Author: TechBrunch

Researchers have discovered a bug that could allow anyone to spoof a Microsoft corporate email account, making phishing attacks more likely to appear credible and fool their targets. As of this writing, the bug has not been fixed. To demonstrate the bug, the researcher sent TechCrunch an email that appears to have been sent from Microsoft's account security team. Last week, Vsevolod Kokorin, also known online as Slonser, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he had discovered an email spoofing bug and reported it to Microsoft, but Microsoft rejected his report because they couldn't reproduce the bug he discovered. Kokorin…

We all know the feeling of sending a funny TikTok video, hoping for a reaction from your friends only to get a laughing emoji in return, or worse, no reaction at all. Seen is looking to solve this problem with its new social app, which lets your friends record live videos of their reactions to the content you send them. The video messaging app, available for iOS devices, was co-founded by veteran entrepreneur Faheem Qazi and actress Karen Gillan, best known for her role as Nebula in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Seen lets you send videos in private one-on-one iMessages…

Butterflies is a social network where humans and AI interact with each other through posts, comments, and DMs. After five months in beta, the app is launching to the public on iOS and Android on Tuesday. Anyone can create an AI persona, called a Butterfly, in the app in a few minutes. The Butterfly can then automatically create posts on social networks that other AIs and humans can interact with. Each Butterfly has a story, opinions, and feelings. Butterflies was founded by Vu Tran, a former engineering manager at Snap. Vu came up with the idea for Butterflies after noticing…

Stop worrying: a new AI-powered search engine has arrived, and its developers believe it's better than many others out there. The platform, called Genspark, uses generative AI to create custom summaries in response to search queries: When you enter a search such as “What is the best formula for newborns?”, Genspark generates a Sparkpage, a one-page summary compiled from websites and content from around the web. It's an experience (obviously) similar to the Arc Search feature in the Arc Browser released earlier this year, and Google AI Overviews in Google Search. But Eric Jing, who co-founded the eponymous organization behind…

Apple is continuing its push into AI, this time expanding into education offerings. The company announced on Tuesday that it will train all Apple Developer Academy students and mentors in the fundamentals of AI. Apple Developer Academy graduates will also be able to participate in the training. Starting this fall, students will learn how to build, train and deploy machine learning models across Apple devices. “Courses include fundamentals of AI technologies and frameworks, Core ML and its features that deliver fast performance on Apple devices, and guidance on how to build and train AI models from scratch,” Apple said. The…

Spanish police have arrested a British man for allegedly leading an organised cybercrime ring that breached dozens of US companies. Spanish police confirmed in a press release that the 22-year-old Briton, whose name has not been released, was arrested at Parma airport as he was attempting to leave the country on a charter flight to Naples. Spanish police said in a statement that the alleged hacker used phishing techniques to steal passwords and break into at least 45 companies in the United States, stealing internal corporate information and cryptocurrency. Police said the suspected hacker had $27 million worth of cryptocurrency…

One of the hottest areas in the generative AI space is customer support, which isn't surprising given the technology's potential to increase scale while reducing contact center costs. Critics argue that generative AI-powered customer support technology could lower wages, lead to layoffs, and ultimately result in an error-prone end-user experience. Meanwhile, proponents argue that generative AI augments workers rather than replaces them, freeing them up to focus on more meaningful tasks. Jesse Chan is an advocate — though a little biased, of course. Together with Ashwin Sreenivas, Chan co-founded Decagon, a generative AI platform that automates various aspects of customer…

Pok Pok, a kids app maker focused on building play-based learning experiences for preschoolers, has made a name for itself in the iOS developer community, winning both the App Store Cultural Impact Award and an Apple Design Award, but with its latest funding, the company is ready to expand its reach by offering its apps and new STEM-based activities to families with both iOS and Android devices. The app, Pok Pok Playroom, currently offers 17 different play experiences for kids to explore creative play that are more like “digital toys” than games, including touch-sensitive “toys,” drawing tools, shape manipulation toys,…

Series A to B startups — Check out TechCrunch Disrupt 2024's ScaleUp Startups exhibitor program. Why join the ScaleUp Startups Exhibitor Program? Expand your reachShowcase your breakthrough innovation on the Disrupt Expo Floor. You'll attract the attention of 10,000 tech leaders and investors. This is your chance to let your talent shine and make connections that will take your startup to new heights. Maximize your impactTake advantage of our four conference passes to help your team fully enjoy the Disrupt experience. Participate in insightful sessions, network with industry peers, and build valuable relationships while showcasing your startup to a wider…

Brothers Toby and Jamie Morgan Hitchcock have spent years working together to build cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) systems, from tools that allow golf courses to measure “golfer engagement” to an online platform for rating job applicants. The systems they built vary widely in functionality, but one thing they all had in common was a reliance on a database that would allow them to scale while maintaining performance. Managing databases isn't as hard as it used to be, but it's a different story when you scale them, and Hitchcock says he and Morgan experienced many common pain points firsthand…