OpenAI coming to eat Microsoft's lunch with open source Excel and Powerpoint like tools for ChatGPT users
While still under development, the tools hint at a broader ambition for ChatGPT. With these additions, it is set to become more than just a conversation partner. OpenAI is also said to be working on sophisticated 'agents', AI-powered systems capable of carrying out multi-step tasks. These include automatically generating reports using corporate or public data, booking meetings, or even handling basic web-based actions.If successful, these agents could turn ChatGPT into a full-fledged productivity assistant, performing the kind of administrative and analytical work currently done across multiple apps and platforms. It would represent a shift from ChatGPT being just an AI helper to becoming a central hub for getting work done.Although there's no official launch timeline, the strategic decision to rely on open file formats means OpenAI doesn't need Microsoft's blessing to roll out these features. That independence could pose a significant challenge to both Microsoft and Google, whose business models rely heavily on productivity software subscriptions.The timing is notable, too. Recent speculation has suggested tensions between Microsoft, a key OpenAI investor and partner, and the AI company itself. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly denied any rift. Regardless, developing tools that compete directly with Office products is bound to raise eyebrows in Redmond.There are, of course, early limitations. According to the report, the current prototypes may lack essentials like cloud storage, real-time collaboration, or the kind of speed users expect from mature productivity suites. But if OpenAI can address those gaps, it could offer a compelling alternative, especially for individuals or small teams seeking lightweight, integrated tools powered by AI.In short, ChatGPT might soon do more than answer your questions, it could help you build the very documents you once opened Excel or PowerPoint to create.- Ends
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
29 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Microsoft rushes to stop hackers exploiting SharePoint security flaw
By Jake Bleiberg, Jane Lanhee Lee and Ryan Gallagher Hackers exploited a security flaw in common Microsoft Corp. software to breach governments, businesses and other organizations across the globe and steal sensitive information, according to officials and cybersecurity researchers. Microsoft over the weekend released a patch for the vulnerability in servers of the SharePoint document management software. The company said it was still working to roll out other fixes after warnings that hackers were targeting SharePoint clients, using the flaw to enter file systems and execute code. Multiple different hackers are launching attacks through the Microsoft vulnerability, according to representatives of two cybersecurity firms, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Google's Mandiant Consulting. Hackers have already used the flaw to break into the systems of national governments in Europe and the Middle East, according to a person familiar with the matter. In the US, they've accessed government systems, including ones belonging to the US Department of Education, Florida's Department of Revenue and the Rhode Island General Assembly, said the person, who spoke on condition that they not be identified discussing the sensitive information. Representatives of the Department of Education and Rhode Island legislature didn't respond to calls and emails seeking comment Monday. A Florida Department of Revenue spokesperson, Bethany Wester Cutillo, said in an email that the SharePoint vulnerability is being investigated 'at multiple levels of government' but that the state agency 'does not comment publicly on the software we use for operations.' The hackers also breached the systems of a US-based health-care provider and targeted a public university in Southeast Asia, according to a report from a cybersecurity firm reviewed by Bloomberg News. The report doesn't identify either entity by name, but says the hackers have attempted to breach SharePoint servers in countries including Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the US. The firm asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the information. In some systems they've broken into, the hackers have stolen sign-in credentials, including usernames, passwords, hash codes and tokens, according to a person familiar with the matter, who also spoke on condition that they not be identified discussing the sensitive information. 'This is a high-severity, high-urgency threat,' said Michael Sikorski, chief technology officer and head of threat intelligence for Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks Inc. 'What makes this especially concerning is SharePoint's deep integration with Microsoft's platform, including their services like Office, Teams, OneDrive and Outlook, which has all the information valuable to an attacker,' he said. 'A compromise doesn't stay contained—it opens the door to the entire network.' Tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of businesses and institutions worldwide use SharePoint in some fashion to store and collaborate on documents. Microsoft said that attackers are specifically targeting clients running SharePoint servers from their own on-premise networks, as opposed to being hosted and managed by the tech firm. That could limit the impact to a subsection of customers. A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment beyond an earlier statement. 'It's a dream for ransomware operators,' said Silas Cutler, a researcher at Michigan-based cybersecurity firm Censys. He estimated that more than 10,000 companies with SharePoint servers were at risk. The US had the largest number of such firms, followed by the Netherlands, the UK and Canada, he said. The breaches have drawn new scrutiny to Microsoft's efforts to shore up its cybersecurity after a series of high-profile failures. The firm has hired executives from places like the US government and holds weekly meetings with senior executives to make its software more resilient. The company's tech has been subject to several widespread and damaging hacks in recent years, and a 2024 US government report described the company's security culture as in need of urgent reforms. The Center for Internet Security, which operates a cybersecurity information sharing system for state and local governments in the US, found more than 1,100 servers that are at risk from the SharePoint vulnerability, said Randy Rose, the organization's vice president of security operations and intelligence. Rose said more than 100 were likely hacked. The Washington Post reported that the breach had affected US federal and state agencies, universities, energy companies and an Asian telecommunications company, citing state officials and private researchers. Eye Security was the first to identify that attackers were actively exploiting the vulnerabilities in a wave of cyberattacks that began on Friday, said Vaisha Bernard, the company's chief hacker and co-owner. Eye Security said the vulnerability allows hackers to access SharePoint servers and steal keys that can let them impersonate users or services even after the server is patched. It said hackers can maintain access through backdoors or modified components that can survive updates and reboots of systems. The SharePoint vulnerabilities, known as 'ToolShell,' were first identified in May by researchers at a Berlin cybersecurity conference. In early July, Microsoft issued patches to fix the security holes, but hackers found another way in. 'There were ways around the patches,' which enabled hackers to break into SharePoint servers by tapping into similar vulnerabilities, said Bernard. 'That allowed these attacks to happen.' The intrusions, he said, were not targeted and instead were aimed at compromising as many victims as possible. After scanning about 8,000 SharePoint servers, Bernard said he has so far identified at least 50 that were successfully compromised. He declined to identify the identity of organizations that had been targeted, but said they included government agencies and private companies, including 'bigger multinationals.' The victims were located in countries in North and South America, the EU, South Africa, and Australia, he added.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Microsoft server hack hit about 100 organisations, researchers say
A sweeping cyber espionage operation targeting Microsoft server software compromised about 100 organisations as of the weekend, two of the organisations that helped uncover the campaign said on Monday. Microsoft on Saturday issued an alert about "active attacks" on self-hosted SharePoint servers, which are widely used by organisations to share documents and collaborate within organisations. SharePoint instances run off of Microsoft servers were unaffected. Dubbed a "zero-day" because it leverages a previously undisclosed digital weakness, the hacks allow spies to penetrate vulnerable servers and potentially drop a backdoor to secure continuous access to victim organisations. Vaisha Bernard, the chief hacker at Eye Security, a Netherlands-based cybersecurity firm, which discovered the hacking campaign targeting one of its clients on Friday, said that an internet scan carried out with the Shadowserver Foundation had uncovered nearly 100 victims altogether, and that was before the technique behind the hack was widely known. "It's unambiguous," Bernard said. "Who knows what other adversaries have done since to place other backdoors." He declined to identify the affected organisations, saying that the relevant national authorities had been notified. The Shadowserver Foundation confirmed the 100 figure. It said most of those affected were in the United States and Germany, and the victims included government organisations. Another researcher said that, so far, the spying appeared to be the work of a single hacker or set of hackers. "It's possible that this will quickly change," said Rafe Pilling, director of Threat Intelligence at Sophos, a British cybersecurity firm. Microsoft said it had "provided security updates and encourages customers to install them," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement. It was not clear who was behind the ongoing hack, but Alphabet's Google, which has visibility into wide swaths of internet traffic, said it tied at least some of the hacks to a "China-nexus threat actor." The Chinese Embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment; Beijing routinely denies carrying out hacking operations. The FBI said on Sunday it was aware of the attacks and was working closely with its federal and private-sector partners, but offered no other details. Britain's National Cyber Security Center said in a statement that it was aware of "a limited number" of targets in the United Kingdom. A researcher tracking the campaign said that the campaign appeared initially aimed at a narrow set of government-related organisations. The pool of potential targets remains vast. According to data from Shodan, a search engine that helps to identify internet-linked equipment, over 8,000 servers online could theoretically have already been compromised by hackers. Shadowserver put the number at a little more than 9,000, while cautioning that the figure was a minimum. Those servers include major industrial firms, banks, auditors, healthcare companies, and several U.S. state-level and international government entities. "The SharePoint incident appears to have created a broad level of compromise across a range of servers globally," said Daniel Card of British cybersecurity consultancy PwnDefend. "Taking an assumed breach approach is wise, and it's also important to understand that just applying the patch isn't all that is required here."
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Google says some SharePoint hacks carried out by 'China-nexus threat actor'
Google said a "China-nexus threat actor" is behind some hacks targeting Microsoft's SharePoint servers. The cyber espionage campaign has compromised around 100 organisations as of the weekend. Agencies Alphabet's Google said in a statement on Monday that at least some of the hacks carried out against servers using Microsoft's SharePoint system have been carried out by a "China-nexus threat actor." The cyber espionage operation has compromised about 100 different organizations as of the weekend.
