Science and technology

Cybersecurity researchers have confirmed the largest password leak in history, potentially compromising up to 16 billion login credentials, including usernames and passwords for numerous online services. The breach, described as a “blueprint for mass exploitation” by Vilius Petkauskas of Cybernews, was uncovered by researchers who have been investigating the issue since early 2025. The exposed data, which includes unique password combinations likely stolen by malware, affects a wide range of platforms, from social media and VPN services to developer platforms and government portals. The leaked credentials are distributed across 30 datasets, some containing over 3.5 billion records each. This unprecedented exposure poses severe risks of identity theft, account hacking, and financial fraud, as passwords serve as the gateway to critical aspects of digital life, including email, banking, healthcare, and private communications. The scale of the breach has heightened concerns in the cyb...

The CEO of the technology firm Astronomer Inc. has resigned after being caught canoodling on camera at a rock concert with a woman who was not his wife, the company said on Saturday. The company posted a written statement on its LinkedIn profile stating that its leaders “are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.” The statement said that Andy Byron had offered his resignation as CEO Astronomer and that the board of directors had accepted it. Byron had been placed on leave on Friday, and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy is serving as the interim CEO. Byron and Astronomer’s chief people officer Kristin Cabot were caught on camera at the Coldplay concert on Wednesday in Massachusetts in an awkward clip that quickly went viral. A spokesman for the company said that the pair were the only employees of the firm caught on camera. The spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Cabot’s job status. Once Byron and...

In line with Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s vision for a digitally connected Punjab, the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has significantly expanded its public Wi-Fi initiative, doubling its coverage across the province. According to PSCA officials, the number of free Wi-Fi access points in Lahore alone has risen from 230 to 430. The service, previously available in 11 districts, now spans 22, including key areas such as Kasur, Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Attock, Hasan Abdal, Sahiwal, Okara, and Murree. This expansion follows a recent series of upgrades aimed at improving internet accessibility across both urban and semi-urban regions. As part of this initiative, Gujrat city was recently added to the growing public Wi-Fi network. Data from the PSCA reveals that more than 37.22 million users have benefitted from the free service to date, consuming over 905 terabytes of data. These figures underscore the rising demand for reliable and accessible internet ...

KARACHI: The Sindh government has launched second phase of People’s IT program to educate youth in accordance with the modern digital era, ARY News reported on Sunday. Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon announced the commencement of Phase II of the People’s IT Program (PITP), with a dedicated budget of Rs1.4 billion. He stated that People’s IT program has emerged as a model digital initiative, aiming to integrate Sindh’s youth into the global digital economy. Memon highlighted that in the program’s first phase, 13,565 students received training in advanced IT disciplines, while 300 top-performing students were awarded Google Chromebooks and laptops as recognition of their achievements. The second phase is set to train 35,000 students across 12 high-demand digital sectors, further strengthening the province’s digital workforce. He added that the unprecedented higher education budget reflects the government’s commitment to equipping youth with cutting-edge skills and en...

In an innovative combination of customised tradition and technology, an AI portrait of King Charles III was revealed at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva during the 2025 AI for Good Global Summit. The artwork, named ‘Algorithm King’, was the creativity of the world’s first lifelike humanoid AI-Da robot artist. AI-Da was the development of gallerist Aidan Meller in the UK in 2019, using advanced cameras installed in her eyes and a robotic arm fixed to her body to paint the oil portrait. The portrait was created using visual data and artificial intelligence algorithms, with a live sitting was not required. Addressing the summit, Ai-Da robot artist stated, “Presenting my portrait of His Majesty King Charles III is not just about art; it also highlights how AI is changing our society and influencing culture.”. This isn’t Ai-Da’s first royal project. In 2022, she painted a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. Both portraits were displayed in parall...

Cryptocurrency-related stocks rose in premarket trading on Friday, with shares linked to ether leading the charge after the No. 2 crypto hit a six-month high. Shares of BitMine Immersion Technologies, which holds about $1 billion worth of ether, soared 14%. Other ether holding firms Bit Digital and BTCS added 4% and 12.5%, respectively. Ether climbed to $3,675.81, its highest since January 6, and was last up 5% at $3,601.40, outperforming bitcoin , which eased 0.7% to $118,961 after hitting a record high of $123,153 this week. BitMine, where tech billionaire Peter Thiel is the top investor and Fundstrat’s Tom Lee serves as chairman of the board, said on Thursday it had accumulated 300,657 ether in just three weeks and aims to acquire about 5% of over ether supply which currently stands at 120.71 million. Business News updates – Latest news stories  A number of other companies recently decided to add ether to their balance sheets, following the example of Strategy (MSTR.O), th...

WhatsApp, the world’s most widely used instant messaging app, is integral to daily communication, handling everything from casual chats to critical file sharing. Losing a smartphone can disrupt access to these conversations, but users can recover their WhatsApp chat history if they’ve backed up their data to the cloud. Without a backup on Google One for Android or iCloud for iPhone, retrieving chats from a lost device is nearly impossible. For Android users, restoring WhatsApp chats requires a Google account with an active backup. To check, open the Google One app, go to the ‘Storage’ section, and select ‘Other’ to confirm if WhatsApp data is saved. To restore, install WhatsApp on a new device, enter your phone number and email, and tap ‘Restore’ when prompted. Skipping restoration will reinstall WhatsApp without recovering chats, and any new backup will overwrite the previous one, including only recent messages. Authentication may be required for security. For iPhone users, an iC...