Samsung flags 19-fold jump in profit, but shares slump on jitters AI boom may stall

The Seoul High Court made the ruling ​in an appeal case against the defendant, ​upholding the lower court’s sentence, for ⁠leaking classified information on so-called CMOS image sensors, ​a technology used fornon-memory chips, opens new tab in smartphone cameras ​and laptops, to a Chinese company in 2022, Yonhap said.

The court found that the employee, who formerly ​worked at SK Hynix’s office in ​China, printed out or took photos of documents containing ‌trade ⁠secrets downloaded from the company’s internal server, a violation of its security rules, according to Yonhap.

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The defendant disclosed some of the information ​in a ​resume submitted ⁠to a Chinese firm, Yonhap said, without naming the Chinese company.

The ​man admitted all of the charges ​and ⁠most of the information he took was retrieved by the company, the report said.

The ⁠Seoul ​High Court did not immediately ​respond to a Reuters request for comment outside business ​hours.

Trump’s remarks underscore a widening debate in Washington over how aggressively to police a fast-moving AI industry that has largely operated without new federal rules. Lawmakers have released a range of proposals that have not yet moved forward, including a bill that would require developers of the most powerful AI models to submit them for independent security audits.

The debate over AI regulation became more urgent in the last few weeks, after developers OpenAI and Anthropic said their AI systems escaped containment during security testing. The OpenAI agent triggered a hack that compromised the infrastructure of the AI startup Hugging Face, a platform where developers store and collaborate on code for AI models.

Govt unveils National AI Initiative with seven innovation hubs

The incident signaled that AI’s expanding capabilities are already fueling the security threat experts long feared and that even top developers can be caught off guard by flaws their models can exploit.

The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology separately proposed guidelines on Friday for evaluating AI systems, and asked for public feedback. NIST’s job is to write standards for science and technology. The guidelines are for organizations that want to “measure the impact of their AI systems,” according to NIST.

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The guidelines are “the first step in standardizing the way the federal  government evaluates AI systems both for itself and for its contractors,” said Ike Harris, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Frontier Security Institute, a nonprofit focused on AI and national security.

Shares of the company were up marginally in volatile premarket trading. Take-Two projected current-quarter bookings below Wall Street estimates, signaling continued weakness from the lack of strong new titles ahead of the “GTA VI” release.

The videogame publisher began taking pre-orders for “GTA VI” on June 25, but did not provide any material detail on demand trends. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick only said that pre-orders have had an “exceptional start” in the post-earnings call.

The game is expected to be a gold mine for the company this year, raking in billions of dollars within days of its launch, thanks to the franchise’s popularity. “GTA V”, the predecessor, is one of the best-selling games ever, and has sold nearly 230 million units since its 2013 launch.

Take-Two prices ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ at $79.99, sticks to November 19 launch

Investors have been closely watching for any announcement around an online multiplayer mode for “GTA VI”, hoping that Take-Two would replicate the success of “GTA V Online”, which has been a consistent source of revenue for the company.

The online version helped the company keep players engaged long after the release of “GTA V”. The live-service components of a title typically allow companies to generate more income through players’ purchases of in-game currency.

“Some of the weakness (in shares) may be the lack of incremental detail about ‘GTA VI’,” said MoffettNathanson analyst Clay Griffin.

“What’s really important for Take-Two is some notion of the plan for how ‘GTA Online’ will evolve. It’s pretty well understood that ‘GTA VI’ will do just fine, if not better than expectations. But it’s more about the longevity of opportunity.”

Take-Two said it expects fiscal 2027 bookings of $8 billion to $8.20 billion. Analysts on average were expecting a 31.9% jump to $8.86 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company forecast second-quarter bookings between $1.62 billion and $1.67 billion, below analysts’ average estimate of $1.85 billion.

For the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, net bookings stood at $1.39 billion, a touch above market estimates of $1.38 billion.

The development comes in compliance with directions issued by a parliamentary panel, which had instructed the telecom regulator to finalize a revised eSIM transfer policy aimed at making the technology more consumer-friendly while reducing unnecessary visits to customer service centres.

According to the PTA, under the existing mechanism, an eSIM can already be transferred from one mobile phone to another a specified number of times using the same QR code issued during the original purchase and activation, without any additional charges.

However, following consultations with CMOs, the regulator has now formally rationalized the charging structure by reducing the maximum initial eSIM issuance fee to Rs1,500 and introducing free transfers for up to 10 device migrations. The revised framework will become operational by the middle of this month.

The parliamentary committee had also directed the PTA to develop a secure digital mechanism enabling subscribers to migrate eSIMs between compatible devices without having to visit customer service centres, while ensuring robust security standards.

Separately, the PTA has informed the committee that it is actively working with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and cellular operators to introduce a multi-factor subscriber verification mechanism aimed at strengthening the security of SIM issuance and ownership verification.

The regulator said a two-pronged strategy is currently under consideration.

Under the first proposal, NADRA is assessing the feasibility of enabling SIM issuance through its Pak ID mobile application using facial recognition technology.

The initiative is expected to allow eligible users to complete identity verification remotely, reducing dependence on physical biometric verification.

The second proposal envisages introducing self-service biometric verification through mobile applications of cellular operators. Under this mechanism, subscribers would be able to authenticate themselves through NADRA’s database using the operators’ apps for SIM issuance and related services.

The PTA said consultations with NADRA and CMOs are continuing to finalize the technical and operational framework for both initiatives.

The committee had specifically instructed the regulator to ensure that the new verification mechanism incorporates facial recognition and iris verification technologies while providing facilitation for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and other subscribers who face difficulties in conventional biometric verification.

The largest share of blocked content falls under “Decency and Morality”, where 1,065,671 URLs were blocked out of 1,075,762 processed cases — a staggering 99.06% blocking rate and nearly 69% of all blocked URLs.

The data shows that the PTA processed 1,726,303 URLs, of which 1,542,800 were blocked, 76,874 remain under review, while 106,629 complaints were rejected.

The highest number of blocked URLs fell under the “Others/Misc” category, where 891,772 out of 899,415 reported links were blocked, reflecting a 99.15 percent blocking rate.

Among social media platforms, Facebook topped the list in absolute numbers, with 230,270 URLs blocked out of 287,362 processed, followed by TikTok with 170,231 blocked URLs and Twitter (X) with 74,236.

Meanwhile, YouTube recorded the highest blocking rate among major platforms at 88.6 percent, with 66,290 of 74,823 URLs blocked.

WhatsApp saw 50,165 URLs blocked (90.53%), while Instagram had 45,510 URLs blocked (83.76%).

The data further showed SnackVideo (7,225 blocked), Bigo/Likee (6,539), and Dailymotion (562) also witnessed significant content restrictions.

Overall, the figures highlight the scale of Pakistan’s online content regulation, with nearly nine out of every 10 URLs reported to the PTA blocked by July 2026.

The data also shows:

1. Terrorism: 141,897 URLs blocked out of 179,285 processed (79.15%).
2. Against Glory of Islam: 112,482 blocked out of 136,891 (82.17%).
3. Against Security & Defence of Pakistan: 74,059 blocked out of 125,427 (59.05%).
4. Sectarian/Hate Speech: 52,776 blocked out of 76,526 (68.96%).
5. Miscellaneous: 60,525 blocked out of 67,778 (89.30%).
6. Defamatory/Impersonation: 17,356 blocked out of 44,200 (39.27%).
7. Contempt of Court: 7,716 blocked out of 10,115 (76.28%).
8. Proxy websites: 10,318 blocked out of 10,319 processed, a 99.99% blocking rate.

Overall, 76,874 cases remain under review, while 106,629 requests were rejected by the authority.

PTA blocked over 1.54 million online URLs till July 2026, with 89% censorship rate.

The success of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” was also a bright point for the Japanese gaming giant, although unit sales for its current console, the Switch 2, are slowing.

Nintendo highlighted the strong performance of two new games for the Switch 2, a gadget that became the world’s fastest-selling games console on its 2025 release.

Both titles, “Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream” – which sold nearly eight million copies – and “Pokemon Pokopia”, are life-simulation titles whose cosy gameplay has been described as a balm to the stressful modern world.

In April-June, net profit came to 147.4 billion yen ($930 million) in April-June, up 53.5 percent from the same period a year earlier, Nintendo said – far surpassing estimates of 77.8 billion yen in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

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The company maintained its annual profit forecast of 310 billion yen.

“Despite an increase in software unit sales and the depreciation of the yen, overall sales for our dedicated video game platform business declined by 13.1 percent,” mainly due to falling Switch 2 sales, Nintendo said.

The company expects to sell 16.5 million Switch 2 units in the 2026-27 financial year, down around 17 percent from 2025-26. It said in May it would hike the price of the console, as the artificial intelligence boom causes memory chip prices to soar.

“Nintendo Switch 2 is now in its second year since launch… and sales continue to be strong. We aim to maintain the momentum for the hardware and see it delivered together with software into the hands of a wide range of consumers,” Nintendo said Thursday.

The net profit jump reflects factors including “solid software sales” and “refunds of US tariffs”, it added.

The firm said in June it would remake the beloved 1998 action-adventure classic “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” for the Switch 2.

“Ocarina of Time” is regularly celebrated as one of the best games of all time in the gaming press, and has a 99 percent score on review aggregation site Metacritic.

Analysts at UBS said ahead of Thursday’s earnings release that 2026 titles like the “Zelda” remake “should draw attention”.

But “the pipeline still lacks a clear blockbuster title to materially accelerate Switch 2 adoption, with exclusive content likely expanding more meaningfully from 2027”, they said.

Meanwhile, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie”, released in April, has become this year’s fourth top-grossing film at the box office worldwide, according to IMDBPro.

The animation is a sequel to 2023 smash-hit film based on the wildly popular Mario games, and features the voices of Jack Black, Chris Pratt and Anya Taylor-Joy.

That beat a forecast of 148.4 billion yen by four analysts surveyed by LSEG.

The fall follows record annual earnings for SoftBank, powered by the rising value of its stake in OpenAI. SoftBank booked net income of more than5 trillion yen in the year ended March 2026.

SoftBank made an investment gain of 1.86 trillion yen over the quarter, mostly due to a gain of 1.33 trillion yen on its holding of shares in chipmaker Intel.

As OpenAI prepares for an initial public offering that may be held off until next year, SoftBank investors are now focusing on the finances of Masayoshi Son’s investment group.

SoftBank gets $7.6bn T-Mobile stake windfall, shares soar

To fund its spending on OpenAI, SoftBank has sold off assets, including holdings in Nvidia and T-Mobile, and has become more reliant on debt financing.

While SoftBank secured a $40 billion bridging loan to cover its investment commitments in 2026, the facility will expire in March 2027, at which point SoftBank will have to pay it back or refinance.

In the second half of 2026, SoftBank has committed to investing a further $20 billion in OpenAI as well as $5.4 billion to acquire ABB’s robotics business and $3.1 billion to acquire digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge.

The incidents at Meta and Anthropic stemmed from configuration errors that inadvertently gave Anthropic’s models access to the open internet.

In OpenAI’s case, an AI agent independently exploited a previously unknown vulnerability to reach the internet during cybersecurity testing.

The breaches ​highlight growing concerns that advanced AI systems could pose new cybersecurity risks and will likely intensify US government efforts to ​improve AI safety as companies race to develop more capable models. Some prominent AI leaders have argued ⁠that development should slow until stronger safeguards are in place.

Meta said it was investigating an incident in ​which a misconfiguration by Irregular, an independent company that conducts cybersecurity evaluations for Meta, inadvertently gave one of its models internet ​access during a testing.

The model “exploited a security vulnerability in a third-party service, in a manner similar to previously reported instances with other companies,” Meta said in a statement.

The Information, citing sources, reported that the model involved was Meta’s Muse Spark ​1.1, which the company has touted as its most capable model for real-world coding and agentic tasks. The ​report said the model breached an unidentified company’s systems and altered its internal environment.

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A spokesperson for Irregular told Reuters the ‌incident ⁠was the “exact same evaluation-environment issue that was already disclosed by Anthropic last week” and did not involve a “sandbox escape or a sophisticated cyber action”.

“There are no current open issues. Irregular is developing a white paper to share best practices for containment and securely running cyber evaluations,” Irregular said.

Concerns about cyber risks

The recent breaches have ​stirred concerns among U.S. ​lawmakers about whether increasingly ⁠capable AI models could be used to conduct or facilitate cyberattacks.

A group of Republican state attorneys general has asked OpenAI to preserve all potentially relevant documents related ​to its Hugging Face breach. OpenAI said it will take the request seriously and publish a technical report about the incident.

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Earlier ​this week, ⁠the White house had invited leading AI companies, including Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI and Google, to meet with officials to discuss a newly finalized voluntary cybersecurity testing framework for advanced AI models.

The Trump administration discussed unpublished testing rules with company representatives and told ⁠AI ​developers that open-weight AI models, such as Meta’s Llama and ​Nvidia’s Nemotron, will not be subject to its planned voluntary safety testing regime, Reuters reported.

The regulations, notified by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication through SRO 1110(I)/2026, have been framed by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996, with the approval of the Federal Government.

The rules came into force immediately upon publication in the official Gazette.

According to the notification, the regulations apply to licensees, manufacturers and importers of telecommunication equipment and establish a uniform framework for prescribing technical standards and testing procedures before equipment can be deployed in Pakistan. The objective is to ensure that telecom devices entering the market comply with internationally accepted performance, safety and interoperability requirements.

The regulations define key technical concepts including electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), radio frequency (RF), fixed wireless access, satellite communication devices and telecommunication equipment standards.

They also empower authorized PTA officers to oversee compliance and enforcement under the new regulatory regime.

Under the new framework, PTA has adopted internationally recognized standards from leading global standard-setting organizations. These include the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), the European Union’s Radio Equipment Directive (RED), European Standards (EN), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), CISPR, CENELEC, and OHSAS.

The regulations categorize mandatory technical requirements into several areas, including electromagnetic compatibility, health and safety, optical and laser safety, radio frequency communication, mobile communication, satellite communication and terrestrial telecommunication equipment standards. These requirements are intended to ensure that devices neither cause harmful interference nor pose safety risks while maintaining compatibility with Pakistan’s telecommunications infrastructure.

The PTA has also reserved the authority to periodically review and update the standards in consultation with relevant stakeholders to keep pace with technological advancements and evolving international best practices.

The agreement was signed by Syed Zeeshan Ali, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Data Vault Pakistan, and Muhammad Jhanghir Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Technology (Pvt) Ltd.

Under the strategic alliance, Data Vault Pakistan will provide a suite of high-tech digital solutions, including AI Model-as-a-Service (MaaS), GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), Sovereign and Hybrid Cloud Solutions, alongside AI-ready data center services and high-performance computing (HPC). The firm will also oversee cybersecurity, compliance, and managed machine learning operations (MLOps) tailored for both public and private sector adoption.

Complementing these services, Galaxy Technology (Pvt) Ltd. will leverage its nationwide Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, national connectivity services, and network integration capabilities to power the underlying network framework.

Speaking at the signing, executives from both companies emphasized that the joint venture aims to ensure critical data and advanced AI workloads remain hosted securely within national borders.

The future of AI should not only be consumed in Pakistan it should be built, powered, and hosted in Pakistan,” the leadership stated in a joint posture, reiterating a commitment to technical self-reliance.

The collaboration comes at a crucial juncture as Pakistani public institutions and commercial enterprises increasingly seek localized, secure, and sovereign cloud solutions to comply with modern data privacy frameworks and reduce dependence on foreign digital infrastructure.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

“Telegram ⁠has been restored ​on the App ​Store and should soon be available again for ​all users,” it ​said, without elaborating.

Earlier in the ‌day, ⁠a message on Telegram’s Apple app store page read, “The ​page ​you’re ⁠looking for can’t be found.”

Apple ​did not ​respond ⁠to a request for comment outside regular ⁠business ​hours.

The EU has the world’s most comprehensive digital rulebook covering social media, online retailers and search engines, with plans for more rules this year.

In 2024, the EU adopted a sweeping AI law known as the “AI Act”, but its rules have been introduced in stages.

Here’s what will happen on Sunday:

The EU’s law takes a risk-based approach to the technology.

The higher the risk to Europeans’ rights or health, for example, the greater the obligations of firms to protect individuals from harm.

It also bans AI used for predictive policing, emotion recognition systems in workplaces or schools and AI that manipulates human behaviour.

From Sunday, AI-generated content like deepfakes must be labelled, while firms must ensure their AI systems like chatbots make it clear to users they are AI.

Existing AI systems have until December 2 to adapt to the new rules, and there are exemptions for “artistic, creative, satirical, fictional” work.

On Sunday, European regulators in the AI Office will have the power to enforce the bloc’s rules on the most advanced AI models.

The regulatory body attached to the EU executive will be made up of dozens of tech experts, lawyers and economists.

The AI Office will be able to test the most advanced general-purpose AI models like chatbots to ensure they comply with the law.

Companies must also give the EU access to their models, and in some cases the EU can demand access before they are placed on the market, an EU official said.

The EU will also be able to restrict a model’s deployment in the EU if it has concerns that aren’t addressed by the provider.

The powers arrive at an opportune moment. The EU struggled this year to get access to American AI developer Anthropic’s Mythos model, but the rules kicking in on Sunday mean an issue like that shouldn’t happen again.

National authorities will be able to enforce the rules for smaller AI systems.

If the EU finds companies breaking the rules, it can force them to take action to remedy the breach and fine the firms if they fail to do so.

The stiffest fines are for businesses that allow their systems to conduct banned practices — up to seven percent of a company’s annual worldwide turnover or 35 million euros ($40 million), whichever is higher.

For other violations, companies could be fined up to three percent of their global annual revenue or 15 million euros. They may also be fined if they hinder or fail to cooperate with EU probes.

More rules under the AI Act will be enforceable later this year and beyond.

From December, there will be a ban on artificial intelligence systems generating sexualised deepfakes, introduced following the global outrage over non-consensual nudes produced by Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok.

The EU is also delaying the implementation of some high-risk AI rules concerning models deemed as potentially dangerous to safety, health or citizens’ fundamental rights — to give companies more time to prepare.

The rules will apply for stand-alone high-risk AI systems from December 2027 and in August 2028 for AI tools embedded in other products.

The videos spread as Modi contended with the biggest wave of youth-led protests India has seen in more than a decade, a movement over leaked papers in national examinations that has led to the resignation of his education minister.

Police are preparing to send a notice to Meta Platforms regarding the case, said V Aravind Babu, deputy commissioner of police for cyber crimes in Hyderabad.

Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment on Friday.

It was not immediately clear why Srinivas had been named personally, a rare move against a senior executive of a global tech firm. India has tightened its content rules this year, narrowing the legal shield that protects platforms from liability for what their users post and raising the exposure of the executives who run them.

Since February, platforms must remove unlawful content flagged by courts or the government within three hours, down from 36, or lose that protection.

India summons Meta executives over briefly restricted Modi Facebook post

Holding someone personally responsible normally requires proof of “an active role and knowledge,” said Akash Karmakar, a echnology law partner at Indian law firm Panag & Babu.

Meta has repeatedly drawn the ire of Indian government over content posted by its users, and faced criticism that it does too little to police hate speech and misinformation on Facebook and Instagram.

===== Facebook’s biggest market by users

The case builds on a run of tensions between Meta and Modi’s government over content tied to the prime minister. Modi has faced a barrage of online criticism, jokes and ridicule by protesters in recent weeks.

India’s IT ministry summoned Meta executives this week after Facebook briefly restricted a Modi post, with a top official saying the government wanted the company to explain the matter at the highest level.

A Meta spokesperson said at the time that the post, which was Modi’s first where he addressed the massive student protests, had been blocked inadvertently.

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India is Facebook’s biggest market by users. Srinivas is Meta’s managing director and head for India since July 2025.

The case against him is among many others that were filed based on complaints by supporters of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, who alleged that manipulated videos and images of the prime minister were being circulated on Meta-owned social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, local media reported earlier.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema chaired a meeting on the NCP, joined by the Minister for IT & Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja and senior officials. The meeting primarily focused on expanding access to high-speed internet in villages, remote areas, and small towns to bridge the digital divide and unlock new economic opportunities, read an official statement.

During the meeting, officials placed strong emphasis on improving digital accessibility and affordability for all citizens.

Participants considered targeted tax relief for internet users in remote areas to expand digital participation.

Additional strategic reforms discussed included abolishing right-of-way fees, launching a single-window approval portal, introducing district-level licensing, and making fixed broadband connectivity mandatory across public institutions, schools, and health facilities, read the statement.

Scrapping ‘RoW’ charges is key to unlocking Pakistan’s digital future, say experts

ROW fees are charges paid for the legal right to install and operate infrastructure. In the telecom sector, these fees are levied on companies that want to lay optical fiber cables and other related digital infrastructure across land owned by various entities such as housing societies, roads, and railway lines.

In the meeting, Cheema said the government’s top priority is to facilitate freelancers, e-commerce entrepreneurs, and other digital professionals living in remote regions who continue to face challenges due to slow and unreliable internet connectivity.

He said the government will take all necessary measures to ensure the availability of affordable, high-speed internet services across the country, enabling citizens to participate fully in the digital economy.

During the meeting, the officials underscored the vital role of next-generation fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks and 5G infrastructure in driving national economic growth.

Highlighting the momentum of Pakistan’s digital development, officials noted that FTTH subscriptions have grown steadily to 2.8 million, supported by a robust fiber footprint of 234,000 kilometres, 5.1 million house passes, and six operational submarine cables.

To build upon this progress, Cheema outlined ambitious national targets under the NCP, including expanding infrastructure to 10 million house passes, raising average fixed broadband download speeds to 85 Mbps, securing a place among the world’s top 50 countries for broadband performance, and increasing tower fiberisation to 60%.

Emphasising the government’s commitment to effective implementation, Federal Minister Ahad Cheema said the NCP will be finalised expeditiously through comprehensive stakeholder consultation.

The speculation intensified after PTCL informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday that its Board of Directors had approved the submission of a binding offer to acquire a majority stake in an unnamed target company.

The disclosure stated that the proposed transaction remains subject to due diligence, successful negotiations, regulatory approvals and the execution of definitive agreements.

Industry circles believe the target company could be a digital wallet, a move that would mark another major consolidation in Pakistan’s telecom and fintech sectors following PTCL’s acquisition of Telenor Pakistan.

If completed, the deal would effectively bring a digital wallet back under the PTCL umbrella.

PTCL, however, has not disclosed the identity of the target company, saying commercial terms are yet to be finalised and no definitive agreement has been executed.

The company pledged to keep the PSX informed of any material developments.

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When approached by the known digital wallet for its official response, the company responded:

“While there has been public discussion on this matter, we do not comment on market speculations. Our focus remains on serving our customers.

The company assures its customers that their funds remain secure, fully protected, and accessible at all times. All our services, including transfers, bill payments, mobile top-ups, and wallet withdrawals, continue to operate as normal.”

Profit in the April-June quarter was 476.5 billion yen ($2.97 billion).

That compared with an ​average estimate of 361 billion yen from 11 ​analysts polled by LSEG.

The Japanese conglomerate has ⁠received plaudits for its pivot to entertainment but the ​market is concerned about the impact of AI on ​its business and a memory price boom on margins.

Sony has said it has secured memory supply for this financial year ​but expects continued high prices next year. The ​path for memory prices is being widely debated in the industry.

The ‌PlayStation ⁠maker is expected to be a major beneficiary of the launch of “Grand Theft Auto VI” on November 19 as Microsoft’s Xbox business retrenches.

Sony forecasts 13% rise in full-year net profit

Take-Two Interactive Software could ​sell 30 million ​to 35 ⁠million “GTA VI” units by year-end, according to a forecast from Ampere Analysis analyst ​Piers Harding-Rolls.

Other games coming to PlayStation 5 ​include ⁠major in-house title “God of War Laufey”, which is due for release in February.

For the July-September quarter analysts on ⁠average ​estimate operating profit of 465 ​billion yen. Sony’s shares were down 8% year-to-date ahead of the earnings.

Kaspersky’s Global Research & Analysis Team (GReAT) revealed key cyber threat trends for the first half of 2026 at Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa region (META).

As the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, cyber threats are becoming increasingly diverse and sophisticated, the report said.

In Pakistan, 12.2 percent Kaspersky users with online threats blocked by Kaspersky solution during the first half of 2026.

According to Kaspersky’s telemetry, online threats exploiting vulnerabilities in websites, emails and web services continued to affect millions of users across the META region during the first half of 2026.

Turkiye recorded the highest percentage of users affected by web-based threats at 22.8 percent, followed by Kenya (21.2 percent) and Qatar (19.3 percent). In contrast, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan registered the lowest share of users targeted by web-borne attacks in the region.

Kaspersky experts report that threat actors are increasingly integrating AI into different stages of their operations. Large language models are already being used to generate phishing emails, malicious code and supporting operational content.

AI is also beginning to play a larger role in malware development.

Researchers have already observed AI-assisted malware development in campaigns linked to the Funk Sec group, which deployed Rust-based malware capable of data theft, encryption and process manipulation.

Similarly, during the Revenge Hotels campaign in 2025, threat actors used large language models to generate portions of the infector and downloader code.

As cyber threats continue to evolve alongside emerging technologies, Kaspersky recommended that organizations strengthen their cyber security posture through continuous vulnerability management, timely patching, employee awareness training, threat intelligence, and advanced security solutions capable of detecting sophisticated and AI-assisted attacks, the report added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

Apple ‌and the technology industry generally have been scrambling to meet demand for new products, especially those with high-end processors and memory, and executives described the weaker forecast in terms of supply, not demand.

“We’re seeing some very significant (supply) constraints currently with limited flexibility in the supply chain to remedy it,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said during the call, adding that Apple was “evaluating all options” for alternative suppliers of memory chips.

Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh told analysts on a call that Apple expects revenue growth of 9% to 11% in the ​quarter compared with a year earlier. That was less than the 12% rise predicted by Wall Street, according to LSEG data. He forecast iPhone revenue would grow at a mid-teens rate, compared with Wall ​Street’s target of 17.6%, and that gross profit margins would be between 47% and 48%.

Apple briefly tops $5 trillion market value for first time

In an interview with Reuters, Cook said the main supply constraint in the just-ended ⁠fiscal third quarter was an industry shortage of advanced chipmaking technology used to produce the Apple silicon chips at the heart of its devices. That was particularly true for the Mac lineup, whose sales grew 29% on the ​strength of the entry-level MacBook Neo and the high-end MacBook Pro despite price increases.

“If you look at the root causes behind those, it’s that we’re having an incredibly strong product cycle beyond our expectations, and the (advanced chipmaking) supply ​chain just fundamentally has less flexibility in it to meet the high levels of demand,” Cook told Reuters.

Third quarter beat

Expectations are high for Apple, which recently regained the title of world’s most valuable company, retaking the top spot from AI chip leader Nvidia. Its shares have risen more than 22% this year.

Earlier Thursday, it posted results that broadly beat market expectations, but relatively soft sales of services spooked some investors, who also were uncertain whether bumper demand would continue if Apple hiked iPhone prices.

Apple said sales for its fiscal ​third quarter ended June 27 rose 16.4% to $109.42 billion, compared with analyst estimates of a 15.5% rise, according to LSEG data. Customers snapped up iPhones and MacBooks while prices increased across the consumer electronics sector.

Third-quarter profits were $2.02 per ​share, with 11 cents attributable to tariff refunds from the U.S. government. Excluding the refunds, profits still beat Wall Street estimates of $1.89 per share.

Driving results was a 21.7% increase in iPhone sales to $54.25 billion, above estimates of $53.86 billion. Those were Apple’s best-ever ‌iPhone sales for ⁠a third quarter, when phone sales typically begin to slow as customers anticipate fall models.

This year, customers raced to buy iPhones after a global memory-chip crunch prompted Apple to raise prices of Macs and iPads. Apple has so far spared its signature product, with Wall Street analysts increasingly expecting an iPhone price hike around the September launch event.

Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research, said investors may worry the quarter reflected a buying flurry that may not carry through. “I do think it’s possible people are going to continue to buy the existing phones, because of the price increases,” he said. “The big question is, what’s going to happen on Macs in this quarter, when the new prices ​are fully there?”

Gross margins, which Apple had warned would ​come under pressure from memory costs, were 50.1%. Tariff ⁠refunds contributed two points; excluding them, margins were 48.1%, near the midpoint of guidance and above estimates of 47.92%.

Apple closes in on Nvidia in race for world’s most valuable company

Mac sales were up 28.7% to $10.35 billion, beating estimates of $8.74 billion. iPad sales fell 5.9% to $6.19 billion, below expectations of $6.92 billion, which Cook attributed to a “tough compare” against last year’s launch of the budget A16 iPad.

Greater China revenue rose ​22.4% to $18.82 billion but missed the $19.67 billion target of six analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

Services under pressure

Apple’s second-biggest revenue area, its services business, rose 12.1% to $30.74 billion, ​missing estimates of $31.22 billion.

D.A. Davidson ⁠analyst Gil Luria said services growth was slowing. “Investors are concerned that if services are decelerating while iPhone is growing more than 20%, it may slow down even more as iPhone sales come back down to earth,” he said.

Parekh said App Store revenue from mobile games was under pressure. The European Union has required Apple to open iPhones to alternative app stores, and a US battle with “Fortnite” maker Epic Games now lets users pay outside Apple’s in-app system.

“We did see some headwinds in ⁠mobile gaming, and ​then keep in mind we also made some changes to the App Store business model in certain countries,” Parekh said, adding the ​Epic Games U.S. link-out ruling continues to weigh.

Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft

With help from Alphabet’s Google, Apple earlier this year unveiled a revamped Siri with new AI features. Cook said heavy users could pay extra: “We will have some kind of upgrade possibilities on iCloud Plus, where people can buy up the ​stack,” he said.

A video message by Modi posted on Meta’s Instagram platform and later shared on Facebook was restricted temporarily on the latter.

A Meta spokesperson said at the time that the post had been blocked inadvertently.

“We have asked Meta to come in at the highest level and explain what is happening,” S. Krishnan, secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, said on Thursday.

He did not say who, specifically, had been requested to appear.

* Meta told Indian authorities it established new protocols relating to accounts of prominent persons to prevent such a situation from recurring, Krishnan added.

India’s Instagram Gen Z dents Modi’s aura ahead of key state polls

Meta India did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Thursday.

Modi’s video post on July 23, his first addressing the massive student protests that forced Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign on Saturday, has more than 404 million views on Instagram.

The sparring with Meta is the latest example of Modi’s government taking on Big Tech over content-related issues.

India is Facebook’s biggest market by users.

According to a statement, customers with a Crypto.com account booking on emirates.com and the Emirates App can now select Crypto.com Pay at checkout, with transactions processed securely and in compliance with UAE regulatory standards.

Crypto.com is a Singaporean cryptocurrency exchange that offers various financial services, including an app, an exchange, and a noncustodial DeFi wallet. It serves over 100 million users worldwide.

Emirates shared that Crypto.com Pay is available to eligible UAE residents for bookings priced and settled in Emirati Dirham (AED).

The integration is powered by Crypto.com’s Dubai entity, the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) to be granted a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) licence by the Central Bank of the UAE and operates within the scope of the SVF framework, read the statement.

The launch is part of the implementation of a partnership between Crypto.com and Emirates announced in 2025.

“Bringing this initiative to life delivers on our commitment to expanding customer choice in how they pay for travel. It also reflects the rapidly evolving preferences of a younger, digitally fluent generation who manage their money and plan their journeys primarily from their phones, and they expect the airlines they fly with to keep pace,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer.

“Partnering with Emirates is a milestone for Crypto.com and our Pay feature, which is renowned for its ease of use and seamless integration,” said Eric Anziani, President and Chief Operating Officer, Crypto.com.

“This collaboration is a testament to the UAE’s forward-thinking approach to innovation, and we’re proud to support Emirates as it embraces the digital payments space,” he added.

How it works

When customers reach the payment step of their booking, Crypto.com Pay appears as a payment option at checkout on emirates.com and the Emirates App:

● On mobile: Customers booking through the Emirates App are directed to the Crypto.com app to complete the payment from their wallet, before being redirected back to the Emirates App to receive their booking confirmation and e-ticket.

● On desktop: Customers booking on emirates.com should select Crypto.com Pay at the payment step, then scan the QR code displayed on the booking page and approve the payment in their Crypto.com app.

The world’s top memory chipmaker posted a more than 250-fold rise in semiconductor profit ​in the second quarter, marking a sharp turnaround as it races to catch up with SK Hynix ​in supplying high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI processors.

“The supply shortage in 2027 ⁠is expected to worsen compared to this year, and it is expected to continue in 2028,” Jaejune Kim, ​executive vice president of Samsung’s memory business, told analysts on a call.

Samsung shares surged 8% and SK Hynix shares ​rebounded 3% in early trading after the earnings call.

That follows a sharp slide in recent months, as chip stocks have lost momentum amid investor concerns about funding for the AI infrastructure buildout and competition from China that could put chip earnings under pressure.

Kim said ​demand that could not be met this year was being pushed into next year because of tight supply ​and this could add to future supply constraints.

“In H2 2026, the Memory Business expects robust demand centered on servers stemming from ‌continued AI ⁠infrastructure capex and broader adoption of agentic AI,” Samsung said in a statement.

“This is projected to keep the market undersupplied, despite partial demand moderation in mobile and PCs.”

Samsung’s semiconductor division posted an operating profit of 89.2 trillion won ($61.7 billion) in the second quarter, up over 250-fold from a year earlier.

However, those surging chip prices hurt ​Samsung’s mobile division, which reported ​a 700 billion won ⁠loss, its first quarter in the red.

Samsung cuts US jobs, offers relocations ahead of HQ move

“The chips enriching one side of Samsung are now hurting the other, leaving the group more exposed than ever to memory pricing ​and the durability of hyperscaler demand,” said Josh Gilbert, an analyst at eToro.

Samsung reported ​operating profit ⁠of 89.5 trillion won ($61.98 billion) for the April-to-June period, in line with its estimate of 89.4 trillion won and up from 4.68 trillion won a year earlier.

The South Korean company’s revenue rose 130% to 171.5 trillion won in the ⁠quarter from ​a year earlier.

Samsung’s cross-town rival SK Hynix on Wednesday reported bumper quarterly ​results but fell short of lofty investor expectations. It flagged plans to raise capital spending this year by around 50% to meet surging ​AI demand.

The U.S.-based company joins a growing list of global semiconductor firms expanding their engineering operations in the country amid AI-driven demand for chips.

Chip designer Marvell, which began its India operations in 2006, plans to double its India headcount as part of the investment. The firm has offices in Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad.

The company also said it would open a new wing at its Bengaluru office while expanding its presence in Hyderabad.

The expanded footprint is expected to support the development of advanced semiconductor solutions for AI, cloud, and data infrastructure applications.

The investment comes weeks after India’s cabinet approved the expansion of a key semiconductor programme with 1.28 trillion rupees ($13.38 billion) in fresh capital as it looks to deepen India’s manufacturing and design capabilities.

This was stated by Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA, who was flanked by Saira Faisal, Country Lead – Digital Transformation, GSMA Pakistan, while addressing Media Roundtable – Digital Pakistan 2030: The Next Phase of Digital Transformation.

The global mobile industry body is conducting an evidence-based assessment to quantify the economic and fiscal impact of lowering taxes, including on low-cost smartphones, arguing that affordable devices are critical to closing Pakistan’s digital usage gap and unlocking wider economic growth.

The study is expected to provide the government with policy options showing how initial revenue losses from tax cuts could be recovered through higher smartphone penetration, increased broadband usage and an expanded tax base.

The official noted that the organization was examining where taxes could be reduced and how quickly the government could recover any revenue foregone through increased device sales, higher digital adoption and broader economic gains.

READ MORE: Call for greater focus on smartphone affordability

According to the GSMA, governments require evidence-based policymaking, particularly amid fiscal pressures and commitments under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The study is therefore intended to provide concrete data rather than general recommendations on lowering taxes.

The association reiterated findings from long-standing GSMA research showing that a 10 percent increase in broadband penetration can generate between a 1 and 2 percent increase in GDP, underscoring the significant economic potential of expanding digital connectivity in Pakistan.

The GSMA also welcomed ongoing digitalization initiatives by federal and provincial governments, saying they were creating practical incentives for citizens to own smartphones. They argued that digital transformation can also strengthen tax collection by bringing more people into the formal economy, thereby expanding the country’s tax base instead of relying on higher taxes from a relatively small number of existing taxpayers.

GSMA observed that Pakistan has experienced an investment gap in the telecom sector after years of spectrum uncertainty, which constrained network expansion. Following the recent spectrum release, mobile operators are expected to invest billions of dollars over the coming years to expand broadband coverage and improve network quality.

Senior representatives from Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments, Gilgit-Baltistan, industry, regulators and development partners convened at the GSMA Digital Nation Pakistan Ministerial Roundtable to identify practical actions that build on Pakistan’s growing digital momentum and accelerate the delivery of Digital Pakistan 2030.

The roundtable was one of the few forums to bring together federal ministries, all four provincial governments including representation from Gilgit-Baltistan, the national regulator, mobile industry leaders and international development partners around a shared agenda for Pakistan’s digital future.

This breadth of participation reflected the growing recognition that delivering Digital Pakistan 2030 requires coordinated action across the federal government, provinces, industry and development partners.

To inform these discussions, the GSMA published a new discussion paper, Digital Pakistan 2030: Building Momentum for Sustainable Investment, Trust and Inclusive Growth, which provided a framework for discussion by highlighting Pakistan’s recent progress and identifying five priorities to help translate today’s momentum into long-term economic and social outcomes.

The discussion paper highlighted the significant progress Pakistan has made across the spectrum policy, mobile internet and smartphone adoption, women’s digital inclusion, digital trust, cybersecurity and stronger collaboration between government and industry.

It argued that these advances have established stronger foundations for future growth, while emphasising that continued collaboration between government, industry and development partners will be essential to sustain momentum, create investment certainty, strengthen trusted digital infrastructure and deliver coordinated implementation across the digital ecosystem.

“Pakistan has established important foundations for digital growth, and the momentum of the past year is clear,” said Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA.

“What makes today’s roundtable particularly significant is the opportunity to bring together leaders from across government, industry and development organisations to discuss the practical actions needed to sustain that momentum. Delivering Digital Pakistan 2030 will depend on continued collaboration, shared priorities and coordinated implementation across the digital ecosystem.”

“Our discussion paper is intended to support those conversations by providing a framework for discussion and identifying where collective action can have the greatest impact.”

The GSMA discussion paper identified five strategic priorities to build on Pakistan’s digital momentum and support the delivery of Digital Pakistan 2030, including strengthening investment certainty by building on recent spectrum reforms and creating an environment that supports long-term infrastructure investment, accelerating digital inclusion by reducing the remaining usage gap through greater affordability, digital skills, rural connectivity, and continued progress on women’s digital inclusion.

It also emphasised preparing infrastructure for the AI economy through investment in 5G readiness, fibre, data centres, energy resilience, and future spectrum planning, and building trusted digital infrastructure by strengthening cybersecurity, digital identity, child online safety, anti-scam collaboration, and broader digital trust frameworks.

The paper also noted that the success of these points relied on strengthening national coordination across government, industry and development partners to improve implementation and accelerate delivery of shared priorities.

The paper also outlined a Digital Pakistan 2030 Action Agenda centred on five shared actions: creating investment certainty, accelerating digital inclusion, building trusted digital infrastructure, preparing Pakistan for the AI economy and strengthening national coordination.

To cushion itself against the industry’s volatile demand cycles, the company is racing to lock in long-term supply deals.

The Nvidia supplier’s quarterly operating profit soared more than sixfold to a record high, but it said delays in shipments of some advanced products limited price gains for its mainstay dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips.

Shares in SK Hynix tumbled 13% on Wednesday, as the weaker-than-expected earnings reinforced jitters about the sustainability of aggressive AI spending by tech firms.

“There are concerns that tech firms will take a breather in infrastructure spending,” Lee Min-hee, an analyst at BNK Investment & Securities, said.

Investor sentiment was further hurt by the company’s failure to provide detailed plans for sharing the benefits of the AI boom through higher shareholder returns and its adoption of long-term deals that could limit upside in memory prices, analysts said.

The stock has lost more than half its value since hitting a record high last month, though it remains up about 138% so far this year.

Demand remains strong

Despite the market selloff, SK Hynix said demand for AI memory chips remained strong.

“Major customers are still requesting more memory supply,” SK Hynix President Song Hyun-jong said on an earnings call, adding that it was seeking more long-term supply agreements to better manage chip price volatility.

The move underscores how chipmakers are trying to convert today’s AI-driven boom into longer-term demand certainty amid concerns that spending on AI infrastructure could eventually cool.

Long-term agreements, which SK Hynix said are typically for five years, include financial safeguards such as deposits to ensure contract implementation.

The company has concluded talks on around 10 such deals and is continuing discussions with other major industry players, it said.

South Korea’s SK Hynix, Samsung Elec sign $950bn partnership with US big tech

The deals come as worries about the ability of “hyperscalers” like Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Oracle to fund hundreds of billions of dollars of planned investment in AI infrastructure have driven down chip shares globally in recent weeks.

Reflecting its confidence in future demand, SK Hynix said it plans to raise capital spending to the high-40 trillion won ($27.6 billion) range this year from 30.2 trillion won in 2025.

The company downplayed concerns that its capacity expansion could lead to oversupply, saying it would adjust investments in line with market demand.

“With major tech companies increasing their AI infrastructure investments, additional supply requests continue to mount,” the company said.

“As these investments are supported by revenue generated from AI services, the momentum in memory demand is expected to persist.” While long-term deals improve visibility over future demand, they may also temper near-term pricing gains, a factor that contributed to the earnings miss, analysts said.

SK Hynix also has higher exposure to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, whose prices rose less than conventional memory, they said.

Bigger rival Samsung Electronics has estimated a 19-fold jump in second-quarter operating profit and is due to report its results on Thursday.

“Samsung has greater pricing power and has raised prices more aggressively than SK Hynix,” said Lee Su-rim, an analyst at DS Investment & Securities.

Surge in net cash

Buoyed by its strong earnings, SK Hynix’s net cash reached 88 trillion won at the end of June.

It aims to increase that to more than 100 trillion won to better respond to customer demand and stabilise business operations.

With the company’s cash balance approaching its long-term target, investors are increasingly focused on how that cash will be deployed, said Kim Sunwoo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities.

SK Hynix said it could not yet provide details on the timing, size or structure of its shareholder return policy, but planned to disclose the plan later this year.

“SK needs to come up with a concrete shareholder return policy to turn around investor sentiment,” said Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities.

The company reported an operating profit of 60.5 trillion won for the April-June period, compared with 9.2 trillion won a year earlier and short of a 64 trillion won forecast by LSEG SmartEstimate. Quarterly revenue rose 257% to 79.3 trillion won, below a 84 trillion won estimate.

Analysts said the earnings miss reflected slower-than-expected HBM4 shipments, delaying revenue recognition during the quarter.

Net profit rose more than 13-fold to 93.9 trillion won, helped by 63.3 trillion won in gains from investment assets, it said, without providing further details.

Analysts estimated that the company recognized cumulative investment gains following the completion last month of the sale of its stake in Japanese NAND flash memory maker Kioxia.

SK Hynix invested about 4 trillion won in Kioxia in 2018 through a Bain Capital-led consortium of US, Japanese and South Korean investors, participating via two special purpose vehicles.

Its shares were last up 0.72% at $339.33, giving it a market capitalization ‌of $4.98 trillion. At a session high of $342.89, Apple’s market value stood at $5.036 trillion.

Apple became the most valuable company in the world earlier this month, overtaking chipmaker Nvidia - which had been at the top since June ​2025 and was the first company ever to breach the $5 trillion threshold.

Nvidia’s shares ​were last up 0.53% at $197.63, valuing it at $4.78 trillion.

Apple has benefited from ⁠strong demand for its products as well as its decision to skip the ongoing AI ​spending race among Big Tech rivals that is sapping their cash flows and saddling them ​with humongous debt.

Apple’s stock has gained about 25% so far this year, outperforming other so-called “Magnificent 7” technology companies including Nvidia, Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft.

The iPhone maker has relied on Google’s AI technology to power ​new services such as a revamped Siri, avoiding the hefty infrastructure costs associated with surging ​data-center investments.

Apple’s decision to hold iPhone prices steady last month when it unveiled increases for MacBooks and ‌iPads ⁠has also bolstered demand as buyers scooped up the company’s flagship device ahead of expected price hikes later this year, analysts have said.

Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft

The company launched a device leasing program on Tuesday in the U.S. through payments firm Klarna, under which monthly payments start at $17.99 for an ​iPhone, $11.99 for an Apple ​Watch or iPad and $24.99 ⁠for a Mac.

“Apple has resisted the AI spending race, betting that customer experience — not infrastructure investment — will ultimately determine the winners,” said Dipanjan ​Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester.

“The new leasing program ​is a ⁠clever response: it doesn’t reduce the price of an iPhone, but it changes how consumers perceive the cost by replacing sticker shock with a predictable monthly payment.”

Apple is set to report ⁠its third-quarter ​earnings after the market close on Thursday, with analysts ​expecting a more than 15% jump in quarterly revenue from a year earlier.

The lawsuit comes as the Indian government pushes ahead with its E20 biofuel strategy aimed at reducing its dependence on imported oil and lowering emissions.

E20 petrol, a fuel containing 20 percent ethanol, has come under scrutiny after viral social media posts alleged it harms engines and raises maintenance costs in vehicles designed for lower ethanol blends.

Gadkari filed the suit in the Bombay High Court, alleging that content circulated online falsely portrayed him as being personally responsible for the government’s E20 policy, his office told AFP.

The suit also claimed the posts accused Gadkari and his family of profiting from the initiative.

Gadkari is seeking 110 million rupees ($1.14 million) in damages, arguing that the “deepfake” posts and videos were causing “irreparable harm” to his reputation.

There was no immediate response from Meta to a request from AFP for comment about Gadkari’s lawsuit.

Apart from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, the suit also names X Corp, Google and other entities, Indian media reported.

India has the highest number of Facebook and Instagram users in the world, making it one of Meta’s most important markets by reach and engagement.

The government has steadily expanded regulations governing social media platforms, asking them to remove content and follow government takedown orders.

In its latest advisory, National CERT classified the threat as “critical”, citing widespread exploitation attempts and the public availability of proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code.

The advisory warned that government portals, critical information infrastructure (CII), financial institutions, enterprise websites, and all organisations running vulnerable WordPress installations should treat the threat as an emergency and immediately deploy the latest security updates.

According to the advisory, attackers can exploit a chain of two critical vulnerabilities—identified as CVE-2026-63030 (wp2shell) and CVE-2026-60137—to remotely execute arbitrary code on targeted servers.

The primary flaw exploits confusion in the WordPress REST API batch-route endpoint (/wp-json/batch/v1) and combines it with a SQL injection vulnerability in the WP_Query class, enabling unauthenticated attackers to compromise websites and underlying servers.

READ MORE: Defence, banking and power systems: National CERT flags cyber threats

National CERT assigned a CVSS score of 9.8 to the remote code execution vulnerability and 9.1 to the SQL injection flaw, describing both as among the most severe categories of cyber vulnerabilities.

The advisory cautioned that successful exploitation could lead to complete website takeover, deployment of persistent web shells, theft of sensitive data, unauthorised modification or defacement of official portals, lateral movement across enterprise networks, disruption of digital public services, and serious reputational damage for affected organisations.

It further warned that exploitation activity began within hours of the vulnerabilities becoming public, underscoring the urgency of immediate defensive measures.

The advisory identified WordPress Core versions 7.0.0 through 7.0.1 and 6.9.0 through 6.9.4 as vulnerable to the remote code execution chain, while the SQL injection issue affects WordPress 6.8.x and later.

Organisations have been directed to immediately upgrade to WordPress 7.0.2, 6.9.5, or 6.8.6, depending on their deployment branch.

National CERT also advised organisations not to rely solely on automatic updates, warning that managed hosting environments may delay or block critical security patches. Administrators have been urged to manually verify the software version of every internet-facing WordPress installation.

For organisations unable to patch immediately, the advisory recommends blocking access to the vulnerable REST API batch endpoint through web application firewalls (WAFs), restricting unauthenticated API access, updating all plugins and themes during the same maintenance window, and validating WordPress core files against official release checksums to detect any tampering.

The cyber watchdog also instructed organisations to conduct comprehensive threat hunting by examining web server logs for suspicious requests targeting /wp-json/batch/v1, monitoring for unauthorised PHP files in writable directories such as /wp-content/uploads/, detecting abnormal process execution by web servers, and identifying unexpected outbound communications that could indicate command-and-control activity.

As part of its incident response guidance, National CERT directed all organisations to immediately audit public-facing WordPress instances, isolate compromised servers, preserve forensic evidence, rotate administrative credentials and database secrets after patching, and report confirmed incidents without delay.

The advisory concluded with an urgent call for organisations to strengthen continuous monitoring, deploy enhanced detection mechanisms, and report any suspected exploitation attempts or confirmed compromises to National CERT to help contain the rapidly evolving threat landscape.

Ideal for Japan’s often narrow roads, the super-compact category of cars up to 1.4 metres (4.9 feet) wide and 3.4 metres long accounts for some 40 percent of new vehicle sales there.

BYD, which is also making major inroads in Europe and which overtook Tesla in 2025 as the world’s biggest seller of EVs, said the Racco is the first “kei” car launched in Japan by an overseas automaker.

The car has a height of 180 centimetres and is priced from 2.1 million yen ($12,830).

To help market it, BYD has hired one of Japan’s best-known actors, Alice Hirose, for its advertisements.

“We want to deliver unprecedented convenience and enjoyment to all people across Japan through our technology,” BYD Japan president Liu Xueliang said at a launch event in Tokyo.

What the arrival of 2,000 BYD vehicles signals for Pakistan’s EV market

Foreign automakers have traditionally struggled to gain much market share in Japan, including BYD.

The Chinese carmaker has established 77 sales locations across Japan, according to Bloomberg News.

“Kei” cars – “kei-jidosha” (“light vehicle”) in Japanese – have a cult following. Admirers include US President Donald Trump, who told US firms in December to “START BUILDING THEM NOW!”

Symmetry, the parent company, disclosed the development in a notice to the bourse on Tuesday.

“We are pleased to inform you that Aurion.AI Limited, a subsidiary of Symmetry Group Limited, has formally submitted its application for listing on the PSX through its consultant to issue - LSE Capital Limited,” read the notice.

Aurion intends to raise Rs750 million through an IPO at a floor price of Rs5 per share.

“We look forward to having another member of the Symmetry family listed at the PSX in the near future,” it added.

AurionAi, headquartered in Karachi, is a technology company focused on engineering scalable digital platforms powered by AI, machine learning, and data intelligence.

Last year, Symmetry Group announced plans to launch an IPO for a new subsidiary focused on AI-powered solutions, including Influsense.ai and Vidfy.ai.

The company, back then, informed that it plans to raise approximately Rs1.5-Rs2 billion through the IPO.

Meanwhile, the PSX has experienced a strong revival in its IPO market in the ongoing year, demonstrating significant momentum and robust post-listing performance. In the first half of 2026, nine companies successfully raised over Rs20 billion through public offerings.

The robust IPO momentum in 2026 is a continuation of a trend driven by improved macroeconomic stability under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, coupled with positive market sentiment, high liquidity, and political stability, which encourage equity investment.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged significantly, reflecting overall positive sentiment and renewed investor interest. PSX outperformed global trends, which saw a slowdown in IPO activity in 2024.

However, concerns exist regarding “token listings,” where owners’ reluctance to sell meaningful equity and share control can limit market depth and transparency.

Hut 8 said last week its 1-gigawatt Beacon Point campus had a base-term contract value of $19.6 billion over 15 years, rising to as much as $50.2 billion if renewal options are exercised.

The company did not disclose the tenant at the time, saying it was an “existing investment-grade customer” which would install computing equipment at the site to support large-scale AI training and operations.

The FT reported that Nvidia was the data center’s tenant, citing sources.

Nvidia could sublease the property to its “neocloud” partners that buy its GPUs and sell AI cloud computing, according to the FT.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Nvidia and Hut 8 did not respond to requests for comment outside business hours.