security

Experts warn hotfix not optional. MSPs warned attacker gains ‘full administrative access to an N-central console’

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added an exploited N-able vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, giving federal agencies three days to patch a flaw that could let attackers reach managed service provider (MSP) customers.

Attackers exploiting the flaw can gain “full administrative access to an N-central console,” 

Tracked as CVE-2026-18577 (8.2 CVSSv4), N-able disclosed the vulnerability affecting N-central on Sunday, noting that it was exploited as of July 31.

MSPs use N-central to manage customer systems from a single dashboard, and successful exploitation can hand an attacker administrative access to the console.

Based on the limited set of partner logs it reviewed, security firm Huntress said successful attacks led to pivots into managed endpoints and the creation of Cloudflare-based tunnels for persistent access to victim networks.

“From an MSP perspective, exploitation of this flaw can grant an attacker full administrative access to an N-central console – the same level of control normally reserved for trusted NOC and engineering staff,” wrote Huntress’s Ben Bernstein and John Hammond.

Attackers can then open remote control sessions on critical systems and modify roles, accounts, and policies to support follow-on attacks.

The vulnerability affects N-central releases earlier than version 2026.3 when the server is exposed to the internet or reachable from an untrusted network.

Huntress advised customers unable to apply N-able’s hotfix immediately to disable N-central until they could do so.

Authorities elsewhere have also urged users to patch. NHS England’s advisory mentioned that its National Cybersecurity Operations Centre assessed that “further exploitation is likely,” while Belgium’s Centre for Cybersecurity urged fast action due to the “potential for significant impact.”

CVE-2026-18577 is related to an earlier flaw, CVE-2026-18556, patched in N-central 2026.2. According to N-able, that fix left another route to exploitation, which attackers began abusing late last month.

CISA gave Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies until August 6 to remediate the flaw. Under Binding Operational Directive 26-04, CISA can impose a three-day deadline on vulnerabilities it considers an urgent risk rather than allowing the usual 14 days.

According to Huntress’s data, affected customers have leapt into action. By August 3, nearly all cloud-hosted N-central instances had been patched, although 28.6 percent of observed self-hosted servers remained vulnerable and exposed to the internet. ®

During its second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Spotify again teased the upcoming release of a new product that will allow music fans to leverage AI to make covers and remixes of artists’ music, with the artists’ consent.

The company also announced that Merlin, a licensing partner for independent labels and distributors, has now joined Universal Music Group (UMG) on the new AI music effort. The deal brings more than 30,000 labels from Merlin’s network to the product, which will allow fan-made covers and remixes by artists who agree to participate.

Spotify has positioned its AI music product as being significantly different from the more controversial AI music startups that have been used to create fully artificial songs. Instead, Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström told investors on Tuesday’s call that the company’s AI music product will be about “real artists, not fake artists.”

“We want artists to be consenting [to add] their work into this catalog, so people can play around with covers and remixes based on their art,” added co-CEO Alex Norström. “We also obviously want to give them credit. And last but not least…we not only have the consent and give credit, but we also drive the compensation for this. So, really, we’re talking about the first legal way to partake in this AI tailwind that we see coming for interactive music,” he said.

AI music has flooded streaming services. Music streamer Deezer recently noted that more than 50% of daily track uploads were generated with AI, up from 10% in January 2025.

The company told investors that a research preview of the fan remix and covers product would initially be made available to a subset of users. Spotify also noted that it would not require a full music catalog to get started. The company did not say when the preview would arrive.

The new tool will launch as a paid add-on, creating an additional revenue stream for artists, Spotify previously said.

“Our remix and covers I think is an incredibly exciting product again because there is no one else that can really do this,” Söderström said. “Normal generative music will happen with or without us. This product will not happen without us, and it needs to exist so that existing artists can can participate in this.”

Apple is doubling down on its lawsuit against OpenAI over claims of intellectual property theft, and has now asked the courts for a preliminary injunction that could delay the ChatGPT firm’s AI device.

While OpenAI has turned to the court of public opinion in this case, Apple has now gone to a US judge. According to Reuters, on August 3, 2026, Apple asked for a preliminary injunction, and inspired OpenAI’s post that didn’t say that much.

Specifically, it asked for this injunction to bar OpenAI and two former Apple employees from acquiring or using allegedly confidential information. In a separate motion, it also asked the judge to require OpenAI to produce documentation relating to the defendants.

“Apple will be irreparably harmed absent a preliminary injunction,” said the company’s filing. Apple further wants depositions to be taken from multiple OpenAI representatives and in particular three ex-Apple employees.

Those include the previously named Chang Liu and Tang Tan, plus now Yu-Ting (“Alyssa”) Peng. The full filing also refers repeatedly to an ex-Apple employee it only calls “Individual No. 1.”

Most of the details in the filing refer to previously revealed accusations such as Apple’s claim that ex-employee Tan accessed confidential information. Similarly, the filing repeats the accusation that OpenAI asked job candidates to bring information to interviews.

It is more specific in that this filing alleges that such candidates were directed “to bring Apple prototypes and CAD designs and artifacts for ‘show and tell’.” Apple also claims that a suppler was induced “to perform an Apple proprietary metal-finishing process.”

Alongside these claims against people who have mostly been named before, though, Apple now says it has “serious concerns” about eleven other OpenAI employees. It accuses unnamed employees of meeting with OpenAI to discuss unannounced Apple products, for instance, and another of taking screenshots of confidential documents.

“And, after Apple filed its complaint, multiple former Apple employees now working at OpenAl reached out to discuss returning Apple-issued work devices they kept when they left Apple,” says the filing. “Thus, there are multiple now-OpenAl employees who appear to have witnessed some of the events in question and to have used, acquired, and/or retained proprietary Apple information after their own departures from Apple.”

What happens next

A judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of California will be considering Apple’s filing. That filing does specify that a hearing should be held on October 1, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific.

The judge may have already informed Apple that this date is possible, or it could be that Apple has established that there is an open slot in the court’s calendar. Either way, it’s possible that the court will reschedule.

It’s not clear, though, how Apple believes an injunction against acquiring or using confidential information can be enforced, other than to add damages later. If the OpenAI employees did as Apple accuses, they already have and will already have used that information.

Tang Tam – Image Credit: mit.gelstagram/Instagram

What’s most likely is that this is a requirement of filing this particular type of lawsuit. Apple’s aim really appears to be solely to expedite the discovery process and so get the lawsuit moving as quickly as possible.

That could be beneficial to OpenAI too, though, depending on how the final case is resolved. While it remains embroiled in this suit, it’s possible that its first AI hardware device may have to be delayed.

Reports claim that this first AI device will essentially be an Apple-like HomePod. Consequently, OpenAI may have to prove that it was made without the use of Apple’s trade secrets.

It’s hard to prove a negative, but should it be able to, OpenAI may then be able to launch this device. The company needs to be launching multiple AI devices and soon, because its finances are such that it only has a couple of years before it will begin to run out of money.

Update: August 4, 11:50 Updated with details from Apple’s new filing, which is embedded in full above.

I was in third grade when I started to fear math. Division and fractions gave me the worst anxiety. Every day when my teacher asked for my math homework, I’d say, “I put it on your desk,” knowing full well I hadn’t done it.

My siblings had no problem with math, but it was so hard for me that I wondered if I had a learning disability.

In college, I decided to become a teacher after discovering my love for working with kids at a daycare center. I began my first year teaching in the fall of 2024. I felt excited to teach fourth grade, but I also worried I wouldn’t understand all the math content I was supposed to teach and that I’d pass on my math anxiety to my students.

Honesty Creates Connection

When the fourth-grade teaching team met prior to the start of the 2024-25 school year, I confessed to my colleagues, who were all math whizzes, that I wasn’t very good at math and that it scared me. Instead of making me feel silly or stupid, they were so gracious and supportive. They said, “We’ve got you,” and they did.

As it turned out, we were all nervous because our district was rolling out a new curriculum. As we looked through the materials, I found it comforting to know that we’d all be learning and finding our way together. For once, I didn’t feel so alone in math. Being honest created a sense of connection with my colleagues. It helped us approach the new school year as a team.

More Than One Solution

Even with my colleagues’ support, I was scared when I taught the first math lesson. I remember leaving that day, feeling like I had completely bombed it. But the next day, I realized I was the only one who thought so. My students loved it and couldn’t wait to jump back in. The problem wasn’t math; it was my self-doubt. I just had to have the same confidence in myself that I had in my students.

As the weeks went by, math actually started to feel fun. We did hands-on activities. We played math games online and in centers. Students collaborated, talking through their thinking and teaching each other. It was incredible to watch them enjoy a subject that had caused me so much stress.

My biggest “aha” moment came when I realized that there isn’t just one way to solve a math problem. Growing up, I thought math was rigid — one method, one answer — and that if I didn’t get it, that was on me. I was surprised to discover that there are many different ways to solve problems, and that exploring and comparing strategies is beneficial to students’ learning.

In my classroom, I noticed that using multiple strategies to approach problems made math more accessible for my students. Even those who struggled found methods that made sense and worked for them.

That approach sparked a new kind of excitement about math. During a lesson on different division methods, my students ran outside for recess and wrote division problems all over the concrete. Then they’d jump up and say, “Look at how I solved this!”

Vulnerability Builds Trust

Fractions were another story. Research shows that many children have trouble with fractions, and my students were no different. I even brought in candy bars and broke them into pieces to make the abstract concept tangible, but I was met with blank stares.

I thought back to what I needed as a student and decided to be completely transparent. I admitted that I had struggled with fractions at their age and that it took me a while to learn them. Hearing that made my students feel so much better. They knew they could ask me questions and admit their confusion without judgment. My openness about my own math struggles made it safe for them to share theirs.

The next morning, one student handed me a note, thanking me for helping her understand fractions. I cried when I read it and realized that I had reached her in a way that not only helped her grasp the math but also helped her believe in herself.

I feel like I have become a more confident teacher through all of this, but I’m still figuring out how to reach kids who struggle (the kind of kid I used to be). Sometimes it does not click for them once in a lesson. It is a challenge because not all students respond the same way. Some kids need one-on-one support when learning a new skill. That’s hard for a teacher who has more than 20 kids in a classroom. My school added an interventionist this past year, and that was truly a blessing. She and I communicated consistently, and she was able to pull those who struggle and reach them in a different way. As a new teacher, I hope to learn and become better on how I can implement extra guidance inside the classroom on my own if there’s ever a day I don’t have the help from an interventionist.

Mistakes Are Part of Learning

I also talked openly with my students about how productive struggle in math is part of the learning process. When I was in school, I was so afraid of making mistakes on my math homework that I didn’t even try. But mistakes can play a powerful role in learning if we are brave enough to make them.

Students’ mistakes also provide a window into their thinking. I like to tell my students, “If I don’t see your mistakes, then I won’t know where to help.”

One day, I found one of my strongest students crying because she couldn’t solve a problem. I told her, “I’m not expecting you to leave here today knowing how to do this. I just need you to try.” She did, and afterward she said, “I thought I couldn’t do this. You told me I could if I kept trying, and I got an A on the test.”

When students feel safe enough to take risks and persevere, it not only builds their skills but also their confidence.

At the end of the school year, I literally gasped when we received our West Virginia General Summative Assessment scores. My class had the highest math scores of all the fourth-grade classes at my school.

I used to be ashamed of my math struggles, but I’ve learned how to turn my biggest weakness into my superpower. I’m now teaching third grade, the same grade where my math fears began. It’s amazing to think that I used to feel so lost, but now I’m the one helping students find their way. My students love learning math, and that has made me love teaching it.

Confidence in Yourself and Your Students

If I could share one piece of advice with other new or aspiring teachers, it would be to have confidence in yourself. Math is not so scary. It’s actually fun when you believe in yourself. Take a deep breath and say, “I can teach this lesson. I can do this.”

It’s equally important to believe in our students and actively encourage them every day. When my students are working through problems, I tell them, “Great job! I love seeing your work.” When they get the correct answer, I say, “Fantastic! You did such a good job.” If I see students struggling, I tell them, “Good work! Let’s try that one again. You’ve got this.”

Those words of encouragement — for our students and ourselves — keep us motivated and excited to do our best every day. Whether we’re teaching or learning math, we all want to feel capable and supported. When we set high expectations and believe we can succeed, amazing things can happen.

Elon Musk wants you to believe Tesla is no longer a car company, even if it’s still shaped like one. The company shipped nearly half a million cars last quarter and made 70% of its money from car sales.

Still, Musk has spent the last few years making the case that Tesla is really an AI and robotics company, even if some of the AI happens to live in cars. And whatever the company financials suggest, Musk’s attention has been moving decisively to the AI parts of the company — projects like the Optimus robot and fully autonomous robotaxis— as the everyday concerns of a carmaker get pushed to the side. 

To show how that shift happened, TechCrunch teamed up with Hudson Labs, a New York-based financial research firm, to map what Musk and Tesla’s other executives have spent the last seven years talking about on the company’s quarterly earnings calls.  

The startup sourced transcripts of the calls from S&P Market Intelligence dating back to 2019 and used its Co-Analyst — an AI tool purpose-built for high-precision financial research — to determine a topic for each sentence, before counting their frequency. 

The data shows that Musk now speaks about artificial intelligence, along with robotaxis and Full Self-Driving software, nearly 50% of the time he opens his mouth. That’s up from prior years, like in 2022, when he typically spent 15%-20% of the time on those efforts. 

Over the same period, Musk was often making the case that autonomy justified the company’s soaring value.  

“If you value Tesla as just an auto company – fundamentally, it’s the wrong framework,” Musk said on the Q1 call in 2024. “If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla is going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company.” 

Talk of robotics has shot up sharply in the last three years, too.  

Tesla revealed it was working on a humanoid robot known as Optimus in 2021. In the year that followed, Musk only spent around two percent or less of his time talking about the project. Over the past year, though, he’s spent at least 10% of his remarks talking up Optimus, with it occupying nearly a third of his focus on the third-quarter call in 2025. 

Musk ramped up how often he talks about these futuristic ideas at the same time that Tesla’s core automotive business stopped growing. As a result, he now spends less than a third of his time on earnings calls talking about cars and manufacturing. On that same third-quarter call last year, Musk spent less than 20% of his time talking about the automotive business.  

The other Tesla executives who appear on the company’s earnings calls, like chief financial officer Vaibhav Taneja and vice president of engineering Lars Moravy, have been much slower to shift their focus. Even on some of the most recent calls, they have spent around 30% of the time focusing on the automotive business, with their next-most common topics being AI, robotaxi, and Full Self-Driving. 

Their attention has shifted, but they are lagging behind Musk’s enthusiasm for AI and robotics, most likely because those efforts aren’t yet generating any real returns.  

These other Tesla executives used to spend nearly 50% of their time on these calls (or more) talking about making and selling cars. That all changed in 2024 as the car business started to suffer thanks to increased competition from legacy automakers and new Chinese entrants. 

But when they do join Musk in talking up the future, they match the lofty rhetoric of their boss, the world’s richest man.  

“The path to amazing abundance is ever challenging and requires making bold bets,” Taneja said on the Q2 call this year. “Our progress will be non-linear. The future is going to be great.” 

TOPPING has built its reputation on measurement-driven DACs, headphone amplifiers, and desktop audio gear that usually arrive with spec numbers strong enough to make the ASR crowd reach for a sedative before moving on to the next component they may or may not actually listen to. Now the company is moving that philosophy into active speakers with the TOPPING MA4, a compact two-way active studio monitor aimed at desktop listeners, creators, and small-room setups.

TOPPING launched the MA4 Active Studio Monitor globally on July 14, 2026. The company’s professional-audio site now lists the MA4 as an active studio monitor, with the product page and user manual available through TOPPING Professional for anyone in need of some late-night reading.

The timing was also useful. CanJam London 2026 took place July 18-19 at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, with eCoustics’ London-based Headphone Columnist and Reviewer James Fiorucci covering the show throughout the weekend. TOPPING is usually part of the desktop and headphone conversation, and while the MA4 is not a headphone product, it shows the company trying to extend its measurement-first identity into the powered-speaker market.

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What Is the TOPPING MA4?

The MA4 is a compact, two-way active monitor sold as a stereo pair. Each speaker uses a 4-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter, with Class D bi-amplification rated at 50 watts plus 25 watts RMS. The claimed frequency response is 49Hz to 20kHz ±3dB, with a maximum SPL of 105dB at 1 meter.

The design is refreshingly direct. The MA4 uses an analog crossover, a front-firing bass reflex port, and TOPPING’s Opti-Wave waveguide for tweeter directivity control. The design architecture avoids digital processing, which makes the MA4 different from many modern desktop monitors that lean on DSP, app control, USB input, Bluetooth, and room compensation to broaden their appeal.

That choice cuts both ways. A simpler analog signal path may appeal to users who want a straightforward balanced monitor connected to an audio interface or DAC. But it also means the MA4 looks more traditional than some of its desktop rivals. No USB-C. No Bluetooth. No app. No HDMI. No “please download our software before the speaker agrees to play a hi-hat.” Depending on the buyer, that is either a relief or a limitation.

Connectivity Is the Big Caveat

The MA4’s connectivity is narrow: one XLR input. That makes sense for studio and interface-based setups, but it is less flexible for general desktop audio users who may want RCA, TRS, USB-C, Bluetooth, optical, or a front-panel headphone jack.

That also matters because the competition has become much more versatile. Kali Audio’s LP-UNF, for example, includes USB-C, Bluetooth 5.1, RCA, and TRS inputs, while ADAM Audio’s D3V offers USB-C and balanced TRS inputs. Yamaha’s HS3/HS4 compact monitors include combo XLR/TRS, RCA, and stereo mini inputs.

TOPPING appears to be betting that a focused monitor with controlled directivity, balanced input, and measured acoustic behavior will appeal to users who already have the front end sorted. That is a reasonable audience, but it is not the same audience shopping for a plug-and-play powered speaker that can jump between a laptop, phone, turntable, TV, and game console before lunch.

The Competition

The MA4 lands in a crowded category. The most obvious competitors include the Edifier MR5, Edifier MR4, Kali Audio LP-UNF, ADAM Audio D3V, Yamaha HS4, and JBL 305P MkII.

The Edifier comparison is especially relevant for our readers. The Edifier MR5 impressed us because it delivered near-neutral accuracy, deeper bass, LDAC support, and a three-way active design for $350. The older Edifier MR4 remains one of the better entry-level powered monitor options for listeners who want clean, inexpensive desktop sound.

Against those models, the MA4’s strengths appear to be its controlled acoustic design, XLR input, analog crossover, and claimed SPL for its size. Its weakness is obvious: fewer inputs and no modern wireless or digital convenience features. In 2026, that is either admirable focus or a self-inflicted handicap, depending on the desk it lands on.

Why TOPPING Matters Here

TOPPING is not some random speaker brand appearing out of the fog with a white cabinet and a dream. We have covered TOPPING’s desktop electronics for years, including the DX1 II, A90, D30Pro/A30Pro, and D90LE. The recent DX1 II review found that TOPPING is still pushing aggressive value in compact desktop audio, with a $119 DAC/headphone amp offering balanced headphone output, PEQ, optical I/O, headset support, and console compatibility.

That history is why the MA4 is worth attention. TOPPING has spent years selling the idea that clean engineering and strong measurements should not require luxury pricing. Moving into active monitors is a logical step, but loudspeakers are a different kind of problem. A DAC can measure beautifully on a bench. A speaker has to deal with drivers, cabinets, ports, directivity, distortion, placement, reflections, and the charming reality that most desks are acoustic crime scenes with a keyboard in the middle and a plethora of poor food and beverage choices.

The Bottom Line

The TOPPING MA4 is an interesting move from a brand best known for desktop DACs, headphone amplifiers, and measurement-first electronics. Its compact two-way design, Class D bi-amplification, analog crossover, front-firing port, Opti-Wave waveguide, and claimed 105dB output suggest TOPPING is taking the active monitor category seriously.

The questions are just as important. Will the MA4’s acoustic performance be strong enough to overcome its limited connectivity? Will U.S. pricing make sense against Edifier, Kali, Yamaha, ADAM, and JBL? And will TOPPING’s engineering reputation translate from electronics into loudspeakers, where the room and placement get a vote whether anyone invited them or not?

The MA4 is not the most feature-packed desktop speaker of 2026. That may be the point. TOPPING appears to be aiming at users who want a compact, balanced-input monitor built around acoustic fundamentals rather than app-based convenience.

Where to buy: $319.46 at AliExpress

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