Tech News

1. Data Privacy:

   • Genetic testing firm 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and CEO Anne Wojcicki resigned. The company is looking for a buyer amidst concerns about the security of its customer's genetic data. 👉 bloomberg.com^$ 👉 404media.co 👉 techcrunch.com
   • 23andMe's bankruptcy raises concerns about the fate of DNA data of 15 million customers. California Attorney General Rob Bonta urged customers to delete their data. 👉 oag.ca.gov 👉 washingtonpost.com 👉 infosecurity-magazine.com
   • Google confirmed a technical issue has permanently deleted location history data for numerous Maps users. 👉 arstechnica.com 👉 androidauthority.com
   • China has outlawed the use of facial recognition without consent in private spaces, requiring organizations to conduct privacy impact assessments and encrypt biometric data. 👉 theregister.com

2. Cybersecurity Threats and Vulnerabilities:

   • A critical vulnerability in the Ingress NGINX Controller for Kubernetes could allow unauthenticated remote code execution, posing a risk to over 6,500 clusters. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Microsoft's Trusted Signing service was abused to code-sign malware executables with short-lived certificates. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 thehackernews.com
   • A critical vulnerability in the Next.js React framework could allow attackers to bypass authorization checks; a patch is available. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Researchers uncovered two malicious extensions in the Visual Studio Code Marketplace designed to deploy ransomware. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • The FBI warns that fake online file converters are being used to steal information and deploy ransomware. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 threatpost.com
   • Microsoft is expanding its Security Copilot platform with new AI agents designed to autonomously assist cybersecurity teams. 👉 theverge.com 👉 it.slashdot.org
   • Police arrested 300 suspects linked to African cybercrime rings in an INTERPOL-led operation. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • China-linked Weaver Ant hackers spied on a telco network for four years using compromised Zyxel CPE routers. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • X's director of engineering, Haofei Wang, has left the company amid leadership instability and a shift in AI strategy. 👉 theverge.com
   • A new multi-platform ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation named VanHelsing has emerged targeting Windows, ARM, ESXi systems. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • The SANS Institute warns of new cloud-native ransomware attacks that can be executed using legitimate cloud security features. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Cybercriminals are selling access to Chinese surveillance cameras with a critical, unpatched CVE. 👉 threatpost.com
   • Hackers used fake Semrush ads to steal SEO professionals' Google accounts. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A cyberattack took down Ukrainian state railway's online services. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A cyberattack took down Ukrainian state railway's online services, 👉 techcrunch.com
   • Security firm Push Security, noted that identity attacks were rampant in 2024 as attackers doubled down on identity-based TTPs. 👉 pushsecurity.com
   • An analysis of the most insane Trump story of all time, "Today's Trump Administration Howlers" 👉 doomsdayscenario.co

3. Financial News:

   • eToro filed for an IPO with plans to list on the Nasdaq, reporting $12.6B in 2024 revenue and $192M in net income. 👉 bloomberg.com^$ 👉 etoro.com
   • Trump Media is partnering with Crypto.com to launch ETFs under its Truth.Fi brand. 👉 wsj.com^$ 👉 globenewswire.com
   • Quantum computing startup PsiQuantum is raising at least $750M led by BlackRock at a $6B pre-money valuation. 👉 reuters.com
   • Bloomberg reports that in Q1 2025 there had been 11 startup sales over $1 Billion, worth a total of $54.5 billion. This up from just two acquisitions totaling $3.2 billion in Q1 2024. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

4. Open Source and AI:

   • DeepSeek released DeepSeek-V3-0324, a new version of their large AI model, under the MIT license. 👉 simonwillison.net
   • Countries must develop their own artificial intelligence infrastructure or risk significant economic losses. 👉 businessinsider.com^$

5. Microsoft HR spending cuts:

   • The Pentagon has canceled its troubled Defense Civilian Human Resources Management System due to delays and budget overruns, with officials tasked to develop a new plan. The Register reports the cancellation is part of a $580 million spending reduction. 👉 theregister.com 👉 slashdot.org

6. Apple products:

   • Apple is updating the AirPods Max with lossless audio and ultra-low latency in April, utilizing a USB-C connection. 👉 theverge.com 👉 9to5mac.com

7. Trump Administration Incident:

   • The Atlantic's EIC Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally included in a Signal group chat with Trump officials discussing war plans. 👉 theatlantic.com 👉 techcrunch.com

8. Linux Kernel Updates:

   • Linux Kernel 6.14 highlights include Btrfs RAID1 read balancing, a new ntsync subsystem for Win NT synchronization primitives to boost game emulation with Wine. 👉 9to5linux.com

9. Ant Group's AI Model Training:

   • Jack Ma-backed Ant Group developed AI model training techniques using Chinese-made semiconductors. 👉 au.finance.yahoo.com

10. Objectively measuring pain:

    • Scientists are developing biomarkers to objectively measure pain and may address challenges from the opioid crisis. 👉 msn.com

11. Valve's anti-piracy history:

    • Valve's early anti-piracy efforts, eventually led to the Steam platform, sparked by co-founder Monica Harrington's nephew using her money to buy a CD burner for copying games, she revealed at last week's Game Developers Conference. 👉 arstechnica.com

12. New sea cable cutter:

    • China has unveiled a compact, deep-sea, cable-cutting device, capable of severing the world's most fortified underwater communication or power lines, and it could shake up global maritime power dynamics. 👉 scmp.com

13. Mistral CEO on AI infrastructure:

    • Countries must develop their own artificial intelligence infrastructure or risk significant economic losses as the technology transforms global economies, Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch said last week. 👉 businessinsider.com^$

14. Google Maps Privacy:

    • Google has confirmed that a technical issue has permanently deleted location history data for numerous users of its Maps application, with no recovery possible for most affected customers. 👉 arstechnica.com

15. China engineer divident:

    • Worries over China's "3D" problem -- that deflation, debt and demographics are structurally hampering growth -- are melting away. Instead, investors are talking about how the world's second-largest economy can take on the US and challenge its technological dominance. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

16. FaunaDB Shutdown:

    • FaunaDB, a serverless database combining relational and document features, will shut down by the end of May due to unsustainable capital demands, but plans to open source its core technology. 👉 fauna.com 👉 theregister.com

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