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Hans India
30-06-2025
- Hans India
Israeli researchers discover security flaw in popular AI chatbots
Jerusalem: Israeli researchers have uncovered a security flaw in some of the popular Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev said in a statement on Monday. The researchers found that these systems can be manipulated into providing illegal and unethical information, despite having built-in safety protective measures, according to the statement. The study described how attackers can use carefully written prompts, known as jailbreaks, to bypass the chatbots' safety mechanisms. Once the protections are disabled, the chatbots consistently provide harmful content, such as instructions for hacking, producing illegal drugs, and committing financial crimes, Xinhua news agency reported. In every test case, the chatbots responded with detailed, unethical information after the jailbreak was applied. The researchers explained that this vulnerability is easy to exploit and works reliably. Because these tools are freely available to anyone with a smartphone or computer, the risk is especially concerning, the researchers noted. They also warned about the emergence of dark language models. These are AI systems that have either been intentionally stripped of ethical safeguards or developed without any safety controls in place. Some of these models are already being used for cybercrime and are shared openly on underground networks, they added. The team reported the issue to several major AI companies. However, responses were limited. One company did not reply, while others said the problem does not qualify as a critical flaw. The researchers called for stronger protections, clearer industry standards, and new techniques that allow AI systems to forget harmful information.


Time of India
25-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Sleepless nights & sirens: City student recounts return from war-hit Israel
1 2 Patna: For over 10 agonising days, 30-year-old Shagoofa Ali, pursuing her PhD at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sde Boker campus in Israel, lived under the shadow of war, far away from the comforts of home and her loved ones in Patna. Now safely back with her family, she recalls the fear, chaos, and uncertainty that defined her days and nights in Israel amid the escalating conflict with Iran. "It was a nightmare I never want to live again," she said, her voice still trembling from the memory of those relentless days starting June 13. "In Israel, we have the 'Home Command App' on our phones for real-time alerts. Every time a siren went off, we had barely a minute to run into the shelter," she recalled. "These bomb-proof rooms were our only lifeline in such times designed to shield us from deadly missile strikes," she said. Each shelter, she said, is built to accommodate around 20-25 people and comes equipped with basic necessities like drinking water and a washroom. But no infrastructure can ease the terror of war. "It was emotionally and mentally exhausting," she said. "The sirens came at all hours, disrupting everything—work and sleep. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Todos en Córdoba están instalando esta alarma que aleja a los ladrones Verisure Alarma Ver oferta Undo Sometimes, we could see the missile interceptions right in the sky and feel the vibrations. It felt like the ground itself had been struck. " Since June 13, Shagoofa, who graduated from Patna Science College in 2015, said, sleep became a luxury. "My nights were spent half-awake, anticipating the next alarm. Panic was everywhere. People were constantly anxious. No one knew what the next minute might bring," she said. Despite the turmoil, some basic services—food, electricity, and mobile network—were available. "That was a huge relief, especially because I could stay in touch with my family. But even that contact couldn't ease their fears. They were extremely worried," said. This was not her first brush with war. "I was there during the Oct 2023 attacks too. Although the place I lived was historically considered one of the safest, fear never left you in such situations," she said. Shagoofa's return was made possible through the Indian govt's evacuation mission, 'Operation Sindhu'. On June 19, she received an advisory from the Indian embassy instructing her to fill out a form for evacuation. What followed was a physically and emotionally draining journey. "We arranged a bus to Tel Aviv on our own. From there, the embassy coordinated our travel to Jordan. It was a long ride, and then a seven-hour flight awaited us," she said. "When we reached Jordan on June 23, we heard that the airspace had been closed. Our hearts sank," she recalled. But the Indian govt intervened. "They made a special request, and finally, we boarded the flight back home. I cannot express how emotional that moment was—just knowing I was safe and going back to my family," she added. "I am thankful to the Govt of India for everything—for looking after our visas, arranging transportation, ensuring food and safety, and helping us cross the border without panic. They made sure we were never left alone," she said.


New Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
13 Odia students evacuated from conflict-torn Israel
BHUBANESWAR: A group of 13 Odia students who were evacuated from Israel via Egypt and Jordan under Operation Sindhu arrived safely in New Delhi on Tuesday. Seven of them are on their way back to Bhubaneswar. The students are pursuing PhD from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Weizmann Institute of Science and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Heaving a sigh of relief, the students said they were waiting since the last 10 days for being evacuated from the conflict-hit country. 'Ever since the war broke out, we have been living in a precarious condition amidst uncertainty. It was the Indian Embassy that wrote to all universities where Indian students were studying for immediate evacuation,' said a student of Ben-Gurion University Nisharani Bishoyi. Nisharani was rescued along with six other Odia students from the university. The students were all brought back in an IAD C-17 flight. 'While there was no immediate threat at our institution, the situation was worse at many other places. There were some Indian students in Israel who were injured in drone attacks. We are thankful to both the Ministry of External Affairs and the Odisha government for facilitating our safe evacuation,' said another student Baidyanath Sahoo. Back in Delhi, the office of chief resident commissioner, Government of Odisha, activated a 24x7 control room which coordinated with the Indian Embassy and helped in facilitating the safe return of these students. 'The control room has remained in constant touch with the Odia students in Israel over their mobile phones while they were crossing over from Israel borders to Jordan and Egypt to ascertain their safe travel back to India,' an official said.


Fox News
01-04-2025
- General
- Fox News
Archaeologists uncover proof of ancient biblical battle at Armageddon site: 'Exceptional phenomenon'
Archaeologists believe they have uncovered evidence of an ancient biblical battle, all thanks to a few broken fragments found in a curious location. The artifacts, which mostly consist of Egyptian pottery, were found during a recent excavation of the ancient city of Megiddo in northern Israel. The site is said to contain over 30 layers of various settlements, dating back from the Copper Age to World War I. Tel Megiddo was the location where Josiah, the king of Judah, famously fought the Battle of Megiddo in 609 B.C. The Jewish leader was defeated and killed by the army of Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II. The story of the battle is told in the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament, but Megiddo is also referenced in the Book of Revelation. The site is referred to as "Armageddon," closely related to the Hebrew phrase "Har Megiddo," which translates to "mountain of Megiddo." Megiddo is said to be the location where the prophesied Battle of Armageddon will be fought between the kings of Earth and God. But while archaeologists cannot prove that the site will be the location of a battle during the end times, they believe they may have found proof of the Old Testament story. Dr. Assaf Kleiman, a senior lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, told Fox News Digital he believes the pottery fragments belonged to the Egyptian army that defeated Josiah. The findings consist of "significant quantities" of Egyptian-produced broken vessels dating back to the late 7th century B.C., close to when the Battle of Megiddo was fought. Instead of the fragments being proof of a trade relationship, Kleiman believes that they were brought in by Egyptian troops rather than being imported into the territory. The expert cited the "crude production technique, functional mixture, and the lack of similar evidence in nearby settlements," as key reasons why they believe the artifacts were brought in by an army. "The exposure of so many Egyptian vessels, including fragments of serving bowls, cooking pots, and storage jars, is an exceptional phenomenon," Kleiman explained. "We, therefore, understand it as representing Egyptians who settled at Megiddo in the late 7th century, maybe as part of an army force that arrived at the site following the collapse of the Assyrian Empire," he added. He also said that the Grecian pottery may be proof of Greek mercenaries in the Egyptian army, which was not unheard of at the time. "Service of Greeks, probably from western Anatolia, in the Egyptian army of the 26th Dynasty is referred to in both Greek [from Herodotus] and Assyrian sources," Kleiman noted. "The possibility of the participation of such mercenaries in the killing of Josiah may be hinted in prophetic works in the Bible." Kleiman also explained that the Egyptian settlement at Megiddo "did not last long" and that the building where the artifacts were found was likely abandoned decades later. The broken vessels were probably left as litter. Though Kleiman noted that there's no non-biblical proof of Josiah, Kleiman asserted that the king's existence "has never been doubted in biblical and historical scholarship." "We can also note that literacy was more common in that era, and thus his reign was most likely documented by scribes who witnessed the events in real time," Kleiman said. "Evidence for Necho's presence in the Levant and the battle against the Babylonians in Carchemish, where the Egyptians lost, is documented in the Babylonian chronicles as well as in the Bible, in Jeremiah and Kings." Archaeologists plan to do more research into the site's Bronze Age roots. Kleiman also found evidence to believe that some members of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel were not all expelled to Mesopotamia in the 7th century B.C. and actually may have stayed in Megiddo. "Our excavations demonstrated continuous production (and consumption) of similar locally-style vessels at Megiddo, especially cooking pots, also under imperial rule," he explained. "This suggests that the social fabric of Megiddo in the Assyrian Era must have been composed of a significant portion of local populations, who were not expelled by the Assyrians and who lived alongside deportees brought in by the empire."