Most of the cybersecurity problems in ex-Twitter security chief Peiter Zatko’s 84-page whistleblower complaint aren’t unique to Twitter — but a handful of claims are worrisome enough to catch regulators' and competitors' attention.
The big picture: Only a handful of specific nightmare scenarios in the complaint will end up having staying power as Washington responds to Zatko's claims.
The growth of text-based phishing scams hit close to home for Axios last week when several employees got fake text messages claiming to be from company president and co-founder Roy Schwartz.
The big picture: We dug into the recent campaign targeting Axios employees to learn more about how these scams operate — especially as reports about text message scams continue to outpace reports about email scams this year for the first time, per the Federal Trade Commission.
Attacks on companies and sites dip in the summer months, researchers have repeatedly found, and the reason isn't hard to decode: Hackers take summer vacations, too.
The big picture: Cybercriminals love to flaunt their cash and take lavish vacations after successful hacks and online scams — giving U.S. law enforcement a ripe opportunity to arrest or extradite them, experts tell Axios.
Survivor.io is mobile gaming’s latest out-of-nowhere success, topping iOS and Android charts throughout August. It got there with an eyebrow-raising gameplay concept and popular ads on TikTok.
Why it matters: Mobile is the game industry's biggest market, but chart-topping hits are often big surprises that call for some sleuthing about how they blew up.
Austin's Jenna Palek is breaking out the boots to mark one year of her Fun on Weekdays brand.
Driving the news: Palek, a social media influencer, will host a "country disco carnival" Friday at Star Hill Ranch in Bee Cave, promising a night of mechanical bull riding, a hair tinsel bar, live country music, line dancing and more.
The browsers built into popular apps like Facebook and Twitter provide convenience for users looking to read a page — but also open them to broad privacy and security risks, as recent reports have highlighted.
The big picture: In-app browsers allow mobile users to follow links and read web pages without having to switch out of the app they're using. But it's difficult to audit who ends up with the data trails this browser activity creates — and that personal information could end up in the hands of the app maker.
The annual Burning Man bacchanal in the Nevada desert returns Sunday after a two-year COVID-19 hiatus — this time with a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers conducting a science experiment with implications for online social networks.
Why it matters: The arrival of about 80,000 whimsically costumed revelers at a makeshift encampment called Black Rock City marks some sort of reassuring-yet-ironic return to normalcy.
SpaceX and T-Mobile are partnering to bring wireless phone service to remote areas with spotty coverage.
Driving the news: T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert and SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced the collaboration Thursday at the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica, Texas, claiming the service will roll out next year and work with existing phones.
