Today’s top stories include Meta and Yandex apps exploiting Android localhost ports for user tracking, TikTok banning the ‘SkinnyTok’ hashtag worldwide under French pressure, and Google releasing an emergency update to patch a critical Chrome vulnerability. Additionally, AWS announced a new European Sovereign Cloud to address data sovereignty concerns.
▶️ Internet Infrastructure
Researchers uncover Meta and Yandex Android apps exploiting localhost ports to track users
Researchers revealed that Meta and Yandex exploit localhost socket access on Android to covertly link web cookies and browsing habits to user identities, bypassing privacy protections, with Meta ceasing packet transmission in June 2025.
- Researchers disclosed a method where Meta and Yandex apps listen on fixed localhost ports on Android devices to share web tracking identifiers with native apps.
- Meta Pixel transmits the _fbp cookie via WebRTC SDP Munging to ports 12580–12585, linking web cookies to Facebook/Instagram accounts; Yandex apps use HTTP requests to ports 29009, 29010, 30102, 30103 to send device IDs.
- As of June 3rd, 2025, Meta/Facebook Pixel stopped sending packets to localhost, but apps like Facebook and Instagram still listen on relevant ports; Yandex apps continue localhost communication since 2017.
TikTok Bans ‘SkinnyTok’ Hashtag Worldwide Amid French Pressure
TikTok has banned the ‘SkinnyTok’ hashtag worldwide after French pressure, citing links to unhealthy weight loss content, raising questions about EU enforcement credibility.
- TikTok confirmed it has globally banned the ‘SkinnyTok’ hashtag following French government pressure.
- The ban targets content promoting unhealthy weight loss, especially among young women.
- French Digital Minister Clara Chappaz called it a “first collective victory,” with TikTok citing safety review as the reason.
AWS Launches Independent European Sovereign Cloud to Address Data Sovereignty
AWS is creating a legally independent European Sovereign Cloud with local leadership, sovereign controls, and EU-resident advisory board, aiming to address European data sovereignty concerns amid US-UK geopolitical tensions.
- AWS is establishing a new European organization with a locally controlled parent company and three subsidiaries in Germany, launching by end of 2025
- The AWS European Sovereign Cloud (ESC) will feature independent governance, an advisory board of four EU residents, and operational independence, including a dedicated European SOC and DNS
- The ESC will operate with no critical dependencies on non-EU infrastructure, with services supported by EU-based staff, tech, and leadership, but parent company remains under US ownership subject to the Cloud Act
Google Releases Emergency Chrome Update to Fix Critical CVE-2025-5419 Exploit
Google issued an emergency Chrome update on June 3, 2025, to patch CVE-2025-5419, a V8 engine out-of-bounds bug exploited in the wild, affecting Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Google deployed a configuration change on June 1, 2025, to block active exploitation of CVE-2025-5419, a high-severity out-of-bounds read/write bug in Chrome’s V8 engine
- The vulnerability, discovered by TAG team members Clement Lecigne and Benoît Sevens on May 27, 2025, could allow remote code execution, memory corruption, and hijacking via booby-trapped HTML pages
- The fix was included in Chrome 137.0.7151.68/69 for Windows and macOS, and 137.0.7151.68 for Linux, released on June 3, 2025, alongside patches for CVE-2025-5068 and CVE-2025-4664
Broadcom Tomahawk 6 ASIC to Rival Nvidia with 102.4Tbps Bandwidth and Chiplet Architecture
Broadcom’s Tomahawk 6 ASIC, with 102.4Tbps bandwidth and chiplet design, aims to compete with Nvidia’s Quantum-X and Spectrum-X switches, supporting up to 512 ports at 200Gbps and integrating co-packaged optics.
- Broadcom announced the Tomahawk 6 (TH6) ASIC, shipping as early as summer 2025 with volume ramp in H1 2026
- Supports 102.4Tbps aggregate bandwidth using 200Gbps PAM4 SerDes, supporting up to 512 ports at 200Gbps or 64 ports at 1.6Tbps
- Features chiplet architecture enabling up to 1,024 SerDes at 100Gbps, supporting scale-out networks with up to 128,000 GPUs at 200Gbps, and supports Ultra Ethernet standard
KiranaPro Cyberattack Wipes Cloud Data Amid Insider Threat Concerns
KiranaPro experienced a deliberate cyberattack that deleted its cloud resources and data, highlighting insider threat risks and potential security lapses, with plans to reveal the attacker.
- KiranaPro CEO Deepak Ravindran claimed a targeted cyberattack wiped its GitHub and AWS resources, suggesting malicious insider involvement
- The attack occurred last week, rendering the app inoperable and compromising critical infrastructure and customer data
- Ravindran announced plans to identify the perpetrator and is implementing enhanced security measures to prevent future incidents
Google’s NotebookLM Now Supports Public Sharing for Interactive AI Content
Google’s NotebookLM now supports public sharing through a link, enabling interaction with AI content like audio overviews and FAQs, enhancing collaborative understanding of diverse sources.
- Google’s NotebookLM now allows public sharing via a link, enabling viewers to interact with AI audio overviews, ask questions, and read FAQs without editing rights
- The feature is similar to sharing in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, by setting access to “Anyone with a link” and copying the URL
- Launched as an experiment in 2023, NotebookLM integrates AI-generated summaries, discussions, and source discovery from notes, documents, slides, and YouTube videos; a mobile app was released last month
▶️ Open Source
Quarkdown: A Versatile Markdown Extension for Dynamic Multi-Format Content
Quarkdown is a versatile Markdown extension with scripting and syntax features, supporting HTML, PDF, slides, and paged documents, enabling complex, dynamic, and exportable content.
- Quarkdown is a Markdown-based typetting system supporting HTML, PDF, slides via reveal.js, and paged documents via paged.js.
- It extends CommonMark and GFM with functions, syntax extensions, scripting, and a standard library for layout, math, I/O, and control flow.
- The system enables dynamic content, book/article export, presentation creation, and supports project creation, compilation, live preview, and PDF export.
▶️ Management and Leadership
Go Team Ends Search for Syntactic Error Handling Improvements
The Go team will stop pursuing syntax-based error handling improvements after numerous proposals failed to reach consensus, emphasizing current error handling as adequate despite ongoing community efforts.
- Go has historically faced criticism for verbose error handling patterns, exemplified by repeated
if err != nilchecks. - Multiple proposals over years, including
check/handle,try, and?operators, were introduced to simplify error handling but failed to gain consensus. - The Go team announced in June 2025 to cease pursuing syntactic changes for error handling, citing lack of community support and the sufficiency of current methods.
EU Refuses to Reveal Officials Behind Secret Surveillance Proposal
The EU Commission withholds identities of officials behind a secretive mass surveillance plan that enforces encryption bans and data retention, risking privacy and civil liberties (source).
- The EU Commission refuses to disclose the identities behind its mass surveillance proposal, which threatens online privacy.
- The High-Level Group on Access to Data for Effective Law Enforcement, responsible for the proposal, has all names blacked out in official documents.
- The proposal includes restrictions on encryption, surveillance mandates, and social media registration, with secrecy around the decision-makers involved.
[Over 260 State Legislators Oppose Federal 10-Year AI Ban
](https://statescoop.com/state-lawmakers-push-back-federal-proposal-limit-ai-regulation/) More than 260 state lawmakers oppose a federal bill’s 10-year AI regulation moratorium, citing risks to state authority and ability to address AI harms; the bill advances to the Senate in June.
- Over 260 state legislators from all 50 states signed a letter opposing a federal provision in the budget reconciliation bill that would impose a 10-year ban on state and local AI regulation.
- The provision aims to prevent a fragmented AI regulatory landscape but would restrict states’ ability to address AI-related harms such as deepfake scams, discrimination, and job displacement.
- The bill is expected to go to the Senate in early June; proponents argue it protects U.S. competitiveness, while opponents emphasize the importance of localized AI oversight.
CISA Workforce Shrinks by One-Third Amid Budget Cuts and Leadership Losses
Since Trump took office, roughly one-third of CISA’s workforce has left amid proposed FY2026 budget cuts, raising concerns over cybersecurity capacity and national security resilience.
- Approximately 1,000 employees have left CISA since the start of the second Trump administration, reducing the workforce by nearly one-third.
- The White House proposed a 17% budget cut for CISA in FY2026, decreasing staff from 3,732 to 2,649 positions, already reflected in current staffing.
- Major officials, including senior leadership and key program managers, have departed, with virtually all senior officials having left, impacting initiatives like “Secure by Design.”
Amazon Considers Adopting AI Coding Tool Cursor Amid Internal Interest
Amazon is negotiating to implement Cursor, an AI coding assistant by Anysphere, after internal interest and security reviews, positioning it as a faster alternative to Amazon’s existing tools like Q.
- Amazon is in discussions to adopt the AI coding tool Cursor internally amid rising employee interest.
- The company is addressing security concerns before deployment, with about 1,500 participants in a dedicated Slack channel.
- Cursor, developed by Anysphere, raised $900 million at a $9 billion valuation last month and is favored over Windsurf, which was acquired by OpenAI for $3 billion.
Elon Musk Opposes Trump’s Bill, Warns of Tesla Losses and AI Boost
Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” threatens Tesla’s EV and energy tax credits, risking over $1 billion in profit loss, while potentially boosting Musk’s xAI due to deregulation and federal AI funding.
- Elon Musk criticized Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” as a “disgusting abomination” and expressed opposition to its provisions.
- The bill could negatively impact Tesla’s profits by phasing out EV tax credits and ending energy tax credits, potentially causing a $1.2 billion to $2 billion headwind in 2025-2026.
- The bill may benefit Musk’s AI company, xAI, by prohibiting state and local regulation of AI for ten years and allocating funds for federal IT modernization and cybersecurity.
Microsoft Updates Windows to Comply with EU Digital Markets Act
Microsoft announced Windows updates in June 2025 to comply with EU DMA, reducing Edge nagging, expanding default app options, and enabling alternative search providers, with full rollout in July.
- Microsoft will cease prompting Windows users in the EU to set Edge as default browser, complying with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
- Changes include allowing Edge and Bing uninstallation, broader default app settings for file types (.xhtml, .pdf), and installation of alternative web search providers for Windows Search.
- Rollout of these updates began in May 2025 via Windows Insider Build 26120.4151, with full deployment expected in July 2025 for Windows 10 and 11 retail users.
Schneider Electric Warns US Grid Will Weaken by 2030 Due to Data Center Growth
Schneider Electric predicts US grid stability will decline by 2030 as data center demand increases, with safety margins thinning and regional risks of outages, due to regulatory delays and rapid energy consumption growth.
- Schneider Electric forecasts US grid will be less stable by 2030 due to rising data center energy demand
- Safety margins are narrowing, with some regions at risk of shortfalls and limited capacity to handle emergencies
- The report analyzes data from NERC, RTOs, and ISOs, indicating surge in energy requirements post-2025, driven by AI, EVs, and electrification
Windows 11 Market Share Stalls at 43%, Windows 10 Remains Dominant
Windows 11’s market share plateaued at 43.22% in June 2025, lagging behind Windows 10’s 53.19%, amid slowing adoption and nearing Windows 10 support end, with industry forecasts predicting gradual growth.
- Windows 11 market share reached 43.22% in June 2025, up from 43.72% in May, after surpassing 40% in March
- Windows 10’s market share is 53.19%, increasing from 52.94% in May
- Adoption stall occurs as support for Windows 10 versions nears end, with industry analyst Canalys citing inventory buildup and enterprise migration patterns
Microsoft Releases Fix for Windows 11 Boot Error and Font Issue
Microsoft released KB5062170 to fix a broken May update causing Windows 11 systems, especially VMs, to fail loading with error 0xc0000098, while retaining a font rendering issue.
- Microsoft released KB5062170 to fix a May Patch Tuesday update issue causing Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2 systems to fail to load with error code 0xc0000098, primarily affecting virtual machines.
- The problematic update caused PCs to enter recovery mode with the message: “Your PC/Device needs to be repaired. The operating system couldn’t be loaded because a required file is missing or contains errors. File: ACPI.sys.”
- The fix addresses the boot error but retains the issue with blurry CJK fonts in Chromium browsers at 100% scaling, which can be mitigated by increasing scaling to 125-150%.
Workday to Rehire 1,750 Jobs Focused on AI Skills Amid Restructuring Costs
Workday commits to rehiring 1,750 jobs after February layoffs, emphasizing AI-driven skillset changes, with no set timetable, and a restructuring cost up to $270 million.
- Workday plans to rehire approximately 1,750 jobs it cut earlier in 2025, with no specific timeline
- The company aims to focus on AI investments and skillset shifts in new hires
- Restructuring costs are estimated up to $270 million, including cash and non-cash charges
Elon Musk’s XChat Promises Bitcoin-Style Encryption Amid Expert Skepticism
X’s “encrypted” XChat, announced by Musk on June 3, 2025, claims Bitcoin-style encryption built on Rust, but experts doubt it offers true end-to-end encryption or transparency.
- Elon Musk announced “XChat” with “Bitcoin-style encryption” built on Rust, claiming a “whole new architecture” on June 3, 2025
- Musk claimed the feature includes encryption, vanishing messages, file sharing, and audio/video calling; rollout details remain vague
- Experts, including crypto analysts and security professionals, criticize the claim, noting Bitcoin blockchain lacks encryption and questioning the true security of XChat
Cybersecurity Veteran Mikko Hyppönen Joins Anti-Drone Firm to Tackle Autonomous Threats
Mikko Hyppönen is transitioning from cybersecurity to drone warfare, emphasizing autonomous drone threats and anti-drone tech, driven by Ukraine conflict and regional security concerns.
- Mikko Hyppönen, a 34-year veteran in cybersecurity, is shifting focus to drone warfare, planning to join Sensofusion in August 2025.
- Sensofusion develops anti-drone technology, including the passive detection system Airfence, which links to military radar to identify and disable drones.
- Hyppönen’s interest in drones was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the evolving threat of autonomous, kill decision-making drones and cybersecurity parallels.
▶️ Technology
Ukraine’s Neural-Network Drones Outperform Jamming, Boosting Battlefield Resilience
Ukraine’s autonomous killer drones, equipped with neural-network optical navigation, outperform electronic jamming defenses, enabling precise strikes and battlefield resilience despite heavy electronic warfare.
- Ukrainian military tested KrattWorks’ Ghost Dragon drone in Estonia in 2022; it evolved to include neural-network-based optical navigation to counter GPS jamming.
- The drone can autonomously navigate by comparing real-time downward optical images with stored satellite imagery, using a 1 GHz Arm processor and machine vision.
- Ukraine’s drone operations, including a June 2025 attack destroying or damaging up to 41 Russian aircraft, demonstrate high lethality and cost-effectiveness, with drones costing a few hundred dollars each.
Best 65-Inch 4K TVs of 2023: Samsung, LG, and Hisense Top Picks
Samsung S90D OLED is the top 65-inch TV with high contrast, vibrant colors, and gaming features; LG G5 offers superior brightness and black levels; Hisense U6N provides excellent value with Mini LED technology.
- The Samsung S90D OLED 4K TV is rated as the best overall 65-inch TV, featuring QD-OLED panel, 4K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, four HDMI 2.1 ports, and peak brightness of 1,240 nits.
- The LG G5 OLED 4K TV is the top premium model, with industry-leading brightness up to 2,410 nits, deep black levels, wide viewing angles, and 165Hz gaming support.
- The Hisense U6N QLED 4K TV is the best budget option, utilizing Mini LED with local dimming, 4K resolution, 60Hz panel, four HDMI 2.0 ports, and peak brightness around 625 nits.
Builder.ai, a $1.5B ‘AI’ startup, collapses after $37M seizure reveals human workforce
Builder.ai, once valued at $1.5 billion and backed by major investors, filed for bankruptcy after a $37 million seizure exposed its operation as human-powered, not AI-driven.
- Builder.ai, a $1.5 billion ‘AI’ startup, filed for bankruptcy after a $37 million seizure by Viola Credit left operations paralyzed.
- The company, founded in 2016 with over $450 million in funding from investors including Microsoft, the World Bank’s IFC, and SoftBank, falsely claimed AI capabilities.
- Bloomberg and internal whistleblowers revealed Builder.ai lacked genuine AI, instead employing 700 Indian developers pretending to be bots, with fabricated revenue figures.
AI Coding Startups Disrupt Devs but Struggle with Profitability
AI coding startups like Cursor and Windsurf, valued at billions, are disrupting software development by automating tasks, but face profitability issues amid intense competition from Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
- Code-gen startups like Cursor and Windsurf have raised $900 million and attracted potential acquisition offers, with Windsurf valued at $3 billion.
- Major tech firms including Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI announced new AI coding products in May, intensifying competition.
- AI coding tools are enabling companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft to automate 20-30% of their code, reducing reliance on human developers and leading to layoffs.
- Cursor achieved $100 million in recurring revenue within two years, while Windsurf generates $50 million annually, but both operate at negative gross margins.
- Most startups rely on foundation models from OpenAI, Anthropic, or DeepSeek; some are developing in-house models, facing high training costs.
- The industry faces risks of disruption from big tech’s integrated solutions and challenges in profitability due to rising query costs.