Tech and Cybersecurity: A Closer Look at This Week’s News. 24/03/2024

Here are the top five tech news stories I found interesting for the week ending on March 14, 2024:

AT&T 70 Million User Accounts Leaked:

A massive data breach at AT&T has resulted in the leak of 70 million user accounts. The leaked database, allegedly stolen from AT&T, is available almost for free on the illicit marketplace BreachForums. The data includes names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and social security numbers. AT&T denies that the data came from its own systems.

A massive data breach at AT&T has led to the leak of 70 million user accounts. The leaked database, supposedly stolen from AT&T, is almost free on the illegal marketplace BreachForums. The data includes names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and social security numbers. AT&T denies that the data came from its systems.

The details of the leaked data first appeared online in August 2021, when a known threat actor, ShinyHunters, offered up the records for sale on a hacking forum with a ‘buy it now’ price of one million dollars. Now, that data appears to have been made accessible by another threat actor, Major Nelson.

While the data represents less than half of AT&T’s customer records, it is still a huge treasure trove of personal information and could be highly dangerous in the wrong hands. Whether the customer data came from a direct breach of AT&T systems or via a third party, the end result is the same—the information is out there and could be used by malicious persons to obtain even more data from the victims.

Experts say the AT&T customer data sold online is legitimate and warn it could be used to launch targeted attacks on those affected. Data breaches happen constantly, and customers have had to become all too savvy about changing their details as their data is exposed to yet another leak.

This incident highlights the importance of cybersecurity and the need for companies to invest in robust security measures to protect their customers’ data. It also underscores the need for consumers to be vigilant about their personal information and take steps to protect themselves in a data breach.

Motorola’s Flexible Phone:

Motorola is working on a more advanced concept phone display that can wrap around your wrist. The Lenovo subsidiary showcased its flexible pOLED display concept phone at the annual Lenovo Tech World 2023. The new smartphone form factor has a full-HD+ pOLED screen and can be bent backwards and wrapped around a wrist like a wristband or a smartwatch.

Motorola is pushing the boundaries of smartphone technology with a new phone concept with a flexible pOLED display. This innovative device was unveiled at the annual Lenovo Tech World 2023.

The phone's standout feature is its ability to bend backwards and wrap around a wrist, functioning like a wristband or a smartwatch. Depending on the user's needs, this adaptive display concept can be adjusted into different forms.

When the phone is flat, its 6.9-inch screen can be used like a standard smartphone, providing a whole Android experience. The device can also be adjusted to a self-standing position with a 4.6-inch display.

In addition to these features, users can wrap the device around their wrist like an intelligent band or smartwatch. This provides a similar experience to the external Motorola Razr Plus cover screen display.

However, it's important to note that this is still a concept phone. There is currently no information on when this device will be available in stores.

MIT’s Insulin Implantable Devices:

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an implantable device that could provide a long-term supply of insulin to the body. The device contains encapsulated cells that produce insulin, plus a tiny oxygen-producing factory that keeps the cells healthy. When implanted into diabetic mice, this device could keep the mice’s blood glucose levels stable for at least a month.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an implantable device that could provide a long-term supply of insulin to the body. This device is designed to shield insulin-producing, or islet, cells from damaging immune responses while continuously generating oxygen to sustain them.

The device carries hundreds of thousands of insulin-producing islet cells and has its onboard oxygen factory, which generates oxygen by splitting water vapour in the body. When implanted into diabetic mice, this device could keep the mice’s blood glucose levels stable for at least a month.

The researchers now hope to create a larger version of the device, about the size of a stick of chewing gum, that could eventually be tested in people with Type 1 diabetes. They believe this technology could end up helping patients, potentially enabling patients to control diabetes without injections¹²³⁴⁵.

While the researchers' primary focus is on diabetes treatment, they say this kind of device could also be adapted to treat other diseases requiring repeated delivery of therapeutic proteins.

Reddit’s Successful IPO:

Reddit shares soared on their first day of public trading15. The company’s stock price climbed nearly 70% from its IPO, with Condé Nast’s parent company standing to make almost $1.4 billion15.

Reddit, the popular social media platform, debuted on the stock market this week. On its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the company's shares opened 38% above the initial public offering (IPO) price, valued at $8.87 billion.

The company and its existing shareholders planned to sell about 22 million shares at $31 to $34 per share. This IPO was expected to raise between $473.6 million and $519.4 million for Reddit and between $208.4 million and $228.6 million for its existing investors.

What sets Reddit's IPO apart is that the company offered shares to its contributors — the "Redditors" who comment on its boards and the moderators who manage them. This is a break from traditional IPO practice, where initial shares are typically sold to institutional investors and fund managers.

However, this approach could lead to increased share-price volatility. While it's not clear how many of the 1.76 million shares will end up in the hands of Reddit users, the number is likely large enough for those users to exert meaningful pressure on Reddit’s share price.

Apple Acquires DarwinAI:

Apple has acquired Canada-based company DarwinAI to build out its AI team. DarwinAI created AI technology for inspecting components during the manufacturing process, and it also had a focus on making smaller and more efficient AI systems. Apple is working hard to build artificial intelligence features for its next-generation iOS 18 and macOS 15 operating systems.

Apple's acquisition of DarwinAI, a Canadian AI startup, is part of its broader push into generative artificial intelligence. DarwinAI specializes in creating AI technology to inspect components during the manufacturing process. They also focus on developing smaller and more efficient AI systems.

DarwinAI's technology could benefit Apple's plans to integrate more AI features into its next-generation iOS 18 and macOS 15 operating systems. The company is reportedly working on building hundreds of AI servers that will offer a combination of cloud-based AI and edge AI, which involves more on-device data processing.

One of DarwinAI's co-founders, Alexander Wong, has joined Apple's AI group as a director. This move further highlights Apple's commitment to advancing its AI capabilities.

Apple's acquisition of DarwinAI is expected to bolster its generative AI capabilities in the upcoming iOS 18, aiming to provide a more personalized and intuitive user experience. Apple CEO Tim Cook promised that Apple will "break new ground" in generative AI in 2024.

It's clear that Apple is making significant strides in its AI push, and the acquisition of DarwinAI is a testament to that effort.

These stories highlight the rapid pace of technological advancements and the challenges that come with them. The tech world continues to evolve and shape our future, from data breaches to innovative product designs and medical breakthroughs to corporate acquisitions.