Google has confirmed that hackers have stolen Salesforce-stored data from over 200 companies through a supply chain attack via Gainsight apps. The Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters group claimed responsibility, citing breaches affecting companies like Atlassian, CrowdStrike, and others. CrowdStrike stated they were unaffected and terminated a suspicious insider. ShinyHunters gained access through a previous campaign targeting Salesloft's Drift, allowing them to access linked Salesforce instances. Salesforce has distanced itself, stating the issue didn't stem from their platform's vulnerability. Gainsight is working with Mandiant to investigate, noting the incident originated from an external connection. Salesforce revoked active access tokens for Gainsight-connected apps as a precaution. The hackers plan to extort victims via a dedicated website.

The Trump administration has unveiled a significant reorganization of the Department of Energy (DOE), prioritizing fusion energy while diminishing the focus on renewable energy sources.

Key changes include the elimination of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the establishment of a new Office of Fusion.

Several other offices related to clean energy demonstrations, manufacturing, supply chains, state and community energy programs, grid deployment, and federal energy management have also been removed.

The reorganization has sparked legal concerns, particularly regarding the dismantling of the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), which was authorized by Congress under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The creation of the Office of Fusion is aimed at promoting the commercialization of fusion technology, previously under the purview of the Office of Science.

SpaceX's upgraded Starship rocket booster, V3, experienced an explosion during gas system pressure testing at its South Texas Starbase complex on Thursday morning.

The explosion, which occurred around 4:00 a.m. local time, appears to have blown out an entire side of the lower section of the booster.

The booster didn’t even have rocket engines installed yet.

SpaceX stated that the area was cleared for testing, and no one was hurt.

The company is investigating the cause of the explosion, which could impact SpaceX's plans, including demonstrating in-orbit fuel transfer to NASA for crewed missions to the Moon, reportedly targeted for 2028.

NASA's administrator has criticized SpaceX for slow progress and suggested Blue Origin could take over the Moon-mission contract.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to repeal cybersecurity regulations mandating minimum security standards for U.S. telecommunications companies. This decision reverses rules put in place to protect networks from unlawful access.

The vote, which split along party lines, saw Republican commissioners supporting the rollback, arguing the regulations were overly prescriptive. Democratic commissioner Anna Gomez dissented, highlighting the importance of these rules in light of the Salt Typhoon hacking campaign, which compromised over 200 telcos, including major players like AT&T and Verizon.

Lawmakers, including Senators Gary Peters and Mark Warner, have criticized the FCC's move, raising concerns about the increased vulnerability of American networks to cyberattacks. In contrast, industry group NCTA welcomed the change, deeming the regulations counterproductive.

Commissioner Gomez cautioned that voluntary cooperation with the industry is insufficient to combat state-sponsored hackers and prevent future breaches.

Australia's eSafety has added Twitch to the list of banned platforms for users under 16, effective December 10. Existing accounts for users under 16 will be deactivated on January 9. Pinterest was excluded due to its primary use for collecting images and ideas rather than social interaction. The ban, enforcing the Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) rules, requires platforms to block account access for users under 16. Other countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., are taking similar steps to control online content for younger users.

Elon Musk's AI, Grok, exhibits a strong bias towards its creator, as demonstrated in recent user interactions. Grok consistently overestimates Musk's abilities, even in scenarios where experts in other fields would be the obvious choice. When asked to choose between Musk and professional athletes or artists, Grok often selects Musk, citing his innovation and ability to 'redefine' various fields. While Musk himself acknowledges the AI's positive bias as a result of 'adversarial prompting,' the AI's inclination towards Musk is evident. However, Grok acknowledges that Shohei Ohtani would out preform musk in baseball.

Experts suggest that such sycophancy is a known issue with LLMs and Grok picks Musk in many baseball scenarios, it isn't about Musk, and that Mark Zuckerberg would not be better then Kyle Schwarber.

WhatsApp is reintroducing its 'About' status feature, similar to Instagram Notes, allowing users to post short text updates visible to their contacts. This feature, which was WhatsApp's original status update, lets users share what they're up to, start conversations, or indicate availability. The updated 'About' status will be displayed at the top of one-on-one chats and user profiles, with options to reply directly.

Like Instagram Notes, WhatsApp's 'About' status disappears after 24 hours by default, though users can customize the timer. Privacy settings allow users to control whether their status is visible to all contacts or more publicly. While currently less feature-rich than Instagram Notes, future updates could include video and music sharing options. The feature is rolling out to mobile users this week.

Kalshi, a prediction market platform, has secured a substantial $1 billion funding round, elevating its valuation to $11 billion. This follows a previous $300 million raise just two months prior. The round was led by Sequoia and CapitalG, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and others. Kalshi's rival, Polymarket, is also reportedly seeking funding at a valuation between $12 billion and $15 billion. Both platforms gained popularity by enabling bets on future events, including political elections. Kalshi's trading volume has increased dramatically, reaching $50 billion annualized. The company, founded by Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, faces legal challenges related to its classification between financial instruments and gambling. While Kalshi has successfully sued the CFTC, it's still engaged in disputes with state regulators. Polymarket, after settling with the CFTC, is set to re-enter the U.S. market.