Top News in Tech: August 2025

Large language models aren’t replacing traditional browsers anytime soon, but they have become another responsibility for brands. Chatbots are becoming the go-to source for online answers for many consumers, chipping away at the dominance of traditional web search and adding another avenue of outreach that brands must cultivate to connect with customers. (Patrick Coffee/WSJ)

Unknown attackers exploited a “significant vulnerability” in Microsoft’s SharePoint collaboration software, hitting targets around the world. Hackers exploited a major security flaw in widely used Microsoft server software to launch a global attack on government agencies and businesses in the past few days, breaching U.S. federal and state agencies, universities, energy companies and an Asian telecommunications company, according to state officials and private researchers. (Ellen Nakashima, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Joseph Menn/The Washington Post – Registration Required)

The fight against online fraud is a continuous battle. Threats like bots, proxies, and VPNs can mask real visitors, inflate your ad spend, skew your analytics, compromise user accounts, and ultimately damage your bottom line. (Fraudlogix)

The digital advertising industry is undergoing a swift transformation, fueled by advances in AI, privacy-first regulations and a broader range of media channels. As a result, digital ad spending continues to expand, with marketers reallocating budgets from traditional formats to online platforms such as social media, connected TV, search and retail media networks. Against this backdrop, both Taboola.com Inc. TBLA and Magnite MGNI are striving to secure a distinct foothold. (Tanuka De/Yahoo Finance)

During what was supposed to be a quarter marked by financial uncertainty, IPG did slightly better than expected. Not that the bar was set very high for IPG, which is still predicting a decrease in organic net revenue (meaning revenue before billable expenses) of 1% to 2% for the full year. (Victoria McNally/AdExchanger)

I’m as skeptical about the latest “shiny object” announcement as anyone else. And just coming back from Cannes Lions, companies both large and small had major news to share; the coming of agentic artificial intelligence was the talk of the town. (Bob Walczak/Adweek)

Six new leaders will join the supply-side company as it invests in the AI-driven future of programmatic advertising. Adtech veteran Marybeth McGaugh has joined supply-side platform Index Exchange as its chief customer officer this week. (Kendra Barnett/Adweek)

The Trade Desk has been public about wanting all users to migrate to the new Kokai user interface for its DSP by the end of this year. (Anthony Vargas/AdExchanger)