Author: TechBrunch

On Friday morning, University of Pennsylvania alumni, students, staff, and community members received several emails from a hacker claiming to be from the University's Graduate School of Education (GSE). “We have terrible security practices and are completely meritocratic,” the email said. “We love breaking federal regulations like FERPA (all the data gets leaked).” A partially redacted email sent by a hacker who gained access to the University of Pennsylvania's email system. Image credit: TechCrunch (screenshot) The messages purported to come from various Penn-related email accounts, including GSE, as well as several senior staff members across the university. Other Penn affiliates…

Equity staff is live at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025! On Monday morning, hosts Kirsten Kolosek, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha took over the Builders Stage and kicked off the event with the question everyone should be asking. “Are we in an AI bubble?” Between a valuation that tripled in a few months, a $300 million seed round, and $100 billion in commitments flying around, money moves fast, maybe too fast. The equity team breaks down what the peak of the bubble looks like, where the business model actually lies (spoiler: many companies are betting on AI data centers), and why some…

US telecommunications giant Ribbon has admitted in an official document that government-backed hackers had access to its network for almost a year before being arrested. The major telecommunications company said in its 10th quarter disclosure document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week that in December 2024, “a suspected nation-state actor had access to its IT network.” Ribbon has notified law enforcement and said it believes the hacker is no longer within its network. Headquartered in Texas, Ribbon provides telephone, networking and Internet services to businesses, businesses and critical infrastructure organizations such as energy and transportation systems.…

WhatsApp is adding a new way to access encrypted backups with passkey support. This means that even if you lose your device, you can still access your WhatsApp backup using methods like your fingerprint, face, or screen lock code from your previous device. For years, WhatsApp didn't have an encryption layer for chat backups. However, in 2021, Meta added a way for users to protect their backups with end-to-end encryption using a password or a 64-character encryption key. The problem with both is that you have to remember the backup password or have the encryption key handy when restoring a…

The rise of agent coding tools was a game-changer for software engineers across the industry. But things seemed especially tough for Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko. Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, Yakovenko said he has become increasingly comfortable putting software development tasks on the back burner. After more than 15 years of software development, Yakovenko says of his experience with agent coding: “Now you can see Claude stirring that thing around, and you can almost smell when it's going off the rails.” “If people are having meetings with me and I'm not paying attention, it's because I'm looking at Claude,” he…

After leaving a small startup and being turned down by every VC firm he applied to, Tim Chen began angel investing and eventually ended up raising his own money. Now, as an individual investor at Essence VC, he just closed his fourth fund with $41 million “without any effort.” Chen's secret weapon? Be technical enough to discuss implementation details with PhD founders while understanding the market dynamics that transform a humble startup into a category leader. Today on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Julie Bort speaks with Tim Chen to explore the rise of individual VCs and who is rewriting traditional venture…

Peter Williams, former general manager of defense contractor L3Harris, has pleaded guilty to selling surveillance technology to Russian brokers who purchase “cyber tools,” the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Wednesday. “This material, stolen over a three-year period from a U.S. defense contractor for which he worked, consisted of national security-focused software containing at least eight classified and protected cyber exploit components,” a Department of Justice press release on Wednesday said. “These parts were intended to be sold exclusively to the U.S. government and some allied nations.” TechCrunch previously exclusively reported, citing four former Trenchant employees, that the company was investigating…

Bending Spoons, one of Europe's largest mobile app developers, announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire AOL, backed by private equity giant Apollo, from Yahoo. Vending Spoons said it has secured a $2.8 billion debt financing package to support the acquisition. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year and is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. “AOL is an iconic and beloved company that we believe is healthy, has stood the test of time, and has untapped potential,” Luca Ferrari, CEO and co-founder of Bending Spoons, said in a press release. “According to…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is coming! If you're still on the fence about attending in person, join us for the extensive schedule of speakers, networking opportunities, workshops, afterparties, and more available here. There's still plenty of time to buy last-minute tickets. There's only one day left, so we're offering you a 50% discount. If you can't attend in person, the next best thing is to check out the Disrupt Stage livestream. The stage will feature some of the most prominent speakers and the highly anticipated Startup Battlefield 200 pitch competition. We're streaming via YouTube, so you can watch the embed below…

Welcome to the third and final day of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 at Moscone West in San Francisco! The excitement here is still at its peak and shows no signs of slowing down. If you thought it was too late to join, think again. There's still time to sign up and get in on the action with a 50% discount. You don't have to wait a year to join this year's tech capital. Today's agenda features some of the most anticipated on-stage sessions and highlights insights from pioneers such as Rohit Patel, director of the MetaSuperintelligence Institute. Kirstin Green, founding partner…