Swalwell for Congress Campaign Partners with Wolfsbane.ai to Protect Against AI Generated Cloning

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Los Angeles, United States, April 2nd, 2024, Cyberwire

Today, Congressman Eric Swalwell, CA-14, announced that he has partnered with Wolfsbane.ai to help prevent his 2024 election campaign content from being used to create AI clones and deepfakes. Wolfsbane.ai will use its patent-pending technology to encode Rep. Swalwell’s campaign videos and audio with a countermeasure that makes it difficult to create AI clones with that content.

Rep. Swalwell is the first political figure to use Wolfsbane.ai and take an active step to ensure that his campaign content is not used to create clones and fakes that can be used for misinformation. “Ensuring the integrity of our democratic process is of paramount importance,” said Swalwell. “Embracing cutting-edge tools such as Wolfsbane.ai to prevent deepfakes is not just an option; it’s a necessity in safeguarding elections against fraud and misinformation.”

Rep. Swalwell is ranking member of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Congressional Subcommittee where he has stressed the dangers of AI-generated deepfakes in spreading election misinformation. Rep. Swalwell is not merely talking about preventing deepfakes, he is taking active steps to ensure that his own voice and likeness are protected using the latest technology advancements. “AI is a potent technology,” said Swalwell. “If used irresponsibly, it can hijack the likeness and voice of public figures to undermine their credibility and spread disinformation. Wolfsbane.ai will mitigate the risks of this happening to me.”

One of the advancements in the fight against AI deepfakes is Wolfsbane.ai. Wolfsbane.ai is a recently launched service offered by Play Cubed: A company founded by content protection pioneers Randy Saaf and Octavio Herrera as well as Fazri Zubair and Noah Edelman. Wolfsbane.ai allows customers to protect their content, voice, IP and identity from unauthorized AI cloning and deepfakes. Before publishing any content, Wolfsbane.ai customers can use a simple interface to upload and quickly process it; once done that content is protected by the Wolfsbane countermeasure and the user can publish their content with peace-of-mind. Wolfsbane.ai’s patent-pending encoding technology offers a robust defense, designed to effectively combat a wide spectrum of AI cloning tools.

Wolfsbane.ai is being used by music artists, entertainment companies, content creators, and individuals but the company is very focused on working with campaigns as well as government officials. “We are proud to be working with Rep. Swalwell’s campaign” said Play Cubed CEO Randy Saaf. “We think our technology can be an effective tool in the fight against AI fakes during this important election year.”

About Swalwell for Congress:

Elected in 2012 to Congress, representing the East Bay in Northern California, Eric Swalwell served eight years on the House Intelligence Committee where he was the chairman and ranking member overseeing the CIA. On the Intelligence Committee, Eric helped lead the House Investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, and later, the first and second impeachments of Donald Trump. As a member of the House Democrats’ leadership team, Eric was on the House Floor on January 6. A week after the attack, Eric was appointed as a House Impeachment Manager for the former president’s Senate trial.

Eric currently serves on the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees. He is also Chairman Emeritus and founder of Future Forum, a group of young Democratic members focused on issues and opportunities for millennial Americans. Eric is also founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Critical Materials Caucus, and Personalized Medicine Caucus. Every day Eric strives to make sure if you work hard it adds up to doing better for yourself and dreaming bigger for your family.  

About Play Cubed/Wolfsbane.ai

Play Cubed provides AI Content Protection services via its patent-pending technology Wolfsbane.ai. Play Cubed is founded by Randy Saaf, Octavio Herrera, Fazri Zubair, and Noah Edelman. Our team has been together for over 8 years, with Randy and Octavio having worked together for over 20 years. Randy and Octavio are proven entrepreneurs with two successful exits valuing nearly $400M. Randy and Octavio are content protection pioneers, having co-founded P2P anti-piracy provider MediaDefender in 2000. MediaDefender was used by every major music label and movie studio and was acquired by ARTISTDirect in 2005. The Play Cubed team also has a successful history of developing enabling technologies used by top companies such as Major League Baseball, NBA, CBS, ESPN, Mattel, Universal Music, Sony Music, Lionsgate, and many more.

Contact

Cofounder
Octavio Herrera
Play Cubed
[email protected]


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Google Pixel 9 design gets shown in a video format

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The Google Pixel 9 surfaced in CAD-based renders not long ago. Those renders basically revealed the phone’s design. Well, a new video has surfaced on YouTube, and it’s showing the Pixel 9 design as well.

The upcoming vanilla Pixel 9 appears in a new video, showing us its design a bit more

The design of the phone in this video is based on CAD renders, in case you were wondering. Therefore, the design is probably spot on. Do note that this is the cheapest Pixel 9 phone that is coming and the smallest.

Based on the CAD renders we’ve seen thus far, we’ll get three Pixel 9 series smartphones this year. One vanilla model with two rear cameras, and two flagship models with three cameras on the back.

As already mentioned, the device you can see in the video below the article is the entry-level model. You can see its pill-shaped camera island on the back, with two cameras included inside it. An LED flash also sits there.

Its camera island does protrude on the back quite a bit

That camera island does protrude on the back quite a bit, it seems. The sides of the phone are flat all around, but they do come with slightly rounded edges. All the physical buttons sit on the right-hand side.

The bezels around the display of this phone won’t be thick, but they certainly won’t be the thinnest around either. A centered display camera hole will sit on the display too.

Now, the designer showed us the phone in a number of colors here, but those are just a part of his imagination. The Pixel 9 will likely arrive in several color options, but we still don’t know what they are.

This smartphone is said to include a 6.03-inch display and measures around 152.8 x 71.9 x 8.5mm (12mm with the camera bump). The phone will likely be made out of metal and glass.


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Microsoft Copilot: Here’s how to unleash your inner Picasso and create stunning AI-generated images

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Not long ago, having an AI to do your bidding seemed like something taken from a Science Fiction novel. But with the release of ChatGPT, everything changed significantly.

Now, you can have whole conversations with AI. It can even help you in your work or school, offering various suggestions. Of course, it’s still advisable to take its recommendations with a pinch of salt. But when used properly, AI can be an extremely useful tool. The best thing is that you can hold the power of AI in the palm of your hand. All you need is to install Microsoft’s free Copilot app on your trusted iPhone or Android smartphone. Copilot is also available on the web through Bing.

Designed to be ‘your everyday AI companion,’ the app utilizes ChatGPT and can do things like help you find new cooking recipes, design exercise programs, and ‘create any image you can imagine.’ Yep! You can even let your inner Picasso loose with the power of AI. But how can you do that? Well, let’s see!

How to create images in Copilot

To create images in Copilot, you need to open the Copilot app and enable ChatGPT 4. This ensures you’ll use the more advanced GPT-4 model for free instead of paying $20 a month.

After that, you need to go to the Designer tab, and then just give in to your imagination and type everything that comes to your mind in the text area. When you’re finished, simply send the message and let Copilot, with the assistance of DALL-E — an AI system for image creation — turn your words into a beautiful picture. 

To show you how it works, we instructed Copilot to generate an image of a black cat in a dark forest looking at the sky, which is full of stars. The result is below.

You should be as descriptive as possible. But even if you are not, you can always add more context and let Copilot generate a new image based on your new input. The application also lists a few suggestions if you wish to add more objects to your image. In the example below, we used one of its suggestions and told it to add a crescent moon.

When the generated image finally represents the picture in your head — or at least is as close as possible — you can tap on it and then share it by copying its URL or add it to your Microsoft account’s Collections. If you tap the three-dot button, you’ll also see an option to download the image to your device.

We should note that while Copilot’s image creation functionality is truly impressive, sometimes it won’t return the result you expect to see, especially if it’s on a topic that it doesn’t have a lot of information on. So, keep this in mind while unleashing your inner painter.

What you can’t do with Copilot’s image generation

If you are a parent, you’ll be happy to learn that Copilot cannot be used for generating explicit content. The moment you ask it to create such an image, the app answers that it’s unable to assist. You’ll also see a prompt saying it’s time to move on to a new topic, encouraging you to start over. So, even children can use Copilot’s image generation functionality.

Another free option for creating images

Microsoft’s Copilot is awesome, but it’s not the only service that lets you create beautiful images. We also find Adobe Firefly to be a great tool for unleashing your creativity with the help of AI.

Similar to Copilot, Adobe Firefly provides a text area where you can describe what you want to be generated. However, unlike Copilot, Firefly is not a chatbot, so you can’t hold a conversation with it. You simply write your prompt, and it generates an image. Additionally, Adobe Firefly is a web application, so you can access it only via a browser.

A gallery of well-crafted images

Here we are, at the end of this lovely article. And what better way to end it than with a fine selection of gorgeous Copilot-generated images!


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Hundreds of Indians Rescued from Cambodian Cybercrime Gangs

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Hundreds of Indians Rescued from Cambodian Cybercrime Gangs
Image credit: Hackread.com

Indian authorities rescue hundreds trafficked for cybercrime in Cambodia. Victims lured by false jobs, forced to work in scams. Read for details and the global fight against human trafficking for cybercrime.

Indian authorities have successfully rescued hundreds of citizens who were lured to Cambodia with false promises of legitimate jobs, only to be forced into working for cybercrime gangs. This news comes after a period of growing concern about human trafficking targeting Indian nationals in Southeast Asia.

The details of the rescue operation remain undisclosed, but a statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed the success. The MEA spokesperson, Shri Randhir Jaiswal, acknowledged that the ministry, along with the Indian embassy in Cambodia, had previously issued warnings regarding such dangers. However, Jaiswal added that many Indian nationals unfortunately remain trapped in the Southeast Asian country.

Lured by False Promises

The rescued individuals were reportedly tricked into travelling to Cambodia under the false pretence of high-paying jobs. Once there, their passports were confiscated, and they were forced to work long hours conducting cybercrime activities for the gangs. These activities likely involved scams like telecom fraud, where victims are tricked into revealing personal information or sending money.

Global Problem, Regional Focus

This incident shows the growing problem of human trafficking for cybercrime purposes. In December 2023, a global law enforcement operation codenamed “Storm Makers II” led to the arrest of hundreds of individuals suspected of human trafficking, cybercrime, and other offences. The operation revealed cases involving victims from various countries, including Malaysia, Uganda, and India.

The operation spanned numerous cyber scams, including the case of 40 Malaysians who were enticed to travel to Peru with promises of lucrative employment, as well as several individuals recruited for jobs in Dubai, only to be redirected to Thailand and Myanmar.

It’s also important to mention that last month’s INTERPOL Financial Fraud report highlighted human trafficking as a significant contributor to worldwide cybercrime. The organization pointed to the harmful deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technologies as a key reason for the increase.

The Indian government’s efforts to rescue its citizens highlight the regional nature of this issue. Cambodia, along with other Southeast Asian nations, has become a hotspot for cybercrime activity due to factors like lax regulations and unprotected borders.

What Lies Ahead?

While the successful rescue is a positive development, the Indian government faces the challenge of repatriating the remaining trapped individuals. Additionally, raising awareness about such scams and improving international cooperation to tackle human trafficking networks are necessary steps to prevent future incidents.

  1. Interpol Arrests 3,500 in Major Cyber Crime Bust
  2. EMPACT Hackathon Targets Online Human Traffickers
  3. AI Generated Fake Obituary Websites Target Grieving Users
  4. Utilizing Programmatic Advertising to Locate Abducted Children
  5. Anonymous Breaches Thai Senate Site against Human Trafficking

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1.3 Million Customers Data Leaked

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PandaBuy, a popular online shopping platform, has been the victim of a significant data breach.

This breach has resulted in the leak of personal information belonging to more than 1.3 million customers.

The incident has raised serious concerns about cybersecurity practices and consumer data protection in the digital age.

The breach was first brought to light by members of the BreachForums, an infamous cybercrime forum.

Two threat actors, known by pseudonyms ‘Sanggiero’ and ‘IntelBroker,’ claimed responsibility for the hack.

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They alleged that they exploited several critical vulnerabilities in PandaBuy’s platform and API to gain unauthorized access to the company’s database.

The leaked data is extensive and includes sensitive personal information such as User IDs, first and last names, phone numbers, email addresses, login IPs, order details, home addresses, zip codes, and countries of residence.

According to the announcement on BreachForums, the dataset comprises over 3 million rows of data, indicating the scale and severity of the breach.

Evidence and Confirmation

To substantiate their claims, Sanggiero published a sample of the stolen data on the cybercrime forum and offered it for sale.

stolen data on the cybercrime forum and offered it for sale
stolen data on the cybercrime forum and offered it for sale

@Sanggiero and @IntelBroker breached the website.” reads the announcement published by BreachForums.

This action has confirmed the breach and exposed the affected customers to potential further cybercrimes, including identity theft and phishing attacks.

Troy Hunt, the founder of Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), tweeted that a website that allows internet users to check whether data breaches have compromised their personal information confirmed the validity of 1.3 million email addresses from the leaked dataset.

Hunt has since added these addresses to HIBP, enabling individuals to check if the breach impacted them.

PandaBuy’s Response and Controversy

PandaBuy has not officially acknowledged the security breach.

Troy Hunt confirmed allegations that the company might be attempting to downplay or hide the incident.

Speaking on a Discord channel, a company representative claimed that the security breach occurred in the past and insisted that no data breach had occurred this year.

This statement has done little to assuage the concerns of PandaBuy customers and cybersecurity experts.

This incident is a stark reminder of the ever-present threat of cyberattacks and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures.

Companies, especially those handling vast amounts of consumer data, must prioritize the security of their platforms to protect against such breaches.

For consumers, the breach underscores the need for vigilance and the adoption of best practices for digital security, such as using strong, unique passwords and being cautious of phishing attempts.

Stay updated on Cybersecurity news, Whitepapers, and Infographics. Follow us on LinkedIn & Twitter.


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Google’s graveyard keeps growing, Google Podcasts is the latest victim

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Google’s graveyard keeps growing, as Google Podcasts becomes the company’s latest victim. The application is going away today, April 2. At the time of writing this article, it was still around, but it’ll be gone by the end of the day.

Google Podcasts is the latest app/service to join Google’s graveyard

If you still didn’t grab your data, don’t fret, as you have until July to do so. Google granted its users until then to export any subscriptions they may have on the service. We presume that the vast majority of users already switched to other podcasting services/apps.

Why? Well, we knew that Google Podcasts is going away since September last year. So users had plenty of time to think about where will they switch to. Needless to say, the news regarding the shutdown of the app managed to ruffle some feathers.

Google Podcasts was the company’s third podcasting service

What’s even more interesting is that Google Podcasts is the third podcasting service Google launched. It follows Google Listen (2009-2012) and Google Play Music Podcasts (2016-2020).

Why is Google killing off Google Podcasts? Well, Google wants to pin podcasting under the YouTube umbrella. So, get ready for the podcasting app number 4, YouTube Podcasts.

AH Google Podcasts 2024 image 3

In case you were wondering, Google Podcasts has been around for 8 years. It had the longest time span of any podcasting service Google released thus far, by far. Some people really liked that app, but not many enough to convince Google to leave it alone, apparently.

Google Podcasts came to life in a rather odd way, though. It started off as an embedded player within Google Search results, basically. It worked on google.com and Android’s search app. Later on threw a proper app to the table.

It joins a long list of services Google killed off over time

Either way, Google Podcasts joins a long list of apps/services Google killed off over the years. People are quite used to it by now, as Google has become well-known for it.

Many people still can’t get over the fact Inbox got killed off by Google, and the same goes for Google+, some users really lowed that social media network. Those are just some examples, the list is really, really long.


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More smartphones will get 5.5G support soon

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It was announced quite recently that the OPPO Find X7 Ultra has 5.5G support. The OPPO Find X7 was said to follow soon, and now more smartphones are set to get 5.5G support.

More smartphones will get 5.5G support very soon

The devices in question come from Vivo, OPPO’s sister company. The Vivo X Fold 3 series will get 5.5G support, and so will the Vivo X100 series. The company says that the support will come in the form of an OTA (Over-The-Air) update.

Vivo X100 Pro 5 5G image 1

On top of that, the IQOO 12 series and iQOO Neo 9 series phone will also get the support for 5.5G. That’s not surprising as iQOO is basically Vivo’s sub-brand, so… there you have it.

5.5G stands for 5G-Advanced, in case you’re wondering. China Mobile is the first carrier to officially offer support for 5.5G. 5G-Advanced is rated at up to 10 Gbps downlink, and 1 Gbps uplink speeds.

China Mobile aims to offer 5.5G in over 300 cities by the end of the year

China Mobile mentioned some other benefits too. The carrier mentioned millisecond latency and improved network stability. 5.5G is currently rather limited in China, but China Mobile intends to expand it to over 300 cities by the end of the year.

5.5G will be covering huge metropolitan areas such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou by the end of 2024, if everything goes according to plan. China Mobile is still the only carrier to offer 5.5G support.

We’re expecting to see more carriers join the fold, though it remains to be seen when will that happen. It will also be interesting to see how long will it take other companies to catch up.

Needless to say, 5.5G aka 5G-Advanced is basically a checkpoint on the way to 6G. We won’t be seeing 6G anytime soon, so 5.5G is the best we’ve got until that happens.


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YouTube Music will now be giving you a recap of new features once a quarter

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YouTube Music is usually one of the apps that gets updated quite often and we are used to getting info about the new additions every two months. However, now Android Headlines reports that this is going to change with the app moving to quarterly feature recaps.

YouTube Music will now be getting quarterly feature recaps instead of on a bi-monthly basis


Previously, YouTube Music had a bi-monthly feature recap schedule. Basically, that means that every two months, we would get a recap of the new features added to YouTube Music. Now the recaps will be available once a quarter. However, this doesn’t mean there won’t be as many new features as what we’ve been used to.

Alongside this announcement, YouTube provided a recap of the past couple of months. First off, you now have a little moving equalizer animation playing when you enjoy music. It will move to the beat of your music and will look just like an actual equalizer.

YouTube Music also recently got a new Samples shelf, which provides TikTok-style portrait slices of music videos. These are great for discovering new music and music videos.

Additionally, YouTube Music has gotten a revamp on the Now Playing screen, trying to find the best look. The buttons have been moved around and the overall look and feel have been changed in the past few months.

On top of all that, with Google recently saying goodbye to the Google Podcast app, maybe more people will be moving to YouTube Music to enjoy their podcasts over there. All in all, YouTube Music has even more reasons now to focus on improving the experience. So regular updates will remain a thing, despite the fact that you won’t get recaps of them as often as you’re probably used to.


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xz-utils Backdoor Affects Kali Linux Installations

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A critical vulnerability has been identified in the xz-utils package, versions 5.6.0 to 5.6.1, which harbors a backdoor capable of compromising system security.

This vulnerability, cataloged under CVE-2024-3094, poses a significant threat to the Linux ecosystem, including the widely used Kali Linux distribution, known for its robust security and penetration testing tools suite.

The Vulnerability: CVE-2024-3094

The backdoor discovered in the specified versions of xz-utils could allow an attacker to bypass sshd authentication, thereby gaining unauthorized remote access to the affected system.

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Given the ubiquity of xz-utils across various Linux distributions, the potential for widespread compromise was alarmingly high.

Fortunately, the issue was identified and addressed swiftly, mitigating the potential damage.

The vulnerability has been patched in Debian, from which Kali Linux derives much of its software base, thereby rectifying the issue for Kali users.

Impact on Kali Linux

For Kali Linux users, the vulnerability window was narrow but critical. The affected xz-utils version, 5.6.0-0.2, was available in the Kali repositories from March 26th to March 29th.

backdoor vulnerability
backdoor vulnerability

Users who updated their Kali Linux installations within this timeframe are at risk and must take immediate action to secure their systems.

If your Kali Linux system was not updated during this period, you are not at risk from this specific vulnerability.

However, staying informed and vigilant about system updates is always advisable to maintain security.

How to Check for Infection and Update

To determine if your Kali Linux system is affected, you can execute the following command in the terminal:

kali@kali:~$ apt-cache policy liblzma5 

liblzma5: 

 Installed: 5.4.5-0.3 

 Candidate: 5.6.1+really5.4.5-1 

 Version table: 

    5.6.1+really5.4.5-1 500 

       500 http://kali.download/kali kali-rolling/main amd64 Packages 

*** 5.4.5-0.3 100 

       100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

If the output indicates the installed version as 5.6.0-0.2, your system is vulnerable, and you must upgrade to the latest version, 5.6.1+really5.4.5-1. This can be achieved with the following commands:

kali@kali:~$ sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y --only-upgrade liblzma5
...
kali@kali:~$

For those seeking more detailed information on this vulnerability, several resources are available:

  • Help Net Security provides a summarized post on the details of the vulnerability.
  • Openwall features the initial disclosure of the vulnerability.
  • The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) entry for CVE-2024-3094 offers comprehensive information on the specifics of the vulnerability.

This incident serves as a reminder of the constant vigilance required in the digital age to protect against evolving cybersecurity threats.

Users are encouraged to promptly apply updates and stay informed on the latest security advisories.

Stay updated on Cybersecurity news, Whitepapers, and Infographics. Follow us on LinkedIn & Twitter.


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OnePlus unveils Nord CE4 with 120Hz display, Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC

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A new OnePlus phone is here, the Nord CE4. This handset was announced in India, and it’s a mid-ranger, in case you were wondering. Its spec sheet is nothing to scoff at, and it also looks very nice.

The OnePlus Nord CE4 has been announced with one of Qualcomm’s best mid-range chips

As you can see in the provided images, the device has a flat display, with rather thin bezels. A centered display camera hole is included, while all of its physical keys are located on the right side.

There are two cameras placed on the back, and they’re vertically aligned. They are a part of the same camera island which sits in the top-left corner of the phone’s back. OnePlus’ logo is also located on the back.

It has a 120Hz display, and offers expandable storage too

The OnePlus Nord CE4 features a 6.7-inch fullHD+ (2412 x 1080) AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. That panel also offers a 240Hz touch sampling rate and a 2,160Hz PWM dimming. Its display brightness goes up to 1,100 nits.

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 fuels the OnePlus Nord CE4. The phone is also equipped with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB/256GB of UFS 3.1 flash storage. Its storage is expandable up to 1TB via a microSD card.

A 5,500mAh battery sits inside of this phone. The OnePlus Nord CE4 supports 100W SuperVOOC charging. Android 14 comes pre-installed on the device, along with OnePlus’ OxygenOS 14.

Two rear-facing cameras are included, and the phone is IP54 certified

A 50-megapixel main camera (Sony’s LYT-600 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, OIS) is located on the back. It’s backed by an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera (120-degree FoV, Sony’s IMX355 sensor, f/2.2 aperture). On the front, you’ll find a 16-megapixel selfie shooter (f/2.4 aperture).

The OnePlus Nord CE4 is IP54 certified, it’s dust and splash-resistant. A hybrid dual SIM card slots is included here. In other words, you can either use two SIM cards at the same time, or a SIM card and a microSD card.

The phone has an optical in-display fingerprint scanner. It measures 162.5 x 75.3 x 8.4mm, and weighs 186 grams. The OnePlus Nord CE4 comes in Dark Chrome and Celadon Marble colors. The latter has a marble look on the back.

The pricing of the OnePlus Nord CE4 starts at INR24,999 ($300). The phone is already available for pre-booking in the country, and there are also some pre-order perks included, like a free pair of OnePlus Nord Buds 2r.


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