NerdNews

Elon Musk's xAI team has released a leading AI model, Grok-3, which is currently at the top of the Chatbot Arena leaderboard. The model's 'thinking' capabilities are roughly on par with OpenAI's o1. Musk plans to release ChatGPT-like voice interaction and desktop apps soon, and is also building an AI gaming studio. OpenAI's ChatGPT has 400 million weekly active users, but Grok-3's rapid development has shaken up the AI race.

Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange, was hacked for nearly $1.5 billion in Ethereum and staked Ethereum from one of its offline wallets. The hack is considered the largest cryptocurrency theft ever, with the hacker manipulating a planned transfer and sending the funds to an unknown party. Bybit's CEO has assured customers that all other cold wallets are secure and withdrawals are normal, with the company having already secured around 80% of the funding needed to cover the loss.

Google has announced the pricing of its new AI video model Veo 2, which will cost 50 cents per second, equivalent to $30 per minute or $1,800 per hour. This pricing is significantly lower than traditional video production costs, and Veo 2's ability to generate high-quality video clips could revolutionize the industry.

Aleph Alpha's CEO Jonas Andrulis discusses the challenges of building sovereign AI, including the need for documented knowledge and the limitations of fine-tuning and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) methods. The company is working on frameworks to make adopting AI technologies easier and more efficient, including a new tokenizer-free training architecture.

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI firm, is planning to release the source code for its AI model, going beyond the 'open weights' approach. The company will release five open source repos, providing visibility into the code that powers its online service. This move could widen the contrast with OpenAI, whose models remain proprietary, and provide easier access to DeepSeek's technology.

A new ransomware campaign, Codefinger, targets Amazon S3 users by exploiting compromised AWS credentials to encrypt data using Server-Side Encryption with Customer-Provided Keys (SSE-C). AWS recommends using short-term credentials, implementing data recovery procedures, and preventing the use of SSE-C on S3 buckets when not necessary.

Leaked chat logs of the Black Basta ransomware group reveal internal rifts, tactics, and trade secrets. The logs, which include over 200,000 messages, were published online in retaliation for the group's targeting of Russian banks. Researchers are analyzing the data to better understand the group's operations and have already created a resource called BlackBastaGPT to help with analysis.

A ransomware group used a phishing campaign and social engineering to gain access to a company's network in just 48 minutes. The attackers used legitimate tools like Quick Assist, Teams, and PowerShell to avoid detection, and were able to move laterally within the network, gaining privileged access and exfiltrating sensitive data.

Apple has decided to disable its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) end-to-end encryption service for UK users, following a row with the UK government over access to customer data. The move means that both Apple and law enforcement agencies will be able to access requested data without the need for backdoor access. The decision affects iCloud backups, storage, photos, notes, reminders, and other data, but health info, iMessages, and FaceTime calls will still be protected by E2EE.

Apple is removing end-to-end encryption from its iCloud service in the UK after the government ordered the company to build a backdoor into the feature. The move is a response to the UK's Investigatory Powers Act, which grants officials the authority to compel companies to remove encryption. Apple has consistently pushed back against government orders to decrypt devices or build backdoors into its products, citing the importance of user security and privacy.

Apple's Vision Pro will receive Apple Intelligence features in April with visionOS 2.4. A developer beta is available today, bringing features like Writing Tools, Image Playground, and Genmoji. The update also includes a new Spatial Gallery app and a Vision Pro app for iPhones to manage the headset experience.

Microsoft's Muse AI is a generative AI for game development that can ideate playable ideas, building game visuals, controller inputs, and more. It can extend a gameplay demo with an AI-created simulation and duplicate in-game props and enemies with their animation, design, and interactive functions.

A startup called Sonar Mental Health has created a 'wellbeing companion' chatbot called Sonny to help understaffed schools support student mental health. Sonny uses a combination of human staff and AI to respond to student questions, with humans ultimately responsible for the messages. The chatbot is currently available to over 4,500 middle and high school students across nine districts.

Google Cloud has introduced quantum-safe digital signatures to its Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS), making them available in preview. This initiative aligns with the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards, addressing future risks of quantum computing breaking classic encryption schemes. The two adopted algorithms are ML-DSA-65 (FIPS 204) and SLH-DSA-SHA2-128S (FIPS 205).

Microsoft has developed a quantum chip, Majorana 1, which can scale to a million qubits, posing a threat to current encryption protocols. This breakthrough accelerates the need for organizations to transition to post-quantum cryptography, as quantum computers can rapidly solve mathematical equations that make up current encryption protocols, leaving data and connections exposed.

The iOS 18.4 developer beta includes support for robot vacuums through the Matter smart home standard, allowing users to control and automate their robot vacuums using the Apple Home app. The feature was spotted in the first developer beta of iOS 18.4, and it enables users to add robot vacuums to automations and scenes, as well as control them remotely. Currently, only a few robot vacuum models support Matter, including the Ecovacs X8 Pro Omni, Switchbot S10, and Dreame X50 Ultra.

The Trump administration's AI policy is in disarray due to conflicting views and mass firings of recent hires, including those working on the CHIPS Act, which aims to develop an advanced American semiconductor industry. This could hinder the US's ability to stay competitive in the AI sector and address the rapid development of AI, which poses both benefits and risks.

Linux kernel leaders have decided to pave a path for Rust in the kernel while supporting C veterans. The decision comes after a long debate between Rust enthusiasts and C maintainers. Linus Torvalds and Greg Kroah-Hartman have agreed that Rust can enter the kernel, but nobody will be forced to deal with it if they want to keep working on C code. This decision aims to allow Rust to coexist with C in the kernel, providing a more memory-safe alternative for new code and drivers.

The DJI Flip is a unique and useful creator drone with a foldable design, shrouded propellers, and a high-quality camera. It has a long battery life, excellent video quality, and is easy to fly. However, it lacks obstacle detection in certain modes and has some limitations in windy conditions. The Flip is priced at $439 and is a great option for creators who prioritize battery life and smoother video.

Docker has delayed its plan to limit image pulls from Docker Hub by one month and has altered previously published quotas. Unauthenticated users will be limited to 10 image pulls per hour, while Personal accounts will have 100 image pulls per hour. Paid subscribers will have unlimited image pulls with no consumption-based charges or rate limits.