Hackers with links to China reportedly successfully infiltrated a number of unnamed government and tech entities using advanced malware. As reported by Reuters, cybersecurity agencies from the US and Canada confirmed the attack, which used a backdoor known as Brickstorm to target organizations using the VMware vSphere cloud computing platform.
As detailed in a report published by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security on December 4, PRC state-sponsored hackers maintained "long-term persistent access" to an unnamed victims internal network. After compromising the affected platform, the cybercriminals were able to steal credentials, manipulate sensitive files and create "rogue, hidden VMs" (virtual machines), effectively seizing control unnoticed. The attack could have begun as far back as April 2024 and lasted until at least September of this year.
The malware analysis report published by the Canadian Cyber Centre, with assistance from The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Security Agency (NSA), cites eight different Brickstorm malware samples. It is not clear exactly how many organizations in total were either targeted or successfully penetrated.
In an email to Reuters, a spokesperson for VMware vSphere owner Broadcom said it was aware of the alleged hack, and encouraged its customers to download up-to-date security patches whenever possible. In September, the Google Threat Intelligence Group published its own report on Brickstorm, in which it urged organizations to "reevaluate their threat model for appliances and conduct hunt exercises" against specified threat actors.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/chinese-hackers-reportedly-targeting-government-entities-using-brickstorm-malware-133501894.html?src=rss
Portal shooter Splitgate 2 is coming back with a new name and rebuilt experience after being pulled back to beta earlier this year, developer 1047 Games announced. The free-to-play Splitgate: Arena Reloaded will relaunch on December 17th across platforms including Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC.
"After months of community feedback, testing and rebuilding the entire experience, this is Splitgate refocused on what made it special in the first place: classic arena combat without factions, abilities, or extra noise," the developer shared in a blog post, along with a gameplay video.
Splitgate 2 originally launched in June, but 1047 Games pulled it back to beta after deciding that the release had been rushed. For the new version, the company said, "we took the best of Splitgate 1 and Splitgate 2" and cut the parts that didn't fit, while refining the ones that did. "in the process, we not only rebuilt the game, we reconnected with the magic of the genre that built this studio in the first place: a return to the Arena."
Here are some key changes made:
Removed Splitgate 2's factions, abilities, and select equipment so the focus is back on classic arena combat without the extra noise.
Rebuilt progression from the ground up so your time in game feels rewarding, with weapon and character cosmetics you can earn simply by playing.
We've added a true Classic Arena mode with even starts and new map pickups, recapturing the feel of the original.
Fine tuned combat to better match expectations for a modern arena shooter, with more meaningful gunfights and fewer "what just happened" moments.
Completely overhauled the ranked system so your rank reflects your actual skill for players who love to climb and compete.
Added key systems you have been asking for: Mode Select, Player Stats, Ranked Leaderboards, and Account Levels.
Introduced five brand new maps and six fully reworked arenas, bringing the total map pool to 20.
Added three new LMG primary weapons and the iconic Power Weapon, the Railgun.
1047 Games was savaged earlier this year by Splitgate players after co-founder Ian Proulx wore a hat at Summer Games Fest stating "Make FPS Great Again." Later, he posted to the studio's X account on Splitgate 2's release date that he was "not here to apologize" and that the hat was "not a political statement," finally admitting that it was all basically a publicity stunt.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/splitgate-arena-reloaded-tries-to-fix-what-splitgate-2-broke-130027714.html?src=rss
Microsoft's Copilot+ initiative launched last year with a clear goal: To produce capable laptops for people eagerly anticipating AI-powered features. Read that sentence again, and it's glaringly obvious that Microsoft's plan was flawed from the start. Most consumers aren't nearly as hyped for AI features as the companies eager to foist artificial intelligence upon us. And those features aren't exactly compelling, either. Microsoft's Recall which snaps screenshots of your PC to create a database of everything youve done was dogged by privacy concerns from the start. And to be honest, I haven't found its ability to remember the files and websites I've opened to be that useful.Without any sort of killer AI app, most consumers weren't going to pay a premium for Copilot+ systems either. Not in this precarious economy, anyway. So it wasn't a huge surprise to see sales of Copilot+ systems going practically nowhere over the last year. In the third quarter of 2024, they accounted for less than 10 percent of systems shipped, according to data from Mercury Research (via Toms Hardware). The research firm IDC (via PCWorld) also found that Copilot+ systems made up just 2.3 percent of Windows machines sold in the first quarter of 2025 (and a mere 1.9 percent of the entire PC market).Instead of continuing to promote Copilot+, Microsoft now wants to "make every Windows 11 computer an AI PC". The new "Hey Copilot" voice commands and Copilot Vision, a feature that lets the AI assistant see what's on your screen, are both cloud-powered. That means you won't need the beefy 40 TOPS neural processing units (NPU) found on Copilot+ systems to use them. Microsoft spent the past few years touting NPUs as the gateway to useful AI features, like Recall and Windows Studio webcam effects, but only one of its new AI capabilities actually requires an NPU. (And even that is just a slight update to Click to Do, allowing you to send Zoom invitations by right-clicking on e-mail addresses.)It's easy to view the whole Copilot+ initiative as a cynical way to ramp up AI hype and push people towards expensive new laptops, especially as the October 14 Windows 10 end of support date loomed. But it also led to some genuinely useful changes: Microsoft made 16GB of RAM a standard for Copilot+ systems, along with 256GB of storage and the aforementioned 40 TOPS NPUs. The launch of Copilot was also the kick in the pants Microsoft needed to revamp Windows for mobile Arm processors. I never thought I'd love a Surface with a Snapdragon chip, but the improved Arm support on the Surface Pro and this year's smaller model finally won me over.The Dell 16 Premium sitting on a ledge.I wouldnt call the Copilot+ program a huge swing, but its still the sort of industry-wide cat herding thats rare to see in the PC space. Microsoft couldnt just snap its fingers and shift all PCs to efficient mobile chips with powerful NPUs, like Apple did with its own jump to M-series chips years ago. Microsoft had to wait for new NPU-equipped hardware from Qualcomm (and eventually Intel and AMD). It had to finally fix the Windows on Arm problem. And it also had to double-down on AI features that felt truly transformative. Its just a shame that consumers didnt seem to care.Microsoft said that Copilot+ systems accounted for 15 percent of premium PCs sold during last years holiday season, but the company hasnt released any new sales figures since then. This is the fastest adoption I've seen of a new category of hardware, and we've done it faster than the normal generational shift of silicon, James Howell, Microsofts VP of Windows marketing, said in a conversation with Engadget. Copilot+ PCs continue to be a transition that we are pushing for and prioritizing. But I can't give you the exact numbers beyond that Just for the last two or three months, we've been doing pretty well with year-on-year growth in the Windows business.Surface Pro Copilot+Devindra Hardawar for EngadgetWhile Microsoft ultimately doesnt have much to show for the Copilot+ initiative, the steady progression of hardware will lead to AI PCs dominating over the next five years. The research firm Omdia predicts that AI PCs will account for 55 percent of computers shipped in all of 2026, up from 42.5 percent of systems in Q3 2025. By 2029, Omdia predicts AI PCs will make up 75 percent of all systems shipped, giving Windows 80 percent of the AI PC market. Omdia AI PC shipment predictionsOmdiaIts important to note that this steep adoption curve [for AI PCs] is driven more by the product roadmaps of the PC market, rather than consumers and businesses seeking PCs specifically for AI, according to Omdia research analyst Kieren Jessop. For businesses, and consumers especially, AI-capable PC adoption is more a function of a customer going to purchase a device and that device just so happens to have an NPU.Microsoft was basically right: AI PCs are the future. But it turns out the AI features people actually want to use like ChatGPT, Sora and Microsofts own Copilot are mostly powered by the cloud, making onboard NPUs superfluous. That wont be true forever. There are tangible security, speed and convenience benefits for onboard AI processing, like transcribing sensitive audio instead of sending it to the cloud. But for now, those AI workloads are relatively niche, and theyre not enough to make the Copilot+ a true success by any measure.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/microsofts-copilot-ai-pc-plan-fizzled-but-it-still-served-a-purpose-130000239.html?src=rss
Spinning off from the action-camera company Insta360, Antigravity now has its debut drone on sale. With 360-degree cameras that capture 8K and offer you a truly unconstrained view of the skies, the A1 is a different drone from everything else out there. Sorry, DJI.
Instead of typical drone joysticks, you get a motion controller that lets you point and shoot like video game gesture controls, while crisp FPV goggles put you right inside the cockpit.
Engadget
Its easy to fly after takeoff, but the A1s myriad parts are often tricky to sync together and pulling video down to the companion app is even trickier. Going on specs alone, like speed and camera sensor size, it doesnt stand up to cinematic drones from the likes of DJI.
Still, its not meant to be a cinematic drone. Its a hybrid mix of flight experience, FPV drone and a not-miss-a-thing camera drone. Its truly unique and fun.
Mat Smith
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Amazon halts its incredibly poor AI anime dubbing beta
Ridiculed by all.
Amazon has quietly removed its terrible AI-generated English dubs for several anime shows on Prime Video, following widespread ridicule from viewers and the industry. AI dubs were recently added to Banana Fish, No Game, No Life and Vinland Saga, where they were labeled AI beta in the Languages section of the app.
For shows lacking an English-language dub, it was a seemingly cheap way to consume anime for Amazon. However, it quickly became clear that the dubs were really quite bad. Baaaad.
Voice actor Daman Mills called the AI-generated dub for Banana Fish a massive insult to us as performers in a post on X.
Continue reading.
Amazon thinks about ending ties with the US Postal Service
The company continues to invest heavily in its own shipping network.
An Amazon double today. According to The Washington Post, Amazon is considering discontinuing use of the US Postal Service and building its own shipping network to rival it. The e-commerce behemoth spends more than $6 billion a year on the public mail carrier almost 8 percent of the services total revenue. Thats up from just under $4 billion in 2019. That split might be due to a breakdown in negotiations between Amazon and the USPS rather than Amazon proactively pulling its business.
Amazon has invested heavily in all kinds of delivery methods, including shipping logistics, buying its own Boeing planes, launching its own electric delivery vans and slowly building a drone delivery network.
Continue reading.
Amazons Kindle Scribe Colorsoft finally has a release date
December 10, just in time for the holidays.
Engadget
A triple? Sorry. Amazon didnt have a specific release date to share beyond later this year for its latest Scribe slates. And talk about brinkmanship! Here we are in December. The company says the devices will be available on December 10. This is the third generation of the Kindle Scribe line of E Ink writing tablets the first time Amazon has three versions of the Scribe. At the entry level, the Scribe without a front light starts at $430, while the model with a light starts at $480. The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft will start at $630. You always have to pay more for color.
Continue reading.
Nikon ZR camera review
A highly capable cinema camera at a reasonable price.
The Nikon ZR could be a breakthrough for content creators, largely because it incorporates technology from RED a company now owned by Nikon. The combination of professional-grade video quality (specifically RED RAW) and autofocus comes at a fraction of the cost of dedicated cinema rigs. There are some compromises on battery life and the lack of a viewfinder, but the ZR arguably offers the best video quality for the money.
Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-orning-after-engadget-newsletter-121538076.html?src=rss
CES doesn't start until January, but whispers of the products and announcements that could be in store for tech's biggest annual conference have already started to take shape. The CES 2026 show floor is officially open from January 6 through 9, although the show kicks off with events on Sunday January 4 and a host of press conferences on Monday. As always, product demos, announcements and networking happening at the Las Vegas Convention Center and surrounding hotels all over the city. As usual, Engadget will be covering the event in-person and remotely, bringing you news and hands-ons straight from the show floor.More specific details and pre-announcements should trickle out as CES approaches, but in the meantime, we do know what companies will be hosting press conferences and what tech trends could rear their heads at the show.What we already know aboutPress conferences and show floor booths are the bread and butter of CES. The Consumer Technology Association has already published a searchable directory of who will have a presence at the show, along with a schedule of every official panel and presentation.On Sunday, January 4, Samsung will kick-off CES with "The First Look," a presentation hosted by TM Roh, the CEO of Samsung's DX Division, on the company's "vision for the DX (Device eXperience) Division in 2026, along with new AI-driven customer experiences." That'll be followed by multiple press conferences throughout Monday, January 5. LG is hosting its "Innovation in Tune with You" presentation to share "its vision for elevating daily life through Affectionate Intelligence" at the start of the day, Intel is launching its new Core Ultra Series 3 processors in the afternoon, Sony Honda Mobility is holding a press conference on its first car and AMD CEO Lisa Su will cover AMD's upcoming chip announcements at a keynote address that closes out the day.Finally, on Tuesday, January 6, Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang will host Lenovo's Tech World Conference at Sphere, using the large and decidedly curved screen to share the company's "commitment to delivering smarter AI for all by constantly redefining how technology can engage, inspire, and empower."Outside of the formal introduction of new products and initiatives, reading the tea leaves of what was announced last year and what companies are reportedly working on, we can make some educated guesses at what we could see at CES 2026.New chips from AMD, Intel and QualcommCES is frequently the start of a cascade of new chip announcements for a given year, and one of the first places new silicon appears in real consumer products. AMD will likely use its keynote to introduce new versions of its Ryzen chips, including the recently spotted Ryzen 7 9850X3D, which is expected to offer better single-threaded performance, and the Ryzen 9000G series, which could be built with AMD's Zen 5 architecture. The company might also use its CES stage to go over its new FSR Redstone AI upscaling tech.Intel has already publicly announced that it'll launch its Panther Lake chips at CES 2026. The officially titled Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips fit into Intel's overall "AI PC" push, but are specifically meant for premium laptops. Based on a preview from October 2025, Intel says the first chip made with its 2-nanometer 18A process will offer 50 percent more processing performance than previous generations and for the chip's Arc GPU, a 50 percent performance bump from last generation.Qualcomm is also rumored to be targeting laptops at the show, building on the work it's done moving its Snapdragon chips out of phones and tablets and into other types of computers. The company's Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Premium chips should start appearing in laptops at CES 2026, offering a look at the improved speed and AI performance the company promised in 2025.Brighter, "truer" screensSony announced a collection of new Bravia TVs in April 2025, replacing the company's flagship, filling in its midrange options and adding a new budget model to the mix. The star of this updated Bravia lineup is the Bravia 9, which features a QD-OLED panel, but Sony appears to be prepping entirely new display tech for 2026. In March 2025, Sony introduced a new RGB LED panel that uses individual Mini LED backlights colored in red, green and blue to produce even brighter, more accurate colors. In contrast to a QD-OLED, which filters a layer of blue organic light emitting diodes through quantum dots that change color, Sony's "General RGB LED Backlight Technology" can get as bright as a Mini LED panel without needing an extra filter layer or worrying about OLED's problems with burn-in. The company has already trademarked the name "True RGB," which could end up being what Sony calls this new flavor of display if it decides to show them off at CES. It seems entirely likely, because CES is nothing if not a TV show its a sure bet that well see new TVs from the likes of LG and Samsung in addition to Sony. If the company doesn't introduce new display tech for its TVs, it does have a new 240Hz PlayStation monitor coming in 2026 that it could show off at CES instead.Sony isn't the only company hyped on bright screens. Samsung is reportedly pushing an updated version of the HDR10 and HDR10+ standards that could be ready to demo at CES 2026. The new HDR10+ Advanced standard would be Samsung's answer to Dolby Vision 2, which includes support for things bi-directional tone mapping and intelligent features that automatically adapt sports and gaming content. Samsung's take will reportedly offer improved brightness, genre-based tone mapping and intelligent motion smoothing options, among other improvements.Ballie Watch 2026The ball-shaped yellow robot lovingly known as "Ballie" has been announced twice, first in 2020 and then again in 2024 with a projector in tow. Samsung said Ballie would go on sale in 2025 at CES last year and then shared in April 2025 that Ballie would ship this summer with Google's Gemini onboard. But it's nearly 2026, and Ballie is nowhere to be seen. It's possible Samsung could make a third attempt at announcing its robot at CES 2026, but whether or not it does, robotics will still be a big part of the show.Robot vacuums and mops were a major highlight of CES 2025, and it's safe to expect notable improvements from the new models that are announced at CES 2026. Not every company will adopt the retractable arm of the Roborock Saros Z70, but robot vacuums with legs for rising over small ledges like the Dreame X50 seem like they could become the norm. Roborock could also show off its new Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow, the first of its robot vacuums to feature a retractable roller mop.Beyond just traversing spaces more efficiently, improving robots' navigation could also be a major concern at the show. Prominent members of the AI industry are turning their attention from large language models to world models, which aim to give AI a deep understanding of physical space. Those world models could be the key to making robots, bipedal or otherwise, competent at navigating homes and workplaces, and will likely be a significant talking point at CES 2026.Well be updating this article throughout the month as more rumors surface and new products are confirmed stay tuned for future updates!This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/what-to-expect-at-ces-2026-120000278.html?src=rss
Netflix is in exclusive talks to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's film and TV studios and HBO Max streaming service, according to sources from Bloomberg. That suggests Netflix submitted a superior offer to rivals including Paramount Skydance Corp (owned by billionaire Larry Ellison) and Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal. The deal could be consummated within days and, if approved, would change the landscape of Hollywood and the streaming market.
Warner Bros. Discovery's cable channels including CNN, TBS and TNT, valued at more than $60 billion, would not be part of the deal and spun off prior to the closing. However, Netflix would become the owner of the HBO network and its library of series (The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, etc.), along with its Burbank studios and massive film and TV archive consisting of 12,500 feature films and 2,400 TV series, including properties like Batman, Lord of the Rings and Friends.
A big sweetener offered by Netflix was a $5 billion breakup fee if the deal isn't approved by regulators, according to people familiar with the discussions. That's a considerable risk on Netflix's part, as the acquisition is likely to be closely scrutinized by the FCC and even President Trump himself, who reportedly has close ties to Ellison. It would also need to pass muster with regulators from other nations, considering the wide reach of WBD and Netflix.
After multiple suitors, including Paramount Skydance expressed interest in buying Warner Bros. Discovery, CEO David Zaslav put the company up for sale in October. The bidding process has been heated, with Paramount's lawyers complaining that WBD "embarked on a myopic process with a predetermined outcome that favors a single bidder," namely Netflix. Paramount argued that its deal would be more palatable to regulators around the world.
However, Zaslav's camp has said that it would achieve the best value in a sale by splitting off its cable assets and doing two separate deals, CNN reported. Both Paramount Skydance and Comcast submitted deals to buy all of WBD's assets.
Netflix offered around $28 a share for WBD minus the cable assets, according to Deadline. Shares were as low as $7.50 earlier this year. The acquisition would be far and away the largest for Netflix, which has historically favored organic growth.
An acquisition could have a huge impact on streaming customers and filmgoers. Would Netflix merge its catalog with HBO Max or continue to run the latter as a separate service? It's also not clear if Netflix would honor Warner Bros.' commitment to theatrical releases, considering that Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has called movie theatres an "outdated concept."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-is-reportedly-in-exclusive-talks-to-acquire-warner-bros-and-hbo-082233278.html?src=rss
Banking app Revolut has introduced Street Mode, a location-aware security feature that adds a one-hour delay to transfers above a user-set threshold when they're away from designated safe locations, such as home or work.
Skybound Game Studios is being sued by indie outfit iam8bit over fraud and breach of contract, including the theft of original designs. Skybound Entertainment, the parent company of Skybound Game Studios, is chaired by Robert Kirkman, who may be best known for creating the original comic book of The Walking Dead. We've reached out to Skybound for comment on the lawsuit but have not received a response as of publication.iam8bit is a video game producer as well as a merchandise operation selling vinyl soundtracks and other geek gear. The company entered into a partnership with Skybound Game Studios in April 2021. Since then, iam8bit alleges that Skybound conducted a multi-year accounting scheme and failed to provide accurate financial reports for the partnership each month. "Skybound failed to provide the monthly reports as agreed," the Los Angeles Superior Court complaint reads. "It also padded its expenses with millions of dollars in fake line items." iam8bit claims Skybound has yet to explain the line items, even to a third-party auditor that it engaged. The company is alleging more than $4 million in damages related to the accounting issues. iam8bit also accused Skybound of cutting it out of a deal regarding indie video game Stray. According to the company's counsel, iam8bit designed and developed promotional materials for the launch of Stray on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The complaint claims that Skybound used trade secrets from iam8bit to secure its own deal for the Nintendo launch of the game. It alleges Skybound used confidential information about iam8bits royalty split with publishing Annapurna Interactive to cut out its business partner, while also using almost exact copies of its creative output for marketing.The full list of allegations in iam8bit's complaint include breach of contract, fraud, conversion, unjust enrichment and misappropriation. The company's legal team is seeking monetary damages, punitive damages and attorneys' fees in compensation.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/iam8bit-is-suing-skybound-game-studios-alleging-fraud-and-theft-of-designs-000822886.html?src=rss
We've been monitoring the upcoming rock climbing game Cairn for several months, as have the many folks who've already enjoyed the demo which has an impressive 99 percent rating on Steam. In September, developer The Game Bakers pushed back the game's planned 2025 debut to give some extra time for polish. Today, the team dropped a fresh trailer announcing the revised launch date for the project. Cairn will be available on January 29, 2026 for Steam and PlayStation 5 for $30.The Game Bakers have a solid track record of indie gems, often with a strong, unique sense of place and character. The survival-climbing experience seems like an excellent new topic for the team behind games including Haven and Furi. Cairn captures the intensity of winding your way up a mountain and paints a psychological portrait of the people who are drawn to tackling that mental and physical challenge. And if you find the basic gameplay isn't difficult enough, there will also be a free solo mode for channelling your inner daredevil without ropes. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/cairns-new-release-date-is-january-29-2026-211508330.html?src=rss
Roskomnadzor, Russia's federal agency for monitoring and censoring mass media, has blocked access to Snapchat and FaceTime in the country, Bloomberg reports, citing Russian news service Interfax. The bans were reportedly put in place because the platforms were used "to organize and carry out terrorist acts, and commit fraud.It's not clear if either service is still accessible by using a VPN, but banning Snapchat and FaceTime fits with Russias crackdown on communication and social platforms that started after the countrys invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Facebook and X were blocked in March of that year, and Instagram was added to the ban list not long after. In 2024, the encrypted messaging app Signal was also banned, and more recently in July 2025, Russia threatened to block access to WhatsApp.Engadget has contacted both Apple and Snap to comment on the Russian bans. We'll update this article if we hear back.Banning or restricting these platforms is a way to exert control over where and how conversation happens in Russia and prevent the spread of "LGBT propaganda," if you believe Roskomnadzor's reasoning for banning Roblox but it might also be an attempt to drive people to use "MAX," a state-run super app that offers services like communication, banking and document storage. The app is part of a long-standing push to rely on Russia's tech industry rather than foreign companies, and could potentially give the Russian government an easier method for surveilling its citizens, The New York Times reports.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/russia-reportedly-bans-snapchat-and-facetime-194906404.html?src=rss
