Microsoft flags active attacks on server software; Activision refutes lawsuit over Uvalde school shooter; Trump posts morphed video of Obama being arrested
Microsoft has flagged the emergence of 'active attacks' targeting server software used by high-profile clients such as U.S. government agencies and businesses. The company said that the vulnerabilities applied only to SharePoint servers used within organisations and that the SharePoint Online in Microsoft 365, which is in the cloud, had not been affected by the attacks. Tens of thousands of servers were reportedly at risk due to this 'zero day attack.' The Washington Post reported that unidentified actors in recent days had exploited a flaw to attack U.S. and international agencies and businesses.
Microsoft said that the vulnerability allowed an authorised attacker to perform spoofing over a network. The company further confirmed that it provided a security update for SharePoint Subscription Edition and urged customers to apply it immediately.
Activision refutes lawsuit over Uvalde school shooter
Call of Duty maker Activision, and Meta, are facing a lawsuit in the U.S. brought by the families of the victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas in 2022, over how their products allegedly influenced the gunman to carry out the killings. In specific, the lawsuit raised concerns about recognisable gun models or gun-related products being promoted to gamers through the Call of Duty game. The influence of highly realistic first-person shooter games with advanced special effects that allow players to gun down others through the screen have been criticised for desensitising users to real life acts of gun violence, which are rampant in the U.S.
However, Activision lawyer Bethany Kristovich opposed this view and defended the game's product placement and marketing choices. The lawyer also stressed that creators of artistic works, including video games, cannot be held legally liable for the acts of their audience. Meanwhile, Meta's attorneys are set to make their arguments for a similar motion next month.
Trump posts morphed video of Obama being arrested
U.S. President Donald Trump posted a morphed video of his predecessor, former U.S. President Barack Obama, being arrested by FBI agents and sent behind bars. The video, which appeared to originally come from a TikTok user, was shared by Trump on the right-wing social media platform Truth Social, where he is mostly active. U.S. outlet Fox News reported that the morphed video had been created with artificial intelligence (AI). In the video, Obama is seen being apprehended by FBI agents and handcuffed, before being shown in prison-issue orange clothes.
The video quickly went viral on Truth Social, and was then shared across other social media channels. This is not the first time Trump has posted morphed or AI-generated videos in order to take aim at his opponents or express his opinion on world events.
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The Hindu
25 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Trump accuses Obama of treason in escalating attacks over 2016 Russia probe
U.S. President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of 'treason' on Tuesday (July 22, 2025), accusing him, without providing evidence, of leading an effort to falsely tie him to Russia and undermine his 2016 presidential campaign. A spokesperson for Mr. Obama denounced Mr. Trump's claims, saying 'these bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.' While Mr. Trump has frequently attacked Mr. Obama by name, the Republican President has not, since returning to office in January, gone this far in pointing the finger at his Democratic predecessor with allegations of criminal action. During remarks in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump leaped on comments from his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, on Friday (July 18, 2025) in which she threatened to refer Mr. Obama administration officials to the Justice Department for prosecution over an intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election. She declassified documents and said the information she was releasing showed a 'treasonous conspiracy' in 2016 by top Obama administration officials to undermine Mr. Trump, claims that Democrats called false and politically motivated. 'It's there, he's guilty. This was treason,' Mr. Trump said on Tuesday, though he offered no proof of his claims. 'They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody's ever imagined, even in other countries.' An assessment by the U.S. intelligence community published in January 2017 concluded that Russia, using social media disinformation, hacking and Russian bot farms, sought to damage Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign and bolster Mr. Trump. The assessment determined that the actual impact was likely limited and showed no evidence that Moscow's efforts actually changed voting outcomes. A 2020 bipartisan report by the Senate intelligence committee had found that Russia used Republican political operative Paul Manafort, the WikiLeaks website and others to try to influence the 2016 election to help Mr. Trump's campaign. 'Nothing in the document issued last week (by Ms. Gabbard) undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,' Mr. Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said in a statement. Trump under pressure Mr. Trump, who has a history of promoting false conspiracy theories, has frequently denounced the assessments as a 'hoax.' In recent days, Mr. Trump reposted on his Truth Social account a fake video showing Mr. Obama being arrested in handcuffs in the Oval Office. Mr. Trump has been seeking to divert attention to other issues after coming under pressure from his conservative base to release more information about Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Backers of conspiracy theories about Epstein have urged Mr. Trump, who socialized with the disgraced financier during the 1990s and early 2000s, to release investigative files related to the case. Mr. Trump, asked in the Oval Office about Epstein, quickly pivoted into an attack on Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton. 'The witch hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama absolutely cold,' Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump suggested action would be taken against Mr. Obama and his former officials, calling the Russia investigation a treasonous act and the former president guilty of 'trying to lead a coup.' 'It's time to start, after what they did to me, and whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people. Mr. Obama has been caught directly,' he said. Democratic Representative Jim Himes responded on X: 'This is a lie. And if he's confused, the President should ask @SecRubio, who helped lead the bipartisan Senate investigation that unanimously concluded that there was no evidence of politicization in the intelligence community's behavior around the 2016 election.' Former Republican Senator Marco Rubio is now Mr. Trump's Secretary of State. Since returning to office, Trump has castigated his political opponents whom he claims weaponized the federal government against him and his allies for the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters and his handling of classified materials after he left office in 2021. Attacks on predecessors Mr. Obama has long been a target of -Mr. Trump. In 2011 he accused then-President Obama of not being born in the United States, prompting Mr. Obama to release a copy of his birth certificate. In recent months, Mr. Trump has rarely held back in his rhetorical broadsides against his two Democratic predecessors in a way all but unprecedented in modern times. He launched an investigation after accusing former President Joe Biden and his staff, without evidence, of a 'conspiracy' to use an autopen, an automated device that replicates a person's signature, to sign sensitive documents on the president's behalf. Biden has rejected the claim as false and 'ridiculous.' Ms. Gabbard's charge that Mr. Obama conspired to subvert Mr. Trump's 2016 election by manufacturing intelligence on Russia's interference is contradicted by a CIA review ordered by Director John Ratcliffe and published on July 2, a 2018 bipartisan Senate report and declassified documents that Ms. Gabbard herself released last week. The documents show that Ms. Gabbard conflated two separate U.S. intelligence findings in alleging that Mr. Obama and his national security aides changed an assessment that Russia probably was not trying to influence the election through cyber means. One finding was that Russia was not trying to hack U.S. election infrastructure to change vote counts and the second was that Moscow probably was using cyber means to influence the U.S. political environment through information and propaganda operations, including by stealing and leaking data from Democratic Party servers. The January 2017 U.S. intelligence assessment ordered by Mr. Obama built on that second finding: that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to sway the 2016 vote to Mr. Trump. The review ordered by Ratcliffe found flaws in the production of that assessment. But it did not contest its conclusion and upheld 'the quality and credibility' of a highly classified CIA report on which the assessment's authors relied.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump accuses Obama of ‘treason' amid renewed 2016 Russia probe attacks
U.S. President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of "treason" on Tuesday, accusing him, without providing evidence, of leading an effort to falsely tie him to Russia and undermine his 2016 presidential campaign. While Trump has frequently attacked Obama (L) by name, the Republican president has not, since returning to office in January, gone this far in pointing the finger at his Democratic predecessor with allegations of criminal action(AFP) A spokesperson for Obama denounced Trump's claims, saying "these bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction." While Trump has frequently attacked Obama by name, the Republican president has not, since returning to office in January, gone this far in pointing the finger at his Democratic predecessor with allegations of criminal action. During remarks in the Oval Office, Trump leaped on comments from his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, on Friday in which she threatened to refer Obama administration officials to the Justice Department for prosecution over an intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election. She declassified documents and said the information she was releasing showed a 'treasonous conspiracy' in 2016 by top Obama administration officials to undermine Trump, claims that Democrats called false and politically motivated. "It's there, he's guilty. This was treason," Trump said on Tuesday, though he offered no proof of his claims. "They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody's ever imagined, even in other countries." An assessment by the U.S. intelligence community published in January 2017 concluded that Russia, using social media disinformation, hacking and Russian bot farms, sought to damage Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign and bolster Trump. The assessment determined that the actual impact was likely limited and showed no evidence that Moscow's efforts actually changed voting outcomes. A 2020 bipartisan report by the Senate intelligence committee had found that Russia used Republican political operative Paul Manafort, the WikiLeaks website and others to try to influence the 2016 election to help Trump's campaign. "Nothing in the document issued last week (by Gabbard) undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes," Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said in a statement. Trump under pressure Trump, who has a history of promoting false conspiracy theories, has frequently denounced the assessments as a 'hoax.' In recent days, Trump reposted on his Truth Social account a fake video showing Obama being arrested in handcuffs in the Oval Office. Trump has been seeking to divert attention to other issues after coming under pressure from his conservative base to release more information about Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Backers of conspiracy theories about Epstein have urged Trump, who socialized with the disgraced financier during the 1990s and early 2000s, to release investigative files related to the case. Trump, asked in the Oval Office about Epstein, quickly pivoted into an attack on Obama and Clinton. "The witch hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama absolutely cold," Trump said. Trump suggested action would be taken against Obama and his former officials, calling the Russia investigation a treasonous act and the former president guilty of "trying to lead a coup." "It's time to start, after what they did to me, and whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people. Obama has been caught directly," he said. Democratic Representative Jim Himes responded on X: "This is a lie. And if he's confused, the President should ask @SecRubio, who helped lead the bipartisan Senate investigation that unanimously concluded that there was no evidence of politicization in the intelligence community's behavior around the 2016 election." Former Republican Senator Marco Rubio is now Trump's secretary of state. Since returning to office, Trump has castigated his political opponents whom he claims weaponized the federal government against him and his allies for the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters and his handling of classified materials after he left office in 2021. Attacks on predecessors Obama has long been a target of Trump. In 2011 he accused then-President Obama of not being born in the United States, prompting Obama to release a copy of his birth certificate. In recent months, Trump has rarely held back in his rhetorical broadsides against his two Democratic predecessors in a way all but unprecedented in modern times. He launched an investigation after accusing former President Joe Biden and his staff, without evidence, of a "conspiracy" to use an autopen, an automated device that replicates a person's signature, to sign sensitive documents on the president's behalf. Biden has rejected the claim as false and 'ridiculous.' Gabbard's charge that Obama conspired to subvert Trump's 2016 election by manufacturing intelligence on Russia's interference is contradicted by a CIA review ordered by Director John Ratcliffe and published on July 2, a 2018 bipartisan Senate report and declassified documents that Gabbard herself released last week. The documents show that Gabbard conflated two separate U.S. intelligence findings in alleging that Obama and his national security aides changed an assessment that Russia probably was not trying to influence the election through cyber means. One finding was that Russia was not trying to hack U.S. election infrastructure to change vote counts and the second was that Moscow probably was using cyber means to influence the U.S. political environment through information and propaganda operations, including by stealing and leaking data from Democratic Party servers. The January 2017 U.S. intelligence assessment ordered by Obama built on that second finding: that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to sway the 2016 vote to Trump. The review ordered by Ratcliffe found flaws in the production of that assessment. But it did not contest its conclusion and upheld 'the quality and credibility' of a highly classified CIA report on which the assessment's authors relied. (Reporting By Steve Holland, Matt Spetalnick and Jonathan Landay; Editing by Ross Colvin, Deepa Babington and Cynthia Osterman)
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Trump Accuses Obama Of Treason Over Russia Interference In 2016 Election Report
Washington: Donald Trump on Tuesday accused his predecessor Barack Obama of treason and called for his prosecution over a report alleging that officials in the Democrat's administration manipulated information on Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department related to a report published Friday that asserted the Obama officials had been part of a "treasonous conspiracy." Gabbard claimed Obama and his team had manufactured intelligence regarding Russian election interference to "lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump." Her accusations were widely criticized as they fly in the face of findings by four separate criminal, counterintelligence and watchdog probes between 2019 and 2023 -- all of which concluded that Russia did intervene on Trump's behalf in the 2016 election. The Republican leader was asked whom the department should target over Gabbard's report during an Oval Office press event with visiting Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos. "Based on what I read -- and I read pretty much what you read -- it would be President Obama. He started it," said Trump, who was criticized on Monday for sharing an AI-generated video of Obama being arrested. Trump also singled out Obama's then-vice president Joe Biden, former FBI director James Comey, former DNI director James Clapper and ex-CIA director John Brennan as being part of a conspiracy. But he said the "leader of the gang" was Obama, accusing him of being guilty of "treason." Trump has claimed since they were launched that the various probes into Russian interference in the 2016 election -- and his own campaign's involvement -- were a "hoax." Trump's latest remarks were dismissed by his opponents as an attempt to shift focus away from the mushrooming crisis around the administration's failure to release files connected to the Jeffrey Epstein case. They drew an angry rebuke from Obama's office, which said they were "ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction." "Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes," Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said. A bipartisan report by the Senate Intelligence Committee -- spearheaded by then acting chairman Marco Rubio, now Trump's secretary of state -- found in 2020 that the Trump campaign sought to "maximize the impact" of leaks of Democratic documents stolen by Russian military intelligence. The aim of the hack, it said, was to help Trump and hurt Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. "The Russian intelligence services' assault on the integrity of the 2016 US electoral process, and Trump and his associates' participation in and enabling of this Russian activity, represents one of the single most grave counterintelligence threats to American national security in the modem era," the report said.
