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Chinese hackers tracked as 'UAT-7810' are actively evolving their malware to expand their Operational Relay Box (ORB) network by compromising internet-facing networking devices, primarily unpatched Ruckus routers. [...]

Private browsing. Incognito. Privacy mode.

Web browser functions like those trace their roots back more than a decade, and the feature — first found in a top browser in 2005 — spread quickly as one copied another, made tweaks and minor improvements.

But privacy-promising labels can be treacherous. Simply put, going “incognito” is as effective in guarding online privacy as witchcraft is in warding off a common cold.

That’s because private browsing is intended to wipe local traces of where you’ve been, what you’ve searched for, the contents of forms you’ve filled. It’s meant to hide, and not always conclusively at that, your tracks from others with access to the personal computer. That’s it.

How to keep web browsing private

We’ve spelled out how to go into incognito or private browsing mode for the four major browsers in this order:

• Google Chrome’s Incognito mode
• Microsoft Edge’s InPrivate browsing
• Mozilla Firefox’s New Private Window mode
• Apple Safari’s New Private window mode

At their most basic, these features promise that they won’t record visited sites to the browsing history, save cookies that show you’ve been to and logged into sites, or remember credentials like passwords used during sessions. But your traipses through the web are still traceable by Internet providers – and the authorities who serve subpoenas to those entities – employers who control the company network and advertisers who follow your every footstep.

To end that cognitive dissonance, most browsers have added more advanced privacy tools, generically known as “anti-trackers,” which block various kinds of bite-sized chunks of code that advertisers and websites use to trace where people go in attempts to compile digital dossiers or serve targeted advertisements.

Although it might seem reasonable that a browser’s end game would be to craft a system that blends incognito modes with anti-tracking, it’s highly unlikely. Using either private browsing or anti-tracking carries a cost: site passwords aren’t saved for the next visit or sites break under the tracker scrubbing. Nor are those costs equal. It’s much easier to turn on some level of anti-tracking by default than it would be to do the same for private sessions, as evidenced by the number of browsers that do the former without complaint while none do the latter.

Private browsing will, by necessity, always be a niche, as long as sites rely on cookies for mundane things like log-ins and cart contents.

But the mode remains a useful tool whenever the browser — and the computer it’s on — are shared. To prove that, we’ve assembled instructions and insights on using the incognito features — and anti-tracking tools — offered by the top four browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge, Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s Safari.

How to go incognito with Google Chrome

Although incognito may be a synonym to some users for any browser’s private mode, Google gets credit for grabbing the word as the feature’s snappiest name when it launched the tool in late 2008, just months after Chrome debuted.

The easiest way to open an Incognito window is with the keyboard shortcut combination Ctrl-Shift-N (Windows) or Command-Shift-N (macOS).

Another way is to click on the menu on the upper right — it’s the three vertical dots — and select New Incognito Window from the list.

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Open a new Incognito window in Chrome using keyboard shortcuts or from the menu by choosing “New Incognito window.”

Google

The new Incognito window can be recognized by the dark background and the stylized “spy” icon just to the left of the three-dots menu. Chrome also reminds users of just what Incognito does and doesn’t do each time a new window is opened. The message may get tiresome for regular Incognito users, but it may also save a job or reputation; it’s important that users remember Incognito doesn’t prevent ISPs, businesses, schools and organizations from knowing where customers, workers, students, and others went on the web or what they searched for.

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Each time a new Incognito window is opened, Chrome reminds users what Incognito doesn’t save. The browser also puts a toggle on the screen for blocking third-party cookies.

Google

Incognito’s introductory screen also displays a toggle — it’s on by default — along with text that states third-party cookies will be blocked while in the privacy mode. Although cookies are never saved locally as long as the user stays in Incognito, websites have been able to track user movements from site to site while within Incognito. Such tracking might be used, for example, to display ads to a user visiting multiple sites in Incognito. This third-party cookie blocking, which halts such behavior, debuted in May 2020.

Google has been experimenting with new language on Chrome’s Incognito introductory page, but it’s yet to make it to the desktop browser. In the Canary build of Chrome on Android, however, the intro now outlines “What Incognito does” and “What Incognito doesn’t do,” to make the mode’s capabilities somewhat clearer to the user. (Some have speculated that the changes were made in reaction to a still-ongoing class-action lawsuit file in 2020 that alleged Google continued to track users’ online behavior and movements in Incognito.)

Once a tab in Incognito has been filled with a website, Chrome continues to remind users that they’re in Incognito by the dark background of the address bar and window title.

A link on an existing page can be opened directly into Incognito by right-clicking the link, then choosing Open Link in Incognito Window from the resulting menu.

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What Incognito looks like after pulling up a website. Note the “spy” icon at the right of the address bar.

Google

Pro tip: To close an Incognito window, shutter it like any other Chrome window by clicking the X in the upper right corner (Windows) or the red dot in the upper left (macOS).

How to privately browse with Microsoft Edge

Microsoft borrowed the name of its private browsing mode, InPrivate, from Internet Explorer (IE), the finally-being-retired legacy browser. InPrivate appeared in IE in March 2009, about three months after Chrome’s Incognito and three months before Firefox’s privacy mode. When Edge was first released in 2015 and then relaunched as a clone of Chrome in January 2020, InPrivate was part of the package, too.

At the keyboard, the combination of Ctrl-Shift-N (Windows) or Command-Shift-N (macOS) opens an InPrivate window.

A slower way to get there is to click on the menu at the upper right — it’s three dots arranged horizontally — and choose New InPrivate Window from the menu.

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Like other browsers, Edge will take you incognito from the menu when you pick New InPrivate window.

Microsoft

Edge does a more thorough job of explaining what its private browsing mode does and doesn’t do than any of its rivals, with on-screen paragraphs dedicated to describing what data the browser collects in InPrivate and how the strictest additional anti-tracking setting can be called on from within the mode. In addition, Edge uses the more informal “What Incognito does” and “What Incognito doesn’t do” language on its InPrivate introductory screen.

Microsoft’s browser also well marks InPrivate when the mode is operating: an oval marked “In Private” to the right of the address bar combines with a full-black screen to make sure users know where they’re at.

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Edge offers a detailed explanation of what its private browsing mode does and doesn’t do.

Microsoft

It’s also possible to launch an InPrivate session by right-clicking a link within Edge and selecting Open in InPrivate Window. That option is grayed out when already in a private browsing session but using Open Link in New Tab does just that within the current InPrivate frame.

To end InPrivate browsing, simply shut the window by clicking the X in the upper right corner (Windows) or click the red dot at the upper left (macOS).

Although Edge is based on Chromium, the same open-source project that comes up with the code to power Chrome, the Redmond, WA company integrated anti-tracking into its browser. Dubbed “Tracking Prevention,” it works both in Edge’s standard and InPrivate modes.

To set Tracking Prevention, choose Settings from the three-ellipses menu at the right, then at the next page, pick Privacy, Search and Services. Choose one of the three options — Basic, Balanced or Strict — and make sure the toggle for Tracking prevention is in the “on” position. If you want InPrivate to always default to the harshest anti-tracking — not a bad idea — toggle Always use “Strict” tracking prevention when browsing InPrivate to “on.”

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Toggle Always use Strict to the ‘on’ position and InPrivate will apply the most stringent anti-tracking even though Edge’s standard mode is set to, say, Balanced.

Microsoft

Pro tip: To open Edge with InPrivate — rather than first opening Edge in standard mode, then launching InPrivate — right-click the Edge icon in the Windows taskbar and select New InPrivate Window from the list. There is no similar one-step way to do this in macOS.

How to privately browse with Mozilla Firefox

After Chrome trumpeted Incognito, browsers without something similar hustled to catch up. Mozilla added its take — dubbed Private Browsing — about six months after Google, in June 2009.

From the keyboard, a private browsing session can be called up using the combination Ctrl-Shift-P (Windows) or Command-Shift-P (macOS).

Alternately, a private window will open from the menu at the upper right of Firefox — three short horizontal lines — after selecting New private window.

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Opening a private browsing window is as simple as choosing New Private Window from the Firefox menu.

Mozilla

A private session window is marked by the purple “mask” icon in the title bar of the Firefox frame. In Windows, the icon is to the left of the minimize/maximize/close buttons; on a Mac, the mask squats at the far right of the title bar. Unlike Chrome and Edge, Firefox does not color-code the top components of the browser window to signify the user is in privacy mode.

Like other browsers, Firefox warns users that private browsing is no cure-all for privacy ills but is limited in what it blocks from being saved during a session. “Private window: Firefox clears your search and browsing history when you close all private windows. This doesn’t make you anonymous,” the caution reads.

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Firefox reminds users that while a private session doesn’t save searches or browsing histories, it doesn’t cloak them in complete anonymity. The page also links to more detailed information.

Mozilla

A link can be opened into a Firefox Private Window by right-clicking the link, then choosing Open Link in New Private Window from the menu.

To close a Private Window, shut it down just as one would any Firefox window by clicking the X in the upper right corner (Windows) or the red dot in the upper left (macOS).

Notable is that Firefox’s private browsing mode is accompanied by the browser’s superb “Enhanced Tracking Protection,” a suite of tracker blocking tools that stymie all sorts of ad-and-site methods for identifying users, then watching and recording their online behavior. While the earliest version of this was offered only inside Private Windows, the expanded technologies also work within standard mode.

Because Enhanced Tracking Protection is enabled by default within Firefox, it doesn’t matter which of its settings — Standard, Strict or Custom — is selected as far as private browsing goes; everything that can be blocked will be blocked.

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The shield appears in the address bar to note what trackers were blocked by Firefox in a Private Window. Clicking on the icon brings up an accounting of what was barred.

Mozilla

Pro tip: Private Browsing sessions take place over the more secure HTTPS, not the once-standard HTTP protocol. Users don’t need to do anything: The new HTTPS-only policy is on by default. (If the destination site doesn’t support HTTPS, Firefox will go into fallback mode, connecting via HTTP instead.)

How to browse privately with Apple’s Safari

Chrome may get far more attention for its Incognito than any other browser — no surprise, since it’s by far the most popular browser on the planet — but Apple’s Safari was actually the first to introduce private browsing. The term private browsing was first bandied in 2005 to describe early Safari features that limited what was saved by the browser.

Side note: Early in private browsing, the label porn mode was often used as a synonym to describe what many writers and reporters assumed was the primary application of the feature. The term has fallen out of favor.

To open what Safari calls a Private Window on a Mac, users can do a three-key combination of Command-Shift-N, the same shortcut Chrome adopted. Otherwise, a window can be called up by selecting the File menu and clicking on New Private Window.

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From the File menu in Safari, selecting New Private Window gets you started.

Apple

Safari tags each Private Window by darkening the address bar. It also issues a reminder of what it does — or more accurately — what it doesn’t do. “Safari will keep your browsing history private for all tabs of this window. After you close this window, Safari won’t remember the pages you visited, your search history or your AutoFill information,” the top-of-the-page note reads. The warning is more terse than those of other browsers and omits cautions about still-visible online activity.

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The darkened address bar at the top — and the Private button in the left window corner — signal that this Safari window is for private browsing.

Apple

Like Firefox, Safari automatically engages additional privacy technologies, whether the user browses in standard or private mode. Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Protection (ITP), which has been around for nearly a decade and repeatedly upgraded, now blocks all third-party cookies, among other components advertisers and services use to track people as they bounce from one site to another. ITP is controlled by a single on-off switch — on is the default — found in Preferences under the Privacy icon. If the Website tracking: box is checked to mark Prevent cross-site tracking, ITP is on.

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Switching on cross-site tracking enables Safari’s Intelligent Tracking Protection, which blocks a wide variety of bits advertisers try to use to follow you around the web while you’re using a Private Window.

Apple

A link can be opened directly to a Private Window by right-clicking, then selecting Open Link in New Private Window. Close a Private Window just as any Safari window, by clicking the red dot in the upper left corner of the browser frame.

Pro tip: Once in a Safari Private Window, opening a new tab — either by clicking the + icon at the upper right or by using the Command-T key combo — omits the Private Browsing Enabled notice. (The darkened address bar remains as the sole indicator of a private browsing session.) Other browsers, such as Firefox, repeat their cautionary messages each time a tab is opened in an incognito session.

Related reading:

• Chromium explained: How the open-source engine drives today’s browsers
• AI web browsers are cool, helpful, and utterly untrustworthy
• How AI will transform your Windows web browser

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Revised transaction structure enables immediate closing, accelerating the Company’s strategic pivot toward AI data centers, enterprise GPU compute, and digital power infrastructure.

Envirotech Vehicles, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVTV) (“EVTV” or the “Company”) today announced the successful completion of its merger with Azio AI Corporation (“Azio AI”) on July 2, 2026, paving the way for the Company to transform to an AI Datacenter Provider and meeting the growing market demand for artificial intelligence (“AI”) infrastructure, enterprise GPU compute, digital power solutions, data center development, and digital asset infrastructure; a market that the International Data Corporation (IDC) projects will reach $487 billion in global spending in 2026 and exceed $1 trillion by 2029.[1] The transaction marks a defining milestone in the Company’s strategic transformation and establishes the foundation for its next phase of commercial execution and long-term growth.

The parties amended the proposed transaction structure to expedite the closing timeline, allowing the combined company to begin operating as a fully integrated public company significantly sooner than originally anticipated. The accelerated closing enables management to immediately focus on commercialization across its expanding AI Datacenter strategy.

With the merger complete and the combined company operating as one organization, management is now fully focused on commercial execution, infrastructure deployment, strategic growth initiatives, and creating long-term shareholder value.

Over the past several months, the Company advanced development activities at its South Texas site and deployed six megawatts of off-grid power for its modular data centers. The Company further secured rights to a 548-acre site with the capacity to scale up to 500 MW, supporting the future development of AI hyperscale data centers.

Management believes these achievements demonstrate that the combined company is entering its next phase with meaningful operational momentum already in place rather than beginning from a standing start. Infrastructure deployment is underway, customer commitments have already been established, commercial execution is actively progressing, and the Company’s corporate structure is now aligned with an operating platform built to support long-term expansion.

The completion of the merger comes at a time when investment in AI infrastructure continues to accelerate globally as enterprises increasingly require access to high-performance computing resources, GPU infrastructure, and scalable digital power solutions. Management believes the combined company is well positioned to capitalize on these long-term industry trends through a diversified infrastructure strategy designed to monetize power assets across multiple complementary revenue streams, including AI data centers, enterprise compute infrastructure, power hosting, and digital asset mining operations.

Following the closing of the transaction, the Company intends to continue expanding its AI Infrastructure strategy through AI data center development, enterprise GPU compute solutions, power hosting services, digital asset mining operations, strategic infrastructure investments, and additional commercial partnerships designed to maximize utilization of its power resources while creating multiple long-term revenue opportunities.

In connection with the closing of the merger, Phillip Oldridge has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer. Jason Maddox vacates the President position and is now the Chief Financial Officer. The Company’s Board of Directors appointed Simon Yu as President and Chris Young as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.

Mr. Yu is a serial entrepreneur and public markets operator with almost a decade of experience taking companies public, executing capital raises, and scaling businesses. He has previously served in founder, C-suite, and board roles at three publicly traded companies, two of which reached market capitalizations in excess of $1 billion. Mr. Yu has led legal, accounting, and advisory teams through Regulation A+ Tier 2 offerings, PCAOB audits, and public company reporting, alongside leading M&A transactions. As an active early-stage venture investor, he has evaluated investment opportunities across artificial intelligence, SaaS, and B2B technology.

Mr. Young brings extensive experience in launching and leading public companies and investing in and advising emerging technology companies, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence, software innovation, and strategic growth initiatives. Prior to joining EVTV, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Clubhouse Media Group, a publicly traded social media company and an Entrepreneur in Residence at Amplify, where he worked alongside founders and venture-backed technology companies to accelerate commercialization and support the development of high-growth technology businesses.

“Today’s announcement represents far more than the completion of a merger—it marks the beginning of our next chapter,” said Chris Young, Chief Executive Officer of EVTV. “Over the past several months, our teams have been building the operational foundation of this business while simultaneously working toward completing this transaction. With the merger now finalized, we move forward as one company with one leadership team and one strategy, focused on executing against the opportunities in front of us. We believe demand for AI infrastructure, enterprise compute, and digital infrastructure will continue expanding for years to come. Our objective is to build a scalable platform capable of serving that demand while creating long-term value for our shareholders.”

Jason Maddox, Chief Financial Officer of EVTV, added, “Completing this transaction under the amended merger structure allows us to immediately focus on execution. We have already established meaningful operational momentum, and we believe operating as a unified public company enhances our ability to deploy infrastructure, serve customers, pursue strategic growth opportunities, and continue building long-term shareholder value.”

The transaction establishes a unified operating platform designed to support the Company’s long-term growth strategy through continued investment in AI infrastructure, enterprise computing, digital power assets, and digital infrastructure development. Management believes the completion of the merger provides the operational and organizational foundation necessary to pursue the next phase of commercialization while expanding its presence across some of the fastest-growing sectors of the global technology market.

Transaction and Operational Highlights

• Successfully completed the merger with Azio AI pursuant to an amended and restated merger agreement.
• Approximately six megawatts of off-grid digital infrastructure deployed at the Company’s South Texas development site.
• Development footprint exceeding 548 acres with the potential to support up to 500 MW of AI infrastructure capacity.
• Combined company positioned to accelerate commercialization across AI infrastructure, enterprise GPU compute, digital power solutions, and digital asset mining operations.
• Merger consideration consisted of 2,655,157 shares of common stock and 973,450 shares of non-voting convertible preferred stock in exchange for 100% of outstanding capital stock of Azio AI, of which 194,807 shares of common stock were reserved for convertible notes of Azio AI assumed by the Company upon closing.
• Each share of preferred stock convertible into 100 shares of Company common stock subject to stockholder approval.
• Chris Young appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.
• Simon Yu appointed President.
• Jason Maddox appointed Chief Financial Officer.
• Phillip Oldridge stepped down as Chief Executive Officer.

About Envirotech Vehicles, Inc.

Envirotech Vehicles, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVTV) is a technology infrastructure company focused on developing, owning, and operating artificial intelligence data centers, enterprise GPU compute infrastructure, digital power solutions, and digital asset mining operations. Following its acquisition of Azio AI, the Company operates an integrated AI infrastructure business encompassing AI data center development, the sale and distribution of enterprise GPU systems and server infrastructure, high-performance computing solutions, power hosting, and strategic technology investments, serving enterprise and institutional customers across domestic and international markets. Through this diversified AI infrastructure strategy, the Company is positioned to capitalize on the rapidly expanding global demand for AI infrastructure, compute capacity, digital power, and next-generation AI technologies.

For more information please visit: www.azioai.ai and for potential partnerships contact: [email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “continue,” “potential,” “ongoing,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company’s ability to capitalize on accelerating demand for AI infrastructure, enterprise GPU compute, digital power solutions, data center development, and digital asset infrastructure; the Company’s plans to continue expanding its digital infrastructure platform through AI data center development, enterprise GPU compute solutions, power hosting services, digital asset mining operations, strategic infrastructure investments, and additional commercial partnerships; the Company’s ability to maximize utilization of its power resources while creating multiple long-term revenue opportunities; the ability to continue deploying modular digital infrastructure at the Company’s South Texas site; the anticipated deployment and scaling of NVIDIA B200 and B300 GPU systems; the ability to advance and execute against the Company’s commercial infrastructure pipeline; the anticipated development of the Company’s footprint; the ability to monetize power assets across multiple complementary revenue streams, including AI data centers, enterprise compute infrastructure, power hosting, and digital asset mining operations; customer demand for AI infrastructure, enterprise compute, and digital infrastructure; the Company’s ability to build a scalable platform designed to serve that demand and create long-term shareholder value; and the Company’s broader business strategy and long-term growth objectives.

These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Most of these factors are outside the Company’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may affect actual results include, but are not limited to, the Company’s limited operating history within AI infrastructure and compute operations, project scope, engineering challenges, supply chain constraints, installation timelines, energy availability, finalization of site usage rights, regulatory considerations, equipment performance, ability to raise capital required for expansion activities, changes in digital asset markets, evolving compute demand, market conditions, the Company’s ability to successfully integrate the combined business following the completion of the merger, the risk that the anticipated benefits and synergies of the merger are not realized, the risk of unexpected costs, charges, or expenses resulting from or relating to the merger, potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the completion of the merger, risks related to the diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations during the post-closing integration period, the risk that required stockholder approval for the conversion of preferred stock issued in the merger as required by rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the “Conversion Proposal”) is not obtained, and additional risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Important Information About the Merger and Where to Find it

The Company expects to file a proxy statement with the SEC relating to the Conversion Proposal. The definitive proxy statement will be sent to all Company stockholders. Before making any voting decision, investors and security-holders of the Company are urged to read the proxy statement and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the Conversion Proposal as they become available because they will contain important information about the amended and restated merger agreement between the parties and the related transactions and the Conversion Proposal to be voted upon by the Company’s stockholders. Investors and security-holders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by the Company through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov.

Participants in the Solicitation

The Company and its directors and executive officers may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies from EVTV’s stockholders with respect to the Conversion Proposal under the rules of the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of EVTV is set forth in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, which was filed with the SEC on April 13, 2026, and in subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. Additional information regarding the persons who may be deemed participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will also be included in the proxy statement, and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described above.

¹ Source: International Data Corporation (IDC), “AI Infrastructure Spending Caps Historic Year at ~$90 Billion in Q4 2025; 2029 Spending to Eclipse $1 Trillion,” April 16, 2026. The Company has not independently verified the data or projections contained in this report, and there can be no assurance that the projections will be realized.

Contact

Phoenix MGMT & Consulting

[email protected]

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For workers who routinely spend hours a day interacting with various AI assistants, banging out prompts on a keyboard can quickly become a chore. 

“Whether it’s a coding task, helping write a document or think about strategy — there’s just so much typing and typing and typing you do as a part of that,” said Chris Patalano, chief technology officer at Thumbtack, an online marketplace for professional services.

With that in mind, Patalano and other senior colleagues last year began experimenting with new ways to interact with AI systems within Thumbtack. The idea was to test AI-assisted dictation tools developed by startups such as Monologue, Superwhisper, Willow Voice, and Wispr. 

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“I’ve used it to help me build prototypes, explore the code base, help me explore my own technical strategy. I’ve used it to do analytics across data sets — even very specific acute things, like ‘What do I need to make sure is on my to-do list this week?’”

A new generation of dictation tools

Software that translates spoken words into text isn’t new to the workplace. Speech-to-text dictation tools have been around in various forms for decades. The earliest example dates back to 1952, when Bell Labs created Audrey, widely regarded as the first automatic speech recognition system. (Audrey could recognize the spoken digits 0-9 with 90% accuracy when used by the machine’s developer, HK Davis.) 

Commercial products appeared in the 1980s, with broader adoption in the 1990s via software such as Dragon Dictate. These were specialized — and expensive — applications with limited functionality, appealing mostly to professionals for whom dictation was already a part of their workflow, such as doctors and lawyers, rather than a wide range of office workers. 

In recent years, speech-to-text software has become more accessible, especially  with the integration of speech recognition into smartphones and computers by Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others. Deep learning has also significantly improved accuracy.

That’s made voice input more common in the workplace and an important accessibility tool for people who find typing difficult — even though the systems can still be “quite brittle,” said Benjamin Cowan, professor at the School of Information and Communication Studies at University College Dublin. That’s especially true of early voice input technology.

“Not only did they get things wrong all the time, they wrote everything you said — even if you didn’t want it to,” he said. “This meant that a lot of time was taken editing the notes after they were dictated.” 

Now, several startups offering AI dictation tools, including Wispr, aim to make voice a viable alternative to typing for everyday computer tasks. The key difference from earlier iterations of tools is the use of AI models to edit text in near-real-time, removing disfluencies such as “umms,” “ahhs” and filler words to create a polished sentence. 

Whispr Flow offers shortcuts, or “snippets” with its voice tool.

Whispr Flow snippets

In most cases, users can invoke an AI dictation tool across mobile and desktop applications with a text field – whether that’s a document editor, email client, a vibe-coding app or anything else – by pressing and holding a designated key or button while talking. Users can add words to the app’s dictionary so it can pick up on uncommon names, abbreviations, and industry jargon.

“The technology itself has improved dramatically” compared to previous tools that sought to transcribe speech verbatim and could be frustratingly inaccurate, said Maria Bell, senior research analyst at CCS Insight.  

“These modern systems are much more contextual; they understand your intent, they can help structure your thoughts and rewrite while you speak. They function more like writing assistants rather than just dictation.”

Wispr is among the best-funded startups in the market, having raised $81 million to date. Bloomberg reported in May that the company was in talks to raise a further $260 million at a $2 billion valuation. Other vendors have also attracted investor backing, with Willow Voice announcing a $4.2 million funding round last year.

The software is typically available via a freemium model, with a free tier offering basic functionality and usage limits alongside paid premium versions. Superwhisper Pro is $8.49 per user each month; Willow Voice’s Team Pro and Individual Pro are $10 and $12 per user each month, respectively; and Wispr Flow Pro costs $12 per user each month. Enterprise pricing is not publicly available from these vendors.

Larger tech firms have also invested in AI-assisted voice functionality. Apple, for instance, recently announced AI-powered dictation for its revamped Siri AI assistant, while Google is building in similar functionality for the Gboard keyboard on Android devices. Google is also developing a standalone AI dictation tool – Edge Eloquent – although its approach differs from that of startups in the space because the tool is not available across separate applications.

Why use AI dictation?

The key promise of AI dictation is that it can increase a knowledge worker’s words-per-minute (wpm) output versus typing. 

According to Superwhisper, most office workers can knock out between 40 and 70 words a minute on a  keyboard, though some can be much faster. (New York Times reporters vary from 36 to 134 wpm, according to a Times article earlier this year.) People talk much faster, at a rate of 160 to 180 wpm, and AI dictation app vendors promise low latency processing to turn speech into edited text (usually less than a second; some claim under 200 milliseconds).

It’s not just about speed: Willow Voice, for instance, claims its app is three times more accurate than dictation tools built into other applications. 

The prospect of accelerating routine writing and communication tasks has obvious appeal, particularly as AI threatens to increase rather than reduce the burden on office workers. “We all feel like we’re working faster – we have to do more with less time,” said Bell. 

“Employees are overloaded with communication work, and they’re spending huge amounts of time every day writing emails, messaging colleagues, using generative AI,” she said. “Voice tools are appealing because some feel they can do wor] faster. It reduces friction around all the tasks they’re being asked to do.”

The technology is potentially suited to a variety of jobs, said Cowan — not only those that require dictation — helping with tasks such as writing to-do lists and documents, or sending messages and emails. 

Accessibility is important, too. “These dictation tools also mean that people who find it hard to type or cannot type now have much better apps to help them with writing,” said Cowan. 

What’s holding the technology back?

Despite these potential benefits, the idea of talking to a laptop or smartphone throughout the day might not be appealing for a lot of people, particularly those in a busy office. 

“Some might find it embarrassing or uncomfortable, they’ll be worried about distracting colleagues or creating a disruption,” said Bell. “That’s still a major behavioral barrier that you have to overcome. 

“The technology is ready, but maybe workplace etiquette and culture is not necessarily there yet,” she said.

Working remotely, Patalano said he and his team can side-step some of this awkwardness. But it still took time to adjust to voice inputs. 

“Because we’re fully remote, we don’t have the challenge of everybody sitting side by side in an office talking into their computers, which would be more challenging, I suspect. But even getting comfortable with talking out loud alone in a room took a minute,” he said. 

As with any AI tool, there’s also the question of accuracy. 

Even if vendors promise a low error rate, LLM outputs can still have errors, requiring users to check the results. “They can still mis-recognize what’s being said,” said Cowan. Those in high-risk sectors such as healthcare still need to go through the AI-edited text and “double- and triple-check” the dictation. 

This friction means extra steps for a user working with the technology. 

It doesn’t take much to dissuade workers from adopting a new tool, said Jon Arnold, research analyst at J Arnold & Associates. “There’s definitely a lot of use cases where it would have a lot of value, but you’ve got to trust it — if it’s not giving what you think it will, you’re either going to fine tune it or go back to the keyboard and do it the old-fashioned way,” he said.

There are also privacy concerns. Because some tools send voice data to the cloud for processing, organizations in heavily regulated industries such as finance, healthcare and government might move cautiously.

Bell points to two types of privacy: social, such as “having colleagues overhear what you’re saying,” and digital privacy, which relates to who else can access the conversation data. 

App providers take different approaches; some process voice data on device, others send it to the cloud. That’s an important distinction for organizations with strict data protection requirements, said Bell. 

“Where’s the voice data processed? Where is it stored? How can it be accessed? Enterprises are very, very focused on governance and data security and data privacy,” she said.

Evan Yang Too soon to ditch the keyboard?

Despite growing interest in the technology, it’s still unclear whether a large number of workers will choose talking over typing. And remains to be seen whether startups that offer a best-of-breed AI dictation app can gain traction, or fade if the technology simply becomes embedded within the software ecosystems of larger tech firms.  

Workers are more familiar with voice technology, thanks to AI assistants in smartphones and smart speakers at home. That, said Bell, could improve the prospects of wider use in business settings. 

“Voice interaction feels less niche than it did about five years ago,” she said. “Overall, the technology is improving quickly…, but how we’re really going to determine success is whether we can change human behavior.”

Arnold is bullish about the use of voice technology in the workplace: “Five or 10 years [from now], we won’t think twice about it. It’ll just be the norm.”

Bell is more cautious.She sees potential for AI dictation as a supplementary tool for communication-heavy work. “I don’t think it’s going to replace the keyboard, but I do think it could become a secondary interface,” she said.

Even Patalano doesn’t expect AI-assisted voice dictation to entirely replace typing “Your speaking voice and your written voice will always, to some degree, be different, and that’s okay: we should probably lean into that,” he said.

“I think there will always be a place for wordsmithing, crafting, writing – and the same with coding, too. There’s going to be lots of cases where every single word matters.”

He plans to continue using AI dictation, whether with Wispr Flow or other similar tools that might emerge in the future.  

While a lack of accuracy slowed adoption in the past, continued advances could open the door to wider workplace uptake.  

“When I try to use a voice tool and it misses even once, you kind of throw up your hands and walk away, because the cost of having to correct it is way more than the benefit of using it versus typing,” Patalano said. “But, especially with the improvements in LLMs and AI models generally, the accuracy of these is going to keep getting better and better. 

“I’m already looking for more and more opportunities to use voice instead of having to type.” 

All threats

The percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked continued to decrease, reaching 19.6% in Q1 2026. This is the lowest value in three years, and it is 1.4 times lower than in Q2 2023.

Percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked, Q2 2023–Q1 2026

Regionally, the percentages ranged from 9.1% in Northern Europe to 27.4% in Africa.

Regions ranked by percentage of attacked ICS computers

The percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked increased in five regions over the quarter, most notably in Southern Europe, Northern Europe, and Russia.

In Q1 2026, Southern Europe led the way in growth for internet and email threats. The region also saw the fastest growth in spyware, as well as malicious scripts and phishing pages.

In Russia, the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked exceeded the figures for the previous two quarters. Russia saw an increase in the percentage for threats from the internet, and a slight increase in the figure for threats from email clients (Russia is one of three regions where this figure did not decrease).

Among the threat categories, the greatest increases were observed in the percentages for denylisted internet resources, as well as spyware (distributed in the region via the internet and email clients).

Selected industries

Biometric systems (26.4%) traditionally rank top among the industries and OT infrastructure types covered in this report in terms of the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked. These systems are characterized by internet access, extensive email use for data exchange and approvals (such as access granting), and, in many cases, minimal cybersecurity controls within the organizations that use these systems.

Industries ranked by the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked

Biometric systems rank first among industries in terms of email threats. At the same time, unlike other industries, the percentage for email threats in biometric systems exceeds that for internet threats.

In all selected industries, the global average follows a downward trend. In Q1 2026, the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked increased only in the manufacturing sector — by 1.0 pp. The percentages for this industry increased across 10 regions, with the most notable increases in Western Europe, Northern Europe, and Russia.

Threat categories

In Q1 2026, Kaspersky security solutions blocked malware from 10,052 different malware families of various categories on industrial automation systems.

Over the quarter, the percentage of ICS computers on which denylisted internet resources were blocked increased (after decreasing over the previous two quarters), and there was a slight increase in the percentage for AutoCAD malware.

Percentage of ICS computers on which the activity of malicious objects from various categories was prevented

Malicious scripts and phishing pages (JS and HTML)

Malicious scripts and phishing pages retained their to spot among threat categories by the percentage of ICS computers on which these threats were blocked. The global average in Q1 2026 was 6.56%.

Over the quarter, the percentages increased in four regions. The most significant change was observed in Southern Europe (9.85%, +0.94 pp). The figures for malicious scripts in the region increased over three consecutive quarters.

Among the selected industries, across all regions, the highest percentages for the malicious scripts and phishing pages category were recorded for biometric systems (19.59%) and building automation (15.43%) in Southern Europe. These same industries lead in similar rankings for malicious documents and spyware.

Spyware

The percentage of ICS computers on which spyware was blocked decreased over two consecutive quarters, dropping to 3.73%. Despite the decline, spyware has ranked second among threat categories by the percentage of attacked computers for three consecutive quarters.

The percentages increased in five regions over the quarter, most notably in Southern Europe (5.46%, +0.35 pp) and Russia (2.84%, +0.24 pp).

In Southern Europe, the percentage of ICS computers on which spyware was blocked increased in all the selected industries except manufacturing. The greatest increase was observed in biometric systems.

Among the selected industries, the highest percentage of spyware in Russia was recorded in biometric systems. That said, the percentage of ICS computers on which spyware was blocked increased in all industries in the region except construction. The percentage figure has been increasing for two consecutive quarters in the oil and gas industry (by a factor of 1.63 over six months), and for three consecutive quarters in engineering and ICS integration, as well as electric power. In the remaining sectors, the values have been fluctuating.

Percentage of ICS computers on which spyware was blocked in various industries in Russia, Q3 2025–Q1 2026

Denylisted internet resources

The percentage of ICS computers on which denylisted internet resources were blocked increased to 3.54%.

The most notable increase over the quarter occurred in Southeast Asia (4.58%, +0.65 pp). Among the industries in the region, the highest percentage figures for this threat category were recorded in electric power and construction. Over the quarter, the largest increases in percentages figures were observed in the electric power and manufacturing industries.

In North America (Canada), denylisted internet resources (2.14%) showed the greatest increase among all categories — by a factor of 1.22.

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentage figures for the denylisted internet resources category were in the electric power (7.11%) and construction (6.25%) industries in Southeast Asia.

Malicious documents (Microsoft Office + PDF)

The percentage figure for this category decreased over two consecutive quarters, reaching its lowest value (1.56%) for the entire period of observations in Q1 2026. It increased just in two regions: Australia and New Zealand (1.12%, +0.04 pp), and Russia (0.62%, +0.01 pp).

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for malicious documents were recorded for biometric systems (9.02%) and building automation (6.97%) in Southern Europe. These same industries also lead in similar rankings for malicious scripts and spyware.

Ransomware

The percentage of ICS computers on which ransomware was blocked has decreased for two consecutive quarters, dropping to 0.14%. This is the lowest value among all categories.

The percentage increased in two regions: North America (Canada) (0.11%, +0.04 pp) and slightly in Northern Europe (0.06%, +0.01 pp).

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for ransomware were recorded in the oil and gas and manufacturing industries (0.92% and 0.65%, respectively) in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, and in biometric systems (0.89%) in Russia.

Miners in the form of executable files for Windows

The percentage of ICS computers on which miners in the form of executable files for Windows were blocked decreased to 0.59%.

The percentage increased in seven regions. The largest increase was observed in Africa (0.63%, +0.16 pp). Among the selected industries, the largest increases in the region were in the manufacturing and oil and gas industries.

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for miners in the form of executable files were recorded in construction (1.99%), biometric systems (1.98%), and the oil and gas industry (1.97%) in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Web miners

The percentage of ICS computers on which web miners were blocked has been declining for a year, and in Q1 2026, it reached the lowest value for the entire period under review (0.22%).

At the same time, the percentage increased in seven regions. The largest increases were observed in South Asia (0.28%, +0.11 pp), the Middle East (0.31%, +0.09 pp), and Africa (0.34%, +0.08 pp). Despite the increases, the percentages in these regions for Q1 2026 did not exceed those observed in 2023–2024 and in Q1 2025.

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for web miners were recorded for biometric systems (0.97%) in Russia. Biometric systems in South Asia (0.79%) ranked second, and the electric power sector in Southeast Asia (0.76%) ranked third.

Worms

The percentage of ICS computers on which worms were blocked decreased to 1.33%.

The percentage decreased across all regions following an increase in the previous quarter (due to a wave of phishing attacks that distributed the Backdoor.MSIL.XWorm backdoor worm across all regions of the world).

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentage figure for worms was recorded for biometric systems (4.80%) in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Two industries in Africa – biometric systems (4.04%) and electric power (3.53%) – took the second and third spots, respectively.

Viruses

The percentage of ICS computers on which viruses were blocked decreased to 1.31%.

The top 3 regions by this figure remained the same: Southeast Asia (6.11%, first by a wide margin), Africa (4.15%), and East Asia (2.97%). These same regions are also among the leaders by the percentage of systems affected by AutoCAD malware. The largest increase in this figure was observed in Africa (+0.41 pp).

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for viruses were recorded in the construction industry (6.35%) and building automation (5.50%) in Southeast Asia.

Malware for AutoCAD

The percentage of ICS computers on which malware for AutoCAD was blocked increased to 0.30%.

The most notable increase over the quarter was observed in Africa, with the region’s percentage figure rising by 0.47 pp, a very significant increase for this category, and almost doubling (to 0.91%).

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for AutoCAD malware were recorded in the construction industry in East Asia (5.58%) and Southeast Asia (3.87%).

Main threat sources

In Q1 2026, the average percentages across all threat sources, except threats from the internet, decreased globally.

Percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects from various sources were blocked

Internet

The percentage of ICS computers on which threats from the internet were blocked increased to 7.88%. However, over the past three years, the percentage figure for internet threats has followed a downward trend.

The largest increases in the percentages were recorded in Southern Europe (8.59%, +0.59 pp), Southeast Asia (10.16%, +0.55 pp), and Northern Europe (4.47%, +0.51 pp).

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for threats from the internet were recorded in electric power (13.16%) and construction (12.55%) in Southeast Asia, and in the engineering and ICS integration sector (12.33%) in South Asia.

Email clients

The percentage of ICS computers on which threats delivered via email clients were blocked decreased to 2.59%. This is a three-year low.

The percentage of this threat source increased in three regions: Southern Europe (6.54%, +0.2 pp), East Asia (1.5%, +0.09 pp), and slightly in Russia (0.7%, +0.04 pp).

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for email threats were recorded for biometric systems (19.78%) and building automation (12.34%) in Southern Europe. In these two industries, the percentage of ICS computers on which email threats are blocked is higher than the percentage for threats from the internet. A similar situation was observed in two other instances, both in biometric systems (in South America and Southeast Asia).

Removable media

The percentage of ICS computers on which threats were detected when connecting removable media continued to decrease, reaching its lowest value for the period under review (0.26%).

Among the selected industries across all regions, the highest percentages for removable media threats blocked on ICS computers were observed in the electric power sector in Central Asia and the South Caucasus (1.45%), East Asia (1.34%), and Africa (1.16%).

Network folders

The percentage of ICS computers on which threats are blocked in network folders is steadily decreasing. In Q1 2026, it was the lowest for the period under review (0.029%).

East Asia has traditionally led by a wide margin. The percentage for East Asia (0.135%) is 27 times higher than the lowest regional value (recorded in Northern Europe).

The largest increases in the percentages for threats from network folders were observed in Africa (0.037%, +0.006 pp) and South America (0.013%, +0.006 pp).
Among the selected industries across all regions, the construction industry in East Asia, at 0.36%, holds the top positions in the ranking by the percentage of ICS computers on which threats are blocked in network folders.

For more information on industrial threats see the full version of the report.

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