@cyberalerts.io
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A new malware campaign is exploiting the hype surrounding artificial intelligence to distribute the Noodlophile Stealer, an information-stealing malware. Morphisec researcher Shmuel Uzan discovered that attackers are enticing victims with fake AI video generation tools advertised on social media platforms, particularly Facebook. These platforms masquerade as legitimate AI services for creating videos, logos, images, and even websites, attracting users eager to leverage AI for content creation.
Posts promoting these fake AI tools have garnered significant attention, with some reaching over 62,000 views. Users who click on the advertised links are directed to bogus websites, such as one impersonating CapCut AI, where they are prompted to upload images or videos. Instead of receiving the promised AI-generated content, users are tricked into downloading a malicious ZIP archive named "VideoDreamAI.zip," which contains an executable file designed to initiate the infection chain.
The "Video Dream MachineAI.mp4.exe" file within the archive launches a legitimate binary associated with ByteDance's CapCut video editor, which is then used to execute a .NET-based loader. This loader, in turn, retrieves a Python payload from a remote server, ultimately leading to the deployment of the Noodlophile Stealer. This malware is capable of harvesting browser credentials, cryptocurrency wallet information, and other sensitive data. In some instances, the stealer is bundled with a remote access trojan like XWorm, enabling attackers to gain entrenched access to infected systems.
Recommended read:
References :
- malware.news: Novel Noodlophile Stealer spread via bogus AI tools, Facebook ads
- thehackernews.com: Threat actors have been observed leveraging fake artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools as a lure to entice users into downloading an information stealer malware dubbed Noodlophile.
- www.bleepingcomputer.com: Fake AI video generators drop new Noodlophile infostealer malware
- securityaffairs.com: Threat actors use fake AI tools to trick users into installing the information stealer Noodlophile, Morphisec researchers warn.
- Blog: New ‘Noodlophile’ infostealer disguised as AI video generator
- Virus Bulletin: Morphisec's Shmuel Uzan reveals how attackers exploit AI hype to spread malware. Victims expecting custom AI videos instead get Noodlophile Stealer, a new infostealer targeting browser credentials, crypto wallets, and sensitive data.
- www.scworld.com: Fake image-to-video AI sites deliver novel ‘Noodlophile’ infostealer
- securityonline.info: Security Online details on the fake platforms
- SOC Prime Blog: SocPrime blog on Noodlophile Stealer detection
- socprime.com: SocPrime Article on Noodlophile
- www.cybersecurity-insiders.com: CyberSecurity Insiders on malware
Carl Franzen@AI News | VentureBeat
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OpenAI is reportedly finalizing an agreement to acquire Windsurf, an AI-powered developer platform formerly known as Codeium, for approximately $3 billion. This marks OpenAI's largest acquisition to date, signaling a significant move to strengthen its position in the competitive AI tools market for software developers. The deal, which has been rumored for weeks, is anticipated to enhance OpenAI's coding AI capabilities and reflects the increasing importance of AI-powered tools in the software development industry. Windsurf's CEO Varun Mohan hinted at the deal on X, stating, "Big announcement tomorrow!".
This acquisition allows OpenAI to better understand how developers utilize various AI models, including those from competitors such as Meta and Anthropic. By gaining insights into developer preferences and the types of AI models used for coding tasks, OpenAI can refine its own offerings and better cater to the developer community's needs. Windsurf, founded in 2021 by MIT graduates Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen, launched the Windsurf Integrated Development Environment (IDE) in November 2024. The IDE, based on Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code, has attracted over 800,000 developer users and 1,000 enterprise customers.
The acquisition highlights OpenAI's ambition to dominate the AI coding space, pitting it against competitors such as Microsoft's GitHub Copilot and Anthropic's Claude Code. While Windsurf supports multiple large language models (LLMs), including its own custom model based on Meta’s Llama 3, questions arise regarding the future of this model-agnostic approach under OpenAI's ownership. The deal comes shortly after OpenAI announced it would maintain its non-profit-backed structure instead of switching to a traditional for-profit model, further emphasizing its commitment to its core mission of broadly benefiting humanity.
Recommended read:
References :
- Analytics India Magazine: OpenAI to Acquire Windsurf for $3 Billion to Dominate AI Coding Space
- THE DECODER: OpenAI's $3 billion Windsurf deal would boost its coding AI efforts
- AI News | VentureBeat: Report: OpenAI is buying AI-powered developer platform Windsurf — what happens to its support for rival LLMs?
- John Werner: OpenAI Strikes $3 Billion Deal To Buy Windsurf: Reports
- Verdict: OpenAI to acquire Windsurf for $3bn
- the-decoder.com: OpenAI's $3 billion Windsurf deal would boost its coding AI efforts
- www.verdict.co.uk: OpenAI to acquire Windsurf for $3bn
- Cautious Optimism: OpenAI solves its internal crisis, snaps up Windsurf
- Latest from ITPro in News: OpenAI is closing in on its biggest acquisition to date – and it could be a game changer for software developers and ‘vibe coding’ fanatics
- Techmeme: Sources: OpenAI reaches an agreement to buy Windsurf, an AI coding tool formerly known as Codeium, for about $3B; the deal has not yet closed (Bloomberg)
- www.computerworld.com: OpenAI to acquire AI coding tool Windsurf for $3B
- Techzine Global: OpenAI acquires Windsurf for $3 billion
Alexey Shabanov@TestingCatalog
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OpenAI is now providing access to its Deep Research tool to all ChatGPT users, including those with free accounts. The company is introducing a "lightweight" version of Deep Research, powered by the o4-mini model, designed to be nearly as intelligent as the original while significantly cheaper to serve. This move aims to democratize access to sophisticated AI reasoning capabilities, allowing a broader audience to benefit from the tool's in-depth analytical capabilities.
The Deep Research feature offers users detailed insights on various topics, from consumer decision-making to educational guidance. The lightweight version available to free users enables in-depth, topic-specific breakdowns without requiring a premium subscription. This expansion means free ChatGPT users will have access to Deep Research, albeit with a limitation of five tasks per month. The tool allows ChatGPT to autonomously browse the web, read, synthesize, and output structured reports, similar to tasks conducted by policy analysts and researchers.
Existing ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro users will also see changes. While still having access to the more advanced version of Deep Research, they will now switch to the lightweight version after reaching their initial usage limits. This approach effectively increases monthly usage for paid users by offering additional tasks via the o4-mini-powered tool. The lightweight version preserves core functionalities like multi-step reasoning, real-time browsing, and document parsing, though responses may be slightly shorter while retaining citations and structured logic.
Recommended read:
References :
- TestingCatalog: OpenAI tests Deep Research Mini tool for free ChatGPT users
- Maginative: OpenAI's Deep Research Is Now Available to All ChatGPT Users
- www.tomsguide.com: Reports on OpenAI supercharging ChatGPT with Deep Research mode for free users.
- THE DECODER: OpenAI has made the Deep Research tool in ChatGPT available to free-tier users. Access is limited to five uses per month, using a lightweight version based on the o4-mini-model.
- TestingCatalog: OpenAI may have increased the o3 model's quota to 50 messages/day and added task-scheduling to o3 and o4 Mini. An "o3 Pro" tier might be on the horizon.
- www.techradar.com: Discusses that Free ChatGPT users are finally getting Deep Research access
- the-decoder.com: Reports that the Deep Research feature is now available to free ChatGPT users.
- thetechbasic.com: OpenAI has made its smart research tool cheaper and more accessible. The tool, called Deep Research, helps ChatGPT search the web and give detailed answers. Now, a lighter version is available for free users, while paid plans offer more features. This move lets more people try advanced AI without paying upfront. What the Lightweight Tool Can
- Shelly Palmer: The Washington Post partners with OpenAI to integrate its content into ChatGPT search results.
- MarkTechPost: OpenAI has officially announced the release of its image generation API, powered by the gpt-image-1 model. This launch brings the multimodal capabilities of ChatGPT into the hands of developers, enabling programmatic access to image generation—an essential step for building intelligent design tools, creative applications, and multimodal agent systems.
- PCMag Middle East ai: ChatGPT Free Users Can Now Run 'Deep Research' Five Times a Month
- The Tech Basic: OpenAI has made its smart research tool cheaper and more accessible. The tool, called Deep Research, helps ChatGPT search the web and give detailed answers.
- eWEEK: OpenAI has updated its ChatGPT models by offering free users a lightweight version of the "Deep Research" tool based on the o4-mini model.
- techcrunch.com: OpenAI expands deep research usage for Plus, Pro, and Team users with an o4-mini-powered lightweight version, which also rolls out to Free users today.
- THE DECODER: ChatGPT gets an update: OpenAI promises a more intuitive GPT-4o
- aigptjournal.com: OpenAI Broadens Access: Lightweight Deep Research Empowers Every ChatGPT User
- techstrong.ai: OpenAI Debuts ‘Lightweight’ Model for ChatGPT’s Deep Research Tool
- AI GPT Journal: OpenAI Broadens Access: Lightweight Deep Research Empowers Every ChatGPT User
Chris McKay@Maginative
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OpenAI has released its latest AI models, o3 and o4-mini, designed to enhance reasoning and tool use within ChatGPT. These models aim to provide users with smarter and faster AI experiences by leveraging web search, Python programming, visual analysis, and image generation. The models are designed to solve complex problems and perform tasks more efficiently, positioning OpenAI competitively in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Greg Brockman from OpenAI noted the models "feel incredibly smart" and have the potential to positively impact daily life and solve challenging problems.
The o3 model stands out due to its ability to use tools independently, which enables more practical applications. The model determines when and how to utilize tools such as web search, file analysis, and image generation, thus reducing the need for users to specify tool usage with each query. The o3 model sets new standards for reasoning, particularly in coding, mathematics, and visual perception, and has achieved state-of-the-art performance on several competition benchmarks. The model excels in programming, business, consulting, and creative ideation.
Usage limits for these models vary, with o3 at 50 queries per week, and o4-mini at 150 queries per day, and o4-mini-high at 50 queries per day for Plus users, alongside 10 Deep Research queries per month. The o3 model is available to ChatGPT Pro and Team subscribers, while the o4-mini models are used across ChatGPT Plus. OpenAI says o3 is also beneficial in generating and critically evaluating novel hypotheses, especially in biology, mathematics, and engineering contexts.
Recommended read:
References :
- Simon Willison's Weblog: OpenAI are really emphasizing tool use with these: For the first time, our reasoning models can agentically use and combine every tool within ChatGPT—this includes searching the web, analyzing uploaded files and other data with Python, reasoning deeply about visual inputs, and even generating images. Critically, these models are trained to reason about when and how to use tools to produce detailed and thoughtful answers in the right output formats, typically in under a minute, to solve more complex problems.
- the-decoder.com: OpenAI’s new o3 and o4-mini models reason with images and tools
- venturebeat.com: OpenAI launches o3 and o4-mini, AI models that ‘think with images’ and use tools autonomously
- www.analyticsvidhya.com: o3 and o4-mini: OpenAI’s Most Advanced Reasoning Models
- www.tomsguide.com: OpenAI's o3 and o4-mini models
- Maginative: OpenAI’s latest models—o3 and o4-mini—introduce agentic reasoning, full tool integration, and multimodal thinking, setting a new bar for AI performance in both speed and sophistication.
- THE DECODER: OpenAI’s new o3 and o4-mini models reason with images and tools
- Analytics Vidhya: o3 and o4-mini: OpenAI’s Most Advanced Reasoning Models
- www.zdnet.com: These new models are the first to independently use all ChatGPT tools.
- The Tech Basic: OpenAI recently released its new AI models, o3 and o4-mini, to the public. Smart tools employ pictures to address problems through pictures, including sketch interpretation and photo restoration.
- thetechbasic.com: OpenAI’s new AI Can “See†and Solve Problems with Pictures
- www.marktechpost.com: OpenAI Introduces o3 and o4-mini: Progressing Towards Agentic AI with Enhanced Multimodal Reasoning
- MarkTechPost: OpenAI Introduces o3 and o4-mini: Progressing Towards Agentic AI with Enhanced Multimodal Reasoning
- analyticsindiamag.com: Access to o3 and o4-mini is rolling out today for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users.
- THE DECODER: OpenAI is expanding its o-series with two new language models featuring improved tool usage and strong performance on complex tasks.
- gHacks Technology News: OpenAI released its latest models, o3 and o4-mini, to enhance the performance and speed of ChatGPT in reasoning tasks.
- www.ghacks.net: OpenAI Launches o3 and o4-Mini models to improve ChatGPT's reasoning abilities
- Data Phoenix: OpenAI releases new reasoning models o3 and o4-mini amid intense competition. OpenAI has launched o3 and o4-mini, which combine sophisticated reasoning capabilities with comprehensive tool integration.
- Shelly Palmer: OpenAI Quietly Reshapes the Landscape with o3 and o4-mini. OpenAI just rolled out a major update to ChatGPT, quietly releasing three new models (o3, o4-mini, and o4-mini-high) that offer the most advanced reasoning capabilities the company has ever shipped.
- THE DECODER: Safety assessments show that OpenAI's o3 is probably the company's riskiest AI model to date
- shellypalmer.com: OpenAI Quietly Reshapes the Landscape with o3 and o4-mini
- BleepingComputer: OpenAI details ChatGPT-o3, o4-mini, o4-mini-high usage limits
- TestingCatalog: OpenAI’s o3 and o4‑mini bring smarter tools and faster reasoning to ChatGPT
- simonwillison.net: Introducing OpenAI o3 and o4-mini
- bdtechtalks.com: What to know about o3 and o4-mini, OpenAI’s new reasoning models
- bdtechtalks.com: What to know about o3 and o4-mini, OpenAI’s new reasoning models
- thezvi.wordpress.com: OpenAI has finally introduced us to the full o3 along with o4-mini. Greg Brockman (OpenAI): Just released o3 and o4-mini! These models feel incredibly smart. We’ve heard from top scientists that they produce useful novel ideas. Excited to see their …
- thezvi.wordpress.com: OpenAI has upgraded its entire suite of models. By all reports, they are back in the game for more than images. GPT-4.1 and especially GPT-4.1-mini are their new API non-reasoning models.
- felloai.com: OpenAI has just launched a brand-new series of GPT models—GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and GPT-4.1 nano—that promise major advances in coding, instruction following, and the ability to handle incredibly long contexts.
- Interconnects: OpenAI's o3: Over-optimization is back and weirder than ever
- www.ishir.com: OpenAI has released o3 and o4-mini, adding significant reasoning capabilities to its existing models. These advancements will likely transform the way users interact with AI-powered tools, making them more effective and versatile in tackling complex problems.
- www.bigdatawire.com: OpenAI released the models o3 and o4-mini that offer advanced reasoning capabilities, integrated with tool use, like web searches and code execution.
- Drew Breunig: OpenAI's o3 and o4-mini models offer enhanced reasoning capabilities in mathematical and coding tasks.
- TestingCatalog: OpenAI’s o3 and o4-mini bring smarter tools and faster reasoning to ChatGPT
- www.techradar.com: ChatGPT model matchup - I pitted OpenAI's o3, o4-mini, GPT-4o, and GPT-4.5 AI models against each other and the results surprised me
- www.techrepublic.com: OpenAI’s o3 and o4-mini models are available now to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users. Enterprise and education users will get access next week.
- Last Week in AI: OpenAI’s new GPT-4.1 AI models focus on coding, OpenAI launches a pair of AI reasoning models, o3 and o4-mini, Google’s newest Gemini AI model focuses on efficiency, and more!
- techcrunch.com: OpenAI’s new reasoning AI models hallucinate more.
- computational-intelligence.blogspot.com: OpenAI's new reasoning models, o3 and o4-mini, are a step up in certain capabilities compared to prior models, but their accuracy is being questioned due to increased instances of hallucinations.
- www.unite.ai: unite.ai article discussing OpenAI's o3 and o4-mini new possibilities through multimodal reasoning and integrated toolsets.
- Unite.AI: On April 16, 2025, OpenAI released upgraded versions of its advanced reasoning models.
- Digital Information World: OpenAI’s Latest o3 and o4-mini AI Models Disappoint Due to More Hallucinations than Older Models
- techcrunch.com: TechCrunch reports on OpenAI's GPT-4.1 models focusing on coding.
- Analytics Vidhya: o3 vs o4-mini vs Gemini 2.5 pro: The Ultimate Reasoning Battle
- THE DECODER: OpenAI's o3 achieves near-perfect performance on long context benchmark.
- the-decoder.com: OpenAI's o3 achieves near-perfect performance on long context benchmark
- www.analyticsvidhya.com: AI models keep getting smarter, but which one truly reasons under pressure? In this blog, we put o3, o4-mini, and Gemini 2.5 Pro through a series of intense challenges: physics puzzles, math problems, coding tasks, and real-world IQ tests.
- Simon Willison's Weblog: This post explores the use of OpenAI's o3 and o4-mini models for conversational AI, highlighting their ability to use tools in their reasoning process. It also discusses the concept of
- Simon Willison's Weblog: The benchmark score on OpenAI's internal PersonQA benchmark (as far as I can tell no further details of that evaluation have been shared) going from 0.16 for o1 to 0.33 for o3 is interesting, but I don't know if it it's interesting enough to produce dozens of headlines along the lines of "OpenAI's o3 and o4-mini hallucinate way higher than previous models"
- techstrong.ai: Techstrong.ai reports OpenAI o3, o4 Reasoning Models Have Some Kinks.
- www.marktechpost.com: OpenAI Releases a Practical Guide to Identifying and Scaling AI Use Cases in Enterprise Workflows
- Towards AI: OpenAI's o3 and o4-mini models have demonstrated promising improvements in reasoning tasks, particularly their use of tools in complex thought processes and enhanced reasoning capabilities.
- Analytics Vidhya: In this article, we explore how OpenAI's o3 reasoning model stands out in tasks demanding analytical thinking and multi-step problem solving, showcasing its capability in accessing and processing information through tools.
- pub.towardsai.net: TAI#149: OpenAI’s Agentic o3; New Open Weights Inference Optimized Models (DeepMind Gemma, Nvidia…
- composio.dev: OpenAI o3 vs. Gemini 2.5 Pro vs. o4-mini
- Composio: OpenAI o3 and o4-mini are out. They are two reasoning state-of-the-art models. They’re expensive, multimodal, and super efficient at tool use.
Tom Krazit@Runtime
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Anthropic is gaining traction in the AI infrastructure space with its Model Context Protocol (MCP), introduced last November as an open standard for secure, two-way connections between data sources and AI-powered tools. This protocol is designed to simplify the process of building AI agents by providing a standard way for applications to retrieve data, allowing agents to take actions based on that data. Microsoft and Cloudflare have already announced support for MCP, with Microsoft highlighting that MCP simplifies agent building and reduces maintenance time.
The MCP protocol works by taking natural language input from a large-language model and providing a standard way for MCP clients to find and retrieve data stored on servers running MCP. This is analogous to the API, which made web-based computing a standard. Previously, developers needed to set up MCP servers locally, which was impractical for most users. This barrier to entry has now been removed.
In other news, Anthropic is facing a legal challenge as music publishers' request for a preliminary injunction in their copyright infringement suit was denied. The publishers alleged that Anthropic's LLM Claude was trained on their song lyrics. However, the judge ruled that the publishers failed to demonstrate specific financial harm and that their list of forbidden lyrics was not final, requiring constant updates to Anthropic's guard rails. The case is ongoing, and the publishers can collect more evidence.
Recommended read:
References :
- Runtime: Why AI infrastructure companies are lining up behind Anthropic's MCP
george.fitzmaurice@futurenet.com (George@Latest from ITPro
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Cisco has announced new agentic AI tools designed to improve both customer and employee experiences. The unveiling includes the Webex AI Agent, set to be generally available later this month, which aims to address customer service requests around the clock with human-like natural language. Additionally, the firm introduced 'Cisco AI Assistant for Webex Contact Center,' offering suggested responses and real-time conversation transcripts for human agents.
Other offerings include ‘Workflow Automation in Cisco AI Assistant for Webex’ integrating Cisco’s tools with enterprise apps like Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Jira. ‘AI Capabilities in Webex Control Hub’ functions as a platform for IT admins to manage AI ecosystems and view analytics on AI usage and employee adoption. Cisco CPO Jeetu Patel stated that agentic AI is reinventing how people and technology work together across both physical and digital realms.
Recommended read:
References :
- www.itpro.com: Cisco unveils new agentic AI tools to improve customer and employee experience
- Salesforce: Building the AI Powered Workforce: Inside Salesforce’s Strategy for Agentic AI Adoption
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