Hi there!

We're packed with significant developments across security, AI, and innovation. Apple and Google are stepping up their security game with new features for iOS and Android, while the AI landscape continues to evolve with OpenAI's upcoming autonomous agent. In hardware news, LG's stretching displays and IBM's quantum computing breakthroughs are pushing technological boundaries. Plus, we've got a great collection of new tools for developers and security professionals. Let's dive in!

🛡️ Security & Privacy

• Hackers are using ZIP file concatenation to deliver malware, exploiting how different tools process these files. More here.
• Apple's iOS 18 introduces a security feature that reboots the iPhone after 72 hours of inactivity without unlocking, enhancing protection against theft. After the reboot, an iPhone's data is fully encrypted and accessible only with the passcode. Read more here.
• Google Play Protect now includes live threat detection, alerting users to malware in real time. More here.
• O2's Daisy, an AI-powered granny, engages scammers in lengthy conversations to waste their time and prevent fraud. More here.
• A memory leak bug was found in Apple's Network Extension framework affecting macOS 15.0 Sequoia. More here.
• Top 15 exploited vulnerabilities of 2023 here.
• ShrinkLocker, discovered in May 2024, is a simple ransomware that exploits BitLocker for encryption. Read the complete analysis by Bitdefender here.
• Snyk Security Labs discovered a privilege escalation from the default user to root on a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 Desktop installation. Read more here.
• Volt Typhoon is rebuilding its KV-Botnet malware after FBI disruption, targeting outdated Cisco and Netgear routers. More here.
• The US government urges developers to abandon C and C++ for safer programming languages to enhance cybersecurity of critical infrastructure. Read more here.
• North Korean hackers target macOS with Flutter trojanized apps, bypassing security checks to exploit cryptocurrency themes for financial theft. More here.
• Ymir ransomware exploits memory management to enhance stealth, targeting organizations after credential theft via RustyStealer malware. More here.
• This guide teaches creating tools to find video game exploits for bug bounty programs.
• The Send to YouTube feature and “IMG_XXXX” naming convention resulted in millions of unintentional YouTube videos. Read more here.

🛸 Tech News

• Initial impressions of the Lenovo T14s featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon ARM64 CPU here.
• LG has introduced a stretchable display that expands from 12 to 18 inches, bending without damage. Read more here.
• DeepComputing has launched an early access program for the DC-ROMA RISC-V Mainboard, targeting enterprise customers for feedback and development. More here.
• IBM unveiled the 156-qubit R2 Heron processor, which is 50 times faster, enhancing quantum computing for complex scientific challenges. More here.
• M4 Mac mini's efficiency review here.
• AirPods Pro 2 were hacked to unlock region-locked hearing aid features for broader accessibility. Read more here.
• Probely has been acquired by Snyk. More here.
• Chinese scientists are developing a microwave weapon to disable satellites. More here.

AI

• OpenAI is set to launch an autonomous AI agent called "Operator" in January for task automation. More here.
• This article emphasizes that anyone can become an AI engineer using open-source models as barriers diminish.
• AI increases the cost of tech debt, widening the gap between low-debt and high-debt coding. Read more here.
• OpenAI’s effective ways to engage with ChatGPT for deeper learning here.
• Google DeepMind released AlphaFold 3's source code, enhancing protein structure prediction and fostering collaboration in biological research. More here.
• CrowdStrike has launched AI Red Team Services to proactively secure AI systems against emerging cyber threats and vulnerabilities. Read more here.
• OpenAI’s Sam Altman predicts AGI could arrive by 2025, despite widespread skepticism from experts. More here.

🛠️ Tools

Personal Use

• Stretch My Time Off - optimizes vacation days by aligning public holidays with personal leave, created using ChatGPT.
• idonthavespotify - easily transform Spotify links to your favorite streaming service
• html-to-markdown ****- a powerful HTML-to-Markdown converter that turns HTML, including websites, into clean, readable Markdown.
• IronCalc - a spreadsheet engine and ecosystem.

Dev

• Kyanos - an eBPF-based tool for analyzing network issues, capturing requests without complex packet analysis steps.
• scooter - an interactive terminal app for find-and-replace, allowing regex searches and selective replacements.
• pex - a library for creating portable .pex files, enabling executable Python environments across platforms.
• Seer - a gui frontend to gdb for Linux. Nice!
• LlamaOCR - OCR: document to markdown.
• Watermark Anything - Official implementation of the paper "Watermark Anything with Localized Messages”.
• HyperDX - enables engineers to quickly diagnose production issues by easily searching and visualizing logs and traces on Clickhouse.
• mdBook - a command line tool to create books with Markdown. It is ideal for creating product or API documentation, tutorials, course materials or anything that requires a clean, easily navigable and customizable presentation.
• Mergiraf - effectively resolves diverse Git merge conflicts by understanding file structures and languages.

Security

• Bjorn - a Tamagotchi-like tool for network scanning and security, designed for Raspberry Pi.

Business

• Jelly - shared inboxes for small teams, improving collaboration and communication without complex help-desk tools.

🪸 Misc

• Mathematicians discovered a new elliptic curve with a rank of 29, breaking an 18-year-old record and expanding research possibilities. Read more here.
• Scientists discovered the world's largest coral near the Solomon Islands, measuring 34 meters and estimated to be 300 years old. More here.
• Jon McNeill shares innovation lessons, emphasizing simplification and process elimination for building successful companies at the World Business Forum. More here and complementary diagram here.
• Cycling and typing.

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Thanks for reading!

Have a great day!
Bogdan