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• The Google Home app will soon support the Nest Protect smoke alarm
• You will be able to receive alerts and adjust settings through Google Home
• Google Home is also getting better support for Matter-enabled smart locks

The Google Home app is getting a major update that will add support for the Nest Protect smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector. It will also improve support for Matter-enabled smart locks, allowing you to use more of their functions through Google Home.

The Nest Protect launched in 2013, shortly before Google acquired Nest, and until now owners of the smart smoke detector have only been able to use it via the Nest mobile app. Now that's all changing, and as The Verge explains, you will soon be able to receive detection alerts, run safety and sound checks, and tweak options through Google Home instead.

Google has been gradually encouraging users to move away from the Nest app for a long time, and last year it gave Google Home a much-needed overhaul to make the switch easier. The tweaks included changing the interface so that certain key features associated with smart thermostats are no longer hidden behind icons, making it less streamlined but more intuitive to use.

The update arrived just before Google launched the Nest Learning Thermostat 4th Gen, but it wasn't exclusively for owners of the new hardware. People using older Nest thermostats also noticed the changes intended to nudge them towards Google Home.

Features unlocked

Google Home is also getting improved support for Matter-enabled smart locks. Many of the best smart locks now support Matter, but using an app that's not the manufacturer's own can mean missing out on some important features. Following the update, options like the ability to set one-time passcodes for visitors will be available from within Google Home.

Android users who are enrolled in Google's Public Preview program will be first to receive the smart lock update. To join, open the Google Home app, go to the Settings menu, and select Public Preview under General. Tap 'Request invite' and you will receive an invitation to install a beta version of the app. You can leave the program at any time.

The update is expected to roll out for iOS devices later this year.

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• Threat actors accessed PowerSchool student information system and stole data on students and teachers in December 2024
• Multiple companies confirmed all data, covering as long as they had used PowerSchool, was taken
• The data was allegedly deleted by the hackers

The recent cyberattack on education technology software firm PowerSchool appears to be a lot worse than initially thought, as multiple companies came forward to say that all of their data was stolen in the incident.

In late December 2024, an unidentified threat actor used stolen credentials to access its PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS) platform. From there, they were able to use the “export data manager" customer support tool to exfiltrate “Students” and “Teachers” database tables to a CSV file, which was then stolen.

The information grabbed in this attack included names, and postal addresses, and in some districts, the threat actors also obtained Social Security numbers (SSN), personally identifiable information (PII), medical information, and grades.

No ransomware

While PowerSchool didn’t want to say how many schools were affected by the attack, TechCrunch reached out to some, and got confirmation the incident was pretty destructive.

Two unnamed sources at affected school districts told the publication the hackers were able to access, "troves of personal data belonging to both current and former students and teachers."

One company said the miscreants stole all historical student and teacher data, while another added that demographic data for all teachers and students, both active and historical, were grabbed.

Besides these two organizations, who wanted to remain anonymous, others also publicly spoke about the incident, it was further explained. Menlo Park City School District also confirmed historical data theft, Rancho Santa Fe School District filed a data breach notice, and RootED Solutions (edtech consulting company from Boston) said the PowerSchool breach also affects school districts who no longer use the service, but did at some point.

PowerSchool said while this wasn’t a ransomware attack, it still paid the attackers to have the data wiped.

Via TechCrunch

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• Apple has been granted a patent for a new technology that may enable in-display Face ID
• The process described removes tiny parts of the display to allow infrared passthrough
• This tracks with years-old rumors of the feature launching with the iPhone 17

Apple has been granted a patent for a new technology that may finally enable the long-rumored embedding of an under-display Face ID system in the iPhone, perhaps as soon as the iPhone 17 series.

The patent details a new possible workaround to the issue of getting infrared light – which Face ID uses to scan and verify your face – through the pixels beneath the glass of a phone screen.

Essentially, Apple’s latest idea is to remove only a piece of each individual pixel affected, called a subpixel. Subpixels display either red, green, or blue light, which combine to form one of millions of colors at viewing distance.

The patent maintains that, in theory, there should be no difference in the final image with selected subpixels removed, as the removed subpixels will be aligned with neighboring subpixels of the same color.

The document also notes that parts of the touch-sensitive mesh could be removed to allow for better infrared passthrough, and that these would be too small to affect touch responsiveness.

Though it’s best to not draw conclusions until we see this technology implemented, it seems as though Apple is looking to develop a more granular version of the technology that Samsung uses in the under-display selfie camera of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 – removing only the necessary components of the display to allow light to pass through.

This doesn’t imply that an under-display camera will come to the iPhone any time soon, mind. Rumors of an iPhone with in-display Face ID have been circulating since at least 2021, and we previously heard that an under-display selfie snapper wouldn't be arriving until the iPhone 19.

More promisingly, though, we reported on rumors that the technology could launch with the iPhone 17 in March 2023.

In any case, we’d generally expect a feature like this to come to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max before making it to the baseline iPhones with later generations. But the implementation of the new Camera Control button on every new iPhone in 2024 shows that Apple isn’t totally averse to feature parity across its smartphone lineup.

Keeping up the momentum

We'd typically expect a major new feature like in-display Face ID to come to the Pro iPhones first (iPhone 16 Pro pictured). (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

As our iPhone 16 review details, the latest baseline model from Apple marked the greatest step forward between generations in the iPhone’s recent history, and is the most Pro-feeling vanilla flagship Apple has ever produced.

Meanwhile, the upper tier of Apple’s smartphone lineup – the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max – saw substantial, noticeable improvements to performance and design in 2024, as the company unified the lineup around Apple Intelligence (which is, somehow, still rolling out).

Apple is often lambasted for its small yearly revisions, but I'd struggle to call the company unoriginal after two straight years of huge upgrades.

This is all to say that Apple has a choice when it comes to the iPhone 17: keep up the momentum, or let things sit as they are for another few generations. I’m hopeful that this patent suggests Apple is keen to keep improving its mobile experience at pace, leaving smaller incremental steps like the one between the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 firmly in the past.

I’d certainly be impressed to see such a complex and original technology integrated with the display, so long as it was done well – Apple is often lambasted for its small yearly revisions, but I'd struggle to call the company unoriginal after two straight years of huge upgrades.

Face ID is the main reason iPhones have the pill-shaped Dynamic Island, which, while still relatively svelte and decently useful, is now one of the largest cutouts seen on a flagship phone – most manufacturers opt for a simple punch-hole selfie camera.

Of course, Apple’s competitors aren’t using infrared-based facial recognition, so there’s less to fit at the top of the display, but there's still a striking visual difference between the black dot left by the selfie cameras of the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Google Pixel 9, and the blacked-out bar that is the Dynamic Island.

For those with an appreciation for tech specs, seeing the Face ID system disappear underneath the iPhone’s display would be an impressive technical feat, similar in magnitude to the first under-display fingerprint scanners.

Whether or not under-display Face ID makes it to consumers with the iPhone 17 series, a later generation, or not at all, depends on whether Apple intends to implement its new patent. If you’re not keen on waiting, be sure to check out our list of the best iPhones to get the rundown on the latest and greatest Apple handsets.

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• Tournament Rematch: Unreal Tournament Remixed arrives on January 24
• It features 27 remixed songs from the Unreal Tournament soundtrack
• You can exclusively listen to three tracks early below

Unreal Tournament still remains one of the most iconic and impactful first-person shooter (FPS) games over 25 years since it was first released. Now, its original composers Alexander Brandon, Michiel Van Den Bos, Peter Hajba, Andrew Sega, and Dan Gardopée are coming back to score an all-new remix album that puts a fresh spin on its classic soundtrack.

Tournament Rematch: Unreal Tournament Remixed arrives on January 24 and will be available via major music services including Spotify, Tidal, YouTube Music, and Apple Music. Hailing from boutique game soundtrack record label Materia Collective, physical vinyl and cassette versions are also up for pre-order now.

With just over a week to go before the launch, we’ve been given exclusive access to three upcoming tracks - including a remix of the game’s legendary Title theme. You can listen to each of them below.

Our first track is ‘Title’, which reimagines the Unreal Tournament Title theme. “This is, along with the main menu, considered the main theme of Unreal Tournament and even showed up with some arrangement in the Unreal Tournament episode of Secret Level on Amazon Prime,” says composer Alexander Brandon.

“It is used while the great voice of Lani Minella sets the stage for the players of the world of Unreal Tournament."

There’s also ‘Forgone Destruction’, which first accompanied the beloved multiplayer map Facing Worlds. “This track by Michiel Van Den Bos was part of one of the most popular maps in Unreal Tournament: Facing Worlds,” explains Brandon. “Two towers connected by land bridges floating in space. Incredibly atmospheric and memorable."

Our third and final track is the frantic ‘Go Down’ which was part of the cramped Deck 16 deathmatch map. Brandon describes it as “one of the most famous tracks that has been remixed in later Unreal Tournament sequels” and attributes its popularity to the fact that Deck 16 was “probably one of the most close quarters and fast-paced maps that players just kept coming back to!"

If you're interested in the other tunes included, you can see the full tracklist below (and, yes, there are two versions of the track 'Go Down' - it's not a mistake!).

1. Title
2. Menu
3. Skyward Fire
4. Foregone Destruction
5. Go Down
6. Go Down
7. Colossus
8. Super Fist
9. Mechanism 8
10. Skyward Fire
11. Razorback
12. Enigma
13. Botpack#9
14. Three Wheels Turning
15. Kharismatraon
16. Underworld II
17. Phantom
18. Lock
19. Ending / Hall of Champions
20. Mission Landing
21. Run
22. Organic
23. Into the Darkness
24. Botpack#10
25. Fire Breather
26. The Course
27. Mechanism

Unreal tournament may be old, but it still very much holds up today. It’s currently not available via any modern PC storefront, though publisher Epic Games has given its blessing to various fan projects that maintain freeware releases of Unreal Gold, Unreal Tournament, and Unreal 2: The Awakening.

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• A new report claims AirPods with heart-rate monitoring are coming
• 'Sensors to measure other health data' are also predicted
• Ultra 3 watch and new Series models could also offer high blood pressure detection

A January 12 report claims Apple could be much closer to delivering pulse readings in AirPods, something that has been predicted by tipsters and analysts alike since early 2022.

The tidbit (and it really is a tidbit) in Mark Gurman's latest Power On missive states: "Apple is planning a revamped health app – as well as an AI-based coaching service – and added capabilities for AirPods. That includes heart-rate monitoring and sensors to measure other health data."

Gurman also claims that Apple's unannounced Ultra 3 watch and new Series models will likely offer high blood pressure detection. However, despite affirming that Ultra 3 "will get satellite connectivity and 5G RedCap network access" as Apple works with partner Globalstar Inc. to boost its satellite service, it's not wholly clear how these extra health features will be implemented – in either AirPods or Apple's smartwatch lineup. Our guess (and it is just an educated guess) is that Apple might seek to hone the accuracy of blood pressure readings from the Ultra 3 with encrypted, cloud-based analysis, but it's a working hypothesis.

AirPods didn't do it first, so they'll have to do it best…

The idea of earbuds that can take your ticker isn't new, but it's certainly proved elusive. Back in June 2022, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro initially boasted the ability to take your temperature but didn't get the desired medical backing in the EU and UK to support the perk. Then in July of that same year, after much speculation over the then-unreleased top-tier Apple AirPods support (or lack thereof) for temperature sensing and perhaps a heart-rate monitor, neither did the September 2022 flagship AirPods which we now call the AirPods Pro 2.

It's possible that Apple simply didn't get around to adding heart-rate monitoring in AirPods Pro 2. The feature appeared in the first Apple Watch, but of course, that wearable sits on your wrist (an ideal spot for such readings) while AirPods are much smaller and only have so much room for sensors. But it's not that it can't be done in earbuds. In fact, the humble Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 I tried shortly after the furor surrounding the Honor/Apple temperature-sensor race (released in early October 2022 and to very little fanfare) were the first buds to come bearing a proper ticker-taker – but the feature was worded as "stress monitoring", rather than an out-and-out reading of your pulse.

Why label it so? Probably because (not to get too dramatic here, but) a pulse is a life-or-death issue. The existence of a heartbeat in humans is a sure sign of life – and its regularity and strength a key health indicator. Governing health bodies are likely taking this matter as seriously as it deserves, and unless a method that ensures reliable accuracy is found, it'll be tough for earbuds to gain full approval as heart-rate monitoring devices in certain markets. Take Apple's Hearing Aid Feature for example: the US gets the full-fat version thanks to FDA approval; the UK currently only supports AirPods Pro 2's hearing tests rather than the full complement.

It's a clever idea from Anker to make it about stress and still offer the feature, with our heart at the helm. Obviously, our pulse increases when we're stressed because the brain releases hormones (hello adrenaline; hi cortisol) to make our hearts beat faster, to prepare us to run from a perceived threat.

Finding the best way to our hearts

(Image credit: Apple)

Interestingly, Google is working with a different solution to offer heart-rate tracking in future earbuds, called audioplethysmography (or APG, because that really does need to be shortened). It works by sending a “low-intensity ultrasound probing signal” through the speakers, which then bounces around in the ear canal. The echoes sent back are received by onboard feedback microphones, which crucially are influenced by “tiny ear canal skin displacement and heartbeat vibrations” to monitor your heart rate – but since we reported on this in October 2023 and it hasn't yet made it to market, that's no quick fix either.

Of course, plenty of the best smartwatches can take your heart rate, so putting it into your earbuds may seem a trifling issue. But as mentioned earlier, watch sits very close to your pulse to provide a reading and is typically more of an investment than a set of earbuds. Our pick of the bunch, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, comes in at $799 / £799 / AU$1,399.

Meanwhile, AirPods Pro 3's big bet this year is health-tracking, but if this as-yet-unannounced iteration arrives with a price tag similar to AirPods Pro 2's $249 / £249 / AU$399, and with a heart-rate monitor, customers may seek to get the health answers they want without handing over quite so much cash to Apple. And so, while I truly hope it does happen, I'm glad the powers that be are seemingly treading with caution.

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• CyberNews researchers have discovered a huge data leak
• The dataset contained the information of over 24 million customersIt likely belonged to hotel chain Honotel

A leaked dataset which contained over 24 million hotel records has been discovered by CyberNews researchers, which included names, emails, phone numbers, and detailed stay information like arrival time, number of guests, and price paid.

There are strong indications that the dataset belongs to Honotel Group, a French hospitality investment and management firm.

The data specifically mentions ‘SITE HONOTEL’, researchers confirmed, as well as booking platforms such as Booking.com - suggesting the leaked database might be part of Honotel’s booking management system.

Guests at risk

Researchers discovered the suspected Honotel leak on October 4, 2024, and the leak was closed by October 7 2024, so the organization at least acted quickly once the disclosure notice had been sent.

It’s not clear how long the data was available, or if threat actors discovered or stole anything, but the information was discovered on an unprotected Elasticsearch server and Kibana interface.

This puts both the customer and the company at risk. For the customer, the risk when Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is compromised is the risk of fraud and identity theft, as malicious actors can use the data to take out loans, bank accounts, or even to develop social engineering attacks against the victims.

For the company, much like the FTC fines, European firms face GDPR regulations which could see penalties of up to 4% of a company’s global annual revenue if best security practices are not put in place to protect PII.

This comes not long after major incidents led the FTC to order the Marriott and Starwood hotel chains to implement more robust security measures after 344 million customers were left exposed in a massive data breach. Marriott systems were exposed for up to four years, earning the firm a $52 million penalty from the FTC in 2024.

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The good news? Cybersecurity is witnessing a steady evolution. Organizations across EMEA are sharpening their abilities to detect and respond to cyber attacks. In 2023, ransomware intrusions in EMEA were detected in just 8 days, a substantial improvement from the 33 days it took in 2022.

Which, unfortunately, brings us to the bad news: cybercriminals are also evolving. Hacker groups, once characterized by disparate individuals operating from basements, have transformed into highly sophisticated and well-funded organizations. Their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) are evolving at a rate which now presents a formidable challenge to traditional security measures.

The group takedowns we’ve seen in recent months by international authorities have underscored the strides made in knowledge-sharing and cooperation between countries and law enforcement. However, this case also lays bare the agility of cybercriminals, who can promptly reassemble and reappear elsewhere.

It’s therefore vital that organizations are also continually evolving, building a robust cybersecurity posture to protect themselves from this increasingly sophisticated threat landscape.

Proactive threat detection through technology

Evolving threats means pressure is increasing on cybersecurity teams to keep pace. Proactivity is more vital than ever.

Threats range from exploits to ransomware, custom malware to sophisticated phishing scams. All of which are on the rise. This year, exploits continued to dominate as the top method of intrusion, closely followed by phishing campaigns. The substantial commitment of time and resources towards uncovering these vulnerabilities underscores their undeniable value to threat actors. This emphasizes the need for organizations to regularly reassess and fine-tune their defense strategies.

Proactive detection should be undertaken to root out any potential hidden breaches within a network. Investigations could include proactive scanning of devices, reviewing network logs and applying malware signatures to appliance images.

One area of cybersecurity where Gen AI holds huge potential is in proactive threat hunting. Mandiant Red Teams have been leveraging Gen AI to assist in the development of custom tooling and enhance their understanding of various platforms and their security aspects. Organizations can utilize red teams to simulate realistic attack scenarios and help improve the overall security of their environments.

Building a cyber-aware culture

The uncomfortable truth is that all organizations are at risk of attack. Mandiant tracks more than 4,000 threat groups, 719 of which were newly tracked in 2023, as well as 626 new malware families.

However, those with especially sensitive data are even more attractive to attackers. In the past year, Mandiant were called to respond to intrusions most commonly at financial services organizations (17.3%), business and professional services (13.3%), high tech (12.4%), retail and hospitality (8.6%), healthcare (8.1%), and government (8.1%).

It’s clear why – the data from these sources is worth more to threat actors, and so they are more vulnerable to targeting.

Creating a cyber-aware culture can help to protect sensitive information by limiting the risk of a breach. It’s getting increasingly common that attackers exploit trusted relationships and communications using techniques such as conversation hijacking, or by masquerading as internal users. Teaching staff what signs to watch for provides a basic, but important, layer of cybersecurity.

Especially when considering that stolen credentials - which pose a serious security risk to organizations - were the fourth most notable initial intrusion vector in 2023. Though there’s evidence that education works. In 2023, 10% of intrusions began with evidence of stolen credentials, compared to 14% observed in 2022.

Enhancing preparedness

We’ve seen notable improvements in dwell time over the past few years. Dwell time describes the number of days an attacker is on a system from compromise to detection, and in 2023 the global median dwell time is 10 days, down from 16 days in 2022.

This is a testament to how proactive cybersecurity can limit the harm from a breach. Encouraging this kind of preparedness within teams is key to ensuring that those teams are ready to respond to threats with a robust, organized and clear strategy when the time comes.

Employing tactics such as regular exercises to test security teams, continual reviews of incident response plans, and adopting an attitude of least privilege can ensure that the effects of a cyberattack are limited.

It’s also vital to consider involving teams outside of your cybersecurity experts. Bringing in outside groups such as comms, legal and other relevant teams in tabletop exercises can help to test incident response plans and ensure there is no weak link in your response process.

Implementing positive change

The more prepared a company culture, the better placed it is to respond when the worst happens. It’s a basic - but true - tenet of cybersecurity.

As malicious actors leverage larger resources to create evermore complex and dangerous cyberattacks, it’s vital that organizations keep their fingers on the pulse and respond accordingly. New technologies, regular process reviews and a vigilant, cyber-aware culture will all go some way to protecting sensitive data.

And, as international authorities increasingly start working together, we can build stronger responses to mitigate the formidable challenge at hand.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Metaphor: ReFantazio's new patch adds a novel way for players to change their party formation
• The update has also introduced a new category jump function
• Several gameplay bugs have also been addressed

Atlus has released a new patch for Metaphor: ReFantazio, which brings main menu changes and bug fixes.

Update 1.11 for PlayStation, although for Xbox its 1.112.0, Windows 1.0.112.0, and Steam 1.0.11.0, is now live and a fairly small patch primarily aimed at fixing a bunch of gameplay bugs while also improving upon the game's main menu.

The main takeaway is that the patch has introduced a new way for players to change their party formation and now allows them to swap members on the main menu and equip screen.

"Now able to change party formation and configuration in Main Menu > Equipment," the patch notes read.

Atlus has also added a category jump function to specific locations on the main menu and item screen, as well as fixed a bug that was stopping players from progressing further when performing certain operations on the main menu. You can read the full patch notes below.

Metaphor: ReFantazio version 1.11 patch notes:

All Platforms

• You can now change your formation and swap party members on the main menu and EQUIP screen.
• Added a category jump function to specific locations on the main menu and ITEM screen.
• Fixed a bug that prevented progress from being made when performing certain operations on the main menu.
• Other minor fixes.

Windows and Steam versions

• Adjusted analog stick operation for characters and cursors.
• Fixed an issue where camera movement using the mouse was slow in some cases.
• Fixed an issue where the frame rate was fixed with certain operations.
• Fixed an issue where certain operations during command battles made it impossible to progress.
• Fixed an issue where certain operations in Magura Hole made it impossible to progress.
• Fixed an issue where controller input would not be accepted under certain conditions on Windows 11.

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• Severance star Patricia Arquette reveals what's in store for Harmony Cobel in season 2
• Harmony will "grapple" with her long-standing loyalty to Lumon Industries, Arquette teases
• She'll be trapped in a "teenage vortex of emotional growth" this season, too

Severance star Patricia Arquette has teased what fans can expect to see as part of Harmony Cobel's character arc in season 2.

Chatting to TechRadar before the highly-rated Apple TV Plus show returns on January 17, Arquette suggested that Cobel will embark on a coming-of-age journey of sorts. Not only that, but she'll also spend much of this season questioning her allegiance to Lumon Industries, the clandestine biotechnological megacorporation that she's loyally served for throughout her adult life.

Major spoilers immediately follow for Severance season 1's final two episodes. Turn back now if you haven't watched them.

Harmony Cobel is metaphorically lost at sea after being fired by Lumon (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

In Severance season 1 episode 8, titled 'What's for Dinner?', Cobel was suspended as Lumon's Severed Floor manager. That's because she withheld information about Helly R's (Helena Egan's 'innie' persona) suicide attempt and her extracurricular activities using the alias Mrs Selvig from Lumon's board. The latter included Cobel spying on Mark Scout by posing as his absent-minded neighbor and being hired as the nanny for Mark's newborn nephew.

Last season's finale, though, saw Cobel spare Lumon's blushes – and some potentially spare it some devastating press coverage – when its Macrodata Refiners, including Helly and Mark's 'innie' (known simply as Mark S) temporarily escaped into the real world. That almost led to them blowing the whistle on Lumon's nefarious working practices, and they would have succeeded had it not been for Cobel's last-minute intervention. Indeed, it's Cobel who realizes that the 'innies' have utilized Lumon's Overtime Contingency program to break out and, at a Lumon gala, tries to stop Helly from revealing what goes on at the heinous organization.

You would expect, then, Cobel's sinister employers to thank her for saving their skin, and potentially reinstate her as Severed Floor manager, right? Not so. I won't spoil what happens in this season's early episodes – my Severance season 2 review contains some very light spoilers for its first four episodes, though, if you're interested. Arquette was similarly keen not to ruin anything significant about Cobel's character arc in the Apple mystery-thriller series' sophomore outing, but she did tease where Cobel's mindset is at heading into Severance season 2.

"I think she doesn't like the direction [that] the corporation is going in," Arquette told me. "She's an old-school devotee, and I feel like even though she's been doing things that were outside the purview of the company, her agenda was to do it for Lumon [and] for the greatness of care, and she's very frustrated that the corporation doesn't value that at all, or value her at all.

It's like a kid who has a parent that will never really acknowledge or love them

Patricia Arquette, Severance actor

"She sees how much she's done and how pivotal she's been to the growth and trajectory of that corporation," Arquette added. "It's like a kid who has a parent that will never really acknowledge or love them, so she's always trying to get that kind of approval. At the same time, in this kind of teenage vortex of her emotional growth, she's also kind of hating them, so there's a desire to be loved by them and also punish them that she's grappling with."

For more on one of the best Apple TV Plus shows' next installment, including details on its cast, plot, and trailers, read my Severance season 2 hub. Alternatively, read more of my exclusive coverage of the show's next entry in the section below.

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One of the most common challenges we hear is that organizations believe connecting their legacy and modern systems is nearly impossible. Well, that’s not true.

Legacy systems, often seen as outdated and deeply embedded, contrast sharply with modern systems designed for flexibility, scalability, and innovation. Despite these differing perceptions, both legacy and modern systems remain crucial in today’s business environment. The real challenge? Bridging the gap between the two, enabling seamless integration and unlocking the full potential of each.

Challenges with legacy technology

Legacy systems can seem like the dinosaurs of the tech world: powerful but not agile. While they were once the backbone of an organization's IT, some companies now lean towards modernized approaches. However, overhauling infrastructure entirely may not always be feasible due to the costs and time involved. Integrating the modern with the legacy is challenging but achievable with the right approach.

Legacy systems are rarely straightforward. What may appear as a simple interface can hide multiple layers of interconnected components. Over time, various fixes can add complexity, making integration daunting. Understanding and addressing each layer is essential for successful integration.

The democratization of artificial intelligence (A)I has also led to many organizations rush to implement it into their operations. The evolution in AI and machine learning (ML) models presents a unique challenge when integrating these technologies with legacy systems. Outdated architectures can make this integration difficult, but it’s a necessary step for businesses looking to leverage AI's full potential.

Moreover, systems just a few years old can feel outdated. Integrating them with modern cloud architecture is essential for future-proofing operations. To do this successfully, your businesses must develop robust cloud strategies that facilitate smooth integration while safeguarding data, enabling legacy systems to interface effectively with the cloud.

Reengineering complex integration challenges

At the core of successful integration lies a deep understanding of both legacy and modern systems, and how they can be engineered to work together seamlessly.

The integration process begins with thoroughly analyzing your system architecture to identify the root of the problem. This is followed by discovery workshops to uncover integration challenges and pinpoint the specific business processes that need addressing. Collaboration is key during this phase; working closely with your team ensures that all stakeholders are aligned, and the integration solution is tailored to your unique needs.

Next, develop a business process map, which serves as a blueprint for how data and processes flow through the system. A proof of concept should then be developed to test the integration on a smaller scale, identifying any issues before full implementation.

Integration is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. Once the systems are integrated, continually monitor performance, gather feedback, and make necessary adjustments. This continuous improvement cycle ensures that the integrated system remains efficient, reliable, and adaptable to future changes.

Taking the retail industry as an example, with its fast-paced environment and complex technology stacks, it’s a prime example of how legacy and modern systems can be successfully integrated to enhance operations. Retailers often face the challenge of managing vast amounts of data across multiple touchpoints, from order management to payment processing. Integrating legacy systems with modern technology is essential for streamlining these operations and staying competitive in the market.

Pitfalls to avoid when integrating legacy and new systems

Don’t underestimate the complexity – Legacy systems often involve multiple layers of code, outdated programming languages, and undocumented dependencies. Assuming integration will be straightforward can lead to costly delays and project failures. Conducting a thorough assessment of the system architecture and anticipating potential challenges early on is crucial.

Inadequate testing –Rushing through this phase can result in significant issues down the line. Rigorous testing in a controlled environment ensures that any potential problems are identified and addressed before they impact live operations.

Poor data quality – Legacy systems house vast amounts of data, but the quality of that data can vary significantly. Poor data quality can severely impact the success of integration efforts, leading to inaccurate outputs and inefficient processes. Addressing data quality issues through cleansing and validation before integration is vital to ensure that the new system operates smoothly and effectively.

Organization resistance – Balancing legacy and the modern is as much about the people in your business as it is about the tech stack. Employees who are accustomed to legacy systems may be reluctant to adopt new technologies, fearing that it will disrupt their workflow or require extensive retraining. Engaging stakeholders early, providing adequate training, and clearly communicating the benefits of the integration can help mitigate this resistance and ensure a smoother transition.

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• Avery discovers a credit card skimmer installed on its website
• Tens of thousands of people have had their sensitive data taken
• It is now offering free credit monitoring services to affected individuals

Hackers have been discovered stealing payment and personally identifiable information (PII) from customers of printing giant Avery for over half a year, experts have claimed.

Tens of thousands of people may have been affected by the incident affecting Avery Products Corporation, a major manufacturer of printable labels, name tags, dividers, and other customizable office supplies.

In a data breach notification letter sent to affected customers, Avery said it became aware of a “ransomware attack” on December 9 2024.

Files abused in the wild

“Our investigation determined that an unauthorized actor inserted malicious software that was used to “scrape” credit card information used on our website between July 18, 2024, and December 9, 2024,” the letter reads.

The company added the scraper most likely exfiltrated people’s full names, billing and shipping addresses, email addresses and phone numbers, payment card information (including CVV numbers and expiration dates), and purchase amounts.

Social Security numbers (SSN), driver’s license numbers and other government-issued ID numbers, birth dates, and other sensitive personal information, were not taken, Avery said.

At first, the company did not see any evidence of in-the-wild abuse of the stolen information, but now it warns that it might have been the case.

“Initially, we had no evidence that any of the information was acquired (e.g., downloaded or exfiltrated from the website)," it added, "nor did we have any indication that the information had been used in any way – such as to make fraudulent purchases. We do not know if fraudulent charges are related to our website incident, but it now appears possible that payment-card (and other) information may have been acquired as we received two emails from customers who indicated that they incurred a fraudulent charge and/or phishing email. We received a number of similar reports this month.”

A separate report filed with the Maine Office of the Attorney General, Avery said that 61,193 people were affected by this attack. To mitigate the risks, the company is offering 12 months of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services through Cyberscout.

Via BleepingComputer

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• ScalaHosting announces new SPanel-powered hosting plans
• Its team will take care of migration for clients, free of charge
• SPanel for non-ScalaHosting shared hosting plans

American web hosting provider, ScalaHosting, released an update to SPanel allowing it to be used on shared hosting plans. The update gives shared hosting customers (and resellers) on any of the best web hosting providers more flexibility and choice on hosting panels for their hosting as cPanel increases prices for 2025.

SPanel has largely been viewed as one of the best alternatives to cPanel, and provides a variety of features for people wanting to move away from cPanel.

SPanel is developed by ScalaHosting to manage servers, websites, and email accounts efficiently. It offers enhanced security, resource management, and user-friendly tools. There are other panels out there but they have always struggled to compete with cPanel due to either being locked into a hosting provider or lacking features and value for money.

The final step in creating a viable cPanel/WHM alternative

Chris Russev, CEO and Co-founder of ScalaHosting & SPanel.io, told TechRadar Pro, "Making SPanel available to shared hosting customers was the final step in transforming it into a full-scale cPanel/WHM alternative. What truly sets our control panel apart is its community-driven development approach." He added, " Instead of creating functionalities based on our preferences, we took a different path - allowing web developers and hosting users to shape it according to their real needs."

Russev went on to say, “At features.spanel.io, anyone can suggest new features and vote on existing ones. We prioritize and develop the user requests that receive the most votes, ensuring the platform evolves to meet the needs of its community."

Turn any self-managed hosting into fully managed

A key feature is support directly integrated into the panel. Russev explained, "Another major difference is the 24/7 live technical support included with every SPanel license, making it the first-ever fully managed hosting control panel. This unique feature can transform any self-managed hosting service into a fully managed one.”

For existing ScalaHosting shared hosting customers the option to switch to SPanel will be offered between now and March 1st. Technical support can handle the migration seamlessly and without downtime. Those who want to remain with cPanel can do so.

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Nubia’s Redmagic 10 Pro delivers magnificent mobile gaming at a midrange price, but nongamers should look elsewhere.

• Nvidia has provided some new benchmarks for RTX 5000 graphics cards
• Two of them don’t involve DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation
• However, the gen-on-gen uplifts shown here are modest – but we still shouldn’t get carried away

Nvidia has released some more game benchmarks for its next-gen Blackwell GPUs, and we’ve caught a couple of results that don’t use DLSS 4 and its Multi Frame Generation (MFG) feature.

The trouble with the in-game benchmarks that use MFG – which is a big upgrade on Nvidia’s original frame generation, inserting more artificial frames to up the frames per second count – is that they aren’t a fair apples-to-apples comparison with RTX 4000 graphics cards using DLSS 3 frame generation (the latter can’t use DLSS 4 MFG, as it’s exclusive to RTX 5000). And that’s the case for most of the benchmarks aired thus far.

So, PC gamers are hungry to see generational comparisons that don’t use DLSS 4, avoiding this skewing of the results, and we’ve got two games where this has happened in this fresh benchmarking – reported by ComputerBase (via VideoCardz) – namely Horizon Forbidden West and Resident Evil 4.

Resident Evil 4 doesn’t use DLSS at all – but does have ray tracing turned on – and Horizon Forbidden West gives us a glimpse of rasterized (non-ray tracing) gen-on-gen performance, but with DLSS on (with no frame generation, though, crucially, so MFG is removed from the equation).

Going by the bars in the bar chart provided – estimating their relative lengths, as Nvidia doesn’t provide hard figures – it looks like the RTX 5090 is about a third (33%) faster than the RTX 4090 in these two games. However, there’s a much leaner 15% or thereabouts jump with the RTX 5080 versus the RTX 4080.

With the RTX 5070 and its 5070 Ti sibling, we’re looking at more like a 20% jump compared to their respective predecessors, again just in those two games.

(Image credit: Future) Analysis: Fake frames outcry part umpteen

“See. Nvidia’s new graphics cards are a big con – without ‘fake frames’ they are going to be rubbish!”

Fake frames meaning frame generation, and this is the kind of vitriolic comment that’s popping up a fair bit following this revelation (and indeed before it, to be fair). But we do have to bear in mind that this is just a couple of games, in certain specific configurations.

Still, I concede the general point. On the one hand, Nvidia will obviously want to show off DLSS 4 and MFG as it’s a big leap forward (well, in theory at this point for all of us outside Team Green) for its GPUs. But on the other hand, it doesn’t feel great that most of the benchmarks shown thus far use MFG, and as noted, aren’t fair or direct comparisons with RTX 4000 graphics cards. These benchmarks show at least 30% to 40% gains (in previous airings), or a doubling of frames rates (as seen here with some games, and indeed a 2.9x gain with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle). Of course, this isn’t what you’ll see outside of games that support DLSS 4 with MFG.

Gamers would like to see a broader range of benchmarks, including pure rasterized performance without any DLSS – which we haven’t seen at all, as Resident Evil 4 above, the only game not to have DLSS turned on in Nvidia’s testing, is ray-traced performance.

Nvidia’s job is, at the prerelease stage, to stoke excitement for its graphics cards, obviously enough, but the slant towards that aim feels too skewed for gamers (and myself, I should add) in the way the RTX 5000 GPUs have been shown off so far.

Even so, the shakier-looking gen-on-gen performance of Horizon Forbidden West and Resident Evil 4 should not be used as a springboard to reach a conclusion along the lines of the (fake) fake frames rant I introduced this section with – that’s unfair, and going too far in the other direction

That said, to some extent, a lesser generational uplift is expected with Blackwell compared to Lovelace (RTX 4000), outside of the software plus AI tricks (neural texture compression) and the new trump card of MFG. After all, RTX 5000 is made on the same process as RTX 4000 (TSMC 4N, albeit an improved version, 4NP, for Blackwell), and so there’s no process drop to facilitate beefy generational gains there – that side of the equation relies purely on architectural enhancements.

Before we get too bogged down in the details here, one thing is clear enough – we need to wait for reviews before we get anything approaching a fully rounded picture of RTX 5000 performance. Which, of course, is always the case.

Still, there remains an inescapable feeling Nvidia is hiding something with the heavy slant towards MFG in this generation’s prerelease buildup – a lesson for Team Green to be more even-handed with its marketing efforts next time, perhaps. And of course, we don’t know how MFG is going to pan out in its execution and smoothness yet, either, for those PC games that do use the shiny new tech.

There are still a lot of unknowns, although all these questions will be answered soon enough. In theory the RTX 5090 review is coming next week, if the rumors prove to be correct.

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Yes, it's finally official. The next Nintendo console will be called the Nintendo Switch 2, as was demonstrated in its new reveal trailer.

If you haven't managed to catch the trailer yet, you can check it out below. And don't forget to also head over to our Nintendo Switch 2 live page for up-to-the-minute news.

The branding looks very similar to that of the original Nintendo Switch, albeit with a big, bold number two slapped alongside it. This matches up perfectly with the countless Nintendo Switch 2 leaks and rumors over the last few months, but honestly I was hoping for something a little more exciting.

For me, Nintendo has always been ahead of the game when it comes to branding across console generations. The shift from the Nintendo DS to the Nintendo 3DS, for example, not only conveyed that the Nintendo 3DS was a new, more powerful console but also highlighted one of its most significant and exciting features.

Even the more conventionally named console successors, like the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, still felt unique. As an adjective, Super conveys a real sense of whimsy that, to me, just screams Nintendo.

The Nintendo Switch 2, in contrast, feels sterile, following the age-old naming scheme established by competitors such as Sony with the PlayStation. It does nothing to tell me why I should be excited, or make clear any of its interesting features, including the apparent ability to use the new Joy-Con as a mouse, for instance.

Still, it's not the end of the world. Excitement around the upcoming system seems high and I would be shocked if it's not a hit. I'm just hoping that whatever comes next has a moniker that's bit more thrilling.

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