Copilot Hacked Itself, Pennsylvania Targets Data Centers, Astra Security, SpaceX Warning

Microsoft Copilot helped researchers figure out how to hack Copilot itself. Pennsylvania launches one of the toughest data center crackdowns in the U.S. Google pays $10 million for the internal data of bankrupt Spirit Airlines. OpenAI adds new safeguards around Astra. And Scott Galloway says SpaceX shares may be worth just $10 to $30.

On the August 19 episode of Hashtag Trending, host Jim Love looks at five stories about AI security, data, infrastructure and some increasingly expensive bets on technology.

Varonis Threat Labs discovered a serious Microsoft Copilot vulnerability by questioning Copilot about its own security controls. Researchers say Copilot eventually revealed an undocumented parameter that allowed a malicious link to silently execute attacker-supplied prompts using a logged-in user's existing permissions. Connected services could then be searched for sensitive information, including email containing passwords. Microsoft patched the vulnerability on August 18, and Varonis says it found no evidence of exploitation in the wild.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has signed an executive order imposing tougher conditions on new data centers. Developers may have to provide their own power or fully fund the generation and infrastructure they require, while also meeting water, environmental and local approval requirements.

Google has won a $10 million bankruptcy auction for Spirit Airlines' internal operational data. The archive includes employee email, Teams messages, software, operational records and other corporate information. Personally identifiable information must be removed before the data is transferred. Google says it plans to use the material to improve products and train AI.

OpenAI is strengthening safeguards around its next-generation Astra model after warning that it may have reached advanced cybersecurity capabilities. Prediction-market odds on the exact release date changed while we were preparing the story, illustrating just how speculative those bets are. The safer prediction is that Astra will eventually be released.

And NYU professor, entrepreneur and investor Scott Galloway says SpaceX remains "crazy overvalued," estimating its shares should be worth somewhere between $10 and $30 compared with roughly $146 when he made the assessment. Former Fidelity fund manager George Noble is also bearish.

Chapters

00:00 Headlines and Intro 00:33 Copilot Meta Hacking 02:26 Pennsylvania Data Center Crackdown 04:10 Google Buys Bankrupt Data 05:39 Astra Release Bets 06:32 OpenAI Astra Security 07:55 SpaceX Valuation Warning 09:43 Wrap Up and Outro