NerdNews

Apple has introduced the iPhone 16E with its first in-house 5G modem, the C1. The C1 is a power-efficient modem that contributes to the phone's longer battery life, with up to 26 hours of video playback. The modem covers low-end 5G spectrum but lacks mmWave. This is a significant step for Apple as it moves away from relying on Qualcomm's 5G chips.

Google's Display & Video 360 platform is offering companies the option to target devices in the US based on lists of internet users believed to suffer from chronic illnesses, financial distress, and other sensitive categories, despite Google's policies against it. This raises serious national security concerns, as it can be used to identify and target specific individuals, including government workers and those with access to classified defense-related technologies.

ChatGPT has reached 400 million weekly active users, doubling its user base in a short period. This milestone comes despite challenges from rival AI platform DeepSeek. OpenAI plans to simplify its ChatGPT offerings and make its GPT-5 model available to free users, which could further expand its audience base.

Microsoft introduces Magma, an AI model that integrates visual and language processing to control software interfaces and robotic systems, enabling multistep actions in real and digital worlds. Magma combines 'verbal intelligence' with 'spatial intelligence' for planning and action execution, outperforming other models in UI navigation and robot manipulation tasks.

Google's new AI system, based on Gemini 2.0, helps biomedical researchers by generating hypotheses and research proposals. The AI co-scientist uses a multi-agent system to refine output and can be used to interpret and contextualize large data sets. While not a replacement for human scientists, the AI can assist with research and has shown promising results in laboratory testing.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is tempering expectations around AI, stating that the industry needs to focus on practical applications and economic growth rather than hype around artificial general intelligence. He believes that success will be measured through global economic growth, not arbitrary benchmarks, and that the industry needs to make money before investors get impatient.

The debate over using Rust in the Linux kernel continues, with some maintainers expressing concerns about mixing Rust and C code. However, Linux royalty such as Greg Kroah-Hartman and Linus Torvalds are backing the adoption of Rust, citing its benefits for memory safety. The discussion revolves around the trade-offs between the potential benefits of using Rust and the challenges of maintaining a multi-language codebase.

The presentation discusses the importance of security in machine learning infrastructure, introducing the concept of MLSecOps. It highlights various attack vectors, including Pickles, model access, code vulnerabilities, and dependencies. The speaker also provides potential solutions, such as using safer alternatives to Pickles, implementing trust mechanisms, and following best practices from the DevOps space.

Language models can expand any question into an answer, making them a powerful tool for creativity and problem-solving. They can provide comprehensive, contextual, and creative expansions, allowing users to explore new ideas and possibilities. This ability to expand questions into answers has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach creativity, writing, and innovation.

The article discusses the tension between security and velocity in software development. It highlights the importance of finding a balance between the two and introduces DevSecOps as a solution. DevSecOps integrates security into every step of the development lifecycle, enabling developers to own the security of their digital products. The article also showcases GitGuardian's secret detection platform as a tool that embodies the spirit of DevSecOps, providing automated security checks, real-time feedback, and seamless integration with existing tools and workflows.

Google is launching a cheaper version of YouTube Premium, called YouTube Premium Lite, in the US, Australia, Germany, and Thailand. The new tier will have limited ads and target viewers who primarily watch programs other than music videos. The price has not been announced, but a previous test in Australia showed a price of $8.99 AUD per month.

Spotify has partnered with ElevenLabs to allow authors to bring AI-narrated audiobooks to the platform. The partnership aims to make audiobook production more cost-effective for smaller authors and make it easier to create audiobooks of older titles. ElevenLabs' AI voice software can narrate audiobooks in 29 languages, with a wide selection of synthetic voices to choose from.

The NVIDIA GeForce 5070 Ti is a capable GPU for 4K gaming, thanks to DLSS 4. It features 8,960 CUDA cores, 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM, and a peak power draw of 300 watts. The GPU performed well in benchmarks and actual gaming, with smooth performance in games like Dragon Age and Cyberpunk 2077. However, prices fluctuate wildly, and stock is a major problem. If you can find it for $750, it's a good option, but at $900 or above, it's less compelling.

xAI's Grok 3, a large language model, is available for free for a limited time. Paid users get priority access and additional features like 'Big Brain' mode and unlimited image generation. The free version has limitations, such as potential server limits and no access to advanced features.

Apple introduced the iPhone 16e, a budget smartphone with a 6.1-inch OLED display, A18 chip, and Apple's first proprietary 5G modem. It features a single 48-megapixel main camera, a new 'Action Button', and USB-C charging. The device starts at $599 and will be available for pre-order on February 21.

Hackers are actively exploiting three vulnerabilities in unpatched Palo Alto Networks firewall appliances, including an authentication bypass, an authenticated file read vulnerability, and a privilege escalation vulnerability. The vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2025-0108, CVE-2025-0111, and CVE-2024-9474, can be chained together to gain root privileges on unpatched PAN-OS firewalls.

The Black Basta ransomware gang's internal chat logs have been leaked online, revealing sensitive information about their operations, including phishing templates, cryptocurrency addresses, and victim credentials. The leak is believed to have been caused by internal conflicts within the gang or a disgruntled member. The leaked logs contain over 367 unique ZoomInfo links, indicating the number of companies targeted by the gang.

The Chinese state-sponsored Salt Typhoon hacking group uses custom malware called JumbledPath to monitor network traffic and capture sensitive data in US telecom networks. The group gained access to targeted networks using stolen credentials and expanded their access by extracting additional credentials and intercepting authentication traffic.

The Darcula phishing-as-a-service platform is releasing its third major version, which includes a DIY phishing kit generator that can create kits for any brand. The new feature allows users to insert a URL and automatically generate templates for the attack. The platform also includes anti-detection features, a new admin panel, and a tool to convert stolen credit card data into virtual card images.

A new ransomware strain called NailaoLocker has been discovered targeting European healthcare organizations. The malware, which is relatively unsophisticated, exploits the CVE-2024-24919 vulnerability to gain access to networks and deploy ShadowPad and PlugX malware. The attacks are linked to Chinese cyber-espionage tactics, but the exact attribution is unclear.