Yazılar

Nvidia Denies Backdoors in Chips, Warns US Against Mandating Location Verification

/in /tarafından

Nvidia (NVDA.O) reiterated in a blog post on Tuesday that its chips do not contain backdoors or kill switches, urging U.S. policymakers to avoid proposals that would require embedding location verification technology in advanced chips. Nvidia warned that such measures would effectively be a “gift” to hackers and hostile actors by creating vulnerabilities.

The statement follows a recent meeting between Nvidia and the Chinese government, which expressed concerns about a U.S. proposal to require chipmakers to include tracking and positioning functions in their products sold abroad, aimed at preventing unauthorized sales to restricted countries. While the White House and U.S. Congress have proposed such measures, no formal rules or technical standards have yet been established.

Nvidia emphasized that backdoors—hidden methods to bypass security controls—pose serious risks. The company stressed, “there is no such thing as a ‘good’ secret backdoor—only dangerous vulnerabilities that need to be eliminated,” reinforcing that their products do not allow remote access or control.

The tech giant warned that embedding backdoors or kill switches in chips would undermine global digital infrastructure and damage trust in U.S. technology worldwide.

Global M&A Reaches $2.6 Trillion in 2025, Driven by AI and Growth Ambitions

/in /tarafından

Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have hit $2.6 trillion in the first seven months of 2025 — the highest level since the pandemic-era peak of 2021 — as companies prioritize growth and capitalize on opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI). Despite a 16% drop in the number of transactions compared to last year, total deal value rose 28%, fueled by large-scale U.S. transactions exceeding $10 billion.

Key deals include Union Pacific Corp’s proposed $85 billion takeover of Norfolk Southern and OpenAI’s $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank. These transactions mark a shift from early-year hesitation caused by U.S. tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty, as renewed boardroom confidence and a clearer regulatory environment spur activity.

Industry experts say the M&A landscape is now heavily growth-oriented, with AI adoption and regulatory changes prompting companies to move quickly to avoid falling behind. Compared to August 2021’s $3.57 trillion, current activity is still down 27%, but bankers expect more large deals in the second half of 2025 as executives adapt to market volatility and post-election policy direction.

Healthcare dominated post-pandemic dealmaking, but over the past two years, technology and electronics have taken the lead. AI-driven needs, such as data center infrastructure and cybersecurity, are major drivers — highlighted by Samsung’s $1.7 billion purchase of FlaktGroup and Palo Alto Networks’ $25 billion acquisition of CyberArk. Private equity has also re-entered the market, with major bids like Sycamore Partners’ $10 billion move to take Walgreens Boots Alliance private and competing offers from KKR and Advent for UK firm Spectris.

The U.S. remains the world’s largest M&A market, representing more than half of global deals, while Asia Pacific’s activity doubled from last year, surpassing the pace of EMEA growth.

UN Report Calls for Stronger Measures to Detect and Combat AI-Driven Deepfakes

/in /tarafından

The United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has urged companies to adopt advanced tools to detect and eliminate misinformation and deepfake content, highlighting the growing threats these pose to elections and financial security. The call was made in a report released on Friday during the ITU’s “AI for Good Summit” in Geneva.

Deepfakes—AI-generated images, videos, and audio that convincingly mimic real people—are increasingly used to spread false information, the ITU warned. To tackle this, the report recommended robust standards for combating manipulated multimedia and urged platforms like social media sites to implement digital verification tools to authenticate content before sharing.

Bilel Jamoussi, head of the ITU’s Standardization Bureau’s Study Groups Department, noted that public trust in social media has dropped sharply because users struggle to distinguish truth from fake. Generative AI’s ability to fabricate realistic multimedia makes combating deepfakes a particularly pressing challenge.

Leonard Rosenthol from Adobe, a leading digital editing software company addressing deepfakes since 2019, emphasized the need for content provenance—information about the origin of digital media—to help users judge trustworthiness. “When scrolling feeds, users want to know: ‘Can I trust this image or video?’” he said.

Dr. Farzaneh Badiei, founder of Digital Medusa, a digital governance research firm, stressed the need for a coordinated global response, noting the lack of a single international body focused on detecting manipulated media. She warned that fragmented standards could make harmful deepfakes more effective.

The ITU is developing standards for watermarking videos—which constitute 80% of internet traffic—to embed provenance data such as creator identity and timestamps.

Tomaz Levak, founder of Swiss firm Umanitek, called on the private sector to proactively adopt safety measures and educate users. “AI will become more powerful and faster… We must upskill people to avoid them becoming victims,” he said.