Tech News

1. Cybercrime:

   • The US Department of Treasury has imposed economic sanctions on Funnull Technology Inc., a Philippines-based company, and its Chinese administrator, Liu Lizhi, for their involvement in facilitating "pig butchering" virtual currency investment scams that have resulted in over $200 million in losses for Americans. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com
   • Pakistan has arrested 21 individuals for operating "Heartsender," a malware dissemination service used by organized crime groups to scam companies, resulting in over $50 million in losses in the United States alone. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com

2. Data Breaches and Leaks:

   • The UK Information Commissioner's Office has fined 23andMe £2.31 million ($3.12 million) for security failings that led to a data breach in 2023, impacting thousands. 👉 cybernews.com
   • A recent discovery has uncovered one of the largest data leaks in history, consisting of 16 billion login credentials. 👉 cybernews.com
   • Freedman Healthcare reports that no health data was compromised even after a ransomware gang dumps 52G of data. 👉 cybernews.com
   • Episource, a healthcare SaaS firm, warns of a data breach impacting 5.4 million patients after a January cyberattack. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • UBS confirms that employee details were leaked in a cyberattack on data provider Chain IQ. 👉 cybernews.com 👉 bloomberg.com^$
   • US State Department restarts student visa interviews and requires all applicants to make their social media accounts public for vetting by US embassies. 👉 washingtonpost.com

3. Vulnerabilities and Exploits:

   • CISA warns of attackers exploiting a Linux kernel privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2023-0386) with a PoC exploit. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Microsoft releases an emergency update to fix boot issues with Surface Hub devices. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Microsoft is planning to block file access via legacy authentication protocols by default in Microsoft 365. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A new Linux udisks flaw allows attackers to gain root access on major Linux distributions. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • BeyondTrust has released security updates to fix a pre-auth RCE flaw in its Remote Support software. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A remote code execution flaw exists in Veeam Backup & Replication software that domain users can exploit to hack backup servers. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • CISA warns that Palo Alto Networks' PAN-OS is under active attack and needs to be patched urgently. 👉 threatpost.com
   • Veeam Patches CVE-2025-23121, a critical RCE bug in Backup & Replication that is rated 9.9 CVSS. 👉 thehackernews.com

4. Malware and Phishing Campaigns:

   • A new malware campaign named SERPENTINE#CLOUD uses Cloudflare Tunnel subdomains to host malicious payloads delivered via phishing emails. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • 'Stargazers' use fake Minecraft mods to steal player passwords. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Silver Fox APT Targets Taiwan with Complex Gh0stCringe and HoldingHands RAT Malware. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Fake Reservation Links Prey on Weary Travelers. 👉 threatpost.com
   • Instagram ads mimicking BMO, EQ Bank are finance scams. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

5. Cyber Warfare:

   • Iran has restricted internet access in the country to hamper cyber attacks amid escalating regional conflict with Israel. 👉 thehackernews.com

6. AI and Security:

   • Google rolls out the ability to have back-and-forth voice conversations with AI Mode in the Google app. 👉 techcrunch.com
   • YouTube CEO says YouTube will integrate Veo 3 into Shorts later this summer and that AI tech will push the limits of human creativity. 👉 hollywoodreporter.com

7. Financial:

   • Klarna launches a $40/month unlimited mobile plan in the US via a partnership with telecom services startup Gigs, following similar offerings by Revolut and N26. 👉 cnbc.com

8. Cloud Security:

   • AWS says Anthropic's Claude Opus 4 launched on its Trainium2 GPUs, and Project Rainier, AWS' supercomputer built for Anthropic, uses 500K+ Trainium2 chips. 👉 cnbc.com

9. Legal and Law Enforcement:

   • The US DOJ announces the seizure of $225.3M in crypto linked to “pig butchering” scams, marking “the largest cryptocurrency seizure in US Secret Service history”. 👉 cnbc.com
   • Ex-CIA Analyst Sentenced to 37 Months for Leaking Top Secret National Defense Documents. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Breachforums boss to pay $700k in healthcare breach. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com

10. Meta and AI:

    • Meta is in advanced talks to hire Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross to work on its AI efforts and possibly buy out part of their venture capital fund NFDG. 👉 theinformation.com

11. AI Regulation:

    • Lobbyists for Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta back a campaign for a 10-year US state AI regulation ban. 👉 t.co
    • California releases 52-page Report on Frontier Policy proposing AI regulatory framework based on transparency, risk assessments. 👉 theverge.com

12. Microsoft:

    • Microsoft is planning thousands of job cuts, particularly in sales, early next month after the end of its fiscal year. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
    • Microsoft is prepared to walk away from high-stakes talks with OpenAI if they cannot agree on critical issues, such as the size of Microsoft's stake. 👉 t.co

13. Texas Instruments:

    • Texas Instruments plans to spend $60B+ on US semiconductor plants, including two new factories in Texas, and says its long-term spending plan remains unchanged. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

14. YouTube and AI:

    • At Cannes, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan says YouTube will integrate Veo 3 into Shorts later this summer and that AI tech “will push the limits of human creativity”. 👉 hollywoodreporter.com
    • YouTube Shorts now averages 200B daily views, up 186% from the 70B average daily views YouTube reported in March 2024. 👉 thewrap.com
    • Google's Veo 3 AI videos will come to YouTube Shorts this summer. 👉 arstechnica.com

15. Netflix:

    • Netflix signs a landmark deal with France's TF1 to show linear TV for the first time. 👉 t.co

16. Waymo:

    • Waymo applied for a NYC permit to test its cars with safety drivers and plans to start collecting mapping data with manually driven cars in Manhattan in July. 👉 theverge.com

17. Aliexpress:

    • The European Commission accuses Chinese marketplace AliExpress of failing to tackle the spread of illegal products on its platform, in preliminary DSA findings. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

18. Samsung:

    • Ten current and former Samsung semiconductor engineers say many are leaving for SK Hynix and other rivals due to long hours, heavy workloads, and lower bonuses. 👉 restofworld.org
    • An interview with Samsung SVP Dr. Hon Pak on the Galaxy Watch getting a first-ever blood analysis feature, AI health tools, and a potential monthly subscription. 👉 cnet.com

19. AI Video Generation:

    • Midjourney launches V1, its first AI video generation model, letting subscribers animate images via its website. 👉 venturebeat.com

20. Wix:

    • Wix acquires Base44, which lets users build apps from text prompts, for $80M. 👉 calcalistech.com

21. AI and Supercomputing:

    • Terrapower, which develops small modular nuclear reactors, raised $650M from investors including Nvidia's NVentures and TerraPower co-founder Bill Gates. 👉 geekwire.com

22. Netflix Linear TV:

    • Netflix signs a landmark deal with France's TF1 to show linear TV for the first time; TF1 will broadcast all five of its channels, showing live sports and more. 👉 t.co

23. Klarna:

    • Klarna launches a $40/month unlimited mobile plan in the US via a partnership with telecom services startup Gigs, following similar offerings by Revolut and N26. 👉 cnbc.com

24. Meta Hires:

    • Meta is in advanced talks to hire Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross to work on its AI efforts and possibly buy out part of their venture capital fund NFDG. 👉 theinformation.com

25. OpenAI Files:

    • The Midas Project and The Tech Oversight Project release The OpenAI Files, a 50+ page analysis of OpenAI's governance, leadership, and organizational culture. 👉 theverge.com

26. California's AI Policy:

    • A look at California's 52-page California Report on Frontier Policy, which proposes an AI regulatory framework based on transparency, risk assessments, and more. 👉 theverge.com

27. Data Security

    • California is trying to regulate its AI giants again. A long-awaited report says companies are “simply inadequate at fully understanding” risks and harms. 👉 reddit.com

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