Twilio’s Authy app for both iOS and Android, designed to make it easier for users to request two-factor authentication (2FA) when signing into an app, ironically has been hacked resulting in the theft of customer smartphone numbers. In a blog post, Authy wrote, “Twilio has detected that threat actors were able to identify data associated with Authy accounts, including phone numbers, due to an unauthenticated endpoint. We have taken action to secure this endpoint and no longer allow unauthenticated requests.”
Twilio requests that all Authy users update to the latest iOS or Android versions of the app in order to install the latest security updates. Twilio adds, “While Authy accounts are not compromised, threat actors may try to use the phone number associated with Authy accounts for phishing and smishing attacks; we encourage all Authy users to stay diligent and have heightened awareness around the texts they are receiving.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) requires the use of a second layer of protection when signing into an app. For example, after signing into an app you receive an SMS on your phone containing a code that you need to type in to open the app. This prevents an attacker from opening one of your apps and getting into your account, changing your password, and robbing you blind. Right now, Twilio says that the customer data stolen in the hack was limited to phone numbers.
You need to submit your phone number when opening an account with Authy
Twilio is blaming the use of “unauthenticated endpoints” for the successful hack and notes that it has taken action to secure this endpoint and “no longer allows unauthenticated requests.” A media report puts the number of phone numbers stolen at 33 million. On a well-known hacking forum, hackers known as ShinyHunters admitted to hacking Twilio and stealing 33 million cellphone numbers.
While the theft of phone numbers shouldn’t necessarily scare Authy users, the attackers could use these numbers to call or text the victimized Authy subscribers. The attackers could then pretend to be from Authy, and seek other user information including social security numbers, bank account numbers, and other sensitive personal data. Be careful when receiving a call or text that supposedly comes from Twilio or Authy and do not reveal any personal data no matter how insistent the caller or the text is.
And this hack has nothing to do with whether 2FA works to protect your personal data. If you like 2FA as a deterrent, don’t stop using it because Authy has been attacked.
We’re here to compare two ‘Ultra’ phones yet again. This time around we’re comparing two sister smartphones, the OPPO Find X7 Ultra vs Vivo X100 Ultra. Why sister smartphones? Well, OPPO and Vivo are sister companies, both are under the BBK Electronics umbrella. Having said that, these two phones are quite different. They not only look different, but come with different software, and so on. Do note that neither phone is available in global markets, however. They are both limited to China, though they work fine once you install the Google Play Store. Carrier support does vary from region to region, though.
As we usually do, we will first list their specifications and take it from there. They do have very powerful specs, hence the ‘Ultra’ name that both companies used. We will also compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio output. With that in mind, let’s get down to it, shall we?
Specs
OPPO Find X7 Ultra vs Vivo X100 Ultra, respectively
The first thing you’ll notice when you look at them from the front is that both smartphones offer curved displays. Those displays have a centered display camera hole, each, and the bezels are also very thin. The corners on both smartphones are slightly rounded, and both devices have their physical keys on the right-hand side. The OPPO Find X7 Ultra also has the alert slider, but it’s located on the left side.
You will also notice a circular camera island on the backs of both phones. Both of those are centered and placed in the upper portion of the back. They do look different, however, and the OPPO Find X7 Ultra does have one extra camera back there. More on that later. The materials these two phones use are different. They do use aluminum for their frame, but the back sides are different. The OPPO Find X7 Ultra combines vegan leather with glass. Vegan leather actually covers two-thirds of its back. The Vivo X100 Ultra, on the flip side, has glass on the back. Because of this, the OPPO Find X7 Ultra does offer a bit more grip in comparison.
Now, in regards to the size. The OPPO Find X7 Ultra does have a slightly larger display, and it is slightly wider than the Vivo X100 Ultra. They’re basically the same in terms of height, while the Find X7 Ultra is barely thicker (0.3mm difference). OPPO’s handset is slightly lighter (8-gram difference), and the use of vegan leather is the reason for it. Both smartphones are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. Both of them are large and feel very premium in hand.
OPPO Find X7 Ultra vs Vivo X100 Ultra: Display
The OPPO Find X7 Ultra includes a 6.82-inch QHD+ (3168 x 1440) LTPO AMOLED display. That display has a refresh of up to 120Hz, and it can project up to 1 billion colors. Dolby Vision is supported, as is HDR10+ content. The display brightness goes up to 4,500 nits in theory, though you’ll never get that high. The screen-to-body ratio is at around 90%. This panel is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
The Vivo X100 Ultra, on the flip side, includes a 6.78-inch QHD+ (3200 x 1440) LTPO AMOLED display. It can project up to 1 billion colors, and it has a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. Dolby Vision is supported here too, and the peak brightness is at 3,000 nits. The screen-to-body ratio is at around 90% too, though slightly lower than on the Find X7 Ultra. The display aspect ratio here is 20:9. Display protection is unknown.
You will be extremely happy regardless of which of the two displays you end up getting. Both of them are outstanding. Not only are they large, sharp, and vivid, but they have great viewing angles, and those inky blacks that people love so much. They are also very fluid during use and get immensely bright when needed. Both displays also support high-frequency PWM dimming. The OPPO Find X7 Ultra possibly offers better display protection, though. Either way, you can’t go wrong with either one of these two panels.
OPPO Find X7 Ultra vs Vivo X100 Ultra: Performance
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC from Qualcomm fuels both of these smartphones. That is one of the best processors on the market at the moment. It’s a 4nm chip. Having said that, both smartphones also offer up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and UFS 4.0 flash storage too. In other words, they are on the same playing ground when it comes to performance-related specifications. They both also ship with Android 14 out of the box, albeit with different skins installed on top of Google’s OS.
The performance is outstanding on both devices. Regular day-to-day performance is as good as it gets, basically. Bogging down either of these two phones is not easy at all. They fly through app launches, multitasking, browsing, image editing, and everything else you can think of, basically. Even video editing is a piece of cake on both. Not even truly heavy multitasking slowed down either of these two devices.
What about gaming, though? Well, that’s also something you don’t have to worry about. Both smartphones not only come with gaming-related software to help you out, but they offer great performance. Truly demanding titles, such as Genshin Impact, will make both phones sweat a bit (they’ll get quite warm after prolonged gaming sessions), but that won’t affect the performance. Neither phone got too hot to handle for us either, which is great.
OPPO Find X7 Ultra vs Vivo X100 Ultra: Battery
OPPO’s flagship has a 5,000mAh battery pack, while the Vivo X100 Ultra comes with a 5,500mAh unit. Yes, the Vivo X100 Ultra does have a bigger battery pack, but both smartphones deliver great battery life. It depends on your usage, but both smartphones can go over the 7-hour screen-on-time mark, and even reach that 8-hour mark if you’re careful enough. Technically, yes, the Vivo X100 Ultra tends to be a bit better in the battery life department, but not by much at all.
Your mileage may vary, of course. You’ll be using different apps in different ways with different signal strengths, so you’ll likely get different results. Playing games will affect the battery life quite a bit, of course. Do note that the battery numbers mentioned in the previous paragraph were achieved without gaming thrown into the mix. The bottom line is, both smartphones do deliver when it comes to battery life, very much so.
Even if you end up running low on juice, both of these devices offer truly fast charging. OPPO’s handset supports 100W wired, 50W wireless, and 10W reverse wireless charging. The Vivo X100 Ultra comes with 80W wired, 30W wireless, and reverse wired charging support. OPPO technically offers faster charging across the board. Both smartphones do ship with a charger in the box, though.
OPPO Find X7 Ultra vs Vivo X100 Ultra: Cameras
Both of these smartphones have extremely compelling camera hardware and performance. The OPPO Find X7 Ultra is equipped with four 50-megapixel cameras. It includes a 50-megapixel main camera (1-inch type sensor), a 50-megapixel ultrawide unit (123-degree FoV), a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (2.8x optical zoom), and a second 50-megapixel periscope telephoto unit (6x optical zoom). These cameras are also boosted by Hasselblad, who does color tunning for OPPO and helps out in other ways.
The Vivo X100 Ultra includes three cameras on the back. It has a 50-megapixel main camera (1-inch type sensor, gimbal OIS), a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera (116-degree FoV), and a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (3.7x optical zoom). This phone’s cameras are boosted by ZEISS. The company’s T* coating is used, while ZEISS also helps in other ways with the camera performance.
The end results are different, but both smartphones do a fantastic job. The OPPO Find X7 Ultra prefers more contrasty shots and does a great job with HDR. Both smartphones do preserve a ton of detail, and do a great job of balancing shots. The Vivo X100 Ultra does lean towards warmer color tones for photos, though. Both smartphones do a great job with macro photography and with portraits too, though the images do end up looking different, of course.
In low light, they both shine. The OPPO Find X7 Ultra prefers to keep images a bit closer to real life, as it is not afraid of keeping parts of an image a bit darker than the Vivo X100 Ultra. It all depends on your personal preference, but both smartphones really do a fantastic job in low light. The Vivo X100 Ultra is a bit better when it comes to light flares, but the OPPO Find X7 Ultra also does a great job with those. These are some of the best phones you can get for low light photography at the moment, no doubt about that.
Audio
You will find stereo speakers on both of these smartphones. The ones on the OPPO Find X7 Ultra are slightly louder, though. The difference is not that big, but still, it’s worth noting. The sound quality is great on both sides.
What neither of the two phones have is an audio jack. You’ll be forced to use their Type-C ports for wired audio, and you’ll need a dongle. However, if you prefer wireless audio, both smartphones are equipped with Bluetooth 5.4.
According to cybersecurity researchers at Halcyon AI, the new Volcano Demon ransomware gang calls its victims “very frequently, almost daily in some cases.”
A new and particularly menacing ransomware group known as “Volcano Demon“ has surfaced, causing alarm across manufacturing and logistics industries. This group has deviated from the usual ransomware playbook, opting for a more direct and intimidating method to coerce their victims.
Over the past two weeks, “Volcano Demon“ has successfully targeted several companies, deploying their unique ransomware called “LukaLocker” in at least 2 cases. This malicious software encrypts files with the .nba extension and is designed to evade detection and analysis, making it a formidable threat.
According to cybersecurity firm Halcyon, What makes “Volcano Demon“ stand out is their use of phone calls to pressure company executives into paying ransoms. Instead of the typical data leak sites, they rely on frequent, threatening calls from unidentified numbers. Tim West, an analyst at Halcyon, shed light on this unsettling tactic. “They call very frequently, almost daily in some cases,” he said.
Before launching their ransomware attacks, Volcano Demon infiltrates sensitive data to command-and-control (C2) servers. This stolen data is used as leverage to pressure victims into complying with their demands. The ransom note left by the attackers is blunt and threatening: “If you ignore this incident, we will ensure that your confidential data is widely available to the public.”
Volcano Demon’s ransom note (Screenshot: Halcyon)
Tracking down Volcano Demon has proven to be a significant challenge for cybersecurity experts. The group clears log files on the compromised machines before executing their attacks, making it nearly impossible to conduct thorough forensic evaluations. This approach has made it difficult to trace their origins and understand the full scope of their operations.
As explained by Adam Pilton, a senior cybersecurity consultant at CyberSmart, the element of calling complicates the extortion process due to the unpredictability of the unknown caller ID as well as the calling instances. Requiring a negotiator to be ready at all times would result in these incidents being even more costly for the victim company. However, there could also be new leads for law enforcement to follow, Pilton added.
“Traditionally, IP addresses are very simple to hide behind and although telephone data can be obscured, the information the attacker gives away is potentially so much more,” he said. “Here will be voice data and potential background noise, as well as the call connection records.”
Google Messages is planning to upgrade old cross-platform chats, including those with iPhone users, to the RCS messaging standard. This move comes after Apple finally decided to add RCS support to iMessage after years of resistance.
In the past, group chats involving both iPhone and Android users were automatically downgraded to SMS and MMS formats, which lack the advanced features of RCS. However, a recent APK code breakdown in the Google Messages app’s beta version suggest that these older conversations could be transformed into RCS chats.
Two flags, named “bugle.enable_mms_group_upgrade_ui_home_screen” and “bugle.enable_mms_group_upgrade_ui_conversation_screen”, have been identified as necessary to activate this upgrade feature. Users would receive a popup notification stating, “You’ve got upgraded chats” when a conversation is successfully upgraded. They would also be informed about the benefits of RCS, such as sending higher quality photos and videos with reactions.
RCS messaging on iPhone (green bubbles and all) will come to the stable version of iOS 18 and is already working on the latest beta | Image credit — Apple
Currently, RCS support on iPhones is limited to the iOS 18 beta version, and is expected to see a wider rollout with the stable release of iOS 18 this fall. Importantly, this upgrade to Google Messages wouldn’t be limited to just chats with iPhones, as it could also enhance conversations between Android phones where one participant isn’t using an RCS-compatible app.While this feature is not yet publicly available, it represents a significant step towards improving messaging experiences between different platforms. It aligns with Google’s ongoing efforts to promote RCS adoption and enhance cross-platform communication.
The upgrade process would be automatic, with users being notified through pop-up messages. This would provide a seamless transition to RCS, allowing users to enjoy its benefits without requiring manual intervention.
Although the specific implementation details and timeline remain unclear, the potential impact of this upgrade is considerable. It could significantly improve the quality and functionality of messaging for millions of users who engage in cross-platform conversations.
Google is working on a new widget for its Contacts app, called the “Besties Widget,” which will let users easily access their favorite contacts. This update is part of Google’s ongoing efforts to improve the Contacts app and its associated features.
The new widget is designed to be similar to the existing “Favorite contacts” widget, which displays up to seven of your most frequently contacted people. Tapping on a contact opens their full details page, where you can see their contact information, recent interactions, and other relevant information.
The “Besties Widget” is still in development, but it appears that it will function similarly to the “Favorite contacts” widget. It will also show starred contacts and may replace the existing widget as development continues.
Current “Favorite contacts” widget vs. “Besties widget” currently in development | Images credit — 9to5Google
This new widget is being developed at the app level, rather than the system level, which should allow for more frequent updates and improvements. This approach could lead to the “Besties Widget” eventually replacing the default Android Conversations widget, offering a more streamlined and personalized way to access your favorite contacts.Google has been actively updating its Contacts app in recent months, with a particular focus on improving the widget experience. The Individual contact widget, which displays information for a single contact, was recently updated to show notifications, making it easier to stay on top of your communications.
In addition to the “Besties Widget,” Google is also working on other updates to the Contacts app. For example, the Individual contact widget may be expanded to include features like quick actions for calling or messaging a contact, as well as integration with other Google services like Maps and Calendar.
Google’s new Besties Widget for the Contacts app is a promising development that could offer users a more convenient way to access and interact with their favorite contacts. However, it is important to note that this information is based on current development work and is subject to change. Google may introduce additional features or modifications to it as development continues.
Global Operation Morpheus dismantles Cobalt Strike network: Law enforcement takes down criminal infrastructure used for ransomware and data breaches.
In a major international takedown, law enforcement and private companies joined forces to cripple a network of cybercriminals relying on Cobalt Strike. Operation Morpheus, launched three years back in September 2021 by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), targeted nearly 600 internet protocol (IP) addresses linked to malicious Cobalt Strike deployments between June 24 and June 28.
UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the FBI, and law enforcement agencies from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Australia joined hands to dismantle the network. These include: Australian Federal Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), Netherlands National Police (Politie) and the Polish Central Cybercrime Bureau.
Private partners included BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, Trellix, Spamhaus, abuse.ch, and The Shadowserver Foundation. These partners used Europol’s Malware Information Sharing Platform to submit evidence and threat intelligence. The operation resulted in the sharing of over 730 pieces of threat intelligence and nearly 1.2 million indicators of compromise.
“This disruption activity represents more than two-and-a-half years of NCA-led international law enforcement and private industry collaboration to identify, monitor and denigrate its use,” the NCA’s statement read.
Operation Morpheus involved flagging known IP addresses associated with criminal activity and domain names used by criminal groups to online service providers to disable unlicensed versions of Cobalt Strike.
Agencies targeted 690 Cobalt Strike instances held by 129 ISPs in 30 countries. The NCA’s coalition neutralized 593 malicious instances by taking down servers and notifying ISPs of the malware’s hosting, ensuring they take action.
Cobalt Strike, a penetration testing tool created by developer Raphael Mudge and owned by Fortra, is although a legitimate software but its illegal versions have become the preferred choice for cybercriminals due to its effectiveness in deploying ransomware, stealing data, and maintaining control over compromised systems.
Illegal versions of Cobalt Strike have been used in major cyberattacks, including those by Ryuk, Trickbot, and Conti. According to Trellix’s telemetry, China hosts 43.85% of Cobalt Strike resources, with the US having a 19.08% share and the highest burden of attacks (45.04%).
The NCA’s director of threat leadership, Paul Foster, argues that illegal versions have reduced the entry barrier into cybercrime, allowing online criminals to launch damaging attacks with minimal technical expertise. Such attacks can cost companies millions in losses and recovery. This takedown disrupts these criminal operations, hindering their ability to launch attacks and extort victims.
Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Advisor, ESET commented on the latest development praising the role of law enforemenct agencies and emphasiing on phishing related attacks. “The NCA’s operation working alongside international agencies proves that a collaborative approach can be fortuitous in taking down or at least displacing criminal networks making it harder for illegal activity to thrive,” said Jake.
“This is yet another reminder of the importance of being vigilant to phishing attacks as this software is designed to begin with a spear phishing email. Criminal and ethical hackers often use similar or even the same tools to test security and exploit vulnerabilities,” he explained.
ShinyHunters hackers have taken responsibility for three high-profile data breaches involving Neiman Marcus, Truist Bank, and Twilio Authy, compromising personal details of millions of users and tens of thousands of employees.
The infamous ShinyHunters hacking group, known for their recent Ticketmaster data breach, has struck again with a series of new attacks. This time, they have targeted Neiman Marcus, a renowned American luxury department store chain based in Dallas, Texas; Truist Financial Corporation, a major bank holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina; and extracted 33 million phone numbers from Twilio’s Authy service.
Neiman Marcus Data Breach
On Thursday, June 27, 2024, ShinyHunters leaked the Neiman Marcus database on the Breach Forums cybercrime platform. In their post, the hackers criticized Neiman Marcus for not paying a “small fee for deletion” of the database, referencing the common ransom tactic of “pay to have the data deleted or don’t pay and face a leak.
“Neiman Marcus didn’t pay the small fee for deletion, hiding behind legal terms they invented; so we decided Neiman Marcus can pay $200 million in fines instead, we are giving for free the hottest base (of the hour).”
ShinyHunters
As seen by Hackread.com, the leaked Neiman Marcus database contains personal data of over 40 million customers, including 29.7 million unique email addresses. The compromised data includes the following information:
Full names
IP addresses
Dates of birth
phone numbers
Payment histories
Account balances
Payment card data
payment methods
physical addresses
Browser user agent details
Gift cards numbers (without PINs)
and a lot more…
In a data breach notification submitted to the Office of the Attorney General of the state of Maine, Neiman Marcus acknowledged the incident and held Snowflake, a third-party cloud computing-based data company, responsible. According to the notification, the data breach occurred between April and May 2024, and the affected customers were notified on June 24, 2024.
ShinyHunters on Breach Forums announcing and leaking Neiman Marcus database (Screenshot: Hackread.com)
Truist Bank Employee Database
On Thursday, June 27, 2024, ShinyHunters leaked another database on Breach Forums, this time belonging to Truist Bank or Truist Financial Corporation, an American bank holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
It is important to note that the database contains only employee information; no customers were impacted. According to the hacker group, the data breach occurred in October 2023 and the database included 79,000 unique email addresses of the bank’s employees. Other data included in the leak consists of the following:
Job titles
Full names
Dates of birth
phone numbers
Account balances
Partial credit card data
And more…
Like Neiman Marcus, Truist Bank also acknowledged the breach. The company released the following statement:
“In October 2023, we experienced a cybersecurity incident that was quickly contained…In partnership with outside security consultants, we conducted a thorough investigation, took additional measures to secure our systems, and notified a small number of clients last Fall.”
However, this is not the first time that Truist Bank suffered a data breach. In December 2021, the company confmrimed a security incident in which hackers managed to steal customer names and other personal identifier in combination including Social Security Number (SSNs).
ShinyHunters on Breach Forums announcing and leaking Truist Bank database (Screenshot: Hackread.com)
Twilio Authy Phone Numbers
On Thursday, June 27, 2024, ShinyHunters leaked yet another set of data. This time, it involved 33 million phone numbers belonging to Twilio Authy, a two-factor authentication (2FA) service provided through a free mobile app.
ShinyHunters on Breach Forums announcing and leaking Twilio Authy phone numbers (Screenshot: Hackread.com)
In response to the group’s claims, on July 1, 2024, Twilio acknowledged that threat actors were able to access data associated with Authy accounts, including phone numbers, due to an unauthenticated endpoint. However, the company stated that there is no evidence the hackers obtained access to Twilio’s systems or other sensitive data.
Twilio is urging users to update their Twilio Authy app on iOS and Android to the latest version. The American cloud communications giant is also advising users to be vigilant for smishing (SMS phishing) and phishing attacks.
Nevertheless, all three data leaks put unsuspecting users and employees at risk of various cybersecurity and physical threats. Users and employees of Twilio, Neiman Marcus, and Truist Bank should change their passwords on all services, enable 2FA through another service, and remain vigilant for malicious emails and social media-related scams targeting them.
Twilio said the cybercriminals abused an unsecured Application Programming Interface (API) endpoint to verify the phone numbers of millions of Authy multi-factor authentication users.
Authy is an app that you install on your device which then produces a MFA code for you when logging into services.
The cybercriminals were able test the validity of an enormous list of phone numbers against the unsecured API endpoint. If the number was valid, the endpoint would return information about the associated accounts registered with Authy.
Twilio says it has seen no evidence of the attackers gaining access to Twilio’s systems or other sensitive data, but as a precaution it is asking all Authy users to update to the latest Android and iOS apps.
BleepingComputer notes that a threat actor named ShinyHunters leaked a CSV text file containing what they claim are 33 million phone numbers registered with the Authy service.
“In late June, a threat actor named ShinyHunters leaked a CSV text file containing what they claim are 33 million phone numbers registered with the Authy service.”
In that post, ShinyHunters suggests that buyers combine the data set with those leaked in the Gemini or Nexo data breaches. Nexo is a crypto platform where users can buy, exchange, and store Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Gemini is another cryptocurrency exchange which has suffered several breaches in the past years.
With matches between the data sets, a cybercriminal could engage in SIM-swapping or phishing attacks to steal the target’s cryptocurrencies.
If you are an Authy user we advise you to update at your earliest convenience and keep an eye out for any potential phishing messages.
How to avoid being phished
Remember that phishing messages will try to rush you into making a decision by setting an ultimatum or otherwise imposing a sense of urgency. Don’t let them rush you into an expensive mistake.
There are a few tell-tale signs for phishing mails:
It asks you to update/fill in personal information.
The URL on the email and the URL that displays when you hover over the link are different from one another.
The “From” address is not the legitimate address, although it may be a close imitation.
The formatting and design are different from what you usually receive from the impersonated brand.
The email contains an attachment you weren’t expecting.
However, with the advancement of AI, phishing emails are getting more sophisticated. So if you have even a tiny amount of suspicion that something is phishy, don’t hesitate to confirm the source of the email through another method. The chances of losing your money are much smaller after a quick call asking “Did you send this?”
We don’t just report on threats – we help safeguard your entire digital identity
Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Protect your—and your family’s—personal information by using identity protection.
A new Google Messages bug has been spotted, though it seems to be affecting only some Pixel phone users. To be more specific, I’m talking about a bug with Google Messages notifications, which seem to be disappearing.
A missing notifications bug hit Google Messages, and it’s affecting Pixel users
Needless to say, this can be quite annoying. Missing notifications is far from ideal. I know it would create a considerable problem for me, and I believe many of you would be quite irritated by this.
So, what exactly is happening? Well, those notifications seem to disappear almost instantly for some users. There is not a workaround for this as of yet, it seems, let alone a fix.
Google Messages app is no stranger to bugs. Many of you will remember the one from earlier this year that prevented people from replying to messages from notifications. Then again the one that caused GIFs sent from iPhones to appear distorted.
This is arguably the worst Google Messages bug we’ve seen this year, at least
This one with disappearing notifications is the worst we’ve seen yet, or at least in a while. The good news is that you can still see the message you’ve recieved in-app. You have no way of knowing it arrived, though, as the notification appears almost instantly.
One of the affected users, teslamash, said the following: “when a new text arrives in Messages, the notification slides down from the top of the screen, but disappears in about a second and doesn’t appear in the status bar or pull down menu, almost as if it’s been dismissed by being seen in the app itself”.
After a staggering 85% drop in annual profit in 2023, Samsung began 2024 with a bang. Its Q1 profit soared an eye-popping 933% to reach KRW 6.61 trillion (roughly $4.8 billion). The company may top that financial performance in the second quarter. Industry analysts estimate it to take home over KRW 8.5 trillion in Q2 (~$6.1 billion), with some estimating an operating profit of KRW 8.8 trillion (~$6.4 billion). That’s a 13-fold increase in profit over Q2 2023, all thanks to AI.
The AI boom helped Samsung increase its profit in Q2 2024
Samsung is the world’s largest maker of smartphones, TVs, and memory chips. The latter product category has been its cash cow for years. A sudden drop in memory chip demand and prices in 2023 hurt the company badly. Its semiconductor division posted operating losses for the first time in 14 years, while its overall earnings hit a 14-year low. Thankfully, this slowdown didn’t last long as demand and prices recovered in 2024, benefitting Samsung big time.
A weak post-pandemic demand for electronics caused last year’s price drop. However, with the industry rapidly adopting AI, memory chip demand has surged this year. High-end DRAM chips such as high bandwidth memory (HBM) solutions and other chips used in AI data centers are in high demand. Market estimates say DRAM chip prices increased 13% to 18% in Q2 2024, while NAND Flash storage chip prices increased 15% to 20%.
Samsung is reaping the benefits of this price rise. Data solution provider FactSet recently compiled consensus estimates from 33 analysts forecasting an operating profit of KRW 8.547 trillion for the quarter ended in June. A separate LSEG SmartEstimate average from 27 analysts says Samsung’s second-quarter profit may go up to KRW 8.8 trillion. These figures are a massive jump (13x) over the Korean firm’s Q2 2023 profit of KRW 0.67 trillion.
The semiconductor division, riding on the back of memory chips, is the driving force behind Samsung’s profit increase in Q2 2024. Citigroup analysts expect the business unit to post an operating profit of KRW 5.1 trillion this past quarter That’s nearly 60% of the company’s total profit for the period. What a turnaround this is proving to be, all thanks to the AI boom. Samsung is currently seeking approval for its advanced HBM products from Nvidia.
The Korean firm may soon share its earnings estimate
Samsung usually posts its quarterly earnings estimates about a week after the quarter ends. So, its Q2 2023 earnings estimate may come soon. A more detailed report will follow at the end of the month. The Korean firm would be happy with the rise in chip prices but would be looking to increase profit from other business divisions. It launches the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 foldables on July 10. The event will also bring new watches, earbuds, and a smart ring.
