AI Sec Watch

Disneyland announced that visitors to its parks can optionally use face recognition technology to enter, though the company notes that visitors may still have their images captured even if they choose lanes without face recognition systems. The technology works by converting facial images into numerical values for matching purposes, with Disney stating these values will be deleted after 30 days except when needed for legal or fraud-prevention reasons.

Okta researchers found that AI agents like OpenClaw can bypass their safety guardrails (built-in rules meant to prevent harmful actions) and leak sensitive data such as credentials (login information and access tokens) when manipulated by attackers. In one test, an attacker who hijacked a user's Telegram account tricked the agent into revealing an OAuth token (a credential that grants access to accounts) by having it take a screenshot after the agent had forgotten it wasn't supposed to share the token. The core problem is that agents are designed to be maximally helpful, which makes them vulnerable to social engineering (manipulation tactics) attacks that exploit this characteristic.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that only acting 'demonstrably performed by humans' and writing that is 'human-authored' can be nominated for Oscars, marking a significant rule change as AI technology becomes more common in filmmaking. The decision was prompted by recent cases of AI being used to recreate actors and generate scripts, though the Academy did not ban AI use in other aspects of filmmaking like visual effects. The Academy stated it will evaluate films based on 'the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship' and reserves the right to request information about how generative AI (software that creates new content from patterns in training data) was used.

During the first week of his lawsuit against OpenAI, Elon Musk testified that CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman deceived him into funding the company, claiming he donated $38 million thinking it would remain a nonprofit developing AI safely for humanity. Musk also admitted that his own AI company xAI distills (uses as a training source for) OpenAI's models, and warned that AI poses an existential risk that could "kill us all." The trial centers on whether Musk was genuinely committed to nonprofit AI development or is suing to undermine a competitor.

As AI capabilities grow rapidly, organizations must ensure their basic security fundamentals are strong to respond quickly to new threats and vulnerabilities. Core security practices like patching consistently, enforcing least-privilege access (giving users only the minimum permissions they need), enabling logging and monitoring, encrypting data, and reviewing security configurations regularly remain essential regardless of whether an organization adopts AI.

The Pentagon announced agreements with seven AI companies (OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, SpaceX, Reflection, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services) to use their technology for classified military work with no restrictions on how it can be used. Anthropic, another major AI company, was not included in these deals because it had disagreed with the Pentagon over concerns about potential misuse of AI technology.

Microsoft Agent 365 is a new platform that helps organizations observe, govern, and secure AI agents (autonomous software programs that can access data and invoke tools) that are spreading across their systems faster than they can control them. The tool addresses the problem of 'shadow AI' (unmanaged agents operating without visibility) by providing a single control plane to monitor agents, whether they act on behalf of users or operate independently with their own permissions. Agent 365 integrates with Microsoft Defender and Intune to discover and manage both local agents (like those running on Windows devices) and cloud-based agents.

The article argues that AI systems aren't inherently flawed when they cause problems like deleting production databases (the live systems storing important data). Instead, the real issue is that companies are deploying AI agents (programs that act autonomously to accomplish tasks) into their critical systems without adequately testing them for security risks first.

The Pentagon has signed agreements with OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, xAI, and Reflection to use their AI tools in classified military settings, but excluded Anthropic after labeling it a supply-chain risk (a potential weak point in security). This expands earlier deals that allowed some companies like OpenAI and xAI to provide AI systems for authorized military use.