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3 stories in the last 3d

Introducing Gemini 3.8 Live and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking

Google DeepMind launched Gemini 3.8 Live and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking speech models, topping Artificial Analysis' Speech-to-Speech Quality Index at 82.6.

Google DeepMind released Gemini 3.8 Live, built for cost-efficient near-real-time dialogue with visual grounding, and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking for high-complexity multi-step reasoning. Extended Thinking ranks #1 on Artificial Analysis' Speech to Speech Quality Index (82.6), scores 68.6% on τ-Voice, 35.1% on Sierra's τ-Voice-banking, and 97.7% on Big Bench Audio. The models detect and switch among 97 languages mid-conversation, execute background tool and API calls, and roll out in the Gemini API, AI Studio, Gemini Enterprise private preview, and Search Live. All generated audio is watermarked with SynthID.

Google DeepMindupdated · 1d agofirst · 1d agoModel release 3 sources10

Three Threat Groups Target Russian Enterprises With Backdoors, Ransomware, and Wipers

Kaspersky details NightEagle, Hacking Cat, and Toy Ghouls targeting Russian enterprises with Exchange backdoors, Gorilla RAT, and destructive Monkey ransomware.

Kaspersky reports three threat clusters targeting Russian enterprises: NightEagle (APT-Q-95), the pro-Ukrainian hacktivist group Hacking Cat, and Toy Ghouls. NightEagle uses compromised VPN credentials and the GhostContainer modular backdoor to fully compromise Microsoft Exchange servers, chaining CVE-2020-0688 exploitation, BlueKeep (CVE-2019-0708), Active Directory vulnerabilities, and DCSync to seize domain controllers. Hacking Cat exploits Exchange flaws including CVE-2021-26855 and CVE-2026-42897 to deliver the Gorilla RAT and multiple Monkey ransomware variants written in Rust, .NET, C++, and Golang targeting Windows, Linux, and VMware ESXi, with some variants acting as wipers that never store the encryption key.

The Hacker Newsupdated · 17m agofirst · 14h agoThreat actor in the wild 3 sourcesCVE-2020-0688CVE-2019-0708CVE-2021-26855+1 CVEs

Apple Reference Image: A New Approach for Verified Photography

Apple introduces Reference Image, hardware-backed verifiable photography on iPhone 18 Pro using sensor signing and Private Cloud Compute to counter AI-generated fakes.

Apple announced Reference Image, an opt-in camera mode debuting on the main sensor of iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max that produces securely timestamped, verifiable photographs. The design splits into two phases: a secure digital negative created by cryptographically signing pixel data at the sensor immediately after capture (preventing injection or tampering), then developing that negative into a reference image. Private Cloud Compute handles processing without exposing image contents to anyone, including Apple, and fraudulent reference images can be revoked without revealing the photographer's identity. Apple positions the system as stronger than C2PA-based approaches, which sign metadata after capture, are vulnerable to editing-chain compromise, and can tie images to a device or individual.