A Democratic senator is demanding answers from an AI toy company accused of exposing tens of thousands of children's private conversations, according to a letter shared exclusively with Axios. Why it matters: AI-powered toys are rapidly entering children's homes, but safeguards around how companies collect, store and monitor kids' data haven't kept pace. Catch up quick: Researchers reported last month that bondu, an AI-powered conversational toy company, inadvertently exposed children's chat transcripts and personal data through a publicly accessible portal. - Bondu, which allows parents to check their children's conversations, said it took down the exposed portal and relaunched it the next day with authentication measures, according to…
Data: Insurify ; Map: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Car insurance prices dipped last year after a post-pandemic stretch of skyrocketing costs, a new Insurify report finds. - The average annual full-coverage premium fell 6% nationally from 2024 to 2025, to $2,144. - Some states saw much larger drops, including Wyoming (-30%), Iowa (-25%) and Arkansas (-23%). Reality check: That relief comes after car insurance costs rose 46% from 2022 to 2024, "partially due to risky driving behavior following the pandemic," said Insurify, an insurance-comparison platform. - Average rates are up big time in some places, including New Jersey (+20%) and Washington, D.C. (+18%). Between the lines: "Insurers' margins are now high enough to absorb tariff-driven…
A suspected China-based hacking group spun up a phishing campaign around Christmas that mimicked U.S. policy briefings in an attempt to hack diplomats, according to new research from cybersecurity firm Dream Security shared first with Axios. Why it matters: The campaign successfully infected "a lot of people," Dream CEO Shalev Hulio said in an interview. "We just don't know who and how big [of a] scale," he added. Zoom in: Researchers at Israel-based Dream uncovered a phishing campaign designed to ensnare officials tied to diplomacy, elections and international coordination around the world. - Between late December and mid-January, China-based hackers sent emails with files that pretended to be official U.S. diplomatic summaries or…
Mr. D’Amaro, 54, has most recently served as chairman of Disney Experiences, a division that includes theme parks, cruise vacations and consumer products.
