WhatsApp, the Meta-owned global messaging app, has been working on a feature for some time now where you will be able to give out a username instead of your phone number to those you want to message with. This has been a highly requested feature that has seemingly taken very long to implement since it was spotted last year in a beta build. However, it now appears that more work is being done to test this feature, indicating that it is still on the table.
Unlike in the United States, where Apple’s iMessage and old school SMS have a stronghold on messaging, the rest of the world uses other solutions. WhatsApp is one of them in places like India, Latin America, and some parts of Europe, which subsequently translates to users in those living in the United States who have friends and family in those locations.
For users everywhere, the WhatsApp team has been working on introducing the option to generate usernames. News on the progress of this feature was quiet for a while, but based on the newest WhatsApp beta for iOS 24.3.10.72 version (as spotted by WABetaInfo), it appears like this feature is about to take off.
Image Source: WABetaInfo
In this version, the section within the app where users can choose a username is once again present. This time, though, the app will initiate a validation process to make sure that the username chosen is valid. The validation includes making sure the the username is unique and only allows for alphanumeric characters (a-z and 0-9). This provides the option to keep your phone number hidden, which provides numerous benefits when it comes to privacy.
Currently, exchanging contact information for WhatsApp involves revealing your phone number, which can be concerning for those that prefer certain anonymity, be it for security or personal reasons. While users will probably still need a number to set up an account, having the option of a username allows them to be more selective about who sees it.
Additionally, this feature could be useful to those that want a username that is much easier for friends and family to remember, rather than a series of numbers. Unfortunately, WhatsApp has yet to provide an official timeline for when usernames will be available to all users, but we hope this becomes a focus for the app’s developers this year.
Phishing has been one of the primary methods threat actors use for impersonating individuals or brands with a sense of urgency that could result in private information being entered on a malicious URL.
Phishing has been set with several preventive measures that block any phishing email inside an organization.
However, with evolving technologies, threat actors have equipped themselves with the right tools that can help them evade any preventive mechanisms and prevent any individuals from giving up their confidential information. One of the latest techniques used by threat actors is Quishing or QR-based phishing.
DocumentLive Account Takeover Attack Simulation
Live attack simulation Webinar demonstrates various ways in which account takeover can happen and practices to protect your websites and APIs against ATO attacks.
QR-based Phishing Surges
There has been a big surge in Quishing attacks due to the evasion technique it offers and the success ratio. QRs have boomed in the last three years and are now used in several places, such as MFA, for viewing menus at restaurants, Wi-Fi password scanning, contactless payments, and several other purposes.
This makes QRs more dangerous than usual, as victims have low suspicions of malicious QR codes that can steal confidential information from the victim. Quishing is another important factor that makes it one of the biggest weapons in a threat actor’s arsenal.
When a user receives an email with a malicious QR, he/she scans the QR using their mobile phone, which brings them out of the organization’s security circle since no organization monitors personal mobile phones.
Scanning a malicious QR takes them to a malicious website that impersonates a Microsoft or Google login page, prompting them to enter their credential.
Since QRs have low suspicions among executives, users enter their credentials that provide the threat actor with a valid credential to an organization.
Though any employee could be a target of a Quishing attack, researchers revealed that C-suite members such as chief executive officer (CEO), Chief financial officer (CFO), Chief operating officer (COO), and Chief information officer (CIO) were highly targeted due to the level of privilege and access they possess.
Quishing Attack ratio (Source: Abnormal Security)
Non-C-Suite VIPs, such as executive vice presidents, senior vice presidents, and department heads, were also heavily targeted with Quishing attacks.
Suppose threat actors gain access to one of these high-level credentials. In that case, they can initiate an internal as well as an external fraudulent request that could target many employees inside an organization.
QR-based phishing attacks have been published by Abnormal Security, which provides detailed information about the attack vector, credential compromise, percentage ratio of targets, and other information.
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Last week, Samsung released the February 2024 Android security patch for a bunch of Galaxy smartphones in the US, including the Galaxy S23 series and the latest foldables. The company has now begun a second wave of February security updates stateside. It is pushing the update to the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy S20 series, and more devices.
More Galaxy devices receive the February update in the US
The Galaxy S23 series was the first Samsung phone to receive the February SMR (Security Maintenance Release) in the US. The Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, and Galaxy A53 followed shortly. The Korean firm has just released the latest security patch for the Galaxy S21 lineup too, including the FE model.
As of this writing, the factory-unlocked units of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra are picking up the new SMR in the US. The updated firmware build number for the phones is G99*U1UESAFXAB. Samsung should soon cover the carrier-locked units too. It has already released the update in some international markets, including Europe.
The February update for the Galaxy S21 FE, meanwhile, begins stateside. Both carrier-locked and unlocked variants are receiving the new security patch in the US. The update bumps the build number for the phone to G990USQSAFXAI for locked units and G990U1UESAFXAA for unlocked units. A global rollout should be just around the corner. The new SMR brings 69 vulnerability patches to the Galaxy family.
The Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra are also picking up this month’s security update in the US ahead of other regions. Samsung has released the update for carrier-locked units with the build number G98*USQS8HXA1 (G98*VSQS8HXA1 for Verizon users). A wider rollout should follow soon. Like the Galaxy S21 lineup, the 2020 flagships are also only getting the latest security fixes.
The Galaxy A15 5G is also getting the new security patch in the US
The Galaxy A15 5G is another new addition to Samsung’s February 2024 update party in the US. The newly released budget phone is picking up the latest security fixes on Verizon’s network with firmware version A156USQS1AXA7. If you are using any of these Galaxy smartphones in the US, watch out for the latest security update with dozens of vulnerability fixes. Three Android OS security issues patched this month were labeled critical by Google, so you might not want to delay the update.
Apple recently took the wraps off one of the biggest releases in a long time, the Apple Vision Pro. There’s no denying that it hasn’t made enough buzz in the industry, and reports also suggest that it’s being sold for a higher price in other markets, due to its US-only availability. Subsequently, industry leaders such as Sam Altman were among the first ones to drop a quick review of Apple Vision Pro.
Sam Altman believes Apple Vision Pro is the “second most impressive tech since the iPhone”
OpenAI chief Sam Altman took to X to share his quick review of the Apple Vision Pro. He believes it’s the “second most impressive tech since the iPhone.” On the same post, another user commented that it probably has the worst name. However, Sam Altman quickly responded, “ChatGPT is a lot worse. [sic]”
Of course, we don’t know whether he tried the Apple Vision Pro or not but a compliment from someone, who has changed his tune of the generative AI space, does matter.
He doesn’t delve into more details as to why he believes so. But a comparison with the first-generation iPhone means that he believes that Apple’s Vision Pro has the potential to become the next big thing in tech.
Sam Altman isn’t the only one, after all
Elon Musk, too, was among the early adopters of the Apple Vision Pro. However, his appraisal of Apple’s latest release is mixed. Musk concedes that the Vision Pro failed to surprise him. He draws a parallel with the first-generation iPhone, suggesting there’s ample room for improvement in the Vision Pro.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman notes that there’s more to this and essentially, this is just the prototype of the final product. He further adds that the Apple Vision Pro will not affect the sales of or replace the iPhone or Mac; rather, it will impact the iPads.
For those unaware, Apple Vision Pro is up and selling for $3500 for the base variant in the US. Apple is also giving 30-minute one-on-one demos to experience visionOS, made specifically for the Apple Vision Pro.
Remember the very simple “Sign in with Google” option that you see all over the internet? It saves you a lot of time by allowing you to use your Google Account to log into a variety of apps, websites, and services, eliminating the need to create individual accounts for every site you log in to. This useful sign-in page appears to be getting a minor change.
As reported by Android Central, Google is currently informing users that a revamp is in the works. This is being done by placing a simple banner at the top of Google sign-in pages which reads, “A new look is coming soon. Google is updating the sign-in page with a more modern look and feel.”
Image by Phone Arena
We have yet to see what this new “modern look and feel” is supposed to look like, considering Google hasn’t released any screenshots yet, but we can make some educated guesses on the matter. For example, just as others have already done so, we can speculate that this re-design would likely fall within Google’s own “Material You” design language, which is already being used across the ecosystem. This would make perfect sense and it would add a splash of color and consistency across the web.
While it is almost certain that Google’s Material Design philosophy would be incorporated into the re-design, the more interesting questions is not the “how” but the “why” this is being done. Sure, clean lines, bold colors, and easy-to-navigate interfaces can be a good enough reason to apply a visual refresh across sign-in pages. However, there is another consideration as to why this might be in the works.
Google’s push for password alternatives
It’s no surprise that Google has been working for some time now to drive the use of passkeys as an alternative to using passwords. Making significant changes such as making passkeys the default sign-in method for personal and workspace accounts, as well as becoming a driving force for the expansion of passkeys support across the web by enlisting more partners, is not to be taken lightly.
It is entirely possible that this redesign could be another way in which Google plans to highlight the use of passkeys even more. Google’s sign-in pages already prompt users to use them, but currently it is presented as more of an afterthought that the default sign-in method is it meant to be.
It is important to note that at this point this is all speculation. We have no clear indication on what Google’s plans are on this matter, but considering how prominent the redesign notice is right now on sign-in pages, we probably won’t have to wait long to find out.
Despite not being 0-day or even 1-day vulnerabilities, three well-known and outdated CVEs in Microsoft Word and Excel continue to pose a threat to the cybersecurity industry.
In these three CVEs, researchers found several connections, including technical tricks to conceal the harmful nature of the malicious documents and lure topics designed to mislead users into opening the document.
“More than 13000 samples that use old CVEs are lurking in-the-wild in 2023. Different formats – DOC(X), XLS(X), RTF – and tricks are used, all with the same purpose: to lure the victim into clicking and cause the subsequent malware to spread”, CheckPoint said.
Attack domains that the operators of mallocs select include lucrative industries, including banking and finance, government, and healthcare.
Affected Countries
3 Old And Well-Known CVEs Used In Microsoft Word & Excel
CVE-2017-11882 (technical analysis by Palo Alto)
CVE-2017-0199 (technical analysis by Perception Point)
CVE-2018-0802 (technical analysis by Check Point Software Technologies)
Maldocs with specified CVEs were used to spread several infamous malware families, such as Dridex in 2017 (CVE-2017-0199), Guloader in 2021 (CVE-2017-11882), LokiBot in 2018(CVE-2018-0802) and others.
The scenario remained unchanged in 2023 despite the detection of certain noteworthy additions to the disseminated payloads, such as samples utilized by Agent Tesla, Gamaredon APT, and Formbook/Xloader.
The samples utilized in Gamaredon APT activities are among the most noteworthy. A notorious hacker gang supported by the Russian state is called Gamaredon APT.
Connection of the maldoc exploiting CVE-2017-0199 with Gamaredon APT
Agent Tesla is a well-known malware family that topped the list of most common malware in October 2022. It is an advanced RAT functioning as a keylogger and information stealer.
Connection of the maldoc exploiting CVE-2017-11882 with Agent Tesla
GuLoader is another malware family that has been observed being distributed using maldocs. A well-known shellcode-based downloader called GuLoader has been used in numerous attacks to distribute several types of the “most wanted” malware.
Connection of the maldoc exploiting CVE-2017-0199 with GuLoader
Initially identified in 2016, Formbook is an infostealer malware (CVE-2017-11882). Screenshots, keystrokes, and credentials stored in online browsers are just a few of the data kinds that it takes from compromised systems.
Maldocs can take a variety of forms, but one of their lures is a poorly formatted text that still requires the user to “enable editing” for this document.
Excel malicious documents may be encrypted, which would complicate analysis. The MS Enhanced RSA and AES crypto-providers are used to carry out the encryption and decryption.
Shellcodes within malicious documents, enormous oleObjects, obfuscated VBA macros, and strange URLs are some of the techniques employed in maldocs.
“The methodology of the 5-year-old spreading method must be well known, and this malware must be detected and stopped as early as possible”, researchers said.
Recommendation
Update the operating system and any installed apps.
Never click on links in unsolicited emails from senders you don’t recognize.
Increase staff awareness of cybersecurity
If you are unsure, speak with a security expert; preventing an issue is preferable than treating it.
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that calls made with voices generated with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be considered “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Effective immediately, that makes robocalls that implement voice cloning technology and target consumers illegal.
Robocalls are automated phone calls, often associated with scams, which can be a nuisance to individuals and businesses alike. Some of these calls use AI generated voices of trusted celebrities to gain the trust of the target, in a technique known as voice cloning.
The unanimous ruling by the FCC provides state attorneys general across the country with new tools to go after the people behind these nefarious robocalls. Many of these calls would be considered illegal anyway because they are scams or fraudulent, but now the fact that they use AI generated voices alone is enough for them to be considered illegal.
The FCC says it received a letter signed by attorneys general from 26 states asking the agency to act on restricting the use of AI in marketing phone calls.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stated:
“Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities, and misinform voters. We’re putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice.”
From now on, those who wish to send robocalls must obtain prior express consent from the called party before making a call that utilizes artificial or prerecorded voice simulated or generated through AI technology.
Violations of the TCPA are subject to stiff civil penalties. Abusers can anticipate fines of up to $1,500 per incident without a cap on damages.
On January 30, 2024, the FCC said its previous actions against international robocalls appear to have reduced apparently illegal robocall traffic across multiple networks. If this new announcement leads to an even bigger reduction, you won’t hear us complaining.
What to do if you answer a robocall
When you receive a call from someone outside your contact list only to hear a recorded message playing back at you, that’s a robocall.
Hang up as soon as you realize that it is an automated robocall.
Do not engage with the call at all.
Don’t follow any instructions.
Avoid giving away any personal information.
Report the robocall.
If you’ve lost money to a phone scam or have information about the company or scammer who called you, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If you didn’t lose money and just want to report a call, use the streamlined reporting form at DoNotCall.gov
It is important to not engage in any conversation or respond to any prompts to minimize the risk of fraud. Even the smallest snippets of your recorded voice could allow for voice-cloning and used in scams against you or your loved ones.
We don’t just report on phone security—we provide it
NBCUniversal and the WWE announced in February 2021, that it had signed a deal to bring the entire WWE Network over to Peacock starting on March 18, 2021. Essentially killing the WWE Network in the US, and making it even cheaper for WWE fans to get all of the monthly PPVs, as well as WrestleMania. And you still get access to a ton of non-WWE content, too.
But as always, there are a lot of questions surrounding this move, like whether or not everything from the WWE is included in the Peacock Premium plan. Or if you need to pay extra for each PPV like you would with UFC on ESPN+. So, in this post, we’re going to aim to answer all of your questions.
Update: WWE just announced a deal with Netflix that will see Monday Night Raw move to the streaming service in 2025. Netflix will also be getting the entire WWE library, including PLE’s starting in January 2025. However, that is going to be outside of the US only. In the US, PLEs like WrestleMania will continue to be on Peacock until at least March 2026.
When will the WWE launch on Peacock?
WWE officially launched on Peacock on March 18, 2021. That’s the Thursday before the first PPV that will be available on Peacock – Fastlane, which is also the last PPV on the Road to Wrestlemania.
The entire WWE library won’t be ready for launch day, though. Peacock notes that most of the recent PPVs won’t be available on Peacock until later on. Right now, they are saying “by Summerslam,” which takes place in August. This means that wrestling fans could go several weeks or months without some of the more recent PPVs from WWE.
How much will this cost me?
Here’s the beauty about this deal between the WWE and NBCUniversal, it’s actually going to cost you half as much as the WWE Network cost you.
You can get access to the full WWE library of content on Peacock Premium. Which is $4.99 per month, and if you’re a Comcast or Cox customer, you actually get that plan for free, instead of the $9.99 per month that the WWE Network charged you for everything.
On top of that, you also get access to the entire Peacock library of content, which is pretty vast. Giving you a lot more content to watch for a whole lot less.
What happens to my existing WWE Network gift cards?
A very popular aspect of the WWE Network was allowing users to buy gift cards and use them for their subscriptions. But with the Network sunsetting on April 4, those gift cards will turn useless. So what can be done with them?
The WWE hasn’t come up with a plan just yet on what to do with these gift card balances, but they will likely credit you or turn them into WWE Shop gift cards so you can buy some merchandise.
Will my account get credited for the remaining balance?
If your WWE Network subscription renews on April 1, and the Network shuts down on April 4, you’re definitely not getting your full $9.99 worth. And the WWE has said that they will credit users for a pro-rated amount.
The thing to do here is to cancel your WWE Network subscription now, so you don’t have to worry about the pro-rated amount that the WWE might give you back.
What’s happening to the WWE Network?
The WWE Network will still be up and running in the US until April 5. So you can watch Fastlane on either Peacock or the WWE Network. However, Wrestlemania, which is a two-day event once again, taking place on April 10 and April 11, will be exclusively on Peacock.
In the US, the WWE Network will cease to exist, Peacock is basically becoming the “WWE Network”. But this is in the US only. In other countries, the WWE Network will continue to exist. So if you don’t live in the US, then this changes nothing for you.
What WWE programming will be available on Peacock?
In short, everything. The entire WWE library will be available on Peacock. But not entirely at launch. As mentioned already, some of the PPVs from recent years won’t be available on Peacock for the March 18 launch. Those will make their way over in time for Summerslam in August. It’ll likely be available ahead of that time though.
Just like on the WWE Network, Peacock will bring you every live WWE pay-per-view event, along with every WWE, WCW, and ECW pay-per-view in history. There are also thousands of hours of on-demand programming. This includes original series, documentaries and your favorite shows from the WWE Archives.
Like with the WWE Network, you won’t be able to watch Raw or Smackdown on Peacock immediately. Replays will be added 30 days after they air on the USA Network and FOX, respectively. However, NXT episodes will be available on Peacock the next day.
Do I need to pay extra for PPVs?
No.
Unlike ESPN+ and the UFC, Peacock is including all PPVs in the price of Peacock Premium. So that $4.99/month price you’re paying brings you all of the PPVs that WWE will put on each year. There are usually 12 PPV events per year (this does sometimes fluctuate though), roughly one per month. These would normally cost at least $60 per pay-per-view, and you’re getting it for about $5. That is a really incredible deal.
What if I already subscribe to Peacock?
Then you’re all set. If you already subscribe to Peacock Premium or Peacock Premium Plus, then you’re all set and will be able to start watching WWE content on the service starting on March 18.
The WWE and Peacock have done a great job of making it easy as can be to switch over to Peacock to watch all of its content.
What devices are support for streaming Peacock?
Peacock is available to stream on most devices. Below, you’ll see the full list of supported streaming devices for Peacock.
Web Browsers: Chrome 75+ (Windows/Mac) Firefox 68+ (Windows/Mac) MS Edge 80+ (Windows/Mac) Safari 12+ (Mac)
Mobile and Tablet Devices: Android: 6.0 or above iOS: 12 or above
Connected TVs, Game Consoles and Streaming Devices:
Android TV: Peacock is supported on a wide variety of Android TV-enabled Smart TVs, such as Sony Bravia, and set-top boxes, including NVIDIA Shield, running Android OS 5.1 and above.
Apple TV: Apple TV HD (4th Generation or above) with tvOS 13 or above
Roku: Roku 2 (4210X model only) Roku 3 & 4 (model 4200X or later) Roku Streaming Stick (model 3600X or later) Roku Express/Express+ (model 3900X or later) Roku Premiere/Premiere+ (model 3920X or later) Roku Ultra/Ultra LT (model 4640X or later) Roku TV and Smart Soundbar (model 5000X or later)
Chromecast: 1st Generation or above, including Chromecast with Google TV
LG Smart TV: LG WebOS 3.5 or above
PlayStation: PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5
Vizio TV: SmartCast 2.0 or 3.0 (from 2016 and newer)
Xbox: Xbox One Xbox Series X Xbox Series S
Cable Provider Set Top Boxes: Cox: Contour Box with Voice Remote Contour Stream Player
Will WWE on Peacock look similar to the WWE Network?
It will.
And while we don’t yet know exactly what it will look like, Peacock has shared some images of what it’ll look like. There will be a new shortcut in the top navigation bar, for WWE. Click on that, and it’ll look like the WWE Network for the most part.
From there, you’ll see featured content, with recent PPVs, and then it’ll dive into other aspects of the WWE library from there.
The one thing that will be missing though, is the 24/7 streaming channel. When you log into the WWE Network now, there is always something that is “live” usually reruns, but it is actively streaming. That is not available on Peacock, at least not yet. Now Peacock does offer up some live streaming channels itself, so that might change in the future. We’ll have to wait and see on March 18 when it launches.
Search won’t be as extensive as it is on the WWE Network
Because this is being done through Peacock’s interface, the search won’t be as extensive as the WWE Network’s search functionality was. So when you search for something that’s related to WWE, you may not immediately find what you were looking for. For example, if you search for a wrestler’s name like “Bray Wyatt”, you might not find a whole lot available on Peacock.
This should get refined over time. And when you search for shows, those should be pretty easy to find.
Match markers will disappear
One of the best features of the WWE Network is the match markers. Basically when you open up a PPV, it’ll show markers for different matches. This is very useful when you open a longer PPV like Wrestlemania which is typically 6-8 hours long, with many, many matches on the card. So you can easily skip to the match you want to see.
That feature won’t be available on Peacock. Again, because this is using Peacock’s own user interface and not the WWE’s. Which is very unfortunate.
What else is available on Peacock?
There’s plenty of other content available on Peacock, which makes it such a great value for just $5 per month. Or $10 if you’d rather not deal with ads. Here’s some of what is available on Peacock.
Peacock’s Themed Channels
Peacock also has some themed channels. Which is what makes it a big differentiator from other streaming TV services out there. These channels are not actually live streams, but instead act as curated, themed feeds.
One of the more popular ones is the Today All Day channel. Which is an extension of its daily morning show. It combines show clips with Peacock-exclusive segments from Today show hosts.
There are also curated channels for The Office, SNL and Keeping up with the Kardashians. These channels are great for those that just want to watch these shows, and don’t really care about watching them in order.
TV Shows on Peacock
Peacock has every episode of Saturday Night Live, The Office, Keeping up with the Kardashians, among many other popular shows. Here are some of the more popular shows that are available to stream on Peacock right now:
30 Rock
Bates Motel
Battlestar Galactica
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Cheers
Chicago Fire
Chicago P.D.
Chicago Med
Chrisley Knows Best
Covert Affairs
Downton Abbey
Everyone Loves Raymond
Frasier
Friday Night Lights
The George Lopez Show
House
Law and Order
Law and Order: SVU
Law and Order: Criminal Intent
Married…With Children
Mr. Mercedes
Monk
Parenthood
Psych
Royal Pains
Superstore
The Real Housewives franchise
Top Chef
Two and a Half Men
Will & Grace
Yellowstone
Movies available on Peacock
Most Universal-made movies are available on Peacock. The only exception is if they are licensed to other streaming services. For example, most of the Fast and Furious franchise are licensed to other streaming services right now. Including HBO, FX, and STARZ. Once those deals run out, they will be available on Peacock to watch.
Here are some of the more popular movies available on Peacock right now:
Lost in Translation
Shrek
Seven
The Sting
Ted
Trolls World Tour
Peacock Originals
As is the case with any streaming service, Peacock also has a ton of originals that are available to stream, exclusively on Peacock. Here are some of them.
Brave New World: A series based on the classic sci-fi novel from Aldous Huxley starring Alden Ehrenreich and Demi Moore.
Saved By The Bell: The teen comedy series now has a reboot, featuring original cast members Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez.
The Capture: A crime drama from the UK about a soldier who gets accused of a murder.
Cleopatra in Space:An animated series about the previously untold teenage stories of the great Egyptian leader Cleopatra.
Curious George: An animated series based on the classic children’s books about a curious monkey named George. You can also watch the feature film Curious George: Go West Go Wild.
Five Bedrooms:This is an Australian import comedy series. It focuses on five people who meet at a wedding and decide to buy a house and live in it together.
Hitmen:Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, the hosts of the popular reality series The Great British Bake Off, play best friends who also happen to be paid hitmen.
Intelligence:A UK comedy import starring Friends’ David Schwimmer as an NSA agent who is the US liaison to the UK cyber crimes unit.
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home:The second TV movie based on the classic comedy-mystery series about a man who pretends to be a psychic to help solve crimes.
Where’s Waldo:Another animated series, once again based on classic children’s books about finding a man named Waldo.
Anthony: Anthony Walker was a real black teenager in Liverpool who was killed in 2005 by white racists. This movie imagines what Anthony’s life would have been liked had he lived.
Departure: This series stars Christopher Plummer, as he investigates the mysterious disappearance of a passenger plane.
Code 404: Yep, it’s another UK import. This is a comedy about a cop who is shot and dies, but is revived with the help of computers.
While Microsoft improves its AI-powered Copilot for Windows, Lenovo might be developing an AI-powered operating system from scratch. Lenovo is known for its wide range of budget and high-end computers, but not its software. However, if what Executive Vice President Liu Jun said at CES 2024 is what it seems, that might be about to change. This OS is reportedly going to be a Lenovo exclusive, and be available only on the company’s upcoming AI PCs.
Hints at a Lenovo AI-powered operating system
At CES 2024, Liu Jun hinted at Lenovo launching an artificially intelligent OS. This OS will complement the AI computers Lenovo is going to launch this year. Lenovo has been gunning it for an AI-based ecosystem, and this OS is likely to be a major part of its strategy. The approach seems similar to Huawei’s HarmonyOS, a fluid and intuitive alternative to Android. Unlike Huawei, however, Lenovo isn’t banned from doing business in most major markets around the world. This could severely threaten the monopoly Windows and MacOS have held on to for decades.
What such an OS could mean
Users have been waiting for an AI-powered assistant on their phones ever since GPT gained popularity. A smarter assistant that understands context clues and remembers the user’s preferences. And while that is in the works, what Lenovo is doing goes one step further. An operating system designed entirely around AI means an operating system that is intelligent at every task.
Imagine an OS that can understand and troubleshoot issues on its own. An OS that can handle all the mundane day-to-day tasks of the average user. This AI OS won’t just have a smart assistant, it will learn and grow alongside the user as time passes. Eventually, such an OS could automate almost anything and predict what a user is in the mood for. It could completely revolutionize how people see technology today.
Lenovo’s OS may power its AI PCs
Liu Jun said that this OS would be centered around AI PCs. Lenovo was quick to jump on the bandwagon, and its first AI PCs are launching this year. As with Apple Silicon and MacOS, this synergy of AI-based hardware and software could make for an excellent product. Additionally, Lenovo’s quick release of an AI operating system might help it monopolize this particular niche before its competitors.
Whether this OS will be ready in time for this year’s AI PCs’ launch remains to be seen. However, if it is, it’s sure to be an instant sensation that media and news sites will be talking about for weeks.
Federal authorities have dismantled a major malware operation, seizing online marketplaces and being involved in its sale and support.
This international effort targeted a service known as “Warzone RAT,” a powerful tool cybercriminals use to remotely access and steal data from victims’ computers.
Federal authorities in Boston shut down websites used to sell the malware, effectively disrupting their operations.
Indictments were unsealed against individuals in Malta and Nigeria accused of selling the malware and aiding cybercriminals.
DocumentLive Account Takeover Attack Simulation
Live attack simulation Webinar demonstrates various ways in which account takeover can happen and practices to protect your websites and APIs against ATO attacks.
The Accusations
In a joint effort, the Malta Police Force and the Office of the Attorney General of Malta orchestrated a coordinated operation resulting in the arrest of Daniel Meli, 27, from Zabbar, Malta, on February 7.
The charges include causing unauthorized damage to protected computers, illegally selling and advertising an electronic interception device, and involvement in a conspiracy to commit various computer intrusion offenses.
Nigerian citizen Prince Onyeoziri Odinakachi, 31, faced indictment for computer intrusion, including gaining authorized access and causing unauthorized damage to protected.
Documents indicate that Odinakachi offered online customer support to users of the Warzone RAT malware.
“Daniel Meli will no longer escape accountability for his actions selling malware,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia.
“This action highlights the FBI’s commitment to disrupting cybercriminal actors and taking down their infrastructure,” said Assistant Director Brian Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division.
The U.S. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs applauds the vital support of a multinational coalition in dismantling the Warzone RAT infrastructure.
This collective effort involved the FBI (Boston & Atlanta) and authorities in Malta, Australia, Croatia, Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Romania, and Canada.
Individuals impacted by a Warzone RAT compromise are strongly encouraged to file a report with the FBI.
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