First Android malware to use generative AI discovered
ESET researchers have discovered 'PromptSpy,' the first known Android malware that uses generative AI in its execution. The malware abuses Google's Gemini AI model to guide malicious user interface manipulations, enabling it to capture lockscreen data and achieve persistence on a device. This marks a novel use of generative AI in deploying mobile threats.
- The malware sends an XML dump of the device's current screen to the Gemini model, which then returns JSON-formatted instructions detailing the specific coordinates and gestures (like taps or swipes) needed to "lock" the malicious app in the 'Recent Apps' list, preventing it from being easily closed. - PromptSpy's primary function, beyond its AI-driven persistence, is to deploy a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) module, giving attackers full remote control to view the screen, record activity, and capture lockscreen PINs or patterns. - The discovery follows ESET's previous identification of 'PromptLock' in August 2025, the first known ransomware to use AI, indicating a growing trend of threat actors using generative AI to create more adaptive and resilient malware. - In programmatic advertising, the major 2026 trends involve using AI for smarter targeting and bid optimization, and a strategic shift toward owning adtech stacks (like white-label DSPs) to gain control over data and margins as third-party cookies are deprecated. - For CTOs at scaling B2B SaaS companies, the role transitions from hands-on coding to strategic leadership, focusing on setting architectural direction, scaling the engineering organization through hiring senior talent, and managing budgets and cross-functional collaboration. - UK tech startups have raised $2.77B in 133 funding rounds so far in 2026, a decrease from the $3.45B raised across 261 rounds by the same time in 2025; London accounts for 68% of the UK's major tech hubs. - Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has responded to driver criticism of the new 2026 regulations, which have been called "anti-racing" by Max Verstappen due to complex energy management, by asking for calm while conceding that rules may be changed if the on-track product is not exciting.
