There is a serious security problem inside Comet, the AI-powered agentic browser made by Perplexity, SquareX researchers say: Comet’s MCP API allows the browser’s built-in (but hidden from the user) extensions to issue commands directly to a user’s device, and the capability can be leveraged by attackers.

Comet can run applications, read files and modify data on the local system. “Old-school” browsers normally block this level of access, but (some) AI-powered browsers are effectively braking this isolation layer, the researchers noted.

The iPad A16 is now on sale for $280 for Black Friday, giving you a chance to pick up Apple’s newest entry-level tablet at a discount. It’s the most affordable iPad in the current lineup, offering quick performance, strong battery life and all the essentials for everyday use. The discount applies to the silver and blue colorways.

Apple’s latest 11-inch iPad uses the A16 chip, the same processor found in the iPhone 15, delivering fast and reliable performance for most tasks. Whether you’re watching videos, editing documents or using creative apps, it feels responsive and capable. The A16 chip also helps future-proof the device, ensuring it stays compatible with new iPadOS updates for years.

The latest release of the Epstein documents reveals extensive communications between the convicted sex offender and powerful figures across politics and academia who continued corresponding with him after his 2008 guilty plea.

According to NPR’s reporting on the 23,000 documents released by the House Oversight Committee, linguist Noam Chomsky wrote what appears to be a letter of recommendation calling Epstein a ”highly valued friend,” noting that ”Jeffrey constantly raises searching questions and puts forth provocative ideas, which have repeatedly led me to rethink crucial issues.”

If this is the year of publicly-traded companies signaling to Wall Street that they’re going to do more with less, in preparation for an AI-driven economy, add Verizon to the list of giants cutting a substantial number of jobs in a pivot.

The company, newly led by former PayPal mogul Dan Schulman, said Thursday that it is reducing its workforce by 13,000 employees and cutting its outsourced and outside labor expenses. As of the end of Dec. 2024, Verizon had 99,600 full-time staffers, some 88 percent of them are based in the U.S.

IN LETTERS SENT to Apple, Google, and Microsoft this week, Pornhub’s parent company urged the tech giants to support device-based age verification in their app stores and across their operating systems, WIRED has learned.

“Based on our real-world experience with existing age assurance laws, we strongly support the initiative to protect minors online,” reads the letter sent by Anthony Penhale, chief legal officer for Aylo, which owns Pornhub, Brazzers, Redtube, and YouPorn. “However, we have found site-based age assurance approaches to be fundamentally flawed and counterproductive.”