Xbow's AI Pentester Achieves Top HackerOne Ranking; Anker Power Bank Recall

Latest Technology News
Total 1579 words · 7 mins read

Key Takeaways

  • AI-generated band Velvet Sundown finds Spotify success, per TechRadar's July 5th summary.
  • Xbow's AI pentester achieves top HackerOne ranking, automating vulnerability identification with $117M funding.
  • Foxconn's sales boosted by AI demand, reporting approximately $62 billion in quarterly sales.
  • Study: AI models answer correctly 94% of the time, but struggle with coherent knowledge application.
  • Meta tests proactive AI chatbots for follow-up messages to boost user engagement.

Top Stories

TechRadar: AI band's Spotify success, Anker recall, Xbox 'dead'.

On July 5, 2025, TechRadar summarized top tech news, including AI-generated band Velvet Sundown's Spotify success, Anker's power bank recall, and claims about Xbox hardware's demise.

Xbow's AI pentester achieves top HackerOne ranking.

Cybersecurity firm Xbow's AI-powered pentester achieved the top position on HackerOne, automating penetration testing and identifying vulnerabilities quickly; the company has raised $117 million in funding.

Foxconn sales boosted by AI demand, meets estimates.

Foxconn reported strong quarterly sales of approximately $62 billion (NT$1.8 trillion), driven by AI demand, while also pulling Chinese staff from India.

AI models struggle with coherent knowledge application despite accuracy.

A new study published on July 4, 2025, reveals that AI models, despite providing correct answers in 94% of cases, struggle to apply that knowledge coherently, failing in tasks requiring application of concepts.

Meta tests proactive AI chatbots for follow-up messages.

Meta is testing proactive AI chatbots that can send follow-up messages to users as part of the 'Omni' project to boost engagement, remembering past conversations and sending follow-ups within 14 days.

AI Risks & Ethics

Avoid ChatGPT for medical, financial, legal advice: CNET, ZDNet.

CNET and ZDNet.fr caution against using ChatGPT for tasks like medical diagnoses, financial planning, and legal contracts due to limitations in accuracy and handling sensitive information.

AI audio manipulation: Experts discuss detection methods.

On July 4, 2025, 'TardeAR' discussed the feasibility of manipulating audio with AI, with cybersecurity expert Javi Zone explaining that professionals can verify its authenticity using tools that analyze reverberation and metadata.

ChatGPT creates flawed debt repayment plan, requires manual correction.

Freelance journalist Amanda Smith used ChatGPT to create a debt repayment plan for her $18,500 debt, but the AI's suggestions were flawed, requiring manual correction in Excel.

Business Moves

Legal uncertainty, lack of expertise hinder tech adoption.

Companies are hesitant to adopt new technologies like AI due to legal uncertainty, lack of in-house expertise, and potential regulatory focus, with 88% concerned about outdated systems hindering competitiveness.

Robinhood to offer tokenized stocks, ETFs on custom blockchain.

Robinhood is expanding into tokenization, planning to offer tokenized stocks and ETFs on a custom blockchain, enabling 24/7 trading without commission fees, and introduced crypto perpetual futures for European customers.

SaaS is dead, Service-as-a-Service rises, driven by AI.

On July 4, 2025, an article argued that the SaaS model is being replaced by Service-as-a-Service, driven by AI and a focus on outcome-driven models, with VC-backed companies raising over $80 billion in Q1 2025.

Meta shifts focus from Quest VR to mixed-reality, smart glasses.

Meta is shifting its focus from the Quest VR headsets to other product categories like mixed-reality glasses and smart glasses, potentially delaying the release of Meta Quest 4 to 2027 or later.

Cybersecurity Alerts

FBI warns of 2FA bypass, urges strong passwords after Qantas breach.

Published on July 5, 2025, the FBI warned about 2FA bypass and emphasized the need for strong passwords, referencing the Scattered Spider collective and a recent incident affecting Qantas.

Cybercrime cost $10 trillion in 2024: Lessons from major heists.

In 2024, cybercrime cost the global economy $10 trillion, with lessons learned from major cyber heists like the Equifax data breach and the WannaCry ransomware attack emphasizing the importance of software updates and cybersecurity awareness.

DDoS attacks increasingly used to mask data breaches, ransomware.

DDoS attacks are increasingly used as a smokescreen to distract from other malicious activities, such as data breaches and ransomware attacks, with some botnets reaching speeds of 6.5 Tb/s.

British Library CEO focuses on funding, recovering from cyberattack.

British Library CEO Rebecca Lawrence discusses her priorities, including securing new funding and dealing with the aftermath of a ransomware attack in October 2023 that disrupted services.

Emerging Tech

AI missionaries and mercenaries battle for AGI and ASI.

Sam Altman and Mark Zuckerberg are key figures in the battle between AI missionaries, driven by a mission, and AI mercenaries, motivated by financial gain, to achieve AGI and ASI.

India lags in AI, deepfakes of dead loved ones boom in China.

India lags behind the US and China in homegrown AI due to underinvestment, while in China, deepfakes of dead loved ones are a booming business, raising ethical questions.

Study disputes Apple's AI reasoning model conclusions on complexity.

A Spanish research team replicated and expanded on Apple's 'The Illusion of Thinking' study, disputing Apple's conclusion and arguing model failures stem from task design and prompt structure.

France lags in AI adoption, government pushes for increased usage.

France is behind other European countries in adopting AI technologies, with the French government pushing for increased AI usage to boost productivity and create value.

Hardware Innovations

Google Pixel 10 series rumored for August 2025 launch.

The Google Pixel 10 series, including the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL, is expected to launch around August 2025, potentially running on Android 16 with the Google Tensor G5 chipset and up to 16GB of RAM.

GamerCard: Raspberry Pi-based handheld emulator launched for $170.

On July 4, 2025, Grant Sinclair launched the GamerCard, a handheld emulator based on the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W, featuring a 4-inch screen, 128 GB of storage, and priced at £125 or $170.

Nintendo Switch 2 offers game sharing via Virtual Game Cards.

Nintendo offers two methods to share games between multiple Switch 2 consoles using Virtual Game Cards: signing in with the same account or lending to a Family Group Member for up to 14 days.

New hardware security method hides encryption keys in flash memory.

Seoul National University researchers developed Concealable PUF, a new hardware security method using commercial 3D NAND flash memory to hide encryption keys within standard memory, revealing them only when needed.

Engadget: Meta Quest 3 is best overall VR headset at $500.

On July 4, 2025, Engadget reviewed the best VR headsets, highlighting the Meta Quest 3 as the best overall VR headset at $500 and the Apple Vision Pro as the best next-gen VR/AR headset at $3,500.

Internet Trends

Router tweaks to boost Wi-Fi: location, channels, antennas.

CNET detailed router tweaks to boost Wi-Fi performance, including investing in the right router, placing it centrally, changing Wi-Fi channels, and properly setting up antennas.

Market Insights

TechRadar recommends 29 tech gadgets for Amazon's early Prime Day.

On July 5, 2025, TechRadar's deals editor recommended 29 tech gadgets for Amazon's early Prime Day sale, including discounts on Amazon and Apple devices, headphones, and kitchen appliances.

MediaMarkt, El Corte Inglés offer iPhone 16 Pro, Lenovo Tab deals.

Ahead of Amazon Prime Day 2025, MediaMarkt and El Corte Inglés are offering discounts on devices like the iPhone 16 Pro (256 GB) for 1.189 euros and the Lenovo Tab Plus for 209 euros.

Amazon Prime Day: Echo Frames and Echo Spot bundle for $129.99.

Amazon is offering a Prime Day bundle deal for the 3rd Gen Echo Frames and Echo Spot for $129.99, saving $220, as an early Prime exclusive deal ahead of Prime Day.

Lenovo Fourth of July sale: Up to $1,440 off laptops, tablets.

Lenovo is offering discounts on laptops, tablets, and monitors during its Fourth of July sale, including up to $1,440 off on laptops like the ThinkPad T14 Gen 5.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE on sale with discounts.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE is on sale, with the 128GB version available for $600 and the 256GB version for $700, featuring a good processor, S Pen, and 8,000 mAh battery.

Software Updates

Netflix unveils secret category codes for ultra-specific genres.

Netflix introduced secret category codes that allow users to access specific collections of movies and TV shows, enabling browsing by ultra-specific genres with over 36,000 unique categories.

reMarkable tablets now integrate with Slack for note sharing.

reMarkable tablets now integrate with Slack, allowing users to send notes and sketches directly, converting handwritten notes to editable text and sharing them as images.

CompressionX launched: Data compression software claims 65% reduction.

British startup SISP Technologies launched CompressionX, a data compression software, claiming up to 65% file size reduction using an adaptive algorithm, supporting GDPR compliance and XChaCha20 encryption.

WhatsApp launches voice message transcription feature in select languages.

WhatsApp has launched a feature to transcribe voice messages into text, supporting English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian, accessible via the Chats settings.

Improve ChatGPT responses with ELI5, TL;DR, decision trees.

TechRadar and vk.com both published articles focusing on improving ChatGPT's responses, with TechRadar detailing 5 simple 'cheat codes' and vk.com providing a prompt to enhance clarity and accuracy.

Tech Industry Highlights

Engadget: EV tax credit ends, Microsoft gaming layoffs, AI subtitles.

On July 4, 2025, Engadget reported on the end of EV tax credits, Microsoft's 9,000 job cuts impacting gaming, and criticism of Crunchyroll's AI-generated subtitles.

TechRadar's best tech of 2025: Sigma BF camera, OnePlus Watch.

TechRadar presents its selection of the best tech products reviewed in 2025 so far, including 17 top gadgets across various categories like the Sigma BF camera and OnePlus Watch 3.

EU aims to increase control over big tech, protect children.

Under the Danish presidency, the EU aims to increase control over big tech, especially to protect children and adolescents from harmful online content, addictive algorithms, and mass data collection.

Wired focuses on tech's threat to US democracy, subscriptions surge.

In an interview published on July 5, 2025, Wired's global editorial director, Katie Drummond, discussed the increasing threat to US democracy posed by technology, leading to a 51% increase in average daily subscriptions.

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