You're all fired Trump admin fires security board investigating Chinese hack of large ISPs Dismantled Cyber Safety Review Board was investigating Salt Typhoon telecom hack. Jon Brodkin Jan 22, 2025 3:08 pm | 98 The helicopter with outgoing US President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden departs from the East Front of the United States Capitol after the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Credit: Getty Images The helicopter with outgoing US President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden departs from the East Front of the United States Capitol after the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Credit: Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe Department of Homeland Security has terminated all members of advisory committees, including one that has been investigating a major Chinese hack of large US telecom firms."The Cyber Safety Review Boarda Department of Homeland Security investigatory body stood up under a Biden-era cybersecurity executive order to probe major cybersecurity incidentshas been cleared of non-government members as part of a DHS-wide push to cut costs under the Trump administration, according to three people familiar with the matter," NextGov/FCW reported yesterday.A memo sent Monday by DHS Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman said that in order to "eliminate[e] the misuse of resources and ensur[e] that DHS activities prioritize our national security, I am directing the termination of all current memberships on advisory committees within DHS, effective immediately. Future committee activities will be focused solely on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS's strategic priorities."The memo said advisory board members terminated this week "are welcome to reapply." The Cyber Safety Review Board's list of members included security experts from the private sector and lead cybersecurity officials from multiple government agencies.The review board previously investigated a 2023 hack of Microsoft Exchange Online, producing a report that called out "a cascade of security failures at Microsoft." More recently, it has been investigating how the Chinese hacking group called Salt Typhoon infiltrated major telecom providers such as Verizon and AT&T.DHS said advisory boards push agendasSalt Typhoon attackers stole call records for many telecom customers and reportedly accessed calls and messages for Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other government officials. US Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was quoted by Reuters as saying that "disbanding the Cyber Safety Review Board while it's in the middle of investigating the most damaging breach of America's phone system in recent memory is a massive gift to the Chinese spies who targeted Trump, JD Vance and other top political figures."We contacted the Department of Homeland Security today, asking whether the Cyber Safety Review Board will be reconstituted and whether its work on Salt Typhoon will continue. The agency's public relations team didn't answer those questions but sent us a statement it attributed to an unnamed DHS senior official."Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security will no longer tolerate any advisory committee[s] which push agendas that attempt to undermine its national security mission, the President's agenda or Constitutional rights of Americans," the DHS statement said.The Cyber Safety Review Board operates under the DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which has been criticized by Republican lawmakers for allegedly trying to "surveil and censor Americans' speech on social media."Democrat: Board will be stacked with Trump loyalistsA Democratic lawmaker said that Trump appears ready to stack the Cyber Safety Review Board with "loyalists." House Committee on Homeland Security Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) made the criticism in his opening statement at a hearing today."Before I close, I would also like to express my concern regarding the dismissal of the non-government members of advisory committees inside the Department, including the Cyber Safety Review Board and the CISA Advisory Committee," Thompson's statement reads. "The CSRB is in the process of investigating the Salt Typhoon hack of nine major telecommunications companies, and it is a national security imperative that the investigation be completed expeditiously. I am troubled that the President's attempt to stack the CSRB with loyalists may cause its important work on the Salt Typhoon campaign to be delayed."Thompson said Republicans have been trying to shut down CISA over "false allegations and conspiracy theories." The conservative Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 alleged that "CISA has devolved into an unconstitutional censoring and election engineering apparatus of the political Left."The DHS memo dismissing board members was published yesterday by freelance cybersecurity reporter Eric Geller, who quoted an anonymous source as saying the Cyber Safety Review Board's review of Salt Typhoon is "dead." Geller wrote that other advisory boards affected by the mass dismissal include the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council, the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, and the Secret Service's Cyber Investigations Advisory Board."The CSRB was 'less than halfway' done with its Salt Typhoon investigation, according to a now-former member," Geller wrote. The former member was also quoted as saying, "There are still professional staff for the CSRB and I hope they will continue some of the work in the interim."House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) told Nextgov/FCW that "President Trump's new DHS leadership should have the opportunity to decide the future of the Board. This could include appointing new members, reviewing its structure, or deciding if the Board is the best way to examine cyber intrusions."Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 98 Comments

A special collab.Last week, Marvelous announced Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma would be launching on the Nintendo Switch this May.Now, in another update during a livestream event, it's been revealed there will be some special collaborative DLC with the action-farming sim Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Following "a disagreement about the IP rights of Celeste".The Celeste developer Extremely OK Games has made the "difficult decision" to cancel the "2D explor-action" game Earthblade.This new project was originally revealed in 2021 and now in a blog update it's been revealed the new game was cancelled "late last month". This follows conflict within the team "centered around a disagreement about the IP rights of Celeste".Read the full article on nintendolife.com

In BriefPosted:8:00 PM PST January 22, 2025Image Credits:Angel Garcia / Bloomberg / Getty ImagesGoogle buys part of HTCs XR business for $250 millionGoogle has agreed to acquire a part of HTCs extended reality (XR) business for $250 million, expanding its push into virtual and augmented reality hardware following the recent launch of its Android XR platform.The deal involves transferring some of the HTC VIVE engineering staff to Google and granting non-exclusive intellectual property rights, according to the Taiwanese firm. HTC will retain rights to use and develop the technology.The transaction marks the second major deal between the companies after Googles $1.1 billion purchase of HTCs smartphone unit in 2017.Google said the acquisition will accelerate Android XR platform development across headsets and glasses. The move comes as tech giants race to establish dominance in XR technology, with Apple and Meta maintaining their lead in the virtual reality market.Google and HTC will explore additional collaboration opportunities, they said.Topics

Ati Motors on Wednesday announced a $20 million raise. The funding arrives as the Indian-based autonomous mobile robots (AMR) startup looks toward global expansion. The firm hopes to tap into increased demand for domestic manufacturing in the U.S., India, and Southeast Asian nations, as countries look to lessen their dependence on China.In 2023, the Indian IT ministry proposed a nationwide policy titled National Strategy for Robotics to position the South Asian nation as a global robotics leader by 2030. The country ranks as the seventh largest robotics market, with a 59% YoY growth in annual industrial robotics installations, with 8,500 units in 2023, per the International Federation of Robotics. However, it still lags significantly behind China, Japan, and the U.S.Our competitor is always the status quo, not really another robot, Saurabh Chandra, founder and CEO of Ati Motors, said in an interview. Typically, we are displacing manual operation or somebody driving a vehicle or often somebody pushing it by hands.The 7-year-old startup, which has a manufacturing and R&D facility in Bengaluru, has developed seven distinct robots, two of which are currently in testing and will be available starting this quarter. The robots can move trolleys, bins, and pallets in a factory or warehouse.Image Credits:Ati MotorsAti Motors robots come with 3D lidar sensors and have spatial awareness. This enables these robots to work even in a tough environment where harsh weather, including rain, can impact manufacturing. The robots can also move on various flooring conditions and even handle gradients, cracks, or oil spills in their path, Chandra told TechCrunch.We do the full stack ourselves, he said. That has been our USP that we are able to do complete multi-disciplinary engineering.Ati Motors has designed the software and hardware for its robots in-house, including their sensor-fusion algorithms. Like many others in the space, the company relies on Nvidias Jetson platform for edge computing. It also offers dedicated fleet management software that can work with other companies mobile robots to provide customers interoperability.The future is such that millions of robots are going to go into factories. No one company is going to make all the millions of robots alone. And should we want to play with other people from day one? Yes, Chandra said.Founded in February 2017, Ati Motors started its journey with a tugging robot. However, based on customer feedback and demand, it expanded into pallet movers and lifters.The startup offers a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model to let companies lease its AMRs. Customers can also buy the systems outright.Ati Motors says it has deployed hundreds of its Sherpa robots across 40 manufacturers as its customers, including Airbus, Ceat Tyres, Forvia, Hyundai, Samsung, and TVS Motor. Of its total customer base, 80% are in the automobile sector and the U.S. dominates its revenues. Therefore, the startup plans to expand its North American presence in Detroit.The all-equity Series B funding was co-led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and NGP Capital. It also featured existing investors, including True Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Athera Venture Partners, and Blume Ventures.

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETArguably Samsung's biggest event of the year is here, with the company announcing new smartphones in the Galaxy S25 series: the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25+, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Most notably, these smartphones got a new Snapdragon Elite 8 chipset and better Galaxy AI integrated into the One UI 7 OS, with intuitive interactions and personalized experiences.Also:Everything announced at Samsung Unpacked 2025: Galaxy S25, Gemini AI, morePreorders for the new devices have begun, and all the products announced will officially go on sale on Friday, Feb. 7. Here's how to preorder every new Galaxy phone, plus a guide to which retailers are offering the best deals.Best deals for Samsung Galaxy S25 Prakhar Khanna/ZDNETThe base-model S25 smartphone has a 6.2-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 128GB or 256GB of storage, fast wireless charging, and Wi-Fi 7. It comes in Icyblue, Navy, Mint, and Silver Shadow, but Samsung.com has three exclusive colors: Blueblack, Coralred, and Pinkgold. The Galaxy S25 starts at $799.When you preorder directly at Samsung's website, you can get the exclusive colors as well as receive 15% off Samsung Care+ with Theft and Loss, which now includes $0 screen repairs.Current and new Verizon customers can get the new Galaxy S25 for free. See your eligibility directly on Verizon's website.New and existing customers can get the Samsung Galaxy S25 for free with an eligible trade-in at AT&T (any year, any condition--visit AT&T's website to see if your device is eligible). Plus, customers who purchase a new Samsung Galaxy S25 series with an AT&T installment plan can addNext Up Anytime, AT&T's exclusive program, which allows you to upgrade to get the latest Samsung Galaxy phone every year.T-Mobile customers can get a Galaxy S25 for free (or up to $800 off any phone in the S25 series) when adding a line on Go5G Plus/Next or when trading in an eligible device in working condition and adding a line on Go5G or most plans. See T-Mobile's website for eligibility and details.By preordering the Galaxy S25 at Amazon, you'll get a $100 Amazon gift card.Receive a $50 Best Buy gift card and a one-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership when you preorder the Galaxy S25 at Best Buy. In addition, check Best Buy's website to see if your current device is eligible for a trade-in.Customers can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S25 at Boost Mobile and receive up to $1,000 in savings without a trade-in when they sign up for Boost's $65/mo. Infinite Access plan. If you choose to purchase the Galaxy S25 outright, you are eligible to receive one year of Boost Mobile service for free. For terms and conditions, visit Boost Mobile's website.Best deals for Samsung Galaxy S25+ Kerry Wan/ZDNETMeanwhile, Samsung's middle-of-the-road device is the Samsung Galaxy S25+. The main difference between the S26 and S25+ is the S25+ has a bigger 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x display, 256GB or 512GB of storage, and a 4900mAh battery with Super Fast Charging 2.0. The Galaxy S25+ starts at $999 and comes in the same colors as the S25.Preorder the S25+ directly at Samsung's website to get exclusive colors and receive 15% off Samsung Care+ with Theft and Loss, which now includes $0 screen repairs. Current and new Verizon customers can get the new Galaxy S25+ for free. See your eligibility directly on Verizon's website.New and existing customers can get the Samsung Galaxy S25+ for free with an eligible trade-in at AT&T (any year, any condition--visit AT&T's website to see if your device is eligible). Plus, customers who purchase a new Samsung Galaxy S25 series with an AT&T installment plan can addNext Up Anytime, AT&T's exclusive program, which allows you to upgrade to get the latest Samsung Galaxy phone every year.T-Mobile customers can get a Galaxy S25+ for free (or up to $1,000 off any phone in the S25 series) when trading in an eligible device on Go5G Plus/Next plans. See T-Mobile's website for eligibility and details.By preordering the Galaxy S25+ at Amazon, you'll get a $100 Amazon gift card.Receive a $100 Best Buy gift card and a one-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership when you preorder the Galaxy S25+ at Best Buy.Customers can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S25+ at Boost Mobile and receive up to $1,000 in savings without a trade-in when they sign up for Boost's $65/mo. Infinite Access plan. If you choose to purchase the Galaxy S25+ outright, you are eligible to receive one year of Boost Mobile service for free. For terms and conditions, visit Boost Mobile's website.Best deals for Samsung S25 Ultra Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETSamsung's largest (and most expensive) S25 device has a better camera system, including high-res Marco shots and high-res zoom photos/video, up to 1TB of storage, and a better battery life of 5000mAh. It comes in Titan Black, Titan Gray, Titan Silverblue, and Titan Whitesilver, but Samsung.com has additional exclusive colors in exclusive colors in Titanium Pinkgold, Titanium Jetblack, and Titanium Jadegreen. The S25 Ultra starts at $1,299.When you preorder the S25 Ultra directly at Samsung's website, you can save up to $1,250 with an eligible trade-in (see if your device qualifies directly via Samsung.com). You'll also get exclusive S25 Ultra colors as well as receive 15% off Samsung Care+ with Theft and Loss, which now includes $0 screen repairs.Both new and existing customers can get up to $1,000 off the S25 Ultra.AT&T customers can grab the newest Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra for free with your choice of AT&T's mostpopular plansand an eligible trade-in (check to see which devices qualify for the trade-in). Plus, customers who purchase a new Samsung Galaxy S25 series with an AT&T installment plan can addNext Up Anytime, AT&T's exclusive program, which allows you to upgrade to get the latest Samsung Galaxy phone every year.T-Mobile customers can get up to $1,000 off the Galaxy S25 Ultra when trading in an eligible device on Go5G Plus/Next plans. See T-Mobile's website for eligibility and details.By preordering the Galaxy S25+ at Amazon, you'll get a $200 Amazon gift card.Receive a $200 Best Buy gift card and a one-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership when you preorder the Galaxy S25 Ultra at Best Buy.Customers can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra at Boost Mobile and receive up to $1,000 in savings without a trade-in when they sign up for Boost's $65/mo. Infinite Access plan. If you choose to purchase the Galaxy S25 Ultra outright, you are eligible to receive one year of Boost Mobile service for free. For terms and conditions, visit Boost Mobile's website.Samsung Unpacked

Samsung is launching One UI 7 alongside the new Galaxy S25 smartphones. Here are the best features coming to new and older S-series phones.

Looking for help with today's NYT Mini Crossword puzzle? Here are some hints and answers for the ... [+] puzzle.Credit: NYTIn case you missed Wednesdays NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, you can find the answers here:Another day, another NYT Mini Crossword to solve. Were just about to enter the final week of January, 2025, which is kind of insane. My how time flies when youre having fun. We have another fun crossword puzzle to solve, so lets get right to it!The NYT Mini is a smaller, quicker, more digestible, bite-sized version of the larger and more challenging NYT Crossword, and unlike its larger sibling, its free-to-play without a subscription to The New York Times. You can play it on the web or the app, though youll need the app to tackle the archive.Answers to todays Mini Crossword below . . . .Spoilers ahead!ACROSS1- "It's only a ___" (response to a sore loser) GAME5- Here's a pointer! ARROW6- ME, in an address MAINE7- Fencing swords at the Olympics EPEES8- Fit one inside the other, like measuring cups NESTDOWN1- Purple candy flavor GRAPE2- Zodiac ram ARIES3-4-5-Today's Mini CrosswordCredit: Erik KainSome of these were pretty easy, like 1-Across and 1-Down, which really helps filling in the blanks for other, trickier words. I wasnt sure about 5 or 6 Across (I didnt think of ME being the abbreviation of a state!) but I was pretty sure 7-Across was EPEES and 5-Down was AMEN. At this point, EWES was pretty obvious also and then it was just a matter of filling in a few more letters to snag up the rest. This took me exactly 1 minute.How did you do? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.If you also play Wordle, I write guides about that as well. You can find those and all my TV guides, reviews and much more here on my blog. Thanks for reading!

Stargate: Who is doing what? One pays (Masayoshi Son), One builds (Sam Altman), One hosts (Larry ... [+] Ellison), One helps (President Donald Trump)Lutz FingerPresident Donald Trump just announced Stargate, a $500 billion AI investment backed by SoftBank, Oracle, MGX, and OpenAI over the next four years.Whats Actually Happening?Lets put it differently: OpenAI just secured a major customerStargate. SoftBank will finance the deal, while Oracle will provide the infrastructure for OpenAIs AI services. This is good news for OpenAI. Training AI models is expensive, and open-source AI is catching up fast. OpenAIs only path forward is securing exclusive access to data and users.As I wrote in The Race for AI Agents: "To dominate AI agents, companies need access to users and enterprise data." OpenAI and Oracle both lag behind in these areas. This deal sends a message.The $500 billion Message To ChinaA $500 billion message: We will catch up we will outcompete you. For President Trump, this message is aimed at China. But others heard it too, including Elon Musk, who missed the AI lead and has tried to catch up through lawsuits and ethical arguments. Not being part of Stargate, he quickly dismissed it as half-baked.To which Sam Altman responded, "Wrong," and then questioned:"I realize whats good for the country isnt always good for your companies, but in your new role, I hope youll put America first."Easy for Altman to saythis deal is clearly great news for OpenAI. But is it equally good for America?Why Announce This At The White House?MORE FOR YOUThe AI race isnt just about OpenAI vs. Musks Grokits about who will dominate global technology and maintain hegemonic power. AI is set to reshape industries, and whoever leads in AI will reshape the worlds power structure. Back in 2019, I warned that Chinas aggressive data collection strategy would give it a long-term AI advantage over the U.S. Today, the gap between the U.S. and China seems narrower than ever.Chinas DeepSeeks R1Take the latest quest for AI reasoning. I predicted in my podcast with Jasper Masemann that: AI reasoning will be the main development in 2024. By the end of 2024, Sam Altman claimed OpenAI now knows how to build reasoning AI agents. How? I described the process in The Battle of Tech Giants: "o1 is designed for reasoning through an iterative, self-calling process." Now, after less than 60 days, this technological edge is gone. China has caught up. DeepSeeks R1, a Chinese AI model, uses the same self-critique and iterative learning approach with stunning results.AI Hegemony: Who Will Lead?DeepSeeks R1 is an open-source model, and soon many startup founders will experiment with it indirectly helping China in its challenge to U.S. AI dominance. And the irony? This is happening despite U.S. efforts to block China from accessing AI technology or perhaps because of those bans, which forced China to stay ahead by open-sourcing its models. Given all this, its no surprise that Trump chose the White House as the backdrop for a $500 billion We will outcompete you announcement.Trump Rolls Back Bidens AI RegulationsAlongside Stargate, Trump is also rolling back Bidens Executive Order 14110, which imposed AI regulations. Those had been criticized by me and others for not being effective. As I wrote in Bidens AI Plan: "...the White House seems to think AI can be controlled like nuclear weapons. But its not that simple." And clearly, it wasnt. At least, the order didnt stop OpenAI or China if anything, it pushed them to innovate faster.The AI Race Is Wide OpenWith China pushing forward and the U.S. making massive investments, the AI race is far from settled. The core question remains the same: Its not who has the best AIbut who controls the data and who builds products that businesses and people actually use. The journey is just beginning.

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsThe Samsung Galaxy S25 range is waterproofExplaining the IP68 ratingThe Samsung Galaxy S25 series has finally launched, and once again, none of the models in the lineup can be considered budget-friendly. Whether you choose the entry-level Galaxy S25, the mid-range Galaxy S25 Plus, or the high-end Galaxy S25 Ultra, these phones come with a hefty price tag. Therefore, its essential to understand the conditions they can withstand.The Galaxy S25 series is equipped with the all-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which offers notable improvements in speed and efficiency. These devices come with enhanced vapor chamber cooling to maintain performance and Qi2 wireless charging for quicker power-ups, and they operate on the new One UI 7 software, which includes AI-powered personalization features. The designs are understated, blending familiar aesthetics with upgraded hardware and innovative software capabilities.Recommended VideosBut are the phones resilient against water? Lets find out.RelatedThe Samsung Galaxy S25 series is water-resistant, which is advantageous considering these phones will be expensive. Like its predecessors, the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra all possess an IP68 rating.But what does this mean? According to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), devices are rated using a numeric system to indicate their resistance to dust and water. An IP68 rating signifies a device can be submerged in water without damage, and is likewise fully resistant to dust as well.Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (front) and Samsung Galaxy S25 Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsThe Samsung Galaxy S25 series maintains the IP68 rating, a standard characteristic of flagship smartphones. This rating signifies two key aspects: firstly, the devices are dust-tight, ensuring complete protection against dust ingress. Second, they can endure submersion in freshwater up to 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes. The IP68 rating offers peace of mind for everyday use by protecting your phone from accidental spills, rain, and dust. However, it does not guarantee protection against water damage in all scenarios.However, its important to note that the phones are water-resistant, not waterproof. True waterproofing isnt really possible with smartphones, due to needing ports and other such holes. Its also important to keep in mind that this rating applies under specific conditions. Samsung advises against intentionally submerging or exposing the phone to high-pressure water or saltwater. Additionally, water resistance may diminish over time due to normal wear and tear. Repairs, especially those involving the screen or back panel, can also compromise the devices water resistance, since it often involves removing the devices seals. Even when put back again, its possible water-resistance is compromised.If you plan on purchasing a new Galaxy S25 phone and want extra protection for your new handset, consider Samsung Care Plus, or buying a waterproof protective case.Editors Recommendations