Technology

• AI is fueling a huge increase in cyberattacks
• The US is the primary target for ransomware attacks
• Threat actors are turning to vulnerable assets

It won’t come as a surprise to many cybersecurity professionals, but AI is behind a drastic rise in the number of cyberattacks, with new research from Fortinet revealing the apparenty scale of the problem.

The study found that year-on-year, automated scanning activity has seen a 16.7% increase, with 36,000 scans per second recorded globally - with the research describing threat actors as “shifting left” towards vulnerable digital assets “earlier in the attack lifecycle”, in particular, Remote Desktop Protocol, IoT systems, and Session Initiation Protocols.

Infostealers have been threatening organizations for a long time, but this research has unveiled a staggering 500% increase in available logs from compromised systems - meaning over 1.7 billion stolen credentials are circulating on the dark web, noting, “this flood of stolen data has led to a sharp increase in targeted cyberattacks against businesses and individuals."

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The report warns cybercriminals are taking advantage of these login details too, with a 42% increase in compromised credentials observed for sale.

Interestingly, zero-day attacks only account for a “small percentage” of threats, and cybercriminals are increasingly using “live of the land” vulnerabilities to remain undetected.

The Ransomware-as-a-Service landscape is expanding, with new groups emerging and old players solidifying their gains. Ransomhub was the most active group in 2024, claiming 13% of victims, with LockBit 3.0 (12%), Play (8%) and Medusa (4%) all following close behind.

Such ransomware attacks are targeting one country in particular, with the United States taking 61% of incidents, followed by the UK at 6%, and Canada at 5% - a strong indication of the trend against American organizations.

“Our 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report makes it clear: cybercriminals are scaling faster than ever, using AI and automation to gain the upper hand,” said Derek Manky, Chief Security Strategist and Global Vice President of Threat Intelligence at FortiGuard Labs.

“Defenders must abandon outdated security playbooks and transition to proactive, intelligence-driven strategies that incorporate AI, zero trust architectures, and continuous threat exposure management.”

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The rate of progress in the tech world has shown no signs of slowing down over the last seven days. Whether it's advances in the capabilities of AI video generators or a long-serving messaging app finally appearing on Apple's tablets, it's been quite a week.

As good as we try and make our journalism here on TechRadar, we know that not everyone has time to sit down and digest every story that we put up across the week – and so we present to you this In Case You Missed It recap so you can get yourself caught up.

We'll be back with another ICYMI for you at the same time next week, but for now let's dive into some of the stories that have been causing the biggest ripples in the tech pond over the last few days – there's a lot to get through, and a lot of topics to cover.

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8. Garmin’s Whoop-style ‘sleep band’ edged closer to reality

Could another Garmin product be on the way? (Image credit: Mike Sawh)

Garmin is already one of the biggest and most well-respected names in fitness wearables, and it seems a brand-new device is on the way: well-placed sources say they've seen signs of a screenless, sleep-tracking band that Garmin is planning to introduce soon.

It sounds a bit like a Whoop band, from the few details that have emerged so far, which would undoubtedly make it a more comfortable option for wearing in bed than a chunky smartwatch. As yet, however, we haven't heard anything official from Garmin.

• Read more: Garmin's long-rumored Whoop-style screenless 'sleep band' will reportedly break cover soon

7. A streaming login leak got us updating our Netflix passwords

You might want to change your Netflix password (Image credit: Shutterstock)

If you're signed up for a Netflix account, be sure to reset your password at your earliest opportunity, as millions of login credentials have been leaked online. It's not just Netflix, either: accounts across Prime Video, Disney+, and other services are also affected.

The silver lining is that financial information related to these accounts seems to be safe, but there's no room for complacency, especially if you're using your streaming logins for other accounts as well.

It's best to assume you've been exposed and change your details.

• Read more: Time to change your Netflix password? Millions of login details have leaked, according to a cybersecurity report – and it's not just Netflix

6. Anker gave us earbuds that double as a phone battery pack

Meet the Anker Soundcore P41i (Image credit: Soundcore)

We're always keen to see tech that's a little bit different here at TechRadar, and that's the case with the Anker Soundcore P41i wireless earbuds. These little buds last up to 12 hours, which rises to a huge 192 hours if you include the charging case.

That's because the compact charging case doubles up as a general-purpose power bank that'll charge your phone too, if needed – it features a 3,000mAh capacity battery inside, so it may mean there's one less gadget or charging plug you need to carry around with you.

• Read more: Anker's new earbuds have a case that doubles as a phone battery pack – and, unsurprisingly, giant battery life for the buds

5. Sony handed indie filmmakers a new compact video camera

The new Sony FX2 camera (Image credit: Sony)

The Sony FX2 video camera was officially announced this week, bringing with it a tiltable EVF and a 33MP full-frame sensor. It's capable of filming in 4K at up to 60fps, and it's going to be available from July 2025, priced at $2,700 / £2,700 / AU$ 5,299 for the body only.

We still need to get our hands on the Sony FX2 and put it through some tests, but from what we can see, it looks ideal for anyone making movies on a small, low-budget scale. There are some limitations, though, including a lack of 32-bit float audio recording.

• Read more: Sony's new compact video camera is official – and it looks ideal for YouTubers and indie filmmakers

4. We tested Google’s mind-blowing AI video maker

Veo 3 can create all kinds of weird and wonderful clips (Image credit: Future)

AI video making has made a huge step forward with the arrival of the Veo 3 model from Google. Clips made by Veo 3 have been flooding onto the web and across social media, and it's now just about impossible to tell what's real and what's fake with these videos.

We've been able to run a few prompts through the Google Veo 3 engine, creating clips of dinosaurs painting and dramatic set pieces on the surface of Mars. It can take some work to get a result you'll be happy with, though, and we've also got some Veo 3 tips to share.

• Read more: I created these wild AI videos in Veo 3 and here's how you can do it too

3. Samsung launched the One UI 8 beta for early adopters

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is one of the phones first in line for One UI 8 (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Samsung's next big update is One UI 8, based on Android 16, and you can test it out now if you have a Galaxy S25 phone and live in the US, the UK, Germany, or South Korea. Find out how you can sign up now, and the headline features you can expect from the update.

More upgrades and tweaks will no doubt be added as the beta progresses. Samsung also told us that One UI 8 will launch in full in the coming months, alongside some brand-new foldables, which we expect to be the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Galaxy Z Flip 7.

• Read more: Samsung launches the One UI 8 beta for Galaxy S25 phones – here's how you can get it

2. The first Dolby Atmos FlexConnect speaker landed

The TCL Z100 offers some clever surround sound tricks (Image credit: Dolby / TCL)

The TCL Z100 has the distinction of being the first speaker to be announced that works with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect. That's the audio tech that can create dynamic surround sound in a room, no matter how many speakers you've got or how they're arranged.

Up to four TCL Z100 speakers can be combined in a single configuration, and while we've yet to hear pricing and release date details on this unit, it's great to see the dynamic technology making its way into speakers, two years after it was announced.

• Read more: Dolby Atmos FlexConnect is one of the coolest bits of tech I've seen in years, and it's finally coming in a speaker you can buy

1. WhatsApp finally got an iPad app

WhatsApp, now on the iPad (Image credit: Shutterstock)

It's been a long time coming, but WhatsApp is finally available on the Apple iPad – so your chats can spread themselves out across a bigger screen. As well as sending and receiving messages, you'll be able to share your screen and video chat with up to 32 people at once.

You'll be able to sync conversations across from your other devices in just a few seconds, and WhatsApp promises there's more to come with WhatsApp on Apple's tablets. Is it too much to ask Meta to get around to making an iPad app for Instagram next?

• Read more: WhatsApp just finally launched its much anticipated iPad app

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• Sphotonix’s 5D optical storage media has appeared on the latest installment of Mission Impossible
• A rare feat for a new product, its appearance is central to the movie plot
• Like Microsoft Silica, it uses silica based material to store up to 360TB per glass platter

Storage startup Sphotonix has landed itself a money-can’t-buy starring role in the big-budget Hollywood movie "Mission Impossible, The Final Reckoning," where it ended up being part of the actual scenario rather than a disposable, forgettable prop.

(No spoiler alerts) In it, its core product, a 5D optical storage media is used to store a critical element of the movie plot, potentially for billions of years.

Having been used to back up the full human genome in January 2025, we know that it can store up to 360TB on a 5-inch rectangular glass platter and uses a proprietary laser-based nano etching technology called FemtoEtch.

That's far more than the largest SSD (the 122.88TB Solidigm P5-5336) or HDD (36TB models from Seagate or WD) currently on the market – more about how the technology works is in the promotional video below.

Other exotic storage competitors that want to rival cold storage, archiving media such as LTO tape, include ceramic (Cerabyte), Silicium (Microsoft Silica), DNA (Biomemory, Catalog), optical disc (Folio photonics, Optera Data).

This is a tough market as witnessed through the demise of Sony's legacy 5.5TB ODA media, but experts agree: the rapacious appetite of AI for bytes, at rest or on the move, has changed the dynamics of the ecosystem.

The worldwide enterprise information archiving market will balloon to more than $17 billion by 2031, according to research published by Verified Market Research in 2024.

SPhotonix expects that by 2028, the world will produce almost 400 Zettabytes of data, with thousands of data centres globally gobbling more than 1000TWh of power.

The storage startup was founded upon over 30 years of research by its Chief Science Officer, Prof. Kazansky, at the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Center.

I reached out to SPhotonix to find out more about the performance and other related specs of the media, as well as any meaningful time frames and prices.

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• Echo Hunter is a new, fully AI-generated sci-fi short film created using Arcana AI
• The cast is SAG-AFTRA actors led by Breckin Meyer
• The film blends traditional voice performances with AI-rendered visuals

There’s a memorable moment in the new sci-fi short film Echo Hunter where a clone hunter starts questioning his place in a morally bankrupt world with blurred lines between man and machine. It feels particularly pointed since AI models generate all of the footage for Echo Hunter.

Echo Hunter was created by Arcana Labs and written and directed by filmmaker Kavan Cardoza (better known as “Kavan the Kid”). However, unlike any other major AI-produced film, it features a fully unionized cast of SAG-AFTRA actors. You can see a bit of how it came together in the behind-the-scenes video below, but there are a few key things to know about Echo Hunter and its AI origins.

Real film with real actors

Clocking in at under 30 minutes, Echo Hunter isn’t just a tech demo; it's an actual story with a narrative, cohesive visual style, and directorial control. The plot isn't exactly unique; shades of Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and The Matrix are hard to avoid in a story about a clone hunter in a dystopian future who begins to unravel when memories of a forgotten life start surfacing. Existential thrillers with sci-fi flavor and a moody synth score are familiar, but the entire thing being generated using AI models is not.

Arcana Labs developed the eponymous AI model behind the film. The idea was to demonstrate that a high-quality movie could be made without hundreds of millions of dollars and a year in Atlanta. The director and his team fed performance data, audio, and prompts into the system, and Arcana AI did the heavy lifting of designing visuals, rendering scenes, and creating a coherent movie.

Echo Hunter's producers are keen to say they aren't trying to replace actors or sidestep their union. Breckin Meyer leads a fully paid-up group of union performers, including Taylor John Smith, Danielle Bisutti, Gedeon Burkhard, Hanna Balicki, and Xander Bailey. Their voices, performances, and likenesses are central to the experience. Their voices are attached to AI-generated virtual versions of themselves.

Kavan collaboration

If Kavan the Kid rings any bells, you may be familiar with his pioneering experiments with AI-produced short films. He's gone viral with very unauthorized but still impressive-looking shorts like Star Wars: The Ghost Apprentice and Batman: A Face of Clay, each seen by millions of people and propelling him to notoriety for AI-based filmmaking, for better or worse. Echo Hunter fits well with both his style and technical expertise, which makes sense since he both directed and wrote the film.

But it's far from a one-man show this time. Arcana produced Echo Hunter in collaboration with Phantom X, with Arcana co-founder Jonathan Yunger as executive producer. Counting them and the cast, it's still a fraction of the hundreds of people necessary for an equivalent production without AI. Arcana argues this is a positive as it reduces the amount of money and resources that prevent filmmakers from making the kinds of movies they want to make.

But, while it's good that the cast is unionized and paid and treated accordingly, it raises questions about the future of the many other hard-working and talented people who make epic, large-scale films. That's something to consider, even if AI flawlessly executed filmmaking requests every time without plenty of the finessing and fine-tuning that made Echo Hunter look as good as it does.

Future films

And Echo Hunter, flaws and all, shows that this isn't a far-off theoretical question to consider. Studios won't shut down all their productions in favor of AI-created films (with or without human actors) tomorrow or even in the next few years, but there's no way meetings about doing so aren't happening. The ethical implications are real and worth wrestling with, but on the optimistic side, smaller, independent creators now have a lot more options for making films without spending half a million dollars for a five-second shot of a futuristic skyline. And lack of corporate coffers doesn't have to stop a Phoenix-based director from adding rain-slicked streets to their noir film.

Including real actors in the union does show that synthetic productions aren't automatically soulless. The human performances, writing, and direction are what make the film engaging. Some might argue that AI just helps fill in the blanks between the dream and the budget. And no AI could perfectly mimic how one of the stars from Franklin & Bash delivers an emotional monologue about lost identity in a clone apocalypse.

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• Silicon Motion SM2324 9mm chip powers external SSDs with up to 32TB and
• It promises true USB4 speeds of 4,000MB/s
• Built for filmmakers and backup warriors, this chip supports Apple Pro workflows

Silicon Motion has revealed a potentially transformative piece of storage tech at Computex 2025: the SM2324, a single-chip USB4 SSD controller aimed at powering external drives with up to 32TB of storage and read speeds of 4,000MB/s.

The company says the SM2324 combines native USB4 support with an integrated Power Delivery controller, meaning fewer parts, reduced costs for OEMs, and more compact SSD enclosures.

This could, in theory, usher in a new class of ultra-high-capacity portable drives -though affordability and availability are still big questions.

A compact controller built for scale and cross-platform use

Unlike multi-chip designs, it’s built to simplify production without compromising on performance, thanks to sequential write speeds that can reach 3,809MB/s -assuming cooling is adequate.

It also offers full support for 3D TLC and QLC NAND, as well as compatibility with Power Delivery 3.1, and is built using TSMC’s 12nm low-power node to keep power demands reasonable.

With support for up to 32TB and compatibility with Windows, macOS, Linux, and even Apple ProRes workflows on iPhones, the controller clearly targets a wide market -everyone from mobile filmmakers to enterprise backup users.

Whether it ends up in the drives competing for best portable hard drive or best SSD status depends not just on its specs, but on how it's implemented.

Still, there are caveats. While single-chip simplicity lowers BOM costs, there's no promise that 32TB USB4 SSDs based on the SM2324 will be priced for mainstream users.

NAND prices, thermal management requirements, and power delivery constraints could all push the final product into specialist territory.

So while it might eventually sit alongside the best external SSD options in performance, it may not do so in price.

This device comes with security features which include support for AES 128/256-bit encryption, hardware SHA-384, a TRNG, and full TCG Opal 2.0 compliance.

There’s even optional support for fingerprint-based authentication, though integration details are vague.

It also integrates Silicon Motion’s NANDXtend LDPC ECC engine, improving endurance and reliability for both TLC and QLC memory.

In terms of design, the chip is compact, just 9mm by 9mm, and includes an aluminum heat spreader, making it viable for slim external enclosures.

"At Silicon Motion, we're focused on delivering SSD controller solutions that lead in both performance and power efficiency," said Nelson Duann, Senior VP of Client & Automotive Storage Business at Silicon Motion.

"…the SM2324 redefines portable storage with a fully integrated single-chip USB4 solution. These technologies reflect our commitment to helping customers build faster, smaller, and more efficient SSDs for next-generation applications."

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• Dummy loads burn up to 45% of energy just to keep power levels stable
• Skeleton’s GrapheneGPU delivers up to 40% more computing with the same hardware
• AI workloads are killing energy efficiency, GrapheneGPU smooths power draw in real time

As artificial intelligence systems grow more demanding, many data centers have found themselves consuming nearly twice the energy they technically need.

This overuse isn’t due to system flaws or outdated hardware, it’s rooted in how GPUs behave, as their power demand can swing drastically within seconds, from full throttle to idle.

To cope, operators often deploy dummy loads, deliberate energy wasters, to maintain a stable power draw - but these data centers deliberately slow the performance of tens of thousands of GPUs to prevent power outages

Dummy loads mean massive wastage of energy

While this avoids damage and blackouts, it means up to 45% of energy is lost as heat, performing no useful computation.

Skeleton Technologies now claims it may have a more efficient alternative, one that allows GPUs to run at full capacity without overwhelming the grid.

The Estonian company developed GrapheneGPU, a peak-shaving system using proprietary Curved Graphene supercapacitors.

Unlike lithium-based systems, these capacitors can respond in just 10 microseconds, absorbing energy during idle periods and discharging it instantly when GPU loads spike.

The result, according to Skeleton, is the ability to maintain consistent GPU performance without stressing the grid or resorting to throttling.

Their tests suggest the system can deliver up to 40% more FLOPS - floating point operations per second - using the same GPUs, simply by removing the performance penalties associated with thermal de-rating and power instability.

“GrapheneGPU delivers up to 40% more computing with the same energy footprint, while cutting both capital and operating costs by reducing grid upgrade needs, energy waste, and cooling,” said Taavi Madiberk, CEO of Skeleton Technologies.

“Powered by our patented Curved Graphene, this is a fundamental shift in how AI infrastructure can scale - sustainably and economically”.

The company also reports up to a 44% reduction in the power capacity that data centers must reserve from the grid.

The core unit, the GrapheneGPU PCS 50, delivers up to 80 kW of peak power in a standard 1OU form factor, compatible with existing infrastructure and cooled by air or liquid.

Importantly, it avoids lithium entirely, using Skeleton’s patented graphene-based material instead.

According to Skeleton, this technology has been tested under rigorous hyperscaler-grade GPU workloads with positive results. However, it has not been independently tested for real-world performance and durability.

The first shipment of this technology will commence in Germany by June 2025. The company also has a U.S. production site planned for early 2026.

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• Security researchers found ClickFix attacks evolving to target other operating systems
• On Android and iOS, the attack is particularly worrisome, as it transforms into a drive-by attack
• The malware is already being flagged by antivirus programs

ClickFix, an infamous hacking technique that tricks people into running malware thinking they’re fixing a problem on their computer, has evolved, experts have warned.

New research from c/side has revealed what used to be a Windows-only attack method is now capable of targeting macOS, iOS and Android devices, as well.

In a blog post analyzing the evolution, the researchers said the new attack starts with a compromised website. The threat actors would inject JavaScript code which redirected users to a new browser tab when they clicked on certain elements on the page. The new tab then displays a page that looks like a legitimate URL shortener, with a message to copy and paste a link into the browser - and doing so triggers yet another redirect, this time to a download page.

Fetching the malicious payload

Here is where the technique diverges, depending on the operating system of the victim.

On macOS, the attack leads to a terminal command that fetches and executes a malicious shell script, already flagged by multiple antivirus programs.

On Android and iOS, things are even worse, since the attack no longer requires any user interaction.

“When we tested this on Android and iOS, we expected a ClickFix variant. But instead, we encountered a drive-by attack,” the researchers explained.

“A drive-by attack is a type of cyberattack where malicious code is executed or downloaded onto a device simply by visiting a compromised or malicious webpage. No clicks, installs, or interaction required.”

In this case, the site downloads a .TAR archive file, holding malware. This one, too, was flagged by at least five antivirus programs already.

“This is a fascinating and evolving attack that demonstrates how attackers are expanding their reach,” c/side explained. “What started as a Windows-specific ClickFix campaign is now targeting macOS, Android, and iOS, significantly expanding the scale of the operation.”

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• HighPoint RocketStor 8631CW gives you 64GB/s GPU bandwidth - no drivers or software needed
• Real PCIe Gen5 x16 lanes delivered straight to your GPU through a single CopprLink cable
• Fits dual or triple-slot GPUs from Nvidia, AMD, or Intel - no compatibility tricks required

External GPU (eGPU) enclosures aren’t new, but HighPoint’s RocketStor 8631CW has entered the scene with an unusually aggressive pitch.

The company says this external GPU setup delivers a direct PCIe Gen5 x16 connection to a full-sized graphics card via a proprietary 1-meter CopprLink CDFP cable.

In addition to its bandwidth for desktop-class GPUs, this device supports plug-and-play, OS-agnostic and does not rely on software or drivers.

A closer look at the hardware setup

At the heart of the system is the Rocket 1634D host interface card, which uses Broadcom’s PEX 89048 switch to sustain its Gen5 x16 link, with up to 64GB/s transfer speed.

The card fits into low-profile systems, measuring 68.9mm x 165mm, and supports a single CDFP channel.

It supports LED indicators for visual feedback on connection status and secure boot at both hardware and software levels.

Connected to that is the RocketStor 8631C chassis, which uses Asteralabs PCIe 5.0 retimers to maintain signal integrity.

The enclosure supports one full-height, full-length, dual- or triple-slot GPU from any major vendor, including Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.

It can handle power loads up to 600W and includes real-time power monitoring and an advanced dual-fan cooling system with programmable smart fan control for thermal issue alerts. There is also a back-panel mute button in case the audible alerts get too chatty.

Its dimensions are 370mm x 170mm x 88mm, which makes it large enough to house an RTX 5090-class card, but still compact enough not to overwhelm a desk.

This setup is aimed at workflows where stability and zero-configuration environments are mandatory - think AI model training, 8K editing, or enterprise-grade rendering pipelines.

But in a world where laptops are increasingly equipped with powerful built-in GPUs, this enclosure feels more like a fix for edge cases.

A creator looking for the best laptop for video editing or the best laptop for Photoshop will likely find plenty of capable systems that don’t need such a setup, particularly when portability, price, and simplicity are taken into account.

That said, as integrated GPUs and compact systems improve, the necessity of such a solution narrows, and the cost significantly increases.

You’ll need a PCIe slot in your system, a matching full-power GPU, and a compelling reason to justify the cost - but if you’re dead-set on hauling RTX 5090-class power around without a tower, this might be the only hardware currently up to the job.

The HighPoint RocketStor 8631CW is currently selling on HighPoint's website for $1,999.

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