Video making has long required breaking the bank or devoting hours to learning complex software. Google Vids eliminates all of those hassles at once. If you already have a Google account, you can create, edit, and share videos right from your browser, no downloads or subscriptions required.

Things start when you enter a brief description of what you wan to show. Google Vids creates a storyboard for you, with sequences arranged in order and ready to go. You can add any photographs or documents from your Google Drive to fill out the scenes, or let the service recommend some appropriate stock video. Then it’s just a matter of dragging clips about on a simple timeline to get the timing correct, removing any unnecessary sections, and layering in text to appear at the appropriate time.

Audio work is also rather simple, since you can just record a voiceover using a built-in teleprompter that scrolls along at your desired speed. The editor even has your back when it comes to filler words, detecting them automatically and allowing you to remove them with a single click. Soundtracks and sound effects are simply dropped in from a collection of alternatives that match the mood of each scenario. New video clips can be created directly from a prompt entered into the editor. Veo 3.1 creates eight-second segments with motion and native music; you receive ten of them per month for free, but higher-tier members get far more, up to a thousand per month.

On top of that, avatars add a really personal touch. You choose a character or design one from yourself, and then simply spell out the instructions, such as “take up the product and demonstrate how it works while smiling at the camera.” The avatar then follows those directions, maintaining the same face and attire throughout each shot, and interacting naturally with any accessories or backgrounds you’ve selected. You can alter the entire thing using plain text, so the same character can appear in training videos, product demos, and team updates without ever having to face a real camera.

A new Chrome addon makes screen recording incredibly simple. With one click, whatever is on your desktop, including audio, is recorded and dropped directly into the editor for chopping and assembling. Finished videos export directly to YouTube as private drafts, allowing you to review them before sharing them with the world. Google announced all of these enhancements on April 2, 2026, adding on capabilities previously launched for enterprise users and offering the service accessible to anybody who wants to turn a concept into a shareable film in minutes rather than days.

The European Union’s cybersecurity agency said Thursday that a recent hack and data breach at the EU’s executive body was the work of a cybercriminal group known as TeamPCP. 

In a new report, CERT-EU also reported that the hackers stole around 92 gigabytes of compressed data from a compromised Amazon Web Services (AWS) account used by the bloc’s executive, the European Commission, which included personal data containing names, email addresses, and the contents of emails. 

The breach affected the cloud infrastructure of the Commission’s Europa.eu platform, which member states use to host websites and publications of the bloc’s institutions and agencies.

CERT-EU wrote that the data of at least 29 other EU entities may be affected, and that dozens of internal European Commission clients could have had data stolen as well. 

The stolen data was then posted online by another hacking group, the notorious ShinyHunters. 

While the size of the data breach is itself notable, the hack and subsequent leak of the European Commission’s data by two separate hacking groups highlights a growing trend of cybercriminals working together to extort their victims.

CERT-EU said that the breach originated on March 19 when hackers acquired a secret API key associated with the European Commission’s AWS account, following an earlier hack targeting the open-source security tool Trivy. The Commission inadvertently downloaded a copy of the compromised Trivy tool following the project’s recent breach, allowing the hackers to steal its secret API key and use that access to pivot to obtain data stored in the Commission’s AWS account.

While the service said it’s still analyzing the data published online, close to 52,000 files contain sent email messages. CERT-EU said the majority of these emails are automated with little to no content, but emails that bounced back with an error “may contain the original user-submitted content, posing a risk of personal data exposure.”

CERT-EU said it is already in contact with affected organizations. 

A spokesperson for the European Commission told TechCrunch that the body is closed until next week, and would respond to a request for comment then. 

A member of ShinyHunters did not respond to requests for comment. 

Besides the Trivy beach, TeamPCP has been linked to ransomware attacks and crypto-mining campaigns, says Aqua Security, which develops Trivy. The hackers have more recently been behind a systematic campaign of supply chain attacks compromising other open source security projects, according to Palo Alto Networks Unit 42.

By targeting developers with keys to access sensitive systems, the hackers “then have the ability to hold compromised organizations for ransom, demanding extortion payments,” Unit 42 wrote.

CaptNorth/Shutterstock

Even over 20 years after its launch, there are still surprises surrounding the Xbox 360. There are numerous hidden features Xbox 360 players should know about, and there are discoveries made now and then pertaining to the console’s history. One that recently came to light stemmed from a garage sale of all places, where someone purchased what many might perceive as just an ordinary Xbox 360 for $5. This would be a solid deal on its own, but it’s even better with the knowledge that this was an Xbox 360 development kit — one with some remarkable stuff within it for “Grand Theft Auto” enthusiasts.

Word of the discovery hit the Internet via the GTAForums, where user janmatant revealed their incredible $5 score to the community. The console itself is the classic “fat” Xbox 360 model that has an Xbox 360 XDK label on the back and features the developer-used operating system Xshell. The only thing on the hard drive was a copy of “Grand Theft Auto IV,” specifically a 2007 pre-release version. That’s to say that it differs greatly from the official release of the game that hit shelves in 2008, including things that were cut before release or were previously only seen sparingly in gameplay trailers and cutscenes.

Not only is an Xbox 360 for $5 an incredible deal, but the treasure trove of previously unknown or considered possibly lost “GTA IV” content is staggering. As the fandom has combed through the files, some pretty stellar discoveries have been made.

Advertisement

This dev kit is a GTA IV unreleased content goldmine

With this story coming to light, the files from this dev kit were dumped online to the Internet Archive for “Grand Theft Auto IV” fans to dig through. In the aforementioned GTAForums thread dedicated to the “GTA IV” beta, some pretty incredible finds were churned up shortly after the file dump. Environmental assets, unused character models, all kinds of textures, voice lines, vehicles, weapons, and more were revealed, but none of these were quite the biggest discovery of them all. That honor went to an unfinished mini-game mode centered around zombies.

Advertisement

Yes, the same year fellow gaming giant “Call of Duty” brought its zombies mode to life for the first time, the minds behind the “GTA” franchise sought to explore this horror theme. The “GTA IV” beta find revealed bloodied assets of hospital beds and corpses, as well as weapon and health pickups that would presumably be scattered around to aid players’ survival. According to longtime Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij, however, this mode didn’t get too far and was more a product of the “put zombies in everything” craze of the late 2000s into the early 2010s.

With “GTA VI” delayed yet again, this is all a nice bit of excitement to keep the fanbase engaged while the wait continues. Unfortunately, it seems like the fun might not last much longer.

Advertisement

Rockstar may have already stepped in

As thrilling as it is to finally have so much new “GTA IV” material to sift through almost two decades after its release, such a high-profile story was bound to reach the ear of the folks at Rockstar Games and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive. The two have built a collective reputation as particularly litigious and incredibly protective of their games, of what players do with them in terms of modding, and of how they’re actually played. Therefore, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they took legal action over this “GTA IV” discovery.

At the time of publication, the Internet Archive post for the dev kit file drop appears to have been removed, suggesting that Rockstar and Take-Two may have stepped in. Strangely, though, currently, no action has been taken against the GTAForums thread discussing all of the found materials, with no thread lock or post deletion. Neither Rockstar nor Take-Two has spoken on the matter, leaving some, like GTAForums user Glenni91, to theorize that perhaps the main issue wasn’t the unreleased material, but putting a complete build of “GTA IV” onto the Archive, which would bring the situation into copyright-violating territory.

No matter where it ends up going from here, this “GTA IV” beta drop was a welcome surprise. All these years, franchise expansions, and console generations after its release, it’s cool to see what the game could’ve been on top of what was ultimately offered.

Advertisement

NASA’s Artemis II successfully , with its crew on a 10-day mission to circle the Moon. It’s the and a major step toward humanity returning to our little neighbor in the future. Since launch, the vehicle has separated from its launch system and been manually piloted, testing how the Orion capsule will dock with future lunar landers. There have been some snags, however: The onboard toilet went awry, and .

Jokes aside, there is something magnificent about seeing humanity taking to the stars once again. That, for all of our worst instincts, we can still come together to solve problems and explore beyond our own horizons.

— Dan Cooper

The other big stories (and deals) this morning

The company is long on promises, short on evidence.

Advertisement

At CES 2026, a Finnish–Estonian startup claimed to have invented a world-changing solid state battery. Rather than explain how it did so, it engaged in a lengthy campaign teasing out data that didn’t quite support its explosive claims. to separate truth from hype and found there’s little of the former and far, far too much of the latter.

It’s pricier than other portable mixers, but for good reason.

As James Trew says, $300 is a lot for a portable mixer in this class, but Roland’s brand new justifies its price. Unlike its predecessor, the Pro-X, it gets a second XLR port, MIDI connectivity and a display offering visible VU meters. That you can also use it as a desktop interface adds another layer of icing on an already sweet cake.

I’m actually rather excited about this one.

WWDC 2026 isn’t until the summer, but we’re already collating enough rumors from the mill to bring you the inside skinny. Early reports suggest , tidying up after itself inside its software rather than going hard on new features. Hopefully, that will see the gaudier excesses of Liquid Glass dialed down, a lot of trimmed cruft and stability improvements. Oh, and some guff about AI.

Who cares about sound quality when your speaker transforms!?

There are some things in life that would normally be a hard sell, a $1,400 boombox that could just about move around with poor sound quality being one of them. Dress it up as , however, and suddenly Sam Rutherford is racing for their wallet.

On the subject of expensive things…

Advertisement

Nebula’s built quite the track record for making projectors you’re actually proud to show off. Its latest is , which combines a beefy 4K projector with a 400-watt Dolby Atmos 7.1 speaker system. That’s a hell of a lot of tech in a single package and is clearly at home at the center of a backyard movie night under the stars. But is it worth the $5,000 asking price? For that, you’ll need to read Steve Dent’s review.

Ransomware’s Real-World Impact Across Industries

In February 2026, the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) fell victim to a ransomware attack. The incident took the Epic electronic health record system offline across 35 clinics and more than 200 telehealth sites, forcing the cancellation of chemotherapy appointments and the postponement of non-emergency surgeries. Medical staff were required to revert to paper-based workflows, leaving countless patients to bear the consequences.

UMMC is far from an isolated case. According to recent data, 93% of U.S. healthcare organizations experienced at least one cyberattack in 2025, and 72% of respondents reported that at least one incident directly disrupted patient care.

The manufacturing and financial sectors are equally exposed. In February 2026, payment processing network BridgePay suffered a ransomware attack that took its APIs, virtual terminals, and payment pages completely offline. Across all industries, publicly disclosed ransomware attacks surged 49% year-over-year in 2025, reaching 1,174 confirmed incidents.

As hospitals halt treatments, financial institutions freeze transactions, and manufacturers shut down production lines, ransomware has firmly established itself as a direct business risk with tangible operational consequences.

The Evolution of Ransomware: Double Extortion

Early ransomware operated on a straightforward premise: infiltrate a system, encrypt files, and demand payment in exchange for the decryption key. As organizations began countering this tactic by restoring from backups rather than paying ransoms, threat actors responded by developing a more lucrative model — double extortion.

In a double extortion attack, adversaries first exfiltrate sensitive files — such as patient records and billing data — before encrypting the target system. Victims are then pressured on two fronts: pay to receive the decryption key, or face public exposure of the stolen data.

Backups alone are insufficient against this model. Since attackers already possess the data, refusing to pay the ransom can result in the public release of sensitive files, exposing organizations to significant business losses and regulatory consequences.

The threat landscape has continued to escalate, with triple extortion cases on the rise — a tactic in which attackers directly contact a victim organization’s customers or partners to apply additional pressure.

As of 2025, 124 active ransomware groups have been identified, 73 of which are newly emerged.

The proliferation of AI-powered tools has lowered the barrier to entry for cybercrime, making ransomware capabilities increasingly accessible to less sophisticated actors.

A Defense Architecture for Multi-Extortion Threats

The rise of multi-extortion ransomware fundamentally changes the assumptions underlying traditional defense strategies. Perimeter-based prevention alone is no longer sufficient.

Organizations need a security posture that protects data from being weaponized after a breach — rendering exfiltrated data unreadable, blocking ransomware from accessing files in the first place, and enabling rapid recovery even when an attack succeeds.

D.AMO: Blocking Every Stage of a Ransomware Attack

D.AMO, developed by Penta Security, is an encryption-based data protection platform designed to address every phase of a multi-extortion ransomware attack. It delivers integrated encryption, access control, and backup recovery across on-premises and cloud environments.

By applying file encryption and process-based access control technologies, D.AMO protects critical data stored on servers and PCs — safeguarding sensitive information against malicious programs through robust access enforcement. D.AMO’s key capabilities are as follows:

Folder-Level File Encryption

D.AMO KE encrypts all files within administrator-designated folders at the OS level. Deployable via an installer without source code modification, it operates using kernel-level encryption technology, enabling fast and secure encryption on existing systems with no disruption to the user experience.

Encryption policies are applied at the folder level, ensuring consistent protection with minimal operational overhead. Critically, even if an attacker exfiltrates sensitive data, the files remain encrypted — neutralizing the data exposure threat that is central to double extortion.

Access Control

D.AMO KE enforces strict access control over processes and OS users, permitting only explicitly authorized access. Ransomware and other malicious applications are automatically blocked from accessing encrypted folders, preventing unauthorized file manipulation.

All blocked activity is recorded through an audit log function and can be reviewed centrally via D.AMO Control Center.

Backup and Recovery

Even in the event of a successful attack, organizations can resume operations through an independently managed recovery system. With D.AMO in place, the ability to restore from backup significantly reduces dependence on decryption key negotiations with threat actors.

As multi-extortion tactics become the norm, neutralizing the data attackers seek to exploit has become a strategic priority. Organizations need the ability to render exfiltrated data unreadable, prevent ransomware from accessing files, and recover rapidly when incidents occur.

D.AMO addresses each stage of a ransomware attack within a single integrated platform — combining encryption, process-based access control, and backup recovery into a unified line of defense.

Want to learn more? Download the D.AMO Data Sheet.  

Sponsored and written by Penta Security.

Retail locations have always employed posters and signage to capture the attention of customers, but changing them out on a daily basis is a time-consuming task for workers. Samsung has developed a solution: displays that appear like printed paper but feature digital flexibility. These are known as Color E-Paper and are available in a variety of sizes to meet your needs, including a 13-inch variant that is nearly identical to an A4 sheet, a 20-inch version that matches an A3, and a 32-inch choice if you have a large wall or window to fill.

Each of these display units is extremely thin (under 18mm) and light enough to hang almost anywhere. The 13-inch version may be hung on a door, slid onto a counter, or even fixed to a shelf without the need for additional hardware; simply use the brackets and stands that come with it. Inside each one are millions of very small receptacles, or tiny cups, filled with colored ink particles in red, yellow, white, and blue. Electric signals just nudge the appropriate ones to the top, forming the image or words you wish to view.

Samsung engineers have devised a technique to mix and match those four colors to create a stunning 2.5 million different shades, almost as lovely as the real thing, and much like a real printed page, once the image is up, it consumes no electricity. The only time it requires power is when you change the content, and a full charge on the battery will last for weeks or even months, depending on how frequently you wish to update the data.

To get the fresh image on the screen, simply utilize the mobile app, which is accessible for most smartphones running the latest Android or iOS versions. Simply launch the app, select a layout, see how the colours will appear, and transmit it to the display. If you’re part of a large chain with multiple stores, Samsung has a cloud platform that can manage everything remotely and link with any other screens you already have in place. Bye bye ladder, heaps of paper to print, and no more waiting for the next delivery truck; it seems like a dream come true.

A handful of the models’ housings blend crushed recycled plastic with a special plant-based glue derived from the microscopic particles that floats on water, and the packaging is entirely made of paper rather than plastic. By selecting these solutions, retailers may reduce their environmental effect without sacrificing durability or the feel of real paper, which draws customers in. Retailers that have begun testing the displays have raved about the outcomes on shelves, café walls, and franchise shop gateways. You can swap out a menu board in a diner to go from breakfast to lunch in two seconds flat, highlight a flash sale in every single clothing store at the exact same time, and do the same thing for class schedules or seasonal notices in community areas without messing around.

Samsung plans to release the 20-inch models in the second half of 2026, but the smaller and larger sizes are now available in a few locations, and the early versions appear to be working properly in real stores as we speak. In the future, you may see updates that allow you to choose from different colors or batteries that last longer. For those tired of the never-ending cycle of printing, laminating, and continuously replacing signs, these displays quietly get the job done one gorgeous, low power panel at a time.

It’s easy to name alternatives to the iPad, you could be here all day listing myriad Android tablets. But it’s impossible to name even one true iPad competitor.
For after all of these years since it launched, and after all of the rival devices that have launched after that moment, there isn’t any one tablet that sells enough on its own to compete with the iPad. Its competition is the mass of cheaper rivals, which is not to be ignored, yet none of them have come close to the success of the iPad.
The closest is surely the Microsoft Surface, but if that’s the best and the best-known rival, it doesn’t appear to be doing all that well.
Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Source link