battery Regulation sets minimum recovery and recycling targets, mandates recycled content in new batteries and is introducing a “battery passport” to improve transparency and enable second-life use. In addition, the European Commission is considering classifying the intermediate product from the mechanical recycling step, black mass, as hazardous waste which will prohibit it from being exported out of EU. These are good steps in the right direction. But if we are to break the dependencies and geopolitical risks associated with today’s critical raw material supply chains we must double-down on our efforts at building fully circular battery economies. This means more ambitious product requirements for secondary materials, loan guarantees to scale production, and more innovation funding. For our economy, the environment, and our security – it only makes sense.

Google releases free Gemini AI camera update to all Android users, leaving iOS users behind

Tech companies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars to build new U.S. datacenters where —if all goes to plan—radically powerful new AI models will be brought into existence.But all of these datacenters are vulnerable to Chinese espionage, according to a report published Tuesday. At risk, the authors argue, is not just tech companies’ money, but also U.S. national security amid the intensifying geopolitical race with China to develop advanced AI.The unredacted report was circulated inside the Trump White House in recent weeks, according to its authors. TIME viewed a redacted version ahead of its public release. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.Today’s top AI datacenters are vulnerable to both asymmetrical sabotage—where relatively cheap attacks could disable them for months—and exfiltration attacks, in which closely guarded AI models could be stolen or surveilled, the report’s authors warn.Even the most advanced datacenters currently under construction—including OpenAI’s Stargate project—are likely vulnerable to the same attacks, the authors tell TIME.“You could end up with dozens of datacenter sites that are essentially stranded assets that can’t be retrofitted for the level of security that’s required,” says Edouard Harris, one of the authors of the report. “That’s just a brutal gut-punch.”The report was authored by brothers Edouard and Jeremie Harris of Gladstone AI, a firm that consults for the U.S. government on AI’s security implications. In their year-long research period, they visited a datacenter operated by a top U.S. technology company alongside a team of former U.S. special forces who specialize in cyberespionage.In speaking with national security officials and datacenter operators, the authors say, they learned of one instance where a top U.S. tech company’s AI datacenter was attacked and intellectual property was stolen. They also learned of another instance where a similar datacenter was targeted in an attack against a specific unnamed component which, if it had been successful, would have knocked the entire facility offline for months.The report addresses calls from some in Silicon Valley and Washington to begin a “Manhattan Project” for AI, aimed at developing what insiders call superintelligence: an AI technology so powerful that it could be used to gain a decisive strategic advantage over China. All the top AI companies are attempting to develop superintelligence—and in recent years both the U.S. and China have woken up to its potential geopolitical significance.Although hawkish in tone, the report does not advocate for or against such a project. Instead, it says that if one were to begin today, existing datacenter vulnerabilities could doom it from the start. “There's no guarantee we'll reach superintelligence soon,” the report says. “But if we do, and we want to prevent the [Chinese Communist Party] from stealing or crippling it, we need to start building the secure facilities for it yesterday.”China Controls Key Datacenter PartsMany critical components for modern datacenters are mostly or exclusively built in China, the report points out. And due to the booming datacenter industry, many of these parts are on multi-year back orders.What that means is that an attack on the right critical component can knock a datacenter offline for months—or longer.Some of these attacks, the report claims, can be incredibly asymmetric. One such potential attack—the details of which are redacted in the report—could be carried out for as little as $20,000, and if successful could knock a $2 billion datacenter offline from between six months to a year.China, the report points out, is likely to delay shipment of components necessary to fix datacenters brought offline by these attacks, especially if it considers the U.S. to be on the brink of developing superintelligence. “We should expect that the lead times on China-sourced generators, transformers, and other critical data center components will start to lengthen mysteriously beyond what they already are today,” the report says. “This will be a sign that China is quietly diverting components to its own facilities, since after all, they control the industrial base that is making most of them.”AI Labs Struggle With Basic Security, Insiders WarnThe report says that neither existing datacenters nor AI labs themselves are secure enough to prevent AI model weights—essentially their underlying neural networks—from being stolen by nation-state level attackers.The authors cite a conversation with a former OpenAI researcher who described two vulnerabilities that would allow attacks like that to happen—one of which had been reported on the company’s internal Slack channels, but was left unaddressed for months. The specific details of the attacks are not included in the version of the report viewed by TIME.An OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement: “It’s not entirely clear what these claims refer to, but they appear outdated and don’t reflect the current state of our security practices. We have a rigorous security program overseen by our Board’s Safety and Security Committee.”The report's authors acknowledge that things are slowly getting better. “According to several researchers we spoke to, security at frontier AI labs has improved somewhat in the past year, but it remains completely inadequate to withstand nation state attacks,” the report says. “According to former insiders, poor controls at many frontier AI labs originally stem from a cultural bias towards speed over security.”Independent experts agree many problems remain. "There have been publicly disclosed incidents of cyber gangs hacking their way to the [intellectual property] assets of Nvidia not that long ago," Greg Allen, the director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Washington think-tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies, tells TIME in a message. "The intelligence services of China are far more capable and sophisticated than those gangs. There’s a bad offense / defense mismatch when it comes to Chinese attackers and U.S. AI firm defenders."Superintelligent AI May Break FreeA third crucial vulnerability identified in the report is the susceptibility of datacenters—and AI developers—to powerful AI models themselves.In recent months, studies by leading AI researchers have shown top AI models beginning to exhibit both the drive, and the technical skill, to “escape” the confines placed on them by their developers.In one example cited in the report, during testing, an OpenAI model was given the task of retrieving a string of text from a piece of software. But due to a bug in the test, the software didn’t start. The model, unprompted, scanned the network in an attempt to understand why—and discovered a vulnerability on the machine it was running on. It used that vulnerability, also unprompted, to break out of its test environment and recover the string of text that it had initially been instructed to find.“As AI developers have built more capable AI models on the path to superintelligence, those models have become harder to correct and control,” the report says. “This happens because highly capable and context-aware AI systems can invent dangerously creative strategies to achieve their internal goals that their developers never anticipated or intended them to pursue.”The report recommends that any effort to develop superintelligence must develop methods for “AI containment,” and allow leaders with a responsibility for developing such precautions to block the development of more powerful AI systems if they judge the risk to be too high.“Of course,” the authors note, “if we’ve actually trained a real superintelligence that has goals different from our own, it probably won’t be containable in the long run.”

A new study claims that AI models like ChatGPT and Claude now outperform PhD-level virologists in problem-solving in wet labs, where scientists analyze chemicals and biological material. This discovery is a double-edged sword, experts say. Ultra-smart AI models could help researchers prevent the spread of infectious diseases. But non-experts could also weaponize the models to create deadly bioweapons. The study, shared exclusively with TIME, was conducted by researchers at the Center for AI Safety, MIT’s Media Lab, the Brazilian university UFABC, and the pandemic prevention nonprofit SecureBio. The authors consulted virologists to create an extremely difficult practical test which measured the ability to troubleshoot complex lab procedures and protocols. While PhD-level virologists scored an average of 22.1% in their declared areas of expertise, OpenAI’s o3 reached 43.8% accuracy. Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro scored 37.6%. Seth Donoughe, a research scientist at SecureBio and a co-author of the paper, says that the results make him a “little nervous,” because for the first time in history, virtually anyone has access to a non-judgmental AI virology expert which might walk them through complex lab processes to create bioweapons. “Throughout history, there are a fair number of cases where someone attempted to make a bioweapon—and one of the major reasons why they didn’t succeed is because they didn’t have access to the right level of expertise,” he says. “So it seems worthwhile to be cautious about how these capabilities are being distributed.”Months ago, the paper’s authors sent the results to the major AI labs. In response, xAI published a risk management framework pledging its intention to implement virology safeguards for future versions of its AI model Grok. OpenAI told TIME that it "deployed new system-level mitigations for biological risks" for its new models released last week. Anthropic included model performance results on the paper in recent system cards, but did not propose specific mitigation measures. Google’s Gemini declined to comment to TIME.AI in biomedicineVirology and biomedicine have long been at the forefront of AI leaders’ motivations for building ever-powerful AI models. “As this technology progresses, we will see diseases get cured at an unprecedented rate,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said at the White House in January while announcing the Stargate project. There have been some encouraging signs in this area. Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute published an algorithm capable of predicting which coronavirus variant might spread the fastest.But up to this point, there had not been a major study dedicated to analyzing AI models’ ability to actually conduct virology lab work. “We've known for some time that AIs are fairly strong at providing academic style information,” says Donoughe. “It's been unclear whether the models are also able to offer detailed practical assistance. This includes interpreting images, information that might not be written down in any academic paper, or material that is socially passed down from more experienced colleagues.”So Donoughe and his colleagues created a test specifically for these difficult, non-Google-able questions. “The questions take the form: ‘I have been culturing this particular virus in this cell type, in these specific conditions, for this amount of time. I have this amount of information about what's gone wrong. Can you tell me what is the most likely problem?’” Donoughe says. And virtually every AI model outperformed PhD-level virologists on the test, even within their own areas of expertise. The researchers also found that the models showed significant improvement over time. Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, for example, jumped from 26.9% to 33.6% accuracy from its June 2024 model to its October 2024 model. And a preview of OpenAI’s GPT 4.5 in February outperformed GPT-4o by almost 10 percentage points. “Previously, we found that the models had a lot of theoretical knowledge, but not practical knowledge,” Dan Hendrycks, the director of the Center for AI Safety, tells TIME. “But now, they are getting a concerning amount of practical knowledge.” Risks and rewardsIf AI models are indeed as capable in wet lab settings as the study finds, then the implications are massive. In terms of benefits, AIs could help experienced virologists in their critical work fighting viruses. Tom Inglesby, the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, says that AI could assist with accelerating the timelines of medicine and vaccine development and improving clinical trials and disease detection. “These models could help scientists in different parts of the world, who don't yet have that kind of skill or capability, to do valuable day-to-day work on diseases that are occurring in their countries,” he says. For instance, one group of researchers found that AI helped them better understand hemorrhagic fever viruses in sub-Saharan Africa. But bad-faith actors can now use AI models to walk them through how to create viruses—and will be able to do so without any of the typical training required to access a Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory, which deals with the most dangerous and exotic infectious agents. “It will mean a lot more people in the world with a lot less training will be able to manage and manipulate viruses,” Inglesby says. Hendrycks urges AI companies to put up guardrails to prevent this type of usage. “If companies don't have good safeguards for these within six months time, that, in my opinion, would be reckless,” he says. Hendrycks says that one solution is not to shut these models down or slow their progress, but to make them gated, so that only trusted third parties get access to their unfiltered versions. “We want to give the people who have a legitimate use for asking how to manipulate deadly viruses—like a researcher at the MIT biology department—the ability to do so,” he says. “But random people who made an account a second ago don't get those capabilities.” And AI labs should be able to implement these types of safeguards relatively easily, Hendrycks says. “It’s certainly technologically feasible for industry self-regulation,” he says. “There’s a question of whether some will drag their feet or just not do it.” xAI, Elon Musk’s AI lab, published a risk management framework memo in February, which acknowledged the paper and signaled that the company would “potentially utilize” certain safeguards around answering virology questions, including training Grok to decline harmful requests and applying input and output filters. OpenAI, in an email to TIME on Monday, wrote that its newest models, the o3 and o4-mini, were deployed with an array of biological-risk related safeguards, including blocking harmful outputs. The company wrote that it ran a thousand-hour red-teaming campaign in which 98.7% of unsafe bio-related conversations were successfully flagged and blocked. "We value industry collaboration on advancing safeguards for frontier models, including in sensitive domains like virology," a spokesperson wrote. "We continue to invest in these safeguards as capabilities grow."Inglesby argues that industry self-regulation is not enough, and calls for lawmakers and political leaders to strategize a policy approach to regulating AI’s bio risks. “The current situation is that the companies that are most virtuous are taking time and money to do this work, which is good for all of us, but other companies don't have to do it,” he says. “That doesn't make sense. It's not good for the public to have no insights into what's happening.”“When a new version of an LLM is about to be released,” Inglesby adds, “there should be a requirement for that model to be evaluated to make sure it will not produce pandemic-level outcomes.”

In brief: It seems one profession that really loves generative AI is that of the cybercriminal. Microsoft warns that the technology has evolved to the point where creating an online scam can now take minutes rather than days or weeks and requires little technical knowledge. In its latest edition of the Cyber Signals report, Microsoft writes that AI has started to lower the technical bar for fraud and cybercrime actors looking for their own productivity tools. The range of cyber scams AI can be used for is extensive. The tools can, for example, help create social engineering lures by scanning and scraping the web to build detailed profiles of employees or other targets. There are also cases of complex fraud schemes that use AI-enhanced product reviews and AI-generated storefronts, with scammers creating entire sham websites and fake e-commerce brands, complete with fabricated business histories and customer testimonials. Scammers can even use AI for customer service chatbots that can lie about unexplained charges and other anomalies. It's long been reported that advancing deepfake technology is making this a popular tool for scammers. We've seen it used to create fake celebrity endorsements, impersonate friends and family members, and, as Microsoft notes, for job interviews – both hiring and applying – conducted via video calls. The company notes that lip-syncing delays, robotic speech, or odd facial expressions are giveaway signs that the person on the other end of a video call might be a deepfake. Microsoft recommends that consumers be wary of limited-time deals, countdown timers, and suspicious reviews. They should also cross-check domain names and reviews before making purchases, and avoid using payment methods that lack fraud protections, such as direct bank transfers and cryptocurrency payments. Tech support scams are also on the rise. While AI doesn't always play a part in these incidents, tech support scammers often pretend to be legitimate IT support from well-known companies and use social engineering tactics to gain the trust of their targets. The Windows Quick Assist tool, which lets someone use a remote connection to view a screen or take it over to fix problems, is regularly used in these scams. As such, Microsoft is adding warnings to Quick Assist and requires users to check a box acknowledging the security implications of sharing their screen. Microsoft also recommends using Remote Help instead of Quick Assist for internal tech support. While the post focuses on the dangers of AI scams, it also notes that Microsoft continues to protect its platforms and customers from cybercriminals. Between April 2024 and April 2025, Microsoft stopped $4 billion worth of fraud attempts, rejected 49,000 fraudulent partnership enrollments, and blocked about 1.6 million bot signup attempts per hour. // Related Stories