For three days in February, porn star Alix Lynx flew to Miami for her first exclusive creator gathering where she was in full grind mode: shooting Reels and talking strategy with other creators. “It was kind of like SoHo House for OnlyFans girls,” she says of the experience, which is called The Circle and drew more than a dozen sex workers, including Remy LaCroix and Forrest Smith.

Lynx, who is a former webcam model turned OnlyFans starlet, has a combined 2 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, and X. She joined OnlyFans in 2017 with “the luxury of having my own following,” she says, but those numbers haven’t always translated to subscriptions. It’s why she was in Miami.

“I don’t think people understand. I do a shitload of marketing,” Lynx says.“That’s the big misconception with OnlyFans—when creators join they think it’s going to be easy. But unless you’re a genius at marketing on social media, which is few and far between, it’s genuinely hard to get found and gain a following.”

Many of OnlyFans’ 4 million creators have said the same thing: native discovery on the platform sucks. “There’s just a frustration,” Lynx says. “In a perfect world, there would be that searchability feature because it makes it an even playing field for creators.” (According to OnlyFans, the platform limits its search feature as a safety precaution so users don’t accidentally stumble across content they didn’t intend to see.)

It’s a problem that Presearch—a free, private, decentralized search engine—wants to fix with the launch of its image-based discovery tool Doppelgänger.

Doppelgänger is the newest addition to Presearch’s Spicy Mode, a NSFW feature for searching adult content. Users can upload an image of a celebrity—or any person they think is hot—to find OnlyFans creators that resemble them. The technology matches the user with similar creators who want an audience rather than to deepfake platforms that are nonconsensual and illegal. Ever wondered who Sabrina Carpenter’s or Pedro Pascal’s porn doppelgängers were? Wonder no more.

According to the company, Doppelgänger is built with specific guardrails—no tracking what users search, explicit age-gating—and runs on Presearch’s decentralized index, “which surfaces content traditional search engines and commercial AI suppress,” says Brenden Tacon, head of product and business development at Presearch.

“We’re trying to offer a place where you might serendipitously become discovered,” Tacon tells WIRED. “You won’t on OnlyFans. If you’re hustling yourself on Instagram, Reddit, and all these places, it’s so hard to break through the noise.”

With 300,000 daily active searches on Presearch—according to the company—Doppelgänger is one of the first tools on the market pushing for ethical discovery of adult creators at scale. Unlike traditional reverse image tools that scan across the open web to locate where a photo appears or attempt to trace someone’s identity, Doppelgänger does not search the broader internet, does not surface personal information, and does not attempt to identify a person. “It simply returns visually similar public profiles based on image features, making it structurally more limited and, in many ways, more privacy-protective than a standard reverse image search,” Tacon says.

Still, the accuracy of Doppelgänger could use some improvement. In multiple tests run by WIRED, the AI seems better tailored to find matches for women than men. I had no problem finding look-alikes for Cardi B and Sydney Sweeney. But when searching for Michael B. Jordan look-alikes, it suggested female creators Chanell Heart (the number 3 match) and Chamile Symone, in addition to Uncut Jock NYC, a white-presenting Brazilian sex worker. In fact, five women were suggested among Jordan’s top 40. Curious if this was a glitch, I dragged a photo of actor Jeff Goldblum—a perennial “hottie,” according to the subreddit r/VintageLadyBoners—into the image finder, and the top search result was for Jean B, a self-described “twink content creator,” followed by 38 suggestions of large-breasted women. (A second search for Goldblum—who, for what it’s worth, is more zaddy than twink—with a different photo, did not fare any better; the lone male “look-alike” was for YCC, who is Chinese.)

A low-key demonstration high in the hills of central California recently showcased some new military technology. Scout AI, a new defense startup, integrated its Fury software into a self-driving ground vehicle and two armed drones. The entire system collaborated to hunt down a truck and blow it up, all activated by a single simple instruction written in plain English.

Fury serves as the central coordinator. A commander types or speaks a goal, such as sending a vehicle to a spot and launching drones to strike a specific target, and Fury takes care of breaking it all down into individual steps, assigning tasks to the machines, monitoring what’s going on through video feeds and data, and stepping in to adjust things as needed. One drone detects the truck, Fury reroutes the others, and the strike is launched. A human is present to keep an eye on things, but the majority of the specifics are handled by machines on their own.

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Fury’s approach is based on large AI models that have been taught to figure out what’s going on in a scene, devise a plan, and provide directions. The largest model, with over 100 billion parameters, functions similarly to the mission commander in that it accepts the command and begins working. It then assigns jobs to smaller models, each with approximately 10 billion parameters, which run directly on the various machines. The smaller models then handle movement, navigation, and the final explosive release. The system employs conventional cameras rather than expensive sensors, and it can connect to a variety of devices without interfering with their built-in functions. Fury just examines the technical specifications for each platform and determines the appropriate commands to deliver to their systems.

Everything in the test was real, done on actual equipment in tough terrain, with no pre-scripted situations, fake special effects, or constant human steering. The ground vehicle followed a dirt road, unleashed the drones, and set off to search. Once the truck arrived, one of the drones zeroed in and detonated its payload on impact, capping off the mission with a rapid damage assessment. The entire process went well, demonstrating how well the program can handle a variety of air and ground units from various manufacturers.

Scout AI created Fury to address a long-standing issue with unmanned systems. Older setups rely on tight, unchanging code that adheres to rigorous rules, so when things change or unanticipated challenges arise, they struggle. Fury allows the machines to think through difficulties, devise new solutions, and adjust to changing situations while remaining focused on the reward. It also simplifies communication, even when things get hectic, and scales up to larger groups working in different venues.

Colby Adcock, who co-founded the company with Collin Otis, describes the transition as follows. AI bots are already quite good at managing jobs in simulated environments, and Fury brings that same adaptable brainpower to real-world operations for American forces. The software serves as a buffer between command systems and machines, allowing units from all around to collaborate as a single team under human supervision.
[Source]

A Ukrainian national was sentenced to five years in prison for providing North Korean IT workers with stolen identities that helped them infiltrate U.S. companies.

39-year-old Oleksandr Didenko of Kyiv, Ukraine, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to aggravated identity theft and wire fraud conspiracy after being arrested in Poland in May 2024.

This week, he was sentenced to 60 months in prison and 12 months of supervised release, and agreed to forfeit more than $1.4 million, including cash and cryptocurrency seized from Didenko and his accomplices.

“Oleksandr Didenko participated in a scheme that stole the identities of hundreds of people, to include United States citizens, which were used by North Korea to fraudulently secure lucrative IT jobs,” said James Barnacle, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office. “This massive operation not only created an unauthorized backdoor into our country’s job market, but helped fund the regime of an adversary.”

According to court documents, Didenko stole U.S. citizens’ identities and sold them to overseas IT workers through an online platform known as UpWorkSell (which was seized by the Justice Department), who used them to fraudulently secure jobs with 40 U.S. companies in California and Pennsylvania.

Throughout this scheme, he provided the North Korean remote workers with at least 871 proxy identities and proxy accounts on three freelance IT hiring platforms. He also facilitated the operation of at least eight “laptop farms” in Virginia, Tennessee, California, Florida, Ecuador, Poland, and Ukraine that allowed the North Koreans to make it look like their devices were located in the United States.

One of these “laptop farms” was run by Christina Marie Chapman, a 50-year-old woman from Arizona, from her own home between October 2020 and October 2023. Chapman was charged in May 2024 and was sentenced to 102 months in prison after a July 2025 guilty plea.

The FBI has been warning about the danger presented by North Korean threat actors impersonating U.S.-based IT staff since at least 2023. As the law enforcement agency repeatedly noted, North Korea maintains a large and well-organized army of IT workers who use stolen identities to secure employment with hundreds of American companies.

In July 2024, U.S. authorities sanctioned, charged, or indicted 20 individuals and 8 companies across three separate enforcement waves. These actions were followed by a fourth wave of sanctions in August 2025 that targeted companies associated with North Korean IT worker schemes operated by Russian and Chinese nationals.

More recently, in December 2025, security researchers revealed that Famous Chollima (or WageMole) operatives, part of the notorious North Korean state-backed Lazarus hacking group, tricked recruiters using AI tools and stolen identities and got hired by Fortune 500 companies.

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Niche brands stand out by building digital systems that reflect a clear point of view—and by iterating faster than generalized competitors. In 2026, the advantage comes from a purpose-built stack: composable architecture, tight data feedback loops, and trust controls that reduce friction without reducing safety.​

1. Focused market design (your unfair advantage)

Niche brands win when they design for a single “job to be done,” not a broad demographic. The practical goal is to remove decision fatigue: fewer choices, clearer comparisons, and a site structure that mirrors how the niche actually shops (use cases, compatibility, constraints, and rituals).

Implementation checklist

• Build navigation around the customer’s vocabulary (problems, surfaces, ingredients, fit, size, legality), not internal product categories.
• Treat “collection pages” as decision pages: add a short buying guide, comparison hooks, and clear boundaries (“Not for X,” “Works best for Y”).

Summary: Focus beats scale because it lets you simplify choices and increase conversion without needing more traffic.

2. Technology as brand infrastructure (composable by default)

Composable commerce is no longer experimental; it’s broadly positioned as a proven strategy with a mature ecosystem of packaged components (CMS, search, PIM, OMS, CDP/engagement) that integrate into a modular architecture. Headless frontends are frequently described as “the norm,” enabling brands to optimize UX without being blocked by back-end constraints.​

A practical stack map (lean, modern)

• Experience layer: headless storefront + CMS (for fast merchandising and content reuse).​
• Commerce core: product/catalog, pricing, promotions, checkout.
• Discovery: search + recommendations (where niche vocabulary and intent matter most).​
• Data: event collection → customer profile → segmentation (keep it minimal and consent-aware).
• Ops: OMS/3PL, returns, support tooling, email/SMS, review/UGC.

When not to go headless: if you’re pre–product-market fit, a heavy composable build can slow you down—use a simpler theme-based stack until you’ve validated merchandising, margins, and repeat demand.

Summary: Your stack is your brand’s execution engine; composable patterns let you upgrade parts without rewriting the whole business.​

3. Personalization without enterprise complexity (minimum viable data)

Niche personalization works best when it’s narrow and explainable: “show the right products sooner” rather than “build a surveillance machine.” You get most of the upside with a small set of events: viewed category, viewed product attributes, add-to-cart, purchase, return reason, and support contact.

Brands like Stoned Genie leverage this approach by aligning product presentation and digital experience with a distinct cultural identity, creating resonance without relying on mass appeal. Instead of layering on complex automation, they prioritize clarity in positioning and relevance in merchandising—keeping personalization focused and defensible.

What to implement first

• Intent-based routing: “Shop by use case” quizzes or guided filters that write back a first-party preference (not 30 attributes).
• Merchandising rules that you can audit: hide out-of-stock substitutes, boost high-margin bundles, suppress high-return variants for new customers.

Pitfalls

• Personalization that changes prices or claims without transparency can destroy trust faster than it lifts conversion.
• Overfitting to short-term conversion can reduce LTV (e.g., discount addiction); treat LTV as the guardrail metric.

Summary: The best niche personalization is small, controlled, and measurable—built on signals you can defend.

4. Content as a conversion mechanism (and a search-quality moat)

For niche brands, content isn’t “blogging”—it’s the product’s proof, the buyer’s guide, and the support team, all embedded into the storefront. Google’s guidance emphasizes E‑E‑A‑T (including “experience,” such as first-hand use of a product) and original, helpful, people-first content.​

High-converting content modules (put these on money pages)

• “Choose the right X” blocks on collection pages (3–5 criteria, plus who each option is for).
• Proof blocks on PDPs: test notes, materials, sourcing, safety notes, compatibility tables, and “what’s in the box.”
• Post-purchase success paths: setup guides, care instructions, refill/repurchase timing, troubleshooting.

Quality guardrails (2026 search reality)

• Avoid filler and generic intros: raters are explicitly instructed to downrate pages where the main content is copied/paraphrased/auto-generated with little added value.
• If you use AI for drafts, treat it as editing acceleration; the final page must show real expertise, real product knowledge, and unique contribution.​

Summary: Content that demonstrates real experience becomes both a conversion tool and a defensible quality signal.​

5. Operational efficiency through automation (without breaking the brand)

Automation should protect the brand promise: fewer errors, faster shipping, clearer support—not “more spam.” Prioritize workflows that reduce customer-facing failures: inventory sync, order routing, fraud checks, returns triage, and lifecycle messaging.

What to automate first

• Inventory and ETA truth: real-time stock, backorder rules, and proactive delay notifications.
• Support triage: route by issue type (delivery, usage, defects), auto-suggest relevant help content, escalate high-risk tickets.

Guardrails

• Don’t automate refunds/returns blindly; combine rules with human review for high-value or high-fraud patterns.
• Measure “contacts per 100 orders” and “return rate by SKU” to avoid scaling hidden problems.

Summary: Automation is a margin lever and a trust lever—if it reduces mistakes customers actually feel.

6. Trust and compliance as conversion design

In sensitive or regulated niches, trust is a feature you ship. Stripe’s secure payment system overview highlights core security components, including encryption, tokenization, multifactor authentication (MFA), fraud detection systems, and PCI DSS compliance, as part of a robust payment environment.​

How to turn compliance into UX

• Make policies legible: shipping, returns, warranty, and data handling should be scannable and consistent.
• Reduce payment anxiety: recognizable payment methods, clean error states, and transparent verification steps.

Summary: Security and compliance aren’t just risk controls—they’re user-experience signals that reduce checkout hesitation.​

7. Community-driven growth and iteration (your compounding advantage)

Community works when it’s embedded into the product narrative: reviews with context, UGC that demonstrates outcomes, and referral loops that reward advocacy. The compounding strategy is iteration: small reversible experiments across bundles, PDP structure, onboarding flows, and post-purchase education.

Iteration cadence (practical)

• Weekly: test one merchandising change + one content module improvement.
• Monthly: audit returns, support drivers, and cohort retention; ship fixes to the top two friction points.
• Quarterly: revisit your stack—swap components only when the bottleneck is proven.

Summary: Niche brands out-iterate because their systems are smaller, clearer, and closer to the customer.

The FBI warned that Americans lost more than $20 million last year amid a massive surge in ATM “jackpotting” attacks, in which criminals use malware to force cash machines to dispense money.

According to a Thursday FBI flash alert, more than 700 ATM jackpotting incidents were reported last year alone in a significant spike compared to the roughly 1,900 total incidents reported across the United States since 2020.

These attacks can be carried out in minutes and target the software layer controlling an ATM’s physical hardware, using malicious tools such as the Ploutus malware. Most often, they go undetected by financial institutions and ATM operators until the cash is already gone.

As the FBI explained, cash machines are designed to verify transactions through their bank before dispensing cash. However, Ploutus bypasses this process entirely, allowing the criminals to issue commands directly to the ATM and trigger withdrawals on demand without a bank card, a customer account, or the bank’s approval.

“Ploutus malware exploits the eXtensions for Financial Services (XFS), the layer of software that instructs an ATM what to physically do. When a legitimate transaction occurs, the ATM application sends instructions through XFS for bank authorization,” the FBI said. “If a threat actor can issue their own commands to XFS, they can bypass bank authorization entirely and instruct the ATM to dispense cash on demand.”

To install the malware, the attackers usually gain physical access to the targeted ATM using widely available generic keys. Once inside, they remove the machine’s hard drive, copy malware onto it and reinstall it, or even swap the original drive out entirely for another one preloaded with the malicious software.

To defend against these attacks, the FBI encouraged financial institutions to audit their ATM systems for signs of unauthorized removable storage use and unauthorized processes.

“When combined with gold image integrity validation, this approach enables early identification of physical intrusion and malware staging events that would otherwise evade network-based monitoring,” the law enforcement agency added.

FBI’s warning comes after a wave of arrests targeting members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, all linked to a massive ATM jackpotting scheme that used Ploutus malware to steal millions in cash from bank ATMs across the United States.

In total, the U.S. Department of Justice has charged 87 Tren de Aragua members over the past six months, who are now facing maximum prison terms ranging from 20 to 335 years each.

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If you’ve recently travelled abroad, you know the huge checklist of things that need to be done before getting to relax on a quiet beach. And if you’re anything like me, there’s almost something on the list that’s forgotten, which then comes back to haunt you at the wrong time. One such thing is connectivity, as no one in the history of travel has ever liked the long queues at airports to get a new SIM card. Over the past few years, though, there’s been a solution, and that’s eSIM. These non-physical SIMs are installed on your phone and help you connect to the network in any desired country. No need to spend outrageous prices at the airport anymore. Two major players in the eSIM space are Holafly and Airalo. While both provide connectivity across different countries, their approaches are super different. I tested them both on a recent trip to Vietnam, and here’s how both operators compare.

Holafly vs Airalo: Quick Comparison

Different Options, Different Pay

The biggest differentiator between Holafly and Airalo is the available package options. For context, Airalo offers plans without unlimited data, meaning you can configure how much you really need. Passing through France on a road trip to Spain? You can get a 1GB data plan (valid for three days) for $4 to continue using navigation, and you’re good to go. This significantly reduces the end user’s cost and provides more flexibility. However, there’s a problem. Airalo’s plans, while cheaper, start with 1GB or 3GB for the duration of the day you select. But given that the average American family uses 650-700 GB of data per month, 3GB isn’t actually a lot. You can get through that much data within just an hour of watching YouTube in Full HD. So, for any trip longer than a day, you’ll have to spend more on higher capacity plans, which can quickly add up.

On the other hand, Holafly’s approach is a whole lot different. Their plans are always unlimited, meaning you don’t have to worry about finishing up your quota and can watch movies, shows, and play games without worry. As you might expect, Holafly’s plans are more expensive, generally starting from $4 per day for unlimited data. While the exact pricing would depend on your specific country, I’m generally more on board with unlimited data, since even a short WhatsApp call can use several hundred megabytes. And you can also get 5% off using my coupon FOSSBYTES.

Global eSIM

Both Holafly and Airalo offer global eSIM plans for frequent travellers and business people who regularly travel to different countries. Like with the regular eSIM, the pricing and data strategy are very different on both. Airalo offers a 7-day 1GB global plan for $13, which goes all the way up to $34 for just 3GB for 30 days. Any additional data requirement will cost more. Holafly’s package, while expensive, at $62 for 7 days, offers unlimited data in 110+ countries. Honestly, if you plan to get a global SIM, that means you travel a lot, and in that case, Holafly’s unlimited plan is a really good deal.

Holafly also offers a global subscription plan with coverage in 160+ destinations, and you can cancel it at any time, so it’s a good option even if you are planning a trip for just 30 days. They have a Light Plan with 25GB of data for $49.90, an Unlimited Plan for $64.90 monthly, and you can also hotspot with no limits. And if you use my code FOSSBYTES, you get 10% off for 12 months on your subscription.

Support & App Experience

Holafly and Airalo offer plenty of installation options for both Android and iOS users. You can either set up using the QR code, do it manually, or even through their respective apps. It’s the support infrastructure, though, where Holafly edges ahead. On Trustpilot, Holafly has a rating of 4.6, with multiple reviews highlighting the company’s 24/7 multilingual support, which has proven very helpful during times of worry. People have also mentioned Holafly’s excellent refund policy, which works for up to 6 months after purchase. Their app, however, isn’t the best. It was buggy when reporting total data usage, and I also ran into the infamous “this content isn’t available at your location” problem on Netflix a couple of times.

On the other hand, Airalo has a rating of 3.9. While it’s by no means bad, there have been some complaints about the network coverage and unhelpful support staff. That being said, the Airalo app is really stable. It was easy to use and free of bugs that could hinder the user experience, and included helpful tutorials that made the setup straightforward. 

Both Holafly and Airalo have loyalty programs that grant users special discounts and cashback. Airalo’s loyalty program offers up to 10% cashback on every purchase, compared to Holafly’s 7%. 

Personal Experience

As mentioned, I decided to put both services head-to-head during my recent trip to Vietnam. For some context, I set up both before my flight, and the experience was excellent on both. I bought the unlimited week plan with Holafly for $27, while the 10GB 7-day plan cost me $16. Both plans were instantly connected to service after I landed, and, being a tech reviewer, I started my usual testing, which included speed testing, downloading content, and calling my family back home. 

Call quality with WhatsApp was really good with both, and my family didn’t have any problems hearing my voice. Similarly, navigation and translation between Vietnamese and English were handled very well on both. Network speeds were also comparable in both Saigon and the quiet beach town of Tuy Hoa, hovering around 50 Mbps download and 15 Mbps upload. However, the 10GB network limit didn’t last very long. After only a few days, I ran through all my data while on a train journey without Wi-Fi. This was a big worry. But fortunately, Holafly was there to the rescue with the unlimited data. Personally, I’d choose Holafly over Airalo because data can run out quickly, and you could end up stuck in an unfamiliar place. 

Verdict

In the end, the choice would depend on your specific needs. If you’re like me and can’t stop worrying about finishing your data mid-trip, or if you frequently have to be on video calls, then Holafly is the best bet. The only downside is the app glitches, which can sometimes interfere with sessions. However, if you’re transiting through a country for a short time or taking a short trip, Airalo’s cost savings are the way to go. Don’t forget to use my code FOSSBYTES at Holafly if you want to get a discount on your eSIM.

United States prosecutors and federal law enforcement spent over a year examining ties between Jeffrey Epstein and Customs and Border Protection officers stationed in the US Virgin Islands (USVI), according to documents recently released by the Department of Justice.

As The Guardian and New York Times have reported, emails, text messages, and investigative records show that Epstein cultivated friendships with several officers, entertaining them on his island and offering to take them for whale-watching trips in his helicopter. He even brought one cannolis for Christmas Eve. In turn, Epstein would bring certain officers his complaints about his treatment at the hands of other CBP and federal agents. Most of the interactions described in the records occurred years after Epstein pleaded guilty to charges of sex crimes in Florida in 2008.

The CBP officers were never charged for any crimes related to Epstein, and at least one later retired from the agency with a pension, suggesting that the government ultimately didn’t find any wrongdoing. The documents do, though, describe patterns of behavior—two of the officers referred to Epstein as a “friend”—that one government ethics expert described as inappropriate and possible violations of federal guidance. They also contain grand jury subpoenas that specifically name the officers and compel the recipients, which were largely financial services firms, to aid federal prosecutors who were looking into allegations of a conspiracy to defraud the US government.

CBP and the Southern District of New York US Attorney’s Office, which led the investigation into Epstein, did not respond to requests for comment.

For years, Epstein allegedly brought countless women and girls as young as 12 to his private island, Little Saint James, according to a 2020 complaint filed by the former USVI attorney general. Epstein would often fly in and out of USVI on his private jet.

In order to depart from USVI to other parts of the US, Epstein’s plane had to be cleared by CBP, according to a November 2020 FBI interview report with Epstein’s personal pilot, Larry Visoski.

Visoski told the FBI that some passengers were college students with letters from their schools explaining why they were traveling. Other times, according to the report on Visoski’s interview, Epstein traveled with a woman who had a foreign passport. If CBP officers started questioning these passengers, Visoski said, Epstein would intervene and start arguing with the officers.

Visoski, though, told the FBI that Epstein made an effort to be friendly with CBP officers, at times instructing Visoski to collect agents’ contact information. (In an email to one CBP officer, Epstein wrote, “as you know Im very respectful of people just doing their job.”) Over the years, emails and text messages show, various CBP officers would try to reach out to Epstein, either directly or through Visoski or other associates. Sometimes, Epstein would have the officers out to Little Saint James.

In May 2014, for example, Visoski emailed Epstein, “While going through customs in STT, our nice person gave me his cell contact.” The pilot added that the “nice person” would be available to visit Little Saint James that week. Visoski also attached the person’s contact information. The next day, Epstein’s island estate manager emailed Epstein to let him know the person, a CBP officer, would be picked up on Wednesday for lunch. (It’s unclear whether this lunch ever happened.)

Emails in 2015 and 2016 show that Epstein would have another officer, Glen Samuel, come to Little Saint James to perform on steel pan drums—a side gig Samuel informally advertised at one point on his Facebook page. In a January 2015 email thread, Epstein asked an associate to clarify Samuel’s rate. The associate replied, “Mr. Samuel says he does not intend to charge you. He considers you a friend and was doing this for you. If you wish to give him something, he is appreciative, but there is no fee.” Samuel did not respond to a request for comment.