Maybe you’re trying to sign into Netflix on your Airbnb TV and you’re tired of typing your super-secure 25-character password with the remote. That’s when a device code—a six- to 12-digit password that you can type into a laptop or other device to gain access—comes in handy.

Recent industry reports have revealed a spike in device code phishing—not with your favorite movie app, but Microsoft environments like Office 365 and Entra ID. And the tactic is a tricky one to stop, because it takes advantage of a legitimate authentication flow.

The threat. Attackers trick targets into inputting the attacker’s device code, which links the attacker’s session to the victim’s account.

Step 1. An attacker spins up a legitimate email address. Next, they initiate a device authentication request, specifically to add a device to a target’s existing account. Why does this work? The flow banks on an already trusted device (and its tricked user) authenticating. “Multi-factor authentication is not an effective mitigation for this attack because the victim inputs the code, then their username and password, and then MFA code if applicable,” managed security platform company Huntress wrote in a March alert about the tactic.

Here’s what comes next.—BH

I’m sorry, the old, non AI-focused brand identity can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, because it’s dead.

As AI startups flood the market with catchy “.ai” domains and flashy product offerings, older tech companies that were once critical to the rise of cloud computing and the internet are also entering the space through rebrands and more AI-focused business propositions. But can that strategy translate into new glory days?

You’ve changed. At Western Digital’s 2026 Innovation Day event in New York City, CEO Irving Tan said the company’s rebrand to WD, along with its new logo, were steps in its transition to become a more “data-centric company” critical to AI projects.

Other AI transformations in the industry.—BM

Everyone’s crazy about AI, but what does that mean in practice?

A new survey by Transcend finds that, for all the hype, one-third of enterprise AI initiatives are either delayed, scaled back, or abandoned. It’s a real problem for organizations, Transcend’s CIO and CISO in residence Aimee Cardwell told IT Brew.

“Companies are investing in the structure and the walls and the roof and the architecture, but they’re ignoring the foundation,” Cardwell said. “It’s not that the AI isn’t smart or isn’t able to do the use case, it’s that your data isn’t ready for it.”

Check your work. Often this manifests itself in the details of how AI models are deployed. Researchers found that, of the 70% of organizations providing a dedicated budget for AI, 30% don’t have a specific budget line item for the data prep necessary for feeding AI models. That kind of oversight has led 81% of the 220 tech industry leader respondents to report at least one initiative hitting a bump in the road, even as 49% report that AI is widely used and deployed in their organizations.

Why better data management is key.—EH

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