CDC Vaccination Databases Frozen, Raising Concerns
Nearly half of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) databases that were regularly updated with vaccination information have been frozen without explanation, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study, led by Janet Freilich, a law expert at Boston University, and Jeremy Jacobs, a medical professor at Vanderbilt University, examined the status of all CDC databases and found that 38 out of 82 databases, which were being updated at least monthly as of early 2025, had their updates paused as of October 2025.
The researchers found that 46 percent of the databases they examined were no longer being updated. The study raises concerns about the availability of timely and accurate data for public health decision-making.
Supreme Court to Hear Case on Video Privacy Law and Online Data
The Supreme Court will hear a case to determine how the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) applies to online video viewing history. The case, Michael Salazar v. Paramount Global, centers on whether Paramount violated the VPPA by disclosing a user's viewing history to Facebook without consent.
Salazar filed a class action lawsuit against Paramount in 2022, alleging that the company disclosed his personally identifiable information to Facebook without his consent, according to his petition to the Supreme Court. Salazar had signed up for an online newsletter through 247Sports.com, a site owned by Paramount, and provided his email address in the process.
TikTok Users Fear Censorship Amidst Ownership Change
TikTok users are expressing concerns about potential censorship on the platform following a change in ownership. Experts say that TikTok users censorship fears are justified. Ioana Literat, an associate professor of technology, media, and learning at Teachers College, Columbia University, who has studied TikTok's politics since 2018, told Ars that users' fears are "absolutely justified."
Microsoft Email Address Used to Send Scam Spam
A legitimate Microsoft email address, no-reply-powerbimicrosoft.com, is reportedly being used to send scam spam. The address is tied to Power BI, a Microsoft platform that provides analytics and business intelligence. Microsoft documentation states that the address is used to send subscription emails to mail-enabled security groups and advises users to add it to their allow lists to prevent spam filters from blocking it. According to an Ars reader, the address is now being used for malicious purposes.
SOC Teams Automating Triage Face Governance Challenges
Security operations center (SOC) teams are increasingly automating triage processes using supervised AI agents to handle the high volume of alerts. The average enterprise SOC receives 10,000 alerts per day, each requiring 20 to 40 minutes to investigate properly. However, Gartner predicts that over 40% of agentic AI deployments will fail due to a lack of governance boundaries. Human analysts are shifting their priorities to investigate, review, and make edge-case decisions. Response times are being reduced.
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