Tech News

1. Geopolitics / Diplomacy:

   • Winter Storm Fern disrupts U.S. travel: Over 10,000 flights canceled over the weekend due to heavy snow and sleet, with cancellations peaking at 8,947 flights on Sunday. Major hubs like New York's LaGuardia (80% cancellations) and Washington National (90%) were heavily impacted, while airlines waived change fees for affected passengers. 👉 cnbc.com 👉 flightaware.com
   • Russia-backed stablecoin A7A5 hits $100B in transactions: Despite sanctions, the ruble-backed A7A5 stablecoin reached $100B in transactions in under a year, though daily volumes dropped from $1.5B to ~$500M. 👉 bloomberg.com^$ 👉 cryptonews.com

2. Economy / Markets:

   • India accelerates clean energy transition: India is adopting green tech faster than China due to lower costs for solar panels and EVs, positioning itself as an "electrostate" reliant on clean energy. The shift is driven by economic necessity rather than climate goals, as India imports 40% of its energy. 👉 japantimes.co.jp 👉 ember-climate.org
   • Capital One acquires Brex for $5.15B: Capital One finalized the acquisition of fintech startup Brex, which specializes in corporate credit cards and expense management. The deal reflects a broader trend of traditional banks integrating fintech solutions. 👉 wsj.com^$ 👉 techcrunch.com

3. Technology / AI:

   • AI leaders debate human-level intelligence at Davos: Demis Hassabis (DeepMind) and Yann LeCun (Meta) argued LLMs will never achieve human-level AGI, while Anthropic and OpenAI executives predict rapid advancements. OpenAI's API business grew by $1B ARR last month. 👉 finance.yahoo.com 👉 theinformation.com
   • Microsoft 365 outage disrupts global services: A nine-hour outage affected Outlook, Teams, and other services due to maintenance-related load balancing issues. Microsoft confirmed the incident was resolved but acknowledged residual imbalances. 👉 reuters.com 👉 crn.com

4. Healthcare / Science:

   • Apple Watches detect hidden heart rhythm disorders: Seniors at high stroke risk wearing Apple Watches were four times more likely to have previously undetected arrhythmias identified, with half showing no prior symptoms. 👉 usnews.com 👉 sciencedirect.com
   • NASA's Artemis II mission faces heat shield concerns: Despite NASA's confidence, experts warn of unknown risks with Orion's heat shield, which showed unexpected damage on Artemis I. A final review is imminent before the February 6 launch. 👉 cnn.com 👉 calameo.com

5. Cybersecurity / Privacy:

   • Microsoft hands BitLocker keys to FBI: Microsoft confirmed it provides BitLocker recovery keys to law enforcement upon valid legal orders, raising privacy concerns. The practice is tied to Windows 11's forced online accounts. 👉 forbes.com^$ 👉 theverge.com
   • Lemonade cuts Tesla insurance rates with FSD data: Lemonade will offer 50% lower rates for Tesla drivers using Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, citing data showing FSD reduces accidents by ~50%. The move challenges traditional insurers' approaches. 👉 reuters.com 👉 tesla.com

6. Legal / Regulatory:

   • India blocks pirate sites globally: A New Delhi court ordered ISPs and registrars (including U.S. firms like Namecheap) to block over 150 pirate domains, targeting titles like Stranger Things and Squid Game. Compliance is not guaranteed. 👉 torrentfreak.com 👉 verdictum.in
   • California joins WHO's Global Outbreak Alert Network: California became the first U.S. state to join the WHO's GOARN, days after the U.S. formally exited the organization. Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the withdrawal. 👉 thehill.com 👉 who.int

7. Entertainment / Media:

   • TikTok finalizes U.S. joint venture deal: TikTok formed a U.S. joint venture with Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX to avoid a federal ban, retaining a 19.9% stake. The deal includes data security safeguards and algorithm restrictions. 👉 nytimes.com^$ 👉 cnbc.com
   • Apple Pay faces UK class action lawsuit: A £1.5B lawsuit alleges Apple Pay's monopoly harmed consumers by charging hidden fees and blocking competition. The case highlights regulatory scrutiny of digital wallets. 👉 theguardian.com 👉 gov.uk

8. Environment / Climate:

   • New tech removes PFAS "forever chemicals": Rice University developed a filtration material that absorbs PFAS 100x faster than existing methods and can destroy them at 400–500°C. Deployment at scale remains a challenge. 👉 theguardian.com 👉 doi.org
   • Space debris tracked by seismic networks: Scientists used seismic readings to track falling space debris more accurately than radar, potentially improving recovery efforts for dangerous debris. 👉 apnews.com 👉 science.org

9. Business / Mergers:

   • SEC dismisses Gemini lawsuit: The SEC dropped its case against Gemini Trust after full investor repayment following the collapse of Gemini Earn. The twins' legal battle ended after three years. 👉 reuters.com 👉 theblock.co
   • Nifty Gateway shuts down: The NFT trading platform, which facilitated $300M in sales, will close on February 23, 2026, marking the end of its role in the 2021 NFT boom. 👉 coindesk.com 👉 gemini.com

10. AI / Automation:

    • AI-generated honeypot vulnerabilities: An AI-written honeypot introduced hidden security flaws exploited by attackers, highlighting risks of over-trusting automated code generation. 👉 intruder.io
    • Google Photos adds AI meme feature: The "Me Meme" tool lets users create personalized memes from their photos, launching first in the U.S. 👉 techcrunch.com 👉 support.google.com

11. Legal / Entertainment:

    • Game studio sues co-founder over domain hijacking: That's No Moon co-founders sued former CEO Michael Mumbauer for allegedly hijacking the company's domain and disabling employee access. The lawsuit includes claims of trademark infringement and breach of contract. 👉 aftermath.site 👉 scribd.com

12. Cybersecurity:

    • Okta warns of SSO account vishing attacks: Okta is warning about custom phishing kits targeting SSO accounts via voice phishing (vishing). The attacks aim to steal credentials for data theft and extortion. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 okta.com
    • Critical telnetd auth bypass flaw exploited: A critical 11-year-old flaw in GNU InetUtils telnetd allows attackers to bypass authentication and gain root access. Active exploitation campaigns have been observed. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 nvd.nist.gov

13. Cybersecurity / Privacy:

    • New AI ransomware strain Osiris emerges: A new ransomware family, Osiris, targets Southeast Asian food service operators using BYOVD (Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver) to disable security software. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 symantec.com
    • Google acquires 3D image generator startup: Google acquired Common Sense Machines, which creates 3D assets from 2D images, expanding its AI capabilities. 👉 theinformation.com 👉 the-decoder.com

14. Cybersecurity / Privacy:

    • CISA adds VMware vCenter flaw to KEV catalog: CISA added CVE-2024-37079, a critical VMware vCenter flaw, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog after evidence of active exploitation. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 cisa.gov
    • CISA updates KEV catalog with four flaws: Four vulnerabilities, including a Synacor Zimbra flaw and a Versa SD-WAN flaw, were added to CISA's KEV catalog due to active exploitation. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 cisa.gov

15. Cybersecurity / Privacy:

    • Fortinet confirms FortiCloud SSO bypass flaw: Fortinet acknowledged active exploitation of a FortiCloud SSO bypass flaw on fully patched FortiGate firewalls, despite prior fixes. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 fortinet.com
    • Microsoft Teams adds brand impersonation warnings: Microsoft will add warnings to Teams calls to alert users about external callers impersonating trusted organizations, enhancing fraud protection. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 microsoft.com^$

16. Cybersecurity / Privacy:

    • INC ransomware opsec fail aids recovery: An operational security failure allowed researchers to recover data stolen by the INC ransomware gang from 12 U.S. organizations. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 symantec.com
    • Malicious AI extensions on VSCode steal data: Two malicious VSCode extensions, collectively installed 1.5M times, exfiltrate developer data to China-based servers. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 microsoft.com^$

17. Cybersecurity / Privacy:

    • Curl ends bug bounty due to AI-generated reports: The curl project will end its HackerOne bug bounty program after being overwhelmed by low-quality AI-generated vulnerability reports. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 curl.se
    • SmarterMail auth bypass flaw exploited: Hackers began exploiting an authentication bypass flaw in SmarterTools' SmarterMail email server to hijack admin accounts. 👉 bleepingcomputer.com 👉 smartertools.com

18. Cybersecurity / Privacy:

    • New multi-stage phishing campaign targets Russia: A phishing campaign uses business-themed documents to deliver Amnesia RAT and ransomware, exploiting public cloud services for resilience. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 fortinet.com
    • Microsoft flags AitM phishing attacks on energy firms: Microsoft warned of a multi-stage adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) phishing campaign targeting energy sector organizations, using SharePoint and inbox rules for persistence. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 microsoft.com^$

19. Cybersecurity / Privacy:

    • Sandworm hackers targeted Polish power sector: The Russian state-sponsored group Sandworm attempted to deploy DynoWiper malware on Poland's energy infrastructure in late December 2025. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 welivesecurity.com
    • Phishing attack uses stolen credentials for RMM deployment: Cybercriminals steal credentials via fake Greenvelope invitations and deploy LogMeIn RMM for persistent remote access. 👉 thehackernews.com 👉 blog.knowbe4.com

20. Cybersecurity / Privacy:

    • Kimwolf botnet infects 2M devices: The Kimwolf botnet exploits residential proxy networks to infect devices, including Android TV boxes, for DDoS attacks and traffic relay. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com 👉 infoblox.com
    • Microsoft patches January 2026 zero-day: Microsoft patched CVE-2026-20805, a Desktop Window Manager (DWM) flaw actively exploited in the wild, alongside 55 other vulnerabilities. 👉 krebsonsecurity.com 👉 msrc.microsoft.com^$

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