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Industrial exoskeletons help workers do more with less strain

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Industrial exoskeletons help workers do more with less strain

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If you have ever spent a full day lifting, drilling overhead, or bending over a conveyor belt, you know how quickly fatigue sets in. That is exactly where industrial exoskeletons come in. 

These wearable systems strap onto the body and help carry the load. Instead of your muscles doing all the work, the device shares it. As a result, workers feel less strain and can stay productive longer. This tech is already showing up on real job sites across the country.

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WEARABLE ROBOTICS ARE CHANGING HOW WE WALK AND RUN

A worker uses the Laevo FLEX exoskeleton to support the lower back during repetitive lifting and bending tasks. (Laevo)

What are industrial exoskeletons?

Industrial exoskeletons are wearable mechanical systems designed to support your body during physical tasks. They do not replace workers. They help workers perform demanding jobs with less physical stress. There are three main types, and each works differently depending on the job.

Passive exoskeletons: simple support that works

Passive systems do not use motors or batteries. Instead, they rely on springs or mechanical structures to redistribute weight.

A strong real-world example is the Hilti EXO-O1. This shoulder harness shifts the weight of your arms to your hips using spring-loaded supports. Testing shows it can reduce shoulder muscle load by up to 47% during overhead work. Many workers say tools feel almost weightless by the end of the day.

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Another example is the Laevo FLEX. This passive system uses spring-based assistance to support the lower back during bending and lifting. It is designed for dynamic movement, allowing workers to walk freely and lift without needing to switch the system on or off.

Laevo FLEX also offers adjustable support and is built for long wear across different environments, including outdoor use. Like other passive systems, it helps reduce strain on the lower back during repetitive tasks without adding motors or batteries.

These systems are relatively lightweight, typically between about 4.4 and 8.8 pounds. However, support remains constant during use, so it cannot adapt automatically to different tasks in real time.

Passive Hilti EXO-O1 exoskeleton to help relieve strain on shoulders and arms during overhead installation work. (HILTI)

Powered exoskeletons: high-tech strength on demand

Powered exoskeletons use motors, sensors, and onboard processors to actively assist movement. An example is the German Bionic Exia. This battery-powered back exoskeleton is designed for warehouse and logistics work, where employees lift and move items throughout the day. It actively supports the lower back during lifts, helping reduce strain and fatigue over time.

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These systems track your motion using sensors and respond almost instantly. Many can detect lifting movements in real time and provide support as you move, so the assistance feels natural instead of delayed.

Powered exoskeletons can significantly reduce the effort required for repetitive lifting tasks, especially in high-volume environments.

However, there are trade-offs. Some powered systems are heavier and can weigh over 40 pounds, depending on the design. They are also far more expensive, often costing tens of thousands of dollars, so most companies introduce them through pilot programs.

NEW EXOSKELETON ADAPTS TO TERRAIN WITH SMART AI POWER

German Bionic’s powered exoskeleton Exia provides real-time support to ease physical strain on the job. (German Bionic)

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Soft exosuits: flexible and lightweight

Soft exosuits use fabric, straps and tension systems instead of rigid frames. One example is the HeroWear Apex 2. This lightweight system weighs about three pounds and wraps around the shoulders and waist to assist with lifting movements.

In warehouse testing, soft back-support exosuits have been shown to improve productivity while reducing reported lower back discomfort for workers performing repetitive tasks.

These systems allow more natural movement than rigid exoskeletons. However, they provide less force, so they are best suited for repetitive tasks rather than heavy lifting.

Workers use the HeroWear Apex 2 exosuit to reduce back strain during repetitive lifting and bending tasks. (HeroWear)

Where exoskeletons make the biggest impact

The biggest benefits show up in everyday tasks that put the most strain on your body.

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Overhead work becomes manageable

Holding tools above your head all day strains your shoulders and neck. Systems like the Hilti EXO-O1 can reduce muscle load by up to about 47%, making tools feel much lighter.

Heavy lifting gets safer

Back-support systems like the Laevo FLEX shift part of the load away from the spine. Studies show muscle effort can drop by up to 30% during lifting.

Repetitive bending adds up less

Soft systems like the HeroWear Apex 2 help reduce fatigue during constant bending. Workers complete more tasks while feeling less strain by the end of a shift.

The trade-offs you should know

Exoskeletons offer real benefits, but they are not perfect. Fit is critical. If a device does not align properly with your body, it can cause discomfort or limit movement. Proper fitting and training are essential. Weight also matters. Even lightweight systems add extra load. Powered systems can weigh more than 40 pounds.

Cost remains a barrier for many companies. Passive systems may cost a few thousand dollars, while powered systems can cost tens of thousands. There is also a long-term consideration. Relying too heavily on assistance could reduce muscle engagement over time. Experts recommend using exoskeletons alongside proper ergonomics and regular movement.

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What this means for you

If your job involves physical labor, this technology could change your daily experience. You may feel less sore at the end of a shift. You may reduce your risk of injury over time. You may even be able to work longer without the same level of fatigue. 

For employers, the benefits are clear. Fewer injuries, fewer missed workdays, and more consistent productivity. Adoption is still growing, so many workplaces are testing these systems before rolling them out more broadly.

Where can you buy industrial exoskeletons?

You might be wondering if you can order one of these like any other piece of gear. In most cases, you cannot. Most industrial exoskeletons are sold directly to companies, not individuals. Manufacturers typically work with employers through pilot programs or bulk orders. That means you will not usually find these on standard retail sites.

Some lighter systems, especially passive or soft exosuits, are easier to access. Even then, many brands still prefer to sell through business channels or approved partners.

If you are interested, start with the manufacturer’s website. Look for options like “request a demo” or “contact sales.” This is often the first step before any purchase. For now, access depends on where you work. As adoption grows, that could change. More companies are testing these systems, which may eventually make them easier to get.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Industrial exoskeletons are moving quickly from early trials to real-world use. They are not replacing human workers. They are helping people work smarter and safer. As the technology improves, expect lighter designs, better comfort, and more intelligent assistance. This shift could redefine what physically demanding work looks like in the years ahead.

If your employer offered you an exoskeleton tomorrow, would you wear it on the job or would you hesitate? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Skylight’s 15-inch smart calendar is down to its lowest price to date

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Skylight’s 15-inch smart calendar is down to its lowest price to date

When you’re juggling more than just your own calendar, staying organized can be overwhelming. Fortunately, the Skylight Calendar 2 can help simplify things by syncing multiple calendars in a single spot, and now through May 7th, it’s available directly from Skylight for $259.99 ($40 off), its best price to date.

Skylight’s 15-inch smart calendar improves upon the original with a brighter screen, faster performance, and a slimmer design with swappable magnetic frames. Otherwise, though, it offers the same core experience, making it easy for the whole family to see events at a glance, whether you mount it on a wall or place it on a kitchen counter using the included adjustable stand. It automatically syncs with Google, Apple, Yahoo, Outlook, and Cozi calendars, pulling them into a single shared space that updates automatically. Each household member gets their own color, too, so it’s easy to keep track of who’s doing what.

In addition to event planning, the Calendar 2 makes it easier to arrange and assign other day-to-day tasks. You can create and manage shared chore charts, grocery lists, and to-do lists directly on the touchscreen device or through the mobile app for Android and iOS, which makes it easy for everyone in your household to stay on track and contribute. Skylight also provides detailed weather forecasts for your events, so you know what to expect before heading out.

If you subscribe to Skylight’s Calendar Plus plan, the Calendar 2 takes even more of the work off your plate. You can forward emails, upload PDFs, or snap photos of flyers and automatically turn them into calendar events. You also get meal planning tools that let you plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for the week, as well as the ability to assign chores and reward kids for completing them. Plus, just for fun, there’s a screensaver mode that turns the display into an ad hoc digital photo frame when it’s not actively being used as a calendar.

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Anthropic’s Mythos AI found over 2,000 unknown software vulnerabilities in just seven weeks of testing

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Anthropic’s Mythos AI found over 2,000 unknown software vulnerabilities in just seven weeks of testing

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There is a new AI model called Mythos. Anthropic built it for defensive cybersecurity research. It is so effective at finding software vulnerabilities that Anthropic decided the general public cannot have it.  

Instead, it is letting a small circle of trusted partners like Microsoft and Google experiment with it first under controlled conditions, while researchers figure out what guardrails need to exist.

That decision alone should tell you something. When the company that built a tool decides the world is not ready for it, you pay attention. And when you understand what Mythos actually did during testing, that caution starts to make complete sense.

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Anthropic’s Mythos AI uncovered more than 2,000 unknown software vulnerabilities in just seven weeks, showing how fast AI can now expose hidden weaknesses. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

How Anthropic’s Mythos AI found 2,000 vulnerabilities in seven weeks

Seven weeks. One AI model. One team. More than 2,000 previously unknown software vulnerabilities were found. If you need a moment with that, take it. John Ackerly, CEO and co-founder of Virtru, a data security company, put that figure into perspective in a way that is hard to shake.

“Mythos is absolutely a turning point for cybersecurity. Think about it. Mythos didn’t pick a lock; it found thousands of locks that were never locked in the first place (that no one even knew existed) in software that the best human security researchers had studied for decades.

The math is staggering. One AI model, and one team, in seven weeks, found more than 2,000 zero-day vulnerabilities. That is 30% of the world’s entire annual output prior to AI. When thousands of researchers get access to AI models like Mythos, a single year will surface exponentially more zero-days than the 360,000 recorded in all of software history.

Mythos and other AI models like it can now find and exploit software flaws at a speed and scale that is beyond containment. This means that the old approach of building stronger walls around systems and hoping they hold is becoming much less reliable. It also means that the manual “find a vulnerability, patch the vulnerability” process is not going to keep pace with a threat landscape bolstered by the speed and scale of AI.

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The threat surface is now expanding faster than any wall can contain it. The only answer to this new dynamic is to protect the data itself, rather than prop up perimeter protection around it.

Thirty percent of the world’s annual output in seven weeks changes the game entirely.

What makes Mythos AI different from other AI security tools

Cybersecurity teams have used AI tools for years. So, what makes this different?

Ackerly explains it this way: “What makes this different is the level of autonomy and speed it enables. Mythos is being described as a system that can discover vulnerabilities and even generate working exploits much faster than traditional human-led workflows. This model could make it easy for a bad actor to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in software, even if that bad actor isn’t knowledgeable or trained.”

That last part matters most. Before a tool like this, exploiting a serious software vulnerability required real technical skill. Mythos AI lowers that barrier significantly. A person with bad intentions and no technical background could potentially use a model like this to cause serious damage. The expertise gap that once offered some natural protection is closing.

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Security experts warn that tools like Mythos could shrink the time it takes to find and exploit flaws from weeks down to minutes. (Patrick Sison/AP Photo)

Why Anthropic’s Mythos AI is breaking down perimeter security

Most cybersecurity spending, the overwhelming majority of it, goes toward what experts call perimeter defense. Think firewalls, network monitoring, endpoint security and intrusion detection. The entire strategy is built on one core idea of keeping the bad actors out, and the data inside stays safe.

Ackerly describes how that model is now breaking down.

“The perimeter is the digital wall around your systems and the information you possess. For decades, cyber strategies have primarily focused on the idea that if you protected the perimeter well enough — if you built a strong enough wall — the sensitive data on the inside would stay safe,” Ackerly said. 

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“The industry has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into firewalls, endpoint detection, network security, application security and other perimeter defenses. Traditional security architecture by itself cannot keep pace in this new world.

“The Mythos development from Anthropic is making a hard truth very apparent: Time is running out for companies to prepare for this new reality. Shifting focus from ‘protecting the perimeter’ to ‘protecting the data’ is critically important to mitigate data loss or compromise.”

Hundreds of billions of dollars. And now the model those dollars were built on is becoming unreliable. It forces a full rethink.

Does Anthropic’s Mythos AI give attackers the advantage?

This is the question everyone wants a straight answer to. Ackerly offers one that is more nuanced than a simple yes or no.

“I wouldn’t frame it as attackers automatically having an advantage. But, over time, it does mean that ‘bad guys’ and ‘good guys’ will have access to essentially the same tools. As a result, I do think defenders absolutely need a different strategy. If you assume the outer wall may fail, then the smarter move is to protect the data itself so it stays controlled even after a breach.”

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The playing field is leveling. And that may sound fair until you remember attackers only need to succeed once, while defenders have to succeed every time.

How fast is Mythos AI changing the cybersecurity threat landscape?

Speed is what makes Mythos AI genuinely alarming. Traditional cyberattacks move through a lifecycle. Reconnaissance takes time. Finding the right vulnerability takes more time. Building an exploit takes more time on top of that.

Ackerly explains what happens when AI compresses all of that.

“AI is accelerating the threat. A model that can find and exploit vulnerabilities autonomously compresses the attack lifecycle from weeks to hours, or even minutes. Every layer of the traditional security stack now has to operate at machine speed. Manual security architectures cannot keep up.

“But AI also makes data-centric security more powerful, not less so. When every piece of sensitive data is protected at the object-level, AI agents can enforce governance at scale by checking entitlements, applying attribute-based access controls, and auditing data flows in real time. The same capabilities that make Mythos a dangerous tool in the hands of ‘bad guys’ make it a valuable tool in the hands of ‘good guys.’”

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The question organizations should be asking shifts from “how do I build higher walls?” to “when the walls fail, is my data still protected?” That is the question worth sitting with.

What Mythos AI means for regular people’s personal data

Most of the Mythos coverage has focused on corporate risk. But your bank account and medical records sit in those same vulnerable systems.

“For everyday people, the first change is that breaches and scams could become more frequent, more targeted, and harder to spot. If AI makes it easier to uncover weak points in the systems we all rely on, that can translate into more pressure on the services that hold our personal data, from email and cloud storage to health, banking, and retail platforms.

Consumers shouldn’t assume a company is doing the right thing with their data. Now, they really can’t assume a company’s outer defenses are enough to protect their information.

This also highlights the importance of basic cyber hygiene like unique passwords and MFA, so that when breaches happen, the scope of impact on your own personal data is contained.”

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Your bank account, your medical records, your tax documents, your private messages. All of it already lives across dozens of platforms you trust to protect it. If those platforms’ outer defenses are no longer reliable, what exactly is standing between your data and someone who wants it?

Ackerly goes further on where the exposure actually lives. “Data now travels across clouds, devices, partners, and borders. The risk isn’t just one hacked server in one building anymore. It’s all the places your data passes through or gets copied to along the way. 

Was Anthropic right to keep Mythos AI restricted?

Anthropic made a choice that is rare in the AI industry. They built something powerful and then decided not to release it widely.

On that decision, Ackerly is direct. “Anthropic’s decision to withhold Mythos from general release is unprecedented and, frankly, responsible. Time will tell what these partners are able to do with regard to safety, but releasing it to the general public would certainly have been ill-advised and dangerous.”

Unprecedented. That word deserves weight here. In an industry that races to release new tech, Anthropic stopped. That speaks volumes.

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We reached out to Anthropic for a comment, but did not hear back before our deadline.

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As AI accelerates cyberattacks, the focus is shifting from protecting networks to protecting the data itself. (Kury “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to stay safe as cybersecurity shifts

The perimeter model is deteriorating, but that does not mean you are helpless. Individual behavior still matters, and it matters more now than it did before.

Ackerly’s recommendation is this: “Stop assuming the app, platform, or company perimeter can always protect your information, or that they will do the right thing with your data. People should be much more deliberate about what data they share, where they store it, and who can access it. Protection needs to travel with the data, not just sit at the edge of a network. For you, that means choosing services that give you stronger control over your information and being more cautious about oversharing sensitive data in the first place. The data owner should always have governance over said data.” So where do you start?

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1) Use unique passwords for every account

A password manager makes this realistic. If one platform gets breached, unique passwords keep the damage isolated to that one account.

2) Turn on multi-factor authentication wherever it is available

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds a layer that survives even when a password is compromised. It is one of the highest-impact steps an individual can take.

3) Run strong antivirus software and keep devices updated

Outdated software is one of the most common entry points attackers use. Strong antivirus software catches threats your instincts might miss, and keeping apps and operating systems current closes the gaps that models like Mythos are built to find. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com

4) Be selective about what you share and where

Every app that holds your data is a potential exposure point. The less you overshare, the smaller your footprint becomes.

5) Use a data removal service

Data brokers collect and sell your personal information, often without you ever knowing. Data removal services find where your data is listed and request its removal. You cannot control every place your information travels, but you can shrink the trail it leaves behind. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com

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6) Choose services that offer real data control

Not all platforms treat your data the same way. Look for services that let you see, manage and limit how your information is used and where it goes.

7) Monitor your accounts and credit

Catching a breach early limits the damage significantly. Set up account alerts wherever your bank or financial platform allows it. A credit freeze costs nothing and stops new accounts from being opened in your name without your knowledge.

8) Stay skeptical of phishing attempts

Ackerly warned that scams will get more targeted and harder to spot as AI lowers the barrier for bad actors. Scrutinize every link before you click it and treat unexpected emails or texts asking for login information as suspicious by default. If something feels off, it probably is.

9) Assume breaches will happen

The goal is to limit how much damage they can do. When you operate with that assumption, your decisions about data hygiene get sharper, and your exposure gets smaller.

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Kurt’s key takeaways 

Mythos did not create the vulnerability problem. It made the scale of it visible in a way that is no longer ignorable. The foundation of modern cybersecurity, the idea that strong enough walls will keep data safe, is being tested in real time by a technology that moves faster than any human team can. That is a consumer story as much as it is a corporate one. Your data lives in systems built on that old model. 

And the moment to think differently about how it is protected is now, not after the next major breach makes the headlines. Anthropic made a responsible call by limiting access to Mythos. But the model exists. The capability is real. Other versions of it are being developed. The question for every organization and every individual becomes the same one Ackerly keeps returning to.

When the walls fail, and experts are telling us they will, what is actually protecting your data on the other side? Let us know your thoughts by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Trump fires the entire National Science Board

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Trump fires the entire National Science Board

Multiple sources are reporting that the Trump administration has dismissed the entire National Science Board (NSB). The NSB advises the president and Congress on the National Science Foundation (NSF), which has already been funding research at historically low levels and has seen significant delays in doling out that funding. The NSF has been fundamental in helping develop technology used in MRIs, cellphones, and it even helped get Duolingo get off the ground.

In a statement, Zoe Lofgren, the ranking Democrat on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, said:

“This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation. The NSB is apolitical. It advises the president on the future of NSF. It unfortunately is no surprise a president who has attacked NSF from day one would seek to destroy the board that helps guide the Foundation. Will the president fill the NSB with MAGA loyalists who won’t stand up to him as he hands over our leadership in science to our adversaries? A real bozo the clown move.”

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