TechRadar News

• Garmin is apparently working on a screenless, Whoop-style recovery tracker
• The band is set to launch 'within two months' according to leak site The5KRunner
• Details include vibration alarms, LED battery life indicators and tap gestures – just like Whoop

Yes, it's been rumored before, but it sounds as though we could be seeing a very different style of fitness tracker from Garmin in a couple of months.

Garmin has consistently been known for its smartwatches – it's why we have a dedicated best Garmin watches list, after all – but the company is reportedly set to debut a Whoop-style screenless tracker "within two months", according to leak site The5kRunner.

Having apparently seen a confidential source document, The5KRunner refers to it as a "sleep band" stated to provide comfort during use. This is a nice option to have, as Garmin's chunky watches often aren't ideal for use during sleep. A buckle mechanism and overlapping adjustable strap makes it sound similar to Whoop.

The comparisons don't stop there. Features listed include vibration alarm that wakes the wearer, tap gestures to turn off or snooze the alarm, and an LED battery indicator – all emblematic of Whoop.

Sleep tracking is a given, considering the device is said to pack a smart-wake alarm. Smart-wake alarms, a feature recently introduced in the Garmin Vivoactive 6, only work if the wearable is actively tracking sleep stages via heart rate and other metrics.

Whoop's got some competition

A long time ago, based on my colleague Lance Ulanoff's findings during CES 2023, I predicted that screenless smartwatches would be the future of fitness.

While that hasn't strictly proven true until now, 2025 has seen new screenless optical heart rate monitoring fitness tech from Whoop, Coros, and now (apparently) Garmin, not to mention the advent of the best smart rings.

Fitness tracking is going discreet, focusing on the holistic overall benefits of an active lifestyle rather than specifically tracking workouts.

While the best running watches will always have a place, I think an optical armband-based Whoop competitor from a company like Garmin, with an enormous built-in infrastructure for sleep, health and workout tracking, could be a real winner.

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• Retro compact has no rear LCD and film-style digital filters
• It offers instant one-button Wi-Fi transfer to cloud or mobile app
• Kickstarter campaign launching "mid-June" according to website

The upcoming Echolens is a digital camera that stands out from the pack. Designed to recreate the experience of shooting on analog film, it has no rear screen and built-in film-style filters to create warm, vintage photographs. And the X100VI look-a-like is also going to be really, really affordable.

We’ve seen cameras like the Echolens before. We don’t mean compact, fixed-lens and pricey cameras like the imperious Fujifilm X100VI, the stunning Leica Q3 43 or even the recent fun-oriented Fujifilm X, although there’s definitely a bit of all three in the Echolens’ eye-catching retro styling. We mean in pared-back, cheap point-and-shoots like the Camp Snap, which also has no screen and a refreshingly simple approach to shooting.

While details on its lens, sensor and other specs are yet to be revealed, the Echolens appears to be a little more advanced than the Camp Snap. For one thing, it has an LCD indicator on its top plate to keep count of your shots.

After 54 snaps have been captured, you’ll have to offload them to your smartphone or the cloud via the camera’s built-in Wi-Fi – a feature that’s supposed to 'echo' the act of changing the roll of film in your analog camera. This offloading apparently takes just one button press and no time at all.

The bottom plate features a shot count indicator and image transfer button. (Image credit: Echolens)Stripped-back shooting

The Echolens website promises a minimalist approach to photography, stripping away much of the tinkering that can get in between the photographer and their subject.

That means simplified controls (there’s a shutter button, an image transfer button and a dial to switch the flash on and off, and that seems to be it), a viewfinder for composition and nothing in the way of AI image enhancement or over-sharpening. Instead, the user can pick from a range of digital ‘film’ styles designed to replicate the color profiles of classic 35mm stocks.

A USB-C port is also present for recharging, and Echolens’ makers claim the battery will last for several days on a full charge.

The Echolens' top plate has a shutter button and a flash control – nothing else. (Image credit: Echolens)

While we really need more detail before we can get too excited about this camera – and all the usual crowdfunding caveats still apply – we hopefully won’t have to wait long. Echolens is slated for a launch on Kickstarter in mid-June 2025, with a full release to follow at an unspecified later date.

What we do know, roughly at least, is the price: the Echolens site’s FAQ says the camera will be around $150 (or around £110 / AU$230), but early bird backers on Kickstarter will be able to secure a pre-order for under $100 (about £75 / AU$155). Which seems like a brilliantly affordable price tag if this thing lives up to its billing.

Of course, backers sometimes have a lengthy wait for the finished product after a Kickstarter campaign closes, so we’ve reached out to Echolens to try and find out more about their camera and campaign. We’ll update this story when we have further info.

The flash dial simply toggles between on and off, apparently. (Image credit: Echolens)You might also like

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• Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 have been hit by a bug that can leave a PC unable to boot
• Microsoft is investigating this recovery error glitch in the May update
• Windows 11 Home users are unlikely to be affected, we’re told, but that doesn’t mean they can’t run into this showstopping affair

Those who haven’t yet installed the latest cumulative update for Windows 11 in May – by which I mean the upgrade released the week before last, not the most recent optional update – should be aware of a nasty bug that some users are encountering.

Microsoft has said that it’s investigating whether the May update can cause a showstopping error, which means your PC won’t boot. However, this warning is delivered with a welcome caveat that it isn’t likely to affect Windows 11 Home users. Still, that possibility isn’t ruled out, and given the gravity of the bug, it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re about to pull the trigger on this cumulative update.

Bleeping Computer reports that Microsoft has updated its release health dashboard with information on the bug, and how the upgrade might fall over with a ‘recovery error 0xc0000098 in ACPI.sys’ message.

This is no simple error or installation failure, though, because it leaves Windows 11 unable to boot and requires a repair to be run on the system. And whether that repair will be successful is anyone’s guess, as sometimes, these are the kind of situations that are tricky to recover from – and the OS won’t necessarily pull itself out of the hole that’s been dug.

The good news is that affected devices running Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 – note that 24H2 is not affected here – are few in number. Primarily, this problem pertains to virtual machines, not physical Windows 11 PCs.

Microsoft explains: “Home users of Windows using Home or Pro editions are unlikely to face this issue, as virtual machines are mostly used in IT environments.”

However, being ‘unlikely’ does not equate to being impossible, and so there must have been some reports of Windows 11 PCs (as opposed to virtual machines) being affected by this unfortunate issue.

I did find one such recent report on Reddit, although it isn’t explicitly linked to the latest update being installed, so take that with a grain of salt. The error message was slightly different as well, but in its warning, Microsoft acknowledges that a file name other than ACPI.sys might appear in the error.

Analysis: A cautious approach may be wise here

(Image credit: MAYA LAB / Shutterstock)

Microsoft wouldn’t announce such an investigation lightly, so if you haven’t yet installed the May update, I think that it’s worth considering delaying the installation of that upgrade for a little longer. Mainly to allow for Microsoft to complete its investigation here, after all, you’ve waited a couple of weeks (for whatever reason) now, so what’s another week, or perhaps a bit longer?

It is possible to pause OS updates for over a month, even on Windows 11 Home, though you’ll be forced to apply any given patch after 35 days of deferring it.

In this additional time, you can wait for Microsoft to complete its deeper dive into what’s going on here, and hopefully that’ll lead to a fix being implemented soon, too.

Granted, you’d probably be very unlucky to encounter this recovery error, but even a small chance is off-putting, given that it could be a potentially thorny problem to extricate yourself from. Ultimately, the choice is yours, and if you’ve already installed the May update without encountering any such error, I should make it clear that you've got nothing to worry about.

Microsoft isn’t having a great time of things lately when it comes to bugs of a seriously unpleasant nature, as there was a real sting in the tail for some Windows 10 users with the May update, too.

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The 2025 edition of Netflix Tudum, aka the now-annual fan event that celebrates everything about the world's best streaming service, is almost upon us.

This year's installment will take place on Saturday, May 31 at 5pm PT / 8pm ET – non-US readers can work out when it'll begin using the aforementioned times – and there'll be plenty of announcements made on the night.

We already know that TV hits including Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Squid Game will be featured at Netflix Tudum 2025. However, Netflix has stayed tight-lipped on what it'll actually reveal during its live event, which you can watch on Netflix if you didn't manage to secure a ticket to the in-person event.

That won't stop me from speculating on what'll be shown, mind you. With that in mind, here are four things I predict we'll see at Tudum 2025.

1. Stranger Things season 5 release date and format, plus a teaser trailer

Me and who as we sit around our computers hoping for some Stranger Things 5 news on Saturday? (Image credit: Netflix)

As far as many people are concerned, these are the biggest reveals that Netflix could make at Tudum 2025.

We already know that the hugely popular show's final season is set to be released sometime in 2025. Indeed, filming wrapped on Stranger Things 5 in December 2024 but, while a big Stranger Things season 5 leak seemingly suggested it'll air in late 2025, we still don't know when it'll make its actual debut.

Nevertheless, Tudum 2025 is the perfect time for Netflix to finally confirm when Stranger Things season 5 will be released. I predict that the streaming giant will also tell us whether it'll launch in full, or be released in two parts like Stranger Things season 4 was.

Lastly, I'd be surprised if a teaser trailer isn't unveiled to further generate hype for one of the best Netflix shows' final hurrah. We've had to live on behind-the-scenes morsels for years at this point, so some actual footage of season 5 would go down a storm.

2. An official trailer for Squid Game season 3

Unchain Squid Game season 3's official trailer, you cowards! (Image credit: Netflix)

It's hard to believe that another incredibly successful Netflix TV Original – Squid Game – will end this year, too.

The Korean-language survival drama is set to end when Squid Game season 3 arrives on June 27. But, despite the fact that we were treated to an exciting Squid Game 3 teaser in early May, an official trailer still hasn't been released online.

Tudum 2025 is the ideal time to drop a much longer trailer that'll make me and millions of other Netflix users even more stoked for the series' last chapter.

3. More footage of Wednesday season 2

This is the exact same pose and facial expression I'll have if we don't see more of Wednesday season 2 (Image credit: Netflix)

Unlike the aforementioned pair, Netflix hasn't been shy about disclosing information about Wednesday season 2.

In the last few weeks alone, we've received word about Wednesday 2's dual release dates and first-look at its new cast members, and been treated to a finger-clickingly good behind-the-scenes featurette of the show's sophomore outing.

I'm hungry for even more, though, so I'd like to see another first-look clip or two for Wednesday's second chapter. I don't really care what's shown, either. Indeed, I'll take an extended sequence of Jenna Ortega's eponymous character interacting with Joanna Lumley's Grandmama, a tension-filled reunion with Hunter Dooham's Tyler/Hyde, or something more kooky. Just give me something, please Netflix.

4. Release date reveals for Netflix's 2025 movie line-up

"No Knives Out 3 release date yet? It makes no goddamn sense! Compels me, though..." (Image credit: https://x.com/rianjohnson)

It's not all about the biggest shows that Netflix has to offer. There are numerous new Netflix movies that'll launch on the platform before the end of 2025, but lots of them still only have placeholder launch windows.

There's no better moment to announce some proper release dates for some of Netflix's most anticipated new movies of the year, then, than at Tudum 2025. I'm hoping for official launch dates for Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, The RIP, and The Twits, but I won't turn my nose up at any other major reveals that are made.

What are you hoping to hear more about at Netflix Tudum 2025? Will you be tuning in to watch it live, or do you plan on catching up on the biggest news once it's wrapped up? Let me know in the comments!

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• Doda, a district in India's Jammu and Kashmir region, issued a 2-month VPN ban over national security concerns
• The ban was enforced on May 2, 2025, with some VPN users reportedly detained after that date
• Experts are warning against the attack on people's digital rights, while questioning the legality of the ban

Doda, a district in India's Jammu and Kashmir region, enforced a 2-month VPN ban on May 2, 2025, over national security concerns.

Authorities issued the ban under Section 163 of the new BNSS law (the equivalent of the Indian Penal Code), citing individuals and groups misusing virtual private network (VPN) tools "to circumvent lawful cyber restrictions and access prohibited applications," the order reads.

Digital rights and legal experts have so far strongly criticized this decision. They warn against the attack on people's digital rights and security, while questioning its legality.

Is Doda's VPN ban legal?

The Doda's VPN ban aims to "curtail the use of VPNs in the interest of public safety," and it's extended to all individuals, institutions, internet service providers, and cyber cafes operating in the district.

This means that all residents are barred from using one of the best VPN services or similar tools for two months, to avoid being liable for legal action.

Repercussions for allegedly using VPNs seem to have already begun. In a report published on May 18, Indian publication The Wire reported allegations that an unspecified number of Doda residents under "technical surveillance" have already been arrested as found to be using VPNs.

Two days before, Doda's authorities had already confirmed to have "detained several individuals across the district for violating the directive."

This is why many experts have been raising concerns about how the ban can impact people's rights, like free speech, free access to information, and privacy.

TechRadar needs you! We want to know what you think about the world of VPNs. Whether you're a novice or a VPN pro, we want to hear your thoughts. Don't worry, though, your responses are completely anonymous, and it takes less than a minute to complete!

To take part, click the link below: https://futurenet.questionpro.eu/tr-vpn

Talking to TechRadar, Senior Policy Counsel and Encryption Policy Lead at Access Now, Namrata Maheshwari, explains that the right to the internet and the right to privacy are protected fundamental rights under the Indian Constitution.

Maheshwari also pointed out how the Indian government has already implemented "an onerous mandate" for VPN providers when it enforced a new data retention law in 2022.

A host of online services are now required to store users' data for up to five years and share it with authorities on request, in fact, something that led to an exodus of major VPN companies from the country.

VPNs are not illegal."

Namrata Maheshwari, Access Now

Yet, "VPNs are not illegal," said Maheshwari, adding that a blanket ban on all VPNs for two months is "unnecessary and disproportionate."

"People have a fundamental right to information and freedom of expression, and restrictions on these rights ought to be legal, necessary, and proportionate – a standard this ban does not meet," she added.

The ban isn't affecting only individual users, though, but also businesses and institutions that regularly use these services for security purposes.

According to Maheshwari, the ban could then end up increasing vulnerabilities in the country's cyberspace, ultimately weakening security as opposed to strengthening it.

She said, "Even in an emergency, preventative measures cannot be this vague and overreaching, particularly where less intrusive means are available."

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• World War Z VR, a new first-person, single-player game, is coming to SteamVR and Meta Quest on August 12
• Saber Interactive's new game will allow players to take on hordes of over 200 zombies at once in VR
• Pre-orders are now available on the Meta Store and Steam

Saber Interactive has announced the next game in its World War Z franchise, World War Z VR, and it's launching this summer.

World War Z VR is a brand new first-person, single-player game based on the Paramount Pictures 2013 film and Saber’s game franchise, and is set to release on August 12 for SteamVR, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 2, and Meta Quest Pro.

"World War Z VR faithfully reimagines the intense action of the original World War Z game to create the most immersive VR zombie experience ever," Saber said. "Take on hordes of over 200 zombies on screen at a time, an astounding technical feat for VR which will put your skills to the ultimate test."

In this new installment, players will find themselves taking on hordes of zombies in three locations: New York, Tokyo, and Marseille. There will be seven playable characters to choose from, and after selecting their operative, players can start missions with a pre-selected AI squad, equipped with a wide variety of weapons and perks.

The VR missions will present unique challenges for players and even offer three difficulty modes to choose from. Zombies will also adapt to their surroundings and recognize the players' playstyle to hunt them down, while special infected enemies raise the stakes even higher.

Pre-orders are now available on the Meta Store and Steam for $19.99 / £14.99. Those who secure a pre-order will also gain access to the Golden Skin Pack, which features four exclusive gold weapon skins.

Steam users can also pre-order a special game bundle that includes both the new World War Z VR and the original World War Z, featuring a 20% discount.

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• A new update for the Philips Hue mobile app is rolling out now
• The app now suggests adding new sensors and switches to a zone during the setup process
• This avoids a problem where lighting scenes are unavailable later on

If you've ever struggled to set up new sensors and switches for your Philips Hue lights, help is at hand. A new app update is rolling out now that automatically suggests adding accessories to a zone when you connect them for the first time, so you don't miss out on any features later on.

A zone is a set of lights and other accessories that you want to control together as a group. They don't necessarily have to be in the same place or include all the lights within a room. For example, you might want to create a zone specifically for your home entertainment lighting, or one that includes all the lights on a particular floor.

Previously, assigning new devices to a room or zone was an optional step within the Philips Hue app, which you might miss if you were in a hurry. If you did, you wouldn't be able to use all of the switch or sensor's functions afterwards. For example, you may be unable to view all the available scenes (ready-made lighting profiles).

The new app update was spotted by the editor of Hueblog.com, who says he's often contacted by readers stuck in this frustrating 'accessory trap'. From now on, the app will suggest creating at least one zone during the setup process so you don't suffer that problem, and will note that you can always hide zones in the future if you prefer.

Simpler setup

There is also a change to the setup process when you're installing a new Philips Hue security camera. As Notebookcheck explains, the app now offers you the chance to set up motion-controlled lighting during the initial setup process.

Both of these are relatively minor changes, and there's still no news about the upcoming Philips Hue AI assistant. However, they address some common problems that you might face when extending your Philips Hue setup and make your best smart lights even better.

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• NordVPN has launched post-quantum encryption (PQE) across all its applications
• The provider launched its first iteration of PQE in 2024, but only for its Linux VPN app
• This comes as traditional encryption methods are set to become obsolete with the advent of quantum computers

NordVPN has just taken an important step forward into its post-quantum transition, extending support for quantum-safe encryption across all its applications.

While the provider launched its first iteration of post-quantum encryption (PQE) in September 2024, only Linux users could enjoy this protection. Now, all NordVPN users can enjoy PQE no matter the platform they use.

Already rated as the best VPN service on the market by TechRadar's reviewers, NordVPN joins a handful of VPN providers that also include quantum-safe cryptography in their software.

Why and how use NordVPN post-quantum encryption

As quantum computing advances, NordVPN's CTO, Marijus Briedis, explains, RSA-based key exchange encryption methods that most VPN protocols use today will eventually become vulnerable.

Experts predict, in fact, that traditional encryption will soon be broken by the ability of quantum computers to perform computations that machines can't handle, within minutes.

While this is expected to happen between five to 10 years, cybercriminals have already started to conduct what's known as "store now, decrypt later (SNDL) attacks." The idea is simple – to collect encrypted data now so they can crack it in the future when quantum computing is finally up to the task.

This is exactly why the cryptographic world is already catching up. Last August, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the first three quantum-resistant encryption standards to better support software providers in their transition. NordVPN joined the post-quantum revolution a few months after that, adding one of these algorithms (ML-KEM) to its WireGuard-based Nordlynx protocol, which is known for its speed and security.

"By integrating PQE into our VPN infrastructure, we're taking a proactive step to ensure long-term confidentiality and resilience for our customers' data, both now and in a post-quantum future," said Briedis.

TechRadar needs you! We want to know what you think about the world of VPNs. Whether you're a novice or a VPN pro, we want to hear your thoughts. Don't worry, though, your responses are completely anonymous, and it takes less than five minutes to complete!

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As mentioned earlier, before the latest release, only the Linux VPN app included PQE support.

This choice allowed the NordVPN team to analyze how the new quantum-safe algorithm, which was implemented in a hybrid way alongside classic encryption methods, could affect performance like connection speeds and latency.

"The gathered data served as a stepping stone in the transition to quantum-resistant encryption for the rest of our platforms," said Briedis. "The Linux case demonstrated that we successfully maintained the highest level of user experience in terms of connection time and speed during the transition."

As a result, NordVPN rolled PQE across all its platforms – from Windows and macOS to Android and iOS, even including its Android TV and tvOS apps.

Users need to actively enable this extra protection by heading to the Connections tab in the app's Settings and switching on the toggle. The PQE feature will automatically activate whenever the user connects via the NordLynx protocol.

Which VPN providers offer post-quantum encryption?

NordVPN is not the only virtual private network (VPN) provider currently including PQE support on its service.

ExpressVPN added quantum-safe encryption on its proprietary Lightway protocol in October 2023, by default across its Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, and Windows apps. Last January, the team took a further step forward by upgrading to the NIST standards.

After pioneering the post-quantum transition in 2017, Mullvad extended PQE support for all platforms when it released post-quantum protection for iPhone in September 2024. The provider now plans to migrate to the new NIST standards, too.

AdGuard, Windscribe, and PureVPN are other providers currently offering PQE protection, with Surfshark and NymVPN also expected to join the list soon.

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• Google found Chinese hackers abusing Google Calendar
• The service was used to host malicious instructions and to exfiltrate results
• ToughProgress campaign was carried out by Chinese state-sponsored hackers APT41

Chinese state-sponsored hackers known as APT41 have been seen abusing Google Calendar in their newest attacks, using it as part of the C2 infrastructure.

Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (TIG) recently discovered the technique, dismantled the setup, and introduced changes to prevent similar attacks in the future.

The attack starts from a previously compromised government website - TIG did not explain how the site was compromised, but said it was used to host a .ZIP archive. This archive is then shared, through phishing emails, with potential targets.

Reading the calendar

Inside the ZIP are three files: a DLL and executable files posing as JPGs, and a Windows shortcut file (LNK) posing as a PDF document.

When the victim tries to open the fake PDF, it runs the shortcut which, in turn, activates the DLL.

This file, in turn, decrypts and launches the third file, which is the malicious payload dubbed “ToughProgress”.

The malware then reads additional instructions shared in two specific events in Google Calendar. The commands are found either in the description field, or hidden events.

To share the results, the malware would create a new zero minute calendar event on May 30, and share the data, encrypted, in the calendar event description.

Since the malware is never actually installed on the disk, and since the C2 communication happens via a legitimate Google service, most security products will have trouble spotting the attack, Google suggests.

To tackle the threat, TIG developed custom detection signatures to identify and block APT41’s malware. It also took down associated Workspace accounts and calendar entries. Furthermore, the team updated file detections and added malicious domains and URLs to the Google Safe Browsing blocklist.

Google also confirmed that at least a few companies were targeted: “In partnership with Mandiant Consulting, GTIG notified the compromised organizations,” it said.

“We provided the notified organizations with a sample of TOUGHPROGRESS network traffic logs, and information about the threat actor, to aid with detection and incident response.”

It did not say how many companies were affected.

Via BleepingComputer

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• The Aviot WA-J1 will ship worldwide in July
• Three drivers combined: piezo, planar and dynamic
• Price converts to about $270 / £200 / AU$424

The Japanese audio brand Aviot has introduced what it says is the world's first "Tribrid" 3-driver headphones, the WA-J1 – and it's made a special edition in collaboration with the J-pop star Hyde.

What's a Tribrid? According to Aviot, it's one piezo driver, one planar magnetic driver, and one dynamic driver, and together they deliver "overwhelming information density and unprecedented acoustic performance".

And they do it for an incredibly long time: battery life is a claimed 140 hours, though it's not specified if that's with active noise cancellation or not (I have to assume not).

(Image credit: Aviot)When three drivers are better than one

As Aviot explains, the piezo driver is there for the high frequencies, and the planar and dynamic drivers are placed coaxially with it to take care of the mids and lows, all with very low distortion and very little phase disturbance. The result, the firm says, is very high precision.

Supported audio formats include LDAC and Bluetooth LE Audio (that latter one via a future update) as well as the obligatory AAC and SBC, and there's adaptive noise cancelling with a transparency mode.

The headphones also offer 3D spatial audio. That option is adjustable via the control dial, enabling you to spatialize audio to suit your personal preference – from very flat to very reverberant sonic spaces. And for gamers, there's a low-latency mode to reduce lag.

The headphones will go on sale in Japan in July 2025 with a price tag of 39,600 yen – roughly $270 / £200 / AU$424 – and will be available to ship worldwide.

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Thanks to intensified activity on the part of law enforcement agencies worldwide – resulting in the shutdown of highly profitable and destructive ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) groups such as LockBit – we’ve seen some encouraging signs within the ongoing fight against ransomware threats. Annual ransomware payment totals fell from $1.25 billion in 2023 to $813.55 million last year.

Meanwhile, the global year-to-year rise in the rate of these attacks is on the decline, with 5,289 incidents in 2024, up 15 percent from 4,591 in 2023. But, that percentage increase is significantly lower than the 77 percent increase seen in 2023 (2,593 attacks in 2022). So, the overall incident growth rate appears to be leveling off somewhat.

However, it’s no time to get complacent. In our own research, we’ve found that ransomware variants grew to 101 in 2024, up from 70 in 2023. This rise in variants remains a foreboding indicator of accelerated attacks to come, signifying rebranding efforts on the part of cybercriminals. They’re responding to law enforcement activity with craftier variants and more precisely targeted campaigns aimed at victims with deep pockets. As a result, they’re boosting their efficiency and efficacy.

Ransomware-as-a-service

With the rise of RaaS over the years, cybercriminals now work much like a business, leveraging a subscription-based market in which customers (most commonly referred to as affiliates) pay for software created by ransomware operators, for the purpose of launching attacks.

By its very nature, RaaS has lowered the barrier to entry because customers no longer need to be experts in coding. They can simply pay for the product to launch their ransomware campaigns, and their subscriptions typically entail full-service offerings of software support, malware and infrastructure. Such a model created a strong incentive for more cyber actors, who are perhaps less skilled or experienced, to join the ransomware landscape, as long as they agreed to share a cut of the ransom with the RaaS operator, of course.

Key trends

If this sounds like a high-level, enterprise approach to crime, well, that’s because it is. Subsequently, we’re seeing the following key trends reshaping the very essence of the ransomware experience in 2025 – trends that can help victims make better decisions as they assess whether to proceed with payment negotiations or not:

(Dis)honor among thieves

Among cyber attack techniques, ransomware stands out because there are inevitably person-to-person interchanges, those which often touch upon human emotions and elements of trust. Or mistrust.

Victims, already rattled by the reality of the situation, find themselves in dialogue with the ransomware operator and must evaluate whether the operator will make good on terms if the ransom is paid. “What do we know about this group?” victim organizational leaders will ask. “Do they seem too aggressive? Are they pressuring us without any intention of deleting the data they stole, or never bothering us again? Or do they have a track record of respecting negotiated agreements?”

The weaponization of data

RaaS groups aren’t just stealing victims’ data. They’re weaponizing it as a means to increase the pressure to pay. They will now go through financial records, cyber liability limits and additional information to determine whether a victim is positioned to pay – and how much.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools enable them to explore further at a larger scale, such as the exploitation of human resources (HR) records to reach employees and/or senior executives and tell them that their records have been compromised. With this, the RaaS operator tries to apply pressure on employees and executives to convince their organization to pay the ransom.

Outsourcing and automation

RaaS operators are fully capable of using the same tech and personnel management tools as legitimate companies. Outsourcing allows them to rebrand quickly if they feel the heat around the corner. They can put people and resources in place with a spinoff group and then migrate to the new brand when they have to make the current one “disappear” to avoid getting arrested.

Automation will enhance efficiencies and expand the scale of victim targeting and payments. Instead of communicating with targeted organizations person-to-person, a chatbot instantly will direct organization members to a log-in page, and they’ll use a transaction number to process payment and secure the stolen information.

Deal or no deal?

Ultimately for victims, ransomware comes down to one simple proposition: Deal or no deal? This is a highly individualized decision, based upon the size of the organization, industry, and the potential consequences of taking a “no payment” position.

But the more companies know about the RaaS operator, the better informed their choices. If they know the background of the operator and how adept they are at deploying AI and additional resources to “go deep” within their environment – then they’ll have a stronger sense of likely outcomes of paying or not paying. If they’re aware that the “new” group which compromised them is actually a spinoff of an old one, then they can research the reputational history of the former brand.

Given that AI and automation should only dramatically expand the capabilities of the RaaS underworld as a collective whole, organizations will need to stay on top of these trends to make the best decision for their teams.

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

• The Order: 1886 creative director Ru Weerasuriya has revealed that the game was supposed to be the first game in a trilogy
• The Order 1891 and The Order 1899 were planned, and the second game was in the early stages of development before it was canceled
• The sequel would have featured bigger fight sequences and a multiplayer mode that was cut from the first game

The PlayStation 4 exclusive The Order: 1886 was originally supposed to be the first game in a trilogy.

That's according to The Order: 1886 creative director Ru Weerasuriya, who revealed in a new French-language interview with YouTuber Julien Chieze that two more games were planned: The Order 1891 and The Order 1899 (via VGC).

Weerasuriya said the second game was in the early stages of development before it was canceled and that he wrote a 10-page pitch for the sequel, which would have featured bigger fight sequences, as well as a multiplayer mode.

It was also revealed that a multiplayer mode was in development for the first game, but it was shelved for the sequel.

Although the third game never made it to development, Weerasuriya said that he planned for where the story would go if developer Ready at Dawn had been able to complete the trilogy, and that other installments in the series would have taken the franchise to the 20th century.

While it's never been revealed why The Order: 1886's sequel was canceled, Weerasuriya suggested that the first game's mixed critical response was a factor.

The Order: 1886 was released in 2015 and is set in an alternate version of Victorian London, "where science and myth collide". It's been more than 10 years since the game made its PS4 debut, and although it's playable on PS5 through backward compatibility, The Order: 1886 is still exclusive to PlayStation.

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We may not think much about it, but businesses need to rely on digital and physical documents every day. Decisions, purchases, and deals worth millions hinge on information in official documents being trustworthy. In the new world that AI has brought about, forged or altered documents are becoming not only very convincing, but also available to anyone with basic AI tools.

The news cycle has been replete with cases of AI being used to fake crucial documents like IDs – and these only scratch the surface. AI has given fraudsters the tools for fabricating invoices, tax forms, investment contracts, risk assessments, financial audits, and procurement documents among others.

A report on AI-assisted fraud found that digital document forgeries increased 244% between 2023 and 2024 making it one of the fastest growing categories of business-related fraud going into 2025. For businesses operating into the next decade, the possibility that they cannot trust their own internal documents is becoming a problem that is impossible to ignore.

Faked documents do real harm to businesses

While cases of significant fraud will be rare given the layers of internal security and regulations that prevent decision making being centered on one person or one document, the real damage this will do will be to trust. Without a reliable and quick way to authenticate documents businesses may have to add hours into processes of checking and re-verifying documents, even when they are perfectly legitimate.

At best, this will add a significant inefficiency to many businesses, wasting time and effort – but at worst, it can grind operations almost to a standstill – costing businesses the critical advantage of time against their competitors.

This creates a need to counter this by creating systems that distinguish authentic documents from tampered ones.

How tech restores trust

Responding to this critical problem, new technologies focused on document verification have developed quickly. Principally, the solutions that exist fall into four main categories blockchain-based solutions, AI detection, Identity Verification Technology (IDVT), and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Here’s what you need to know about them:

Blockchain

While Blockchain started as a means for facilitating cryptocurrencies, it’s since become a legitimate platform for business applications, where the immutability of blockchains present significant security benefits when integrated into business software and processes.

Blockchain authentication solutions create tamper-proof documents by matching them with cryptographic hashes - meaning that a document can always be checked against its hash. Fundamentally, blockchain’s decentralized nature makes it nearly impossible for bad actors to change internal records stored on the platform, providing a reassurance that once a document is placed on the blockchain, you will always be able to verify it against the authentic version.

Since document hashing takes place in your own environment and hashes cannot be reverse engineered to rebuild the document, this method allows you to avoid sending any sensitive data to third parties.

There are some legitimate concerns about the blockchain's environmental costs given the vast amounts of computing and energy needed to maintain it, although different blockchains offer different advantages in this regard.

AI-detection

AI anomaly detection identifies metadata, formatting, and other criteria for mismatches. This is certainly the most straightforward option – as AI’s have become surprisingly adept at spotting the output of other AI. That said, while it can be a cost-effective solution, there is no way of guaranteeing its accuracy given AIs notorious hallucinations. Given this, it can be an effective 'first layer’ against forgery but should not be relied upon exclusively.

IDVT

IDVT uses AI to scan metadata and security protocols to detect fakes. This scanning procedure can cross-reference the protocols with trusted databases to prevent using forged credentials in business transactions. The process essentially provides a checkpoint for all your data – documents are flagged immediately if it doesn’t match the protocols stored on an organizations database.

IDVT is sometimes hampered by overreliance on database accuracy. Organizations typically require a lot of resources in terms of infrastructure, personnel, and access to reliable data sources to set it up – making it prohibitively expensive for small and medium companies. It's also prone to human error- if an employee sets up protocols incorrectly, the solution becomes near useless.

PKI

PKI relies on shareable digital certificates that authenticate a document's origin and integrity. Using the issuer’s public key to check the certificate, both first parties and third parties can check its authenticity. It has the advantage of being intuitive to set up, but has gained an unfortunate reputation of being somewhat insecure – if bad actors are able to obtain the keys and/or modify them, they can certify modified documents as authentic.

Regulation needs to be the answer to systemic document forgery

The truth is, AI forgery is not a business-by-business level problem, but a systemic one that will need higher level regulation to address. Eventually, it will become critical for governments to impose baseline metadata standards and mandatory verification technology that can make vital public documentation verifiable by everyone.

We cannot afford to regard AI forgeries as a distant problem – the threat of serious harm being caused by an AI-doctored document grows daily. Operating a business or running a government where we cannot trust the documents we depend on is an impossible task. Embracing these technologies not only allows us to head off this potential crisis of trust, but can open new opportunities to make the organizations we rely on more transparent.

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

• Luxury brand Hermés unveils its first over-ear headphones
• Yours for the same price as 33 pairs of the Sony XM6
• Specs are still secret, but the design may offer clues

Luxury brand Hermès has announced a set of high-end wireless headphones, and as you might expect they're going to cost a bit more than a pair made by 1More.

As WWD.com reports, the headphones will cost $15,000. And if you think that's a lot of money, you're not the target market. But they do sound intriguing, not least because of what the brand hasn't announced.

Hermès' tech adventures include working with Apple on the Watch right from its launch. (Image credit: Apple)Hermès' $15K headphones: what we know – and what we don't

This isn't Hermès' first audio product, although it's the first pair of headphones its produced; the brand has previously made a jukebox, a boom box, and a cubic speaker.

The new headphones aren't just brand engineering with Hermès sticking some dead cow on someone else's earcups. They're being developed by Hermès' Ateliers Horizons workshop in Paris, which makes some of its most-wanted products, and that workshop is collaborating with unnamed manufacturing partners who it seems are taking care of the sound.

According to Axel de Beaufort, Ateliers Horizons' creative director, “We need to understand the engineering of things. It doesn’t mean that we do the engineering, but we need to understand and we need to be able to push boundaries."

Specs are currently secret but the grilles look rather like those of planar magnetic headphones, which have a more advanced speaker design than regular dynamic headphones, so it's possible that the spec could be as high as the price. We do know that the headphones will be made for both wired and wireless use, and that they will deliver a tuned “Hermès sound”.

Planar options are rare among the best wireless headphones, but not unheard of – and having this much budget to play with in the production of the headphones would certainly help with the engineering challenges involved.

The headphones will feature hand-stitched cowhide leather and will come in Kelly bag-inspired colors including "naturel", black, chocolate, "rouge H" and Prussian blue. Start saving now: they'll launch this summer.

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• Researchers found a flaw in Microsoft OneDrive File Picker
• The flaw stems in the lack of fine-grained OAuth permissions
• Microsoft acknowledges the flaw, but hasn't fixed it yet

A vulnerability in Microsoft’s OneDrive File Picker has been found which could allow threat actors to access people’s entire cloud archives, experts have warned.

Security researchers Oasis discovered the flaw and reported it to Microsoft, noting the problem lies in excessive permissions that File Picker asks for - including read access to the entire drive. The tool asks for these permissions since the OAuth scopes for OneDrive aren’t fine-grained.

File Picker is a tool in OneDrive that allows websites and applications to integrate directly with the cloud storage solution. That way, users can manage their OneDrive account within a third-party interface, resulting in seamless file access.

Reading the calendar

"This stems from overly broad OAuth scopes and misleading consent screens that fail to clearly explain the extent of access being granted," the Oasis Research Team explained in a report.

"This flaw could have severe consequences, including customer data leakage and violation of compliance regulations."

Oasis further stressed that a number of popular apps, such as ChatGPT, Trello, or Slack, are also affected, since they integrate with OneDrive.

The researchers also said that the messaging, when uploading files, isn’t clear enough, which could mislead people into thinking their cloud storage solutions are secure.

"The lack of fine-grained scopes makes it impossible for users to distinguish between malicious apps that target all files and legitimate apps that ask for excessive permissions simply because there is no other secure option," Oasis concluded.

If that wasn’t enough, Oasis also said the OAuth tokens are often stored insecurely since they’re saved in the browser’s session storage in plaintext.

Microsoft has reportedly acknowledged the issue, but hasn’t come back with a patch just yet.

If you’re worried about exposing your OneDrive storage, you might want to temporarily remove the option to upload files using OneDrive through OAuth. You could also stop using fresh tokens and make sure to store access tokens more securely.

Via The Hacker News

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• Victoria's Secret has confirmed suffering a cyberattack
• Company website and some systems taken offline following incident
• No one claimed responsibility yet, but customers should still be on alert

American lingerie and beauty retailer Victoria’s Secret has suffered a cyberattack which forced the company to shut down its websites and “some in-store services”.

In a short announcement posted on the company’s main website (as well as national websites), it was said a “security incident” had been identified, and “as a precaution”, the website and some in-store services were taken down.

“We appreciate your patience during this process. In the meantime, our Victoria’s Secret and PINK stores remain open and we look forward to serving you,” the announcement reads.

Was it ransomware?

So far, specific details on the incident remain scarce, as the company did not detail the nature of the attack, the identity of the attackers, or the methods used to compromise the systems.

A Victoria's Secret spokesperson told FOX Business the company triggered its incident response protocols following the incident.

"Third-party experts are engaged, and we took down our website and some in store services as a precaution," the statement read. "We are working to quickly and securely restore operations."

Usually, when a company is forced to shut down its IT network, either partially or completely, it is to contain a ransomware attack, and prevent threat actors from moving laterally and exfiltrating sensitive customer data.

Since no threat actors have yet claimed responsibility for the attack, this is pure speculation at this point. We do know that the company’s systems have been offline for at least three days, at press time.

Victoria’s Secret is a leading global lingerie and beauty retailer, so it’s no wonder it was a target. As of February 1, 2025, the company had 31,000 total employees, including 13,000 full-time and 18,000 part-time employees, according to Stock Analysis.

It has more than 1,300 stores around the world and in 2024, it reported annual revenue of $6.23 billion.

Via TechCrunch

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• 10th generation LTO is finally here, four years after 9th gen launched
• It will have a 30TB capacity, far less than the 48TB originally planned
• LTO roadmap runs to 576TB which may not appear until 2040 at the current rate

If you want to back up tens of petabytes of data or even more, here’s some good news for you. Without much fanfare, IBM, Symply and Spectral Logic have separately made LTO-10 announcements in the past 48 hours.

Announced in 2014, LTO-10 is the 10th iteration of Linear Tape Open technology. This tape media can now reach 30TB native capacity and a staggering 75TB compressed (using the industry standard of 2.5:1 ratio).

Even more surprising is that the transfer rate remained at 400MB/s whereby incremental speed improvements were the norm in the previous nine generations. In theory, filling up an entire tape would take a bit less than a day.

LTO’s taking its time

Even if 30TB sounds fantastic, it is significantly smaller than what was originally proposed. Eight years ago when the LTO organization published their Ultrium roadmap, it listed the LTO-10 as being a 48TB model, that dropped to 36TB in the most recent one, from 2022, and now the actual product launched with ‘only’ 30TB.

That is 67% higher than the capacity of the new LTO-9 tape (18TB) but only 25% higher than that of the old LTO-9 purported tape capacity (24TB). In other words, six LTO-10 tapes can replace 10 LTO-9 tapes.

Back then, the LTO consortium told us, “Doubling capacity approximately every two years is still technically feasible for LTO tape technology and the LTO Program anticipates being able to return to that pattern in future generations”.

Why? Perhaps because the legacy (hard drives) and exotic competitions (ceramic, DNA, silica) aren’t as compelling as originally planned. The first 30TB hard drive launched in January 2024 with 100TB hard drives expected to debut by 2030. LTO-9 hit the market in September 2021 and was delayed by a series of setbacks.

What’s next for LTO?

So one can expect LTO-11 to launch sometime in 2029. LTO’s latest roadmap goes up to LTO-14 with a native capacity of 576TB but this document will almost certainly be changed because of LTO-10’s unexpected (and disappointing) capacity change.

Symply, a storage hardware expert that launched the first LTO-9 tape drive, will start shipping LTO-10 products as early as mid-June 2025 from $11,995 (SAS) with devices equiped with other interfaces (Ethernet and Thunderbolt) costing more.

Symply told TechRadar Pro that they will provide pricing details for LTO-10 media soon. They also told us “the LTO-10 media is 1035m in length which is the same as LTO-9. It is a high density on the media that enable the higher capacity.”

LTO-9 is currently the cheapest of the LTO family, costing around $5 per TB; a 30TB tape would likely sell for more than $150. IBM, one of the founders of LTO, has also announced an LTO 10 tape drive, while Spectra Logic announced support for the new media.

25 years and still going strong

It’s been a quarter of a century already since LTO-1 hit the market and while it has many critics (including within the US government), its resilience, value for money and ability to adapt to countless storage demands makes it a reliable partner regardless of the use case.

We witnessed the demise of competitors (like Sony’s ODA) and while alternative forms of storage (most notably Cerabyte) show exciting potential, they are still very far from reaching the same status as tape.

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A comparison of removable media (March 2025)

Media

Capacity (TB)

Price

Price per TB

HPE LTO 8 Tape

12

$57.74

$4.81

HPE LTO-9 Ultrium

18

$88.64

$4.92

Seagate Expansion 20TB external HDD

20

$230.00

$11.50

Toshiba MG08ACA16TE 16TB

16

$255.00

$15.94

50 Pack Myeco Bd-r BDR Blu-ray

1.25

$19.99

$15.99

Silicon Power 2TB SATA

2

$82.99

$41.50

Patriot Transporter 2TB Type-C External Portable SSD

2

$89.99

$45.00

TEAMGROUP A2 Pro Plus Card microSD

1

$52.99

$52.99

• Valve has released SteamOS 3.7.9 beta, with fixes for the Lenovo Legion Go S and other Strix Point handhelds
• It comes only a week after SteamOS 3.7 stable, which provided official support for the Legion Go S
• It further highlights Valve's SteamOS benefits over Microsoft's Windows 11 for gaming

Microsoft's Windows 11 has been controversial for PC gamers recently, specifically with its 24H2 update. And Valve's SteamOS looks set to be the most suitable alternative for handheld users, with its focus moving away from the Steam Deck for the first time.

As reported by GamingOnLinux, Valve released SteamOS 3.7.9 beta, which comes after its recent SteamOS 3.7 stable update. The update provided support for the Lenovo Legion Go S and other AMD-powered handhelds, and this new beta contains fixes for the devices; it addresses controller input and frame-pacing issues, and other tweaks you can read in its patch notes.

Valve recently stated that it would be continuously working on support for handheld devices that aren't officially SteamOS licensed, and it appears that it's kept true to its word. Users also have other SteamOS clones like Bazzite, which has been available and supported much longer than Valve's recent efforts for other handhelds.

It's an example of Valve supporting these portable systems within a short period of time, exactly one week after the SteamOS 3.7 stable release. Since Microsoft's Windows 11 is focused on desktop PCs and laptops, and less on handhelds, the difference between the two operating systems is evident.

Handheld vendors like Asus and Lenovo provide software like Armoury Crate to help streamline the experience with menus and hubs built for gaming. However, performance in games on SteamOS has been showcased as much better than games running on Windows 11 – and without bloatware and non-gaming software running in the background, it's not too much of a surprise.

Analysis: Leaving Windows 11 for SteamOS on handhelds for SteamOS is a no-brainer at this point...

(Image credit: T. Schneider / Shutterstock)

With features like sleep mode and quick resume on SteamOS (or Bazzite, which is what I'm using), and most importantly better performance, leaving Windows 11 behind was an easy choice for me – and I anticipate more Asus ROG Ally X, MSI Claw 8 AI+, and Lenovo Legion Go users will be making the switch sooner.

Using sleep mode on Windows 11 via the power button is a complete mess. Either the screen will constantly switch itself back on (especially while running a game), or resuming and getting back into your game will make it crash or freeze the device altogether.

Combined with the issues of constant micro-stutters in games, the lack of graphics drivers provided by vendors, AMD's AFMF (frame generation software) not working efficiently, and bloatware, it would be a literal downgrade to return to Windows.

It's also promising to see that game developers of games using anti-cheat software work towards support for the Linux-based OS – and Splitgate 2 is a prime example of this with its recent update, highlighted by GamingOnLinux. I'm just hoping the trend can continue sooner rather than later...

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• HP says it is on track to halt work in China
• Computing giant will halt production in China to avoid Trump tariffs
• HP also reveals price hikes to deal with higher than expected tariffs

HP Inc has revealed it is nearly done with its exit from China as the Trump administration tariffs continue to affect even the biggest companies.

Speaking on its latest Q2 2025 earnings call, company president and CEO Enrique Lores said it has "accelerated" its move to have zero products heading to the US, made in China.

HP Inc had said it would make such a move last quarter, and now seems close to ensuring it fully complies with the increasing punitive tariffs.

HP exiting China

“A quarter ago, we shared that our goal was to have less than ten percent of the products in North America being shipped from China by September,” Lores said on the call.

“We have accelerated that and we share that now almost no products will be coming from China sold in the US by June. It’s a very significant acceleration of the plan that we have."

“We accelerated the shift of factories out from China into Southeast Asia, into Mexico to a certain extent in the US to mitigate the impact of the change,” he added.

Lores also revealed that in order to avoid further tariffs, HP will also no longer use the US as a distribution hub for products sold in Canada or to Latin America.

The company revealed $13.2 billion net revenue for Q2 2025, up 3.3% year on year, however EPS (earnings per share) fell from $061 to $042 - below the company's outlook.

Lores noted the company was in, "a very different economic situation from where we were a few months ago in terms of both consumer and business confidence," forcing it to take what he called "price actions", effectively increases across PC and printing hardware.

“In light of the increased macroeconomic uncertainty, we have adjusted our outlook to reflect moderated demand and the net impact of trade-related costs,” Karen Parkhill, CFO, HP Inc, said, adding the company was, "executing targeted mitigation strategies, and assuming current conditions remain, we expect to fully offset these costs by Q4.”

She noted HP had, “worked aggressively to respond to changes in the regulatory trade environment” however, “tariff increases announced in April were higher than expected."

“The full benefit of these mitigating actions can take a few months lead time depending on the scope,” Parkhill added.

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• The Nintendo Switch 2 will automatically upload players' screenshots and videos to the official Nintendo Switch app
• The Switch app will store up to 100 files for up to 30 days at a time, and old files will be automatically deleted once the limit is reached
• The system will work the same as the PlayStation app

Unlike the Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Switch 2 will have a feature that will allow players to easily save their screenshots and videos.

According to dataminer 'OatmealDome', the Switch 2 can automatically upload new screenshots and videos to the official Nintendo Switch app's new Album feature, offering a faster and more efficient way of saving files to users' phones or tablets.

The Switch app will store up to 100 files for up to 30 days at a time, and old files will be automatically deleted once the limit is reached, so users will need to save any photos and videos they want to keep before they're gone for good.

As per the attached screenshot, if players' uploads are taking a long time to appear, they can check the file's status by navigating to the console's Album, Upload Settings, and then Upload Status.

This system works quite similarly to the PlayStation app, which will also automatically store screenshots and game capture footage from the PlayStation 5.

[Switch app]The Switch 2 can automatically upload new screenshots and videos to the Switch app on your tablet or phone.Up to 100 files can be stored for up to 30 days. Old files will be automatically deleted once a limit is reached.[image or embed]@oatmealdome.bsky.social

This new feature is a welcome one and something that Switch users have been wanting for years. Previously, players were required to scan a QR code on their console to link their device to their mobile to save their files.

Before it was removed, there was also an option to upload images and videos to social media accounts like X / Twitter, and some players, including myself, would use this as a way of saving files.

The Nintendo Switch 2 launches next week on June 5 for $449.99 / £395.99, and $499.99 / £429.99 for the official Mario Kart World bundle, which comes with a digital copy of the game.

UK pre-orders and US pre-orders are now live. For those who missed out on a pre-order, retailers like GameStop and Best Buy have announced that they will be restocking Switch 2 units in-store and online during the console's launch.

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