Well, it was only a matter of time. While AI image generators seemed to be a fun little to mess around with at the beginning, this technology is now making its way into AAA gaming. One example of this is a game coming from Square Enix. The game, called Foamstars, uses AI-generated art to an extent.
Thanks to the overall speed and efficiency of AI, many big-name companies are seeing the utility of using it. For example, There’s a partnership between Xbox and Inworld to use AI to generate NPC quests and stories. This is something that will add dimension to a game, as it could open up the door for unlimited types of quests in games. However, this is yet to be seen.
Foamstars has been confirmed to use AI-generated art
While the title seems a bit foreboding, the news isn’t quite as bad as it sounds. The game’s producer, Kosuke Okatani, said that the mass majority of the game is still done by hand. So, Foamstars is still a human-created game with human-created art. The only art that was generated was art for in-game album covers. So, the company didn’t exactly fire its entire art department.
The only question remaining is Why? What benefits did using MidJourney to make the album covers provide? Was this because of the overall efficiency or were there stylistic advantages to using AI? While the AI art accounted for a very small chunk of the game, this news will not sit well with a lot of people.
However, this is the path that Square Enix has chosen. Previously, the company announced that is going to move ‘aggressively’ to using AI technology. That’s pretty ominous for many of the workers working there, as there’s no telling if the speed and efficiency of AI technology will cost them their jobs.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 series is just hours away from officially launching. Amid that, Samsung is prepping to release its next operating system update, One UI 6.1. Ahead of the launch, we have come across several features that will be coming in the next update. Interestingly, One UI 6.1 update could be released soon and be coming to many Galaxy devices.
What features to expect?
Reliable tipster Ice Universe has shared some details about One UI 6.1 before it goes live. The tips suggest users might be able to download different clock styles for their phone’s lock screen from Samsung’s Galaxy Store. So, one could use a variety of clock styles with possible support for further customization. Additionally, Ice suggests that One UI 6.1 has made improvements to animations and styles throughout Android 14, promising a smoother user experience.
Moreover, the upcoming update may feature battery protection options, and likely make your Galaxy phone compatible with Google’s AI wallpapers. After all, the AI game is on, signals the recently concluded CES has been filled with AI innovations.
Samsung One UI 6.1 eligible devices
This comes from tipster Tarun Vats (via 9to5Google). He shared a list of Galaxy phones claiming eligible for the One UI 6.1 update. Most importantly, Samsung hasn’t officially announced the list of devices running One UI 6.1, but this list seems just right.
According to Vats, some of the devices that are almost certain to get the One UI 6.1 update include Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, Galaxy S22 Ultra, Galaxy A54, Galaxy A34, Galaxy S21 FE, Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra. Plus, most devices that received the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update will eventually receive the One UI 6.1 update. And goes without saying, that Samsung Galaxy S24 will also be among the first to receive One UI 6.1.
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra could include a major design boost and an under-display camera. Now, that may not be the best thing for the quality of the selfie camera, but it is for the look of the phone as a whole.
One of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra models could include an under-display camera
This report comes from GSMChina, not your usual tipsters from China, so take it with a grain of salt. According to the report, Xiaomi will actually ship two different versions of the phone. One will have a regular hole punch with a selfie camera, and the other will pack an under-display unit.
Why would Xiaomi do something like that? Well, we have no idea, and we can only guess, the same as you. Based on this report, the version with the standard camera has codenames ‘aurora’ and ‘aurorapro’, while the version with an under-display camera is known as ‘Xiaomi Suiren’.
What’s interesting is that a device with the ‘Suiren’ name was spotted on Geekbench recently. The listing revealed that the device is fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. So, it’s definitely flagship-grade.
The ‘Xiaomi Suiren’ was initially believed to be the Xiaomi MIX 5
Some outlets suggested that the ‘Suiren’ could be the Xiaomi MIX 5. Well, GSMChina believes the opposite, as this could be one of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra models. Is that odd, especially considering the difference in codenames? Yes, but we’ll have to wait and see what’s true and what’s not.
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is coming, likely in early Q2 this year. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra arrived in April, so the Xiaomi 14 Ultra could as well. It’s actually tipped to arrive alongside the Xiaomi Pad 7.
That smartphone is tipped to utilize Sony’s LYT-900 camera sensor, the same unit the OPPO Find X7 Ultra is using. Xiaomi will also throw a variable aperture on top of that sensor. A 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera are also tipped.
A two-way satellite communication could also be a part of the package. A 5,180mAh battery is tipped as well, and the same goes for 90W wired, and 50W wireless charging.
One of the best-known tipsters out there shared some rather interesting info via Weibo. This information comes from Digital Chat Station, as he teased a mysterious phone with “ultimate narrow bezels”.
A mysterious phone with “ultimate narrow bezels” seems to be coming
He also said that this will be a “heavyweight” phone with a Snapdragon 8 series processor, and he also used the word “flagship”. When he talked about the bezels, he emphasized that he’s talking about bezels on all four sides, so chances are they’ll be uniform.
Dual under-display cameras were also mentioned, and so was 4x telephoto zoom lens. That’s basically everything Digital Chat Station had to share. He did not mention a brand at all, though.
Now, the phone that came to mind first was the Xiaomi MIX 5. Some rumors suggested that the Xiaomi MIX 5 may not launch at all, though. There’s still a chance it might be the MIX 5, or perhaps the Xiaomi 14 Ultra?
Xiaomi could be a company behind this device
On the flip side, there are a lot of other companies from China he could be talking about. Your guess is as good as ours, but Xiaomi is still the first brand on our minds here.
Digital Chat Station did seem quite excited about this phone. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is expected to arrive in late Q1 or early Q2 this year. The device is tipped to include a variable aperture camera on the back, with Sony’s LYT-900 sensor.
Four 50-megapixel cameras are expected on the phone, and a wild rumor even said that one of the phone’s variants could include an under-display camera. That’s another reason why we think the tipster could be talking about the Xiaomi 14 Ultra.
That smartphone is also expected to offer blazing-fast wired and wireless charging, and outstanding specs through and through. Even though the a is technically the company’s current flagship, the ‘Ultra’ will trump it.
Group-IB Global Pvt. Ltd. has revealed shocking details on Inferno Drainer, a phishing operation targeting cryptocurrency wallet providers. The scam, involving the deployment of a multichain crypto drainer, operated under a scam-as-a-service model, targeted over 100 brands and 16,000 malicious domains, stealing over $80 million in digital assets from November 2022 to November 2023. It ceased operating in November 2023 after causing significant financial damage.
The Inferno Drainer team is “estimated to have reaped over $87 million in illicit profits by scamming over 137,000 victims,” Group-IB’s blog post read.
Researchers discovered over 14,000 phishing websites with malicious scripts impersonating Seaport, WalletConnect, and Coinbase protocols, with over 5,500 spoofed and 550 scripted. The scammers’ Telegram channel description only mentions @Mr_inferno_Drainer, supposedly its developer and tech support provider, whereas the team’s first public mention was on the day the channel was created, on November 5, 2022.
Inferno Drainer team used high-quality phishing pages to lure unsuspecting users to their websites. They targeted victims via social media platforms like X, Telegram, and Discord, offering free tokens called airdrops and rewards for minting nonfungible tokens. Google-owned Mandiant’s X account was also compromised, distributing links to a phishing page hosting a cryptocurrency drainer called CLINKSINK.
Group-IB analyzed 500 domains and found a JavaScript-based drainer hosted by a user “kuzdaz” on a GitHub repository. Another set of 350 sites was found on a different repository.
These sites lured victims to connect their wallets for potential riches while the malicious scripts were designed to complete unauthorized transactions. The scam operators claimed a flat rate of 20% of stolen assets, while affiliates retained 80% of their gains. They spoofed Web3 protocols (including Seaport, WalletConnect, and Coinbase) under DApps to initiate malicious transactions.
For affiliates, it offered a customer panel to customize malware features and detailed statistics, including the number of victims connecting to their wallets on each phishing website, the number of confirmed transactions, and the stolen assets’ value.
Group-IB’s High-Tech Crime Investigation Department’s Andrey Kolmakov stated that despite the group’s claim to shut down its operations in November, this control panel remained active throughout December, allowing other hackers to exploit the situation.
“Inferno Drainer may have ceased its activity, but its prominence throughout 2023 highlights the severe risks to cryptocurrency holders as drainers continue to develop further,” Kolmakov noted.
On Thursday, December 28, at 8:30 pm in the Utah town of Riverdale, the city police began investigating what they believed was a kidnapping.
17-year-old foreign exchange student Kai Zhuang was missing, and according to Riverdale Police Chief Casey Warren, Zhuang was believed to be “forcefully taken” from his home, and “being held against his will.”
The evidence leaned in police’s favor. That night, Zhuang’s parents in China reportedly received a photo of Zhuang in distress. They’d also received a ransom demand.
But as police in Riverdale and across the state of Utah would soon learn, the alleged kidnapping had a few wrinkles.
For starters, there was no sign that Zhuang had been forcefully removed from his home in Riverdale, where he’d been living with his host family. In fact, Zhuang’s disappearance was so quiet that his host family was entirely unaware that he’d been missing until police came and questioned them. Additionally, investigators learned that Zhuang had experienced a recent run-in with police officers nearly 75 miles away in the city of Provo. Just eight days before his disappearance in Riverdale, Zhuang caught the attention of Provo residents because of what they deemed strange behavior for a teenager: Buying camping gear in the middle of a freezing winter season. Police officers who intervened at the residents’ requests asked Zhuang if he was okay, he assured them he was, and a ride was arranged for the teenager back home.
But what Zhuang didn’t tell Provo police at the time was that, already, he was being targeted in an extortion scam. But when Zhuang started to push back against his scammers, it was his parents who became the next target.
Zhuang—and his family—had become victims of what is known as “virtual kidnapping.”
For years, virtual kidnapping scams happened most frequently in Mexico and the Southwestern United States, in cities like Los Angeles and Houston. But in 2015, the scams began reaching farther into the US.
The scams themselves are simple yet cruel attempts at extortion. Virtual kidnappers will call phone numbers belonging to affluent neighborhoods in the US and make bogus threats about a holding a family member hostage.
As explained by the FBI in 2017, virtual kidnappers do not often know the person they are calling, their name, their occupation, or even the name of the family member they have pretended to abduct:
“When an unsuspecting person answered the phone, they would hear a female screaming, ‘Help me!’ The screamer’s voice was likely a recording. Instinctively, the victim might blurt out his or her child’s name: ‘Mary, are you okay?’ And then a man’s voice would say something like, ‘We have Mary. She’s in a truck. We are holding her hostage. You need to pay a ransom and you need to do it now or we are going to cut off her fingers.’”
Today, on the Lock and Code podcast with host David Ruiz, we are presenting a short, true story from December about virtual kidnapping. Today’s episode cites reporting and public statements from the Associated Press, the FBI, ABC4.com, Fox 6 Milwaukee, and the Riverdale Police Department.
With Samsung’s Galaxy S24 launch mere hours away, many of you might already be gearing up to pre-order the new flagships. If you are, the company has lined up some amazing pre-order benefits for you. Most notably, you will get a free storage upgrade, at least in Europe. There’s a trade-in bonus as well.
You will get a free storage upgrade with Galaxy S24 pre-orders
Samsung usually offers a free storage upgrade with its flagship pre-orders. You get the higher storage version at the price of the lower one. For example, if you pre-order the 128GB version, you get a 256GB unit. Likewise, paying for the 256GB version will upgrade you to the 512GB unit at no additional cost.
The Korean firm is expected to keep this promotional offer for the Galaxy S24 series. A recent leak suggested that will be the case in its home country, South Korea. We now have confirmation that Galaxy S24 pre-orders in Europe, or at least in Austria, will be eligible for a free storage upgrade too. The confirmation comes through a leaked screenshot of an internal Samsung document for the country.
The document says the promotion will work for the 1TB Galaxy S24 Ultra as well. You will get it at the cost of the 512GB version. However, it appears the 1TB model will be limited to just 2,000 units across Austria. So, you might miss out on this deal if you don’t hurry up. Samsung might release the device in limited quantities in other European countries too. Some countries may get more units, though.
If you plan to trade in an old smartphone or tablet in exchange for a brand-new Galaxy S24, Samsung will give you a guaranteed bonus of €100. This is on top of the determined trade-in value for the product. This offer will be valid until January 30, which is when the general sales of the phones are expected to open. Samsung may offer these kinds of promotions globally.
Samsung’s official website will have three exclusive color options
The Galaxy S24 lineup will be available in four colors globally: Black, Gray, Violet, and Yellow. You will find these color options in most third-party retail stores if not all. However, if you buy directly from Samsung’s official website, you will get three more exclusive colors to choose from: Green, Blue, and Orange. Pre-orders will open in most regions immediately after the launch event tomorrow, January 17.
Alongside spreading Copilot from Windows to Android, Microsoft is also expanding its AI-powered Office features from businesses to consumers. Just two months after the initial launch for businesses in November, the company introduced Copilot Pro as a $20 monthly subscription for consumers. This subscription provides access to AI-powered features within Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Additionally, users get priority access to the latest OpenAI models and the ability to build their own Copilot GPT.
For existing Microsoft 365 Personal or Home subscribers, an extra $20 per month (per person) unlocks Copilot in Office apps on Mac, Windows, and iPad. The features include creating entire PowerPoint slide decks from simple text descriptions, with the help of generative AI. In the context of Microsoft Word, the integrated Copilot experience means generating text, summarizing documents, and rephrasing paragraphs in seconds, without leaving the platform. Copilot will also assist in Outlook.com replying to emails and generating new ones, with a preview version available in Excel for data analysis and graph generation.
You can finally generate a PowerPoint deck based on a Word document, thanks to the integration of Copilot Pro in Office
While most business features are accessible to consumers, summoning Copilot to generate a PowerPoint deck based on a Word document isn’t available yet. Notably, the functionality relies on Microsoft Graph technology which does not include the consumer versions. As a result, the consumer versions don’t have this functionality yet.
Notably, Copilot Pro not only integrates with Office applications but also provides access to the latest OpenAI models and enhances the Image Creator from Designer. Users subscribing to Copilot Pro can also build their own Copilot GPT. Microsoft has designed this subscription plan for Copilot power users who seek rapid access to the latest models, improved performance, and enhanced creativity tools.
For those who aren’t Microsoft 365 subscribers, a subscription to Copilot Pro offers priority access to GPT-4 Turbo inside Copilot, faster performance even during peak times, and the ability to toggle between models. The subscription will soon include a new Copilot GPT Builder, allowing users to create a custom Copilot GPT similar to the version launched for businesses last year.
Microsoft aims to cater to Copilot power users with Copilot Pro, providing advanced features and prioritized access to the latest models, reflecting a strategy similar to OpenAI’s subscription model for ChatGPT. The Copilot Pro features are available on the web, Windows or Mac apps, and mobile devices, and additional features are expected to be introduced over time.
The vulnerabilities in Ivanti VPN devices enable remote, unauthenticated hackers to compromise targeted devices, execute arbitrary commands, infiltrate internal networks, and steal sensitive data.
Threat intelligence firm Volexity has discovered a rise in attacks exploiting two Ivanti zero-day vulnerabilities discovered in the second week of December 2023.
According to Volexity, at least 20 organizations using Ivanti Connect Secure VPN appliances have been compromised in cyberattacks leveraging Ivanti zero-day flaws, CVE-2023-46805 and CVE-2024-21887. Volexity has confirmed with “medium confidence” that the number of compromised systems is likely higher than what it discovered.
The flaws, discovered by Volexity researchers, impacted Ivanti Connect Secure VPN and Policy Secure NAS appliances and were disclosed last week by Avanti.
On January 10, Volexity warned that a group UTA0178, supposedly affiliated with China, exploited these vulnerabilities to gain access to internal networks and steal information. On January 11, the company observed a series of targeted attacks on Ivanti VPN appliances, causing widespread exploitation of these flaws.
For your information, CVE-2023-46805 is an authentication bypass flaw with a CVSS rating of 8.2), impacting Ivanti ICS 9.x, 22.x, and Ivanti Policy Secure. The second flaw, CVE-2024-21887, is a command injection vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.1, impacting Ivanti Connect Secure 9.x, 22.x, and Ivanti Policy Secure.
If exploited, these allow remote, unauthenticated attackers to compromise targeted devices by executing arbitrary commands, infiltrating internal networks, and stealing sensitive data.
Volexity noted that an unknown APT group launched initial attacks on ICS VPN appliances in December 2023, downloading malware tool kits for espionage. Multiple threat actors have since attacked hundreds of appliances and backdoored targets’ systems using a GIFTEDVISITOR webshell variant.
As of January 14, 2023, over 1,700 ICS VPN appliances were compromised, researchers revealed after scanning 50,000 Ivanti VPN-linked IPs. The highest percentage of victims were found in the US and Europe, impacting small-scale businesses to Fortune 500 companies in government, military, telecom, defence, tech, banking, finance, accounting, aerospace, aviation, and engineering sectors.
Mandiant also observed that a suspected state-sponsored threat actor dubbed UNC5221 leveraged these flaws last month to deploy up to five custom malware families. These include the ZIPLINE backdoor, WARPWIRE credential harvester, THINSPOOL shell script dropper, and LIGHTWIRE web shell.
Mandiant noted in its report that threat actors UNC5221 launched “opportunistic attacks” to maintain persistence on high-priority targets that it had compromised “after a patch was inevitably released.”
Ivanti plans to release patches to fix these flaws by January 22, 2024, with final patches expected on February 19, 2024. A workaround is available to prevent exploitation until the patches are released. Organizations using vulnerable products should implement it immediately.
“I’m losing you. You’re breaking up, I think I’m going through a tunnel!” We’re all used to using going through a tunnel as an excuse just to hang up on an annoying phone call. However, going through tunnels can actually be a nightmare if you’re using GPS navigation. Well, thanks to a new update, Google Maps will be able to better navigate tunnels.
The accuracy of GPS navigation takes a massive hit once you head underground. Whatever system you’re using could completely lose track of you and give you very wonky directions once you’re out of the tunnel. This, aside from being very frustrating, is also a safety hazard. Any innovation that can help with this issue is appreciated.
Google Maps can now navigate you through tunnels
This functionality isn’t exactly new, as Google-owned Wyze can also do it. According to a new report, Google Maps now employs Bluetooth beacons to navigate you through tunnels. The Bluetooth beacons are stationary devices inside of the tunnels. Your phone will communicate with them and use your phone’s cellular data to communicate with Google Maps. This way, the app has a rough idea of where you are in the tunnel. We’re not sure exactly how accurate this is, but it’s much better than going completely black in a tunnel.
Right now, the feature is only available on the Android version of the app. In order to activate it, go to the Google Maps app and head to your Navigation Settings. At the bottom of the first section, you will see the Bluetooth tunnel beacons toggle. When you toggle this feature on, you’ll have to give the app access to find and connect to nearby devices.
This feature is great, but you will not be able to use it for every tunnel. You’ll only be able to use this feature in tunnels that have Bluetooth beacons installed. So, if you’re going through a tunnel without the beacons installed, you are going to be out of luck.
For the time being, Wyze is able to use Bluetooth speakers in cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Brussels, Etc. It seems likely that these will also work for Google Maps. Hopefully, Bluetooth beacons will make it to more tunnels and more cities across the globe.
