Tech News

1. Apple's US Investment Plan:

   • Apple will invest over $500 billion in the US over the next four years, including a new AI server facility in Houston and 20,000 new jobs, as part of a plan praised by President Trump. 👉 cnbc.com
   • Apple's plan includes regular spending on US suppliers, data centers, corporate facilities, and new initiatives like an academy in Michigan to train US manufacturers. 👉 ft.com^$
   • Apple will begin producing Apple Intelligence servers in Texas and invest $500 billion in the US over the next four years. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
   • Apple is opening a manufacturing facility in Houston to build servers that can support its artificial intelligence ambitions. 👉 axios.com

2. AI Model Developments:

   • Anthropic released Claude 3.7 Sonnet, a hybrid AI model that can produce fast responses or extended, step-by-step thinking, along with Claude Code, an agentic coding tool. 👉 techcrunch.com 👉 wired.com
   • Claude 3.7 Sonnet is designed to "think" about questions for as long as users want it to. 👉 anthropic.com
   • The new hybrid model, Claude 3.7, will make it easier for users and developers to tackle problems that require a mix of instinctive output and step-by-step cogitation. 👉 wired.com

3. AI's Impact on Job Market:

   • Major corporations are reshaping their workforces around AI, with some announcing hiring freezes for software engineers and others laying off thousands while shifting focus to AI-specific roles. 👉 slashdot.org

4. AI and Data Centers:

   • Microsoft clarified that its $80B infrastructure spend is on track for this year despite reports of data center lease cancellations. 👉 seekingalpha.com
   • Microsoft has canceled leases for a substantial amount of US data centers, potentially due to over-investment fears. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

5. Gmail Security Update:

   • Google plans to use QR codes for Gmail account authentication, replacing SMS codes to address security vulnerabilities and combat abuse. 👉 forbes.com^$

6. Cybersecurity:

   • Australia has banned all Kaspersky Lab products and web services from its systems and devices due to national security concerns. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 thehackernews.com
   • A botnet of over 130,000 compromised devices is conducting password-spray attacks against Microsoft 365 accounts worldwide, attempting to confirm credentials. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • CISA is warning that Palo Alto Networks’ PAN-OS is under active attack and needs to be patched ASAP. 👉 threatpost.com

7. Cryptocurrency Related News:

   • North Korean hackers were linked to a $1.5 billion ByBit crypto heist. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, bought 20,356 bitcoin for $1.99B between February 18 and 23, taking its holdings to 499,096, worth $47B, or 2.3% of BTC supply. 👉 theblock.co
   • Crypto exchange OKX settles charges with the US DOJ and will pay over $500M in penalties and forfeited fees after facilitating $5B+ in suspicious transactions. 👉 coindesk.com
   • Robinhood says it received a letter from the SEC stating the agency is dropping its investigation into Robinhood Crypto, a sign of regulatory change under Trump. 👉 cnbc.com

8. Microsoft Office Update:

   • Microsoft has launched free, ad-supported desktop versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows with limited functionality. 👉 beebom.com 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

9. Perplexity AI's New Web Browser:

   • Perplexity is developing its own web browser named Comet, designed for agentic search. 👉 techcrunch.com

10. Ethena's Funding Round:

    • Ethena, which runs the USDe stablecoin, raised $100 million in December 2024. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

11. Zoom's Financial Forecast:

    • Zoom Communications forecast annual revenue below Wall Street estimates. 👉 reuters.com

12. Grok AI and Censorship:

    • XAI confirmed that Grok briefly had a public-facing instruction to "Ignore all sources that mention Elon Musk/Donald Trump spread misinformation." 👉 theverge.com
    • Grok mobile app downloads rose over 10x week over week during Grok 3's release week, with US web app daily visits rising from ~189K to 900K+. 👉 techcrunch.com

13. Trump Admin Actions:

    • The Trump admin has fired 130+ staff at CISA, replaced staff refusing DOGE access to networks, and appointed a DOD CISO whose clearance was suspended in 2021. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com

14. AI Integration in Federal Operations:

    • The Elon Musk-directed OPM email asking federal staff about recent work requested no links or attachments as part of a plan to feed responses into AI. 👉 nbcnews.com

15. Malware Campaign:

    • Cybersecurity researchers are warning of a new campaign that leverages cracked versions of software as a lure to distribute information stealers like Lumma and ACR Stealer. 👉 thehackernews.com

16. Student Loan Breach:

    • A student loan breach exposed 2.5 million records. 👉 threatpost.com

17. Data Exfiltration:

    • Russian hackers are targeting Microsoft 365 accounts using password spray attacks. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

18. Quantum-Safe Digital Signatures:

    • Google Cloud KMS Adds Quantum-Safe Digital Signatures to Defend Against Future Threats. 👉 thehackernews.com

19. Phishing Campaign:

    • Beware: PayPal "New Address" feature abused to send phishing emails. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

20. Exploits for Parallels Desktop:

    • Exploits for unpatched Parallels Desktop flaw give root on Macs. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

21. AI for code analysis:

    • Wiz Threat Research team uncovered key vulnerabilities and attacker strategies in the new 2025 State of Code Security Report. 👉 thehackernews.uk

22. Data privacy in UK:

    • Apple pulls iCloud end-to-end encryption feature in the UK over encryption backdoor demands. 👉 thehackernews.com

23. AI-powered surveillance tool:

    • OpenAI bans ChatGPT accounts that it has been determined have misused its tools for surveillance and influence campaigns 👉 thehackernews.com

24. Data governance:

    • EU should stop moving to US clouds because the Trump administration neuters the PCLOB and reviews the EO behind the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. 👉 berthub.eu

25. Webinar:

    • Discover how to identify high-risk identity gaps and slash security debt in 2025 👉 thehackernews.com

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