Author: TechBrunch
The US government is calling on senior politicians and officials to lock down their devices as China continues to breach at least eight major telecommunications providers. U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA said in an advisory on Wednesday that “highly targeted officials,” including government officials, will be subject to Apple's lockdown mode, which restricts iPhone functionality and limits attacks across the phone. He said you need to enable advanced security features such as: surface. The agency also recommends authorities switch to end-to-end encrypted messaging apps like Signal. The advice comes shortly after U.S. officials urged Americans to also use encrypted messaging apps…
There's a sea of meme coins beyond Dogecoin, but a new startup called Neverless wants to make it easier to start trading cryptocurrencies, with a particular focus on providing access to small-cap tokens. This is an interesting new crypto startup founded by three former executives from London-based fintech giant Revolut. Phuc To is Revolut's Global Head of Product and was responsible for the company's crypto projects in 2021. Mikael Peydayesh was head of core payments at Revolut and later became head of premium plans, while Arthur Johanet was responsible for card payments for a while before becoming head of Revolut's…
As crypto assets increase in popularity and value, theft is also on the rise. This year, the total amount of stolen cryptocurrencies has surged by 21% to reach a whopping $2.2 billion. And more than half of that amount was stolen by a North Korean-linked hacker group, according to a Chainalysis report released Thursday. Earlier this year, the United Nations Security Council announced that North Korean hackers stole $3 billion in crypto assets between 2017 and 2023. In 2024, hackers linked to North Korea accounted for 61% of the total stolen, with 47 cases worth $1.34 billion. , according to…
“I think the most ironic way the world will end is for someone to create a meme coin of a man's extended anus and that will bring about the singularity.” That's Andy Ayrey, founder of decentralized AI alignment research institute Upward Spiral and developer of viral AI bot Truth Terminal. You may have heard about Truth Terminal and the bizarre and naughty pseudo-spiritual posts on X that caught the attention of VC Marc Andreessen, who sent him $50,000 in Bitcoin this summer. Or maybe you've heard about a fabricated religion promoted by the Goatse Gospels, which was influenced by the…
Indian giant McDonald's' delivery system leaked the personal information of customers and drivers due to a few simple security flaws, TechCrunch has learned exclusively. The flaw, discovered by security researcher Eaton Zubair, was found in the API of a delivery system associated with McDonald's India (West & South), owned by Hardcastle Restaurants. Zveare told TechCrunch that a bug in the company's delivery system, McDelivery, could allow anyone to access, hijack, redirect, and process orders in real-time by allowing apps and websites to interact with the company's API, which is used to order products. He said he would be able to…
Integrating quantum computing into real-world computer applications is an ongoing challenge because the platform designs are fundamentally different. BlueQubit, a San Francisco-based quantum software startup founded by Stanford University graduates, thinks it may have the answer. The company's Quantum Software as a Service (QSaaS) platform seeks to address the above issues by providing end users with access to so-called “Quantum Processing Units” (QPUs) and quantum computing emulators. To further its mission, the company has now raised $10 million in a seed funding round led by Nyca Partners. The idea is to combine enterprise applications with advanced quantum hardware. Fields such…
According to data intelligence platform Tracxn, funding rounds raised by Indian startups in 2024 fell by 32% compared to the previous year, indicating that investors are becoming more selective when making deals. The number of startup funding rounds decreased to 1,448 compared to 2,114 last year, but overall funding increased by 6% to $11.3 billion ($10.7 billion in 2023). The difference here shows that investors aren't afraid to pull out their checkbooks when they need to. . Early-stage investment activity reflected broader trends, with the number of Series A and Series B deals down to 387 from 420 a year…
Generative AI may seem like magic, but behind the development of these systems are Google and OpenAI, known as “prompt engineers” who assess the accuracy of chatbot output to improve the AI. The company has an army of employees and analysts. But TechCrunch has confirmed that new internal guidelines handed out by Google to contractors working on Gemini will increase Gemini's tendency to spout inaccurate information to the public about highly sensitive topics like healthcare. This has led to concerns that this may be the case. To improve Gemini, contractors working with GlobalLogic, a Hitachi-owned outsourcing company, are regularly asked…
New research from the show Anthropic shows that AI models can be deceptive, pretending to have different views during training when in fact they maintain their original preferences . The research team said there was no need to panic now. But they said their research could be important in understanding potential threats from future more capable AI systems. “Our demonstration should be seen as a trigger for the AI research community to study this behavior more deeply and address appropriate safeguards,” the researchers wrote in a post on Anthropic's blog. “As AI models become more capable and widely used, we…
Just five months after announcing a new $100 million fund called Anthology Fund, Menlo Ventures and Anthropic have backed their first 18 startups. And they're looking for more. Menlo said the first 18 candidates were selected from thousands of applicants. This includes startups that develop recruitment software. autonomous coding. Interpretability studies (understanding how models make decisions). Fintech compliance and tax app. Radiology image analysis and chart review app. Cybersecurity of non-human identities. Customer engagement software. and consumer nutrition apps. In addition, eight more people have been accepted into the program and are still operating undercover, Menlo said. The program is…