Latest news with #SupanthaMukherjee
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft offers to boost European governments' cybersecurity for free
By Supantha Mukherjee STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Microsoft is offering free of charge to European governments a cybersecurity programme, launched on Wednesday, to bolster their defences against cyber threats, including those enhanced by artificial intelligence, it said. After a surge in cyberattacks in Europe, many linked to state-sponsored actors from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, the programme aims to boost intelligence-sharing on AI-based threats and help to prevent and disrupt attacks. "If we can bring more to Europe of what we have developed in the United States, that will strengthen cybersecurity protection for more European institutions," Microsoft President Brad Smith told Reuters in an interview. "You're going to see other things we are doing later in the month." Increasingly, attackers employ generative AI to amplify the scale and impact of their operations that range from disrupting critical infrastructure to spreading disinformation. Although malicious actors have weaponised AI, Smith said AI also offered defensive tools. "We don't feel that we have seen AI that has evaded our ability to detect the use of AI or the threats more broadly," Smith said. "Our goal needs to be to keep AI advancing as a defensive tool faster than it advances as an offensive weapon," he said. Microsoft tracks any malicious use of AI models it releases and prevents known cybercriminals from using its AI products. AI-driven deepfakes have included a portrayal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy capitulating to Russian demands in 2022 and a fake audio recording in 2023 that influenced the Slovakian election. Smith said so far audio had been easier to fake than video.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft offers to boost European governments' cybersecurity for free
By Supantha Mukherjee STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Microsoft is offering free of charge to European governments a cybersecurity programme, launched on Wednesday, to bolster their defences against cyber threats, including those enhanced by artificial intelligence, it said. After a surge in cyberattacks in Europe, many linked to state-sponsored actors from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, the programme aims to boost intelligence-sharing on AI-based threats and help to prevent and disrupt attacks. "If we can bring more to Europe of what we have developed in the United States, that will strengthen cybersecurity protection for more European institutions," Microsoft President Brad Smith told Reuters in an interview. "You're going to see other things we are doing later in the month." Increasingly, attackers employ generative AI to amplify the scale and impact of their operations that range from disrupting critical infrastructure to spreading disinformation. Although malicious actors have weaponised AI, Smith said AI also offered defensive tools. "We don't feel that we have seen AI that has evaded our ability to detect the use of AI or the threats more broadly," Smith said. "Our goal needs to be to keep AI advancing as a defensive tool faster than it advances as an offensive weapon," he said. Microsoft tracks any malicious use of AI models it releases and prevents known cybercriminals from using its AI products. AI-driven deepfakes have included a portrayal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy capitulating to Russian demands in 2022 and a fake audio recording in 2023 that influenced the Slovakian election. Smith said so far audio had been easier to fake than video. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Klarna trials debit card in US, plans Europe launch later this year
FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured at the entrance of Klarna's headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden on May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Supantha Mukherjee/File Photo STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish fintech Klarna on Tuesday said on Monday it is doing a pilot launch of a new debit card in the United States as the buy now, pay later pioneer seeks to compete more directly with traditional banks. With a partnership with Visa, Klarna will allow consumers to pay immediately or choose interest-free options to pay over time for both online and in-store purchases. Klarna in April paused its plans for a U.S. initial public offering for the second time in the last few years as President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs rattled global markets. The company, which has over 100 million global active users, is currently trialling the debit card in the U.S. before a broader rollout in the U.S. and Europe later this year. Banks are the primary institutions in the U.S. to issue debit cards where a customer can use their own funds to purchase goods instead of going into debt as offered by credit cards. As Klarna doesn't have a banking license in the U.S., the debit card and the balance account will be issued by Utah-based WebBank. The physical card will come in aubergine, black and bright green colours with a choice between one free, and two paid tiers for different discounts and cashback rates. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, editing by Terje Solsvik)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Klarna trials debit card in US, plans Europe launch later this year
By Supantha Mukherjee STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish fintech Klarna on Tuesday said on Monday it is doing a pilot launch of a new debit card in the United States as the buy now, pay later pioneer seeks to compete more directly with traditional banks. With a partnership with Visa, Klarna will allow consumers to pay immediately or choose interest-free options to pay over time for both online and in-store purchases. Klarna in April paused its plans for a U.S. initial public offering for the second time in the last few years as President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs rattled global markets. The company, which has over 100 million global active users, is currently trialling the debit card in the U.S. before a broader rollout in the U.S. and Europe later this year. Banks are the primary institutions in the U.S. to issue debit cards where a customer can use their own funds to purchase goods instead of going into debt as offered by credit cards. As Klarna doesn't have a banking license in the U.S., the debit card and the balance account will be issued by Utah-based WebBank. The physical card will come in aubergine, black and bright green colours with a choice between one free, and two paid tiers for different discounts and cashback rates. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Paris named as Europe's leading tech ecosystem, beating London
By Supantha Mukherjee STOCKHOLM: Paris has been named as the new European tech champion , beating London for the first time on some metrics, according to data from Dealroom, which collects information on startups and venture capital firms. Between 2017 and 2024, the combined enterprise value of Paris startups increased 5.3 times, compared with 4.2 times for London, Dealroom said, after assessing dozens of metrics that contribute to a successful tech ecosystem . Although London attracted bigger funding rounds, the actual valuations of the companies have not increased dramatically, while the funding rounds secured by Paris-based companies have had a bigger impact on valuations, it said. French tech companies, including Mistral AI and Poolside, raised $7.8 billion last year, less than London's $11.3 billion. Europe has been falling behind other regions in tech innovations, with only some countries trying to boost tech investments. While the market capitalisation of global tech, media and telecom companies rose from $7 trillion in 2000 to $34 trillion last year, Europe's share dropped from 30% to just 7%, a McKinsey report said on Wednesday. If Europe had maintained its share, it would have generated an additional $8 trillion in market value, it said. Paris is also the only European city on Dealroom's top five global champions list, which is dominated by U.S. cities. It comes a month ahead of Paris hosting one of the largest global tech conferences, VivaTech, featuring top executives from companies such as Nvidia, Alibaba, Meta , OpenAI, Mistral, Anthropic and Cohere. Last year's conference was attended by more than 165,000 people. "It's not just about the competitiveness of Paris on the AI scene today, it's also about what will happen next and how we can keep on attracting the talent, investment, and the tech activities," Francois Bitouzet, managing director of VivaTech, told Reuters. Since coming to power in 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron has talked about wanting France to be a world leader in AI and 'deep-tech', inviting several firms to invest in the country and pushing for creation of startup incubator Station F.
