IT Brew

Like the breakout star in a blockbuster movie, forward-deployed engineers (FDEs) are gaining traction within the tech industry. Hyperscalers like Amazon and Microsoft are standing up teams of FDEs to help clients effectively implement AI solutions. Earlier this month, Microsoft debuted Microsoft Frontier Company, a division it claims will deploy 6,000 “industry and engineering experts” to assist companies in building and iterating AI systems.

While some cyberattackers are relying on AI and cutting-edge tools to get through organizations’ increasingly powerful defenses, others are launching stealthy attacks that leverage trust in existing platforms—and they’re succeeding, at least against companies without much budget for cyber defense. One such attack, known as VEIL#DROP, is a multi-stage malware campaign where attackers steal credentials, passwords, crypto wallet information, and more.

It’s not often that big corporate battles have a direct impact on the day-to-day of the IT pro, but Apple’s conflict with OpenAI is an exception. Apple is suing OpenAI for network breach and parts smuggling, claiming the AI company furthered its hardware production goals by stealing proprietary information. It’s a major lawsuit, and one that could derail OpenAI’s plans to introduce a device in late 2026 or early 2027—and delay its IPO. Charge it.

It’s always open (source) season at Bloomberg these days. That wasn’t always the case, said Phil Vachon, head of infrastructure at Bloomberg’s CTO office. When he started at the financial-services company in 2010, open source was viewed with suspicion, and tech teams focused more on building their own technology solutions. But over the past decade, Vachon added, there’s been a growing realization that open source could allow engineers to accelerate delivery of higher-quality projects.

Large and in charge—for enterprises, that’s a sign of the times, and could lead to problems. AI tool sprawl is increasingly presenting challenges for organizations as they manage the changing tech landscape. For companies investing in growth areas while trying to keep costs down, that often means looking for the most efficient solution in the short term, said Shashi Kiran, chief marketing officer at Nile.

Many IT leaders turn to market-intelligence giants for help with buying decisions, tech trends, user data, and more. But with LLMs becoming increasingly sophisticated, do these leaders still need human consultants to the same degree? AI ay ay. The idea that professionals may substitute a chatbot for traditional market research is not so far-fetched.

Tech unemployment dropped again in June, a potential sign of the industry recovering after months of uncertainty. That’s of little surprise to tech hiring platform Dice, which recently published research that found hiring in the sector has shifted across industries and roles, primarily in the financial services sector, which saw a 47% rise in job postings year over year, and AI and machine learning, which increased 173% in the same period.

Your AI is only as smart as the data you feed it. Quest brings modeling, cataloging, governance, quality, and AI-powered automation to one platform, so you can ship trusted, AI-ready data products in days—not months. Feed your AI the good stuff. Everyone wants AI to do something impressive. The board wants it. The pitch deck promises it. The competitor down the street is apparently already doing it (they’re not, but that is a different article altogether). So why do so many AI projects faceplant?

AI solutions are cloudy with a chance of prem. Third-party, cloud-based AI vendors are becoming cost-prohibitive, so companies are turning to developing their own AI tooling on internal tech stacks, backed by local hardware. Running your enterprise’s AI solutions on-prem was long reserved for the big dogs of Silicon Valley, who could afford infrastructure and developers. But a growing number of free tools allow smaller companies to deploy locally, changing the game.

Researchers at cybersecurity company NCC Group discovered a cutting-edge adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attack—and they did so by complete accident. Dubbed “Kitana,” this AiTM platform draws in victims to a fraudulent website using standard-issue URL squatting domains and malicious advertising, then tricks them into inputting sensitive information, including passwords and payment details, according to NCC Group’s Cyber Threat Intelligence report.