Three stories from this week you will notice in your work. Microsoft sees attackers using an AI agent to abuse leaked keys on GitHub, Google lowers the price of video generation, and Perplexity has agents carry out tasks for you continuously.
ARTEX: from leaked key to data theft in five minutes
Microsoft Threat Intelligence described on 5 November how attackers are using the agentic AI framework ARTEX to search public GitHub repositories for passwords and keys. ARTEX uses existing tools such as Nmap, curl and Chromium and largely operates without a human operator. It mainly searches for keys for cloud and AI services: API keys, OAuth tokens, storage keys and access to Azure Key Vault. In one case, an agent went from searching GitHub to exfiltrating data from Azure Key Vault in five minutes. According to GitGuardian, the framework was publicly available on GitHub from late July until 8 October, and instances are still running.
What does this mean for you? If an API key has ever appeared in a public repository, even in an old commit, assume it has been found. Microsoft advises replacing exposed keys immediately, enabling secret scanning in GitHub, giving service accounts minimal permissions and, where possible, switching to managed identities. If you work in software development, also check what your coding assistant does with your code: the GDPR check for Claude in software development and the one for Copilot set this out clearly. More background is in the cybersecurity guide.
Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash: longer videos, lower price
On 5 November, Google released Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash. Videos can now be 3 to 15 seconds long (up from 10), you can update a video in several steps, and the model keeps characters and objects more consistent. The price drops by 30% compared with Gemini Omni 1.1, to $0.07 per second for 720p. The model is available in the Gemini API, Vertex AI, Google Vids (at no extra charge) and Google Ads Asset Studio, and comes to the Gemini app for Google AI Ultra subscribers.
What does this mean for you? A 15-second clip costs about $1.05 via the API. For marketing and media, that makes a short social video cheap to test. Compare it with specialist tools such as Synthesia and Gemini, and read the GDPR check for HeyGen in media before you upload recognisable people or customer material.
Perplexity Teammates: agents for ongoing work
Perplexity has introduced Teammates: agents within Perplexity Computer that take on a fixed role, such as social media management, customer research or monitoring deadlines. They work in the background, can hand tasks to one another and ask for your approval before finalising anything. According to Engadget, it is only available to Max subscribers, at $200 per month or $2,000 per year, and for now only on the web.
What does this mean for you? An agent that works independently needs access to your accounts and data. Give such an agent only the permissions it needs for that one task, the lesson from the ARTEX story above. What Perplexity does with your input is set out on the model page for Perplexity and in the GDPR check for Perplexity in marketing. If you are choosing between providers, compare ChatGPT and Perplexity.
In brief
- Attackers are having AI agents search GitHub for keys to cloud and AI services; replace leaked keys immediately.
- Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash makes videos up to 15 seconds long for $0.07 per second (720p), 30% less than the previous version.
- Perplexity Teammates works for you continuously, only in the Max subscription at $200 per month.
- All models and privacy scores are at models and safety.
