Ransomware preparedness lags significantly behind the perceived threat, while concerns over AI-generated content and privacy issues surrounding security technology continue to grow, according to recent reports. The gap between ransomware threats and defenses widened by an average of 10 points year over year across various threat categories, as revealed in the Ivantis 2026 State of Cybersecurity Report. Meanwhile, ByteDance's new AI video generator, Seedance 2.0, faces strong criticism from Hollywood organizations, and Ring's Super Bowl ad sparked backlash due to privacy concerns.
The Ivantis report indicated that 63% of security professionals consider ransomware a high or critical threat, yet only 30% feel very prepared to defend against it. This creates a 33-point gap, up from 29 points a year prior, according to VentureBeat. The CyberArks 2025 Identity Security Landscape further highlighted the problem, noting 82 machine identities for every human in organizations worldwide, with 42% of those machine identities having privileged or sensitive access. The most authoritative playbook framework has the same blind spot.
ByteDance's Seedance 2.0, an AI video generator, has drawn fire from Hollywood organizations like the Motion Picture Association and SAG-AFTRA. These groups have voiced concerns about copyright violations, unauthorized use of actors' likenesses, and a lack of ethical safeguards, according to Fortune. ByteDance, however, maintains it respects intellectual property rights and is working to strengthen safeguards.
In other news, Ring's Super Bowl ad for its "Search Party" feature, designed to help find lost pets, generated significant backlash due to privacy concerns and potential for mass surveillance, as reported by The Verge. This controversy led to negative social media reactions and criticism from figures like Senator Ed Markey. Ring ultimately canceled its partnership with Flock Safety, a company whose systems have been accessed by ICE.
In a different vein, the article in Hacker News discussed the metabolic cost of mental exertion. While the brain is an energy-intensive organ, consuming roughly 20 to 25% of the body's total energy at rest, the article suggests that the energy expenditure from intense thinking may not be as significant as perceived.
Finally, Vox highlighted the value of games, with philosopher C. Thi Nguyen arguing that games offer insights into human agency. Games, according to Nguyen, show us what it means to choose goals, submit to constraints, and care deeply about things that don't obviously matter.
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