TechSpot
California bill targeting Big Tech self-preferencing gains industry support as Apple faces scrutiny 23 March 2026 at 20:51

California bill targeting Big Tech self-preferencing gains industry support as Apple faces scrutiny

23 March 2026 at 20:51

The proposed law, known as the Blocking Anticompetitive Self-Preferencing by Entrenched Dominant Platforms, or the BASED Act, was introduced by California state senator Scott Wiener. It seeks to restrict tactics that allow large platforms to favor their own products and block emerging rivals. In an unusual twist for a policymaker...

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Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and 250K Plus refine Arrow Lake with better value 23 March 2026 at 20:28

Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and 250K Plus refine Arrow Lake with better value

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 20:28

Our full reviews of the new Intel CPUs are coming this week, but early ones already point to a meaningful refinement of the Arrow Lake lineup, with improved efficiency, higher core counts, and stronger overall value. Most agree the chips are capable all-rounders, particularly at their aggressive $199 and $299 price points.

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AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D hits record low price, remains the go-to gaming CPU 23 March 2026 at 20:06

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D hits record low price, remains the go-to gaming CPU

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 20:06

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has dropped to its lowest price yet, now around the $420 mark, making one of the fastest gaming CPUs even more compelling. Built around AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, it continues to deliver exceptional gaming performance and strong efficiency, standing out in a crowded market.

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Microsoft is rethinking Windows 11 after months of complaints 23 March 2026 at 19:20

Microsoft is rethinking Windows 11 after months of complaints

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 19:20

The effort is being led by Windows chief Pavan Davuluri, who has publicly acknowledged the extent of user frustration with Windows 11. In a recent company blog post, he said the Windows team had spent months analyzing user feedback to identify what he described as "the voice of people who...

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Samsung brings AirDrop support to the Galaxy S26 series, more devices to follow 23 March 2026 at 18:39

Samsung brings AirDrop support to the Galaxy S26 series, more devices to follow

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 18:39

The AirDrop rollout to Samsung's flagship series starts in Korea today, with US devices set to follow later this week before expanding to more regions, including Europe, Latin America, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.

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OpenAI plans to double its workforce as it pivots to enterprise AI 23 March 2026 at 18:04

OpenAI plans to double its workforce as it pivots to enterprise AI

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 18:04

The company, valued privately at about $730 billion, is expected to nearly double its headcount to roughly 8,000 employees by year's end, up from about 4,500 currently, people familiar with the matter told The Financial Times. New hires will be concentrated in engineering, research, sales, and product development. A significant share...

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Apple store external SSD prices skyrocket as some SanDisk drives jump 200% 23 March 2026 at 17:24

Apple store external SSD prices skyrocket as some SanDisk drives jump 200%

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 17:24

Apple has quietly raised prices on several third-party SSDs sold through its online store, and some of the increases are stunning.

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AI startups are filling San Francisco with cryptic billboards aimed at insiders 23 March 2026 at 16:46

AI startups are filling San Francisco with cryptic billboards aimed at insiders

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 16:46

The ads mark a broader change in how young tech companies present themselves. Instead of courting consumers, they're advertising to peers who already speak the language of machine learning. "The goal is intentional in a kind of 'if-you-know-you-know' type of way," Mike Bilodeau, head of marketing at the AI infrastructure...

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Man who used 1,000 bots to stream AI songs pleads guilty in $8 million fraud case 23 March 2026 at 16:03

Man who used 1,000 bots to stream AI songs pleads guilty in $8 million fraud case

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 16:03

From 2017 to 2024, 52-year-old Michael Smith, from Cornelius, North Carolina, and his co-conspirators ran a large-scale fraud scheme that artificially boosted the stream counts of AI-generated songs across Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and YouTube, according to court documents.

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Elon Musk outlines Tesla-SpaceX "Terafab" to build advanced chips in Austin 23 March 2026 at 15:15

Elon Musk outlines Tesla-SpaceX "Terafab" to build advanced chips in Austin

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 15:15

Speaking at an event in downtown Austin, Musk said a new Terafab project will be jointly run by Tesla and SpaceX and anchored by what he called an "advanced technology fab" in the city that can make and test "chips of any kind."

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Micron says driverless cars and robots will need 300GB of RAM 23 March 2026 at 14:16

Micron says driverless cars and robots will need 300GB of RAM

TechSpot

23 March 2026 at 14:16

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra made his prediction during the company's recent earnings call. He said that self-driving cars will represent a new segment that demands huge amounts of memory.

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Modder packs a full Windows gaming PC inside Xbox Series X chassis 22 March 2026 at 21:47

Modder packs a full Windows gaming PC inside Xbox Series X chassis

TechSpot

22 March 2026 at 21:47

The result of the mod is less a novelty case mod and more a proof-of-concept for what a hybrid Xbox/PC box could look like in practice, arriving months before Microsoft's own Project Helix promises official support for PC titles on next-gen Xbox hardware.

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MSI targets Apple's MacBook Neo with new budget Modern laptops 22 March 2026 at 20:32

MSI targets Apple's MacBook Neo with new budget Modern laptops

TechSpot

22 March 2026 at 20:32

The distinction between the models lies in their platforms. The AI+ versions use Intel's latest Panther Lake platform and are powered by Core Ultra Series 3 chips. These configurations support higher performance, featuring two DDR5 memory slots.

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Patreon rejects "fair use" claims for AI training, calls for creator compensation 22 March 2026 at 19:24

Patreon rejects "fair use" claims for AI training, calls for creator compensation

TechSpot

22 March 2026 at 19:24

Jack Conte created Patreon to try and earn extra from his YouTube videos. The musician-turned-businessman is now managing a platform with 3 million monthly active users, and has plenty to say to big corporations operating chatbots and other AI platforms. First and foremost, these AI companies should stop crying foul...

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Amazon is trying smartphones again after the Fire Phone flop with Alexa-first "Transformer" 22 March 2026 at 18:37

Amazon is trying smartphones again after the Fire Phone flop with Alexa-first "Transformer"

TechSpot

22 March 2026 at 18:37

According to people familiar with the project who spoke to Reuters, Transformer is being built inside Amazon's devices and services division as a "personalization device" that could tie together the company's consumer services and its revamped Alexa assistant.

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Tesla Semi is finally going into production, and early drivers are already sold 22 March 2026 at 17:03

Tesla Semi is finally going into production, and early drivers are already sold

TechSpot

22 March 2026 at 17:03

For Dakota Shearer, a driver with IMC Logistics, that shift began on a tight bend outside Sparks, Nevada. He took a wrong turn hauling a 40-foot trailer and found himself on a curve too narrow to complete. In a conventional rig, he would have had to climb in and out...

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Crimson Desert Optimization: Best Settings for Performance and Visual Quality 22 March 2026 at 15:32

Crimson Desert Optimization: Best Settings for Performance and Visual Quality

TechSpot

22 March 2026 at 15:32

Crimson Desert looks great and runs well on most PCs, but some settings introduce visual noise and inefficiencies. We break down every option to find the best balance of image quality and performance.

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Nintendo redesigns Switch 2 for EU rules with a user-replaceable battery 21 March 2026 at 21:16

Nintendo redesigns Switch 2 for EU rules with a user-replaceable battery

TechSpot

21 March 2026 at 21:16

According to a Nikkei report, the update will allow consumers to remove and replace batteries using ordinary tools, without special equipment or risking damage to the device. The more easily repairable model is expected to debut in Europe, with the design expanding to other markets if required by similar legal...

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SteamOS update adds support for Steam Machine and other non-Valve hardware 21 March 2026 at 20:22

SteamOS update adds support for Steam Machine and other non-Valve hardware

TechSpot

21 March 2026 at 20:22

Available now to Steam Deck Preview channel users, the update includes various fixes and improvements that appear aimed at addressing the Linux distro's weaknesses. Many of the changes facilitate connecting displays, controllers, and other external devices.

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Broadcom's VMware shake-up triggers EU antitrust complaint by cloud providers 21 March 2026 at 19:35

Broadcom's VMware shake-up triggers EU antitrust complaint by cloud providers

TechSpot

21 March 2026 at 19:35

CISPE claims Broadcom's actions have excluded most European cloud infrastructure partners, sharply reduced competition, and forced smaller firms out of the VMware ecosystem altogether.

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Scientists find all five genetic building blocks for life in asteroid Ryugu 21 March 2026 at 18:48

Scientists find all five genetic building blocks for life in asteroid Ryugu

TechSpot

21 March 2026 at 18:48

Researchers are still studying samples of Ryugu collected by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency from its Hayabusa2 mission. After the first papers focused on the composition of the recovered material, a Japanese team has now found a "complete" set of genetic bases belonging to both DNA and RNA.

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Intel may finally extend desktop CPU socket support to multiple generations 21 March 2026 at 17:31

Intel may finally extend desktop CPU socket support to multiple generations

TechSpot

21 March 2026 at 17:31

In an interview with Club386, Hallock gave a short but telling answer when asked whether he envisioned Intel sockets supporting more CPU generations. "I do," he said. "That's it – I do." Although he offered no technical details, the simplicity of that response hints at a deliberate and possibly overdue...

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Uber commits up to $1.25 billion in Rivian to deploy 10,000 robotaxis 21 March 2026 at 02:12

Uber commits up to $1.25 billion in Rivian to deploy 10,000 robotaxis

TechSpot

21 March 2026 at 02:12

The deal provides both companies with strategic advantages. For Uber, access to a dedicated robotaxi fleet supports its broader push to integrate multiple self-driving partners across its platform. For Rivian, the capital infusion offers financial breathing room and a guaranteed customer as it accelerates the development of autonomous technology.

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Nvidia "confirms" DLSS 5 relies on 2D frame data as testing reveals hallucinations 21 March 2026 at 00:35

Nvidia "confirms" DLSS 5 relies on 2D frame data as testing reveals hallucinations

TechSpot

21 March 2026 at 00:35

According to Nvidia's press materials, DLSS 5 enhances lighting and material interactions without modifying underlying geometry. The company later reiterated this point to HotHardware, while TechSpot also highlighted commentary from Ryan Shrout arguing the tech is not simply a post-processing filter. However, in email exchanges with YouTuber Daniel Owen, Nvidia...

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Google isn't backing away from Pentagon AI work, it's doubling down 20 March 2026 at 23:48

Google isn't backing away from Pentagon AI work, it's doubling down

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 23:48

According to Business Insider, the issue came up during a January Google DeepMind town hall, where VP of Global Affairs Tom Lue said the company was "leaning more" into national security work.

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Reworked Apple Watch avoids ban, but Masimo battle escalates 20 March 2026 at 23:02

Reworked Apple Watch avoids ban, but Masimo battle escalates

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 23:02

The decision, made public on Thursday, concludes that Apple's latest implementation of pulse-oximetry functionality falls outside the scope of Masimo's asserted rights. The full ITC commission will now review the judge's ruling and decide whether to adopt it – a step that will determine whether the redesigned watches remain protected...

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AMD releases Adrenaline 26.3.1 driver, adding FSR 4.1 support for Radeon RX 9000 GPUs 20 March 2026 at 22:07

AMD releases Adrenaline 26.3.1 driver, adding FSR 4.1 support for Radeon RX 9000 GPUs

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 22:07

FSR 4.1 builds on the FSR Redstone framework by enhancing image reconstruction quality, particularly in older games that natively support only lower-resolution input. It also delivers sharper visuals for machine learning – based upscaling, improving detail reconstruction and reducing artifacts in scenes with foliage and other fine textures. However, a...

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Android isn't killing sideloading, but it's making it a lot harder 20 March 2026 at 20:45

Android isn't killing sideloading, but it's making it a lot harder

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 20:45

Google has confirmed that Android will not retire app sideloading, but the company is implementing measures that make the process cumbersome – something only "power users" are likely to attempt. According to Matthew Forsythe, the newly introduced advanced flow is designed to protect users from potential coercion, scams, or malicious software.

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PSA: Chrome patches 26 vulnerabilities, including three critical flaws 20 March 2026 at 20:33

PSA: Chrome patches 26 vulnerabilities, including three critical flaws

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 20:33

Google Chrome 146 fixes 26 security vulnerabilities but with no evidence of active exploitation so far. The update addresses three critical memory-related flaws, along with several high-risk issues impacting components like WebGL and the V8 JavaScript engine.

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Quantum cryptography pioneers win Turing Award for unhackable encryption breakthrough 20 March 2026 at 19:40

Quantum cryptography pioneers win Turing Award for unhackable encryption breakthrough

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 19:40

The pair will share the $1 million prize for their pioneering work in quantum cryptography and the broader field of quantum information science. Their 1984 paper introducing the BB84 protocol – an encryption method based on the fragile nature of photons – reimagined how information could be kept secret. At...

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Crimson Desert won't work on Intel Arc GPUs, developer suggests users ask for refunds 20 March 2026 at 18:59

Crimson Desert won't work on Intel Arc GPUs, developer suggests users ask for refunds

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 18:59

Following a slew of mostly average to quite good pre-launch reviews for Crimson Desert, Pearl Abyss' stock price fell almost 30%. It seems many had expected the game to receive Baldur's Gate 3-level praise.

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Sony to phase out "PlayStation Network" branding as early as this fall 20 March 2026 at 18:37

Sony to phase out "PlayStation Network" branding as early as this fall

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 18:37

Sony reportedly sent an email to developers informing them of its decision to phase out the "PlayStation Network" and "PSN" branding across its platform, ostensibly to "properly capture the breadth of our evolving digital services." The company insists the changes will be "purely visual" and will not introduce any technical...

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Samsung could be developing a second-gen Galaxy Z TriFold and slidable handset 20 March 2026 at 17:13

Samsung could be developing a second-gen Galaxy Z TriFold and slidable handset

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 17:13

While the first TriFold was discontinued after just a few months on the market, the report suggests that Samsung has not entirely backed away from multifold hardware. Instead, the company is said to be testing the feasibility of a lighter but slightly thicker second-generation model.

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Counter-Strike 2 update overhauls ammo system, punishes early reloads 20 March 2026 at 16:42

Counter-Strike 2 update overhauls ammo system, punishes early reloads

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 16:42

A recent update for Valve's free-to-play tactical multiplayer shooter completely overhauls how Steam's most popular game handles ammunition. The new rules are designed to encourage greater caution before opening fire and reloading.

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Watch this restaurant robot malfunction and scatter tableware during live performance 20 March 2026 at 16:04

Watch this restaurant robot malfunction and scatter tableware during live performance

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 16:04

The incident quickly spread online, sparking both amusement and debate about safety features, oversight, and the wisdom of deploying consumer-facing robots in uncontrolled settings.

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OpenAI is building a desktop superapp that combines ChatGPT, Atlas, and Codex 20 March 2026 at 15:15

OpenAI is building a desktop superapp that combines ChatGPT, Atlas, and Codex

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 15:15

The Wall Street Journal writes that Fidji Simo, OpenAI's Chief Executive of Applications, will be in charge of the superapp. She will also be looking after the sales team for the promotion and sale of the new product.

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Walmart secures two AI pricing patents, raising dynamic pricing concerns 20 March 2026 at 14:18

Walmart secures two AI pricing patents, raising dynamic pricing concerns

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 14:18

Walmart says the new systems are not designed for surge or individualized pricing, but their capabilities arrive at a moment when lawmakers are moving to restrict precisely those practices.

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Scientists can now build a cyborg cockroach that can pull miniature rigs through pipelines to find leaks 20 March 2026 at 04:56

Scientists can now build a cyborg cockroach that can pull miniature rigs through pipelines to find leaks

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 04:56

The program is led by Hirotaka Sato, a professor at NTU's School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and a recognized pioneer in the field of cyborg insects. His work first gained international attention years ago when he achieved the first remotely controlled flight of a cyborg beetle – a milestone...

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PlayStation 6 and Next Xbox still expected in 2027 despite memory crisis 20 March 2026 at 04:05

PlayStation 6 and Next Xbox still expected in 2027 despite memory crisis

TechSpot

20 March 2026 at 04:05

Near the end of an interview with The Game Business, Strauss Zelnick – the head of the company that owns Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games – said he sees no reason to believe the current RAM shortage will impact the launch of next-generation consoles. Recent leaks appear to support that view.

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SK Hynix boss says the memory chip shortage is going to last until 2030 19 March 2026 at 23:50

SK Hynix boss says the memory chip shortage is going to last until 2030

TechSpot

19 March 2026 at 23:50

According to recent statements by SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, ongoing issues in the memory and silicon supply chain are unlikely to improve for another four to five years. SK Group owns SK Hynix, the world's third-largest semiconductor manufacturer and an integrated device manufacturer with in-house foundry capabilities. While SK...

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Fans are rebuilding Baldur's Gate 1 inside Baldur's Gate 3 19 March 2026 at 22:12

Fans are rebuilding Baldur's Gate 1 inside Baldur's Gate 3

TechSpot

19 March 2026 at 22:12

The Belgian studio previously confirmed that BG3 will receive no DLC, expansions, or sequel, leaving modders to shoulder the responsibility of expanding and supporting the base game for years to come.

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Samsung and AMD deepen AI memory pact with potential foundry deal on the table 19 March 2026 at 21:28

Samsung and AMD deepen AI memory pact with potential foundry deal on the table

TechSpot

19 March 2026 at 21:28

The agreement positions Samsung as a key supplier for AMD's next-generation AI products. Under the terms, Samsung will provide its forthcoming high-bandwidth memory, HBM4, for AMD's Instinct MI455X accelerators – processors designed specifically for AI workloads.

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The 2027 BMW i3 is here, and it's nothing like the hatchback you remember 19 March 2026 at 20:47

The 2027 BMW i3 is here, and it's nothing like the hatchback you remember

TechSpot

19 March 2026 at 20:47

The 3 Series has essentially defined BMW's identity for more than 50 years, so electrifying it was never going to be a small move, and the company clearly didn't treat it as one. The result is arguably the best-looking design BMW has produced since the start of its electrification era....

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This indie game idea went viral – then AI-built clones showed up within hours 19 March 2026 at 20:03

This indie game idea went viral – then AI-built clones showed up within hours

TechSpot

19 March 2026 at 20:03

Earlier this week, game developer and technical artist Freya Holmér shared a short clip of a side project she had been working on: a prototype that twists the familiar Tetris formula. In her version, whenever a piece locks into place, the entire playfield rotates 90 degrees in the direction where...

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Val Kilmer will appear in a new movie as an AI recreation approved by his family 19 March 2026 at 19:20

Val Kilmer will appear in a new movie as an AI recreation approved by his family

TechSpot

19 March 2026 at 19:20

According to Variety, Kilmer was cast as a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist in 2020 for a movie called "As Deep as the Grave," but his battle with throat cancer meant he was too ill to make it onto the set.

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North Korea deployed 100,000 fake IT workers to infiltrate Western companies, making $500M a year for Kim Jong Un 19 March 2026 at 18:41

North Korea deployed 100,000 fake IT workers to infiltrate Western companies, making $500M a year for Kim Jong Un

TechSpot

19 March 2026 at 18:41

According to cybersecurity firms Flare Research and IBM X-Force, North Korea is using a network of more than 100,000 hackers, developers, and IT operatives to infiltrate global companies, steal people's private data, and funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to the Kim Jong-Un regime.

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New iPhone spyware Darksword spread through hacked websites, putting millions at risk 19 March 2026 at 18:04

New iPhone spyware Darksword spread through hacked websites, putting millions at risk

TechSpot

19 March 2026 at 18:04

The discovery, announced Wednesday in coordinated reports from Lookout, iVerify, and Google's Threat Analysis Group, highlights a growing trade in high-end spyware once found mostly in state-backed espionage. Darksword marks the second iOS-targeting exploit uncovered this month, following the earlier disclosure of a separate tool known as Coruna. Both were...

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