Author: TechBrunch

The U.S. government has announced sanctions against Chinese organizations linked to Salt Typhoon, the hacker group that carried out the largest communications hack in U.S. history. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday sanctioned a China-based cybersecurity company known as Sichuan Jixinhe Network Technology for direct ties to the Chinese-backed hacking group Salt Typhoon. announced. Salt Typhoon is said to have carried out the largest communications hack in U.S. history after infiltrating at least nine U.S. telecommunications and internet providers, including AT&T and Verizon, and accessing the private communications of U.S. government officials and politicians. Recently…

A cyberattack and data breach at U.S. education technology giant Power Schools, which was discovered on December 28, threatens to compromise the personal data of tens of millions of children and teachers. PowerSchool informed customers that the breach was related to a compromise of a subcontractor's account. TechCrunch learned of another security incident this week involving a PowerSchool software engineer. The computers in this incident were infected with malware that stole company credentials prior to the cyberattack. It is unlikely that the subcontractor mentioned by PowerSchool and the engineer identified by TechCrunch are the same person. The theft of the…

Bumble today announced that founder Whitney Wolfe Herd will return as CEO after retiring in 2023. Bumble said Wolfe Herd will replace current CEO Lydiaan Jones, who is stepping down for “personal reasons.” Jones, the former CEO of Slack, will remain in his role at Bumble until the transition takes effect in mid-March. It's not uncommon for a founder to return as CEO. Prominent examples include Jack Dorsey's return to Twitter and Steve Jobs' return to Apple. The reasons for this return vary, but founders are often a natural choice because they remain closely connected to the company's mission and…

Instagram announced a timely update to its video feature reels this morning, alongside the news that the Supreme Court upheld the law banning TikTok in the United States on January 19th. Meta says the update will make it easier for users to find content. Friends and followers will like it on the platform, encouraging users to start conversations about Reels' content. Meta said the feature will first be released in the United States. The company is poised to gain more TikTok users in the wake of the U.S. ban, especially creators who rely on social media for income. A sizable…

Just before today's Supreme Court ruling upholding the Jan. 19 law banning TikTok in the United States, Donald Trump said he had a “very good” phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Posted on Truth Social. It also included a discussion about TikTok. The president-elect also said he would make a decision regarding TikTok in the “not too distant” future, but did not say what he would do. President Trump had previously indicated he would no longer support the ban after asking the Supreme Court to block a law requiring apps to be shut down or sold by January 19th,…

TikTok's time may be running out over the weekend after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the ban. So what's next for the video-sharing app's 170 million U.S. users? On today's episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl, and Anthony Ha dive into the week's biggest stories, including where all the “TikTok refugees” are headed. Many people are flocking to Chinese apps like RedNote and Lemon8, and some are turning to Duolingo to find a new digital home and brush up on their Chinese. Listen to the full episode to hear: Stocks will be back next…

The Supreme Court on Sunday, January 19, upheld a law that effectively bans TikTok. The ruling ends TikTok's months-long legal battle against a law that would effectively force the ByteDance-owned app to shut down unless it sells its U.S. operations. For national security reasons. As of Sunday, it will be illegal for app stores and internet hosting services to distribute social networks. TikTok warned that the app would simply “go dark” on Sunday, but it's unclear what exactly will happen once the ban goes into effect. In an opinion released early Friday morning, the Supreme Court said it requested the…

surprise! There is a technological dimension to Donald Trump's big, bold ambition to buy Greenland from Denmark. Ken Howley, nominated by President-elect Trump to be the next ambassador to Japan (and thus the chief facilitator of all deals), is another member of the wealthy corps of tech talent who will serve in the incoming Trump administration. Howery, who was part of the original “PayPal Mafia” (he was the CFO who helped put it together and sell it to eBay), went on to co-found the storied VC firm Founders Fund with Peter Thiel and others. I did. He is also a…

A new AI orchestration startup from the founders of Lithuanian unicorn Nord Security will initially focus on improving the visibility, security, and adaptability of large-scale language models (LLMs) to help enterprises bring AI projects to production. We are currently working on supporting the implementation of this technology. The startup, called Nexos.ai, is the brainchild of Tomas Okmanas (pictured above) and Eimantas Savariauskas, who have built one of the most recognizable brands not only in Lithuania but throughout Europe. Best known for its flagship VPN product, NordVPN, Nord Security enjoyed a successful first decade of business, taking on a massive $100…

Apple on Friday launched a dedicated Apple Store app in India, deepening its retail presence in the world's most populous country as the iPhone maker looks to capitalize on growing consumer demand. The app is available for download on the App Store in India and allows customers to receive personalized shopping recommendations while purchasing Apple products directly, the company said in a statement. Through the app, users can customize their Mac with a more powerful chip, more memory, or more storage (features that Indian customers have been asking for for years), or arrange for the delivery or pickup of their…