π Billion Investment in Autonomous Tech, VPN Security Breach, and Tech Giants' Security Pledge
Hello! Dive into today's collection of insights and updates from the technology and AI landscape.
Todayβs pick
Wayve raises $1B to take its Tesla-like technology for self-driving to many carmakers
Novel attack against virtually all VPN apps neuters their entire purpose
Tech Giants Agree to Build Security Into Software Products
Revolut Launches UK Crypto Exchange as Digital Assets Recover
Microsoft ramps up plans to capture carbon from burning wood
Wayve raises $1B to take its Tesla-like technology for self-driving to many carmakers
By Mike Butcher via TechCrunch
Wayve, a U.K.-based startup, has secured $1.05 billion in Series C funding led by SoftBank Group to advance its self-learning technology for autonomous driving, marking the largest AI fundraise in the U.K. and among the top globally.
The company plans to utilize this investment to develop and expand its autonomous driving technology, known as "Embodied AI", which is designed to be hardware-agnostic and adaptable to various automotive and robotics applications.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak highlighted the fundraise as a testament to the U.K.'s leadership in AI, supporting Wayveβs initiative to integrate AI into everyday life through intelligent machines and self-driving cars.
π: Companies are merely collections of people and @wayve_ai is a collection of some of the most incredible people in the world solving one of the hardest problems in the worldβ¦ - Michael Dempsey (@mhdempsey)
Novel attack against virtually all VPN apps neuters their entire purpose.
By Dan Goodin via Ars Technica
Researchers have unveiled TunnelVision, an attack that compromises VPN applications by rerouting encrypted traffic outside the secure tunnel, affecting nearly all VPNs except those on Android and minimally on Linux.
The attack exploits DHCP option 121 to manipulate routing tables, allowing attackers to intercept, modify, or drop traffic that should be protected by the VPN.
Leviathan Security researchers suggest mitigations such as running the VPN inside a virtual machine or using a cellular deviceβs Wi-Fi network, though no complete fix is available for most operating systems.
π: A pair of brilliant hackers that I work with at @LeviathanSec have published a novel VPN circumnavigation attack, codified under CVE-2024-3661, and named TunnelVision. - TC Johnson (@TC_Johnson)
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Tech Giants Agree to Build Security Into Software Products.
By James Rundle via Wall Street Journal
Several leading technology companies, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon's AWS, IBM, Palo Alto Networks, and Cisco, are set to sign a pledge to integrate stronger security measures from the beginning of software development.
This initiative is part of the Biden administration's national cybersecurity strategy and aims to enhance protection against cyber threats.
The commitment will be officially announced at the RSA Conference and involves a total of 63 companies, coordinated by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Revolut Launches UK Crypto Exchange as Digital Assets Recover.
By Aisha S Gani via Bloomberg
Revolut Ltd. has launched Revolut X, a new crypto exchange in the UK designed for experienced traders, as part of its expansion in the digital-assets market.
The platform enables trading of over 100 different tokens, with fees ranging from 0% to 0.09%, and requires a Revolut retail account for trading access.
This move follows a recovery in the prices of digital assets, signaling a growing interest and stability in the cryptocurrency market.
Microsoft ramps up plans to capture carbon from burning wood.
By Justine Calma via The Verge
Microsoft has announced a significant deal with Stockholm Exergi to capture 3.33 million metric tons of carbon emissions from a biomass power plant in Sweden, aiming to be the largest project of its kind.
The initiative is part of Microsoftβs broader goal to become carbon negative by 2050, but it faces criticism from environmental groups who argue that wood-burning for bioenergy is not a sustainable or effective way to reduce atmospheric CO2.
The project involves implementing carbon capture technologies at the power plant, with construction scheduled to start next year, and it may take a decade to capture the agreed amount of CO2, contingent on additional funding and support.
Trending in AI
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