Technology

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 27.

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• FatakPay, an Indian loan company, was found storing sensitive data in an unprotected S3 bucket
• The data included people's names, addresses, IDs, and more
• The company has since locked the database down

Instant loan company FatakPay kept sensitive data on millions of its users exposed on the internet, for an unknown period of time to anyone who knew where to look.

In mid-September 2024, security researchers from Cybernews discovered a misconfigured Amazon AWS S3 bucket containing more than 27 million files filled with sensitive information.

The data found in the bucket includes people’s full names, postal addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, copies of national IDs, loan agreements, account statements, filled-in loan applications, user selfies for verification, PAN (a PIN number issued by the Indian Income Tax Department), Aadhar (a PIN number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India), and credit score reports.

Closing the archive

After a few attempts, the researchers managed to get in touch with FatakPay, which then closed the bucket, but has not yet released an official statement regarding the discovery.

FatakPay is a digital payment and micro-lending platform in India that provides instant credit solutions to users for small-ticket transactions. At press time, its Google Play Store page shows 1M+ downloads, but the exact number of active users is not publicly available.

Misconfigured databases remain one of the key causes of data leaks. Some researchers warned that many organizations don’t fully understand the shared responsibility model of most cloud hosting providers, and that they believe it is the service provider’s job to keep the data secure.

As a result, researchers often stumble upon large databases full of information that crooks could use for identity theft, phishing, social engineering, wire fraud, and more.

Recently, a Mexican fintech startup was found holding a large database full of sensitive customer data wide open on the internet. The company, called Kapital, held data on 1.6 million Mexicans, including voter IDs and selfies.

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Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for Connections No. 565 for Dec. 27.

Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for the Dec. 27 Strands puzzle, No. 299.

Here are some hints and the answer for Wordle No. 1,287 for Friday, Dec. 27.

Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections: Sports Edition No. 95 for Friday, Dec. 27.

• Japan Airlines experienced a major network disruption
• An investigation uncovered cyberattack by an unknown threat actor
• The attack lasted a few hours and caused delays in some flights

Japan Airlines has confirmed suffering a cyberattack which caused widespread system disruption and delays to more than 20 domestic flights.

The airline first noticed something was amiss when a part of the network that connects internal and external systems went awry. A short investigation determined that a threat actor tried to overwhelm the network by sending enormous data transmissions - similar to a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

These days, DDoS attacks are used as a diversion, while the attackers deploy malware, or even ransomware, elsewhere on the network. Alternatively, the crooks can reach out to the victims, sometimes even via phone, to demand a ransom in exchange for stopping the DDoS.

No malware inolved?

However, Japan Airlines said the attack did not result in the deployment of malware, or data theft. The only damage included the delay of 24 domestic flights for roughly half an hour. The company also suspended the sales of tickets for both domestic and international flights for a few hours. Flight safety was not impacted, it was added.

The AP also reported the country’s ministry of transport urged Japan Airlines to hurry up and restore the systems, accommodating affected passengers, as other national airlines, such as All Nippon Airways, Skymark, or Starflyer, were not affected by the incident.

At press time, no threat actors have assumed responsibility for the attack, so we are yet to learn of the motives. The holidays are the usual time of year when criminals increasingly target critical infrastructure firms. As companies experience an increase in traffic, while at the same time having plenty of staff on annual leave, they are a prime target for ransom demands.

In January 2024, one of the biggest aircraft leasing companies in the world, AerCap, suffered a ransomware attack that resulted in the theft of sensitive corporate data, and in March, Air Europa suffered the same.

Via AP

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Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #565) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• TAPS
• UNICORN
• IRONS
• BACON
• PRESSES
• PHOENIX
• CAR
• BUGLER
• BRIDGES
• AFRICA
• TOAST
• WASHINGTON
• GRITS
• HITS
• HASH
• CLICKS

NYT Connections today (game #565) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Morning meal staples 
• GREEN: On/Off
• BLUE: Beep beep 
• PURPLE: And the award goes to…

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #565) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: BREAKFAST SIDES 
• GREEN: PUSHES, AS A BUTTON 
• BLUE: THEY HAVE A HORN 
• PURPLE: OSCAR-WINNING ACTORS 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #565) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #565, are…

• YELLOW: BREAKFAST SIDES BACON, GRITS, HASH, TOAST
• GREEN: PUSHES, AS A BUTTON CLICKS, HITS, PRESSES, TAPS
• BLUE: THEY HAVE A HORN AFRICA, BUGLER, CAR, UNICORN
• PURPLE: OSCAR-WINNING ACTORS BRIDGES, IRONS, PHOENIX, WASHINGTON

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 mistake

My first thought when I saw PHOENIX and IRONS in the grid was the actors River and Jeremy. I spent ages trying to think of any films they were in together (I later discovered there are none, but they were both in the Shakespearean TV drama The Hollow Crown). I then convinced myself that they must be connected to Denzil WASHINGTON and Kevin BACON and got the dreaded “one away”.

After connecting the breakfast items I found the correct group for BACON and the rest clicked into place.

The blue group completely threw me. Although it's true that THEY HAVE A HORN, the type that AFRICA has is very different to the one you’d find in a CAR. Such is the random beauty of Connections.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, 26 December, game #564)

• YELLOW: APPROXIMATELY ABOUT, AROUND, LIKE, ROUGHLY
• GREEN: TREES ELDER, PALM, PINE, SPRUCE
• BLUE: SIZABLE, AS AN AMOUNT HANDSOME, HEALTHY, RESPECTABLE, TIDY
• PURPLE: U.S. STATE ABBREVIATIONS, PER AP STYLE GUIDE ALA, ARK, MISS, ORE

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1068) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1068) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #1068) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1068) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1068) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• B

• L

• O

• C

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1068) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1068, are…

• BRAWL
• LYING
• ORGAN
• CRONY

I could not have cut things finer today, getting the four words on the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th guesses – although I did come close to ruining my streak by initially typing in GROAN instead of ORGAN, then thought better of it.

It really does pay to stop and double-check for a second – Quordle is the kind of game where you really need to be alert at all times.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #1068) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1068, are…

• THINK
• LIVID
• HEAVE
• SNORE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1067, Thursday 26 December: TATTY, OVERT, FLOUR, SWEPT
• Quordle #1066, Wednesday 25 December: LIVER, CRIER, SHORE, MURKY
• Quordle #1065, Tuesday 24 December: TIPSY, SCALE, FLYER, VALVE
• Quordle #1064, Monday 23 December: SNAKE, SAVVY, ELBOW, TWEED
• Quordle #1063, Sunday 22 December: DOUBT, SLURP, PAPER, CIVIL
• Quordle #1062, Saturday 21 December: STRIP, BUDGE, SAPPY, SHELF
• Quordle #1061, Friday 20 December: PENAL, EAGLE, DILLY, QUITE
• Quordle #1060, Thursday 19 December: JEWEL, GNOME, TRAMP, IDLER
• Quordle #1059, Wednesday 18 December: LITHE, BIRTH, HUMID, ROBOT
• Quordle #1058, Tuesday 17 December: DOING, ENJOY, SNAKY, AMPLE
• Quordle #1057, Monday 16 December: HYDRO, CREAM, CHIDE, SLIME
• Quordle #1056, Sunday 15 December: DROVE, STILT, LINEN, GIANT
• Quordle #1055, Saturday 14 December: SPIEL, ONSET, TIGER, DITTO
• Quordle #1054, Friday 13 December: ERECT, REBAR, MOIST, IDIOM
• Quordle #1053, Thursday 12 December: MILKY, CRIER, STORK, DRIER
• Quordle #1052, Wednesday 11 December: BRIAR, NASAL, SHARD, FLUFF
• Quordle #1051, Tuesday 10 December: BEGAN, TRIAL, IDEAL, GUIDE
• Quordle #1050, Monday 9 December: TITAN, FORTE, SPEED, BRIAR
• Quordle #1049, Sunday 8 December: BUNCH, SHINY, MOULT, INTRO
• Quordle #1048, Saturday 7 December: SHAKY, CROOK, GHOUL, VERSE

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #299) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Back in style

NYT Strands today (game #299) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• SIXES
• TIRE
• MILLET
• NONE
• RIGS
• KEEP

NYT Strands today (game #299) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• The synth pop decade

NYT Strands today (game #299) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 3rd column

Last side: bottom, 4th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #299) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #299, are…

• NEON
• PERM
• MULLET
• SPANDEX
• JUMPSUIT
• WINDBREAKER
• SPANGRAM: EIGHTIES

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Maybe it says something about me but I spotted the words Break and Wind before I saw WINDBREAKER – although this is possibly because it’s not the most obvious of EIGHTIES fashions.

SPANDEX – which is an anagram of Expands – seems very particular to the 1980s, but there is probably more of it around today than then, it’s just that we call it Lycra now.

In the UK two very particular sub sections of the male amateur cycling community have emerged in recent years: Lycra Lads – road racers so obsessed with speed and time that they don’t care who gets in their way as they go “aero”, and MAMILs which stands for Middle Aged Men in Lycra. I can’t help thinking both would be less keen on cladding themselves in clingy fabric if we still still called it Spandex.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, 26 December, game #298)

• AUNT
• INLAW
• GRANDCHILD
• NIECE
• COUSIN
• UNCLE
• NEPHEW
• SPANGRAM: REUNION

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Gatekeeping is something that's brought up a lot, isn't it? It's frowned upon, obviously enough, as obnoxious, off-putting, and generally unnecessary – whether we're talking about gaming, music, movies, books, you name it. New fans aren't going to ruin Metallica for you just because they're, well, new, and they like St Anger. I'm not here to talk about that trashcan snare drum, though – no. I'm here to talk about PC gaming and how absolutely diabolically expensive it's become to even get yourself into the ecosystem.

It's dumb. Real dumb. I bought my first gaming PC back in 2011. It was a pretty solid build back in the day: Intel Core-i5 2500K, 8GB of DDR3, a nice BitFenix Shinobi chassis, the works. The crowning glory in that thing, though, was the graphics card, an MSI Twin Frozr GTX 460, complete with 1GB of VRAM, on Nvidia's Fermi architecture at 40nm. Perfect for a bit of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm raiding with my guild Fracture at the time. It's a card that retailed for $250, but I paid around half that for the GPU (£130 in the UK to be precise). In January 2013, I upgraded to a GTX 660, Asus DirectCU II, with 2GB of VRAM. That card was available for £155 (retailing at $229), offering much more performance and twice as much memory (for less money in the US).

Flash forward to 2024, and it’s a whole other ball game. To get even close to a similar model, you're looking at a minimum of around $320, and that's on the low-end. That's an increase of 40% over that 11-year time frame. Take mid-range and high-end cards though, crammed with even more goodies, and that price shoots up even higher. RTX 4090s debuted at, what, $1,800? Even the best Titans used to land around the $800 to $1,000 mark back in the day. That's nearly double the cost for the flagship GPU of choice.

The thing is, though, the more you look into the details – into how it's all lining up – the more you realize that actually a lot of this price hiking ties into inflation quite nicely. Certainly with the more affordable GPUs, anyway. $229 in 2013 works out at around $310 in today's money – about right for the low-end pricing I mentioned.

I'd be less begrudging if economies of scale weren't a thing, and you know, continued advancement and production improvements should lead to a reduction in overall cost, like we've seen in TVs for example.

Yes, of course, there's the argument that these companies need to make money, and there are R&D costs involved, but even so, graphics cards and products just haven't dropped in price like they used to gen-on-gen. And the thing is, these companies clearly have the profit margins to do it. With the current inflationary pressures out there globally, Nvidia, AMD, and Intel all launched new product lines in the last 12 months, all of which either match or are cheaper than their similarly named predecessors. A good PR move – and a smart sales move.

(Image credit: Shutterstock) Buying power, build complexity, and influencers

I believe there are far more complex issues at work here. As far as I can see, there are three primary reasons why buying a mid-range gaming PC today is far more painful than it used to be on the old wallet.

First on the agenda, localized buying power has not kept up with inflation. Certainly not in the US. If you look at real median household income in the States from 2013 to 2023, it increased by just 18.2%, a far cry from that 35.4% cumulative inflation over the same period. Simply put, wages haven't kept up with rising costs. Why that’s the case is more an argument for those in the political sector than for me, but the stats don't lie, and its impact is clear.

The second, and more pressing factor, is the radical increase in companies making ever fancier components across every facet of a modern-day gaming PC build.

Although entry-level and mid-range graphics cards (that still make up the vast bulk of sales, I might add) are amazingly on target for affordability lining up with inflation, the rest of the PC ecosystem isn't. Higher-end GPUs, as well as CPUs, motherboards, RAM, and SSDs have all seen major increases in overall costs.

Certainly, if you compare product lines, Asus ROG Hero motherboards used to come in at just under, or over, the $200 mark – and now one of the latest models will set you back nearly $700. And then there's everything else. Cooling, lighting, fans, custom keyboards, monitors, the works. Everything is a specialist product now, and that all adds to the overall build cost of a PC.

Lastly, in part thanks to influencers, and the internet more broadly, it's no longer enough to just have a non-windowed chassis packed with the core hardware. The humble gaming PC has become an ornament, littered with RGB lights and enough accessories to make even the most avid of kleptomaniacs blush. It's a struggle to stay five minutes on social media without getting fed an Instagram Reel or YouTube Short of someone showing off an epic PC build, or gaming den, complete with a $1,200 GPU and RGB lighting that costs nearly as much.

All of that comes together to push an average system build well out of reach of an average wallet. Consoles aren't faring any better either, with the likes of the PS5 Pro debuting at nearly $700. Once upon a time, building a custom gaming PC that was more potent than a console for similar(ish) money was a good reason to jump on the PC bandwagon. Now, it's a pipe dream. A memory from within the mists of time.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler) Intel leads the way, weirdly

That's why Intel's latest move with its Arc B580 graphics card has got so many people talking (in a positive way for once). Its latest generation of desktop processors (Core Ultra 200S) might not have been released quite as oven-ready as Intel had hoped, but Team Blue's new Battlemage graphics card? Oh boy, it is top-notch, at least on the value front.

Our own John Loeffler took a look at the Intel Arc B580 at the tail-end of 2024, and it absolutely stomps 1440p gaming, which, let's face it, is slowly becoming the de facto resolution for most modern PCs at this point (sorry 4K, you're still too damn expensive).

But the big thing, by far, isn't the fact that the B580 does very well in pretty much every game you throw at the GPU currently, beating out the likes of the Nvidia RTX 4060 and AMD RX 7600 XT. No – it’s the fact that it does this while being 20% cheaper than the cheapest of those cards, and it easily outguns the RTX 4060 Ti in terms of value proposition given the relative performance of the two GPUs. Well played, Intel. Well played.

Team Blue has made a grand statement with this thing. Intel has repeatedly said it aims to target the entry-level gaming market, and if I'm honest, I'm glad. AMD used to hold that mantle nicely, beating Nvidia in the lower-end price bracket while Team Green dominated the high-end – but those plucky Team Red GPUs have since lost their affordable sheen.

Intel, with its Arc GPU line, seems to be pulling back some serious street cred – well, at least for the time being. This'll hopefully lead to both AMD and Nvidia countering with their own price cuts, and that's going to be a major positive for all of us.

(Image credit: ShutterStock) Where will all this lead?

Still, this is just one drop in the ocean. One component out of many. PCs are still too expensive. The PS5 Pro launched at near $700, and more and more we're seeing this ecosystem that used to be so inclusive, just price people out. If you want to get into PC gaming, or even console gaming, it is now so difficult with modern hardware. This is just a fact. You want the best experience? Best take out a loan or remortgage the house.

There's always been an "us and them" mentality when it comes to PC gaming. Always a Red versus Blue, or Green versus Red, or PC versus console conflict. The latter in particular is an age-old tale, but not one that stemmed from cost – it was built off the back of issues like ease of use, graphical fidelity, or mouse and keyboard versus controller. There wasn't artificial financial gatekeeping as there is now.

The thing is, unless there's a radical shift in the world of PC components, and the way they're made, it's difficult to see how there will be any change. Prices are only going to creep up higher, wages are only going to stagnate further, and the situation can only escalate. Combine that with the threat of Trump’s trade tariffs in the US adding an extra 20% to 60% onto the cost of those imported components, and, well, you've got a recipe for disaster.

The glimmer of hope, for GPUs anyway, is that challenge presented to the current duopoly by Intel's Arc Battlemage and the new B580 – and the hope that a rumored B770 model might prompt some further price cuts (although the high-end is set to remain Nvidia's domain, sadly).

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• Project Infinity and Mobile Security Rewards Program bolster Samsung's security strategy
• Red, Blue, and Purple teams safeguard Galaxy devices from cyber threats
• CTI task force scours the Dark Web to prevent device breaches

Samsung has always prioritized security for its Galaxy smartphones, and with the launch of the Galaxy S24 series, it promised an unprecedented seven years of mobile security updates.

Behind this extended protection lies a secretive and highly specialized security initiative known as Project Infinity - but Samsung has now lifted the veil and provided some details about the project.

Project Infinity comprises multiple task forces which ensure that the billions of Galaxy smartphone users worldwide are protected from the ever-growing threat of cybercrime.

The invisible guardians of Galaxy devices

At the core of Project Infinity are three distinct teams, Red, Blue, and Purple, alongside a Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) taskforce. These groups operate globally in countries such as Vietnam, Poland, and Brazil, working in the shadows to prevent and mitigate cyberattacks.

Each team has a specific role, from proactive threat detection to creating and deploying defensive measures. Their work is largely invisible to the public, only surfacing when you receive a security patch on your device.

The CTI task force specializes in identifying potential cyber threats, ensuring that hackers can’t exploit vulnerabilities in Galaxy devices. The team scours the Deep Web and Dark Web, looking for signs of illicit activity, from malware to stolen data.

By analyzing system behaviors, such as unusual data requests or suspicious network traffic, the team can identify and neutralize threats, while collaborating with other departments to roll out security updates.

“Occasionally, we engage in security research by simulating real-world transactions," noted Justin Choi, Vice President and Head of the Security Team, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics.

"We closely monitor forums and marketplaces for mentions of zero-day or N-day exploits targeting Galaxy devices, as well as any leaked intelligence that could potentially serve as an entry point for system infiltration.”

Samsung’s security operation is modeled on military-style tactics, with the Red and Blue teams simulating attacks and defenses, respectively.

Through techniques like "fuzzing," which involves throwing random data at software, they can find hidden vulnerabilities that might otherwise go unnoticed. Meanwhile, the Blue team works tirelessly to develop and implement patches that protect against these vulnerabilities.

The Purple team combines the expertise of both Red and Blue teams, focusing on critical areas of Galaxy’s security infrastructure. They also work with external security researchers to ensure no potential weak spot goes unnoticed.

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• HBM4 chips poised to power Tesla's advanced AI ambitions
• Dojo supercomputer to integrate Tesla’s high-performance HBM4 chips
• Samsung and SK Hynix compete for Tesla's AI memory chip orders

As the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market continues to grow, projected to reach $33 billion by 2027, the competition between Samsung and SK Hynix intensifies.

Tesla is fanning the flames as it has reportedly reached out to both Samsung and SK Hynix, two of South Korea's largest memory chipmakers, seeking samples of its next-generation HBM4 chips.

Now, a report from the Korean Economic Daily claims Tesla plans to evaluate these samples for potential integration into its custom-built Dojo supercomputer, a critical system designed to power the company’s AI ambitions, including its self-driving vehicle technology.

Tesla’s ambitious AI and HBM4 plans

The Dojo supercomputer, driven by Tesla’s proprietary D1 AI chip, helps train the neural networks required for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature. This latest request suggests that Tesla is gearing up to replace older HBM2e chips with the more advanced HBM4, which offers significant improvements in speed, power efficiency, and overall performance. The company is also expected to incorporate HBM4 chips into its AI data centers and future self-driving cars.

Samsung and SK Hynix, long-time rivals in the memory chip market, are both preparing prototypes of HBM4 chips for Tesla. These companies are also aggressively developing customized HBM4 solutions for major U.S. tech companies like Microsoft, Meta, and Google.

According to industry sources, SK Hynix remains the current leader in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, supplying HBM3e chips to NVIDIA and holding a significant market share. However, Samsung is quickly closing the gap, forming partnerships with companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to produce key components for its HBM4 chips.

SK Hynix seems to have made progress with its HBM4 chip. The company claims that its solution delivers 1.4 times the bandwidth of HBM3e while consuming 30% less power. With a bandwidth expected to exceed 1.65 terabytes per second (TB/s) and reduced power consumption, the HBM4 chips offer the performance and efficiency needed to train massive AI models using Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer.

The new HBM4 chips are also expected to feature a logic die at the base of the chip stack, which functions as the control unit for memory dies. This logic die design allows for faster data processing and better energy efficiency, making HBM4 an ideal fit for Tesla’s AI-driven applications.

Both companies are expected to accelerate their HBM4 development timelines, with SK Hynix aiming to deliver the chips to customers in late 2025. Samsung, on the other hand, is pushing its production plans with its advanced 4-nanometer (nm) foundry process, which could help it secure a competitive edge in the global HBM market.

Via TrendForce

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My thumbs are pretty chunky for the size of my hands. This is admittedly a bizarre thing to lead with but it has a lot to do with how I’ve fared with different smartphones.

Over the last 15 years, phones have swelled to meet shifting habits. With streaming on mobiles devices more viable, thanks to 5G, it makes sense that screen sizes have expanded to make for a much better experience. In light of my oversized thumbs, which I'm using right now to type this sentence, you may assume that, for me, this amounts to progress. But I’ve always struggled to use smartphones – my first was an iPhone 4 – without awkward autocorrects or the occasional typo. On balance, however, I prefer more compact phones than the goliaths we’ve become used to.

Despite forgoing the larger screen size for better video playback and error-free communication, these devices are more likely to have sharper displays (higher pixel-per-inch counts), they're more sophisticated and far more practical (you can fit them into pockets); that's my view.

But I've tended to go with the flow – usually as a technology journalist your phone tends to be whatever you're reviewing at the moment. I've handled all kinds of devices, from the best iPhones to £120 plastic rectangles and everything in between – and more often than not I've ended up with screen sizes in the 6.5-inch-plus range.

That's why when my previous smartphone, an Oppo Find X3 Lite (and its 6.7-inch panel) hit retirement age, I figured this was the perfect time to downsize for good. So I did my dutiful research, weighed up the options and made a concrete decision. I haven't looked back since (to a point – but I'll get back to that later).

Ok, so size does matter

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

I then got my hands on the Samsung Galaxy S23. This is the perfect antidote to years of fumbling about with an oversized phablet – a relatively modestly-sized high-end smartphone with plenty to love, as we covered in our review. For me, it was between that and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (which, admittedly, wasn't an easy choice); of course, these aren't the latest Galaxy phones, but they were going spare in the TechRadar Cupboard of Phones, whole the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra were being put to use by other TechRadarians.

Now, a few months into using it, what exactly is it that I miss about the larger devices? Zilch. Nada. Nil.

I was quite happy watching England bore its way to the Euros final on-the-go on this much smaller device this summer. No longer must I let go of my phone for a split second before catching it in a risky manoeuvre that gets even dicier after you've had a few drinks – simply so I can reach the top-third of my screen. I can also shove my phone into my pocket without fear of it peeking out and granting pickpockets easy access. It's a huge quality of life upgrade. And my chunky thumbs have adapted well too.

There is, however, something that doesn’t quite sit right with me.

Oh how I'd love to see, a whloe new iPhone SE

(Image credit: Future)

Not only do I feel that I can go smaller yet, but I’m finding it hard to gel with this particular brand of Android OS. Really, it has made me realize that what I’ve wanted this whole time is just a new, edge-to-edge iPhone SE that packs the power of the latest iPhone 16 into a more compact unit. Despite exciting rumours, the iPhone SE never materialized at Apple’s glitzy September launch event – and the portfolio is much weaker for its absence.

My iPhone 4 was followed by the original iPhone SE (2016) – a device I consider unrivalled and underappreciated for its time. It was a phenomenal smartphone that packed the latest Apple hardware into a much sleeker, compact, and better-designed package, than the iPhone 6. The only downsides were the slightly smaller screen – which I was okay with.

As the form factor began inching ever larger, this device dug its heels in – a nod from Apple to the fact there remained plenty of customers still keen to reject modernity even as it was dragging its portfolio in a new direction.

The previous two versions of the iPhone SE were disappointments, as far as I’m concerned, in light of the use of the older chassis and the lack of an edge-to-edge display. There’s every chance the iPhone SE 4 – if and whenever it’s released – will continue in this vein.

But I’m still holding out hope that – sitting buried somewhere in a secretive lab, deep in Apple’s Cupertino HQ – are schematics for a next-gen, edge-to-edge, pocket-sized iPhone SE that offers something that nothing else on the market can right now. Fingers crossed for what 2025 could bring for the house that Steve Jobs built.

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• Broadcom is rumored to have an ongoing partnership with Apple to help it build its own AI chip
• TikTok parent company, ByteDance, OpenAI also reportedly in the picture
• The move comes as hyperscalers look to reduce their dependency on AI chips from Nvidia

Nvidia has ridden the generative AI boom to record-breaking revenues and profits over the past two years, and while it remains well ahead of its competitors, the company is facing growing pressure - not only from rival AMD but also from hyperscalers which have traditionally relied on Nvidia GPUs but are now looking to reduce their dependence on its hardware.

As The Next Platform notes, “Nvidia’s biggest problem is that its biggest customers have massive enough IT expenditures that they can afford to compete with Nvidia and AMD and design their own XPUs for serial and parallel computing. And when they do so, it is chip design and manufacturing houses Broadcom and Marvell, who have vast expertise running chippery through the foundries of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, who will be benefiting.”

In its most recent earnings conference call, Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom, told investors, “Specific hyperscalers have begun their respective journeys to develop their own custom AI accelerators or XPUs, as well as network these XPUs with open and scalable Ethernet connectivity. As you know, we currently have three hyper-scale customers who have developed their own multi-generational AI XPU roadmap to be deployed at varying rates over the next three years. In 2027, we believe each of them plans to deploy one million XPU clusters across a single fabric.”

Gaining its fair share

Without naming specific companies, Tan added, “To compound this, we have been selected by two additional hyperscalers and are in advanced development for their own next-generation AI XPUs.”

It is widely believed that Broadcom is working with Google and Meta, and as we previously reported, with ByteDance and OpenAI on custom AI chips.

Apple is also thought to be developing its first artificial intelligence server chip, codenamed “Baltra,” with Broadcom providing the advanced networking technologies essential for AI processing.

During the Q&A portion of the earnings call, when Tan was asked about market share, he responded, “All we are going to do is gain our fair share. We're just very well positioned today, having the best technology, very relevant in this space. We have, by far, one of the best combination technologies out there to do XPUs and to connect those XPUs. The silicon technology that enables it, we have it here in Broadcom by the boatloads, which is why we are very well positioned with these three customers of ours.”

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• Researchers discovered multiple vulnerable endpoints being targeted by a new Mirai variant
• The endpoints are assimilated into a botnet and used for DDoS attacks
• The vulnerabilities used in the attack are years old

Mirai, an infamous botnet targeting Internet of Things (IoT) devices to use in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, has gotten a new variant which is now targeting multiple vulnerable devices, experts hae warned.

The malware is reportedly going after DigiEver DS-2105 Pro NVRs, multiple TP-Link routers with outdated firmware, and Teltonika RUT9XX routers. For DigiEver, Mirai is abusing an unpatched remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability that doesn’t even have a tracking number.

For TP-Link, Mirai abuses CVE-2023-1389, and for Teltonika, it’s going for CVE-2018-17532. It’s worth noting that the TP-Link flaw is a year old, while the Teltonika one is roughly six years old. That means that the crooks are mostly targeting organizations with poor cybersecurity and patching practices.

Mirai is an active threat

The campaign most likely started in September or October 2024, and according to researchers from Akamai, uses XOR and ChaCha20 encryption, and targets different system architectures, including ARM, MIPS, and x86.

"Although employing complex decryption methods isn't new, it suggests evolving tactics, techniques, and procedures among Mirai-based botnet operators," Akamai said.

“This is mostly notable because many Mirai-based botnets still depend on the original string obfuscation logic from recycled code that was included in the original Mirai malware source code release."

Experts from Juniper Research recently warned Mirai operators were looking for easy-to-compromise Session Smart routers.

"On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, several customers reported suspicious behavior on their Session Smart Network (SSN) platforms," Juniper said in its security advisory.

Researchers also recently reported cybercriminals were exploiting a flaw in the AVM1203, a surveillance camera model designed and sold by Taiwanese manufacturer AVTECH, to hijack the endpoints and assimilate them into the Mirai botnet.

Via BleepingComputer

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• Includes HDMI, USB Type-C, and 3.5 mm jack connectivity
• NVMe transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps
• The first shipments have already begun

RayCue has introduced a new docking station designed specifically for Apple’s latest Mac mini powered by M4 and M4 Pro processors.

This compact dock enhances the already versatile mini-PC by adding seven ports and the ability to expand storage by up to 8TB using an NVMe SSD.

While the RayCue device brings practical upgrades, its inclusion of three separate memory card readers raises questions about their utility.

Raycue's Mac mini hub can be customized at checkout to ship with a 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB SSD, with the choice between a 10Gbps 10-in-1 stand, or 40Gbps 4-in-1 stand.View Deal

A compact solution for expanded connectivity

The RayCue dock offers an array of ports, including HDMI with support for 4K at 60 Hz, USB 3.2 Type-A and Type-C for high-speed data transfer up to 10 Gbps, a USB Type-C charging port, and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

The dock also features an M.2 2280 slot, which allows users to add up to 8TB of external SSD storage. Both NVMe and SATA III SSDs are supported, with transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps for NVMe and 6 Gbps for SATA drives.

However, one of the dock’s most puzzling design decisions is its inclusion of three separate memory card readers: one MicroSD and two SD slots. While card readers are useful for photographers, videographers, and other creatives, it’s unclear why the dock offers two SD slots alongside the MicroSD reader.

The RayCue dock is priced at $99. Pre-orders began shipping on December 15, making it one of the first third-party accessories available for Apple’s latest Mac mini.

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