Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 announced a partnership with Kevin Mandia‘s new offensive security company Armadin, to scale ability to identify and remediate AI-driven exposures and better protect organizations.
You can read all the details here: Unit 42 Expands Frontier AI Defense with Armadin Partnership
Today, TELUS launched its 21st annual TELUS Days of Giving, mobilizing more than 100,000 volunteers across 30+ countries in one of the world’s largest corporate volunteer movements. Throughout May, TELUS team members, retirees, and partners will come together around the world to give back in their local communities through hands-on initiatives that deliver meaningful, local impact at global scale. What started as a localized effort in the early 2000s has evolved into a worldwide movement that reinforces TELUS’ commitment to year-round community engagement. Last year, 90,000 volunteers gave back in 34 countries, marking the third consecutive year TELUS team members and retirees contributed 1.5 million volunteer hours globally.
At a time when volunteer participation in Canada has declined from 41% in 2018 to 32% in 2023, and many charities are struggling to meet growing demand, initiatives like TELUS Days of Giving are more important than ever.
During the month of May, participants will engage in a wide spectrum of volunteer opportunities, including:
To learn more or join in building a friendlier future for all, visit telus.com/purpose.
With major marathons like Boston and London just wrapping and the Toronto Marathon this weekend, running is back in focus, and it is no longer just about race day. From packed run clubs to first-time 5Ks, more people are embracing running as an accessible, everyday way to support both physical and mental wellbeing.
In Canada, nearly 1 in 4 households report going for a run or jog regularly, with that momentum reflected locally as the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon surpassed 30,000 participants in 2025 and continues to see strong demand for 2026.
As running becomes routine, there is also increased demand for wearables that go beyond basic run tracking and help people train smarter, recover properly, and stay consistent.
Samsung’s Galaxy ecosystem reflects this shift, bringing together performance, recovery, and lifestyle insights in one connected experience:
| Product | Key Specs | Pricing | Colour |
| Galaxy Watch8 | 40mm / 44mm, 3nm chipset, expanded storage, gesture controls, advanced health tracking | $499.99 CAD | Silver, Graphite |
| Galaxy Watch8 Classic | 46mm, rotating bezel, quick-access button, Gemini AI integration, enhanced wellness tracking | $609.99 CAD | Black, White |
| Galaxy Watch Ultra (Navy) | 47mm, extended battery life, rugged durability (advanced IP rating), Dual Frequency GPS, Quick Button + built-in Siren | $899.99 CAD | Navy |
| Galaxy Ring | Sizes 5-13, 8MB Memory, Up to 7 days of charge | $549.99 CAD | Titanium Black, Titanium Silver, Titanium Gold |
Dubai-based Secure.com has just issued “21 Holes in 3 Production Stacks: What AI Pentesting Actually Finds in 2026,” new research proving just how far AI-driven pentesting has moved from theory to operational risk. In a single weekend, an automated pipeline with no human in the loop uncovered 21 vulnerabilities across three live production stacks, including 7 critical issues tied largely to basic security hygiene failures.
Secure.com researchers pointed an AI-driven pentesting pipeline at three well-known production systems and found
This materially changes the economics of both attack and defense. What until now took skilled human testers and significant budget can be executed continuously for roughly $18 per hour, raising questions about whether periodic pentesting models are still viable.
21 Holes in 3 Production Stacks – What AI Pentesting Actually Finds in 2026: Three clients. Three very different architectures. One weekend of machine time: https://www.secure.com/resources/holes-production-stacks
ForwardEdge-AI today announced the appointment of Dionis Taveras as Senior Vice President, Sales & Channel Partners, Commercial. In this role, Taveras will lead channel, reseller, OEM, and strategic partnership initiatives to accelerate market adoption of the company’s advanced cybersecurity and quantum resilient solutions.
Taveras joins Forward Edge-AI with extensive experience building and scaling global partner ecosystems and go to market strategies. Most recently, he served as Global Head of Alliances and GTM for Project Fort Zero at Dell Technologies, where he led strategic partnerships, contract negotiations, and commercialization efforts supporting Zero Trust innovation and large scale enterprise adoption.
At Forward Edge-AI, Taveras will focus on expanding commercial reach and accelerating the introduction of Isidore Quantum and other products in the company’s portfolio ahead of the anticipated quantum computing inflection point. His leadership will play a critical role in scaling revenue, strengthening partner networks, and delivering secure, next generation solutions to global markets.
Taveras is recognized as a technology innovator and global partnership leader, with a strong background in networking, security, and enterprise infrastructure. His career spans engineering, solutions architecture, and executive leadership, enabling organizations to deliver secure, connected, and scalable systems.
Samsung Canada has announced the winners of its 2025–2026 Solve for Tomorrow program. Now in its 11th year, this annual nationwide competition challenges Canadian students in grades 6-12 to use Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) to develop innovative solutions for the most pressing issues in their local communities.
After months of research, prototyping, and collaboration, the eight National Finalist teams presented their projects live at Samsung Canada Headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario, to a panel of expert judges. The competition encourages students to turn local insights into broader solutions for a more sustainable, inclusive, and connected future.
The 2025–2026 Solve for Tomorrow winners are:
In addition, all eight finalist schools will each receive a $5,000 Samsung e-voucher for their school for the purchase of Samsung technology.
Since 2015, Solve for Tomorrow has been a cornerstone of Samsung Canada’s global citizenship commitment to education, AI innovation, and youth development. To date, the contest has reached over 40,000 students and 1,500 schools nationwide, investing more than $1,000,000 in classroom technology, grants, and mentorship.
To learn more about Solve for Tomorrow and explore the details of this year’s winning projects, visit www.samsung.com/ca/solve.
Yesterday, Theori disclosed CVE-2026-31431, dubbed Copy Fail, a Linux kernel vulnerability that allows any unprivileged local user to gain root access on virtually every major Linux distribution shipped since 2017.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: crypto: algif_aead – Revert to operating out-of-place This mostly reverts commit 72548b093ee3 except for the copying of the associated data. There is no benefit in operating in-place in algif_aead since the source and destination come from different mappings. Get rid of all the complexity added for in-place operation and just copy the AD directly.
Uzair Gadit, CEO and Founder of Secure.com, offers perspective and advice:
“The exploit is a fairly simple 732-byte Python script. The implications are far more significant than another critical CVE, because if your kernel was built between 2017 and the patch, you’re in scope, which likely covers essentially every mainstream Linux distribution.
“The risk is highest in any environments where namespace isolation (which containers provide) is assumed to be sufficient to protect tenants from one another. The boundaries that hold are the ones that don’t share a kernel. For example, AWS Lambda and Fargate run on Firecracker microVMs, with separate kernels per tenant and no shared page cache. Cloudflare Workers run on V8 isolates, with no Linux kernel in the threat model at all. gVisor interposes a user-space kernel that does not share the host’s algif_aead.
“That said, development infrastructures, cloud and containerization, CI/CD pipelines and serverless and sandboxing environments are all at risk.
“What matters even more than the vulnerability itself is how it was found. An AI system discovered a nine-year-old logic flaw in just about an hour.
“Affected organizations should immediately patch their kernel. The official fix (commit a664bf3d603d) reverts algif_aead.c to out-of-place AEAD operation, permanently separating the TX scatterlist (which may contain page cache pages) from the RX scatterlist (the user’s output buffer).
The patch should be immediately done through the distribution’s update channel, including
· Ubuntu: kernel security updates
· RHEL: RHSA advisories
· SUSE: SUSE Security Updates
· Amazon Linux: Amazon Linux Security Center
“Any organization that cannot patch immediately should disable the vulnerable module.”
Ryan McCurdy, VP, Liquibase:
What makes Copy Fail different is not just the bug itself, it is the combination of reach and discovery speed. The disclosure suggests a single short Python script can turn a normal local user into root across a wide range of Linux systems shipped since 2017, including environments like CI runners and container hosts that many organizations rely on every day. The other wake-up call is how it was found. If AI-assisted tooling can surface a bug like this in about an hour, the gap between unknown vulnerability and practical exploit is shrinking fast. That means the real challenge is no longer just finding flaws. It is whether enterprises can patch, isolate, and reduce blast radius quickly enough when vulnerability discovery starts moving at machine speed. “
Noelle Murata, Chief Operating Officer, Xcape, Inc.:
“Paste Tense: From Clipboard Tricks to Kernel Root
“Copy Fail is a critical logic flaw in the Linux page cache that lets an unprivileged user gain root access with a simple script. Please patch this across the fleet immediately. While the name originally poked fun at terminal pastejacking, the 2026 reality is a high-severity Local Privilege Escalation (LPE) that breaks fundamental memory isolation by tricking the kernel into mismanaging file-backed pages. This is a silent threat because it requires no complex heap grooming or Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) chains, making it highly reliable for attackers who have already gained a foothold via web shells or compromised containers. Beyond the kernel patch, security leaders should treat this as a catalyst to audit terminal configurations for Bracketed Paste Mode, which serves as a secondary defense against older clipboard-injection-style Copy Fail attacks. Prioritize updates for public-facing Linux servers and developer workstations, as these are the primary targets for the initial access required to trigger this exploit.
“Because apparently, in 2026, even “control-C” is a high-risk activity.”
Rajeev Raghunarayan, Head of GTM at Averlon:
“Copy Fail is notable because it turns a local Linux kernel issue into a broadly portable privilege-escalation primitive. A small, reliable exploit that works across major distributions without race conditions, user interaction, or heavy customization makes it much easier to operationalize at scale.
“The real risk shows up in shared environments. In Kubernetes clusters, CI pipelines, and other systems running untrusted code, a local privilege escalation can become a stepping stone to compromising the underlying host or moving beyond the initial workload. That’s what makes this more than just another kernel CVE. Organizations should prioritize patching and, where that’s not immediately possible, restrict access to the affected kernel interfaces, especially in shared and containerized environments.”
Jacob Krell, Senior Director, Secure AI Solutions and Cybersecurity, Suzu Labs:
”Copy Fail is qualitatively different from the steady stream of Linux kernel privilege escalation disclosures. Most LPEs require a race condition, a narrow kernel version, or complex heap grooming. This one needs none of that. Theori demonstrated a 732-byte Python exploit with no external dependencies that reliably gains root on major distributions running affected kernels shipped since 2017. The exposed surface is the kernel crypto API, specifically AF_ALG and algif_aead, enabled by default in most environments and rarely treated by enterprises as meaningful attack surface. Any environment where untrusted users or workloads share a kernel, whether container clusters, CI runners, or multi-tenant hosts, should treat this as urgent. Once local code execution becomes root, container and host level isolation assumptions degrade quickly.
“The discovery method matters as much as the vulnerability itself. Theori reports that AI assisted tooling surfaced the flaw in roughly an hour of scanning against the Linux crypto subsystem. That is the real signal. Vulnerability research is entering a wild west era where discovery cycles are shorter, exploit development friction is lower, and the volume of high impact findings will outpace most organizations’ capacity to remediate. Defenders should expect the interval between “unknown,” “public,” and “weaponized” to keep compressing.”
If you run LINUX on any scale, you should be taking action ASAP. This website goes into the weeds and offers very good guidance on what you need to do.
Moving beyond fixed voice commands, Gemini introduces an intuitive, intent-based experience where the car can understand natural conversation, context and the driver’s needs. This makes life on the road easier and more enjoyable.
The rollout begins with a first wave of customers in the United States, before scaling across the country and into additional markets in the weeks ahead and Canada later this year Drivers of Volvo cars dating back to 2020 will be among the first to experience Google’s next-generation AI assistant.
A more natural way to interact
But what does this look like in the real world?
Collaborating to push boundaries
In 2025, Google selected Volvo Cars as a lead development partner for new in-car features and updates, giving Volvo Cars a direct role in shaping how new technologies, like Google Gemini, are developed for real-world driving and the Volvo experience.
Through over-the-air updates, Volvo Cars is bringing new software experiences to cars already on the road. In March 2026, Volvo Cars launched one of the most comprehensive infotainment updates by any car maker to date, beginning the rollout of Volvo Car UX – a more intuitive user experience – to millions of customers worldwide.
(add something around Canada market timing planned for later this year)
The small print
Bitdefender has released new research on a large-scale global smishing campaign targeting consumers with fake toll, parking, and traffic fine-themed messages designed to steal money and personal information or remotely control devices. The campaign remains active across 12 countries.
Researchers identified more than 79,000 fraudulent text messages and over 31,900 malicious URLs, using techniques such as sender ID spoofing, rotating domains, and masked links to evade detection.
The messages impersonate trusted transport authorities and pressure victims into making payments through fake websites or, in many cases, installing malware.
You can read further into this campaign here.
Congress weighs treating data centers as critical infrastructure
Posted in Commentary with tags US on May 1, 2026 by itnerdU.S. lawmakers and industry leaders are evaluating whether data centers should be designated as a standalone critical infrastructure sector, following a House Homeland Security cyber subcommittee hearing on April 29, 2026. The discussion reflects concerns that current federal frameworks do not clearly assign responsibility for securing data centers or coordinating responses to incidents.
Officials and experts noted that data centers are increasingly targeted by adversaries and are central to cloud services, financial systems, healthcare data, and communications infrastructure, with three providers—Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud—accounting for 63% of the market.
The hearing also highlighted recent incidents involving physical attacks on data centers, alongside ongoing cyber risks, prompting proposals to create a dedicated coordinating body or sector designation to improve collaboration between government and industry. No formal decision has been made, and discussions are ongoing regarding how federal agencies should structure oversight and protection efforts.
Doc McConnell, Head of Policy and Compliance, Finite State:
“There is no denying that data centers are becoming more critical to the functioning of our existing critical infrastructure, including healthcare, communications, energy, and financial services. And there is likely value in closer coordination among data center owners to collectively share risks and respond to incidents.
“But the designation of data centers as critical infrastructure does not, in and of itself, solve this problem. The 2024 National Security Memorandum on critical infrastructure established a shared responsibility model between the public sector and private owners and operators. Building that collaboration, collectively identifying risks, pooling resources to address them systematically — that’s where the real value comes from.
“If the federal government moves to make this designation, they must follow up by leading a national effort with clear outcomes, action plans, and resource commitments from both the public and private sectors. Otherwise, this won’t lead to the strengthened security and resilience that we need.”
Matt Wyckhouse. Founder & CEO,Finite State:
“Data centers are no longer just IT facilities — they are strategic infrastructure underpinning AI, cloud services, financial systems, healthcare, communications, and national security. Treating them as critical infrastructure makes sense, but the designation itself is only the starting point.
“Recent conflict-linked attacks on data center infrastructure in the Middle East, including reported Iranian drone strikes on cloud facilities in the UAE and Bahrain, show that this is no longer a theoretical risk. Data centers are becoming part of the modern battlespace, where cyber operations, physical attacks, supply-chain compromise, and geopolitical coercion can converge.
“The bigger issue is that data center risk is not limited to physical security or perimeter cyber defenses. These environments depend on an enormous technology supply chain: servers, networking equipment, firmware, cooling systems, access-control systems, operational technology, cloud software, and the vendors who build and maintain all of it. A serious compromise may not begin with a front-door attack on a hyperscaler; it may begin much earlier in the lifecycle, through a vulnerable component, manipulated firmware, insecure update mechanism, or opaque supplier relationship.
“If policymakers move toward a standalone data center critical infrastructure sector, the focus should be on measurable assurance: knowing what technology is inside these environments, where it came from, how it was developed, whether it contains known vulnerabilities or exploitable weaknesses, and whether operators can produce defensible evidence of security and resilience. We need to move beyond voluntary checklists and toward continuous, evidence-based assurance across the full supply chain.
“Data centers are becoming the factories of the AI economy. If we are going to depend on them for national-scale compute, we should secure them with the same seriousness we apply to energy, telecommunications, defense, and financial infrastructure.
Jacob Krell, Senior Director: Secure AI Solutions & Cybersecurity, Suzu Labs:
“Data centers are already critical infrastructure in practice. The policy debate is just catching up to operational reality. These facilities are no longer passive real estate where servers happen to sit. They have become part of the operating layer of the modern economy.
“When a major facility or shared dependency fails, the impact does not stay neatly inside one company’s environment. It can become a broader continuity problem very quickly. A standalone designation can help, but only if it turns vague concern into clear ownership and a response model that works when the incident has outgrown a customer support ticket.
“The AI buildout makes this harder to ignore. Training and inference depend on concentrated infrastructure that has to keep working under pressure. That concentration creates efficiency, but it also places more national capacity inside a smaller number of highly important facilities. The threat model is no longer just cyber either. Physical disruption, geopolitical pressure, operational technology compromise, and cloud outages increasingly converge at the same layer.
“The recurring theme in Washington is naming something critical without building the machinery needed to protect it. A sector label only matters if it comes with practical coordination and federal partners that operators trust during a crisis. If agencies like CISA lose capacity while data centers become more strategically important, policymakers trade substance for ceremony.”
John Carberry, Solution Sleuth, Xcape, Inc.:
“The move by Congress to designate data centers as a standalone critical infrastructure sector marks a long-overdue transition in federal risk management. Internet-based services have evolved from business conveniences into safety-critical utilities; however, the current regulatory framework remains bifurcated between the IT and Communications sectors. This oversight gap is increasingly untenable given that three hyperscalers – AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud – now control 63% of the market. This concentration creates a systemic single point of failure where a coordinated cyber campaign or physical sabotage could trigger cascading collapses across healthcare, finance, and government operations.
“Formalizing this 17th sector would mandate stricter incident reporting and create a dedicated Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) to align federal response with the “foundational layer” of the modern economy.
“For leadership, this shift signifies that cloud resilience will soon face the same federal scrutiny as the bulk power system or water utilities. It is a necessary acknowledgment that in 2026, data center availability is no longer a localized operational concern, but a prerequisite for national security and public safety.
“In 2026, treating data centers as “non-critical” is like calling the power grid an optional hobby for people who enjoy light bulbs.”
I am not sure why this is a conversation because in my mind we’re way past the point where datacenters should be considered critical. Or put another way, this conversation should have happened years ago. Clearly congress is late to the party here.
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