Techmeme
December 14, 2021, 6:25 AM

Top News

Tim Starks / CyberScoop:
CISA Director Jen Easterly says the Log4j flaw likely affects hundreds of millions of devices and may be the most serious bug she has seen in her career  —  Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly told industry leaders in a phone briefing Monday that a vulnerability …
Bloomberg:
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Kronos, one of the largest HR and workflow management companies, says a ransomware attack knocked its systems offline, possibly for the next several weeks  —  Kronos outage will last several weeks.  Firm advises customers to use other services.  —  As the world is beset by Log4Shell …
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Nike acquires RTFKT, an NFT studio founded in 2020, for an undisclosed sum; RTFKT raised an $8M seed in May led by a16z at a $33.3M valuation  —  Nike is taking a plunge deeper into the world of crypto collectibles, announcing that they're acquiring the NFT studio RTFKT (pronounced “artifact").
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Biden signs an executive order directing 17 US agencies to modernize services and bring more of them online, including passport photo uploads and taxes  —  The White House is hoping to spur a major technological overhaul of government services with a new executive order President Biden will sign Monday.
Bloomberg:
Sources: NSO Group is considering shuttering its Pegasus unit and selling the company, among other options, as it struggles to repay $450M in debt  —  - Moelis tapped to advise on talks with investment funds  — One plan would repurpose product for strictly defensive use
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Oppo announces Air Glass, an “assisted reality” product that projects 2D info and weighs 30g with claimed three-hour usage, coming to China in Q1 2022  —  Coming to China early next year  —  Oppo has announced the Air Glass, an AR device that'll go on sale early next year.
Ian Sherr / CNET:
Apple debuts Tracker Detect, an Android app that scans for AirTags and other Find My items that may be traveling with users without their knowledge  —  Apple's following through on a promise to help Android users identify nearby AirTags and Find My trackers that aren't with their owners.
Financial Times:
US Department of Labor letter shows it is investigating Apple over Ashley Gjovik's claims that she was fired under a false pretext after retaliation complaints  —  US labour department inquiry follows claims by ex-senior engineering program manager  —  The US Department of Labor …
BBC:
UK MPs propose changes to the UK's Online Safety Bill, including adding more offenses and fines, mandating tech firms appoint a “safety controller”, and more  —  New criminal offences and major changes have been proposed in the UK's landmark Online Safety Bill, which seeks to regulate social media and tech giants.
The Information:
Sources: Amazon's Instacart rival, internally called Fresh Marketplace, will expand to the US and Europe in 2022 following its recent UK debut  —  In recent years, Amazon has attracted wide attention with its effort to become a force in the grocery industry, from its $13.7 billion acquisition …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Adobe launches Creative Cloud Express, a mobile and web app for creating logos, videos, and social media posts, for free or $9.99/month with advanced templates  —  Adobe today launched Creative Cloud Express, a mobile and web app that brings some of the best features of the company's sprawling …
Sami Fathi / MacRumors:
Apple delays macOS Monterey's Universal Control until spring 2022, after saying it would launch in the fall  —  Apple has officially delayed Universal Control, a hallmark feature of macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15 announced in June, until Spring 2022.  —  In an update to the iPadOS 15 …
Jan-Henrik Foerster / Bloomberg:
German company Software AG, which offers tools to manage data used by 50% of the Fortune 500, raises €344M from Silver Lake  —  Silver Lake has agreed to invest 344 million euros ($388 million) in Germany's Software AG, in what the company says is the first private investment in public equity …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
London-based Fresha, a beauty and wellness booking service, extends its Series C by $52.5M to $152.5M at a $640M+ valuation, bringing its total funding to $182M  —  The beauty and wellness industry, annually worth some $4 trillion, is underpinned by tens of thousands of businesses and millions …
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Crypto gaming company VulcanForge says hackers stole ~$135M from users by accessing 96 wallet private keys, as three high-profile hacks net ~$404M this month  —  VulcanForge becomes the third cryptocurrency company to be hit by hackers this month.  In total, hackers have stolen more than $400 million.

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Earlier Picks

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