🚨 Google Outage, Amazon & Walmart's Crypto, iPhone Spy Hack

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🚨 Google Outage, Amazon & Walmart's Crypto, iPhone Spy Hack

Plus: Big Tech Revives 3D UI as Google Axes Instant Apps.

Jose Montes de Oca

Jun 13, 2025

Transcript

Good morning. It’s Friday, June 13. Today we are covering:

Google Cloud outage brings down a lot of the internet
Walmart and Amazon Are Exploring Issuing Their Own Stablecoins
Zero-Tap iMessage Hack Let Hackers Slip Into iPhones Undetected
Big Tech Is Dealing Flat Design a Death Blow
Google is shutting down Android Instant Apps over 'low' usage

Let’s dive in

Google Cloud outage brings down a lot of the internet

By Maxwell Zeff via TechCrunch

A Google Cloud outage on Thursday triggered widespread internet disruptions, affecting major platforms like Cloudflare, Spotify, Discord, Snapchat, Character.AI, Cursor, and Replit.
Google began investigating the issue at 11:46 a.m. PT, with partial mitigation by 2:23 p.m. PT; Cloudflare confirmed its limited dependency on Google Cloud and said core services remained unaffected.
AWS and Microsoft Azure reported no issues, while impacted companies like Spotify and Replit monitored Google Cloud’s status for recovery updates.

𝕏: Google cloud is having an outage and that’s taking Replit down. We’re working with them to bring it back up ASAP. - Amjad Masad (@amasad)

Walmart and Amazon Are Exploring Issuing Their Own Stablecoins

By Gina Heeb via Wall Street Journal

Walmart and Amazon are exploring the potential of issuing their own stablecoins to process transactions outside the traditional financial system.
The move could help these major retailers bypass card and banking fees, potentially saving billions of dollars annually.
Internal discussions are underway at Amazon and other multinationals about launching stablecoins specifically for the U.S. market, according to sources familiar with the matter.

𝕏: Stable coins are everywhere! We are in the era of mainstream adoption. Giants are getting into crypto like never before. PayFi will become more competitive than ever. After this round of attempts, even more mainstream liquidity will enter. - Nicolas (@Nicolas_0628)

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Zero-Tap iMessage Hack Let Hackers Slip Into iPhones Undetected

By Yadullah Abidi via The Mac Observer

Citizen Lab confirmed that Paragon Solutions’ “Graphite” spyware exploited a zero-click iMessage flaw to infiltrate iPhones belonging to at least two European journalists, using a booby-trapped iCloud Link to silently install surveillance tools.
Apple patched the vulnerability (CVE-2025-43200) in iOS 18.3.1, released on February 10, 2025, but didn't disclose it publicly until June 11; users who delay updates remain at risk of full-device compromise, including encrypted apps like Signal.
The attack raises serious concerns about press freedom and state surveillance in Europe, with Italian intelligence under scrutiny; experts urge users to enable Lockdown Mode, update promptly, and treat any Apple or Meta threat notifications as urgent.

𝕏: We just forensically unmasked #Paragon's Apple spyware. Zero-click targets: Journalists. In 🇪🇺Europe. Like 🇮🇹Italian reporter @ciropellegrino Reopen's #Italy's spyware scandal. - John Scott-Railton (@jsrailton)

Big Tech Is Dealing Flat Design a Death Blow

Austin Carr via Bloomberg

Big Tech is reviving skeuomorphic design, with companies like Airbnb and Apple introducing playful, dimensional UI elements that replace years of flat aesthetics.
Airbnb’s redesigned app features animated icons—like a house with a glowing light, a bell that rattles, and a bouncing hot-air balloon—bringing tactile personality to the digital interface.
This shift marks a full-circle moment for Jony Ive, once a champion of flat design at Apple, who now advises Airbnb as it embraces a more whimsical, lifelike user experience.

Google is shutting down Android Instant Apps over 'low' usage

By Dominic Preston via The Verge

Google will shut down Android Instant Apps in December 2025 due to “low” usage, officially confirmed by spokesperson Nia Carter.
Introduced in 2017, Instant Apps let users try app features or games without installation, offering lightweight access directly from links.
Google cited low engagement and a shift toward tools like AI-powered app highlights and simultaneous app installs, aiming to boost full app downloads and deepen user interaction.

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