ACMModify

ACM Media Center

Monika Henzinger of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria is the recipient of the 2026-2027 ACM Athena Lecturer Award, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the fields of dynamic graph algorithms and Web algorithms, and for dedicated mentoring and service to these communities. Henzinger developed the first linear-time algorithms for a variety of algorithmic problems such as computing shortest paths in planar graphs, and contributed to early developments in Web search and link analysis.

From "Austrian Trailblazer Receives Top Award for Women in Computing"
ACM Media Center (05/13/26)
View Full Article

Politico

In a report released Monday, Google Threat Intelligence Group researchers said cybercriminals had used a zero-day exploit likely developed with AI, marking the first known case of AI being tied to the creation of this type of severe software vulnerability. Google reported its findings to the firm affected by the vulnerability before releasing its report. The company has released a patch to fix the issue.

From "Google Says Hackers Used AI to Develop a Major Security Flaw"
Politico (05/11/26) Maggie Miller
View Full Article

Inside Higher Ed

U.S. educational technology company Instructure paid an undisclosed ransom to the ShinyHunters cybercrime group after two recent breaches disrupted its Canvas learning management system and exposed data tied to roughly 275 million users across more than 8,800 institutions worldwide. The agreement, reached before a May 12 deadline, reportedly included confirmation that stolen data was deleted and assurances customers would not face further extortion.

From "Instructure Pays Ransom to Canvas Hackers"
Inside Higher Ed (05/11/26) Kathryn Palmer
View Full Article

Politico Europe

OpenAI is negotiating with the European Commission to give EU authorities access to a cyber-focused version of GPT-5.5 that can identify and exploit software vulnerabilities. Former U.K. Chancellor George Osborne, now leading the initiative for OpenAI, said the goal is to help European institutions and critical infrastructure defend against AI-driven cyber threats. EU officials welcomed the offer, especially as frustration grows over Anthropic’s refusal to provide similar access to its advanced Mythos model.

From "OpenAI Offers EU Access to New AI Hacking Model"
Politico Europe (05/11/26) Pieter Haeck
View Full Article

LiveScience

Researchers at New York University, startup Qunnect, and Cisco successfully tested a small quantum network over existing fiber-optic cables in New York City, demonstrating that a future “quantum Internet” could securely transmit information using entangled photons. Using a hub-and-spoke setup with commercial telecom fiber, the experiment demonstrated key advances like entanglement swapping and multi-node networking across Manhattan, overcoming real-world challenges such as signal loss and environmental noise.

From "Live Quantum Network Tested in New York"
LiveScience (05/08/26) Alan Bradley
View Full Article

The Hill

For the second straight month, AI was listed as the leading reason for job cuts, in an analysis of monthly employment data from U.S. employers by executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Employers announced more than 83,000 job cuts in April 2026, with over 21,000 linked to AI and automation initiatives, particularly in the technology sector. While April's figure represented a 38% increase in job reductions from March, layoffs were down 21% compared with April 2025.

From "Companies Name AI as Top Reason for Job Cuts"
The Hill (05/09/26) Steff Danielle Thomas
View Full Article