Author: TechBrunch

Last week, Valve removed the game from the online store steam due to the product being woven with malware. After removing a game called Piratefi, security researchers analyzed the malware and discovered that the person who planted it tricked gamers into modifying existing video games to install an information steeler called Vidar did. Marius Genheimer, a researcher who analyzes malware and works with the Secuinfra Falcon team, told TechCrunch that, based on the commands and control servers related to the malware and its configuration, “Piratefi is used to distribute Vidar payloads.” I suspect it's just one of the tactics of.…

Elon Musk has spent decades building a universe of companies that has served as an incubator for up-and-coming engineers and a proving ground for his inner circle. That universe — an ecosystem of Silicon Valley tech titans, veterans of his companies like Tesla and SpaceX, and a crop of fresh-faced hackers and software engineers — has now collided with the U.S. federal government. The dozens of individuals who work under, or advise, Musk and the Trump-ordered Department of Government Efficiency — individuals who TechCrunch has identified or confirmed independently — reflects more than the billionaire’s proclivity to collect talent. They…

When he was a senior studying at Texas A&M University, Matthew Iomi realized there was no good option to transport groups of people. The fellow college students heading for the night together had no access to on-demand rides, with the same convenience, accessibility and affordability as typical ride platforms like Uber and Lyft. “Once you hit those 6-7 [person] Mark, you had to split and take multiple cars. This is inefficient and not very sustainable. Plus, it's an inferior experience because no one can ride with us,” Iomi, now 28, told TechCrunch. “One other option was to book a charter…

Newspaper publishing giant Lee Enterprises said the ongoing cyberattacks have caused disruption across the business, and is now in a third week suspension. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lee said she is conducting forensic analysis to determine whether a cyberattack has stolen any confidentiality or personal data. “Preliminary investigations show that threat actors illegally accessed the company's network, encrypted critical applications and excluded certain files,” Lee said in a filing, adding that the incident was ransomware. It was described as an attack. Lee said he expects the outage to last several more weeks as the company…

Many venture industry observers are wondering whether Andreessen Horowitz, the company that manages $45 billion, is looking to become a publicly traded company. Co-founder Marc Andreessen said, “I'm not munching a bit to get the company out of it,” like this week's Invest Yesterday Yount The Best Podcast. However, he discussed his goal of building an A16Z with a permanent company, inspired by JP Morgan and a public private equity company. Historically, venture capital companies have been a partnership consisting of “a small tribe of people sitting in a room together, trying to bounce ideas off each other when they…

The backdoor talk in encrypted services has been coming back to the round after reports revealed that the UK government is trying to force Apple to provide Icloud end-to-end encryption (E2EE) device backups Masu. Officials were said to be leaning against Apple to create a “backdoor” on a service that would allow state officials to access clear data. Since passing the 2016 update to state surveillance authority, the UK has had the drastic powers to restrict the use of strong encryption by technology companies. According to a report by the Washington Post, UK officials seek Apple's demand for “blanket” access…

In November, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Meta, which accounts for 10% of billions of users and 22% of all mobile traffic, is a major new new $10 work Breaking news that they are approaching announcing the issue. The 1 billion+ submarine cable project connects the world. The aim was to provide more control over how Meta performs its own services. Today, Meta reviewed the report details: Project Waterworth is the official name, and when completed it will be 50,000 km long, making it the world's longest submarine cable project. Along with what I heard about the project…

AI Innovator, this is your moment! Do you have insights to share with 1,200 AI founders, investors and enthusiasts who are trying to push the boundaries of innovation? Take the stage, shape AI conversations and exchange ideas in TechCrunch sessions: AI at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, California, June 5th! We bring together the top AI minds in the startup world to lead insightful and interactive breakout sessions. Help founders, entrepreneurs and innovators navigate AI challenges and opportunities. TC Sessions: Lead breakout sessions with AI This is your chance to dig deeper into important AI topics. A team of up to…

Founders, VCS, startup experts – this is your moment! Have you gained scaling insights? An opportunity to share it with 1,200 founders, investors and entrepreneurs at the TechCrunch All Stage 2025, announced by Fidelity on July 17th in Boston. We bring together key experts from the startups and the VC community to host engaging sessions, interactive round tables and dynamic breakouts. Share your knowledge and help founders navigate the highs and lows that will expand their business. Submit to speak at TC at every stage This is an opportunity to explore key scaling topics for startups at every stage. On…

The tech layoff wave continued through 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, 2024 saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 542 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Large companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap, and Microsoft conducted sizable layoffs in 2024, while smaller-sized startups also experienced cuts, and in some cases, shut down operations altogether. We’re continuing to track the industry’s layoffs into 2025 so you can see the trajectory of the cutbacks. Later this year, we will break out our 2024 and 2025 lists in order to make the trends easier to parse. By…