What's happening: Swiss outlet Aargauer Zeitung published a story last week claiming that hackers had launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against roughly 3 million internet-connected toothbrushes, causing damage to the tune of millions of euros.
China has become the top hacking threat in 2024 with a recent series of attacks targeting critical U.S. infrastructure.
Why it matters: It's rare for public officials to share as many details as they have in recent weeks about ongoing cyber threats — underscoring just how concerned the Biden administration is about a Beijing-backed cyberattack.
The European Union this week tightened its antitrust screws on tech companies, announcing that it now will consider the impacts of free products and "digital ecosystems."
Why it matters: Antitrust disputes often boil down to how markets get defined, and this move broadly expands those definitions in Europe.
Meta will not "proactively recommend political content from accounts you don't follow" on Threads, the company said in a statement provided to Axios.
Why it matters: The policies, which are the same it currently uses to regulate political content on its Facebook and Instagram apps, fill in the details of how Threads and Instagram will handle political content as the election approaches.
About one-third of American professionals worry that artificial intelligence will make some jobs obsolete, and nearly half fear they could be "left behind" in their careers if they don't keep up, according to a recent Washington State University survey.
Why it matters: The results show a need for universities and companies to provide more training on the uses of generative AI programs like ChatGPT, Debbie Compeau, interim dean of WSU's Carson College of Business, told Axios.
When I used Meta's second-generation Ray-Ban smart glasses to broadcast my interview with Sam Altman at Davos live on Instagram, Altman called the experience "a little weird" — but I think the glasses pack some neat tricks for a device that doesn't feel much bigger or heavier than standard eyewear.
Why it matters: The design of many cutting edge devices, like Apple's Vision Pro, starts with a long list of tech features and then tries to make everything smaller and lighter. With the Ray-Bans, Meta is taking a different approach — choosing a size, weight and price that people actually want, then seeing what you can do with it.
A former executive at TikTok filed a complaint against the app and its parent company ByteDance on Thursday over allegations that she was subjected to discrimination and retaliation.
The big picture: Attorneys for Katie Puris, who was the Global Head of Brand & Creative at TikTok, claim she experienced multiple forms of discrimination and was "ultimately unlawfully terminated," per a court filing.
Google is joining Microsoft, Meta and Adobe in supporting a standard for labeling media that can describe who created an image or video, when and how it was created, and the credibility of its source, the company announced today.
Why it matters: WithAndroid smartphones holding a 70% global market share, and 2.5 billion YouTube users, Google's move gives critical mass to the industry's effort to label AI-generated content and combat misinformation.
Another former Apple employee is launching an AI hardware wearable — this time, it's a pair of round glasses that bear a striking resemblance to the spectacles often worn by Steve Jobs.
Why it matters: It's the latest in a wave of new devices designed around a built-in AI assistant, following in the footsteps of Humane's AI Pin and Rabbit's R1.
The Department of Justice announced charges in two separate cases Wednesday over allegedly "sophisticated schemes to transfer sensitive technology, goods, and information" to benefit the governments of China and Iran.
The big picture: In one case in California, Chenguang Gong, a 57-year-old U.S. citizen who was born in China, is accused of stealing trade secrets developed for use by the U.S. government to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, per a DOJ statement.
