A new variant of the Gafgyt botnet called C0XMO is targeting DD-WRT router firmware and can move to other device types with various CPU architectures.

The researchers found samples for ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, SuperH, x86, x86_64, and other architectures, featuring exploits for DVRs, routers, video management platforms, and Android-based devices.

The botnet was seen targeting a Japanese technology company, but researchers discovered that the source IP address was for a device located in Germany.

Fortinet researchers discovered C0XMO and highlighted its modular design, which allows operators to update its exploitation techniques, add/remove targeted architectures, and expand its lateral movement capabilities independently of the main payload.

Fundamentally, C0XMO remains a malware for launching distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and supports 19 methods, including UDP/TCP/SYN/ICMP floods, “ping of death,” NTP/Memcached amplification, Discord voice UDP floods, and Valve-specific floods.

According to the researchers, the C0XMO botnet malware is delivered by exploiting CVE-2021-27137, a buffer overflow vulnerability caused by insufficient user input. It can be leveraged without authentication and leads to executing arbitrary code.

Gafgyt scanner

For wider distribution, C0XMO downloads a Python script that installs additional packages such as ‘requests,’ ‘paramiko,’ and ‘beautifulsoup4,’ which are required for network scanning and communication, and for running activities over SSH and telnet protocols.

The scanner then uses worker threads to randomly scan internet-facing systems on common ports like 22 (SSH), 23 (Telnet), 80/443 (HTTP/HTTPS), 7547, 8080, 8443, 8888, and others.

After finding a target, the malware attempts to brute-force weak Telnet and SSH credentials, detects the CPU architecture, and deploys a compatible C0XMO binary.

The script contains almost two dozen functions for various tasks for scanning, exploiting HTTP and ADB-based vulnerabilities, detecting the CPU architecture, SSH/telenet login, and checking IP addresses. Its main purpose is to move laterally on the network.

Once it gains access to a device, the malware copies itself to hidden locations such as ‘/tmp/.sys,’ ‘/var/tmp/.sys,’ and ‘/dev/shm/.sys,’ and then creates cron jobs that relaunch it every 15 minutes. Also, shell startup files are modified to enable automatic execution.

Furthermore, C0XMO actively scans running processes to identify competitor botnet clients on the host, as well as red-team tools, programming tools, and network services that may interfere with its operation, and terminates them.

It does so by deleting binaries and removing their persistence mechanisms, including cron jobs, init scripts, system services, and shell profile entries.

After that, it connects to a hardcoded command-and-control (C2) address using a custom multi-stage handshake that includes magic strings and shared secrets, and then awaits commands.

The supported commands include heartbeat checks, starting and stopping scans, and launching DDoS attacks using one of the 19 supported methods.

The general recommendation for defending against C0XMO and other botnet malware is to keep devices up to date, use unique admin credentials, and disable remote access capabilities when not needed.

Fortinet describes C0XMO as having “a considerably more advanced architecture and feature set compared to earlier IoT botnets.”

The researchers note that the overall design of the malware indicates “a greater degree of operational sophistication and complexity than typical Gafgyt malware.”

Security teams log 54% of successful attacks and alert on just 14%. The rest move through your environment unseen.

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• New York is close to a one-year data center moratorium
• The governor still needs to sign the bill into law
• Backers of the ban want to see more details on environmental impact

Public sentiment seems to have taken a turn against large data center developments, and the trend shows no signs of stopping. Now we might have the first state-wide ban of its kind in New York, after lawmakers passed a one-year moratorium (a temporary prohibition) on large data centers with a peak demand of 20 megawatts or more.

As The Guardian reports, while the New York State legislature has passed the moratorium, it’s not law yet: it still needs the signature of Governor Kathy Hochul, who hasn’t said one way or the other if she will approve the bill, and has until December to decide.

Apple’s first foldable iPhone may be just months away, but anyone hoping for a stealth black iPhone Fold may have to look elsewhere if the latest leak turns out to be accurate.

With the clock ticking down to an expected September unveiling, we’re seeing more and more iPhone Fold leaks by the day. The latest claims that even Apple doesn’t yet know what colors the device will come in.

Writing in a post to the Chinese social network Weibo, leaker Instant Digital hinted Apple is still deliberating whether to launch a black iPhone Fold. He even went so far as to wonder aloud whether Apple has a grudge against the color.

Apple has moved away from black in its premium iPhones of late. The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max aren’t available in black, for example.

Building on 2025’s snub, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are also expected to skip black. Instead, those models are expected to ship in Dark Cherry, Light Blue, Dark Gray, and Silver.

But all eyes are on the foldable iPhone right now, and Apple has a decision to make.

Thinking time is past

Apple’s reported indecision may explain the lack of concrete rumors around iPhone Fold colors. Reports continue to suggest a white model will be offered, with one other color available for buyers to consider.

With Samsung Display already lined up to produce the foldable display, Apple’s time has surely run out. Manufacturing tests were said to be already underway in April 2026.

We would have expected the iPhone Fold’s colors to have been set in stone before that testing phase.

There is one wild card to be considered, however. If Apple really is yet to choose a second color, it’s possible the iPhone Fold may miss the oft-rumored September/October release window.

It’s unclear how this would tie in with the April testing, though. If we take that report at face value, it seems more likely that the colors are locked in if the fall unveiling is to go ahead.

It’s worth noting that Instant Digital has consistently claimed the iPhone Fold would only be sold in two colors, with one being white.

No matter which colors the iPhone Fold (or is it iPhone Ultra?) comes in, we can expect it to be costly. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has hinted at a price north of $2,000. A previous Ming-Chi Kuo report had it costing as much as $2,500.

More images of a purported dummy unit of the iPhone Fold have appeared, helping solidify the appearance of the much-rumored model.

On June 1, an image circulated Weibo via a reputable leaker showing what seemed like a prototype or dummy unit for the iPhone Fold or Ultra. Days later, more shots have emerged.

Shared to X early on June 7, the images from Sonny Dickson outright describes the pictured item as an “iPhone Fold dummy unit.” There are four shots, showing the model in its opened and closed states.

The two open shots depict a “back” that looks like the previous image, with one half black to represent the external display. The other half is white with the camera bump to one side.

The other open image shows the large black screen, as well as the hinge on the top edge holding it all together.

The closed shots are unsurprising, with one showing just the black “screen” half that will be visible to users, and the other with the white camera-equipped back.

Just like the earlier photograph, the item certainly matches up to an earlier CAD drawing Dickson shared in March.

Limited colors

Dickson also adds a comment about the color options that users could expect this fall when the iPhone Fold ships. It’s not great news.

“It doesn’t look like Apple will offer multiple colors, with white currently appearing to be the only option,” Dickson writes on X.

This, too, lines up with a claim on Friday, when leaker Instant Digital hinted Apple was deliberating over whether to introduce a black colorway. Apple was apparently still trying to decide on what colors to use.

Sonny Dickson is one of the more reliable leakers, and has repeatedly been the source of images for future Apple products. However, in the age of easily accessible AI-generated images, 3D printing, and other ways to fake an image, there’s always a chance that they are fake items.

The shots are convincing and certainly go along with earlier rumors and leaks. But, as always, there’s no guarantee until Apple actually launches the device.

OPINION: I was on Facebook the other day, and something caught my eye: someone was using the fireplace to vent their portable AC out through the chimney. Genius, was my first reaction.

I live in a Victorian terraced house, which can get very hot in the summertime, and trying to get a portable AC unit near a window can be a real faff. So, using an open vent that’s there all of the time seems like a brilliant idea, and the unsightly hose can be tucked out of the way.

Only, the more I thought about it, the less this idea made sense. Despite finding people online who say that they’ve done this and it’s worked, there are definite issues that mean I would not do this.

Kitchen knives are so personal. You can do almost everything you need in a kitchen with a chef’s knife, paring knife, and a bread knife. But the more time you spend in the kitchen, the more you develop preferences, and soon it becomes a bit of an n+1 thing, and there you are, pondering a cleaver.

There’s a lot of space between most chef’s knives and paring knives. What’s in that space—often called petty, prep, or utility knives—is often pretty weird. Consider the knives that you never use from a set and you’ll likely think of the short, serrated knives or the petty knives with no room for your fingers between the handle and the cutting board.

What if you’re a smaller person, or have smaller hands, or just think a smaller but still high-functioning all-around knife might be your jam? What if the right version of those midsize knives turned out to be really useful?

To my delight, the good ones are. With equal parts luck, research, and trial and error, I found both new and existing-but-flying-under-the-radar examples of midsize knives that were wonderfully functional, in part because of their size. The right ones are incredibly useful and the great ones are prep monsters.

Messermeister’s Kawashima utility knife.

Courtesy of Messermeister

Recently, I had seen signs at my favorite trade show that I might be on to something. At the Messermeister knives booth, a midsize blade stood out thanks to an olive wood handle and intriguing geometry. It felt balanced and comfortable with room for hands of any size to move back on the handle, or further forward in a pinch grip. Importantly, there was plenty of clearance, so knuckles don’t hit the cutting board at the bottom of the stroke. Keeping my eyes open, I saw more potential from Cangshan, Tarrerias-Bonjean, and Zwilling. This got my mind going. I remembered the Wusthöf Classic chef’s knife that comes in a 5-inch size. Similarly, I hoped I could find a short version of a nimble Japanese knife called a kiritsuke and put in a call to the good people at Seisuke Knife in Portland, Oregon.

Soon, I had a pile of beautiful knives on my cutting board. I tucked my own knives into my knife roll for storage and, for weeks, used the new, smaller specimens as my daily drivers.

The more I used them, the more I understood what I wanted. First, I threw their unhelpful names out the window: petty, utility, prep … whatever. Next, I decided my lovely Tadafusa santoku, the shortest of my longer knives, would be the longest I’d go at roughly 6.5 inches. Having these knives “do it all” felt like a stretch, but they definitely needed to be able to do a lot. I was willing to work with the knife to find its strengths, but preferred something that could handle different cutting styles and all kinds of food. They had to be prep monsters.

Meanwhile, CNBC cited sources who claimed that Elon Musk is considering combining Tesla with SpaceX.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is hoping to raise $75bn in a gargantuan initial public offering (IPO), which estimates suggest would value the tech giant at around $1.7trn.

The Starship rocket producer, in a filing with the US government, said that it plans to offer more than 555.5m class A common stock shares at a value of $135 per share.

Last month, SpaceX posted a net loss of $4.28bn on revenue of $4.69bn for Q1, compared with a net loss of $528m on revenue of $4bn a year ago.

Musk’s decision to offer shares at a fixed price ahead of the order-taking is unusual for large US IPOs, reports suggested.

However, depending on its success, SpaceX could rank as the largest IPO listing in history, far exceeding the 2019 listing of Saudi Aramco for $29bn, the current record holder for largest IPO. Following the raise, Musk, the company’s chairperson, CEO and chief technical officer, is expected to hold more than 82pc of the voting power.

The space-tech company was last valued at a reported $1.2trn following the February acquisition of xAI, Musk’s other company, which is behind the AI chatbot Grok. This came less than a year after xAI acquired the social media platform X, another of Musk’s businesses.

Meanwhile, CNBC reported late last month that Musk is considering yet another SpaceX acquisition, this time of his electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, which currently sits at around $1.6trn in value.

SpaceX’s filings showed that it had purchased nearly $700m worth of Tesla’s battery storage products across 2024 and 2025, as well as more than $130m of its Cybertrucks in 2025.

xAI, by April of this year, had purchased $292m in Tesla battery solutions, and more than $400m last year. Tesla, meanwhile, committed $2bn to xAI, while owning nearly 19m SpaceX shares at an approximate value of $2.5bn. The two companies are also collaborating to develop semiconductors as part of Terafab.

SpaceX’s IPO comes just ahead of Anthropic, which filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 1 June. The AI giant behind Claude was last valued at $965bn after a $65bn raise late last month.

OpenAI, recently valued at $852bn, is also planning to go public. CNBC reported that the company was preparing to confidentially file for an IPO late last month.

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