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Security and data protection are no longer separate concerns. Instead, they are two sides of the same coin, one inextricable from the other. If not considered as such, then a revaluation of your cybersecurity strategy is in order.

Backups are widely seen as an “insurance policy”. If an organization is the target of an attack, with data deleted or encrypted for ransom, restored backups can make this far less catastrophic to operations.

As always, threat actors have wised up and shifted their tactics. They now target backups in 93% of cases, and succeed 57% of the time.

This is why security and data protection need to merge, creating a singular idea of “resilience” that unifies robust security measures with comprehensive data protection. Thanks to changing threat tactics, the security of backup infrastructure and the immutability of backup data are not just best practice, but essential requirements.

The need for backup and data protection

Microsoft 365 is one of the most commonly used office suites, but the need for third-party backup is often overlooked. This is partly because it has a built-in backup solution, but also an assumption that as a service it is “safe”. This could be a costly mistake. Critical data is often centralized in OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and Outlook—making Microsoft 365 services a tempting target for attackers.

Microsoft does recommend third-party backups in its service agreements, and we are starting to see this advice being followed. A 56% increase in recovery events related to Microsoft 365 domains in the last year shows the necessity of Microsoft 365 backups and that many are heeding this recommendation.

Microsoft 365 isn’t the only service where backups are required, of course, but it’s a good example of where this need can be easily missed, and why thinking about “resilience” is key.

Diversifying for watertight insurance

Ransomware groups are targeting backups, and they’re not subtle about it. Both research and public claims by threat actors make it clear: disabling the ability to recover data is a key objective of modern cyberattacks. To counter this, cyber resilience must go beyond reacting after the damage is done. It must include prevention, early detection, and well-practiced recovery.

The first step is isolating the backup infrastructure, the metadata and storage, keeping it off the primary network. This significantly reduces the attack surface, ensuring backups remain secure and harder to reach.

Second, access to backup systems must be tightly controlled. Enforcing multifactor authentication and following the principle of least privilege is essential. Ideally, unique, dedicated accounts should be used exclusively for backup access, never shared with other systems or users.

Third, organizations should maintain immutable copies of their backup data. These tamper-proof versions cannot be altered or deleted, providing a powerful safeguard against ransomware and other threats that aim to corrupt or destroy recovery points.

Fourth, cyber-ready organizations don’t just trust their backups—they test them. Regular, full-scale recovery drills conducted in a clean, isolated environment are vital for verifying that data can be restored reliably in the event of an incident.

Finally, even with multiple layers of defense in place, true resilience requires ongoing vigilance. Continuous monitoring for anomalous activity—such as deleted backups, altered retention policies, unexpected job selections, or unusual file modification patterns—can help surface early signs of compromise.

Feeding these alerts into a security team’s preferred SIEM tools ensures a swift, coordinated response. Increasingly, AI-powered anomaly detection is enhancing this process by automating threat identification and reducing the need for manual troubleshooting or recovery interventions.

Compliance sets the standard

The merging of security and backup into “resilience” will be driven by compliance. Compliance standards are prioritizing cyber resilience, blending prevention, detection, and recovery into unified frameworks. Examples of frameworks that recognize BDR as best practice include NIS2, Cyber Essentials, CMMC, and Essential Eight, and it is also common regulations targeting specific sectors such as financial services.

These industry-specific and global regulations require organizations to demonstrate both preventative measures to stop an attack and their robust recovery plans should these barriers be breached. For businesses that have not fully implemented their plans, perhaps because of internal resistance to the cost or uncertainty around exactly what action needs to be taken, new regulations will force their hand.

Cyber insurance is yet another driver. A simple backup is often not enough to attain a cyber-insurance policy. The cyber-insurance industry increasingly expects and demands immutable backups as a non-negotiable item. Insurers are also more hands-on and will also play an increasingly central role in incident response, coordinating legal, forensic, and ransomware negotiation efforts.

What to do next?

When thinking about backup and data protection, compliance is a good place to start. Aligning to compliance frameworks means following best practice guidance and the ability to prove due diligence to cyber insurers. But it’s important to think beyond compliance and look at where attackers will take opportunities to attack backup along with other systems—and build in resilience whenever possible.

We've featured the best data loss prevention.

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

• Microsoft Edge has two smart new features in beta testing
• AI will help you find websites in your browsing history
• A new media control center provides a hub for all media playback activity

Have you ever found a useful web page, forgot to bookmark it, then remembered about it later, and had to go hunting through your browser history to try and find the site? This can be a frustrating experience, but Microsoft Edge is aiming to remove the pain from such a scenario.

Neowin reports that as of the beta release of Edge 138 for testers (version 138.0.3351.14 to be precise), there’s a new AI-powered web history search.

Of course, you already get a search facility in Edge’s history (and the other best web browsers out there), but the new feature gives your search query a wider scope and the ability to use synonyms (and more besides).

Microsoft explains: “Enhanced search finds sites in your History even when you use a synonym, phrase, or typo.”

In short, you can type something only vaguely related, and possibly make mistakes or typos when doing so, and AI will still be able to work out what you’re looking for – and hopefully surface the correct website.

Elsewhere in the beta of Edge 138, Microsoft has introduced a media control center. This is a central hub that allows for controlling any video or music playback that’s currently underway within the browser, or other activity such as casting media to another device.

Whatever’s happening media-wise, you can deal with it from here, and the control center is opened by clicking the music note icon along from the address bar in Edge.

Analysis: On-device model

(Image credit: Future)

Remember that these features are just in testing for the moment. On top of that, the AI-powered web history search is a limited rollout among testers, so even if you do run the beta of Edge, you may not see it for a while.

In short, it may be some time before this functionality progresses to the release version of the browser, but it’s inbound. And with Microsoft keen to expand AI powers however it can, I can’t imagine this is a feature that’s in any danger of being discarded.

For those worried about privacy in terms of AI hooking its tendrils into your web history, Microsoft is using an “on-device model” and the company promises that none of your data is ever sent off the device into the cloud, or to Microsoft’s servers. Furthermore, the feature needs to actively be enabled, rather than being on by default.

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• Wear OS 6 will be released for Android watches later this year
• It's said to get two new unannounced features: firstly, a dedicated Water Lock for Pixel Watch
• Secondly, Adaptive Charging will improve your watch's long-term battery health

Wear OS 6 has been revealed, and it's making a lot of changes that users of the best Android smartwatches are quite excited about. Changes to the user experience, a visual redesign, adding Google Gemini's AI assistant to your wrist... there's going to be plenty for wearers of the best smartwatches (that aren't for iPhone) to get their teeth into. You can read our Wear OS 6 feature breakdown here.

However, there are two more features rumored to arrive with Wear OS 6, either on launch or as a future update.

Firstly, according to Android Authority, you can expect a new adaptive charging feature. Adaptive charging is often used for devices to extend the battery's lifespan, preventing the battery from being over-charged too often, which can cause the battery to degrade.

Android Authority found the strings of code, unveiling a feature similar to that on the best Pixel phones: pausing the charge at 80% completion and resuming an hour before you unplug your device. Samsung watches will reportedly get a similar feature with Samsung's Wear OS-adjacent system, One UI Watch 8.

Water Lock on Pixel Watches

Pixel Watches have a touch screen locking feature, which enables itself automatically during swimming workouts, but it can't eject water from crevices in the same way Samsung and Apple watches can. Nor does it have a dedicated labelled Water Lock, which disables the touch screen during rainfall, showers, or baths.

Current Pixel Watches are expected to get a Water Lock feature at least, again via Android Authority's recent examination of code in the Wear OS 6 developer preview.

The code doesn't actually detail what this new feature will do, so while there's always an outside chance that it will indeed eject water, it's more likely this is an update for existing Pixel Watches, restricted to a touchscreen-locking hot key under a more logical name for dealing with wet screens.

Touchscreens are notoriously jumpy and flawed when wet, and trying to operate a watch in heavy rain or the shower could prove challenging if a water lock feature isn't available. While this is unlikely to change the way swimming and similar workouts operate on Pixel Watches, they will at least become more usable in the rain.

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• 17 NPM packages with more than a million weekly downloads were compromised to deliver a RAT
• The attack could turn into a major supply chain attack, experts warned
• The packages were since deprecated, but users should be on their guard

More than a dozen packages on NPM were poisoned with a Remote Access Trojan (RAT), possibly infecting millions of projects.

Cybersecurity researchers Aikido Security recently discovered malicious code buried very deep in 17 popular Gluestack packages.

The packages cumulatively have more than a million downloads weekly, meaning huge amounts of users could possibly be affected, the experts warned.

Revoking access tokens

Here is the full list of compromised packages:

• @react-native-aria/button
• @react-native-aria/checkbox
• @react-native-aria/combobox
• @react-native-aria/disclosure
• @react-native-aria/focus
• @react-native-aria/interactions
• @react-native-aria/listbox
• @react-native-aria/menu
• @react-native-aria/overlays
• @react-native-aria/radio
• @react-native-aria/switch
• @react-native-aria/toggle
• @react-native-aria/utils
• @gluestack-ui/utils
• @react-native-aria/separator
• @react-native-aria/slider
• @react-native-aria/tabs

The packages deployed malicious code that connected to the attackers’ command-and-control (C2) and received additional commands including, among other things, the ability to upload a single, or multiple files.

Furthermore, the trojan can execute Windows PATH hijacking and silently override legitimate python and pip commands.

In response, Gluestack revoked an access token used to publish the compromised packages. All of the poisoned tools are marked on NPM as deprecated.

"Unfortunately, unpublishing the compromised version wasn’t possible due to dependent packages," a GlueStack developer said on GitHub. "As a mitigation, I have deprecated the affected versions and updated the latest tag to point to a safe, older version."

The Node Package Manager (NPM) is the default package manager for the JavaScript runtime environment Node.js. It is used to install libraries, share packages with the community, manage dependencies, run scripts, and more.

As such, it is vastly popular, having millions of monthly visitors, and hundreds of thousands of registered accounts that frequently publish their packages.

Unfortunately, popular platforms attract threat actors in droves, and situations such as this one are not uncommon on NPM, or similar platforms such as GitHub or PyPi.

Via BleepingComputer

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Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, June 9 (game #463).

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 #464) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Mind your manners

NYT Strands today (game #464) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• PALE
• STOP
• TRACE
• THAN
• POET
• LIPS

NYT Strands today (game #464) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 8 letters

NYT Strands today (game #464) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 3rd column

Last side: bottom, 3rd column

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

NYT Strands today (game #464) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #464, are…

• APOLOGIZE
• RESPECT
• SHARE
• THANK
• LISTEN
• CONSIDER
• SPANGRAM: BE POLITE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I have always told my children that “manners cost nothing” and “it’s nice to be nice” so it’s good to see this message repeated in today’s word search, which comes with the demand to BE POLITE.

My thoughts on this topic extend to our interactions with technology, particularly AI tools such as Alexa and Siri. My approach is twofold – we should be polite because manners should be indiscriminate and also because how we speak to AI becomes part of the algorithm (the one tailored to us and to wider society).

We do not know how AI will behave in the future and I’d prefer it if, once it becomes sentient, it thinks it has been treated well by humanity rather than rudely.

If it's the latter I hope the AI murderbots remember that I said "please" when I asked them what the weather was going to be like tomorrow.

Anyway, I digress and I APOLOGIZE for that. Quite a straightforward game today with little to challenge regular players or our future AI overlords. 

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, June 9, game #463)

• MASK
• CAMOUFLAGE
• DISGUISE
• CLOAK
• COVER
• FACADE
• SPANGRAM: FALSE FRONT

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which 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.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Monday, June 9 (game #1232).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 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 #1233) - hint #1 - VowelsHow 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 #1233) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1233) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

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

Quordle today (game #1233) - 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 #1233) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• D

• C

• F

• E

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

Quordle today (game #1233) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1233, are…

• DECRY
• CHEEK
• FILET
• EASEL

A slice of luck made things much easier for me today, when my loose guess of CHEEK came off. I knew that the first two letters had to be C-H and this was the first word that came to mind.

DECRY was conjured from Quordle memory, while FILET and EASEL were just a case of working out the anagrams from the letters I had in place.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1233) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1233, are…

• SLICE
• STRAY
• RESIN
• SEIZE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1232, Monday, 9 June: DERBY, LEMON, WRITE, HOVEL
• Quordle #1231, Sunday, 8 June: REBAR, ALERT, PAYEE, FLUME
• Quordle #1230, Saturday, 7 June: FLUNK, ESTER, SPITE, CHEAP
• Quordle #1229, Friday, 6 June: ELUDE, KHAKI, VISTA, SMOKY
• Quordle #1228, Thursday, 5 June: CHIDE, RABBI, GUSTY, LANCE
• Quordle #1227, Wednesday, 4 June: BANAL, STOUT, SEDAN, HIPPO
• Quordle #1226, Tuesday, 3 June: FUGUE, SYRUP, FLACK, WORST
• Quordle #1225, Monday, 2 June: THINK, BELLE, CRONE, BOULE
• Quordle #1224, Sunday, 1 June: POINT, MERIT, WHOOP, APHID
• Quordle #1223, Saturday, 31 May: CRUMB, ELFIN, DRIER, QUITE
• Quordle #1222, Friday, 30 May: RAJAH, CAUSE, BLACK, ETUDE
• Quordle #1221, Thursday, 29 May: CRIER, DRAPE, STRUT, NEIGH
• Quordle #1220, Wednesday, 28 May: HELLO, BEADY, VIGIL, PURER
• Quordle #1219, Tuesday, 27 May: TWEET, RANGE, POPPY, RADAR
• Quordle #1218, Monday, 26 May: BLEAT, HOWDY, ASIDE, SCOOP
• Quordle #1217, Sunday, 25 May: OCEAN, AMBER, PIPER, GLEAN
• Quordle #1216, Saturday, 24 May: HUSKY, HEIST, FOGGY, POLAR
• Quordle #1215, Friday, 23 May: SHIRE, GIANT, AWAIT, CAPER
• Quordle #1214, Thursday, 22 May: LOSE, GLOVE, STINT, EXCEL
• Quordle #1213, Wednesday, 21 May: NOVEL, CHOSE, DIRTY, DONUT

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, June 9 (game #729).

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 Connections hints.

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 #730) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• CHILL
• IMAGE
• MODERATE
• RADICAL
• TABLE
• JUDGE
• CIVIC
• CHAIR
• JURY
• WORD
• TEXT BOX
• CUSTOMS
• PSYCH
• CHART
• HEAVY
• MEDIATE

NYT Connections today (game #730) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Come to an agreement
• BLUE: Ancient teen speak
• GREEN: Paste
• PURPLE: Add a word that comes after “Tour of…”

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 #730) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: ARBITRATE
• BLUE: '80S SLANG 
• GREEN: THINGS YOU CAN INSERT IN A DOCUMENT 
• PURPLE: __ DUTY 

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

NYT Connections today (game #730) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #730, are…

• YELLOW: ARBITRATE CHAIR, JUDGE, MEDIATE, MODERATE
• BLUE: '80S SLANG CHILL, PSYCH, RADICAL, WORD
• GREEN: THINGS YOU CAN INSERT IN A DOCUMENT CHART, IMAGE, TABLE, TEXT BOX
• PURPLE: __ DUTY CIVIC, CUSTOMS, HEAVY, JURY

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 3 mistakes

THINGS YOU CAN INSERT IN A DOCUMENT felt a very familiar group. In fact it felt like work, which is maybe why I saw it immediately.

I made three mistakes today by convincing myself that HEAVY should be included in the group that became ‘80S SLANG, trying every combination before taking it out completely.

The reason for including it, is because it was something I remember being said about something that was serious, complicated and exhausting and therefore by association a bit boring in the 1980s. But it’s a word that’s travelled through the generations. Today, in the UK at least, it’s used to describe a bad situation. In all cases, you want to avoid things getting heavy.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, June 9, game #729)

• YELLOW: KEYBOARD SHORTCUT COMMANDS PASTE, PRINT, QUIT, SAVE
• GREEN: SECURE IN ADVANCE BOOK, ORDER, REQUEST, RESERVE
• BLUE: CRIME ORGANIZATION CREW, FAMILY, RING, SYNDICATE
• PURPLE: SPELLING BEE RANKS MINUS A LETTER GENUS, GOO, MAZING, SLID

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.

• The number of malware samples targeting Android is rising, experts warn
• The majority are banking trojans and infostealers
• Kaspersky urges users to be careful when downloading apps

Mobile malware and other attacks targeting Android users are on the rise, new research has claimed.

Security researchers from Kaspersky have argued people should be paying a lot more attention to the security of their smartphones than they do at the moment.

In its “IT threat evolution in Q1 2025: mobile statistics” report, Kaspersky claims the number of detected malware samples increased by more than a quarter (27%) between Q1 2025 and Q4 2024, when the researchers detected 180,000 malware samples.

Triada and Turkey

These samples were blocked on more than 12 million smartphone users (up 36% compared to Q4 2024), Kaspersky added, stressing that the upward trend in attacked users “continued since Q3 2024”.

While there are several factors contributing to the growth in Android-based malware, Kaspersky hints that the biggest one is the activity in certain malware families, which operated in certain geographies. The researchers singled out the Mamont banking trojan as rather active “over the last months”, stealing banking credentials, text messages, and personal data.

They also mentioned the Triada backdoor, which was installed on rip-offs of popular smartphone brands. They were part of a supply chain attack, as they were installed on brand new phones, some time between the devices leaving the factory and reaching the marketplace.

“Triada can modify cryptocurrency wallet addresses during transfer attempts, replace links in browsers, send arbitrary text messages and intercept replies, and steal login credentials for messaging and social media apps,” Kaspersky explained.

Finally, the researcher said a number of banking trojans targeted people in Turkey, including Coper (equipped with RAT capabilities), BrowBot, Hqwar, and Agent.sm.

“Users may mistakenly believe their smartphones are inherently more secure than PCs, but the reality is that mobile malware, like the sophisticated Trojans we explored over the last months, are increasingly active,” commented Anton Kivva, Malware Analyst Team Lead at Kaspersky.

“The misconception of default protection stems from allegedly curated app stores and operating system restrictions, but social engineering tactics and modern mobile malware, including preinstalled mobile Trojans, exploit these false securities.”

To stay safe, Kaspersky recommends users only download apps from official app stores, but only after checking app reviews and download counts. Even when the apps are downloaded, users should check the permissions they’re asking for, and make sure to update the OS and important apps as soon as the updates are available.

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• Paid ChatGPT subscribers get an improved voice mode that’s more human-like than before
• It can also handle live translations into other languages
• Some minor problems remain

All users of ChatGPT on paid plans (so that’s Plus, Pro, Teams and Enterprise users) just got a nice little upgrade to its Advanced Voice Mode capabilities that makes it sound a lot more natural and human-like when it’s talking to you.

Described by OpenAI as “significant”, the enhancements improve the intonation and naturalness of the voices in ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode. These are small tweaks, but it’s often the tiny details that make all the difference in making a computer voice sound realistic.

If you listen closely now, there is subtler intonation and realistic cadence in ChatGPT's voice, and it has started to include pauses for emphasis. It also feels more natural when it’s expressing emotion, whether that’s empathy or sarcasm.

In addition to the voice quality improvements, OpenAI has added better translation between languages. Now you can say something like, “Can you translate this into Spanish?”, and ChatGPT will translate everything you say into Spanish until you tell it to stop.

Apps that can do this, like Google Translate, already exist of course, but being able to do this all within the ChatGPT app on your phone is handy and convenient.

Better than before

I’ve tried Advanced Voice Mode after the update, and it certainly does sound different than before. You can get an immediate taste of how it sounds by asking it to say something sarcastic. When you do, you'll hear the new tonal range ChatGPT uses and the way it uses pauses to great effect.

I compared this to asking Gemini Live exactly the same thing, and the new ChatGPT Voice Mode definitely had a much richer expression of emotions.

It’s also interesting to compare the voice quality on a ChatGPT free account with ChatGPT on a paid accounts now – the difference really is like night and day.

Man or machine?

The new ChatGPT is certainly more human-like, but I wouldn’t say it’s got to the level yet where it could fool anybody that it was an actual human.

There are still a few computer-like oddities that stray in now and again when you're in ChatGPT using Voice Mode. In fact, OpenAI is aware of this, and has issued a note on its limitations, saying:

“In testing, we've observed that this update may occasionally cause minor decreases in audio quality, including unexpected variations in tone and pitch. These issues are more noticeable with certain voice options. We expect to improve audio consistency over time."

It also issued a warning about hallucinations:

"Additionally, rare hallucinations in Voice Mode persist with this update, resulting in unintended sounds resembling ads, gibberish, or background music. We are actively investigating these issues and working toward a solution.”

The upgrade is already live, just tap on the voice composer icon to the right in your message composer window inside the ChatGPT app on your phone to make use of it.

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• Google Messages is finally rolling out its long-awaited snooze feature for chats, Android Police has spotted
• The feature will allow you to snooze chats for one hour, eight hours, or 24 hours, and there's also an 'Always' option
• You'll also be able to set it so that you receive alerts when someone mentions you in a chat, though its Mentions feature has yet to be rolled out

It seems as though Google Messages’ long-awaited snooze feature is finally being rolled out, catching up to the likes of other messaging platforms Telegram and WhatsApp. The feature has been spotted in the latest Google Messages beta for both SMS and RCS messages, two months after the company started working on it.

According to Android Police, one of the first outlets to spot the feature, the new ‘Snooze chat’ feature appears when you open a contact’s page in the Google Messages app, which allows you to silence chats for one hour, eight hours, 24 hours, or ‘Always’. Android Police also added that it will be rolling out to selected users, so not everyone will be able to access it right away.

In addition to the four snoozing options, Android Police also spotted a setting that allows you to receive notifications if you’re mentioned (@) even if a chat has been snoozed. Recently Google has been toying with the idea of introducing a mentions feature for chats, and while this isn’t available yet, Android Authority believes it could be rolled out simultaneously with the snooze feature.

(Image credit: Android Police)

There are two ways to enable the ‘Snooze chat’ function. The first is by going to a contact’s page and enabling the feature there as mentioned above. Alternatively, you can long-press on a chat in your Google Messages inbox and a snooze icon will appear in the toolbar as Android Police has tested.

Since it was released in 2014, Google Messages has never had a function that allows you to snooze chats until now. Instead, the only way to silence messages and group chats was to silence notifications manually, but that meant you’d need to manually enable them again and keep tabs on your conversations.

Google Messages’ snooze feature is just one of its new features. Over the past few months the messaging service has been testing a handful of new upgrades, many of which are long overdue, including a ‘Delete for everyone’ un-send option. The company has also been paying a lot of attention to upgrading its group chat ecosystem, testing out new group chat links and custom group chat icons to match similar features found in WhatsApp.

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WWDC 2025 is almost here, and you can follow all of the last-minute rumors on our WWDC liveblog. But I’ve also got a last-minute prediction to slide under the wire – or, more accurately, an anti-prediction, because there’s one thing I’m practically convinced we’re not getting at Apple’s big event.

Where’s the gaming content, Apple? It feels like every few years, you take a big swing at the gaming arena – with stuff like Apple Arcade, the new Metal 3 developer kit, or, uh… Death Stranding coming to macOS four years late? – but frankly, it’s starting to feel like an afterthought.

Let me be clear about this: the games industry is worth more than the music and film industries combined. You like money, right, Apple? There’s a deep well of untapped potential here, but I’m afraid it’s going to take more than simply bringing a handful of triple-A titles to Mac. Oh, and you probably shouldn’t have tried to stop one of the world’s most popular games from being played on your hardware.

Apple and gaming: oil and water?

It’s a strange thing; Apple products are everywhere, from the seemingly omnipresent iPhone to the best MacBooks and Macs. Hell, Apple makes a pretty big deal about the MacBook Air being the ‘world’s best-selling laptop’ (this claim requires a little fudging of the data to ring true, but I’ll give it to Apple just this once).

But despite the no-doubt massive Venn diagram overlap between Apple users and gamers, the company seems largely disinterested in pushing gaming as a major feature of its products.

And those products are perfectly capable of gaming. The new M4 chips – which can be found in the latest 2025 MacBook Air, amongst other products – are actually pretty beastly. Even the older M2 chip offered some admirable performance in our own Roland Moore-Colyer’s recent gaming tests. The hardware is not the problem here.

At WWDC 2022, Apple made a pretty big deal about gaming on Mac. But has it gone anywhere? Nope. (Image credit: Apple)

So, perhaps the software is the issue? It’s a fair claim: macOS is not the operating system of choice for most non-console gamers, with Windows holding a mammoth 95.45% of the user share in the most recent Steam Hardware Survey, split mostly between Windows 10 and 11. For comparison, all the combined macOS versions totaled up to a measly 1.85%.

It’s hard to deny that gamers simply don’t see macOS as a viable platform for gaming, and by extension, developers don’t see macOS as a viable platform for developing games. But here’s the thing: that’s Apple’s fault.

Making a commitment

See, for all its faults, Microsoft has never shied away from the gaming space. The Xbox 360 was arguably one of the most iconic consoles of recent decades, the increasingly popular Game Pass is now available across console and PC, and Microsoft has long included gaming-related features in Windows. Hell, the company even has its fingers in the game development pie, with Xbox Game Studios hoovering up multiple smaller dev teams over the years.

This is what Apple needs to do, if it has any designs whatsoever on making itself relevant within the gaming market. My lovely colleague Isaiah Williams posited that Apple should make a gaming handheld earlier this year – and while I agree, I don’t think that’ll solve the problem here. No amount of new hardware will make people want to game on Apple products; the excellent gaming performance of the M4 chip proves that, frankly.

Yes, Cyberpunk is going to be on Mac. At some point. Don't ask when. (Image credit: CD PROJEKT RED / Apple)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: what Apple needs to do is actually make games. You’re running one of the world’s richest companies here, Tim Cook; time to put some of those iPhone billions behind an established dev studio, create a macOS game publishing division, and deliver the killer app that makes gamers want to buy a Mac. If Apple wants people to believe that it’s serious about gaming, we need to see big titles coming to Mac on day one – or better yet, completely exclusive.

We’re not going to get this commitment at WWDC 2025, of that I have zero doubt. Perhaps Cyberpunk 2077 will finally get its long-awaited Mac release (after it came to the Nintendo Switch 2), but that’s just about all I’m expecting here. I’m not losing hope, though. It’s never too late to put your money where your mouth is, Tim. I’m sure we can afford to lose a few Apple TV originals.

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Great news if you're looking for a pair of AirPods! The AirPods Pro 2 are currently just $169 at Amazon, a saving of $80. If that's too much, the AirPods 4 are down from $129 to just $99, saving you $30. Or in the middle, the AirPods 4 with ANC are down from $179 to $148.99, also a saving of $30.

One of the side benefits of today's Apple WWDC 2025 event is that we know that buying AirPods 4 or AirPods Pro 2 is a smart and safe thing to do: Apple is expected to announce new features coming to both models in iOS 26 later this year.

The AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 are both excellent audio options for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV owners, and right now they're also excellent buys thanks to some decent discounts.

Today's best AirPods deals

Apple's best earbuds are superb, and this deal cuts the price considerably. It's not a record-low price – they've fallen to $154 briefly in the past – but this price is still excellent value. You're getting all of Apple's best audio features including active noise cancellation, transparency mode, personalized spatial audio, hearing health features, and really great sound. There's also a Find My Case feature that literally points you towards your lost earbuds.View Deal

Both versions of the AirPods 4 are discounted by $30, and that means the biggest saving is on the non-ANC model: that's down from $129 to just $99. They're sweat and water resistant, deliver Apple's excellent personalized spatial audio, offer good battery life, automatic switching between your Apple devices, and have Find My support so they're hard to lose.View Deal

Why these buds are wise buys

These are very, very good earbuds that work brilliantly across all of Apple's devices – not just iPhone and iPad but Mac, Watch and Apple TV too.

The AirPods 4 are ideal if you don't like in-ear tips, and the spatial audio in movies is particularly great. Just remember that there are two versions, one with ANC and one without. If you're going to be listening to music or podcasts on a commute or in busy places you might want to get the AirPods 4 with ANC, so you can hear what's going on a little better here.

As for the AirPods Pro 2, here's the ultimate recommendation: while I get sent lots of headphones and earbuds to review, these are the buds I bought with my own money. They sound spectacular, which is important, and their noise cancellation is really effective.

Apple has kept updating them since their 2022 arrival, adding new features, so they're even better value now than when they launched – and for $169, they're a ridiculous bargain, matching or beating earbuds that cost more.

• Dropbox CEO says RTO mandates are outdated in today's modern world
• Drew Houston compares the rules to shopping malls and cinemas
• Dropbox has promoted hybrid working for some time

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston has hit out at companies forcing their employees to return to the office (RTO) instead of continuing to embrace hybrid working.

Speaking on an episode of Fortune's "Leadership Next" podcast, Houston compared RTO orders to the likes of shopping malls and cinemas, where similar bids to force people back have proved less than successful.

"We can be a lot less dumb than forcing people back into a car three days a week or whatever, to literally be back on the same Zoom meeting they would have been at home," Houston said. "There's a better way to do this."

"Trust over surveillance"

Dropbox has long been at the forefront of encouraging hybrid working, as back in 2021 it introduced a "90/10" rule where employees were permitted to work remotely for most of the year, and asked to attend some off-site events to make up the remaining 10%.

"Forcing people back to the office is probably gonna be like trying to force people back into malls and movie theaters," Houston said. "Nothing wrong with the movie theater, but it's just a different world now."

This is not the first time Houston has promoted the virtues of remote working - back in 2023, he noted remote work has given companies "the keys that unlock this whole future of work."

"You need a different social contract and to let go of control," he added, "But if you trust people and treat them like adults, they'll behave like adults. Trust over surveillance."

Houston's words come after several major technology firms revealed RTO mandates.

This includes Google, which is reportedly enforcing a new hybrid work model whereby employees are being asked to come to the office at least three days per week, and those who fail to comply could face consequences.

Dell also recently announced it would be ending its hybrid work policy, with any employees living within an hour's commute from an office now told to go in five days a week.

Via Business Insider

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• There’s a new rumor about which Macs are compatible with macOS 26
• In theory, the lower-end models of the MacBook Pro 13-inch from 2020 are ruled out
• Logically, this also means that MacBook Pro models from 2019 won’t be compatible, either – though there could be an exception in that regard

The latest from the rumor mill on compatibility with the next version of macOS is tentatively ruling out a surprisingly new Mac with an Intel chip, a MacBook Pro from 2020 to be precise.

A fresh list of compatible Macs for what’s supposedly macOS Tahoe (or macOS 26) comes from a private source on X that 9to5Mac flagged up. The tech site notes that it’s keeping the account anonymous, which is fair enough, but that it’s a trustworthy source that “regularly shares accurate information” on Apple’s software plans.

The list of Macs that are 'good to go' with macOS Tahoe echoes the previously leaked one, lending more weight to that, but it adds another laptop: Apple’s MacBook Pro 13-inch from 2020, the entry-level model with just two Thunderbolt ports rather than four. (And there are potentially more MacBook Pro models left out in the cold here, by logical extension, and I’ll come back to that point shortly).

However, the source doesn’t sound fully convinced about what they’ve heard, adding that they “don’t quite believe it” as 9 to 5 Mac notes.

So, assuming this is true, we have a slightly revised list of Macs that are going to be compatible with macOS 26 (apply some seasoning now):

• MacBook Air M1 or later
• MacBook Pro (2020, 4 port model) or later
• iMac 2020 or later
• Mac mini M1 or later
• Mac Pro 2019 or later
• Mac Studio all models

If this pans out, it isn’t difficult to imagine that the following incarnation of macOS that lands in 2026 might only support Apple silicon.

Analysis: Some tricky compatibility wrinkles?

(Image credit: Future)

Previously the thinking was that only those with a MacBook Pro 2018 wouldn’t be dealt into the hand for macOS Tahoe, but it seems much newer models could be out of luck for support here.

Okay, so that does feel rather unlikely, which is why the source indicates their own skepticism about what they’ve been told. But still, there is some sound logic at play here, as 9 to 5 Mac points out. This lower-end two-port model of the MacBook Pro 2020 was equipped with an older CPU than the four-port version, an Intel 8th-gen (Coffee Lake) chip, compared to a 10th-gen (Ice Lake) processor.

So, that might potentially be a key difference in the compatibility stakes. With the MacBook Pro 2019 using 8th-gen CPUs, too, that’ll theoretically be ruled out too, although there’s an exception in the 16-inch spin of the 2019 laptop crop which packed a 9th-gen chip.

However, if Apple is going to cut off access to a MacBook Pro 2020 model (with 8th-gen CPU), then it’d maybe seem a little odd to cater to one of the 2019 flavors before it. Granted, we could end up in a situation where Apple caveats that the MacBook Pro 2019 16-inch model is okay. However, it just seems cleaner in the scenario where Apple rules out the potentially problematic MacBook Pro 2020 model, that it’d also simply cut out everything before it.

This rumor might be barking up the wrong compatibility tree completely, mind you, and the previous speculation could be correct. We’ll find out soon enough, later today in fact, when Apple will take the wraps off what should be macOS Tahoe at WWDC 25.

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• A new leak suggests Grand Theft Auto 6 will feature hundreds of malls and over 700 functional and enterable stores
• It also indicates an upgrade from GTA 5's character switching system
• This could reshape the open-world genre in gaming, with new levels of immersion never seen before

Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 6 is now a year away from launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and it's expected to reinvent the wheel within the franchise and the open-world genre. Fortunately, a new leak has backed up the theory that it will do just that.

According to GameRoll (via Discord message screenshots), who is a content creator and credible 'leaker', GTA 6 will feature hundreds of malls and over 700 enterable stores, which are all fully functional. This further suggests that the long-awaited entry will be the biggest in scale in the franchise's history, expanding the number of accessible interiors and taking realism to a new level.

It's also worth noting that the classic character switch from GTA 5 will reportedly make a return, but with a slight twist; GameRoll hints at an additional character switching mode, with Jason and Lucia together.

Essentially, this means players should be able to switch between the two characters even while they're with each other – supposedly during free roam and store robberies. This potentially opens the gateway for immersive and extensive interactions with other characters and NPCs, building upon Rockstar's most recent title, Red Dead Redemption 2.

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

GameRoll also mentioned that the source suggested that elevators will be present in certain skyscrapers, which implies interiors may have more depth and interactability than ever before.

Other elements that were previously spotted in Rockstar's massive data breach, like the ability to go prone and a dynamic cover system that was akin to The Last of Us Part 2's system, have reportedly been cut entirely.

It's best to take this supposed leak with a grain of salt, as there is no hard evidence on this occasion – at least not at the same level as the famous Slack leak, showcasing gameplay in a dev build.

However, there's a very good chance that this leak is accurate, since GameRoll (in what was labelled a "prediction") previously leaked info from an insider, which revealed both Lucia and Jason's full character names, long before the recent second trailer and website info dump.

The rumored new character switching mode is another point of credibility; the gameplay leak revealed Lucia and Jason during a restaurant robbery, with options to check in with the other. It's not clear whether this was a scripted sequence in a mission or free roam (and we don't know if it'll make it into the full game), but it's made these claims much more believable.

Analysis: GTA 6 is shaping up to be a trendsetter

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

The terms trendsetter and GTA 6 may not come as a surprise, as it will have been almost exactly a 13-year wait by the time it launches on May 26, 2026. If this leak is legitimate, which I honestly think it is, GTA 6 will have set an incredibly high standard for other open-world games.

Rockstar Games is known for its attention to detail in every facet and aspect of open-world games, and Red Dead Redemption 2 is a prime example of that – so much so, that gamers are still finding secrets in the game today after its 2018 release.

If we now carry that over into a modern-day setting based on Miami, in a Grand Theft Auto title, then I can only imagine just how much content and surprises we have in store. Developers have already made it clear that the second trailer's reveals were only just the tip of the iceberg, and I think the leak of over 700 stores is an example of that.

I'm still upset about a potential 2027 or even 2028 PC launch, but if Rockstar can deliver what these leaks suggest and more, my frustrations may be quickly forgotten...

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• tvOS 26 said to come to the 2015 Apple TV HD and later models
• "Dramatic" visual changes may not be so dramatic on Apple TV
• More gaming features are coming, and most likely AI too

Apple's WWDC 2025 event begins today, and that means Apple execs will speak using so many superlatives that you'll develop a twitch whenever you hear the word "incredible". But it's going to be an interesting event because Apple is expected to show off significant upgrades to all of its operating systems.

iOS 26 is going to be the star, because of course the iPhone is Apple's most important product. But we'll also be getting upgrades to the other OSes, including tvOS, and there's good news on that front: a new report says Apple expects to bring tvOS 26 to Apple TV models going back a decade.

What Apple TV models will get tvOS 26?

The news of supported devices comes via MacRumors and a super-secret X account with "a proven track record for upcoming software updates". MacRumors says it has "high confidence" that the source is correct, and if that's the case, then tvOS is coming to all of these Apple TV models:

• Apple TV HD (2015)
• Apple TV 4K (1st generation, 2017)
• Apple TV 4K (2nd generation, 2021)
• Apple TV 4K (3rd generation, 2022)

If you're wondering where tvOS 20 to 25 went, they don't and won't exist: Apple is changing its numbering system so all of its operating system versions are in sync, so that means iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, visionOS 26 and tvOS 26 are all coming this year (and no, you haven't missed a year, it's still 2025).

We're expecting to see a visual refresh across all of those systems, with what's been described as a "liquid glass" interface; the difference may be less dramatic on tvOS than on iPhone, as Apple has been quietly tweaking the tvOS interface in recent months.

We don't yet know what else could be coming to tvOS 26, but more AI-powered features are likely, and Apple has already announced a new cross-platform Games app. We'll hopefully find out more later today, June 9.

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• Sophos says it was tipped off to the existence of Sakura RAT
• An in-depth investigation uncovered more than a hundred backdoored GitHub projects
• They are all targeting wannabe hackers and game cheaters

It’s a ‘dog eat dog’ world out there, as Sophos’ security researchers uncovered a major hacking operation targeting - other hackers, with people cheating in computer games also targeted.

In an in-depth analysis posted recently, Sophos said a customer asked if its platform protected against a piece of malware found on GitHub, called Sakura RAT. They were apparently interested in the open source project after media claims of “sophisticated anti-detection capabilities.”

Sophos quickly realized that not only is Sakura RAT harmless to other people - it is only a risk to those compiling it and looking to distribute it to other people.

Down the rabbit hole

“In other words, Sakura RAT was backdoored,” Sophos explained.

The RAT itself wasn’t that peculiar, either. Most of the code was copied from the popular AsyncRAT, and many of the forms inside were left empty, which means it wouldn’t even operate properly on the target device.

But the RAT led the team “down a rabbit hole of obfuscation, convoluted infection chains, identifiers, and multiple backdoor variants.”

Apparently, the person(s) behind the RAT - alias ischhfd83 - actually created more than a hundred backdoored malware variants, all designed to target newbie threat actors and people looking for game cheats.

In total, Sophos found 141 repositories from the same threat actors, 133 being malwared in different ways. 111 contained Sakura.

The majority (58%) were advertised as game cheats, 24% as malware projects, 7% as bots, 5% as crypto tools, and 6% as other miscellaneous tools.

The campaign started in 2024, the researchers added, suggesting that it was targeting newbies because advanced threat actors would run such projects in a sandbox environment. Furthermore, they would analyze the project’s owner and the comments, and quickly realize most of the interaction is done by bots with almost identical names.

The campaign wasn’t attributed to any particular threat actor, but it was stated that it was rather successful.

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• Apple is about to launch the AirTag 2 tracker, according to a new report
• It probably won’t appear at today’s WWDC 2025 show, though
• We can expect a few new features, but not a design update

Apple’s big WWDC event is set to kick off later today (check out our WWDC 2025 live blog for all the latest rumors), which means you might be wondering if Apple is likely to launch any new hardware. Well, one reputable source has shut down that idea, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get new Apple devices any time soon – in fact, the new AirTag 2 update could be just around the corner.

That idea comes from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who has a strong track record for Apple leaks and rumors. In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says that the AirTag 2 is “nearly ready, having been prepared for launch over the past several months,” suggesting we won’t have long to wait until we see it.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to include the possibility of the AirTag 2 launching at WWDC. In the newsletter’s Q&A section, Gurman posted the question “Will Apple announce any new hardware at WWDC?” His answer is that “Apple has no hardware that’s ready to be released,” adding that “it doesn’t make much sense” to release a new AirTag at WWDC.

That’s because Apple’s event is usually reserved for software updates (like iOS 26 and macOS 26) and new hardware categories, such as the Vision Pro. Given that the AirTag fits neither of those descriptions, it seems like an unlikely inclusion at WWDC. Still, with Gurman confident that it is nearing completion, we hopefully won’t have too long to wait until it’s out of the gate.

AirTag 2 features

(Image credit: Daniel Romero / Unsplash)

With Apple’s AirTag 2 seemingly almost here, it’s worth recapping its rumored features. Right now, the AirTag can be used to keep track of your important devices, with Apple’s Find My app used to track each AirTag from your iPhone.

According to the rumor mill, there are three main changes coming to AirTag 2. The first is the inclusion of Apple’s Ultra Wideband chip, which allows for three times the tracking range compared to the existing AirTag.

As well as that, we could see integration with the Vision Pro, plus a more tamper-proof speaker. This last feature could help prevent AirTags being used for stalking – if its speaker can be tampered with and disabled, it’s easier for stalkers to hide an AirTag and use it to follow someone. With a tamper-proof design, that’s made much more difficult.

The one thing we don’t expect for the AirTag 2 is a new look and feel, as Apple is expected to stick with the small circular design that it’s used ever since the first AirTag arrived. Still, with a few new features and an upcoming release date, this could still be a worthwhile upgrade if you’ve been thinking of investing in an AirTag or two.

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• The Z Fold 7 could have 'industry-first' technologies
• It's not clear what these upgrades could be
• The foldable is expected to make its debut in July

We're ready and waiting for the grand unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, which is expected to happen sometime in July – and the anticipation levels just rose up a notch based on a new leak.

According to the usually well-informed @UniverseIce, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is going to bring with it "industry-first technologies" that set the flagship foldable phone apart from the rest. "Samsung finally got serious," the tipster adds.

Sadly, there are no other details given, so we're left to speculate on what this might mean – of which more in a moment. This does suggest the successor to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 might be a more significant upgrade than we were expecting.

Presumably, Samsung isn't going to go crazy and attach something like a robotic arm or a holographic projector to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It's more likely that the foldable will get a notable upgrade to one of its key components.

What could 'industry-first' mean?

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 will bring some industry-first technologies, and Samsung finally got serious.June 8, 2025

There are numerous key areas where the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could plausibly break new ground. The first is with the display: It may come with an 8.2-inch main display that's significantly larger than the one on its predecessor, and it may also be the first foldable to come with a bundled stylus.

Then there are form factor and material upgrades that are possible. We've already heard that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 might have added titanium in its casing, for extra durability and lightness, while also being the thinnest Samsung foldable to date. Other rumors have pointed to improved dust resistance too.

With foldables, the crease is always a concern. It may be that Samsung has found a way to make the crease almost invisible, while perhaps there are upgrades to the foldable hinges in terms of their durability and their longevity. New battery tech has also been rumored, but without any details attached.

And don't forget the cameras. Leaks have suggested that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will set new standards for cameras on a foldable phone, and may even go up to 200MP for the primary camera. These would all be welcome upgrades, and we could see several of them together when the phone gets its grand unveiling.

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GenAI adoption has significantly escalated the urgency of cloud security. PwC’s recent Cloud and AI Business Survey revealed that cloud computing budgets are on a steep rise, with only 5% of the companies surveyed, reporting they don’t yet use the public cloud. However, this surge in cloud spending is not without its risks, as major security breaches are also on the rise.

According to Thales’ latest Cloud Security Study, 44% of organizations have experienced a cloud data breach over the last year, with a third of breaches a result of misconfigurations or human error.

Amidst these challenges, businesses are in dire need of a solution that can bolster their cloud security without draining resources that could be invested in AI development. Could FinOps be the long-awaited answer that organizations have been searching for?

Going beyond the numbers

It's difficult for businesses to manage the data being processed by the cloud without a clear strategy. FinOps is a way to approach your cloud security while managing cloud costs, ensuring its usage is both cost and waste-efficient. Bringing together security, engineering, and financial teams, it defines new ‘best practices’ for organizations to work from.

The variable spending model of the cloud can soon spiral out of control, which is where the financial accountability of FinOps comes into play. But while it hinges on cost optimization, it also brings a wealth of benefits for cloud security.

One of FinOps's central tenets is resource management — comprehensive resource reviews are the best way to identify unused or overprovisioned cloud resources. Addressing these doesn’t just save budgets; it also eliminates security risks that could leave organizations vulnerable. Closing down or folding these workstreams into more robust cloud resources vastly reduces the potential attack surface for threat actors, improving overall security hygiene.

When looking more widely at FinOps, the overarching theme is accountability. This can be financial, but it naturally translates into security. FinOps demands that engineers be transparent, aligning their spending with the wider business strategy. This visibility brings financial benefits but also supports security teams, who can track spend and resources down to specific owners, making it easier for security policies to be enforced.

Furthermore, it encourages tracking data, making unauthorized cloud usage that could indicate a breach more visible. This accountability also optimizes multi-cloud management - with all moving parts accounted for, environments can be managed more efficiently, decreasing the risk of misconfiguration.

The FinOps approach is not just a technical solution, but also a cultural transformation tool for organizational security. The cross-team collaboration it fosters puts accountability at the core of an organization. By ensuring that finance, engineering, and security all work closely together to promote a ‘FinOps first’ approach, the organization guarantees that security is carefully considered in all cloud architecture decisions.

Also, with cost accountability embedded in an organization's culture, individuals are incentivized to follow best practices to ensure their resource responsibilities are not wasteful or a security weak point.

Putting theory into practice

With this in mind, it’s worth noting that how you implement the FinOps approach is crucial to reaping its full rewards. It needs to be introduced step-by-step to become ingrained in organizational culture. This has to start from the base by establishing a cross-company FinOps team.

By including all teams, organizations can ensure equal weighting for competing priorities and that siloed decision-making doesn’t pose security risks or run up costs. Organizing teams as such vastly reduces the likelihood of misconfiguration and, by proxy, unnecessary expenses.

In practical terms, the work of this internal FinOps group could be varied. For instance, embedding cost management tools alongside security monitoring tools is a great baseline to ensure they don’t exist in a vacuum, and both readings are evaluated together.

Enforcing resource tagging is also good practice, as it enables cost tracking and the quick identification of security risks. Setting up budget alerts that detect cost anomalies, which are often accrued when threat actors manipulate security vulnerabilities, like in the case of cryptojacking, is sensible.

These pre-emptive measures should be used alongside automation. By using policy-as-code tools, organizations can automate some aspects of the governance of security and costs. This could be done by setting limits on resources to prevent overprovisioning, applying least-privilege security access as a standard, or mandating encryption and secure configurations across cloud workloads.

But consistency is key

The last and most important step is to ensure that these FinOps principles are consistently applied, monitored, and optimized. If applied continuously and efficiently, the FinOps approach brings significant cost and security benefits. Regular reviews of cloud usage are essential, consistently eliminating inefficient cloud resources and boosting overall security hygiene simultaneously.

Not only does it help organizations avoid unnecessary costs, but it also addresses security vulnerabilities immediately, providing ongoing reassurance of the system's robustness. Ultimately, relying on FinOps is not just a strategy, but your best bet against the many cyber adversaries. It's a comprehensive approach that not only manages costs but also enhances security, making your organization more resilient and secure in the face of evolving cyber threats.

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