Tech News

1. AI Developments:

   • Google's Gemini with Deep Think AI has achieved gold medal-level performance at the International Mathematical Olympiad, solving five out of six problems. 👉 deepmind.google
   • OpenAI CEO Fidji Simo outlines an optimistic vision for how AI will change the world in her first note to OpenAI staff. 👉 wired.com
   • Experts are saying that AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google may disrupt the education market with new AI-based learning tools for students. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • A new study indicates that 72% of US teens have used AI companions. 👉 techcrunch.com

2. Microsoft SharePoint Vulnerabilities:

   • Microsoft has released emergency security updates for actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-53770 and CVE-2025-53771) in SharePoint, which have been used in "ToolShell" attacks. 👉 bloomberg.com^$ 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • CISA warns of malicious actors exploiting RCE vulnerability CVE-2025-53770 to compromise on-prem SharePoint servers. 👉 cisa.gov
   • A major security flaw in Microsoft SharePoint Server is under attack globally, impacting government agencies and businesses. 👉 arstechnica.com

3. Cyber Attacks and Data Breaches:

   • A data breach at a Mormon Church university vendor exposes over 25,000 students' data. 👉 cybernews.com
   • KNP, a UK transport company, was destroyed by a ransomware attack after hackers gained access using a guessed employee password, impacting 700 jobs. 👉 bbc.com
   • World Leaks extortion group breached Dell's test lab platform earlier in July, stealing mostly synthetic or public data. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

4. Cybercrime and Law Enforcement:

   • UK authorities arrested four people (17-20 years old) in connection with data theft and extortion attacks against Marks & Spencer, Harrods, and Co-op Group, linked to Scattered Spider group. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com
   • X says France's criminal probe over algorithmic manipulation and fraudulent data extraction is distorting French law for political reasons. 👉 t.co

5. Cryptocurrency and Blockchain:

   • Crypto custody company BitGo confidentially files for a US IPO, after raising $100M at a $1.75B valuation in August 2023. 👉 coindesk.com
   • Polymarket is buying little-known derivatives exchange QCX to legally re-enter the US market in a deal worth $112M. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
   • A blank check company, Dynamix, plans to merge with another entity to create Ether Machine, holding $1.5B in ether with backing from Kraken and others. 👉 wsj.com^$
   • Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX confirms $44 million was stolen during a hack. 👉 techcrunch.com

6. Software and Security Updates:

   • T-Mobile is expanding support for the L4S standard across its 5G Advanced network to reduce latency for video calls and cloud gaming. 👉 theverge.com
   • Microsoft releases emergency patches for SharePoint RCE flaws exploited in attacks. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • ExpressVPN fixed a bug that leaked user IPs in Remote Desktop sessions. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

7. Government and Policy:

   • Sir Keir Starmer's government is seeking a way out of a clash with the Trump administration over the UK's demand that Apple provide access to secure customer data. 👉 arstechnica.com
   • Senator Ron Wyden criticises the FBI for weak advice on mobile security and urges the use of built-in anti-spyware defenses. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com

8. Hardware and Devices:

   • Google reveals the design of the Pixel 10, which resembles the Pixel 9 but includes a third back camera, ahead of the launch event. 👉 theverge.com
   • Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses priced at $399 are sportier, thinner, lighter, and more comfortable with a solid 3K camera. 👉 bloomberg.com^$

9. Malware and Phishing:

   • A PoisonSeed phishing campaign bypasses FIDO2 security keys by abusing the cross-device sign-in feature in WebAuthn. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Popular npm linter packages were hijacked via phishing to drop malware. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
   • More than 3,500 websites were hijacked to secretly mine crypto using stealth JavaScript and WebSocket tactics. 👉 thehackernews.com

10. Retail and Travel Industry Impacts:

    • One password is believed to have been all it took for a ransomware gang to destroy a 158-year-old company and put 700 people out of work. 👉 bbc.com
    • Fake travel reservations are preying on weary travelers, exacerbating the misery of canceled flights and overbooked hotels. 👉 threatpost.com (3 days ago)

11. Financial News:

    • Figma plans to sell nearly 37M shares to raise up to $1.03B, pricing its shares between $25 and $28 each, giving it an up to $16.4B valuation in its NYSE debut. 👉 reuters.com
    • Seattle-based tax compliance software maker Avalara, acquired by Vista Equity Partners in a 2022 deal valuing it at $8.4B, confidentially files for a US IPO. 👉 reuters.com

12. Google and AI:

    • Eric Schmidt, Google's former CEO, suggests young workers turn off their phones to improve focus and relaxation. 👉 businessinsider.com^$
    • Google reveals the design of the Pixel 10 a few weeks ahead of the launch event. 👉 theverge.com

13. Wireless Technology:

    • T-Mobile is expanding support for the L4S standard across its 5G Advanced network to help high-priority internet packets move with fewer delays. 👉 theverge.com

14. Security Incident Aftermath:

    • Wired reports that a study finds at least 750 US hospitals faced disruptions during last year's CrowdStrike outage, and 200+ had outages related to patient care services. 👉 wired.com

15. RISC-V Architecture:

    • Nvidia says CUDA will now be compatible with RISC-V's instruction set architecture. 👉 tomshardware.com
    • (3 days ago) One of the big features planned for Debian 13.0 is supporting RISC-V as an official CPU architecture. 👉 phoronix.com

16. California Energy Bill:

    • (5 days ago) California's Congress is debating a bill that would help establish a regional electricity market, bitterly dividing environmentalists. 👉 latimes.com

17. Emerging Cyber Threats:

    • Hackers are hiding malware inside DNS records, allowing malicious code to bypass security defenses. 👉 arstechnica.com
    • HPE warns of hardcoded passwords in Aruba access points that allow attackers to bypass device authentication. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com
    • Threat actors are downgrading FIDO2 MFA authentication in PoisonSeed phishing attacks. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com

18. X (Formerly Twitter):

    • X is in a battle with the French government who are demanding real-time user data and access to the algorithm under claims of "foreign interference.". 👉 t.co
    • X rejects French demands for data and slams the criminal probe into the platform as politically motivated. 👉 cybernews.com

19. Other Notable Events:

    • Alaska Airlines grounded all flights due to a major IT outage, causing system-wide disruptions. 👉 gizmodo.com
    • It was nearly a year ago when the global IT outage linked to CrowdStrike. 👉 it.slashdot.org

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