EP 271. For this week’s holiday update: Santa’s naughty list exposed in data breach. A lighthearted reminder from a past holiday hoax: even Santa's list isn't immune to data breaches. How China Built Its 'Manhattan Project' To Rival the West in AI Chips. China's clandestine push to master extreme ultraviolet lithography signals a major leap toward semiconductor self-sufficiency, challenging Western dominance in AI-enabling technology. Apple Fined $116 Million Over App Privacy Prompts. Italy's antitrust authority has penalized Apple €100 million for imposing stricter privacy consent requirements on third-party apps than on its own, tilting the playing field in the App Store ecosystem. Cyberattack Disrupts France's Postal & Banking Services During Christmas Rush. A major DDoS attack crippled La Poste’s online services and banking arm at the peak of the holiday season, highlighting the vulnerability of critical infrastructure during high-traffic periods. Browser Extensions With 8 Million Users Collect Extended AI Conversations. Popular Chrome and Edge extensions trusted by millions have been caught secretly harvesting full AI chat histories, raising serious concerns about privacy in everyday browsing tools. How a PNG Icon Infected 50,000 Firefox Users. A clever malware campaign hid malicious JavaScript inside innocent-looking PNG extension icons, infecting tens of thousands of Firefox users through trusted add-ons. Most Parked Domains Now Serving Malicious Content. Expired and typosquatted domains, once benign placeholders, now predominantly redirect users to scams, malware, and fraudulent sites, making casual web navigation riskier than ever. What's up with the TV? Massive Android Botnet infects 1.8 Million Devices. The Kimwolf botnet has compromised over 1.8 million Android TV boxes, turning everyday smart devices into powerful tools for proxy traffic and massive DDoS attacks. Mass Hacking of IP Cameras Leave Koreans Feeling Vulnerable in Homes, Businesses. Widespread breaches of 120,000 internet-connected cameras in South Korea exposed private footage sold online, eroding public trust in consumer surveillance technology. The FCC has barred new imports of foreign-made drones, citing unacceptable risks of espionage and disruption, with DJI-the market leader-facing the most significant impact. FSF Says Nintendo's New DRM Allows Them to Remotely Render User Devices 'Permanently Unusable' Nintendo's updated terms grant the company sweeping authority to remotely disable Switch consoles and accounts for perceived violations, sparking debate over true ownership in the digital age. This week we’ve got the sleigh piled high, so call out the reindeer and we’ll get this update out to children all over the world!
