Techmeme
February 21, 2025, 8:10 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple removes Advanced Data Protection for iCloud in the UK, pulling the optional E2EE feature rather than complying with the UK's order to build a backdoor  —  - Company removes Advanced Data Protection feature for UK users  — “We never will” build backdoor to user data, iPhone maker says
More: BBC, TechCrunch, Washington Post, The Verge, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Cybersecurity Explained, Bloomberg, PCMag, Tech Policy Press, USA Today, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Daring Fireball, Financial Times, Redmond Pie, ITV News, MacTrast, Six Colors, SiliconANGLE, Android Headlines, PhoneArena, mjtsai.com, Channel NewsAsia, Al Jazeera, Breitbart, Sky News, Wall Street Journal, Digital Trends, The Standard, Boing Boing, TechRadar, Neowin, mobilenewscwp.co.uk, Silicon UK, The Information, AppleInsider, PetaPixel, BGR, UPI, Cult of Mac, The Apple Post, Gizmodo, Engadget, CyberInsider, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, ZeroHedge News, and The Hacker News
Bloomberg:
Crypto exchange Bybit says a hacker took control of one of its cold Ethereum wallets, resulting in what analysts estimate was the loss of ~$1.5B worth of tokens  —  - North Korean group Lazarus suspected by industry researchers  — Prices of Ether, Bitcoin and other tokens decline after theft
RT Watson / The Block:
Arkham says ZachXBT submitted proof that North Korea's Lazarus Group is behind Bybit's $1.5B hack, which is the largest single theft in crypto history  —  - Arkham Intelligence said Lazarus Group hacked Bybit for over $1.5 billion, citing information provided by online sleuth ZachXBT.
Jesse Pound / CNBC:
Cade Metz / New York Times:
OpenAI says it found evidence of an AI-powered surveillance tool used by a Chinese security operation to identify anti-China posts on social media in the West  —  The company said a Chinese operation had built the tool to identify anti-Chinese posts on social media services in Western countries.
David Heaney / UploadVR:
Apple releases visionOS 2.4 developer beta, adding Apple Intelligence, a guest mode, a Spatial Gallery app, an iPhone app for remote installs, and more  —  visionOS 2.4 will bring Apple Intelligence to Vision Pro, a Spatial Gallery app, an iPhone app for remote installs, and a new iPhone/iPad-driven guest flow.
Ricardo Brito / Reuters:
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes orders the immediate and full suspension of Rumble in the country due to noncompliance with court orders  —  Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered U.S. video-sharing platform Rumble (RUM.O) immediate and full suspension …
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
DeepSeek plans to open source five of its code repositories next week, letting anyone download, build on, or improve the code behind its well-regarded AI models  —  - The startup will begin making technology available next week  — DeepSeek is pushing harder on its open-source approach
The Information:
OpenAI told investors that it expects revenue to more than triple in 2025, from $3.7B to over $12.5B; one-third of the revenue growth would come from SoftBank  —  New forecasts from OpenAI show the beginning of a dramatic shift in its alliances from Microsoft, its biggest shareholder, to SoftBank, its newest benefactor.
More: TechCrunch, Healthcare Brew, and Seeking Alpha
Bluesky: @garymarcusX: @steph_palazzoloLinkedIn: Anissa G.Forums: Slashdot
Bloomberg:
NetEase CEO William Ding has cut hundreds of jobs, closed game studios, and reduced international investment as he refocuses on a smaller portfolio of titles  —  - Hundreds of staffers and about a dozen games have been cut  — Founder William Ding sets elevated expectations for results
Ian Duncan / Washington Post:
Sources: the US NHTSA is losing ~10% of its workforce via firings and buyout offers, including nearly half of a small team that regulates autonomous vehicles  —  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is losing about 10 percent of its workforce through firings and buyout offers, according to people briefed on the cuts.
Bloomberg:
Trump says Tim Cook told him that Apple “stopped two plants in Mexico” and will build products in the US instead, a move Apple hasn't publicly discussed  —  - President says tariff threat prompted move from planned plants  — Cook, Trump held private meeting Thursday at the White House

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