HolidayBlogging

Tag: dt

  • Australian court finds Apple, Google abused app store market power

    Epic Games has just secured a win in its crusade against Apple and Google’s app store policies: The Federal Court of Australia on Tuesday ruled that Apple and Google engaged in anti-competitive conduct when it came to their respective app stores, ABC News reported.

    While Judge Jonathan Beach found that the two tech giants had abused their dominant position in the market for app distribution to limit competition, he rejected Epic’s claims that the companies had engaged in “unconscionable conduct.”

    Epic Games has been fighting Apple and Google’s fee structure for in-app purchases in various jurisdictions around the planet. The company scored a major win against Apple this year in the U.S., and as a result, Fortnite returned to Apple’s U.S. App Store after five years.

    Tuesday’s ruling could yield a similar result for Epic in Australia: The company’s CEO Tim Sweeny said that the Epic Games Store and Fortnite would return to in the country soon through Epic Games Store.

    “We welcome the court’s rejection of Epic’s demands that we distribute app stores from within the Google Play store, and Epic’s attacks on other critical security protections that users rely on. However, we disagree with the court’s characterisation of our billing policies and practices, as well as its findings regarding some of our historical partnerships,” a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

    Meanwhile, Apple told ABC News that its app store is the safest way for users to get apps, and that it disagreed with the court’s ruling on some of Epic’s claims.

    We’re always looking to evolve, and by providing some insight into your perspective and feedback into TechCrunch and our coverage and events, you can help us! Fill out this survey to let us know how we’re doing and get the chance to win a prize!

    Techcrunch event

    Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda

    Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $600+ before prices rise.

    Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda

    Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise.

    San Francisco
    |
    October 27-29, 2025

    REGISTER NOW

  • Apple gets ready for AI in the enterprise with new ChatGPT configuration options

    Apple gets ready for AI in the enterprise with new ChatGPT configuration options

    As AI technology makes its way into the enterprise, Apple is rolling out new tools that will give businesses more granular control over where and how their employees can tap into artificial intelligence. With the release of Apple’s software updates arriving in September, the tech giant is adding another option for enterprise customers: the ability to configure the use of an enterprise version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

    Apple has already seen the demand for ChatGPT for Enterprise, which OpenAI says now has over 5 million business customers. These companies use the AI service to connect with their own internal data when using AI agents.

    However, what’s interesting about the way Apple’s integration with ChatGPT for Enterprise has been structured is that it’s not hard-coded to only restrict or allow ChatGPT itself.

    Instead, Apple’s support documents indicate that IT administrators will be able to restrict or allow any “external” artificial intelligence provider, not just OpenAI’s technology. That leaves the door open for Apple to forge other deals with large AI players used in the enterprise environment, without having to recode things at the protocol level.

    As Apple has rolled out new AI features aimed at its devices’ end users — like writing tools or visual intelligence, for example — it’s also rolled out ways for IT departments to control access to those features.

    While the company fully believes in its Private Cloud Compute architecture, it knows that it can take time for companies to agree to make changes to sensitive systems and data. That’s why it leaves it up to businesses to decide if data should be processed in the cloud or on the device, for example.

    In addition to letting businesses pick and choose which AI features to enable, this setup allows businesses to decide whether employees’ AI requests can go to ChatGPT’s cloud service, even when the business doesn’t have its own enterprise deal with OpenAI. (ChatGPT, you’ll recall, has been integrated with Apple Intelligence across Apple’s software platform to handle AI requests that Apple’s own cloud can’t. Because requests never go from Apple’s cloud to ChatGPT directly — it’s either/or — it’s easier to disable the ChatGPT setting.)

    While AI updates are a highlight of the enterprise-related updates due out in the fall, Apple is also rolling out other new features to its largest customers.

    It will launch an API for its Apple Business Manager service, which will allow the service’s functions to be integrated into other IT tools, like MDM products, inventory management services, or help desks, among others. It’s also debuting new tools for Device Management to make it easier to migrate devices to a different management service — something that often comes up in M&A scenarios when a new company takes over employee devices and assets.

    Apple’s Return to Service solution, which lets devices quickly get wiped and readied for the next user, will now offer the option to leave all apps installed, saving time and bandwidth since IT admins and users won’t need to reinstall them. Plus, Return to Service will become available for Vision Pro for the first time.

    On shared Macs, an authenticated Guest Mode lets employees log in with account credentials from their identity provider, then has their data (but not apps) erased upon logout. Another option lets businesses add NFC readers to Macs, so employees can just tap their watch or phone to log in.

    These tools will also roll out in September as part of Apple’s broader software updates for iPhone, iPad, Mac and more.

    We’re always looking to evolve, and by providing some insight into your perspective and feedback into TechCrunch and our coverage and events, you can help us! Fill out this survey to let us know how we’re doing and get the chance to win a prize in return!

  • Linktree goes dark in India — and the company isn't sure why

    Linktree goes dark in India — and the company isn't sure why

    Linktree, the popular link-in-bio service used by millions of creators and businesses, has been inaccessible in India for several days — and its sudden disappearance from the Indian web remains a mystery, even to the Australian startup itself.

    Over the past week, Linktree has been inaccessible in India, with a few users raising the issue on X. Initially, TechCrunch noticed that the site briefly displayed a message suggesting it had been blocked by the Indian government. Later, this was replaced by a generic SSL protocol error. The Linktree app has also been inaccessible in the country.

    Founded in 2016, Linktree became a unicorn in 2022 and surpassed 50 million users in 2024. India has been the platform’s fifth-largest market by traffic, accounting for 3.5% of its global visits — or about 7.3 million in July, per Similarweb data shared with TechCrunch.Image Credits:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch

    Linktree co-founder and CEO Alex Zaccaria told TechCrunch that the startup was looking into the situation. However, the executive did not confirm whether the startup received a communication from Indian authorities on its blockage.

    The startup later posted on X that it was aware of the service outage in India and was “investigating” the issue.

    As reported by the Indian daily The Hindu, the outage is not limited to a specific internet service provider and appears to affect all major networks.

    The U.S. remains Linktree’s top market, with 48.5 million visits, followed by Indonesia (32.3 million), Brazil (30.8 million), and the U.K. (9.4 million), Similarweb data shows.

    India’s IT and telecom ministries did not respond to emails sent over the weekend.

    We’re always looking to evolve, and by providing some insight into your perspective and feedback into TechCrunch and our coverage and events, you can help us! Fill out this survey to let us know how we’re doing and get the chance to win a prize in return!

  • Allianz Life data breach affects 1.1 million customers

    Allianz Life data breach affects 1.1 million customers

    The July data breach at U.S. insurance giant Allianz Life allowed hackers to steal the personal information of 1.1 million customers, according to data breach notification site Have I Been Pwned.

    Allianz Life disclosed the data breach in late July, confirming that hackers stole the personal information of the “majority” of its 1.4 million customers and its employees from a cloud-stored customer relationship database. Allianz has so far refused to confirm exactly how many people are affected by the breach.

    Have I Been Pwned, a data breach notification site that alerts people when their email address has been caught up in data breaches, said in a post on Monday the Allianz Life breach includes customers’ names, gender, date of birth, email and home addresses, and phone numbers from a database hosted by cloud giant Salesforce.

    Allianz Life later told the states of Texas and Massachusetts the hackers also stole Social Security numbers in the breach.

    Brett Weinberg, a spokesperson for Allianz Life, declined to comment to TechCrunch as the company’s investigation is ongoing.

    Allianz Life is one of a series of tech and corporate giants that have been targeted in recent months by a hacking crew known as ShinyHunters, a group known for their social engineering skills aimed at tricking employees into granting them access to the company’s databases.

    Google, Cisco, airline giant Qantas, and retailer Pandora — and also HR giant Workday, as reported by TechCrunch on Monday — have also reported recent data thefts related to their Salesforce-hosted data.

    The ShinyHunters gang is said to be preparing a data leak site in an attempt to extort victims into paying the hackers to delete the data, a tactic often employed by ransomware gangs. The group reportedly overlaps with other hacking and crime groups, including Scattered Spider and The Com, a known collective of cybercriminals who use hacking, extortion, and sometimes threats of violence to break into networks.

    We’re always looking to evolve, and by providing some insight into your perspective and feedback into TechCrunch and our coverage and events, you can help us! Fill out this survey to let us know how we’re doing and get the chance to win a prize in return!

  • US sanctions fraud network used by North Korean 'remote IT workers' to seek jobs and steal money

    US sanctions fraud network used by North Korean 'remote IT workers' to seek jobs and steal money

    The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned an international fraud network used by North Korea to infiltrate U.S. companies with hackers posing as legitimate job seekers, agency officials announced Wednesday.

    The sanctions are the latest action taken by the U.S. Treasury in recent months aimed at combating North Korean government workers from seeking employment at American companies using fake identities and documents to apply for jobs. Once employed, the hackers earn a wage from the company, but also steal sensitive company data and extort their employers by demanding a ransom.

    In a statement Wednesday, the Treasury said the fraud network generated at least $1 million in profits for the North Korean regime, one of many such schemes that have helped raise billions of dollars in stolen funds, including cryptocurrency, to fund its internationally sanctioned nuclear weapons program.

    As part of its latest round of enforcement, the Treasury sanctioned Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev, a Russian national accused of working with the North Koreans to facilitate payments to a company called Chinyong. The Treasury, which sanctioned Chinyong in 2024, says the company employs delegations of fraudulent IT workers based in Russia and Laos.

    The U.S. says Andreyev worked with a North Korean consular official based in Russia called Kim Ung Sun to launder close to $600,000 in stolen money into cryptocurrency for the regime.

    The Treasury sanctioned Shenyang Geumpungri, a Chinese company that the U.S. says also employs fraudulent IT workers on behalf of the North Korean government, as well as Sinjin, another North Korean front company for the IT workers’ scheme.

    This is the latest round of sanctions targeting North Korea, as well as the U.S.-based facilitators who help support the North Korean’s sprawling money-stealing schemes. North Korea remains highly dedicated to stealing money and converting it into cryptocurrency to skirt the country’s ban on accessing the global financial system. 

    While the scheme is not new, North Koreans are increasingly effective at getting jobs at U.S. and other Western companies.

    Security researchers in the past couple of years began raising the alarm about the North Korean IT workers’ schemes. Security firm CrowdStrike says North Korean hackers have infiltrated hundreds of companies in the United States alone by using fake documentation and deception techniques to gain employment. 

    The new sanctions mean U.S. companies, or any company doing business with a U.S. company, are barred from transacting or working with those listed by the Treasury. In practice, the Treasury rules put the legal responsibility on hiring companies to ensure they are not hiring North Koreans or other sanctioned individuals by mistake.

  • TeaOnHer App Leaks User Personal Data and Driver Licenses

    When Apps Go Rogue: The Curious Case of TeaOnHer

    Picture this: you’ve just downloaded a trendy new app, TeaOnHer, promising a fresh twist on the original Tea craze, built for men to brag about the women they’ve supposedly dated. Instead of a harmless social platform, you discover a bonafide vault of personal data, ready for the wrong hands.

    What’s in the Hack Closet?

    • Government IDs & driver’s licenses – those are usually for passports, not dating apps.
    • Selfies that look as if someone tried to prove they’re not a hologram.
    • Randomly left open public URLs that let anyone click and view anyone’s ID photo.
    • Emails and user names, ta‑da! Guess what… don’t (or do?) say it out loud.

    The Parallel Troll‑War

    Remember the original Tea app, the one where women post about the men they date? It’s topped with a “women’s safety” badge and a splashy 6 million‑user count. The fans fought back at TeaOnHer by creating a mirror‑image platform, only to copy the same questionable slogans and let the same problems show up in a fresh coat. The developers clearly didn’t keep a diary of better security practices.

    Viral Chaos and Data Disaster

    After 404 Media exposed a data dump saturated with 72,000+ images – from selfies to IDs – cyber‑enthusiasts waddled on the internet, sharing a million private messages that Tea had to shutter its messenger. The fallout? An app that was supposed to mean “girls are safe” became a personal data dispenser.

    Security Blunders in the Spotlight

    • Access with a single click – Any web visitor can pull up a user’s full profile, complete with email and location, purely by tumbling through the link list.
    • Admin credentials exposed – The founder’s email and plain password are sitting on the server side, unlocking the “admin” panel for anyone who can guess or resembles a random email address.
    • Guest view hypocrisy – You can get a “guest” glimpse without logging in, and teensy‑weens of the app reveal graphic or spam material (like repetitive nude images, defaming tags “easy”) riding the same data stream.
    • Estimated 53,000 users over exposed, a number that hints about how many “miracle” matches are actually absorptive social media consumption.

    Who’s Running the Ship?

    Newville Media Corporation slotted the app in the Apple store—right on the “Lifestyle” shelf, where you’d expect to find fitness trackers or travel journals. The CEO, Xavier Lampkin, tries to rate his credentials but gets caught in the loop of leaving his email as a marketing splash.

    Takeaways & Where to Crood‑waft

    Never underestimate the importance of data hygiene. If you’re a developer, put a lock on your app before publishing it into the wild. If you’re a user, set expectations that each app is not a passport office. And for the record, TeaOnHer is playing a hotter chess battle than Netflix or Instagram when you look at how it’s scored in the free-app arena.

  • Sony is increasing the price of the PlayStation 5 as new tariffs take hold

    Sony is increasing the price of the PlayStation 5 as new tariffs take hold

    Sony will raise the price of PlayStation 5 consoles, the company announced on Wednesday. These changes will be effective as of Thursday, August 21.

    Citing “a challenging economic environment” — which appears to reference President Trump’s tariffs on imported products — Sony is increasing console prices by about $50. In the U.S., the prices will increase to $549.99 for the PlayStation 5, $499.99 for the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, and $749.99 for the PlayStation 5 Pro. On July 31, the White House announced a 15% tariff on Japan.

    The company said that it does not have plans to change prices in other countries, nor does it intend to hike the cost of accessories. However, Sony already raised prices for PlayStation consoles sold in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in April, citing the same challenging environment.

    In some regions, Sony previously increased console prices in 2022 due to inflation, but U.S. markets were not impacted at the time.

    Some of Sony’s peers have also announced pricing changes to gaming products amid the news of Trump’s tariffs. Microsoft indicated in May that it would increase console prices by $80 to $100, while also increasing the prices of some games, controllers, and accessories.

    Nintendo chose to raise the prices of some accessories for the new Nintendo Switch 2 console, but not the console itself.

    We’re always looking to evolve, and by providing some insight into your perspective and feedback into TechCrunch and our coverage and events, you can help us! Fill out this survey to let us know how we’re doing and get the chance to win a prize in return!

    Techcrunch event

    Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda

    Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $600+ before prices rise.

    Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda

    Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise.

    San Francisco
    |
    October 27-29, 2025

    REGISTER NOW

  • Russian State Hackers Allegedly Targeted US Federal Court Filing System, Report Claims

    Russian Eye on U.S. Court Files? It Looks Like They’re Trying!

    The New York Times just dropped a bomb shell: the Russian folks—oh yeah, some part of that sprawling government—may have been the brains behind the hack that stole data from the U.S. federal court filing system, PACER. The headline says “at least in part responsible.” No one actually says who in the Kremlin is pulling the strings.

    What the Hackers Were Looking For

    • Midgrade criminal cases in New York City and beyond.
    • Also chased a few “Russian” or Eastern European surnames.
    • Could be looking for handy clues to inch closer to their targets.

    Just last week, Politico tipped that the breach also tossed a wrench in the Official case filing system—imagine that: secret informants might be turning up in the hack’s data, putting them smack‑in the face of the very criminals they’re helping bring in. Just think about that.

    Stolen Data: A Treasure Trove of Secrets

    The stolen haul may include:

    • Sealed dockets, indictments, and arrest warrants.
    • Other documents that haven’t even hit the public docket yet.
    • Stuff that might never see the light of day at all.

    Quick Fixes by the U.S. Courts

    On August 7, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts stomped on the scene. They said:

    “We’re boosting security, blocking future attacks, and making sure folks who are litigating aren’t hit hard by this mess.”

    This was a follow‑up to a memo that stirred up the Justice Department and its higher-ups with a warning that the threat is urgent and requires immediate action.

    Back to Russia’s Playbook

    That’s not the first time the Russian cyber squad has slipped into pockets of the U.S. federal system. In 2020, they launched a long‑running SolarWinds operation: by slipping a poisoned software patch into the mainstream, they opened backdoors into everything from tech giants to government agencies. And yes, PACER was part of that crime wave, so the court documents were up for grabs.

    Bottom Line: Stay Alert

    While the U.S. Courts are putting a lot of effort into patching up the system, the universe of cyber intrusions leaves a hard lesson: never assume your digital life is safe from a well‑armed hacker—especially one that might be hiding in plain view at the Kremlin.