The UK's Electoral Commission has revealed that some personal information of around 40 million voters was left exposed for over a year. The agency — which regulates party and election finance and elections in the country — said it was the target of a “complex cyberattack.” It first detected suspicious activity on its network in October 2022, but said the intruders first gained access to its systems in August 2021.

The perpetrators found a way onto to the Electoral Commission's servers, which hosted the agency's email and control systems, as well as copies of the electoral registers. Details of donations and loans to registered political parties and non-party campaigners were not affected as those are stored on a separate system. The agency doesn't hold the details of anonymous voters or the addresses of overseas electors registered outside of the UK.

The data that was exposed included the names and addresses of UK residents who registered to vote between 2014 and 2022, along with those who are registered as overseas voters. Information provided to the commission through email and web forms was exposed too. 

"We know that this data was accessible, but we have been unable to ascertain whether the attackers read or copied personal data held on our systems," the commission said. The agency confirmed to TechCrunch that the attack could have affected around 40 million voters. According to UK census data, there were 46.6 million parliamentary electoral registrations and 48.8 million local government electoral registrations in December 2021.

The Electoral Commission says it had to adopt several measures before disclosing the hack. It had to lock out the "hostile actors," analyze the possible extent of the breach and put more security measures in place to stop a similar situation from happening in the future.

Data in the electoral registers is limited and much of it is in the public domain already, the agency said. As such, officials don't believe the data by itself represents a major risk to individuals. However, the agency warned, it's possible that the information "could be combined with other data in the public domain, such as that which individuals choose to share themselves, to infer patterns of behavior or to identify and profile individuals."

The Electoral Commission also noted that there was no impact on UK election security as a result of the attack. "The data accessed does not impact how people register, vote, or participate in democratic processes," it said. "It has no impact on the management of the electoral registers or on the running of elections. The UK’s democratic process is significantly dispersed and key aspects of it remain based on paper documentation and counting. This means it would be very hard to use a cyber-attack to influence the process."

Scientists at a federally funded research center in the US have successfully conducted a second nuclear fusion reaction experiment that resulted in a net energy gain. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) said scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) generated a higher energy yield than in their December breakthrough, as Reuters reports.

The nuclear fusion approach is very similar to the process that results in stars being able to emit light and heat. The scientists used a laser aimed at fuel to combine two light atoms into a denser one. This releases a great deal of energy. The process is said to have a lot of potential as a source of sustainable, low-carbon energy that could help combat climate change.

In the initial experiment in December, the laser delivered 2.05 megajoules to the target. The scientists achieved fusion ignition by generating 3.15 megajoules of energy output. That's a net yield of around 1.1 megajoules, which is equivalent to 0.31kWh — enough energy to power a 50-watt LED TV for six hours.

It's not yet clear exactly how much of a net energy yield was obtained from the latest successful experiment, which was carried out on July 30th. An LLNL spokesperson told Reuters that researchers are still analyzing the final results.

There's quite some way to go until fusion ignition becomes a viable option for mainstream energy production with the capability of powering homes. For one thing, scientists will have to scale up the system substantially. In any case, showing that it was possible to repeat the experiment and surpass the previous results is a positive step forward for clean energy.

The ghost kitchen company that runs MrBeast Burger has countersued Jimmy Donaldson, aka YouTube megastar MrBeast. Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) alleges that Donaldson and his Beast Investments (BI) company failed to abide by contractual obligations, such as carrying out promotional work, and that they "materially damaged" its reputation. VDC is seeking over $100 million in damages according to Variety, which first reported the news.

“VDC alleges that Mr. Donaldson’s and BI’s actions have materially damaged the reputation of MrBeast Burger and VDC, turned away customers, and shattered hard-won relationships with vendors and suppliers, damaging the bottom lines of hundreds of restaurants across the country and around the world, and causing damages to VDC that, according to VDC’s evidence and Mr. Donaldson’s own estimations are in the nine-figure range,” VDC told Nation's Restaurant News in a statement.

Donaldson filed suit against VDC and its parent company last week. He sought to end his partnership with them, citing issues including "disgusting" and "inedible" food. The original suit claimed VDC caused “material, irreplaceable harm” to the MrBeast brand. Donaldson also alleged that VDC had generated millions of dollars in revenue but he had “not received a dime.”

In its countersuit, VDC claims that Donaldson made “disparaging comments” against the company and MrBeast Burger. It cites several tweets (some of which seem to have been deleted) from the YouTube sensation, including claims that he wanted to shut down MrBeast Burger and that “the company I partnered with won’t let me stop even though it’s terrible for my brand.”

“This case is about a social media celebrity who believes his fame means that his word does not matter, that the facts do not matter, and that he can renege and breach his contractual obligations without consequence,” VDC's countersuit claims. “He is mistaken.”

MrBeast Burger primarily uses a ghost kitchen format, which VDC specializes in. Ghost kitchens don't have dedicated storefronts (though some operate out of existing brick-and-mortar restaurants) and only fulfill orders for delivery or pickup. When the first physical MrBeast Burger location opened in New Jersey with Donaldson and his crew in attendance last September, more than 10,000 people showed up.

We're not too far away from the fall, which of course means there's a new Call of Duty game on the horizon. Activision has confirmed long-standing rumors that this year's entry is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III from Sledgehammer Games. The publisher also revealed that the latest game in the rebooted series will hit PC and consoles (perhaps including Nintendo Switch) on November 10th.

There aren't many other confirmed details yet beyond a teaser video. However, Activision recently implied that, for the first time, players will be able to carry over items like operators, weapons and bundles from one year's Call of Duty game (in this case, Modern Warfare II) to the next. That was a pretty strong indication that the next entry would be Modern Warfare III and not, say, a return to a World War II setting.

At one point, it seemed like there wouldn't be an entirely new Call of Duty game this year. Reports in early 2022 suggested that Activision would slow things down a bit and instead deliver a significant expansion for Modern Warfare II while continuing to update Warzone and working on the next mainline game. Ultimately, the publisher decided to stick with its cadence of releasing a full-price Call of Duty game every year.

In February, Bloomberg reported that Modern Warfare III was set to include maps and modes from last year's game while still feeling like a standalone full-price title. We'll learn just how Activision is making the transition into Modern Warfare III as it reveals more details in the coming weeks and months.

Meanwhile, it's looking increasingly likely that Microsoft will close its pending $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard very soon. If so, that could result in Modern Warfare III becoming the first Call of Duty title to hit Xbox Game Pass on its release day.

The battle of the bloviating billionaires could be on hold for the foreseeable future. Elon Musk says he may need surgery, casting more doubt on his proposed cage match with Mark Zuckerberg.

Musk noted on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday evening that he's receiving an MRI on his neck and upper back today. He'll find out later this week whether he'll need surgery before going toe-to-toe with Zuckerberg, which is definitely not an attempt to get a doctor's note to weasel out of the duel.

Not only would surgery postpone that fight indefinitely, it could impact Musk's work at his various companies. As CNBC notes, Tesla's share price dropped by over two percent on Monday morning. Along with running the automaker, Musk is also the owner and chief technical officer of X and CEO of SpaceX.

There wasn't a confirmed date for the planned fight. Zuckerberg said he proposed an August 26 fight night, but claimed Musk hadn't responded. "Not holding my breath," the Meta CEO wrote on Threads.

Both men have been training for the potential showdown and publicly needling each other in the meantime. If and when it happens, Musk said the fight will be streamed on X, with all proceeds going to a veterans' charity. Zuckerberg couldn't resist poking fun at Musk over that too. "Shouldn't we use a more reliable platform that can actually raise money for charity?," he asked.

Google is taking aim at the likes of Grammarly with a feature it added to Search recently. The service now includes a grammar checker, which can analyze the construction of a phrase or sentence and offer suggestions if it something seems off.

Punching in a phrase like “grammar check,” “check grammar” or “grammar checker” will make sure the tool activates, as 9to5 Google points out. But Search might still offer grammar suggestions if you don’t include one of those phrases with your query.

If the tool notices an error, including a spelling mistake, Google will rewrite the sentence and indicate what’s different. You’ll easily be able to copy the corrected phrase or sentence by hovering over it. If your grammar is spot on, the tool will give you a dopamine-inducing green checkmark, but not, sadly, a gold star.

Unsurprisingly, the tool is powered by artificial intelligence. It might not always be accurate, especially if you ask it to review a phrase or fragment instead of an entire sentence. If you spot something wrong with a suggestion (or want to help the system understand that its correction was helpful), you can provide feedback.

The tool will only be available in English for the time being, but it's worth noting that it won't run if the phrase or sentence violates Search policies. It won't check the grammar for dangerous, harassing, medical, sexually explicit or terrorist content, or anything to do with violence and gore. You might have to look elsewhere to make sure that a phrase or sentence containing profanity or vulgar language is grammatically correct too.

Google has, of course, offered grammar tools in Gmail and Google Drive for a long time now. Bringing one to Search makes a lot of sense, given that it has a dictionary tool in its extensive bag of tricks. It'll save you having to open Google Docs or another app. You won't necessarily have to bust out a dusty copy of The Elements of Style either.

However, many people just focus on the keywords when they search for something on Google and don't write complete sentences or grammatically correct phrases (e.g. "hard boiled egg how long"). The AI will have to make an educated guess as to whether someone wants their grammar to be checked or not. Otherwise, Search could push the information they're looking for even further down the page.

Devolver Digital has cultivated a name for itself over the years as a publisher with an offbeat approach to marketing games. To that end, it has announced a Devolver Delayed event, which it calls the "first-ever showcase celebrating games that are courageously moving into 2024." It seems Devolver will try to have things both ways by pushing back some release dates and, at the same time, poking fun at the never-ending spate of game delays. You'll be able to watch the stream below at 11AM ET on August 7th.

The publisher has a bunch of intriguing games currently slated for the rest of the year. I'm really looking forward to Skate Story, which has already blown many people away with its ultra-stylish visuals, so I hope that one isn't pushed back until 2024. The same goes for The Plucky Squire, an utterly adorable-looking adventure game that sees you switching between 2D and 3D environments.

Other titles on Devolver's books for 2023 include "gritty noir-punk action-adventure" Gunbrella. The publisher confirmed that game hasn't been delayed, but will feature in the showcase. The fate of the likes of Wizard with a Gun, The Talos Principle 2 and Pepper Grinder remains to be seen. However, Baby Steps (which looks like a 3D version of QWOP with a man-baby for a lead character) is already scheduled for a 2024 debut.

Coinbase has filed a motion to dismiss a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit in which the agency accused the company of illegally running an unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency. Coinbase claims that, because it doesn't deal in securities, the SEC has no authority over its operations.

"Our core argument is simple — we do not offer 'investment contracts' as that term has been construed by decades of Supreme Court and other binding precedent," Coinbase's chief legal officer Paul Grewal wrote in a series of tweets. "By ignoring that precedent, the SEC has violated due process, abused its discretion and abandoned its own earlier interpretations of the securities laws. By ignoring that precedent, the SEC has trampled the strict boundaries on its basic authority set by Congress."

The SEC filed its lawsuit in June. It said Coinbase raked in billions of dollars since at least 2019 by "unlawfully facilitating the buying and selling of crypto asset securities."

In its motion to dismiss, Coinbase cited a separate SEC case. A judge ruled in July that Ripple Labs’ XRP was not considered a security when sold on exchanges (though institutional sales of XRP fell under securities regulations, the judge determined).

However, that particular point may not work in Coinbase's favor. This week, a different judge disagreed with the Ripple ruling and said the SEC could proceed with a case against Terraform Labs and its CEO Do Kwon. That includes claims involving sales made on exchanges and allegations of a multi-billion dollar fraud. As Bloomberg notes, neither the Ripple nor the Terraform suit is a controlling precedent in the Coinbase case.

Intriguingly, Coinbase has argued the cryptocurrencies that are sold on its platform are more like baseball cards than securities. It makes the case that baseball cards are commodities that people buy and sell in the hope they will grow in value.

Call of Duty cheaters are now being named and shamed in real-time when they're kicked out of a game. The latest season of CoD: Modern Warfare II and CoD: Warzone season five went live this week, and the update includes an addition to the Ricochet anti-cheat system.

When Ricochet detects and removes a "problem player," the game will notify everyone in the match of such an occurrence right in the kill feed. That will let all players know for sure that they've been dealing with a cheater and also that Activision's systems were able to spot that person and boot them from the game.

It's not super novel for a game to tell players that someone has been kicked out for cheating. I recently played some BattleBit Remastered — a fun, low-poly riff on the Battlefield series — and the game notified me whenever a cheater was banned.

Still, this is a welcome update from Team Ricochet, which has been trying all kinds of tactics to mess with cheaters and to try and catch suspected hackers out. Over the last couple of years, Call of Duty has made cheaters unable to see enemies and taken their guns away. More recently, Team Ricochet has been deploying clones of real players against detected and suspected cheaters. If a potential hacker interacts with one of these clones, they'll make it obvious that they're cheating.

Just like pretty much every other major tech company, Amazon is placing a heavy focus on generative artificial intelligence. CEO Andy Jassy noted on Amazon's latest earnings call that every division has multiple generative AI projects in the works.

"Inside Amazon, every one of our teams is working on building generative AI applications that reinvent and enhance their customers' experience," Jassy said. "But while we will build a number of these applications ourselves, most will be built by other companies, and we're optimistic that the largest number of these will be built on [Amazon Web Services]. Remember, the core of AI is data. People want to bring generative AI models to the data, not the other way around."

To that end, Jassy said that AWS provides services and infrastructure that can help its customers power generative AI apps, as The Verge notes. The AWS CodeWhisperer system, for instance, aims to speed up developers' workflows by suggesting snippets of code they can use directly in the code editor.

As for the ways that Amazon plans to use generative AI in its consumer-facing products and services, Jassy was slightly more coy, but underlined the importance of the technology to all facets of the company moving forward.

The projects "range from things that help us be more cost effective and streamlined in how we run operations in various businesses to the absolute heart of every customer experience in which we offer," he said. "And so it's true in our stores business. It's true in our AWS business. It's true in our advertising business. It's true in all our devices, and you can just imagine what we're working on with respect to Alexa there. It's true in our entertainment businesses, every single one. It is going to be at the heart of what we do. It's a significant investment and focus for us."

We might learn more about some of Amazon's consumer-focused generative AI efforts when it reveals new devices on September 20th. The company will inevitably have a range of Alexa-powered products to show off. Meanwhile, considering what Google and Microsoft have been doing with gen AI chatbots, it wouldn't be a shock to see Amazon start offering one of its own on its storefront.