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The proportion of businesses in the UK reporting cyber attacks and data breaches has dropped from 50% to 43% in the last year. A government study has attributed this to the “observed strengthening of cyber hygiene among small businesses.” The prevalence of cyber crime overall among UK businesses and charities of all sizes has remained consistent year-over-year, according to a recent government study. Phishing also remained the most common type of cyber crime, attack, or breach among organisations in the UK. Only 680,000 of the 8.58 million cyber crimes experienced by businesses were not categorised as phishing. Nevertheless, ransomware attacks in the UK have doubled from 0.5% of businesses experiencing them in 2024 to 1% in 2025. The results were published in the cyber breaches survey by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Home Office. Its findings were based on responses from 180 businesses and 1,081 charities between August and December 2024. UK’s cyber crime stats by company size While the prevalence of cyber incidents among medium and large businesses has remained relatively consistent at around 67% and 74% respectively, the number of phishing attacks among micro and small businesses has declined markedly. In 2024, 49% of small businesses and 40% of micro-businesses reported phishing attacks, but these figures dropped to 42% and 35% in 2025. The study found that they are increasingly adopting cyber security risk assessments, cyber insurance, cyber security policies, and business continuity plans. Government data also showed that the larger the organisation, the more likely they are to experience cyber crime, which constitutes a subset of all breaches and attacks. Naturally. attackers are looking for a big payday, and they are less likely to get one from smaller firms with limited assets or lower-data value. SEE: UK Announces ‘World-First’ Cyber Code of Practice Cyber budgets now pitched to boards with fewer in-house experts The government survey made an interesting observation when it came to who takes responsibility for cyber security in UK organisations. Only 27% have a cyber specialist on their board of directors, marking a significant decline since 2021 when that same figure was 38%. This means that many technical teams must now present to non-specialists on the board to request more cyber investment. An IT and Digital Services Manager at an unnamed charity said in an interview as part of the research that their board is “very involved” and does not give them “full autonomy.” “We need to have a constant dialogue about what we’re doing, this is why we’re doing it,” they said. A cyber architect also said that “nothing gets approval” at their medium-sized company without first making a pitch to the board, outlining the exact use case and its business impact. source

Using Vision Pro as a computer, as covered during WWDC 2023. Image: Apple Apple isn’t giving up on its mixed reality dreams just yet. Despite the lukewarm commercial response to the $3,500 Vision Pro headset, the company is doubling down on the technology, with two new headsets in the pipeline and a long-term focus on sleek AR glasses. This fresh wave of updates comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reported in his Power On newsletter that Apple is reworking its strategy following internal shakeups and shifting market expectations. Two headsets, two goals Apple is now developing two new Vision Pro models. One will be a cheaper, lighter version aimed at making the headset more comfortable and affordable for everyday users. The current Vision Pro weighs nearly 1.5 pounds and costs as much as a premium MacBook, factors that have kept many potential buyers away. The second device is a more specialized, tethered version that connects directly to a Mac for ultra-low-latency tasks, ideal for surgical imaging or flight simulators, where lag simply isn’t an option. This new wired headset won’t offer transparency like AR glasses but will maintain the immersive feel of the Vision Pro. According to Gurman, Apple is taking this route after shelving earlier plans for AR glasses that connected to a Mac. Must-read Apple coverage Eyes still on the prize: True AR glasses Despite the pivot, Apple hasn’t abandoned its ultimate goal: fully augmented reality glasses that are lightweight, powerful, and practical enough for all-day use. According to Gurman, CEO Tim Cook has “made this idea a top priority for the company,” determined to beat Meta and other rivals to the finish line. To build glasses that blend seamlessly into daily life, Apple needs to solve big technical challenges. And, the glasses will need to deliver compelling experiences so that people will want to wear them as much as they use their phones. In the meantime, Apple is exploring intermediate steps, such as adding AI-enabled cameras to products like the Apple Watch and AirPods, and even experimenting with glasses that feature microphones and Siri integration — though the company remains cautious about enabling camera functionality due to privacy concerns. The bigger picture The Vision Pro’s debut was impressive, but it was too expensive and bulky for most people. By refining the design and lowering the cost, Apple could make mixed reality more accessible. Meanwhile, Cook’s vision for AR glasses hints at a future where tech blends seamlessly into everyday life. For now, though, Apple’s playing the long game. The next Vision Pros are stepping stones, but the real revolution — if it happens — will be in the glasses. As Gurman reports, Tim Cook isn’t budging on his ambition. “Tim cares about nothing else,” a source told him. “It’s the only thing he’s really spending his time on from a product development standpoint.” source

TL;DR: Grab a grade-A refurbished Apple Mac mini M2 (from 2023), with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD, for just $459.99 (reg. $599) — inventory won’t last. Professionals looking to upgrade their workspace with Apple’s latest tech have a limited-time opportunity: a grade-A refurbished Apple Mac mini M2 (early 2023) is currently available at just $459.99 (regularly $599). For users who require fast, reliable performance in a compact footprint, this Mac mini offers an ideal balance of power, versatility, and affordability. At the heart of this sleek desktop is Apple’s impressive M2 chip, which provides outstanding performance enhancements over previous generations. With an 8-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine, the Mac mini effortlessly handles demanding tasks — such as 8K video editing, complex multitasking, graphic-intensive workloads, and even professional-level coding and software development. Professionals in creative fields will appreciate the Mac mini’s seamless integration with Apple’s ecosystem, allowing easy transfer of files through AirDrop, use of Universal Control to multitask across devices, or Sidecar for turning your iPad into a second screen. With built-in advanced privacy features, your data remains secure, protected by Apple’s Secure Enclave and system-wide malware defenses. Connectivity is another strength. The Mac mini M2 boasts Thunderbolt 4 ports, Wi-Fi 6E, HDMI output supporting resolutions up to 8K, Ethernet, USB-A ports, and a headphone jack — perfect for setting up powerful multi-display workstations or integrating seamlessly with existing setups. Its unified memory architecture ensures smooth transitions between heavy applications, dramatically improving workflow efficiency. This grade-A refurbished Mac mini is rigorously inspected and tested to ensure it performs like new, arriving in near-mint condition with minimal to no visible wear. This offers remarkable value for professionals who demand quality but prefer cost savings. Inventory is strictly limited, making this an opportunity worth acting on quickly. Get the refurbished Mac mini M2 for $459.99 (reg. $599) with free shipping. StackSocial prices subject to change. source

For the 2025 Specops Weak Password Report, researchers analyzed around 1.089 billion stolen passwords and found that the most commonly breached passwords consisted of eight characters. Alarmingly, out of the one billion compromised passwords, almost 230 million would be considered complex. This means they had a minimum of eight characters, a capital letter, a number, and a special character. This shows how advanced hacking techniques have become in recent years, reinforcing the need for a secure and reliable password management service. Password managers are designed to eliminate weak passwords and make it much harder for attackers to compromise credentials. In this article, we discuss five reasons why you should use a password manager. What is a password manager? A password manager is software that stores passwords, usernames, and other login information in an encrypted vault. They can be hosted on the cloud or on-prem and can cater to both individual users and organizations alike. Examples of password manager providers include Bitwarden, 1Password, Keeper, Dashlane, LastPass, and NordPass. For a more detailed guide, check out our full Password Manager Cheat Sheet that dives into password managers in-depth. While this all sounds neat and nifty, you may be asking, “Why not just use the trusty pen and paper?” to store all your passwords. Well, here are five reasons why a password manager is definitely worth considering. 5 reasons why you need a password manager 1. Your passwords are too simple This is the biggest reason, bar none. If you’re using passwords that you can easily remember (such as password, password123, happyhappyjoyjoy, etc.), you’re at risk. Why? Simple passwords are easier to crack. With the right tools (and enough horsepower), a hacker can crack those simple passwords in seconds or minutes. Because of this, you want to make sure that the passwords you use are hard (if not impossible) to remember. A good rule of thumb is that if you can easily remember a password, it’s probably easy to crack. The harder that password is to remember, the harder it is to crack. So when you use such difficult passwords, you need a vault to house them. That’s where a password manager comes into play. Dashlane password manager user interface. Image: Luis Millares 2. Password managers include random password generators Speaking of complicated passwords, you shouldn’t try to come up with complicated passwords on your own, or you’ll wind up with variations on your usual theme. Instead, you need a password manager that includes a random password generator to create very complicated passwords. Most password managers, such as Bitwarden, allow you to configure how complicated the password is. With these tools, you can generate passwords that are 20 random characters long or even unpronounceable, random phrases. Make use of these tools, and your passwords will be very complicated and, therefore, strong. Bitwarden password generator. Image: Luis Millares 3. You only need to remember one password With a password manager, you only need to remember one password — the one used to gain access to your stored passwords. This is called the Master Password. With this in place, you don’t have to worry about remembering all those new and highly complex passwords generated by the manager. Open the managing tool, type your Master Password and locate the password you need. The one caveat to this is to make sure your vault password isn’t simple. It doesn’t need to be overly complex, just not obvious. Creating a master password in NordPass. Image: Luis Millares 4. The numbers are against you How many accounts do you have which require a password? Tens? Hundreds? The more accounts you have, the more likely it is that the numbers are against you. Because of this, you probably use the same password for everything, which is a HUGE no no. You must use different passwords for every account. With that many different passwords, how are you going to remember them? You’re not (especially if those passwords are complicated). That’s another big reason to use a password manager. 1Password’s dashboard with stored credentials. Image: Luis Millares That’s another big reason to use a password manager, as these tools are designed to store hundreds of passwords and logins with ease. Remember reason 3? Only one password requires remembering! 5. Passwords will always be at the ready with device syncing Some password managers allow you to sync your password database across all of your devices. With this feature, you can access your passwords on your desktop, your  laptop, and your mobile devices. This way, you always have your passwords at hand. If you opt to use this feature, make sure you have your password database encrypted with a strong password. The last thing you need is for a bad actor to intercept your database and crack it via brute force. Enpass syncing functionality. Image: Luis Millares Bonus reason: It’s the wise thing to do Yes, using a password manager does add a step or two to the log-in process. But when your data and security are at risk, those extra steps are worth it. With each passing day you continue counting on those simple passwords, you run the risk of data theft. Be wise and use a password manager … before it’s too late. If you’re curious to learn more about password managers, I highly recommend checking out our Password Managers 101 video feature on the official TechRepublic YouTube channel. In that video, we dive into how password managers work, who they’re for, and what concrete benefits they provide businesses and individuals. SEE: IT Leader’s Guide to Cybersecurity Awareness Training (TechRepublic Premium) Choosing a password manager for your business Password managers provide strong, random passwords that are different for every site or service. Unlike eight-character passwords that can be cracked via brute force in short order, these passwords are unguessable by any known technology. But as recent hacks of password managers made clear, the technology isn’t infallible. Here are a few pointers to guide the decision on which providers to favor: Reputable vendor Don’t use a startup based in areas

Image: pichetw/Envato Elements Barring companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta from training AI on copyrighted material in the UK may undermine model quality and economic impact, policy experts warn. They say that it will lead to bias in model outputs, undermining their effectiveness, while rightsholders are unlikely to receive the level of compensation they anticipate. The UK government opened a consultation in December 2024 to explore ways to protect the rights of artists, writers, and composers when creative content is used to train AI models. It outlined a system that permits AI developers to use online content for training unless the rightsholder explicitly opts out. Bodies representing the creative industries largely rejected this proposal, as it put the onus on creators to exclude their content rather than requiring AI developers to seek consent. Tech companies didn’t like it either, arguing that the system would make it difficult to determine which content they could legally use, restrict commercial applications, and demand excessive transparency. During a recent webinar hosted by the Centre for Data Innovation think tank, three policy experts explain why they believe any solution short of a full text and data mining exemption in UK copyright law risks producing ineffective AI systems and stalling innovation. Opt-out regimes may result in poorly trained AI and minimal income for rightsholders Benjamin White, the founder of copyright reform advocacy group Knowledge Rights 21, argued that regulations on AI training will affect more than just the creative industries, and since copyright serves to stimulate investment by protecting intellectual property, he said the broader economic impact of any restrictions should also be taken into account. “The rules that affect singers affect scientists, and the rules that affect clinicians, affect composers as well. Copyrights are sort of a horizontal one-size-fits-all all,” he said. He added that the scientific community is “very concerned at the framing of the consultation,” noting that it overlooks the potential benefits of knowledge sharing in advancing academic research, which, in turn, offers widespread advantages for society and the economy. White said: “The existing exception doesn’t allow universities to share training data or analysis data with other universities within proportionate partnerships, doesn’t allow NHS trusts to share training data derived from copyright materials like journal articles or materials scraped off the web.” SEE: Why Artists Hate AI Art Bertin Martens, senior fellow at economic think tank Bruegel, added: “I think media industries want to have their cake and eat it at the same time. They’re all using these models to increase their own productivity already at this moment, and they benefit from good quality models, and by withholding their data for training, they reduce the quality… so it cuts into their own flesh.” If AI developers signed licensing agreements with just the consenting publishers or rightsholders, then the data their models are trained on would be skewed, according to Martens. “Clearly, even big AI companies are not going to sign licenses along that long tail of small publishers,” he said. “It’s far too costly in terms of transaction costs, it’s not feasible, and so we get biased models with partial information.” Julia Willemyns, the co-founder of tech policy research project UK Day One, stated that the opt-out regime is unlikely to be effective in practice, as jurisdictions with less restrictive laws will still allow access to the same content for training. Blocking access to outputs from those jurisdictions would ultimately deprive the UK of the best available models, she warned. She said this “slows down technology diffusion” and has “negative productivity effects.” SEE: UK Government Releases AI Action Plan Furthermore, artists are unlikely to earn meaningful income from AI licensing deals. “The problem is that every piece of data isn’t worth very much to the models, these models operate at scale,” said Willemyns. Even if licensing regimes were enforced globally and rightsholders’ content could only be used with explicit legal consent, the economic benefit for creators would still be “likely very, very minimal.” “So, we’re trading off countrywide economic effects for a positive that seems very negligible,” she said. Willemyns added that overcomplicating the UK’s copyright approach by, say, requiring separate regimes for AI training on scientific and creative materials, could create legal uncertainty. This would overburden courts, deter business adoption, and risk losing out on AI’s productivity gains. A text and data mining exemption would ensure simplicity. More must-read AI coverage ChatGPT’s Ghibli controversy underscores blurred lines in AI creativity The debate over artistic protection versus innovation also surfaced last month during a controversy involving AI-generated art in the style of Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation house behind ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘My Neighbor Totoro.’ Critics argued it risked appropriating a distinctive artistic style without permission, and OpenAI eventually introduced a refusal mechanism that activates when users attempt to generate images in the style of a living artist. The panel disagreed with this approach. Willemyns said that the stock of Studio Ghibli’s parent company “clearly upticked” as increased attention drove more people to watch its films. “I feel like the arguments that AI slop is not going to actually take over content were kind of re-reaffirmed by the instance,” she said. Martens agreed, arguing that “if there are many Ghibli lookalikes that are being produced it increases competition around a popular product, and that’s something that we should welcome.” SEE: UK Pledges Public Sector AI Overhaul White added that cartoons with Ghibli’s art style are produced by lots of different Japanese studios. “They’re all people with big eyes, Western-looking, that’s the style,” he said. “That’s not protected by copyright, what copyright law protects is substantial similarity.” Martens noted that how close a particular AI-generated work can come to an original is “up to the courts,” but this can only be determined on a case-by-case basis. Ultimately, the panel agreed that models should not be able to directly reproduce training content, but that training on publicly available material should remain permissible. “Having flexibility on how the systems are built and how technology learns

Image: Gartner (April 2025) In a new report by Gartner, the research firm spotlighted 12 early-stage innovations that will redefine industries and create new market frontiers. The list includes disinformation security, algorithm-aligned silicon, and hyper-synthetic data — each signaling seismic shifts in how intelligence is computed, secured, and simulated. Polyfunctional robots, domain-specific AI, and digital ethics frameworks are also poised to shake up the tech landscape. Gartner issued a call to action for tech leaders, saying they must act now to gain a competitive advantage. Gartner’s playbook for emerging tech: What to prioritize and why it matters Although all 12 disruptive technologies are considered important, Bill Ray, a distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, told TechRepublic that prioritization will ultimately depend on each organization’s goals and industry context. Preemptive cybersecurity: A universal priority Cybersecurity remains critical to all industries. Given the dangers of inaction, Ray called preemptive cybersecurity a high priority “across the board.” As threats become more sophisticated and proactive defense becomes essential, preemptive cybersecurity is no longer optional — it’s foundational. Domain-specific language models: The future of GenAI Domain-specific language models (DSLMs) — AI models trained on datasets tailored to a particular industry — will also significantly impact various sectors, Ray explained. Gartner projected that 90% of GenAI-enabled systems will use DSLMs by 2030. Ray stressed the importance of competitiveness, warning DSLMs “will be adopted by your competitors, so the cost of ignoring them is high.” Earth intelligence: Environmental insight at scale Another top area of focus is the use of satellite-based remote sensing and AI to track and respond to environmental changes — or earth intelligence. Gartner forecasted that, by 2028, 80% of major earth surface assets will be monitored from space. While the defense sector pioneered its adoption, other industries are quickly catching up due to data collection and advances in analysis. Industry-specific disruptors: Robots and silicon Some technologies will have a more targeted impact. Polyfunctional robots, capable of performing multiple tasks via intelligent software and modular hardware, are expected to disrupt physical industries like manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain operations. Other sectors may have a lower urgency. Algorithm-aligned silicon, which uses algorithmic design to optimize silicon components for AI, will significantly affect those building AI infrastructure but may represent only incremental change for downstream users. Ray rounded out his list of priorities with digital ethics, power shortages, and GenAI-enabled code production, saying they “will be wide ranging, but the celerity of impact will vary quite widely between industries.” More about Innovation Disinformation security is an emerging discipline Disinformation security, which focuses on threats from outside the corporate network, is another emerging discipline organizations should pay attention to, Gartner advised. The firm predicted that at least half of enterprises will have adopted products or services to address disinformation security by 2030, up from less than 5% in 2024. “Disinformation attacks use external infrastructure like social media and originate from areas with limited legal oversight,” explained Alfredo Ramirez IV, senior director analyst at Gartner, in a statement. “Tech leaders must add ‘disinformation-proofing’ to products by using AI/machine learning for content verification and data provenance tracking to help users discern the truth.” source

LastPass’ history of data breaches makes it hard to recommend as a viable password manager in 2025. However, for those who wish to try LastPass, this article shows you how to set it up and maximize its available features. How to set up and use LastPass 1. Choose a LastPass subscription LastPass has two categories for its subscriptions: Single Users & Families and Business. LastPass Single Users & Families plans. Image: LastPass For the Single Users & Families plans, you can select between Free, Premium, and Families. If you only need a basic password manager, LastPass Free allows for unlimited password storage and comes with a password generator. However, with the free version, you miss out on important features such as advanced multifactor options, emergency access, and unlimited device access that are only offered with the Premium plan. If you’re a group or a family that wants a centralized password management solution, LastPass Families may be better for you as it covers up to six users. LastPass Business. Image: LastPass Businesses can opt for either LastPass Teams or LastPass Business. Teams covers up to 50 users, while Business is tailored toward larger organizations. These two plans provide more business-centered features, such as shared folders and an administrative console. Fortunately, LastPass offers generous free trials for both categories. In particular, LastPass Premium and Families has a 30-day trial, while LastPass Teams and Business has a 14-day trial. I recommend going for one of these free trials, depending on your needs. The good news is that LastPass doesn’t require users to provide any payment information to access any of these free trials. For this article, I used LastPass Premium’s 30-day free trial. To access one of the free trials, simply click the “Try” button below your subscription of choice. 2. Set up the web app and the browser extension Upon selecting a plan, you’ll be redirected to create your LastPass account. Here, LastPass will ask you to provide an email address and your Master Password. Creating a LastPass account. Image: LastPass In theory, your master password is going to be the only password you’ll have to create on your own. It’s also arguably your most important password, as it serves as the key that unlocks your vault, which contains all your other passwords and credentials. Thus, it’s crucial that you remember your master password. After you’ve finished creating your account, LastPass will ask you to install its browser extension. This is the main way you’ll interact with the service. I use Google Chrome, so LastPass redirected me to the Chrome Web Store. LastPass Chrome browser extension. Image: Google Once you’ve installed the browser extension, you can access LastPass’ web vault application. Before you do this, I recommend you pin the LastPass extension to your browser’s toolbar for easy access. Now that you have the extension up and running, it’s time to access your LastPass web vault. To access it, go to the official LastPass website and click Log In. From there, enter your email and master password and you will be led to the LastPass web vault application. LastPass web vault. Image: Luis Millares Your LastPass vault is where all your passwords, logins and other credentials will be stored. 3. Use LastPass The main reason to use a password manager is to organize and secure your passwords. To illustrate how to do this, I’ve made a new account on LinkedIn. On LinkedIn’s signup page, you will see that there’s a LastPass icon on the username and password fields. Creating a LinkedIn account. Image: Luis Millares Clicking on the LastPass icon in the password field will bring up LastPass’ password generator. Here, LastPass automatically generates a random password for your new login. LastPass password generator. Image: Luis Millares At default, LastPass will generate a 16-character password — which you can configure to have uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. LastPass allows you to create a password with as many as 99 characters. In this case, I selected the first suggestion from LastPass’ password generator. Clicking on the generated password will prompt LastPass to ask you if you want to save the new login. Click “Add password,” and there you go — you’ve just created and saved your very first LastPass login. LastPass saving new login. Image: Luis Millares This login can now be found within your vault and LastPass will automatically be filled in the next time you’re on LinkedIn’s login page. With that, we’ve just saved our very first login using LastPass! SEE: IT Leader’s Guide to Cybersecurity Awareness Training (TechRepublic Premium) LastPass frequently asked questions (FAQs) Is LastPass no longer safe? Due to its recent data breaches, I don’t consider LastPass a safe password manager to use in 2025. For context, LastPass was involved in two data breaches in 2022, where the threat actor gained unauthorized access to encrypted customer data. While the password manager service has since implemented changes to bolster its security posture, there’s simply no reason to put your data at risk. This is especially true given there are other top-tier password managers that have not been hacked or involved in similar breaches. Does LastPass have a free version? Yes, LastPass has a free version but has limited features compared to its paid counterpart. On LastPass Free, you can only access your password vault while using one device type at a time. This means you can only view your passwords on a computer or a mobile device, not both at the same time. You also don’t get LastPass’ One to Many Sharing feature (which allows login detail sharing with multiple people), encrypted file storage, advanced multi-factor authentication, and emergency access. All these features are available on any of LastPass’ paid plans. Check out LastPass Free vs Premium, for a more in-depth comparison between the two. How to add LastPass to Chrome? To add LastPass to Chrome, visit the Chrome Web Store, search for LastPass, and click on “Add to Chrome.” From there, LastPass will provide you steps on how to

Amazon Nova Canvas is a foundation model for developers to create high-quality images. Image: Amazon Amazon is the latest tech giant to unveil a voice AI model. According to Amazon, its Nova Sonic is “a new foundation model that unifies speech understanding and speech generation into a single model, to enable more human-like voice conversations in AI applications.” Nova Sonic will compete with similar AI models by OpenAI, Google, and other tech companies. Nova Sonic understands more than words The Nova Sonic doesn’t just understand the speaker’s words, but it can also process the tone, style, and pace. The AI voice generator adapts to the conversation context, so dialogue flows more naturally, compared to the more stilted models from the first generations of Alexa. The Nova Sonic can do this because it combines multiple speech processing and generating functions into a single AI model instead of using multiple different models. Traditionally, AI voice tools involved running multiple models in sequence: a speech recognition model would convert speech to text, then a large language model (LLM) would process the input text and generate responses, and finally a text-to-speech model would convert text back to audio. This complex pipeline often stripped away the tone, style, and pacing of the speaker’s original dialogue. Since the Nova Sonic combines all of this in one model, it can adapt to the acoustic context of the input speech. It also responds more naturally to the cadences of human speech; for instance, it won’t interrupt when the speaker hesitates or pauses to take a breath. How to get Nova Sonic Nova Sonic is currently available via a new API in Amazon Bedrock, the company’s enterprise application building platform, and will simplify the development of voice applications. What developers need to know about Amazon Nova The tech giant recently introduced Amazon Nova Act, a new AI model trained to perform actions within a web browser. In addition, there is an Amazon Nova SDK for developers to explore. One of the foundation models is Nova Canvas for generating high-quality images; there are also models for generating text from different modalities as well as videos from text and image input. source

U.S. President Donald Trump. Image: Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons U.S. President Donald Trump and his team have stated that the reciprocal tariff exemptions on electronic products are temporary. The administration excluded smartphones, computers, semiconductors, and other tech items from the 125% tariff on Chinese imports on April 11. Trump said his team is taking a look at the “whole electronics supply chain” as part of upcoming tariff investigations in a post shared on Truth Social. “NOBODY is getting “off the hook” for the unfair trade balances, and non monetary tariff barriers, that other countries have used against us,” he wrote. “Especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!” This sentiment was echoed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick who, on April 12, said that specific semiconductor tariffs would be coming in one or two months’ time. “These are things that are national security that need to be made in America,” he said in an interview with ABC. SEE: Were the White House’s Tariffs Calculations Done By AI? White House signals flexibility for key tech firms On April 13, Trump confirmed to reporters that he would be announcing the bespoke semiconductor tariff in the “very near future,” according to CNN, similar to other product-specific tariffs on aluminium, steel, and auto components. But he also said that some “flexibility” would be granted to specific companies in the sector, such as Apple. Exclusions to Trump’s tariffs for certain tech products were revealed in updated guidance from the US Customs and Border Control. It confirmed that the likes of memory cards, hard drives, motherboards, and servers would be excluded from the 10% global baseline tariff nor to the larger reciprocal tariffs imposed on countries with which the US has a trade deficit. China’s Ministry of Commerce described the exemptions as “a small step toward correcting its erroneous unilateral practice of ‘reciprocal tariffs’,” in a statement to state news outlet China Daily. However, tech products from China are still subject to the 20% tariff imposed to penalise Beijing for its failure to curb the export of fentanyl, as confirmed by White House Deputy Chief of Staff on Policy Stephen Miller on X. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, has indicated that the exemptions are to provide temporary relief to tech companies as they transition manufacturing operations to the States. “These companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible,” she said in a statement to the BBC. Experts skeptical over short-term exemption impact Nevertheless, experts say a few weeks of exemptions are unlikely to make a difference when it comes to onshoring semiconductor production. “While chip manufacturing in the US is announced, those plants will not start delivering before 2027,” Mark Moccia, VP and Research Director at Forester, told TechRepublic in an email. He added: “US CIOs should plan to boost AI project budgets, as previously allocated budgets will likely not suffice to continue these projects at their current pace.” Trump’s tariffs have damaged tech giants’ value, and are likely to result in price hikes for American consumers Reciprocal tariffs for a number of countries were set to take effect on April 9, but Trump granted a 90-day reprieve for most of them. This was expected to have a positive impact on the stock value of the likes of Apple and NVIDIA, which took heavy blows when the tariffs were first announced. However, he imposed a 104% tariff on Chinese goods, later raising it to 145%. Beijing has retaliated with a 125% tariff on imports from the US, but will “ignore” any further hikes as they have “no practical economic significance,” according to its Commerce Ministry. These tariffs are expected to significantly impact Apple, which manufactures most of its devices in China, as do most other tech and AI companies. Tech analyst Dan Ives estimated a Chinese-made device that sold for about $1,000 would cost $3,500 if made in the US, a price point that many consumers may be unable to afford. source

Image: Envato/YuriArcursPeopleimages In the high-stakes race for AI dominance, Google’s DeepMind division is tightening its grip on talent, forcing some employees to sit out of the industry for up to a year if they leave. According to multiple reports and former employees, DeepMind, Google’s AI research lab, is using aggressive noncompete clauses to block staff, especially those working on key projects like the Gemini AI model, from joining rivals like OpenAI or Microsoft for months after quitting. Some senior-level researchers are subject to a full year of paid “garden leave,” during which they are prohibited from taking other roles. “That’s forever in AI” A six-month or year-long pause can kill a researcher’s career momentum in a field where breakthroughs happen frequently. “Who wants to sign you for starting in a year?” one former DeepMind employee told Business Insider. “That’s forever in AI.” The issue blew up publicly last month when Nando de Freitas, a former DeepMind director now leading AI at Microsoft, posted on X that he gets weekly messages from DeepMind employees “in despair” over these contracts. “Dear @GoogDeepMind ers, First, congrats on the new impressive models. Every week one of you reaches out to me in despair to ask me how to escape your notice periods and noncompetes. Also asking me for a job because your manager has explained this is the way to get promoted, but I digress,” de Freitas wrote. He added, “No American corporation should have that much power, especially in Europe,” calling the practice an “abuse of power.” He urged employees to push back internally — and, above all, “don’t sign these contracts.” More Google news & tips Google’s defense: “It’s standard” Google said it’s playing by the book. “Our employment contracts are in line with market standards,” a Google spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement. “Given the sensitive nature of our work, we use noncompetes selectively to protect our legitimate interests.” But critics argue that what might be “standard” doesn’t make it fair, especially in an industry where being a few months ahead can be a game-changer. A legal gray zone The legality of noncompetes varies widely. In California, where many tech giants, including Google, are based, such clauses are unenforceable. In 2023, the state expanded its ban to cover agreements made elsewhere. But DeepMind is headquartered in the UK, where noncompetes are legal if considered “reasonable.” That legal discrepancy has left some UK-based researchers considering moves to California as a workaround. The AI talent wars are only heating up, and DeepMind’s approach might just be a sign of what’s to come. As demand for elite AI talent skyrockets, companies are pulling every lever — perks, pay, prestige, and, increasingly, paperwork. Whether this strategy helps Google stay ahead — or backfires by frustrating its own workforce — could shape the future of employment in the AI industry. source