Tech News

1. Microsoft Layoffs:

   • Microsoft is conducting another round of layoffs, impacting approximately 9,000 employees across various teams, including the Xbox gaming division. Some sources say the cuts will impact about 4% of its global workforce. 👉 cnbc.com 👉 videogameschronicle.com 👉 theverge.com
   • Microsoft is closing Xbox studio The Initiative, and has cancelled the Perfect Dark reboot, Everwild and several unannounced projects. 👉 windowscentral.com 👉 variety.com

2. Data Security and Breaches:

   • Security firms discover over 40 fake browser extensions in the Firefox store designed to steal credentials and crypto from users of popular wallets. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating a "sophisticated" cyberattack that targeted its systems last week. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Qantas, an Australian airline, reported a cyberattack that exposed the personal data of up to 6 million customers. 👉 reuters.com 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Kelly Benefits is notifying 550,000 customers of a 2024 data breach where threat actors accessed sensitive information. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A data breach at student loan servicer, reportedly due to a vulnerability in Progress Software’s MOVEit Transfer, exposes 2.5 million records. 👉 threatpost.com
   • A judge rules Huawei must face criminal charges related to racketeering, trade secret theft, and bank fraud tied to Iran sanctions. 👉 reuters.com
   • A new FileFix attack can execute malicious JScript code while bypassing Windows Mark of the Web (MotW) alerts. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Researchers discovered TikTok users are posting AI-generated videos with racist and antisemitic content, gaining millions of views. 👉 mediamatters.org
   • A report finds that Google's carbon emissions rose 65% between 2019 and 2024, contradicting Google's claim of a 51% increase. 👉 theguardian.com
   • The UK government plans new legislation to address undersea cable sabotage due to outdated laws. 👉 theregister.com

3. AI and Security:

   • X (formerly Twitter) will allow AI agents to write community notes to help combat misinformation. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
   • Google's Veo AI video generator is seemingly being used to generate videos depicting racist and antisemitic tropes on TikTok. 👉 arstechnica.com
   • Perplexity is launching a "Max" plan for $200/month that includes unlimited access to Labs, early access to features, and use of advanced models like o3-pro. 👉 techcrunch.com
   • Media Matters reports that racist AI-generated videos created with Google's Veo 3 are spreading on TikTok. 👉 mediamatters.org
   • A report found Google undercounted its carbon emissions, which rose 65% from 2019 to 2024, not 51% as claimed. 👉 theguardian.com

4. Microsoft Security Updates:

   • Microsoft releases security updates to address 70 vulnerabilities, including one zero-day under active attack. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com
   • Microsoft is discontinuing password management in its Authenticator app starting August 2025, encouraging users to adopt passkeys and other passwordless technologies. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Microsoft is fixing the broken 'Print to PDF' feature in Windows 11 after installing the April 2025 preview update. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Cisco has removed a backdoor account from its Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) due to the existence of hardcoded root SSH credentials. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Citrix warns of login issues after NetScaler authentication bypass patch. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

5. Malware and Cybercrime:

   • The DOJ is investigating a former ransomware negotiator for allegedly taking kickbacks from extortion payments. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A California jury has ordered Google to pay $314.6 million to Android smartphone users for collecting data from idle devices without permission. 👉 reuters.com
   • Law enforcement arrested a former employee of DigitalMint for allegedly striking deals with hackers to profit from ransomware payments. 👉 msn.com
   • Pakistan authorities arrested 21 individuals for operating Heartsender, a malware and spam distribution service. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com
   • A US judge rules that China's Huawei Technologies must face criminal case for racketeering and other charges. 👉 mercurynews.com

6. Cybersecurity and Cryptocurrency:

   • North Korean hackers are targeting Web3 and cryptocurrency businesses with NimDoor, a new macOS malware family. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Perplexity launches a new $200/month Max plan with unlimited Labs access, early access to features like Comet browser, and priority use of models like o3-pro. 👉 techcrunch.com
   • An analysis finds that crypto ventures have added at least $620M to President Trump's fortune in months, eclipsing traditional real estate licensing deals. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
   • Ripple has applied for a national banking license for its dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD. 👉 wsj.com^$

7. Web and Browser Security:

   • Google has released a fix for an actively exploited Chrome zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-6554). 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 thehackernews.com
   • A flaw in the Forminator WordPress plugin exposes sites to takeover attacks. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Vercel's v0 AI tool is being used to create fake login pages at scale, researchers warn. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • A new flaw in IDEs like Visual Studio Code allows malicious extensions to bypass verified status. 👉 thehackernews.com

8. Mobile Security:

   • The U.S. House is banning WhatsApp on official devices due to security and data protection concerns. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Meta has launched direct messaging for Threads users aged 18 and older, but without end-to-end encryption. 👉 theverge.com
   • Tens of thousands of Chinese surveillance cameras are vulnerable to a critical, 11-month-old CVE. 👉 threatpost.com
   • A new Android app called ICEBlock is surging in popularity after officials slam it. ICEBlock lets users anonymously report ICE official sightings. 👉 theverge.com
   • AT&T is rolling out a "Wireless Lock" feature to block SIM swap attacks. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • Fake travel reservations are exacting more pain from the travel weary. 👉 threatpost.com
   • Apple has urged iPhone users to update their device to patch 2 zero-days under active attack. 👉 threatpost.com
   • Meta gives the people what they want.... a year after they asked for it and have since left." -- Dave Lee. Direct Messaging makes its way to Threads for users over 18. 👉 theverge.com

9. Data Centers and Cloud:

   • OpenAI will rent additional computing power from Oracle, totaling about 4.5 gigawatts of US data center power, as part of its Stargate initiative. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
   • A deep dive into Oracle's data center strategy and the company's emergence as an AI computing powerhouse, amid questions about its GPU business' sustainability. 👉 semianalysis.com
   • The Trump family saw $620 million from crypto venture proceeds in recent months: report. 👉 theblock.co

10. Google and AI:

    • Google will end its Recipe Quick View pilot, which showed full recipes directly in search results, after some bloggers feared it would reduce traffic and ad revenue. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
    • TikTok users are posting AI-generated videos, seemingly made with Google's Veo 3, depicting racist and antisemitic tropes that have garnered millions of views. 👉 mediamatters.org
    • A report finds Google undercounted its carbon emissions, which rose 65% from 2019 to 2024, not 51% as claimed; the largest YoY jump was 26%, from 2023 to 2024. 👉 theguardian.com

11. China and Technology:

    • China will launch digital IDs for internet use on July 15th, transferring online verification from private companies to government control. 👉 economist.com
    • Chinese AI models from DeepSeek and others are becoming more popular worldwide. 👉 wsj.com^$
    • Bloomberg: Foxconn recalled 300+ Chinese engineers from its Indian iPhone factories over the past two months, a blow for Apple as it ramps up iPhone 17 production. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
    • Foxconn, the Apple subcontractor, has recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians from India, sending them back to China. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

12. Legal and Business News:

    • Three ex-Ubisoft executives were found guilty of enabling a culture of sexual and psychological harassment. 👉 theguardian.com
    • Stockholm-based AI-powered app builder Lovable is set to raise $150M+ led by Accel at a ~$1.8B valuation, as VCs rush to back “vibe coding” startups. 👉 t.co
    • Netflix is talking with Spotify about a partnership that may include a music award show. 👉 wsj.com^$
    • Tax credits for Intel, TSMC, and other chip companies under the Big Beautiful Bill would rise from 25% to 35% if they expand their US manufacturing before 2026. 👉 cnbc.com
    • A California jury has ordered Google to pay $314.6 million to Android smartphone users in the state after finding the company liable for collecting data from idle devices without permission. 👉 reuters.com

13. Ukraine and Internet Exodus:

    • Ukraine has seen a decline of almost 20% of its Internet space since February 2022, with a number of its IPv4 addresses now in the hands of shady anonymity services located on some of America’s largest ISPs. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com

14. Cybercrime Crackdowns and Sanctions:

    • The U.S. government sanctioned Funnull Technology Inc., a Philippines-based company, for providing infrastructure for cryptocurrency investment scams. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com
    • The US Department of Treasury has sanctioned Russia-based bulletproof hosting provider Aeza Group. 👉 thehackernews.com
    • US federal judge rejects bid to dismiss criminal charges against Huawei. 👉 jurist.org

15. Security Vulnerabilities and Patches:

    • Security researchers have flagged the tactical similarities between the threat actors behind the RomCom RAT and a cluster that has been observed delivering a loader dubbed TransferLoader . 👉 thehackernews.com
    • A critical vulnerability in Anthropic's MCP Inspector project could result in remote code execution. 👉 thehackernews.com

16. Phishing and Impersonation:

    • Hackers are using PDFs to impersonate Microsoft, DocuSign, and more in callback phishing campaigns. 👉 thehackernews.com
    • A new FileFix attack runs JScript while bypassing Windows MoTW alerts. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

17. Security Tips and Guidance:

    • Senator Ron Wyden is asking FBI Director Kash Patel to update defensive cyber advice after a staff briefing, with the claim that it "was insufficient to protect Senate employees and other high-value targets against foreign spies using advanced cyber tools". 👉 krebsonsecurity.com

18. Google and AI:

    • Google ends its Recipe Quick View pilot after bloggers feared it would reduce traffic and ad revenue. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
    • Cybersecurity officials recommend stricter pre-employment vetting measures to detect fraudulent remote workers. 👉 cybernews.com

19. Gaming and Security:

    • Mobile and online games are using manipulative design techniques to deceive gamers, the ICPEN warns. 👉 cybernews.com

20. Other News:

    • GameStop customers may be entitled to compensation as part of a class action lawsuit for PII Data breach with PII, financial data and gamestop account info of over 2.49Million Customers. 👉 cybernews.com
    • The popular open-source Discord alternative, Guilded, is shutting down on August 16, 2025. 👉 support.discord.com
    • Microsoft to cut about 4% of jobs (9000 engineering talents) amid hefty AI bets. 👉 mastodon.social
    • An app for reporting sightings of ICE officials, ICEBlock, was the top free app in the US App Store on Tuesday; the app claims to collect no personal data. 👉 theverge.com

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