OneBlood suffered a cyberattack in July 2024, and has now concluded its investigation
The analysis has shown OneBlood lost sensitive information on some customers
Names and Social Security numbers among the details taken
OneBlood, a nonprofit medical organization crucial for the operations of healthcare firms across the Southeastern US, has confirmed it lost sensitive donor information in a ransomware attack.
In July 2024, OneBlood suffered an attack causing an IT system outage and resulted in 250 hospitals activating critical blood shortage protocols.
Sonic films have drawn all-star cast members over the years, such as Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, who has played the role in all three of the movies, Idris Elba as Knuckles, and Keanu Reeves as Shadow. And a post-credits scene for the third movie hints that other fan favorites could join the series (spoilers in that link!), so there might be big casting announcements ahead for the fourth Sonic film.
The March 2027 date for Sonic The Hedgehog 4 means it will launch well after TheSuper Mario Bros. Movie sequel, which is set to debut on April 3rd, 2026.
Alexandr Wang, the CEO of Scale AI, has taken out a full-page ad in The Washington Post asking the Trump administration to invest more in AI.
Wang, who attended Trump’s inauguration on Monday like many other tech CEOs, posted a copy of the ad on X, which reads “Dear President Trump: America must win the AI War.”
In the full letter published online, Wang explains that the US should take five broad steps to win what he considers an “AI war” against China.
Scale, whose core business is data labeling and processing for AI projects at large organizations, was valued at $13.8 billion last year.
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Wang wants the U.S. government to emulate tech giants by spending more on data and compute. He also recommends the U.S. review its own regulations to ensure there’s plenty of AI-related jobs in the future.
Wang further calls for making federal agencies “AI-ready” by 2027, launching an “aggressive” plan for cheap electricity that can be consumed by AI-centric data centers, and offered ideas on how to implement some AI safety measures.
Scale could benefit from at least some of these recommendations, like a surge in U.S. government spending on data. Scale already counts the U.S. government as a customer and is reportedly part of plans for a U.S. defense startup consortium.
More friendly regulations and encouraging AI-related jobs could help Scale as well, as it relies heavily on contract workers, a few of whom have recently filed lawsuits alleging they are misclassified.
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Wang, however, has framed the recommendations as part of an effort to keep the U.S. ahead of China in AI. “We are in a new kind of technological arms race,” his letter states. “The Chinese government is investing in AI at an unprecedented pace.”
Chinese models like DeepSeek have been getting attention for their strong performance on certain industry benchmarks. Wang’s letter says China is now catching up to the U.S. after being at least a year behind, comments echoed by other AI leaders.
But Wang’s framing of US-China AI competition as a “war” has raised concern from some.
“This is a horrible framing – we are not at war. We are all in this together and if we make AI development into a war we are likely to all die,” posted Emmett Shear, the ex-Twitch CEO who was briefly OpenAI’s CEO in 2023.
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How the Trump administration responds remains to be seen. So far, President Trump’s main action on AI has been to revoke his predecessor’s Executive Order on AI, which created guidance for companies to help correct flaws and biases in their models.
Security researchers at French firm Sekoia detected a new phishing-as-a-service kit targeting Microsoft 365 accounts in December 2024, the company announced on Jan. 16.
The kit, called Sneaky 2FA, was distributed through Telegram by the threat actor service Sneaky Log. It is associated with about 100 domains and has been active since at least October 2024.
Sneaky 2FA is an adversary-in-the-middle attack, meaning it intercepts information sent between two devices: in this case, a device with Microsoft 365 and a phishing server. Sneaky 2FA falls under the class of business email compromise attacks.
“The cybercriminal ecosystem associated with AiTM phishing and Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks is continuously evolving, with threat actors opportunistically migrating from one PhaaS platform to another, supposedly based on the quality of the phishing service and the competitive price,” Sekoia analysts Quentin Bourgue and Grégoire Clermont wrote in the firm’s analysis of the attack.
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How does the Sneaky 2FA phishing-as-a-service kit work?
Sneaky Log sells access to the phishing kit through a chatbot on Telegram. Once the customer pays, Sneaky Log provides access to the Sneaky 2FA source code. Sneaky Log uses compromised WordPress websites and other domains to host the pages that trigger the phishing kit.
The scam involves showing a fake Microsoft authentication page to the potential victim. Sneaky 2FA then shows a Cloudflare Turnstile page with a “Verify you are human” prompt box.
If the victim provides their account information, their email and password will go to the phishing server. Sneaky Log’s server detects the available 2FA method(s) for the Microsoft 365 account and prompts the user to follow them.
The user will be redirected to a real Office365 URL, but the phishing server can now access the user’s account through the Microsoft 365 API.
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If the visitor to the phishing site is a bot, cloud provider, proxy, VPN, originated from a data center, or uses an IP address “associated with known abuse,” the page redirects to a Microsoft-related Wikipedia entry. Security research team TRAC Labs detected a similar technique in December 2024 in a phishing scheme they named WikiKit.
Sneaky Log’s kit shares some source code with another phishing kit found by risk platform company Group-1B in September 2023, Sekoia noted. That kit was associated with a threat actor called W3LL.
Sneaky Log sells Sneaky 2FA for $200 monthly, paid in cryptocurrency. Sekoia said this is slightly cheaper than kits Sneaky Log’s fellow criminal competitors offer.
SEE: Multifactor authentication and spam filters can reduce phishing, but employees who understand social engineering techniques are the first line of defense.
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How to detect and mitigate Sneaky 2FA
The activities associated with Sneaky 2FA can be detected in a user’s Microsoft 365 audit log, said Sekoia.
In particular, security researchers looking into a phishing attempt might see different hardcoded User-Agent strings for the HTTP requests in each step of the authentication flow. This would be unlikely if the user authentication steps were benign.
Sekoia published a Sigma detection rule that “looks for a Login:login event with a Safari on iOS User-Agent, and a Login:resume event with an Edge on Windows User-Agent, both having the same correlation ID, and happening within 10 minutes.”
Security professionals can remind employees to avoid interacting with suspicious emails, including those that sound urgent or frightening. Sekoia discovered Sneaky 2FA within a malicious email attachment titled “Final Lien Waiver.pdf,” containing a QR code. The URL embedded in the QR code led to a compromised page.
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Other recent phishing attempts target Microsoft
Microsoft’s ubiquity makes it a rich hunting ground for threat actors, whether they run attacks directly or sell phishing-as-a-service tools.
In 2023, Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence team disclosed a phishing kit targeting services like Office or Outlook. Later in the same year, Proofpoint pulled the mask off ExilProxy, a phishing kit that could bypass two-factor authentication.
In October 2024, Check Point warned users of Microsoft products against sophisticated mimics trying to steal account information.
Battery-powered turntables for home and mobile listening
DJ-focused Play turntable has filters and looping
More premium versions have vacuum tube pre-amps
Korg has announced a trio of very unusual turntables that you can take anywhere. The new Handytraxx range can run on AA batteries as well as from a power outlet, and they include integrated speakers for music on the move. But these aren’t toys. They’re designed for DJs and serious music fans in the way that the best turntables are.
There are three and a bit models in the Handytraxx range. There’s the Play, which is designed for mobile DJing; the Tube, which comes with a tube pre-amp for warmer sound and can turn your vinyl into digital files; and the 1bit, which offers improved digital recording. There’s also a limited edition of the Tube in collaboration with Japanese cartridge firm JICO.
Korg Handytraxx turntables: portability, power features and pricing
The Handytraxx are a kind of homage to a homage; they’re inspired by the early-noughties Vestax Handy Trax portable turntable, which in turn took its inspiration from the portable players of the 1960s and 1970s and found favour among DJs.
Meta’s Reality Labs is expanding its lineup of AI smart glasses with a new pair of Oakley-branded spectacles targeted at athletes, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Bloomberg reports the new smart glasses, with which Meta seeks to capitalize on the Ray-Ban Meta’s success, will be based on Oakley’s Sphaera glasses, and will shift the camera toward the center of the glasses frame.
It seems Meta wants to tap into Oakley’s cult-like following among various athlete groups, including cyclists, runners, and rowers. This could help popularize smart glasses with more mainstream consumers.
Beyond new glasses, Meta is also exploring a wide range of AI-powered devices, including camera-equipped earbuds and a smart watch. The company is also developing a $1,000 pair of smart glasses based on the Ray-Ban Meta’s design, with an AR display projected on the bottom portion of the right lens, according to the report.
Amid a sea of generative AI products, Grok AI sets itself apart with a bold and irreverent personality. Developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, Grok’s unconventional tone may make it less suitable for business use compared with its competitors. However, Grok still holds its own among the leading foundation models of today, boasting strong test performance and competitive speed.
Grok AI is a large language model designed for generating, changing, or analyzing text. It also offers advanced generative AI capabilities, including internet search functionality and image creation, making it a versatile tool for various tasks.
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Unlike standalone AI tools, Grok resides within X (formerly Twitter). To access it, users must log into X and purchase a subscription to Grok. This integration aligns Musk’s vision of transforming the social media platform into an “everything app,” where tools like Grok complement the platform’s ecosystem of services.
Additionally, Grok’s development is part of xAI’s larger mission to build AI systems with a distinct personality and edge, reflecting Musk’s intent to differentiate Grok from its more conventional competitors.
What are the key features of Grok AI?
“Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak,” the Grok team wrote in a blog post in November 2023. “A unique and fundamental advantage of Grok is that it has real-time knowledge of the world via the 𝕏 platform. It will also answer spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems.”
Web search and citations
Grok leverages X to deliver real-time answers about current events. Answers to questions related to the news or current events will show links to the source post or website next to the chat window.
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Images
Grok generates images by using xAI’s Aurora, a separate video model.
Aurora is an autoregressive image generation model. Autoregressive refers to the statistical technique the model uses to predict what content is most likely to come next in a sequence. Unlike other AI models, Grok will create photorealistic images — a controversial capability, since it can be used to create deepfakes. Grok accepts prompts including copyrighted characters or politically inflammatory material.
X users might see the “draw me” feature, in which Grok will generate images based on information in that user’s profile. Facebook similarly introduced AI-generated images into the feed recently. This included images putting the user’s likeness in fantastical situations.
API
The API for Grok allows for function calling, a 128k context length, and system prompt support. It interoperates with OpenAI and Anthropic software development kits.
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Who developed Grok AI?
xAI developed Grok. Musk founded and leads xAI, which was publicly announced in November 2023.
How does Grok AI compare to other AI chatbots like ChatGPT?
A major difference between Grok and other generative AI products, like ChatGPT or Llama, is that Grok operates entirely within the X social media platform. Grok will answer questions related to productivity, analyze text,and solve math and coding problems. It can also perform many of the other tasks generative AI can do for business. However, its data remains within the X platform.
xAI said the latest version of Grok, Grok 2, scored 87.5% on the MMLU benchmark. MMLU measures the ability to correctly answer natural language questions in academic disciplines including philosophy and mathematics. OpenAI said its o1 scores 92.3%. Meta said its Claude 3.5 Opus scored 86.8%.
SEE: Google Workspace subscriptions increased slightly as the Gemini AI became a default part of the package.
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Is Grok AI free to use?
Grok AI is not free to use. It requires a subscription to X Premium or Premium+.
What are the privacy concerns associated with Grok AI?
Grok’s close association with X has raised concerns about the privacy of personal data on the platform, which may be fed into the AI. X posts are used to train Grok by default.
What is the controversy around Grok AI?
Musk’s control of Grok and X’s trend toward unlimited — including potentially offensive — content has led some to be weary of using Grok. xAI describes Grok as providing “unfiltered answers.”
During the November 2023 announcement of the model, xAI said: “Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak, so please don’t use it if you hate humor!”
We find it difficult to recommend Grok for business use cases. Its irreverent tone may make the content it produces inappropriate for general audiences, while heavy reliance on social media for information may make its answers potentially unreliable. Additionally, Grok is not accessible to people without an X account.
However, Grok’s irreverent tone may work for some content and audiences, and its placement on X may meet users where they already are. As noted above, Grok scores higher than Meta’s Claude and some versions of OpenAI’s GPT-4 on certain benchmarks. In particular, it holds its own when offering general knowledge and mathematics answers.
Aside from the possible introduction of artificial general intelligence (AGI), AI agents, autonomous processes that you can instruct to perform complex tasks for you on your computer, will be perhaps the biggest new AI feature in 2025. Agents could be essential for turning your mobile phone into a true AI assistant, capable of doing whatever you ask it without you needing to get involved.
OpenAI has been teasing us with the release of its first AI agent, called Operator, for a while now, but the latest code leak suggests that it could arrive very soon and on the Mac.
Apple Intelligence will be switched on by default, starting in iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS 15.3. In release candidate notes spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple says it will switch on AI-powered features automatically for new users or those upgrading to the latest versions of its operating systems.
The AI update will only apply to devices that support Apple Intelligence, including the iPhone 15 Pro and later, iPads and Macs with the Apple Silicon M1 chip or later, and the most recent version of the iPad mini.
For users new or upgrading to macOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be enabled automatically during Mac onboarding. Users will have access to Apple Intelligence features after setting up their devices. To disable Apple Intelligence, users will need to navigate to the Apple Intelligence & Siri Settings pane and turn off the Apple Intelligence toggle. This will disable Apple Intelligence features on their device.
As Apple’s notes mention, after updating your device, you’ll have to manually disable Apple Intelligence if you don’t want support for features like AI notification summaries, Image Playground, and tools that can rewrite pieces of text running on your device. To turn Apple Intelligence off, you’ll have to head to the Apple Intelligence & Siri Settings pane and then switch off the Apple Intelligence toggle.
Last week, iOS 18.3 beta testers spotted an update that will pause AI notification summaries for news and entertainment apps after the feature inaccurately summarized a BBC headline. Apple will also make it easier to identify notification summaries on your iPhone’s lock screen and note that they “may contain errors.”
Perplexity on Tuesday launched an API service called Sonar, allowing enterprises and developers to build the startup’s generative AI search tools into their own applications.
“While most generative AI features today have answers informed only by training data, this limits their capabilities,” Perplexity wrote in a blog post. “To optimize for factuality and authority, APIs require a real-time connection to the Internet, with answers informed by trusted sources. “
To start, Perplexity is offering two tiers that developers can choose from: a base version that’s cheaper and faster, Sonar, and a pricier version that’s better for tough questions, Sonar Pro. Perplexity says the Sonar API also gives enterprises and developers the ability to customize the sources its AI search engine pulls from.
With the launch of its API, Perplexity is making its AI search engine available in more places than just its app and website. Perplexity says that Zoom, among other companies, is already using Sonar to power an AI assistant for its video conferencing platform. Sonar is allowing Zoom’s AI chatbot to give real-time answers, informed by web searches with citations, without requiring users to leave the video chat window.
Sonar could also give Perplexity another source of revenue, which could be particular important to the startup’s investors. Perplexity only offers a subscription service for unlimited access to its AI search engine and some additional features. However, the tech industry has slashed prices to access AI tools via APIs in the last year, and Perplexity claims to be offering the cheapest AI search API on the market via Sonar.
The base version of Sonar offers a cheaper and quicker version of the company’s AI search tools. Sonar’s base version has flat pricing and uses a lightweight model. It costs $5 for every 1,000 searches, plus $1 for every 750,000 words you type into the AI model (roughly 1 million input tokens), and another $1 for every 750,000 words the model spits out (roughly 1 million output tokens).
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The pricier Sonar Pro gives more-detailed answers and is capable of handling more-complex questions. This version will run multiple searches on top of a user prompt, meaning the pricing could be more unpredictable. Perplexity also says this version offers twice as many citations as the base version of Sonar. Sonar Pro costs $5 for every 1,000 searches, plus $3 for every 750,000 words you type into the AI model (roughly 1 million input tokens), and $15 for every 750,000 words the model spits out (roughly 1 million output tokens).
Perplexity claims Sonar Pro outperformed leading models from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic on a benchmark that measures factual correctness in AI chatbot answers, SimpleQA.
As we recently reported, Perplexity’s annual recurring revenue is somewhere between $5 million and $10 million. This seems fairly healthy for a startup of Perplexity’s size and age, but the startup is certainly looking for new ways to grow its revenue. The startup raised an additional $73.6 million in a funding round earlier this month, valuing the company around $520 million.
Getac, which has been making rugged computer products for over 30 years, has unveiled its latest tablet, the ZX10, a 10-inch fully rugged Android device built specifically for professionals who work in tough environments, so it’s all about strength and reliability rather than non-essential features.
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