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Cybersecurity researchers have discovered roughly 1,000 unprotected gateways to OpenClaw, an open-source and proactive AI agent that can be controlled through text conversations with apps like WhatsApp or Telegram. The gateways were found on the open internet, allowing anyone to access users personal information. One white hat hacker also reportedly gamed OpenClaws skills system, which lets users add plugins for tasks like web automation or system control, to reach the top of the rankings and be downloaded by users around the world. The skill itself was innocuous, but it exploited a security vulnerability that someone more nefarious could have used to cause serious harm. Access to those gateways would allow hackers to reach the same files and content OpenClaw can access, meaning full read and write control over a users computer and any connected accounts, including email addresses and phone numbers. A number of incidents exploiting those vulnerabilities have already been reported. OpenClaw, originally called Clawdbot, was released in November 2025 by Peter Steinberger, an Austrian-born, London-based developer best known for creating a tool that lets apps display and edit PDFs natively. The launch followed a wave of advances in AIs ability to interact with files that began in late 2025. Late last year, many people began experimenting with Anthropics Claude Code, an agentic AI that links to a computers file system through the terminal or command line and responds to conversational prompts to build large projects independently, with some oversight. The tool excited many users but also discouraged others who were uncomfortable working in a non-graphical interface. In response, Anthropic set Claude Code to work autonomously on a sibling product, Claude Work, which layers a more user-friendly interface on top. While it has gained some traction, it is a third-party product built by a developer outside Anthropic that has captured the most attention. Steinbergers OpenClaw mimics the best features of Claude Code, but with more functionality and the ability to proactively work on tasks without being prompted. That proactivity is a key differentiator between the tool, which was forced to rename itself Moltbot and then OpenClaw last week after a request from Anthropic, and other AI systems. Its potential has energized the tech sector, driven a spike in Mac Mini sales as a popular way to host the agent, and come to dominate certain corners of X and Reddit. The problem is that the very thing that makes OpenClaw so appealing, the ability to oversee an eager AI assistant without specialist coding knowledge and with an easy setup, is also what makes it so concerning. I love it, yet [I’m] instantly filled with fear, says Jake Moore, a cybersecurity expert at Eset. Moore says users are so excited by the idea of OpenClaw as a personal assistant that they are granting it unrestricted access to their digital lives, sometimes while hosting their instances on incorrectly configured virtual private servers. That leaves them vulnerable to hacking. Opening private messages and emails to any new technology comes with a risk and when we dont fully understand those risks, we could be walking into a new era of putting efficiency before security and privacy, Moore warns. The same access that makes OpenClaw powerful is also what makes it dangerous if it is compromised. If one of the devices Clawdbot is running on is compromised, an attacker would then gain access to everything including full history and highly sensitive information, he says. Steinberger did not respond to multiple interview requests, but he has published extensive security documentation for Moltbot online, even if many users may not incorporate it into their setups. That concerns cybersecurity experts. Developments like Clawdbot are so seductive but a gift to the bad guys, says Alan Woodward, a professor of cybersecurity at the University of Surrey in the U.K. With great power comes great responsibility and machines are not responsible, he says. Ultimately the user is. The way OpenClaw operates, running without oversight and acting as an always-on assistant, may cause users to forget that responsibility until it is too late. Some have already demonstrated that Moltbot can be vulnerable to prompt injection attacks, in which harmful instructions are embedded in websites or emails in the hope that AI agents will absorb and follow them. I wonder who these users think will be blamed when agentic AI empties their account or posts hateful thoughts, Woodward says.
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E-Commerce
So-called rare earth elements arent actually rare. Its just difficult to refine them into the purified forms that are needed for making things like electronics or clean energy tech. The standard processes are also toxic, which is one reason that the world has outsourced production to China. Supra, a startup that spun out of the University of Texas at Austin, is taking a different approach thats clean, low-cost, and makes it possible to capture some of the billions of dollars worth of critical minerals that are trapped in waste in the U.S. Dr. Sessler [Photo: Supra] The companys technology uses supramolecular receptors, a string of molecules built to grab specific molecules like a baseball glove, says CEO Katie Durham. Jonathan Sessler, a chemistry professor at UT Austin, first designed receptors like these to target cancer cells. Then he realized that they could also be designed to target critical minerals. My original analogy was we were going to be making a chemical sponge, Sessler says. It would go in and capture these elements and we would pick it up and wring it out. In the final design, the nanometer-sized receptors are embedded into a polymer filled with tiny pores that increase the surface area for capturing metal ions. The material is 3D-printed into reusable cartridges. [Photo: Genesis Cosme/The University of Texas at Austin] At a mine or industrial site, tailings or wastewater can flow through a series of the cartridges, each targeting a specific element. The receptors bind minerals in alcohol and release them when theyre rinsed with water, using little energy and avoiding the use of toxic chemicals. The process, which the company says is 100 times more selective and faster than current rare earth refining, can also be used on electronic waste. [Photo: Supra] In lab tests on cobalt, the technology was able to capture 100% of the element, isolating it completely from other elements like lithium in a solution. The tech can be customized for any element. As it comes to market, the startup is focused first on scandium and gallium, two valuable rare earth elements that currently are imported from China. The U.S. is 100% import-dependent on them, and we really did not see a lot of other startups trying to address that, says Durham. By collecting the trace amounts of scandium in industrial waste in the U.S., the company hopes it can change how the element is sourced. [Photo: Supra] The value varies wildly depending on purityscandium, for example, can sell for $300 per kilogram at 99.9% purity, but $3,200 per kilogram at 99.99% purity. The purest form, at 99.9999%, sells for $500,000 per kilogram. (The startup is still optimizing its process, but is aiming for the highest purity.) The company plans to launch its first pilots with partners later this year. Supra is one of a handful of startups working on ways to make rare earth production feasible in the U.S. Others include Phoenix Tailings, which works both with mined material and waste; and Cyclic Materials, which extracts and refines rare earths from end-of-life products. Because of the demand for an American supply chain, Supra plans to focus first in the U.S. But the company eventually wants to make their products available globallyincluding in China, to help with the pollution challenge there. The world has gotten lazy and let China pay the environmental cost, says Sessler.
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E-Commerce
In 2026, audiences across the United States will experience some of the most iconic sporting events in the worldfrom Super Bowl LX and NBA All-Star weekend to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. For Comcast NBCUniversal, it marks one of the most significant years in our sports history, which will unite millions of fans. But sports are more than entertainmenttheyre a force for connection, growth, and transformation. These events offer a rare moment to unite people and leave a lasting impact well beyond the games themselves. EXPAND ACCESS TO YOUTH SPORTS Early access to sports can shape a childs future. According to the Aspen Institutes Project Play, its linked to better health, stronger academics, and lifelong habits of teamwork and resilience. Yet far too many communities remain on the sidelines. Today, families spend on average nearly $900 per child per season, putting participation out of reach for too many. Across the sports ecosystem, organizations are responding with targeted, community-based solutions. DICKs Sporting Goods has committed more than $100 million since 2014 through its Sports Matter Program to help schools and local leagues cover essentials like equipment, registration fees, and facility accesssupport that has helped keep millions of kids across all 50 states participating in youth sports. Nikes Community Impact Fund takes a similar, grassroots approach, empowering employee-led committees to award local grants to nonprofits and schools expanding neighborhood-based play, particularly for young people with limited access to safe, high-quality sports opportunities. These efforts reinforce a simple truth: Access works best when it is local, affordable, and sustained. At NBCUniversal, we too believe that sports can uplift local communities. Ahead of the FIFA World Cup, Telemundo is supporting neighborhood-based soccer festivals and Unity Cup celebrations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miamiworking with trusted local partners to connect young people not only to play, but to mentorship, cultural pride, and a sense of belonging. Together, these initiatives demonstrate that expanding access is a critical first step. Once young people can engage in sports, they also need meaningful guidance and support. EMPOWER THROUGH MENTORSHIP Coaching is not just about teaching athletic skills and game strategy. Coaches often serve as role models and mentors for young athletes. The Aspen Institutes Coaching Social and Emotional Skills in Youth Sports report highlights how intentional coaching provides a powerful venue for young people to develop social and emotional competencies, from teamwork and selfregulation to empathy and decisionmaking. One example of how companies are investing in coaching is Under Armours UA Next program, which serves as the companys national grassroots platform for middle and highschool athletes. UA Next operates across major U.S. cities through partnerships with regional coaching networks and locally-hosted camp events, connecting young athletes with highlevel instruction and structured skill building environments. The U.S. Soccer Foundations Yes, Coach! initiative aims to train 100,000 coach-mentors by 2030 who will impact 3 million youth. Comcast NBCUniversal and Telemundo will support this effort through a new bilingual platform and public service announcement campaign created by apprentices at Wide Angle Youth Media, and airing across our networks ahead of the tournament. Additionally, ahead of the Super Bowl, NBC station KNTV is supporting a Laureus Sport for Good USA and Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) community event, where NFL players and PCA coaches will lead onfield training and mentorship for San Francisco youth. These initiatives help provide more children with the chance to be supported by a trusted adult on and off the field. In addition to the positive role mentorship and coaching play in young athletes, sports can be a powerful catalyst for giving young people the opportunity to shape and share the stories that bring these moments to life for fans at home. ELEVATE VOICES THROUGH SPORTS STORYTELLING Every major sports moment creates a story. These moments also have a profound impact on those who get to tell them and whose voices are amplified along the way. A powerful illustration of sports-driven storytelling comes from Visas Player of the Match program, which leveraged the FIFA Womens World Cup global stage to spotlight top women athletes and entrepreneurs. Across all 64 matches, Visa committed $500,000 in grants to women-owned businesses from the home countries of each matchs standout playerconnecting on-field excellence with real-world entrepreneurial achievements, and broadening visibility on the world stage. Extending the impact of storytelling beyond the field, NBCUniversal partners with nonprofit creative agencies such as RE:IMAGINE, Venice Arts, Kids in the Spotlight, Reel Works, Wide Angle Youth Media, Youth Beat, and Ghetto Film School to provide production opportunities for emerging young storytellers. This year, in collaboration with the NBA, select apprentices will produce content around NBA All-Star Weekend that will run across Comcast NBCUniversal and NBA platforms. The goal isnt just to capture memorable moments; it’s to help young creatives build confidence, broaden networks, and gain hands-on experience that extend far beyond any single event. From access to mentorship, and the opportunities around sports storytelling, a clear throughline emerges: Sports have the power to uplift and unite communities, provide an infrastructure for youth to feel supported, and create pathways for young people to thrive. WHY IT MATTERS This work is personal. As a former high school athlete and a parent, Ive seen how sports can build confidence, empathy, and a sense of purpose, especially when young people feel encouraged and included. In a year defined by unprecedented moments in sports, we have an opportunity to meet the moment with intention. By using the shared attention of these global events to expand participation and invest in the next generation of athletes and fans, we can create impact that endures long ater the final whistle. Because when we change the game, we change lives. Hilary Smith is EVP of corporate social responsibility at NBCUniversal.
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E-Commerce
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