Richard Lawler

Senior News Editor

Richard LawlerJun 4, 2024

TikTok is aware of a ‘potential’ exploit being used to take over brand accounts.

According to Forbes, TikTok accounts for Paris Hilton and CNN have been hijacked recently by a “zero-day” attack in the app’s DMs that could be activated simply by opening the message.

TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek sent us this statement:

Our security team is aware of a potential exploit targeting a number of brand and celebrity accounts. We have taken measures to stop this attack and prevent it from happening in the future. We’re working directly with affected account owners to restore access, if needed.

Richard LawlerJun 4, 2024

Amazon’s live-action TV adaptation of Yakuza: Like a Dragon starts streaming in October.

Prime Video has one hit with Fallout, plus a Tomb Raider adaptation on the way, so what’s next? Get ready for six episodes of Like a Dragon: Yakuza that will be released worldwide in 3-episode sets on October 25th and November 1st.

In 1995 and 2005, spanning across two time-periods, Like a Dragon: Yakuza, an original crime-suspense-action series, follows the life, childhood friends, and repercussions of the decisions of Kazuma Kiryu, a fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty, and humanity.

Image: Amazon MGM Studios

Microsoft layoffs hit HoloLens, Azure cloud teams

Richard LawlerJun 4, 2024

Snowflake says there’s no evidence attackers breached its platform to hack Ticketmaster

Richard LawlerJun 4, 2024

Richard LawlerJun 3, 2024

Epoch Times CFO arrested on money laundering charges.

A few years ago, Facebook accused Epoch Media Group of laundering pro-Trump posts using networks of fake accounts. Today, prosecutors announced the arrest of The Epoch Times CFO Bill Guan and accused him of laundering at least $67 million for himself and the company using gift cards and crypto.

The “media company” allegedly claimed the money came from donations, profits, or subscriptions, as NBC News reported last year.

3. Members of the MMO Team and other scheme participants moved the crime proceeds into the Media Entities’ accounts through tens of thousands of layered transactions utilizing, among other things, prepaid debit cards and financial accounts that were opened using stolen identification information, including the personal identification information of U.S. residents.

Image: USAO - New York, Southern

Richard LawlerJun 3, 2024

E*Trade reportedly “considers” shutting down Roaring Kitty’s account after new GameStop posts.

Keith Gill, the same Redditor who sparked a frenzy in 2021 has returned, and the stock is spiking again. The WSJ reports that in addition to E*Trade’s discussions, SEC officials are having “internal discussions” about whether the new posts amount to manipulation.

Meanwhile, Gill posted another screenshot this afternoon showing an account with shares and options now worth $260 million.

E*Trade Considers Kicking Meme-Stock Leader Keith Gill Off Platform

[WSJ]

Richard LawlerJun 3, 2024

Where did the viral “All eyes on Rafah” image come from?

Two people from Malaysia both say they used Microsoft Image Creator to produce the graphic in support of Palestinians.

It’s been shared over 50 million times now, and now NPR has spoken to both of them: Zila Abka, who months ago posted the version found by 404 Media on Facebook, and Amirul Shah, who shared the now-viral Instagram template.

Composite image of two AI-generated images with the words “All Eyes on Rafah” surrounded by tents.

Image: Zila Abka (left), Amirul Shah (right)

Richard LawlerJun 3, 2024

Apple’s WWDC keynote is June 10th at 1PM ET.

Will we see new hardware, or will all the news have something to do with AI? Greg Joswiak isn’t telling.

Before the event starts, however, Apple released student-targeted Mac ads promoting the power and long battery life of M-series MacBooks. They’re not responding to or even acknowledging the competition’s attacks (yet), but if Qualcomm’s promises hold up, then maybe that will change.