Sony confirms ‘special Xperia event’ date, Xperia 1 VI coming

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Sony confirms ‘special Xperia event’ date, Xperia 1 VI coming
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Sony has just officially confirmed the rumored ‘special Xperia event’, and that is likely the Xperia 1 VI launch date. An image surfaced yesterday, showing May 17 as a launch date of some sort, saying it’s a special Xperia event.

The Xperia 1 VI will likely launch next month, as Sony confirms ‘special Xperia event’

Well, it turns out that the shared image was made by Sony after all. Sony just shared that same image via the Sony Japan website, its official website. May 17 is a Friday in case you’re interested, and teh image once again doesn’t mention the Xperia 1 VI.

Xperia 1 VI launch date poster leak

However, Sony doesn’t really have many Xperia devices that it would throw events for. Also, it’s the season for Sony’s new flagship smartphone, so the Xperia 1 VI launch seems like a logical solution here.

We’ve exclusively shared the Xperia 1 VI images quite recently. The phone will be shorter and wider than its predecessor, as Sony seems to be changing display aspect ratios. It’s moving from 21:9 to 19.5:9, it seems.

The phone will retain a similar design, but it will be shorter and wider than its predecessor

The phone will still retain the Xperia design that we’re used to buy now. Sony will stick to slightly thicker bezels in order to avoid using a display camera hole or a notch. That’s something many users appreciate.

It will also stick to flat sides with chamfered edges. Three cameras will be placed on the back, in the top-left corner. They will be vertically-aligned, and Sony’s logo will also sit on the phone’s backside.

We’re expecting to see a 6.5-inch display on the device. That display will be flat, though Sony could ditch the 4K resolution. The company is rumored to make a switch to a QHD+ panel this time around.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will fuel the Xperia 1 VI, almost certainly. The phone will be made out of metal and glass. It is expected to measure roughly 161.9 x 74.5 x 8.4mm, in case you were wondering.


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MediaTek Dimensity 6300 is official with 50% faster GPU performance

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MediaTek Dimensity 6300 is official with 50% faster GPU performance
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MediaTek has just announced a new processor, the Dimensity 6300. This processor is a member of the Dimensity 6000 series and one of the company’s more affordable processors.

The MediaTek Dimensity 6300 brings a notable improvement in the GPU department

This chip does come with a number of improvements, though. The most notable one is that its GPU is over 50% faster than the one in the Dimensity 6100+, which was announced last year. Its CPU is up to 10% faster than the one in the Dimensity 6100+.

This chip comes with an enhanced 5G modem which supports 3GPP Release 16 standard with up to 140MHz 2CC 5G Carrier Aggregation. It also has the MediaTek UltraSave 3.0+ tech for power saving.

It’s a 6nm octa-core chip

This is an octa-core processor, and it comes with two Arm Cortex-A76 big cores. They run at 2.4GHz. MediaTek also included six Arm Cortex-A55 efficiency cores, which run at 2GHz. It’s also worth noting that this is a 6nm chip.

It supports LPDDR4X RAM up to 2,133MHz, and UFS 2.2 flash storage (2-lane). Support for cameras up to 108 megapixels is included. This chip also supports displays of up to 2520 x 1080 resolutions at 120Hz.

The graphics chip that I referred to earlier is the Arm Mali-G57 MC2. The Dimensity 6300 also has integrated Dual-Band Wi-Fi 5 (a/b/g/n/ac). Bluetooth 5.2 support is also included here.

This chip is made for budget devices

All in all, it’s not exactly a fancy chip, but it seems to be ideal for budget phones. It’s also one of the more affordable chips that MediaTek has in its lineup at the moment. That alone could attract some customers.

The very first phone that will carry this chip is likely the Realme C65 5G handset. That phone is expected to arrive to India later this month. It remains to be seen what other companies will be interested in the Dimensity 6300. We could see a number of other budget Android phones fueled by this chip.


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Akira Ransomware Attacks Over 250 Organizations

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Akira Ransomware Attacks Over 250 Organizations
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The Akira ransomware variant has severely impacted more than 250 organizations worldwide, amassing approximately USD 42 million in ransom payments.

This information comes from a detailed joint Cybersecurity Advisory issued by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Evolution of Akira Ransomware

Initially detected in early versions written in C++, the Akira ransomware encrypted victims’ files, appending them with a .akira extension.

However, a significant shift occurred in August 2023 when the ransomware operators began deploying a new variant named Megazord.

This updated version, crafted in Rust, marks encrypted files with a .powerranges extension, indicating a strategic evolution in the malware’s development to evade detection and potentially enhance its encryption capabilities.

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The advisory highlights the extensive reach of the Akira ransomware, noting its profound impact on over 250 organizations.

The financial repercussions are staggering, with the cybercriminals behind these attacks having extracted roughly $42 million USD in ransoms.

The scale and sophistication of the operations suggest a highly organized criminal network with significant resources.

Akira threat actors use tools like FileZilla, WinSCP, WinRAR, and RClone to extract data from a system.

Threat actors use easily accessible tools such as AnyDesk, MobaXterm, RustDesk, Ngrok, and Cloudflare Tunnel to establish command and control channels.

This allows them to exfiltrate data through different protocols like FTP, SFTP, and cloud storage services like Mega. They then connect to exfiltration servers to transfer the data.

Tool NamePurposeDescription of Use
PowerShellScriptingUsed to automate tasks and manage configurations, often for initial access and movement.
MimikatzCredential HarvestingEmployed to steal credentials, which are crucial for lateral movement within a network.
Cobalt StrikeCommand and ControlA legitimate security tool repurposed to control compromised systems remotely.
PsExecRemote ExecutionUtilized to execute processes on other systems, aiding in the spread of ransomware.
RcloneData ExfiltrationCommand-line program to manage files on cloud storage, used to exfiltrate data.
Advanced IP ScannerNetwork ScanningScans network devices, providing information that can be used to further infiltrate networks.

These tools represent a combination of legitimate software repurposed for malicious intent and specific hacking tools designed for cyber espionage and system manipulation.

The use of such tools in the Akira ransomware attacks highlights the sophistication and the level of access achieved by the attackers.

FBI and CISA Response

In response to the rising threat, the FBI and CISA have intensified their efforts to combat the spread of Akira ransomware. They urge affected organizations to report incidents to local FBI field offices or directly to CISA’s 24/7 Operations Center.

The advisory also provides detailed indicators of compromise, including malicious file hashes, which network defenders are encouraged to use to identify and mitigate potential ransomware attacks.

Looking to Safeguard Your Company from Advanced Cyber Threats? Deploy TrustNet to Your Radar ASAP.


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Vivo X100 Ultra name & launch timeframe confirmed by trusted source

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Vivo X100 Ultra name & launch timeframe confirmed by trusted source
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The Vivo X100 Ultra name was mentioned a number of times thus far, but it was never confirmed. Well, the company still didn’t confirm it, but a trusted source did.

The Vivo X100 Ultra name has just been confirmed… kind of

This information comes from Digital Chat Station, one of China’s most prominent tipsters. He says that the “name is confirmed”, so he probably received information from someone at the company.

In addition to that, he said that the phone will be launched next month, in May. That’s what was rumored too, so everything fits. It was initially expected in April, but things changed on Vivo’s part.

A Vice President of Product at Vivo, recently said that the company’s upcoming phone will be a “professional camera that can make calls”. He did not mention the Vivo X100 Ultra name, but everyone assumed it.

The phone is expected to include a new 200MP camera from Samsung

Also, Digital Chat Station recently said that the Vivo X100 Ultra will utilize Samsung’s new 200MP camera. The sensor in question is the S5KHP9. That sensor will likely be used for the telephoto camera.

This phone will be fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, almost certainly, and it will include a ton of high-end specs. The Vivo X100 Pro is an outstanding flagship smartphone, but with the Vivo X100 Ultra, Vivo is looking to up the ante even more.

That phone will come with four cameras on the back, instead of three. It could also include a new main camera, the Sony LYT-900 sensor. The Vivo X100 Pro utilizes the Sony IMX989 sensor. Both of those are 1-inch sensors.

It will have four cameras on the back, but we still don’t know the exact setup

We still don’t know if the company will include a telephoto and a periscope telephoto camera on the back, or two periscope telephoto units like the OPPO Find X7 Ultra. It remains to be seen.

Blazing fast charging will also be included, both wired and wireless. Vivo could also offer some sort of satellite connectivity too, we’ll see.


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Huawei’s new flagship gets sold out in a blink of an eye

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Huawei’s new flagship gets sold out in a blink of an eye
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Huawei announced its new flagship series yesterday, the Huawei Pura 70 series. Well, it seems like those devices are in high demand in the company’s homeland. Huawei’s new top-end flagship, the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra, got sold out in just one minute.

Huawei’s brand new flagship got sold out in less than a minute in its homeland

In fact, the report states that both the Huawei Pura 70 Pro and Pura 70 Ultra ended up being sold out in that time. It is worth noting that they’re only available in China as we speak. A global launch could follow soon, though.

This is not exactly surprising, as Huawei has been immensely popular in China lately. Last year, the company had issues providing enough Huawei Mate 60 units to their consumers. Those phones offered 5G connectivity for the first time in a long time when it comes to Huawei phones. That’s part of the reason why.

As many of you know, Huawei is banned by the US in a number of ways. That affected the company’s ability to include 5G connectivity on their devices. Well, until the company was able to provide its own chip which supports 5G connectivity. That chip was the Kirin 9000S.

The Huawei Pura 70 Pro & Ultra are both fueled by a new chip

Now, with the Huawei Pura 70 series, Huawei introduced a new chip, the Kirin 9010. That is a more powerful variant of the Kirin 9000S, basically. It’s a 7nm processor. A 5nm chip is allegedly coming later this year.

In any case, the demand for the Pura 70 series seems to be very high. These phones have a lot more to offer than just 5G, of course. The ‘Ultra’ model is especially impressive, in part due to its compelling camera setup.

So… it’s not surprising that people are so interested in the phone. The Pura 70 series became available at 10:08 AM, and Pro and Ultra models were sold out in less than a minute.

Not even a rather high price tag prevented users in China from grabbing the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra. As a reminder, the phone starts at CNY9,999 ($1,381). That’s a high price everywhere, and especially for phones in China.

Smartphones are usually considerably more affordable in China, that’s why. If this handset ends up coming to global markets, you can expect a noticeably higher price tag than this.


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Twitch to roll out new discovery feed to all users on mobile devices

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Twitch to roll out new discovery feed to all users on mobile devices
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Twitch has been testing a TikTok-style discovery feed for nearly a year. The streaming company announced this week that the feature is finally ready for primetime, so all users on mobile devices should get the new discovery feed this month.

The discovery feed allows users to scroll through separate feeds dedicated to clips and livestreams, and it’s available as a tab from within the mobile app. According to Twitch (via The Verge), all livestreams and clips can show up on this discover feed, although they must meet the company’s content guidelines.

Just like on the desktop version of Twitch, the discovery feed in the mobile app will show live content from streamers you follow along with creators recommended by Twitch.

In addition to live streams, the discovery feed will also give users access to a feed where they’ll find shortform videos taken from Twitch livestreams. Obviously, most of these will be hilarious short videos clipped by streamers, similarly to what TikTok’s videos.

Beside enabling users to scroll through these shortform videos, Twitch will also allow users to tune in when they see the creator of a specific video goes live. On the downside, Twitch says that ads will appear within the feed, although users will be able to scroll past them without having to pause their viewing or scrolling experience.

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Alert! Windows LPE Zero-day Exploit Advertised on Hacker Forums

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Alert! Windows LPE Zero-day Exploit Advertised on Hacker Forums
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A new zero-day Local Privilege Escalation (LPE) exploit has been put up for sale on a notorious hacker forum.

This exploit, which has not yet been assigned a Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) reference, is said to be capable of granting unauthorized users elevated privileges on any Windows system.

The asking price for this dangerous tool is a staggering $220,000, indicating its potential severity and the threat actor’s confidence in its effectiveness.

Impact on Windows Users

The emergence of this exploit is particularly alarming for Windows users, both individual and corporate, as it can potentially allow attackers to gain higher-level permissions on a targeted system.

This could lead to a range of malicious activities, from data theft and espionage to the deployment of ransomware and other destructive software.

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Without the necessary patches and specific details, users are left in a vulnerable position.

The exploit’s ability to affect all Windows platforms suggests that no version of the operating system is safe, and the lack of a CVE reference means that there is no official acknowledgment or fix available yet.

While the exact technical specifics of the exploit have not been disclosed publicly, the nature of Local Privilege Escalation vulnerabilities can give us some insight.

Typically, LPE exploits take advantage of flaws in the operating system’s security mechanisms that manage user permissions.

By exploiting such a flaw, an attacker can elevate a standard user account to one with administrative privileges, granting them the ability to modify system settings, access restricted data, and install software.

The high price tag of the exploit implies that it is both reliable and difficult to detect, making it a valuable tool for cybercriminals.

It is also possible that the exploit is ‘wormable,’ meaning it could be used to spread malware across networks without user interaction, exponentially increasing its threat level.

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Slack AI is now available to more people

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Slack AI is now available to more people
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Slack first introduced its AI service back in 2023. With Slack AI, users can get a complete summary of conversations. This service was initially only available for Enterprise users. However, Slack is distributing its AI tools to more people. You’re still going to have to pay to use them, though.

Slack AI is now available to more people

We recently covered news about this. However, we didn’t know the price at that point. Simply put, if you’re on the Slack Pro or Slack Business+ plan, you can access Slack AI for $10/month. The Slack Pro plan costs $8.75/month and the Business+ plan costs $15/month. So, getting the AI addon will add an additional $10 to your plan each month. If you’re on an Enterprise plan, then you’ll need to contact your account rep to discuss the best pricing plan for you.

Sadly, people on the basic plan can not add Slack AI. Also, there’s no way to buy access to it as a standalone plan.

Currently, the AI service supports English, Spanish, and Japanese. Slack has promised additional language support is coming soon.

What sorts of tools does Slack AI have?

Slack AI is available to more people, but what makes it worth the money? Well, has positioned its AI service as a bundle of time-saving and efficiency-boosting tools. Instead of keyword searches, users can now ask questions in a casual conversational approach. The Slack AI service promises to offer succinct answers based on relevant Slack messages. It is useful for catching up on finding specific information.

Apart from AI-generated summaries, the most anticipated feature would be Channel Recap. It claims to offer highlights of the conversation during which users were absent. Slack claims that the AI generating these recaps is intelligent enough to distinguish between different topics discussed.

Slack AI service users will have to add a channel to their recap. Thereafter, they will receive a daily digest with anything they may have missed. Moreover, Slack AI also offers personalized channel recommendations based on users’ past Slack activity.

A similar tool, called “conversation summaries”, is available for threads, which are one-on-one or group conversations on Slack. Users can ask Slack AI to help them catch up on anything they may have missed, and generate daily summaries. The AI will also offer sources of specific entries or notes.

Besides Recap and Summaries, Slack AI should gradually get better, the workplace management platform indicated. The company stated it was working on expanding its AI’s scope to include files, Slack apps, canvases, and clips. This would allow the Slack AI service to have a much deeper as well as broader context.


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GPT-4 challenges eye doctors, manages remarkably close assessment

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GPT-4 challenges eye doctors, manages remarkably close assessment
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OpenAI’s GPT-4 has managed to perform remarkably well against eye doctors, claims a new report. The assessments generated by the LLM (Large Language Model) Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) managed to beat non-specialist junior doctors and trainees. The Microsoft-funded Gen AI even came close to matching expert eye medics.

GPT-4 answers ophthalmology assessment MCQs

A study, published in PLOS Digital Health journal, has proven how Gen AI LLMs could help in the medical field. Speaking about the results, Arun Thirunavukarasu, the lead author of the paper said,

“What this work shows is that the knowledge and reasoning ability of these large language models in an eye health context is now almost indistinguishable from experts. We are seeing the ability to answer quite complicated questions.”

He was referring to GPT-4’s ability to answer MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) about ophthalmology. In all, the study reportedly asked GPT-4 87 MCQs. Five expert ophthalmologists, three trainee ophthalmologists, and two unspecialized junior doctors answered the same questions.

The study designed a questionnaire from a textbook for testing trainees on everything from light sensitivity to lesions. It is interesting to note that the contents of the textbook aren’t available in the public domain. Hence, the researchers believe OpenAI may have trained its LLMs during an internal training exercise.

During the study, researchers gave ChatGPT, equipped with GPT-4 or GPT-3.5, three tries to answer definitively. If it failed, researchers marked the response as “null”.

GPT-4 beats some eye doctors but can’t match experts yet

From the 87 different patient scenarios GPT-4 reportedly outperformed the juniors, and achieved similar results to most of the specialists. Specifically speaking, GPT-4 got 60 of the 87 questions right. Junior doctors managed to get an average of 37 correct answers.

Trainees in the field of ophthalmology came pretty close with an average of 59.7 correct answers. Barring one expert, who correctly answered 56 MCQs, the remaining specialists averaged 66.4 right answers.

Comparatively, PaLM 2 managed to get 49 answers correct, GPT-3.5 got only 42, and LLaMa trailed the pack with just 28 correctly answered MCQs.

It is important to note that the study was conducted in mid-2023. In other words, the LLMs have likely gotten way better at understanding and answering complex queries.

The health industry would undoubtedly benefit from ChatGPT, Gemini, and other Gen AI platforms. However, some medical experts have cautioned against relying on Gen AI to diagnose a patient. Such platforms “lack nuance”, they stated. Hence, there could be a concerningly high probability of inaccuracy, cautioned some of the researchers.


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Google merging Android and hardware teams to infuse AI in everything

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Google merging Android and hardware teams to infuse AI in everything
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Google is merging its Android OS (Operating System) and product hardware teams. The “super-team” will collaborate and build AI (Artificial Intelligence) in nearly all categories of products, including smartphones, TVs, watches, and more.

Google merging Android and hardware into “Platforms and Devices”

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a major restructuring at Google. The most notable change would undoubtedly be the merger of Android as a platform and hardware as a product.

The new team, called “Platforms and Devices”, will reportedly oversee all of Google’s Pixel products, all of Android, Chrome, ChromeOS, Photos, and more.

Rick Osterloh, who was previously the SVP of devices and services, will head this super-team. He was leading Google’s hardware, including Pixel smartphones.

Hiroshi Lockheimer will be taking on other projects inside of Google and Alphabet. It is not clear why Google shifted him out of software platforms. He has been a key figure at the company and was instrumental in developing Android, Chrome, and ChromeOS.

This change or “consolidation” as Osterloh calls it, is meant to improve the infusion and deployment of AI within Google’s products. “Consolidating teams helps us to be able to do full-stack innovation when that’s necessary,” he said.

Some of the most notable hardware aspects that benefit tremendously from AI and ML (Machine Learning) are synthetic vision (digital camera) and GPUs (Graphics Processing Units). The Pixel Camera is one of the biggest beneficiaries of rapid developments in AI.

Osterloh even pointed to Google’s in-house Tensor GPUs. Although nowhere near NVIDIA’s GPUs, Google Tensor is rapidly scaling new heights in on-device AI processing.

AI will help Google improve Android update speed

There’s no doubt that Google has been a little late to the AI party. Microsoft is currently ahead with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but Google has Android OS. Needless to say, Google owns the world’s most widely used OS and offers services that run on millions of actively-used devices.

Owing to the new team, AI should make deeper inroads into Android. Google may ask this new super-team to rapidly deploy, tweak, and improve AI in Android Auto, Wear OS, and ChromeOS.

Google is already busy embedding its Gemini AI and chatbot in nearly every imaginable product. Hence, almost every device that runs Android OS or its fork, could have some form of AI soon.

Osterloh hinted that one of Google’s aims is to “make everything faster”. This also includes accelerating Android updates. “We can’t airdrop a new SOC into existing products, but we can design for longevity, and then update our software frequently,” he reasoned.

The new Platforms and Devices team, born from merging Android and hardware, seems to be Google’s attempt at running a tight ship. Perhaps, this integrated and consolidated approach might help Google reduce the number of products it kills.


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