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China may have conducted digital espionage against the US' Pacific interests. Microsoft and the National Security Agency (NSA) have revealed that an alleged state-sponsored Chinese hacking group, Volt Typhoon, installed surveillance malware in "critical" systems on the island of Guam and elsewhere in the US. The group has been operating since mid-2021 and reportedly compromised government organizations as well as communications, manufacturing, education and other sectors.

Volt Typhoon prioritizes stealth, according to the investigators. It uses "living off the land" techniques that rely on resources already present in the operating system, as well as direct "hands-on-keyboard" action. They use the command line to scrape credentials and other data, archive the info and use it to stay in targeted systems. They also try to mask their activity by sending data traffic through small and home office network hardware they control, such as routers. Custom tools help them set up a command and control channel through a proxy that keeps their info secret.

The malware hasn't been used for attacks, but the web shell-based approach could be used to damage infrastructure. Microsoft and the NSA are publishing info that could help potential victims detect and remove Volt Typhoon's work, but they warn that fending off intrusions could be "challenging" as it requires either closing or changing affected accounts.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

The world’s governments have taken note of generative AI’s potential for massive disruption and are acting accordingly. European Commission (EC) industry chief Thierry Breton said Wednesday that it would work with Alphabet on a voluntary pact to establish artificial intelligence ground rules, according toReuters. Breton met with Google CEO Sundar Pichai in Brussels to discuss the arrangement, which will include input from companies based in Europe and other regions. The EU has a history of enacting strict technology rules, and the alliance gives Google a chance to provide input while steering clear of trouble down the road.

The compact aims to set up guidelines ahead of official legislation like the EU’s proposed AI Act, which will take much longer to develop and enact. “Sundar and I agreed that we cannot afford to wait until AI regulation actually becomes applicable, and to work together with all AI developers to already develop an AI pact on a voluntary basis ahead of the legal deadline,” Breton said in a statement. He encouraged EU nations and lawmakers to settle on specifics by the end of the year.

In a similar move, EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager said Tuesday that the federation would work with the United States on establishing minimum standards for AI. She hopes EU governments and lawmakers will “agree to a common text” for regulation by the end of 2023. “That would still leave one if not two years then to come into effect, which means that we need something to bridge that period of time,” she said. Topics of concern for the EU include copyright, disinformation, transparency and governance.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the service most associated with AI fears, exploded in popularity after its November launch, on its way to becoming the fastest-growing application ever (despite not having an official mobile app until this month). Unfortunately, its viral popularity is paired with legitimate fears about its capacity to upend society. In addition, image generators can produce AI-generated “photos” that are increasingly difficult to discern from reality, and speech cloners can mimic the voices of famous artists and public figures. Soon, video generators will evolve, making deepfakes even more of a concern.

Despite its undeniable potential for creativity and productivity, generative AI can threaten the livelihoods of countless content creators while posing new security and privacy risks and proliferating misinformation / disinformation. Left unregulated, corporations tend to maximize profits no matter the human cost, and generative AI is a tool that, paired with bad actors, could wreak immeasurable global havoc. “There is a shared sense of urgency. In order to make the most of this technology, guard rails are needed,” Vestager said. “Can we discuss what we can expect companies to do as a minimum before legislation kicks in?”

It's almost time for Sony's PlayStation Showcase, in which the company will provide a look at a bunch of games that are coming to PlayStation 5 and PS VR2. It's likely to be a meatier affair than the State of Play streams Sony occasionally runs. The showcase will last for just over an hour and you'll be able to watch it below at 4PM ET.

This is just the second PlayStation Showcase to date. The previous edition, which took place in 2021, was a spicy stream packed with big reveals, including Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Insomniac's upcoming title will star both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as playable characters, and it's slated to hit PS5 this fall. It's a safe bet that we'll learn more about the game during today's showcase.

As for what else to expect, Square Enix has confirmed that a demo for Final Fantasy XVI is on the way before the timed PS5 exclusive arrives in June. We may find out the release date for the demo as well as more details about the game. In the meantime, be sure to check out our Final Fantasy XVI preview.

We could learn more about Naughty Dog's multiplayer game that's set in the universe of The Last of Us. With Sony placing a bigger onus on live service games (titles that are continually updated for years to keep players hooked), starting that push in earnest now with one of its highest-profile franchises makes sense. 

Elsewhere, rumors have been swirling that a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is in the works, and Sony may opt to announce that today. We might get a peek at Bloober Team's remake of Silent Hill 2 as well, since that's a PS5 exclusive.

Sony just announced that PS VR2 is selling at a faster pace than its first virtual reality headset, so expect the company to try and keep up that momentum with reveals of a major title or two (confirmation of Half-Life Alyx for PS VR2 would go over well). On top of that, Sony is promising news on the indie front, so perhaps the long-delayed Little Devil Inside will pop up.

The showcase will stream on both YouTube and Twitch. You can watch a version with English subtitles if you prefer.

Meta has started another round of layoffs amid the company’s “year of efficiency.” The latest job cuts are the third round of a series of cuts first announced in March. The company said it expected to shed a total of 10,000 jobs over the course of three rounds.

It’s unclear exactly how many workers are impacted by the latest round, but the layoffs, once again, seem to be primarily in non-engineering roles. People in marketing, communications, and recruiting have lost their jobs, according toReuters, which cited posts on LinkedIn. Meta will also be slashing nearly 500 jobs from its Irish office, about 20 percent of its workforce in the country, according to a separate report.

Meta declined to comment on the cuts. A spokesperson pointed to a memo Mark Zuckerberg shared with employees last fall when the company conducted an earlier round of 11,000 layoffs. In the message, he said that economic conditions had “caused our revenue to be much lower” than expected. He described the job cuts as “some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history” and “what we need going forward.”

Zuckerberg has talked openly about the need for more “efficiency” in the months since. He dubbed 2023 as Meta’s “year of efficiency,” and said he wants to create a “flatter” management structure at the company. “I continue to believe that slowing hiring, flattening our management structure, increasing the percent of our company that is technical and more rigorously prioritizing projects will improve the speed and quality of our work,” he said during the company’s most recent earnings call.

The conclusion of the latest round of layoffs brings the total number of workers Meta has cut to about 21,000 since last November. Though Meta’s layoffs have been among the highest in the industry, it’s far from the only tech company shedding jobs over the last several months. Amazon, Google, Microsoft and dozens of others have dramatically shrunk their workforce since the start of the year.

Your iPhone might soon display more than a handful of tiny widgets when it's locked. Bloombergsources claim Apple's iOS 17 update will introduce a lock screen that effectively turns an iPhone into a smart display when sitting on its side. You'll reportedly see calendar items, notifications and other details in a high-contrast layout reminiscent of what you'd see on an Amazon Echo Show or Google Nest Hub. The new lock screen is said to be more advanced than the one Google brought to Android 10 in 2019, and comparable to an Amazon Fire tablet feature.

Apple has already declined to comment. The company is expected to introduce iOS 17 at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) on June 5th, and release the finished version no earlier than September. There's no mention of whether or not the iPad would similar functionality, although iPadOS has lagged behind iOS in features like lock screen customization.

This might not be Apple's only smart display initiative. The tech giant is rumored to be developing multiple smart home devices that could include a mountable screen. The iOS 17 upgrade is believed to be part of a larger effort to surface live information, including a major watchOS redesign focused on widgets.

iOS 17 is already rumored to include a number of significant changes, such as app sideloading in at least some countries. You might also see improvements to SharePlay video collaboration, and it might be easier to AirPlay content to hotel TVs and other devices you don't own. A life journaling app could join upgraded versions of the Health and Wallet apps.

It's not unusual to hear of countries using NSO Group's Pegasus spyware to surveil the public, but there are now concerns one government is spying on itself. Sources for The New York Times and The Washington Post claim Pegasus has been found on the phone of Mexico undersecretary for human rights Alejandro Encinas, a longtime ally of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, as well as at least two members of Encinas' office. While there's no firm evidence pointing to a culprit, this comes as Encinas has been investigating alleged military abuses of power since 2018, including the notorious disappearance of 43 students in Iguala in 2014.

The University of Toronto-based Citizen Lab research team detected Pegasus in a 2022 audit, according to a source speaking to The Post. Encinas' phone has been compromised more than once, The Times says, including last year as he was heading the commission covering the Iguala disappearances. He blamed the tragedy on the police, military, certain officials and drug traffickers. Encinas apparently briefed Obrador about the spying this March, but has remained silent since.

Encinas, Citizen Lab and the Mexican Defense Ministry have already declined to comment. NSO Group tells The Times in a statement that it looks into "all credible allegations" of misuse, and ends contracts when it finds problems.

In a press conference, Obrador has minimized the alleged snooping and doesn't believe the military is to blame. However, anti-corruption critics Ángela Buitrago and Eduardo Bohorquez are worried the Mexican army may be using Pegasus to retaliate against Encinas, revealing a lack of effective government oversight in the process.

NSO Group itself has faced widespread criticism. The US banned trade with the company in 2021 for allegedly selling spyware to authoritarian governments that used the tools to eliminate dissent by surveilling activists and journalists. NSO has denied enabling abuses and even hired a libel attorney who accused some journalists of misrepresenting its business.

Pro League of Legends players may hold a walkout in protest of changes made by the game's publisher, Riot, to the esport's minor leagues. All 50 players in the League Championship Series (LCS), the highest level of LoL esports in North America, will reportedly vote this weekend on a potential walkout. If the walkout goes ahead, it would be among the first major instances of collective action in high-level esports.

The vote will reportedly take place a few days before the start of the LCS Summer Split. That's one of the two annual competitive LCS seasons and the pathway for North American teams to qualify for the LoL World Championship. “If we have 26 out of 50 of the LCS [players] willing to do something, I can tell you right now, the league's not running,” LCS Players Association (LCSPA) executive director Phil Aram told journalist Mikhail Klimentov, who was first to report on the vote.

The issue stems from a decision that Riot announced earlier this month to no longer require LCS teams to field a team in an official feeder league. The company claimed LCS teams asked it to drop the obligation "to unlock more operational and financial flexibility." Riot agreed in order to "support the continued, long-term success of the teams and the professional esports ecosystem in North America."

Although three LCS teams have committed to continue fielding a team in the North American Challengers League (NACL), most said they were dropping their developmental rosters. That didn't sit well with the LCSPA, a group run by and for pros to offer them "counsel, programs, information and support."

The LCSPA said that while Riot framed its decision "as a commitment to the NACL, the reality is that as many as 70 players, coaches and managers will lose their jobs overnight. The unprecedented decision to destroy the NACL less than a month before the start of the 2023 NACL Summer Split with no plan — and no warning — is a stain on their leadership."

The group noted that over half of the current LCS players came through the NACL system. "Claims that the NACL is in any way responsible for team financial instability are false; the average annual salary cost of an entire NACL roster represents less than 17 percent of an average LCS organization's League-based salary costs in a year," the LCSPA said. It argued that while the feeder systems in Europe, Korea and China are doing well, "North America now has a developmental product with no viewership, no institutional support, no paying jobs and no future."

"Riot gave each team $3 million this year to operate in LCS + NACL, but only 3 could afford to spend 15-20 percent of that to promote the future of NACL?," the player organization said. "Shame on Riot for letting teams get away with it and shame on every team that pocketed the future of the league."

The LCSPA's executive council agreed on Monday to authorize a walkout vote among players. The vote is scheduled to take place this Sunday, according to Klimentov.

The LSCPA shared a list of requests it's making of Riot. The organization wants there to be a Valorant-style promotion and relegation format between the LCS and NACL and for the publisher to "commit to a revenue pool for player salaries of $300,000 per NACL team per year." For comparison, that's less than what each LCS player was reportedly making on average as of 2020. The LSCPA also wants other protections and cost-sharing opportunities for LCS players and teams.

“We cannot go and be in the room with Riot and have meaningful negotiations of any kind like we've had in the past, unless we're able to establish with them that the actions that they took without our consent, without consideration for us or for the league, in this case, are not acceptable,” Aram told Klimentov. “It's an important inflection point for our players.”

Although the idea of playing video games professionally is alluring for many young gamers, the reality is that it's tough to make a living in esports. Pro careers are typically short and several players have retired from the scene at a young age due to mental health concerns. There's a lot of competition to land a spot on a team in a major esport too.

The industry as a whole seems to be struggling. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that many esports organizations have made significant cuts over the last several months. Many haven't been able to turn a profit and some are looking to sell their teams, even at a loss. For one thing, TSM, one of the major North American esports organizations, is selling its spot in the LCS and plans to compete in LoL esports in another region.

Engadget has contacted Riot for comment.

Add Eric Schmidt to the list of tech luminaries concerned about the dangers of AI. The former Google chief tells guests at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit that AI represents an "existential risk" that could get many people "harmed or killed." He doesn't feel that's true at the moment, but he sees a near future where AI could help find software security flaws or new biology types. It's important to ensure these systems aren't "misused by evil people," the veteran executive says.

Schmidt doesn't have a firm solution for regulating AI, but he believes there won't be an AI-specific regulator in the US. He participated in a National Security Commission on AI that reviewed the technology and published a 2021 report determining that the US wasn't ready for the tech's impact.

Schmidt doesn't have direct influence over AI. However, he joins a growing number of well-known moguls who have argued for a careful approach. Current Google CEO Sundar Pichai has cautioned that society needs to adapt to AI, while OpenAI leader Sam Altman has expressed concern that authoritarians might abuse these algorithms. In March, numerous industry leaders and researchers (including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak) signed an open letter calling on companies to pause AI experiments for six months while they rethought the safety and ethical implications of their work.

There are already multiple ethics issues. Schools are banning OpenAI's ChatGPT over fears of cheating, and there are worries about inaccuracy, misinformation and access to sensitive data. In the long term, critics are concerned about job automation that could leave many people out of work.

Samsung has detailed pricing and availability for its revamped Smart Monitors. The 2023 Smart Monitor M5, M7 and M8 will be available in June, including new 27-inch models. The headlining M8 starts at $650 for the 27-inch version, and $700 for its 32-inch counterpart. It boasts a new, slim design (about 0.45in thick) and can now rotate to portrait mode for reading long documents. The 4K screen is the most capable of the trio with a 400-nit typical brightness, HDR10+ support, an included webcam and a built-in SmartThings hub. You'll also get far-field Alexa and Bixby voice control as well as HDMI 2.0 input, a USB-C port with 65W laptop charging and two USB-A ports.

The Smart Monitor M7 is aimed at users who want the M8's design without as many extras. It drops the included webcam (though you can still add it later) and SmartThings hub, and you'll have to be content with 300-nit brightness and regular HDR10. You get a 4K resolution and other luxuries from the M8, however. The prices are also more palatable, beginning at $550 for the 27-inch model and $600 for the 32-inch equivalent.

A Smart Monitor M5 is also available for those who just want the basics. It's a 1080p display with a 250-nit brightness, no far-field mics and a simpler design without pivot or tilt. Input is likewise limited to two HDMI 1.4 jacks and a pair of USB-A ports. It's definitely more affordable, though, starting at $280 for a 27-inch panel and climbing to $300 for the 32-inch edition.

All of the Smart Monitors have new software tricks. They can detect nearby compatible smartphones (such as the Galaxy S23 series) through Bluetooth and wake up to show calendars, photos and other helpful content. You can now use a mouse and keyboard in many of the smart TV apps, and Multi View lets you juggle the built-in browser and Microsoft 365 apps in full screen. Screen mirroring is available for Apple devices (via AirPlay) in addition to Android.

These aren't intended as high-end gaming monitors given their 60Hz refresh rates, and you'll want to turn to the 5K-capable Viewfinity S9 if you want a more pro-oriented screen. As before, they're primarily appealing if your monitor doubles as your TV, or if the looks of the M7 and M8 stand out in a sea of generic designs.

You know about Twister. The famous party game asks 2-3 players to balance their limbs on a series of colored dots, dictated by an increasingly absurd set of instructions. Right hand red. Left foot green. Repeat until multiple people fall on the floor in presumed hilarity. Now, Hasbro is changing the game: Twister Air is a music-focused, augmented reality alternative to the game that has no floor mat and less risk of falling down that you can play by yourself.

Specifically, Twister Air is a standing version of the classic game that uses a phone or tablet's camera to track player movements, tasking them to match colored Twisters Air ankle and wrist bands with colored dots on the device's screen. The game comes with 8 colored bands, but users will have to download a free iOS or Android app to play it.

At a glance, the game looks a little more like Dance Central than the original Twister. Players do rack up points by striking and holding weird poses, but they do so while listening to one of 16 included music tracks, including a new original song called "Twist in the air." That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who grew up watching commercials of the game: Twister ads have featured original bops that reflected the tone of multiple eras, from the 1960s, the 1980s, the 1990s and even the 2010s.

Perhaps the biggest departure from the original game, however, is the player count. Twister Air is played in either a solo or two player mode. The days of collapsing into a pile of unbalanced limbs are over.

Twister Air is up for pre-order on Amazon and will be available in stores on August 1st.