Tech News

1. Cybersecurity Startup Acquisition:

   • Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for ~$30B. 👉 wsj.com^$
   • The deal could reach $33 billion. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
   • Alphabet was close to a $23B deal for Wiz last summer before talks ended over antitrust concerns. 👉 theverge.com

2. AI Model Vulnerabilities:

   • New reports indicate that Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model is capable of removing watermarks from images, raising copyright concerns. 👉 techcrunch.com
   • Gemini 2.0 Flash won't just remove watermarks, but will also attempt to fill in any gaps created by a watermark's deletion. 👉 techcrunch.com

3. Hardware and Gaming:

   • Qualcomm unveils the Snapdragon G3 Gen 3, G2 Gen 2, and G1 Gen 2 for gaming handhelds, with the G3 Gen 3 offering a CPU 30% faster than the previous generation. 👉 tomshardware.com
   • Roblox open sources Cube 3D, the first version of its AI foundation model for generating 3D objects, trained on licensed and public datasets and its own data. 👉 theverge.com

4. Data Breaches and Privacy:

   • A lawsuit by Rippling accuses a top competitor, Deel, of placing a mole in its ranks, uncovered via a “honeypot” trap on Slack. 👉 nytimes.com^$
   • Bumble rolls out new ID verification in the US, the UK, Australia, France, India, and six other markets, as founder Whitney Wolfe Herd returns as its CEO. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
   • Telegram CEO leaves France temporarily as criminal probe continues. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

5. Cybersecurity Threats:

   • Microsoft warns of new RAT malware used for crypto theft and reconnaissance. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A supply chain attack on the widely used 'tj-actions/changed-files' GitHub Action, used by 23,000 repositories, potentially allowed threat actors to steal CI/CD secrets from GitHub Actions build logs. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Critical RCE flaw in Apache Tomcat actively exploited in attacks. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A widespread phishing campaign has targeted nearly 12,000 GitHub repositories with fake "Security Alert" issues, tricking developers into authorizing a malicious OAuth app. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Cybercriminals are promoting malicious Microsoft OAuth apps masquerading as Adobe and DocuSign to steal Microsoft 365 account credentials. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Black Basta ransomware gang creates tool to automate VPN brute-force attacks. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A large-scale Coinbase phishing attack poses as a mandatory wallet migration. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Fake "Security Alert" issues on GitHub use OAuth app to hijack accounts. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Malicious PyPI Packages Stole Cloud Tokens, and over 14,100 Downloads Before Removal. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Cybercriminals Exploit CSS to Evade Spam Filters and Track Email Users' Actions. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Student Loan Breach Exposes 2.5M Records in a breach that could spell more trouble down the line. 👉 threatpost.com
   • Firewall Bug Under Active Attack Triggers CISA Warning, warning that Palo Alto Networks’ PAN-OS is under active attack and needs to be patched ASAP. 👉 threatpost.com
   • Cybercriminals Are Selling Access to Chinese Surveillance Cameras, leaving thousands of organizations exposed. 👉 threatpost.com

6. Executive Departures:

   • Liam Fedus, VP of research in charge of post-training at OpenAI, is leaving the company to found a startup focused on using AI to discover new materials. 👉 theinformation.com
   • OpenAI exec leaves to found materials science startup. 👉 techcrunch.com
   • New Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is considering restructuring Intel's AI approach and cutting staff. 👉 reuters.com

7. Financial News:

   • Klarna will replace Affirm to offer buy-now-pay-later to US shoppers at Walmart later in 2025. 👉 cnbc.com
   • Klarna nabs Walmart away from Affirm and boosts its IPO prospects. 👉 techcrunch.com

8. Social Media:

   • The GSMA has formally announced support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for securing messages sent via the Rich Communications Services (RCS) protocol. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Discord launches a Social SDK to let developers offer friends lists, cross-platform messaging, voice, and more, with console and mobile support “coming soon”. 👉 theverge.com
   • Twitter is blasted for security and privacy lapses by the company’s former head of security who alleges the social media giant’s actions amount to a national security risk. 👉 threatpost.com

9. Digital Sovereignty:

   • Approximately 100 EU companies urge EU leaders to take “radical action” to reduce reliance on foreign digital infrastructure. 👉 techcrunch.com
   • Turkey plans new EU-style rules to rein in major US tech companies, risking a US clash. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

10. Other Technology News:

    • New study shows prolonged exposure to extreme heat accelerates biological aging in older adults. 👉 npr.org
    • Harvard University on Monday announced that tuition will be free for students from families with annual incomes of $200,000 or less starting in the 2025-26 academic year. 👉 abcnews.go.com
    • An anonymous reader shares a report: Xbox 360 modders have discovered a new way to get homebrew apps and games running on the console. 👉 github.com
    • Taara, a laser-based internet company from Alphabet's X "moonshot" incubator, securing backing from Series X Capital while retaining a minority stake. 👉 ft.com^$
    • Amazon sues the US CPSC, accusing it of stretching consumer safety law by ruling Amazon responsible for recalling products sold by third parties on Amazon.com. 👉 theverge.com
    • South Korea's chip sales to China fell 31.8% YoY in February, after a 22.5% drop in January, amid US tariffs and controls and weak global demand. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

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