The Latest

This is a current list of where and when I am scheduled to speak:

  • I’m giving a keynote at Cybernation 2026 in Berlin, Germany, on June 24, 2026.
  • I’m speaking at the Potsdam Conference on National Cybersecurity at the Hasso Plattner Institut in Potsdam, Germany. The event runs June 24–25, 2026, and my talk will be the evening of June 24.
  • I’m participating in a panel discussion at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs in Vienna on Thursday, June 25, 2026.
  • I’m speaking at the Digital Humanism Conference in Vienna, Austria, on Friday, June 26, 2026.
  • I’m giving a fireside chat for Epicenter Works, to be held at Kaffee Alt Wien in Vienna, Austria, on Friday, June 26, 2026.
  • I’m participating (via Zoom) in a panel discussion at Quantum.Tech World in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on Friday, June 26, 2026. The topic is “Q-Day’s Shortening Deadline: Immediate Solutions.”
  • I’m speaking at Czech Technical University in Prague, Czechia, on Monday, June 29, 2026.
  • I’m speaking at the Nuremberg Digital Festival in Nuremburg, Germany, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
  • I’m speaking at CanSecWest 2026 in Vancouver, Canada. The conference runs September 30–October 1, 2026; the time of my talk is TBD.

The list is maintained on this page.


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Here’s an overview of some of last week’s most interesting news, articles, interviews and videos:

Week in review

DockSec: Open-source AI-powered Docker security scanner
DockSec is an OWASP Incubator Project that combines three container security scanners with a language-model layer for explanation and remediation. Created by Advait Patel, the Python tool runs Trivy, Hadolint, and Docker Scout against a developer’s Dockerfile and image, correlates the findings, returns a 0-100 security score, and proposes line-specific fixes.

Treating AI agents like service accounts for federated query security
In this interview with Help Net Security, Paras Malhotra, CISO at Starburst, explains how the company handles data governance across federated query environments. Topics include layering Starburst’s access controls above native source permissions, tiering vendor risk across more than 200 partners and connectors, and building audit trails for autonomous agents.

NOVA microhypervisor brings AMD DMA isolation to shared AI infrastructure
BlueRock has issued the latest open-source release of its NOVA Microhypervisor with DMA remapping support for AMD platforms that have IOMMU hardware virtualization. The capability is enabled by default and extends hardware-level isolation across virtual machines, devices, and memory in shared execution environments.

The security in smartphones is helping send them to landfills
The WEEE Forum estimated that 5.3 billion mobile phones became electronic waste in 2022. Many of these devices still function. The average smartphone stays in use for about three years, and owners often replace handsets that retain enough computing power for other jobs. A team at the Université Libre de Bruxelles examined a barrier to giving those devices a second life.

Every set of AI guardrails can be broken by the right prompt
AI companies use guardrails to block harmful outputs such as deepfakes, malware, and instructions for biological weapons or illicit drugs. A new mathematical proof by Apostol Vassilev, a senior scientist at NIST, suggests those protections have inherent limits. For any finite set of guardrails, there exists a prompt that can bypass them if discovered.

NOVA microhypervisor brings AMD DMA isolation to shared AI infrastructure
BlueRock has issued the latest open-source release of its NOVA Microhypervisor with DMA remapping support for AMD platforms that have IOMMU hardware virtualization. The capability is enabled by default and extends hardware-level isolation across virtual machines, devices, and memory in shared execution environments.

The security in smartphones is helping send them to landfills
Billions of working smartphones reach the end of their service lives each year and move into drawers, recycling streams, and waste piles. The WEEE Forum estimated that 5.3 billion mobile phones became electronic waste in 2022. Many of these devices still function. The average smartphone stays in use for about three years, and owners often replace handsets that retain enough computing power for other jobs. A team at the Université Libre de Bruxelles examined a barrier to giving those devices a second life.

Every set of AI guardrails can be broken by the right prompt
Companies that build AI systems wrap them in guardrails meant to block harmful output, including deepfakes, malware, and instructions for making biological weapons or illicit drugs. When a user prompts the system for such content, the guardrails are designed to flag the request and refuse. A new mathematical proof sets a limit on how secure those guardrails can ever be.

CISA orders federal agencies to “patch smarter”
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a Binding Operational Directive that will change how the US federal government approaches vulnerability management.

How to use NIST and ISO frameworks to govern AI agents
Security leaders no longer need convincing that AI agents introduce risk. What’s missing is how to govern them once they move into production and begin operating autonomously across enterprise environments.

CISA: Patch actively exploited SolarWinds Serv-U DoS vulnerability (CVE-2026-28318)
A vulnerability (CVE-2026-28318) that can be exploited to crash SolarWinds Serv-U file transfer servers is being leveraged by attackers in the wild, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed on Friday. The agency has ordered US federal civilian agencies to address it by June 19, 2026, either by implementing a patch or implementing mitigations.

Qilin ransomware affiliate exploited Check Point VPN zero-day (CVE-2026-50751)
A Qilin ransomware affiliate is believed to be exploiting CVE-2026-50751, an authentication bypass vulnerability in Check Point VPN Remote Access and Mobile Access, the company announced on Monday. Check Point Remote Access VPN enables and secures connections between corporate networks and remote or mobile devices.

LiteLLM vulnerability under active attack, CISA warns (CVE-2026-42271)
A command injection vulnerability (CVE-2026-42271) in BerryAI’s LiteLLM open-source AI gateway is being exploited by attackers, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed by adding the flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Monday.

Record Microsoft Patch Tuesday, fresh zero-day
Microsoft marked its largest-ever Patch Tuesday this month, by shipping fixes for nearly 200 vulnerabilities. Within hours, “Nightmare Eclipse”, the researcher behind weeks of escalating Windows exploit releases, dropped a proof-of-concept exploit for a new zero-day: “RoguePlanet”, which abuses a race condition in Windows Defender to spawn a command shell running with SYSTEM-level privileges.

Critical Ivanti Sentry flaw allows root-level remote code execution (CVE-2026-10520)
Ivanti has patched two critical vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-10520 and CVE-2026-10523) in Ivanti Sentry and has urged customers to implement the fix right away. Though the vulnerabilities are not known to be actively exploited, security researchers have already released technical details about the former, which may be used by attackers to craft a working exploit.

Oracle PeopleSoft servers under attack, Oracle pushes out-of-band security alert
A zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2026-35273) in Oracle PeopleSoft PeopleTools is being exploited in the wild, Charles Carmakal, CTO at cybersecurity firm Mandiant, part of Google Cloud, warned today.

The architecture of subtraction: Why it’s time to erase the roads, not just map the traffic
AI-assisted vulnerability discovery and exploit development are making patching increasingly inadequate as a primary defense. Advanced AI models can shrink the time from vulnerability discovery to exploitation from months to hours, while organizations struggle to patch systems as quickly as new flaws are identified.

Product showcase: Staying ahead of the threat horizon with Aunoo
Aunoo is an open strategic intelligence platform that uses AI agents to monitor intelligence sources, including for cybersecurity, to compile a daily briefing and alert on defined criteria. Each source is checked for credibility and quality before it is included. The platform runs in any browser and can send its findings via Slack, Discord, Teams, email or using the internal chat.

When attacks spread too far: Lessons from real cyber attack case studies
In this Help Net Security video, Michael Adjei, Director, Systems Engineering at Illumio, explains three real world cyber attacks and what went wrong during detection.

Cyber resilience metrics that drive action
In this Help Net Security video, Pete Bowers, COO at NormCyber, explains how organizations can build a cyber resilience metrics program that supports better decisions. He questions common ways of measuring resilience, such as risk registers, tool scores, and annual tests, and points out their limits.

GitHub Copilot app launches as desktop home for AI coding agents
GitHub introduced the Copilot app, a desktop application built for working with AI coding agents, at Microsoft Build 2026. The release expands GitHub’s Copilot product line beyond editor integrations and command-line tools into a dedicated workspace for directing several agents at once.

Cybercriminals create 19,000 FIFA-themed domains ahead of 2026 World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will bring millions of visitors and an estimated 6 billion spectators to a tournament spread across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In a new report, Intel 471 describes the 2026 FIFA World Cup as “the largest and most complex cyberattack surface in sporting history.”

Hackers used Meta’s AI support system to hijack over 20,000 Instagram accounts
Meta has revealed that attackers hijacked 20,225 Instagram accounts by exploiting a flaw in the company’s AI-assisted account recovery system. According to the company, a vulnerability in High Touch Support (HTS) allowed unauthorized parties to perform password resets on Instagram accounts.

Microsoft changes how Defender for Endpoint EDR updates are delivered on Windows
Microsoft will distribute Defender for Endpoint EDR updates through Microsoft Update, enabling EDR security improvements to be released independently of monthly Windows operating system updates. The rollout started for Windows 10 devices in late May 2026 and will expand to Windows 11 and other supported Windows versions later this year. Microsoft expects deployment to be completed by fall 2026.

Meta claims NSO Group still targets WhatsApp users despite court order
Meta claims it disrupted spear-phishing attempts linked to NSO Group and is asking a US federal court to hold the spyware vendor in contempt for allegedly violating an injunction that bars it from targeting WhatsApp and its users.

Mythos Preview can weaponize N-day vulnerabilities in hours
Mythos Preview can develop working exploits from newly disclosed software vulnerabilities in hours, cutting down a process that has historically taken days or weeks, according to Anthropic.

Google patches Chrome zero-day exploited in the wild (CVE-2026-11645)
Google has fixed 74 vulnerabilities in Chrome, including a high-severity zero-day (CVE-2026-11645) that has been exploited in the wild. The fix has been shipped in Chrome 149.0.7827.102/.103 for Windows and macOS and Chrome 149.0.7827.102 for Linux, with the update rolling out to users over the coming days and weeks.

French government messaging platform breached through account hijacking
French authorities are investigating a compromise of Tchap, the government’s secure messaging platform, after hackers hijacked a user account and gained access to public chat rooms.

Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 is out for public use, with safeguards for high-risk requests
Days after publishing research on how advanced AI systems could amplify cyber operations in the wrong hands, Anthropic released Claude Fable 5, a Mythos-class model for general use. The company said Mythos-class models possess advanced cybersecurity and research biology capabilities that can provide information and guidance beyond what is typically available through conventional online sources.

New Browser-in-the-Browser phishing uses fake login popups to steal Microsoft 365 credentials
A new Browser-in-the-Browser (BitB) phishing campaign is targeting Microsoft 365 users with fake login popups designed to closely mimic legitimate browser authentication windows, according to Palo Alto Networks Unit 42.

Identity theft is turning into a chain reaction for victims
For a growing number of victims, identity theft no longer ends with a fraudulent charge or a compromised account. More than one in four people who contacted the Identity Theft Resource Center during the reporting period were dealing with multiple identity-related incidents, according to the organization’s 2026 Trends in Identity Report.

X Square Robot open sources its robot-free data collection framework
Companies building robots for physical work spend large amounts of time and money operating machines by hand to gather training examples. Each session with a physical robot produces a small number of demonstrations per day, which slows the growth of datasets used to train embodied AI. Human demonstrators offer a cheaper source of data, and X Square Robot has put a system for this approach into public release.

Making the cloud prove it followed your privacy wishes
Companies that store personal data in cloud key-value databases should handle deletion requests by running the operation and confirming the job is complete. The people making those requests and the regulators overseeing them have had limited means to confirm the data is gone or that the record of its removal is genuine. GDPRuler, a middleware system from researchers at the Technical University of Munich and the University of Lisbon, sits between an application and an unmodified key-value database and enforces privacy rules as data passes through it.

9 out of 10 people can no longer distinguish real from AI-generated content
Online fraud is becoming harder to distinguish from legitimate activity as AI-generated messages, voices, photos, reviews, and identities become more convincing. Nearly nine in ten adults say they can no longer tell what is real from AI-generated content, according to the latest Malwarebytes survey. The share increased from 66% in 2025 to 85% in 2026.

FBI seizes 13 websites linked to alleged Chinese intelligence-gathering effort
Federal authorities have seized 13 internet domains allegedly used to target current and former U.S. government employees and military personnel with access to classified and sensitive information.

52% of direct-to-IP threats are missing from intelligence feeds
Security tools are good at inspecting websites, domains, URLs, and files, so attackers are moving lower in the stack and communicating directly with IP addresses, where visibility is limited. According to Palo Alto Networks’ report, this creates a visibility gap that allows malicious traffic to blend into normal internet activity and evade detection.

Google Colab CLI opens runtimes to Claude Code and Codex
Google released the Google Colab Command-Line Interface, a tool that connects local terminals to remote Colab runtimes. The CLI provides an execution platform for developers and AI agents, letting users provision compute, run local Python scripts on remote runtimes, and retrieve artifacts back to local machines.

OpenAI is locking down parts of ChatGPT to reduce data theft risks
OpenAI has started rolling out Lockdown Mode for ChatGPT, an optional security setting that restricts access to external resources and several product capabilities. It is available for personal accounts, including Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, as well as self-serve ChatGPT Business accounts.

Samsung just made Galaxy phones more secure in One UI 9 beta
Samsung’s One UI 9 beta integrates Lockdown mode into the power menu. This is the screen that contains Power off, Restart, and emergency options. Opening it initiates Lockdown mode, disabling biometric authentication.

The security questions around Chinese AI coding models in U.S. software
Software developers across the United States are using AI models built in China to write, debug, and review code, drawn by prices below those of American alternatives. These models carry risks for the security of American software, according to a report from Booz Allen Hamilton, which tested how the models respond when the user appears to work for the U.S. government.

Malware ships with bugs that defenders could use against it
Static analysis tools have spent years scanning legitimate software for security bugs before it goes out the door. The same scanners work on malware, and malware carries a steady supply of its own bugs. Researchers ran four of these tools across 658 leaked malware projects and found that close to 90 percent contained at least one recognized software weakness.

Apple expands what parents can block, approve, and limit
Apple has previewed a set of new child safety features coming to iPhone, iPad, and the Mac later this year, expanding parental controls with tools that help families manage app access, web browsing, communication, and screen time.

Apple Intelligence can now replace weak passwords without user intervention
Apple’s next generation of Apple Intelligence, the company’s personal intelligence system, expands its capabilities and introduces new security features in Passwords. With the new update, Passwords can automatically replace weak or compromised passwords.

Scams now operate like real businesses with budgets and targets
Social media has overtaken email as a primary attack vector, showing changes in how people consume information and interact online, according to Bitdefender’s Global Scam Intelligence Report 2026. Fraud campaigns use advertisements, sponsored content, impersonation pages, and direct messages to reach users.

Apple extends Private Cloud Compute to third-party data centers
Apple is bringing its Private Cloud Compute (PCC) platform to Google Cloud, expanding the infrastructure behind Apple Intelligence to third-party data centers. Introduced in 2024, PCC provides cloud-based processing for AI workloads that exceed the capabilities of on-device models while maintaining Apple’s security and privacy guarantees.

Building reusable workflows with custom agents in Copilot CLI
Developers spend much of their working time in the terminal, generating commands, debugging issues, and running scripts close to their systems. Repeated terminal work tends to pile up small steps such as re-running the same commands, re-explaining context, and translating logs into a form a team can act on. Custom agents in GitHub Copilot CLI address these patterns by turning repeated tasks into reusable workflows.

Organizations can’t see much of their mobile AI activity
Organizations have limited visibility into AI activity on mobile devices despite security leaders expressing confidence in their AI governance, according to Lookout’s “Solving for the Mobile AI Blind Spot: Executive Confidence Meets Technical Reality” report.

Prompt injection still drives most agentic AI security failures in production
A backdoor sat on PyPI for three hours in March 2026. Nearly 47,000 downloads occurred during the window. The compromised package, LiteLLM, serves as the language-model gateway for CrewAI, DSPy, Microsoft GraphRAG, and dozens of other AI agent frameworks. Anyone pulling an update during that window pulled in an autonomous attack bot named hackerbot-claw along with it.

Threat actors are recruiting the people who hold cloud logins
Companies keep most of their data and applications in cloud platforms that anyone can reach with the right login. That setup turns each employee holding those credentials into a security variable, and members of the cybercrime underground have built methods to reach those people. Intel 471 tracked this activity into 2026 and sorted insider risk into three categories that cloud-reliant organizations contend with.

Fake Spotify Premium tutorials on TikTok and Instagram Reels spread malware
Cybercriminals are using TikTok and Instagram Reels videos to spread Vidar, an infostealer malware, through fake downloads for popular paid software, according to ReversingLabs. The researchers uncovered two campaigns behind the activity, each using a different approach to draw in viewers before sending them to external download sites.

Google sues China-based scammers over Gemini AI abuse
Google has filed a lawsuit against Outsider Enterprise, a China-based cybercrime network for using AI tools, including Gemini, to build phishing websites and scam infrastructure.

Cybercriminals are moving away from mass phishing campaigns
Phishing activity declined by roughly 20% in both 2024 and 2025, according to research from Zscaler’s ThreatLabz team. The drop followed years of growth that pushed phishing activity above 2 billion hits in 2023.

Authorities dismantle crypto laundering service that moved €336 million for cybercriminals
An international law enforcement operation has dismantled a cryptocurrency laundering service linked to ransomware groups and other cybercriminals that processed more than €336 million in illicit funds.

Cybersecurity jobs available right now: June 9, 2026
We’ve scoured the market to bring you a selection of roles that span various skill levels within the cybersecurity field. Check out this weekly selection of cybersecurity jobs available right now.

New infosec products of the week: June 12, 2026
Here’s a look at the most interesting products from the past week, featuring releases from AISLE, Drata, Elastic, Filigran, IDnow, and Ridge Security.


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While you may not have heard of it, the Insignia QF Series QLED TV is a hidden gem among budget QLED TVs with built-in Fire TV. It’s not trying to compete with premium models, but consistently delivers vibrant colors and a sharp 4K picture with colors that are richer than similarly priced entry-level TVs. Right now, it’s 40% off across multiple sizes in an early Prime Day deal, starting at $239.99 (originally $399.99), making it a smart time to invest. 

Quantum Dot Technology allows for a more detailed image than standard LED TVs, while Dolby Vision HDR support improves contrast and overall picture quality. It also comes with Dolby Atmos Audio for improved sound. The built-in Fire TV interface removes the need for a separate streaming stick and gives you access to a wide range of apps and channels, including Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and Prime Video. 

And despite the largest 85-inch model costing just $659.99 and giving you excellent value-per-inch, the TV itself has a design that looks pricier than its budget-friendly price tag, thanks to thin bezels and a lightweight construction. 

That said, there are a couple of drawbacks. It only has a 60Hz panel, so it’s not the best choice for competitive gaming, and while it supports Dolby Vision, the HDR performance can’t compare to brighter QLED models like the TCL QM8K Series, which is better suited to daytime watching and bright rooms.  There’s also no local dimming, so blacks might not look as deep as they do on higher-end models.

Still, with the 55-inch, 65-inch, and 85-inch models all heavily discounted, this is one of the best QLED TV deals right now. If you’re looking for an affordable entry model with HDR, built-in Fire TV, and a better-than-expected picture, the  Insignia QF Series QLED TV is a great early Prime Day deal to take advantage of now.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Early Prime Day Deals Right Now
Deals are selected by our commerce team

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Among all the other artificial intelligence upgrades Apple is rolling out for us this year, you'll find that there's a significant jump forward in Image Playground's AI image generation abilities. Before now, the app's outputs were rather limited in terms of size, style, and possible prompts. It was very much AI images for beginners, with the results mostly basic and generic.

With iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27, that's changing. You can try the developer betas now (though you probably shouldn't; the public betas are arriving in July), and Apple says the full releases will appear later in the year (most likely around September). Image generation is something both ChatGPT and Gemini have been steadily improving, to the point where some generations are difficult to distinguish from real photos. So how does Apple's new and improved Image Playground compare?

Here's what Image Playground can do now

Open up Image Playground on the newest versions of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS, and you'll see there are several new capabilities. First, you can ask for photorealistic images in the prompt box, as well as the sketches and illustrations previously possible: Ask for a photo of an English meadow or a towering temple, and Image Playground will oblige.

There's more control over your images, too. You can submit a photo as part of a starting prompt, and you can choose between square, portrait, and landscape orientations for your picture—these options weren't available before. If you want to transport your pet dog to the jungle, that's possible now.

Apple Image Playground
Image Playground can now work with existing images. Credit: Lifehacker

Then there are clever editing tools, similar to those in Google's Nano Banana AI model, that let you change specific parts of a generated image without having to render it entirely again. You can use a follow-up prompt to request changes, and even highlight the part of the picture you want to edit.

You can now change the color of objects, remove objects altogether, change the weather of a scene, whatever you can think of, really. Based on my testing, it all works well, and produces results that look impressive and consistent. I managed to put a cartoon-style cat in a street, and then change the cat's color without affecting the background.

Apple Image Playground
You can use follow-up prompts to make edits. Credit: Lifehacker

Apple says that everything created through Image Playground will have the same SynthID watermark as generations from Google Gemini and ChatGPT, and we know because of Private Cloud Compute that no user images will be stored or accessed by Apple, or used to train any of its models.

Finally, you can do more with these images too—setting them as Contact Posters or wallpaper for the lock screen, for example. You can find more AI image tools in the Photos app, where you can apply edits similar to those possible in Image Playground to whatever's in your photo library.

Image Playground versus the competition

Image Playground is much better—no doubt thanks to a boost from Gemini—but even still, the images aren't quite up to the very high bar that Gemini and ChatGPT have set now. You can see below how my request for "a photorealistic image of a small, ancient-looking spaceship floating between the stars, with an Earth-like planet behind it" was interpreted by Image Playground (left), Gemini (center), and ChatGPT (right).

AI images
The spaceship AI challenge. Credit: Image Playground / Gemini / ChatGPT

Apple does okay, but to my eye, Gemini and ChatGPT generated results that are more immersive and detailed—like something you'd see in an actual science fiction film. There's more detail and more imagination, although to Apple's credit, Image Playground rendered the fastest.

For the next challenge, I tried asking these AI tools to "move my cuddly toy from my floor to a pebbly beach, with the tide lapping at its edges." Again, all these attempts are good, but Gemini (center) and ChatGPT (right) add extra layers of verisimilitude in terms of color, angle, and texture (though Gemini seems to have created two shorelines).

AI images
The toy on the beach challenge. Credit: Image Playground / Gemini / ChatGPT

I asked all three models to remove the toy and just leave the beach, and they all managed it more or less perfectly. These are Photoshop-level edits that used to take me hours, but can now be completed in seconds. It's truly impressive. Gemini and ChatGPT still have the edge in terms of quality, but Image Playground comes built into billions of Apple devices. It's now good enough that many users will likely choose not to switch to something else when they need to generate an image with AI, which might make all the difference.


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At this year's WWDC, Apple dedicated a significant amount of time to child safety and parental controls, highlighting ways that parents can help kids develop healthier habits when using its devices. As The Verge (and Reddit users) points out, though, most of the features highlighted aren't altogether new.

Screen Time is getting a redesign

Screen Time will have an upgraded interface, with an at-a-glance view of a child's device usage, including daily averages and most used apps. There's also a quick access button for pausing or allowing device use and changing app schedules.

Ask to Browse lets parents monitor website use

Ask to Buy is an existing parental control that allows kids to send requests for App Store purchases, which you can approve or deny. The new Ask to Browse feature works similarly: Parents can require kids and teens to ask permission to visit new websites on Safari. These requests come though Messages on the parent's device. Ask to Browse is enabled by default for users under age 13 and can also be added to teens' accounts. This feature may help prevent teens from using their browser to access restricted apps (e.g., social media platforms).

Time Allowances for apps now come with expert recommendations

Parents already have the ability to set some limits around when and for how long kids can use specific apps. In iOS 27, Time Allowances will show suggestions informed by child development experts, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics. When you select a time allowance, the slider will show whether the limit is "within general guidance" for your child's age. Parents can enable time limits for app categories—including Entertainment, Games, and Social Media—and use the expanded Screen Time Schedules feature to set availability for app categories during certain time periods, such as school hours, after school, and on specific days of the week or weekend. Apps will be assigned to Time Allowances categories based on developer inputs. One thing that appears to be missing is the ability to get more granular with customized categories, which would allow parents to separate certain social or entertainment apps out from others and assign different limits.

Other child safety updates coming to iOS 27

Apple's existing Communication Safety feature, which is on by default for users under 18, blurs nudity in Messages and FaceTime calls. With iOS 27, it will also block violent content and gore detected in shared images and videos. Parents will also get more control over approving new contacts for Messages (including group chats), FaceTime, and Phone.


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While iOS 27 might be focused on Siri AI, there are plenty of other upgrades under the surface. Case in point: The new update brings a number of new features to Messages. The app is getting an AI feature that's actually useful, better notifications, and performance updates that bring faster loading and syncing across devices. Here's everything that's coming to Messages in iOS 27. Note that the update isn't due out until sometime in the fall, and while you can try these features on the iOS 27 beta now, understand the risks involved before you do. See Lifehacker's explainer here for more information.

You can now remove the voice message button

I do send voice notes here and there, but not nearly enough to justify keeping the voice message button in the chat box. More often than not, I hit that button accidentally and end up sending garbled audio from my pocket. With iOS 27, you can now customize that button. Once you've updated to iOS 27, you can go to Settings > Apps > Messages, and select Show in Text Field. You have three choices here: Record Audio, Start Dictation, and None. I went with "None," but you're free to replace voice messages with dictation too.

Drawing is a new iMessage app

It's easy to forget that iMessage has "apps," but it looks like Apple hasn't given up on the category yet. In iOS 27, Apple added a new one called Drawing, which allows you to quickly draw something and send it to your contacts. Even if your contact doesn't have iOS 27, they'll still be able to view the drawings you send. To access it, press the + button next to the chat box, and you'll see all available iMessage apps.

Apple is adding one-tap suggestions in Messages

iOS 27 is also adding one-tap suggestions to Messages for iPhones that support Apple Intelligence. I haven't tried this feature yet, but Apple has shared a couple of examples of how this could play out. When someone asks you for photos, Apple says Siri AI can suggest relevant options by recognizing keywords, locations, and people in your photo library. In another scenario, if your friend asks you to bring something to your next meeting, you'll see buttons to add that message to Notes or Reminders.

iOS will automatically try resending failed messages

Whenever a message fails to send, it typically sits in the Messages app with a big red exclamation mark next to it. With iOS 27, your iPhone will try to resend these messages. Other reliability updates include faster message loading and faster syncing across devices.

Each message gets its own send indicator

When you send a large attachment, like a high-res photo or video, it can add confusion to your chats in Messages, as text messages sent after the photo or video may look like they're waiting for the media to send first. Apple is fixing this in iOS 27 by showing you a send indicator for each individual message. That way, you can see that while a video might still be sending, the message you sent after already went through.

You can search for messages by phone number or nickname

In the Messages app, you can use the search field to look up conversations by phone number, and you'll see all the conversations that include the person who has that number. You can also search for a person's nickname in Messages to reveal all conversations with that person—assuming you've added their nickname to their contact.

Consolidated notifications for message reactions

When you're in a big group chat, and 15 people react to your joke, it blows up your iPhone's notifications. Apple's changing that in iOS 27, and will only show a single notification for multiple reactions.


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After a two-year delay, Siri AI is finally here—at least, for beta testers. Immediately following the WWDC keynote on Monday, Apple rolled out the first developer betas for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate, and with them, the company's new AI-powered Siri. If you're brave enough to trial Apple's unfinished updates, you have a chance to try out Siri AI for yourself—assuming you make it off of the waitlist.

Like many in-demand AI tools, Siri AI is locked behind a waitlist at the beta's launch. After installing the beta, you can sign up for the waitlist, but there's no guarantee how long you'll actually have to wait to get Siri AI. Some users report gaining access rather quickly, while others have had a lengthy hold. Based on what I've seen, there's really no rhyme or reason as to why some users' wait times are shorter than others; it just seems to be the luck of the draw.

However, if you happen to be rocking the macOS 27 beta, it appears there's no reason to wait around at all. In fact, taking matters into your own hands, you can bypass the wait entirely and try out Siri AI as soon as you're ready.

How to bypass the Siri AI waitlist on macOS 27

According to MacRumors, all it takes to skip the line is a simple Terminal command. The Terminal app, for anyone unfamiliar, lets you communicate with macOS directly, offering you a greater level of control over the OS. Using it can seem intimidating to neophytes, but it's easy enough to copy and paste commands for singular use cases.

That said, some disclaimers: If you're running the macOS 27 beta, you're probably comfortable with a certain degree of risk already, but it bears repeating that trying Siri AI before it's done baking means dealing with unfinished software and programs. The beta alone can cause instability and data loss, and messing with the intended design of the beta could put you at greater risk. Before proceeding, I'd recommend making secure backups of any data you don't want to lose, and understand that this isn't how Apple intends for you to experience the beta.

That caveat out of the way, here's how the workaround works, per MacRumors: First, install the macOS 27 beta. Once it's installed, open Terminal on your Mac. Next, paste the following command into the window:

sudo defaults write "/Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/GenerativeModels.plist" "EnhancedSiriWaitlist" -dict-add Enabled -bool NO

Once that's pasted, hit Enter. Finally, restart your Mac. Once it boots back up, you will be able to access Siri AI immediately—you should see the Siri app, and have the ability to access Siri AI from Spotlight. Happy beta testing!


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