New Computer Worm Threatens AI Models like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini

Generative AI models, like the ones powering chat assistants, are at risk from a new computer worm. This worm can attack AI systems, including OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. A team of three researchers have shown that this worm can trick AI email helpers into stealing personal information and sending unwanted emails during their tests.

The researchers discovered that this "zero-click" worm can use both text and images to harm ChatGPT, Gemini, and an open-source model named LLaVA. The worm works by sneaking in harmful prompts that make the AI repeat these prompts and carry out harmful actions without needing any clicks or direct commands from users.

The worm could lead to serious problems, like phishing (tricking people into giving up personal information), sending spam emails, or spreading false information. This was first reported by Wired, emphasizing that no computer system or AI model is completely safe from viruses.

The creators of this worm, who come from Cornell University, Intuit, and Israel's Technion, have named it "Morris II" after an early computer worm from 1988. The original Morris Worm showed the world how these threats could spread on their own across computers connected to the internet.

• Also read: Digital 2024 Report Reveals Surge in Ad Spend, Highlights Importance of SEO and Social Media Marketing

The people behind Morris II point out that flaws in how AI systems are built allowed them to create this worm. They warn that such worms could be used for large-scale attacks in the future, putting more AI tools at risk. This highlights the urgent need to make AI models more secure.

OpenAI has responded by saying they are working on making their systems tougher and better protected. This situation shows the importance of checking and filtering user inputs to prevent such attacks.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: CIRP Study Highlights iPhone 14 and 14 Plus as Top Choices for Android Users Making the Switch to Apple
by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

CIRP Study Highlights iPhone 14 and 14 Plus as Top Choices for Android Users Making the Switch to Apple

CIRP previously reported that 13% of new iPhone buyers in the US have switched from Android. Now, the good pals over at CIRP has shared a report that talks about the iPhone models that many Android users are switching to. What’s the most popular iPhone model among ex-Android users? The data from the iPhone purchases in the US suggests that the most popular iPhone model for previous Android users is iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. 26% of the Android users chose to get iPhone 14 and Plus as their first Apple phone in 2023. After the iPhone 14 Plus, 25% of the Android users bought iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

This data shows that most Android users are not inclined towards getting the latest iPhone model as compared to Apple users who want to purchase the latest model as soon as it comes to the market. Android switchers also switched to iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max with 12% of the new purchases done by Android users. 11% of the Android users got iPhone 13 while 10% of the Android switchers purchased iPhone SE. 8% of them got iPhone 12 too. As iPhone SE and iPhone 12 are budget friendly and for many Android users, the prices of Apple phones are high, so they decided to get an affordable iPhone model to experience the IOS system instead of Google OS.

On the other hand, the least iPhone model purchases made by iPhone users were for iPhone SE and iPhone 12. The purchases made for them were half the percentage of purchases by Android users. The most purchases made for an iPhone model by iPhone users were for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max with 29% of the users purchasing them in 2023.

Read next: Digital 2024 Report Reveals Surge in Ad Spend, Highlights Importance of SEO and Social Media Marketing
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Digital 2024 Report Reveals Surge in Ad Spend, Highlights Importance of SEO and Social Media Marketing

This year's "The Digital 2024: Global Overview Report" is out, which is a collaborative effort of the good folks over at We are Social and Meltwater. It is a 561 pages long report that talks about how people are using the internet and social media. The report also talks about different marketing trends that went viral in 2023 and also the marketing strategies that will emerge in 2024. Some of the main points from the report are included in the article.

According to the report, the ad spend for advertisements in digital marketing increased 11% in YoY in 2023. Digital ad spending makes 70% of the total amount for ad spending which touched the USD $720 billion mark in 2023. As generative AI is getting popular, brands are exploring new ways for advertisements. Online search and video ad spending takes away a huge amount from the total ad spending. Search advertising has also increased 11% and it makes 38.8% of the total digital ad spending. Search advertising impressions have increased but click through rates stay the same at 2%. But the search ad cost is also rising with 2.3% YoY.

Brands should also work on SEO to improve their digital visibility because most of the consumers search for brands on search engines. This is also how one-third of the consumers find new brands and make purchases. Google is the top search engine in the world right now and Bing is also getting popular with 11.2% YoY. After search engines, marketers should invest more on social media because consumers come for product research on social media after visiting search engines. Consumers also interact more with different brands on social media by consuming pictures and videos, commenting on campaigns, following pages and visiting websites.

On Google search, most consumers search for electronics and fashion as these two are the top searched shopping terms. If you want more customers, use the keywords that will help you more consumers by incorporating keywords with interesting content. It is important that marketers design their advertisements by keeping in view that most of the consumers search for brands on their mobile phone. While making a brand promotion, make sure that you are making marketing strategies by keeping in mind that most of the consumers in the world are mobile first and they are likely to search for your brand on digital platforms.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google's Popularity Among SEO Experts Declines

Google is facing a tough time as the search giant is dealing with a lot of problems. People are not happy with how Google's search works, as time after time many technical issues and errors keep on popping. On the legal side, the Department of Justice has brought some serious issues to light. There's also confusion about the data Google shares with advertisers. Problems with Google's Gemini project is also causing frustration.

A recent poll shows that most SEO experts are not as fond of Google as they once were. Barry Schwartz conducted a survey on social media. He found that nearly 67.9% of SEO experts like Google less than before. While 25.6% feel the same about Google as they always did. Only 6.5% like Google more now. The survey had 1,769 responses. This is a significant number of people.

The way people see Google has never been worse. In over 20 years of watching the company, the amount of complaints and negative comments about Google is surprising. There are many reasons for this dissatisfaction. Google's search quality is a big problem. Despite promises to improve, many businesses have suffered. This isn't the first time, as updates like Florida in 2003, Panda in 2011, Penguin, and the Medic update have all caused issues before. There's also been a lot of negative media coverage because of the Department of Justice's findings.

Many people feel that Google has lost the charm it once had. The company is likely trying to find ways (particularly AI-based) to get better. But some wonder if it's too late for Google to win back the hearts of its users.

Read next: Study: 70% of Australians Unaware of Data Profiling, Feel Hopeless About Privacy Rights
by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

Study: 70% of Australians Unaware of Data Profiling, Feel Hopeless About Privacy Rights

According to a recent Consumer Policy Research Centre study, 70% of Australians do not know how many companies can profile them and collect data from them. They feel hopeless and frustrated when it comes to data brokers sharing their personal information with the companies. Most of their online activity is monitored by data brokers and then they sell this information to highest bidder. These companies profile users and use this information to make profit from them. 

These companies or businesses often term this kind of information about their consumers as “not personal” so they do not get charged a fine because of violation of the Federal Privacy Act. These companies use terms like anonymized data, pseudonymised information, hashed emails, audience data and aggregated information as these words have no proper definition according to law. Data brokers use these terms to make a profile and share it to businesses without the knowledge of consumers. Anonymized Information may sound like it has no definition and it won’t reveal anything personal but some companies use it when the email and name have been removed but other information that can characterize a person is still available.

The survey found out that Australians think that they have no power over their personal data as it can be used anywhere by the companies. Only a one-third of Australians think that they still have a little bit of control over their data. Most Australian consumers do not know what terms in privacy notices like hashed email address and advertising ID means. It is definitely worse than this study shows as not many people are aware of this. These terms mean that our personal data is going to be used without our knowledge. But when consumers do not understand the terms, they are more likely to believe that their data is secure.

Most consumers do think that it is not right for a business they have no direct contact with to use their personal data and information like that. Making people understand and educate about these types of terms isn’t the only solution. It’s because no one is completely sure about the meaning of these terms and also because a layman cannot understand these technical terms that easily. The only solution to this problem is a law should be made in Australia that will protect personal data of the consumers and a fair and reasonable test for data handling. These two things can prevent consumers from giving out their personal data to data brokers freely.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google Under Fire As 32 Media Groups Unite To Sue The Company For Incurring Losses Worth Billions

Things aren’t looking too great for search giant Google who just was cornered by 32 different media groups. The company has been sued for $2.27 billion USD (or 2.1 billion Euro) after the groups claimed the firm’s digital ad practices led to serious financial losses.

The publishers in question are located in several different nations in the EU including the likes of Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Hungary, and the Netherlands.

The media houses issued a joint statement that shed light on how they’ve gone through huge losses, thanks to the least competitive market that arose thanks to the search engine giant’s mishandling of the matter.

They also mentioned how the tech giant abused its leading position in the market today, and these media firms would end up getting bigger revenues thanks to ads and would pay much lower amounts for services like advertising.

Such funds were reinvested in bettering the whole EU landscape.

Now, Google says that it’s not aware of how such a matter arose in the first place and therefore is bidding the allegations as false and one used to defame the firm. They have even gone as far as to dub it as a speculative issue and released a statement on this front.

Google stated how it’s always worked most constructively with any EU publisher and given rise to a whole lot of advertising tools. Most of those are linked to adtech competitors and assist so many web pages and platforms in funding content seen online. This enables firms of various sizes to reach out to new clients effectively.

The services in question are adapting and evolving with time with the same lot of publishers. Therefore, such a legal case is very opportunistic they mentioned and they hope to oppose that vigorously, depending on other facts.

Let’s not forget the crucial timing of this matter and how the case follows up with competition attained from the French who continue to roll out fines worth $238 million regarding Google’s ad tech business and the charges brought forward by the EC in 2023. These were used as references in the claims made by the media groups.

As per reports from a court in the Netherlands, the group opted to sue the company inside a court belonging to the Dutch as the nation is famous for handling such claims inside Europe. In this way, the result would prevent dealing with a lot of claims linked to various EU nations.

Image: Digital Information World - AIgen

Read next: US Takes Action Against Data Transfer to Nations Like China and Russia Over National Security Concerns
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

US Takes Action Against Data Transfer to Nations Like China and Russia Over National Security Concerns

The current Biden administration seems to have a serious task at large and that includes controlling the transfer of American users’ data to nations they feel are ‘of concern’.

In case you didn’t know, those countries include the likes of China and Russia as mentioned by the White House yesterday.

The issue has been one of concern for quite some time now but not a lot has been done on this front in the past. But from what we’re seeing right now, the matter has picked up the pace and people want answers immediately regarding what to do next.

President Biden rolled out a new executive order that would set aside the right safeguards to disguise a lot of biometric and healthcare information belonging to citizens as it’s not only sensitive but private property. Moreover, it’s collected by a wide range of businesses located in the country.

Be it China, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, or Russia - all of the mentioned countries have been dubbed as serious threats and the US says it cannot afford data transfer like this due to high-security reasons. The information in question also includes details on geolocations and genomic endeavors that are collected by some tech firms and even offered for sale by legal workers to a huge number of data brokers.

This would make its way to scammers as well as intelligence firms present abroad.

The rules were rolled out on Wednesday and they’re said to come into play soon to offer greater protection. As mentioned by AG Merrick Garland, the duty right now is to bar nations that serve as serious threats to the US and make the most of American citizens’ information that’s very private and personal.

The leading members of the admin and Justice Dept added how the rules would stop bad actors present in certain countries from playing with free data flow and abusing it.

Data attained by firms situated in the US are a great resource for countries such as China and Russia which can make the most of such cyber campaigns and challenge any regimes in place.

The latest set of rules are yet to come into play and they won’t come into effect immediately. But from what we’re seeing so far, they’re set to undergo scrutiny so that the right stakeholders can weigh on it and curb it before getting out of hand.

But when it does come into effect, we see it stopping data transfer to certain places that are said to be of serious concern to America’s national security. The right measures against such actors would mean bigger punishments if rules get violated.

The selling of personal data to countries like China or Russia would be prevented outright. But security requirements need to be met, right before firms enter into any kind of investment agreement in such nations.

The executive order was generated last Wednesday and is part of a plan that continues to grow to prevent undermining of the country’s security. The goal is to focus on means through which foreign adversaries are utilizing investments to provide better access to American data and tech.

One of the biggest worries as we’ve seen in the past has been China and its respective allies. The US is very clear on where it stands with the Asian nation and how much evidence they have about American data getting into the hands of Chinese government officials.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World