Google’s parent company Alphabet is again in advanced talks to acquire cloud cybersecurity startup Wiz, a person familiar with the deal told TechCrunch. The two companies were close to securing a deal at a $23 billion valuation last summer, but the transaction failed to materialize. This time, the price being discussed is higher, the person said. A price of around $30 billion was reported by The Wall Street Journal. Thomas Kurian, head of Google’s cloud division, is again leading the effort.Google Cloud se ...

Core Insights - Klarna has announced a partnership with Walmart to exclusively provide buy now, pay later loans, taking over from rival Affirm [1] - Affirm's stock fell by 8% following the news, indicating market reaction to the competitive shift [2] - Klarna reported a net profit of $21 million in 2024, a significant recovery from a loss of $244 million in 2023 [2] Company Developments - Klarna will begin providing loans to Walmart customers through OnePay later this year [1] - Affirm, which focuses on the U.S. market, reported $80 million in GAAP net income [2] - Klarna's global reach is expanding, with the U.S. and Germany being its largest markets [4] Market Impact - Walmart's status as the world's largest retailer, with $441.8 billion in U.S. revenue last year, enhances Klarna's market presence [4] - A mere 5% of Walmart's U.S. volume could increase Klarna's total gross merchandise value (GMV) by 28% [5]

Core Insights - Hackers linked to the LockBit gang are exploiting vulnerabilities in Fortinet firewalls to deploy a custom ransomware strain named "SuperBlack" [1][3] - Two vulnerabilities, CVE-2024-55591 and CVE-2025-24472, have been identified as being exploited since December 2024, with patches released by Fortinet in January [1][5] - The Mora_001 threat actor shows operational ties to the LockBit gang, indicating a potential affiliate relationship or shared communication channels [3][4] Vulnerabilities and Exploitation - The first vulnerability, CVE-2024-55591, has been actively exploited in cyberattacks against Fortinet customers since December 2024 [1] - The second vulnerability, CVE-2025-24472, is also being targeted by the Mora_001 group [1] - Forescout has investigated multiple incidents, confirming selective encryption of sensitive data after data exfiltration [2] Ransomware Characteristics - The SuperBlack ransomware is based on the leaked builder from LockBit 3.0 attacks, and the ransom note used by Mora_001 shares the same messaging address as LockBit [3] - The operational signature of Mora_001 suggests a distinct methodology that aligns with recent trends in ransomware attacks, focusing on data theft [2][3] Industry Response - Cybersecurity experts indicate that the ongoing exploitation of these vulnerabilities targets organizations that failed to apply patches or secure their firewall configurations [5] - Fortinet has not provided comments regarding the ongoing situation or the vulnerabilities [6]

Core Insights - Baidu has launched two new AI models: Ernie 4.5 and Ernie X1, enhancing its AI capabilities in the competitive landscape of search engines [1][2] - Ernie X1 is claimed to perform comparably to DeepSeek R1 at half the cost, while Ernie 4.5 features advanced emotional intelligence to understand memes and satire [2] - Both models possess multimodal capabilities, enabling them to process video, images, audio, and text, which positions Baidu competitively against other AI companies [2][3] - Despite being an early entrant in the AI space, Baidu has faced challenges in achieving widespread adoption, particularly in light of competition from DeepSeek [3] - Baidu plans to release its next-generation model, Ernie 5, later this year, which will include further multimodal enhancements [3]

In Brief TikTok has until April to finalize a sale to a U.S.-based buyer, yet uncertainties about the future of the short-form video app remain.However, a new report has emerged, suggesting that Oracle is the leading candidate to serve as the cloud technology partner for managing TikTok in the U.S., according to The Information.  Sources including investors, bankers, and former executives familiar with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, told the outlet that the company favors Oracle over other cloud prov ...

In Brief Privacy rights groups have called on Apple’s legal challenge to a secret U.K. government order asking it to backdoor an end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) version of its iCloud storage service to be heard in public, rather than behind closed doors. The existence of the order emerged via press reports last month. Apple went on to confirm it was closing the Advanced Data Protection service to U.K. users. But the surveillance order requiring it to grant law enforcement access to data stored within the E2EE s ...

Core Insights - Meta is launching a significant overhaul of its fact-checking system, introducing Community Notes for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in the U.S. starting March 18 [1][2] - The initiative aims to address public perception of bias and improve the accuracy of information on its platforms, moving away from reliance on third-party fact-checkers [8][10] - The new system is inspired by Twitter's Community Notes and seeks to create a more scalable and less error-prone fact-checking process [12][18] Group 1: Community Notes Implementation - Community Notes will allow users to suggest and rate notes that fact-check claims in posts, with the goal of enhancing the reliability of information shared on Meta's platforms [13][17] - The program will initially be tested in the U.S., Meta's most profitable market, before considering expansion to other regions [2][10] - Meta's executives emphasize the importance of getting the system right in the U.S. before rolling it out internationally, particularly in light of regulatory scrutiny in the European Union [2][10] Group 2: Addressing Bias and Misinformation - Meta's VP of Public Policy highlighted past mistakes in fact-checking, including mislabeling opinion articles, which contributed to the decision to develop Community Notes [9][10] - The new system aims to reduce perceived bias and improve the accuracy of fact-checking by requiring consensus among contributors with opposing viewpoints [17][19] - Research indicates that crowdsourced systems like Community Notes can be perceived as more trustworthy than traditional third-party fact-checkers, potentially reducing the spread of misinformation [18][20] Group 3: Challenges and Limitations - Despite the potential benefits, there are concerns about the speed and effectiveness of Community Notes, as they may not intervene quickly enough during the early viral stages of misleading posts [19][20] - A study found that while contributors suggested accurate information 81% of the time, only 9% of posts received consensus for fact-checking, indicating a significant gap in the system's responsiveness [20][21] - The implementation of Community Notes does not replace Meta's existing Community Standards, which govern the classification of hate speech and other prohibited content [10]

In Brief Meta is facing an AI copyright publisher lawsuit in France accusing it of economic “parasitism,” Reuters reports.The French litigation was filed in a Paris court this week by the National Publishing Union (SNE), the National Union of Authors and Composers (SNAC), and the Society of People of Letters (SGDL), which are accusing Meta of unlawfully training its AI models on their protected content. The case is thought to be the first such action against an AI giant in the country. Meta is facing simil ...

Core Insights - Anthropic, a San Francisco AI startup, has significant financial ties to Google, which owns a 14% stake and plans to invest an additional $750 million this year, bringing Google's total investment to over $3 billion [1][2]. Group 1: Investment and Ownership - Google holds a 14% stake in Anthropic and is set to invest $750 million through a convertible debt deal this year [1]. - Total investment from Google in Anthropic exceeds $3 billion [1]. Group 2: Independence and Regulatory Scrutiny - Despite Google's financial backing, Anthropic lacks voting rights, board seats, or direct control from Google, raising questions about its independence [2]. - The increasing reliance of AI startups on funding from tech giants has attracted regulatory scrutiny regarding potential unfair advantages, although a proposal to force the sale of such stakes was recently dropped by the Justice Department [2]. Group 3: Competitive Landscape - Google is developing its own technology while also funding competitors like Anthropic, indicating a strategy to hedge its bets in the AI sector [3]. - Amazon has also invested significantly in Anthropic, agreeing to invest up to $8 billion, prompting questions about the implications of such financial ties for the independence of AI startups [3].

Group 1 - Meta is testing an in-house chip for training AI systems to reduce reliance on hardware makers like Nvidia [1] - The chip is designed for AI-specific workloads and was manufactured in partnership with TSMC, with a small deployment currently being piloted [1] - If successful, Meta plans to scale up production of the chip [1] Group 2 - Meta has previously deployed custom AI chips, but only for running models, not for training [2] - Several of Meta's chip design efforts have been canceled or scaled back due to not meeting internal expectations [2] - The company expects to spend $65 billion on capital expenditure this year, primarily on Nvidia GPUs, and reducing costs by shifting to in-house chips would be significant [2]