Author: SKYNEWS

Ethical hackers have shown Sky News how new age verification systems can be bypassed on pornographic websites in a matter of seconds.On Friday, toughened rules came into force that mean companies hosting adult content online must block under-18s using “highly effective age verification”. That could include AI tools that use pictures to estimate someone’s age, bank or ID checks, or more technical solutions using browser cookies.But hours later, two ethical hackers demonstrated just how simple it is to get around the measures designed to protect young people on the internet.Using widely available technology, Chris Kubecka and Paula Popovici quickly accessed…

The woman who went viral after she was seen embracing a colleague at a Coldplay concert has resigned.Kristin Cabot plunged her head into her hands and turned her back after appearing on giant screens at the gig in Boston. In a statement, the tech firm Astronomer confirmed she has stepped down as chief people officer.She was in the arms of Andy Byron at the time, who also resigned as the company’s chief executive officer a few days ago. Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin poked fun at the couple as they tried to hide from the camera – quipping: “Either they’re…

Some of the North Sea’s biggest independent oil producers are examining bids for the upstream operations of Prax Group, the energy conglomerate whose collapse has triggered the closure of one of Britain’s few remaining oil refineries.Sky News has learnt that Enquest and Serica Energy have been in talks with administrators handling the insolvency of parts of the group about submitting offers for its exploration and production arm ahead of a deadline on Thursday evening. Ithaca Energy, another independent player, has also held discussions about an offer but has decided not to lodge one, according to a source close to the…

“People always think: ‘Oh, that’s not going to happen to me, it’s not going to happen to my child,'” says Ellen Roone. She’s sitting in her peaceful garden in Cheltenham, bumblebees trundling around in the bushes behind her.”I didn’t expect it to be my child.” Image: Ellen Roome Jools, Ellen’s son, was 14 years old when he took his life in 2022. It’s thought he had been watching harmful content online when he died.Ellen was the one who found him.Jools was funny, into martial arts – in fact, he was a black belt in kung fu at just 10 years old…

A series of MasterChef filmed last year, before allegations against presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode were upheld, will be broadcast.Both Wallace and Torode will still feature in the upcoming series, but it is understood that the edit will focus on the contestants. The amateur series of MasterChef will be aired on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 6 August, but no decision has been made yet on airing the celebrity series and Christmas special, with plans to be confirmed later this year, the BBC said.A spokesperson for the broadcaster said airing the series “has not been an easy decision…

The chairman of AO, the online electrical goods retailer, has been interviewed to become the next chair of state-owned broadcaster Channel 4.Sky News has learnt that Geoff Cooper, a former boss of the builders’ merchant Travis Perkins, is among the candidates in the running to take on the post in the coming months. Whitehall insiders said that Mr Cooper was now one of the shortlisted contenders awaiting news of whether they would get the nod from Ofcom, the media regulator and culture secretary Lisa Nandy.In recent weeks, Sky News has revealed that those vying to replace Sir Ian Cheshire include…

Donald Trump has declared the United States is going to “win” the artificial intelligence race, as his administration unveiled its AI Action Plan.The new blueprint is designed to speed up the building of energy-intensive data centres – which run AI products – by loosening environmental rules, while also vastly expanding the sale of AI technologies overseas. The plan, which includes 90 recommendations, comes as America attempts to maintain its edge over China, with both superpowers investing heavily in the industry to secure economic and military superiority.It calls for the export of US AI software and hardware abroad, as well as…

Black Sabbath have paid tribute to their former frontman Ozzy Osbourne after the megastar died at the age of 76.Osbourne’s death on Tuesday morning was announced in a statement, which said he died surrounded by his family. His death came just weeks after he reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates – Tony Iommi, Terence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward – and performed a huge farewell concert for fans.The band paid tribute to him on Instagram by sharing an image of Osbourne on stage at the farewell gig in Birmingham and writing “Ozzy Forever”. Instagram This content is provided by Instagram,…

Two traders jailed for rigging benchmark interest rates have had their convictions overturned by the Supreme Court. Tom Hayes, 45, was handed a 14-year jail sentence – cut to 11 years on appeal – in 2015, which was one of the toughest ever to be imposed for white-collar crime in UK history. The former Citigroup and UBS trader, along with Carlo Palombo, 46, who was jailed for four years in 2019 over rigging the Euribor interest rates, took their cases to the country’s highest court after the Court of Appeal dismissed their appeals last year.The Supreme Court unanimously allowed Hayes’…

Social media limits for children are being planned by the government to tackle “compulsive” screen time, the technology secretary has told Sky News. Peter Kyle said he was concerned about “the overall amount of time kids spend on these apps” as well as the content they see. A two-hour cap per platform is being seriously considered after meetings with current and former employees of tech companies. A night-time or school-time curfew has also been discussed.Children would be blocked from accessing apps such as TikTok or Snapchat once they have hit the limit, rather than just reminded of how long they have…