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SEC's 'crypto mom' says tokenized securities are still securities – Reuters
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Why Apple Needs to ‘Rip the Band-Aid Off’ and Make This Move, According to Wedbush
Key Takeaways
- Apple should make a move to acquire Perplexity and its AI search engine, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note Wednesday.
- The addition of Perplexity could help Apple advance its highly anticipated AI-enhanced version of Siri, which has been delayed until 2026.
- Apple should be willing to pay more than double Perplexity’s current value of about $14 billion, Ives argued, given the huge monetization potential of AI.
Apple (AAPL) should consider making a major acquisition if it wants to catch up to its peers in the artificial intelligence race, according to one Wall Street analyst.
Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives, a longtime Apple bull, wrote Wednesday that while Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google, OpenAI, and others have pulled ahead on AI, “Apple is at a highway rest stop on a bench.”
Ives’ solution for the iPhone maker is to “rip the band-aid off” and acquire Perplexity, along with its AI-driven search engine. Such a deal “could redefine Apple’s AI strategy and would fit in very well with Siri,” Ives said. “Perplexity’s AI algorithms and technology are some of the most impressive in the tech AI world.”
Perplexity, which is private, has a valuation of about $14 billion based on its current investing round, Ives noted. That said, even if Apple had to pay $30 billion to get the deal done, “it’s a drop in the bucket relative to the monetization opportunity Apple can achieve on AI,” he added.
The delayed rollout of an AI-enhanced Siri has been a disappointment for Apple investors and analysts this year. Apple previously expected to release a more powerful version of its voice assistant Siri as early as this spring. However, the company suggested at its Worldwide Developers Conference last month that more information on that is unlikely to come before 2026.
Apple has reportedly discussed with ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Claude developer Anthropic the possibility of relying on their AI models instead of in-house technology. Siri can already be used to access ChatGPT with some iPhone models. The company has also considered adding Perplexity’s search engine, said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in May.
Separately, Perplexity launched an AI-powered web browser on Wednesday known as Comet, in direct competition with Google Chrome and other web browsers, according to reports. The browser is currently available to subscribers of Perplexity Max, which costs $200 per month.
Apple Loses a Top AI Executive
The urgency around Apple’s AI progress comes after the company reportedly had its top executive in charge of artificial models poached this week by rival Meta Platforms (META). Ruoming Pang, the head of Apple’s foundation models team, was offered tens of millions of dollars a year to join Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s growing “Superintelligence” team, the report said. Zuckerberg has reportedly expressed frustration that Meta has not made enough progress with its AI models.
Shares of Apple were little changed Wednesday at about $211. The stock is down roughly 16% for 2025, making it the second-worst performer among the Magnificent Seven after Tesla (TSLA).
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From Galle to Lord’s: Starc’s ten greatest Test performances
Mitchell Starc will become just the second Australian fast bowler behind Glenn McGrath to play 100 Tests when he takes the field at Sabina Park, in a match where he could also reach 400 wickets. ESPNcricinfo picks out ten of his best performances which take in feats at both home and abroad.
Galle 2016 vs Sri Lanka
In conditions where Sri Lanka’s spinners ran roughshod over Australia’s batters, Starc put in a herculean effort to prove unequivocally that he did not need a swinging pink ball or fast bouncy pitches to be a force in Test cricket. He took 5 for 44 in the first innings and 6 for 50 in the second, which were his best Test figures until last season, to single-handedly give Australia a chance in a game they lost by 229 runs.
He took wickets in all three phases of each innings, too, knocking over top-order players when the pitch was at its best with the new ball, removing set middle-order players like Kusal Mendis with a 45-over-old ball, before blowing away the tail with reverse swing.
Colombo 2016 vs Sri Lanka
Having already lost the series, Starc again gave his side a chance in Colombo for a face-saving win with 5 for 63 from 25.1 overs in the first innings after Sri Lanka had won the toss at the normally batter-friendly SSC ground. He stormed through the top order with the new ball, taking three wickets, to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 24 for 4.
He later broke a 211-run stand to remove Dinesh Chandimal for 132 with extra pace in the 104th over of the innings before claiming a deserved fifth to finish the innings. It helped Australia claim a first-innings lead. Starc also took two in the second to finish with seven for the match and 23 in the series. Only one other wicket in the match was taken by a seamer on either team, as Rangana Herath took 13 to skittle Australia twice and seal a 3-0 series win.
Pune 2017 vs India
Starc had made 99 on his first tour of India in Mohali on a very flat pitch but his batting in Pune in 2017 had as much of an impact on Australia’s victory as Steven Smith’s. In the first innings he walked out to bat with Australia 190 for 6 and peeled off 61 from 63 balls, adding 64 with Steve O’Keefe, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood who contributed one run between them to set up a vital first innings total of 260.
It will be remembered as O’Keefe’s match with the ball, but before the left-arm spinner broke through, Starc had already removed the two danger men in three balls in the 15th over. He reared one from a length at searing pace to the immovable Cheteshwar Pujara to have him caught behind off the glove. Two balls later, he nicked off Virat Kohli.
In the second innings, Starc smacked 30 off 31 including three sixes and added 42 with Smith, who made a stunning 109 to take the game out of India’s reach. Starc’s aggregate of 91 with the bat for the match was only bettered by Smith and Matt Renshaw as Australia won handsomely.
Durban 2018 vs South Africa
A few weeks before the Sandpaper storm in Cape Town, Starc’s nine-wicket haul in Durban had handed Australia a 1-0 series lead during a match that set in motion a chain events that would have a seismic impact on global cricket. He took 9 for 109, including 5 for 34 and 4 for 75 and was virtually unplayable. The majority of his success came with the old ball in a masterful display of reverse swing. He blew away South Africa’s tail in both innings as Australia won by 118 runs.
Canberra 2019 vs Sri Lanka
Starc’s performance at Manuka Oval won’t be high on many people’s lists of his best in Test cricket but it deserves as much praise as any of his best bowling efforts. On a pitch where Australia racked up 534 for 5 and 196 for 3 and four batters made centuries, Starc took 10 for 100 with a searing display of pace bowling, coming after three Tests where wickets had dried up. Among his ten, he forced Dhananjaya de Silva to hit his own wicket while trying to avoid a brutal bouncer. Most of the wickets were top-order players with the newer ball as there was no reverse swing to speak of.
Perth 2019 vs New Zealand
Starc’s fitness and durability is one of the most underrated aspects of his career. Never was it more evident than in oppressively hot conditions at Optus Stadium when Australia lost Josh Hazlewood to injury after eight balls of New Zealand’s first innings. Without the aid of an allrounder in the XI to fill the void, Starc took 5 for 52 from 18 overs in the first innings and 4 for 45 from 14 in the second. He also added 30 with the bat in the first innings to complete a Player of the Match performance and help Australia to a thumping win.
Lahore 2022 vs Pakistan
Australia’s quicks had bowled themselves into the ground across the first two drawn Tests. In the series decider, Starc and Pat Cummins dug deep with a mighty two-man effort to rip the series away from Pakistan. The hosts were 214 for 2 after Australia had posted a potentially under par 391. Starc took 4 for 33 from 20.4, tearing the heart out of the middle order including pinning an in-form Babar Azam lbw, while Cummins took five to bowl Pakistan out for 268 and establish a vital first innings lead that helped win the series 1-0.
Leeds 2023 vs England
Starc very nearly stole the third Test and the series from England with a phenomenal performance, having initially been left out of the first Test at Edgbaston due to his middling record in the country. The hosts were chasing 251 for victory and would have cantered home without Starc making life incredibly difficult.
He removed Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow at regular intervals to leave England wobbling at 171 for 6. A brilliant partnership between Harry Brook and Chris Woakes steadied the chase before Starc bounced out Brook to create more drama with 21 still needed. But Starc’s five came with minimal support at the other end and England squeezed home by three wickets to change the course of the series.
Adelaide 2024 vs India
Starc turned Australia’s fortunes around in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar series. Having been battered by Yashasvi Jaiswal in Perth, who had accused Starc of bowling too slow, he blew the opener’s pad off with the first ball of the match on his way to a career-best 6 for 48. It was yet another pink-ball masterclass from Starc, but this was done entirely in broad daylight as India lasted just 44.1 overs after opting to bat first. It set up a 10-wicket win and levelled the series at 1-1, with Australia going on to reclaim the trophy for the first time in ten years.
Lord’s 2025 vs South Africa
This was another standout performance from Starc in a losing cause. After Australia posted an underwhelming 212 in the first innings of the WTC final, Starc wrestled back the momentum by knocking over both openers. He also had a straightforward catch dropped by keeper Alex Carey that would have bagged him the top three. Australia still claimed a 75-run first innings lead before they lost 7 for 73 when batting a second time.
Starc ground out his first half-century in six years and one of his longest Test innings, making 58 not out off 136 balls and sharing a 59-run last wicket stand with Josh Hazlewood to give Australia 282 to defend. Again, he removed Ryan Rickelton early before ending a 61-run stand between Wiaan Mulder and Aiden Markram.
He should have had Temba Bavuma caught at second slip in his next over, but Smith spilled the edge standing very close and injured his finger badly in the process. Instead of having South Africa 75 for 3, with Starc claiming all three, Bavuma and Markram produced a match-winning stand of 147.
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NASA’s asteroid-crash Earth defense tactic has a complication — DART ejected large boulders into space
When NASA’s DART mission crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, the first stage of the impact saw the spacecraft’s solar panels strike and pulverize two large boulders on the target, debris from which spun off in two directions. That ejection created enough momentum to give Dimorphos an extra kick on top of the direct effects of the kinetic impact, according to a new analysis of the collision.
DART, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, slammed into the 558-foot-wide (170-meter-wide) asteroid Dimorphos on Sept. 26, 2022. The force of the impact shortened Dimorphos’ orbit around its larger asteroid companion, Didymos, by about 32 minutes. The point of the mission was to show that we could deflect hazardous asteroids if they’re ever found to be on a collision course with Earth.
However, it now seems that there are more subtleties involved in deflecting asteroids than simple brute force.
Prior to impact, an Italian-built cubesat called LICIACube, which had piggybacked on DART, detached and took images of the immediate aftermath of the impact. As well as general clouds of dust, LICIACube saw two clusters of boulders, ranging in size from 1.3 to 23.6 feet (40 centimeters to 7.2 meters), speeding away from the point of impact. Later observations by the Hubble Space Telescope confirmed the presence of these boulders.
“We saw that the boulders weren’t scattered randomly in space,” Tony Farnham, an astronomer at the University of Maryland and lead author of the new research, said in a statement. “Instead, they were clustered in two pretty distinct groups, with an absence of material elsewhere, which means that something unknown is at work here.”
Furthermore, these two clusters of boulders imparted more than three times the momentum imparted by the DART spacecraft.
“We succeeded in deflecting an asteroid, moving it from its orbit,” said Farnham. “Our research shows that while the direct impact of the DART spacecraft caused this change, the boulders ejected gave an additional kick that was almost as big. That additional factor changes the physics we need to consider when planning these types of missions.”
Twenty years ago, when NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft was deliberately sent to collide with comet 9P/Tempel, it hit a relatively smooth surface, which was reflected in a smooth and continuous ejecta sheet rather than disparate groups of large pieces of debris.
Dimorphos, in contrast to 9P/Tempel, has a rougher surface that’s littered with large boulders.
Due to this, Jessica Sunshine, who is a professor of astronomy and geology at the University of Maryland and who has worked on both the Deep Impact and DART missions, thinks she knows what happened when DART hit Dimorphos.
“DART’s solar panels likely hit two big boulders, called Atabaque and Bodhran, on the asteroid [in the moment before the main body of the spacecraft hit],” said Sunshine. “Evidence suggests that the southern cluster [of escaping rocks] is probably made up of fragments from Atabaque, a 3.3-meter-radius [10.8 meters] boulder.”
This southern cluster contains 70% of the ejected boulders and was moving at high velocities of up to 32 miles per second (52 meters per second) at shallow angles to the surface. The ejection of the southern cluster alone could have been enough to tilt Dimorphos’ orbital plane around Didymos by up to a degree.
Images of the aftermath of the DART impact, taken just minutes after the event by LICIACube, showing ejecta from the collision. (Image credit: NASA DART Team and LICIACube) By comparing Deep Impact with DART, it seems evident that objects with different properties to one another can react differently to being impacted. These differences will come into play should we have to deflect a dangerous asteroid or comet for real, because an error brought about by not understanding the effect of a surface on the way debris is ejected could spell disaster.
“If an asteroid was tumbling toward us, and we knew we had to move it a specific amount to prevent it from hitting Earth, then all these subtleties become very, very important,” said Sunshine. “You can think of it as a cosmic pool game. We might miss the pocket if we don’t consider all the variables.”
To learn more, and to confirm these changes predicted by the ejection of the boulders, the European Space Agency’s Hera mission will follow up on DART when it arrives at the Didymos–Dimorphos system in 2026. However, it will have to look out for boulders and other debris produced by the DART impact that could provide their own impact hazard to the spacecraft.
The new results were published on July 7 in the Planetary Science Journal.
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Earth’s rotation will speed up for 3 days this summer. Here’s what that means
Aren’t the summer days supposed to be longer and the winter days shorter?
Since when have things gone in reverse for the summertime?
Since now, maybe? Starting today?
Okay, here’s what’s going on.
Planet Earth is set to spin a bit faster on three separate days this summer, officially starting today. The result will be shorter days, but don’t panic because the change will be so small that you won’t even notice.
The change is equal to several milliseconds that will be shaved off of the 24 hours it takes for Earth to complete a full rotation.
Now to your next question: How long are several milliseconds? It’s less than the time you’d take to blink your eye.
So why is this happening?
It takes the planet 24 hours, or one day, to complete a full rotation on its axis, which equals to 86,400 seconds. But Earth’s rotation could change by a millisecond — which is .001 seconds — or two every day.
Also, the orbit of the moon can have an effect on how fast the Earth spins.
“Our planet spins quicker when the moon’s position is far to the north or south of Earth’s equator,” according to TimeandDate.com.
“Earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal forces, subterranean geology, and many other mechanisms can cause the planet’s rotation to slow down or speed up, and those micro-adjustments can trend over time,” Popular Mechanics reported.
If you can recall, the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan back in 2011 accelerated Earth’s rotation, shortening the length of the standard 24-hour day by 1.8 microseconds (0.0018).
These small, day-to-day fluctuations in the Earth’s rotational speed started to be measured in the 1950s with atomic clocks, where any number above or below the standard 86,400 seconds is called the length of day (LOD).
If you’re wondering what the shortest day ever was, that happened on July 5, 2024, when Earth completed its full rotation 1.66 milliseconds faster than the standard 86,400 seconds.
As for when this three-day event will happen, there are three days this summer when the moon will be around its furthest distance from Earth’s equator, resulting in the slight increase in Earth’s rotational speed.
Scientists are predicting that this will happen on July 9, July 22 and Aug. 5.
Today, July 9, will be shortened by 1.30 milliseconds. On July 22, Earth loses 1.38 milliseconds of the day. And Aug. 5, the day will be shortened by 1.51 milliseconds.
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Save up to 27% on Apple and Samsung best sellers
Simon Cocks is Good Housekeeping UK’s Technology Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy for the title. He previously also worked across other titles including Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, e-book readers and smartphones. He’s reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.
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US sanctions UN expert Francesca Albanese, critic of Israel’s Gaza offensive
The Trump administration is imposing sanctions on the UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, an outspoken critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio linked the move to her support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), some of whose judges have already been sanctioned by the US.
Rubio said the US was sanctioning Ms Albanese for directly engaging with the ICC in its efforts to prosecute American or Israeli nationals, accusing her of being unfit for service as a UN Special Rapporteur.
The sanctions are likely to prevent Ms Albanese from travelling to the US and would block any assets she has in the country.
It is the latest escalation by the Trump administration as it wages a campaign against the ICC, having already sanctioned four its judges after the court last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, accusations they reject.
Mr Rubio also accused Ms Albanese of having “spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West”.
The move is likely to provoke a fierce backlash from those who argue for accountability over the civilian death toll from Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
The special rapporteur has long argued that Western governments are not doing enough to support the rights of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories, and with her outspoken stance has attracted significant support among those who accuse Israeli and US leaders of weaponising accusations of antisemitism in order to silence criticism of their policies.
Rubio also said Ms Albanese showed contempt for the US by writing “threatening letters” to several US companies, making what he called unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue prosecutions of the companies and their executives.
“We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty,” Rubio said.
Earlier this month Ms Albanese called on dozens of multinational companies to stop doing business with Israel, warning them they risk being complicit in war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
She said the companies “profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide” in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel rejected her report as “groundless”, saying it would “join the dustbin of history”.
Ms Albanese has criticised Donald Trump’s plan, announced in February, to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its residents elsewhere.
“It’s unlawful, immoral and… completely irresponsible because it will make the regional crisis even worse,” she said in February.
The timing of the sanctions announcement is notable with Netanyahu currently in Washington, where he on Wednesday received an extended honour cordon at the Pentagon.
Ms Albanese has previously rejected similar claims against her, telling the BBC in October: “I don’t take these remarks and the defamation they carry lightly, but at the same time, I know this is not about me, as my predecessors knew that it was not about them.
“I also know these member states [making accusations of antisemitism] have done absolutely nothing to abide by international law.”
Her office has been approached for comment.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 57,575 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of Gaza’s population has also been displaced multiple times. More than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
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Where do giant volcanic eruptions come from? New study finds missing link to ‘blobs’ deep within Earth
Volcanic eruptions at Earth’s surface have significant consequences. Smaller ones can scare tourists on Mount Etna or disrupt air traffic.
Giant, large-scale eruptions can have more serious impacts. One such event contributed to the demise of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Giant volcanoes also triggered events that led to the largest mass dying on Earth, the Permian–Triassic extinction 252 million years ago).
But what fuels a giant eruption, and how does it make its way to the surface from deep within the planet?
In a new study published in Communications Earth and Environment, we show that columns of hot rock, which rise some 3,000 kilometres through Earth’s mantle and cause giant eruptions, are connected to continent-sized source regions we call BLOBS.
Hidden blobs within Earth
BLOBS are hot regions at the bottom of Earth’s mantle (between about 2,000km and 3,000km in depth) which might be composed of different material compared with the surrounding mantle rocks.
Scientists have long known about these two hot regions under the Pacific Ocean and Africa. Geologist David Evans from Yale University suggested the acronym BLOBS, which stands for Big LOwer-mantle Basal Structures.
These BLOBS have possibly existed for hundreds of millions of years. It is unclear whether they’re stationary or if they move around as part of mantle motion (called convection).
Read more:
Volcanoes, diamonds, and blobs: a billion-year history of Earth’s interior shows it’s more mobile than we thought
Mantle plumes were the implicit link in previous studies relating BLOBS to giant volcanic eruptions. Their shape is a bit like a lollipop: the “stick” is the plume tail and the “candy” is the plume head.
Connection between the deep mantle and Earth’s surface showing the relationship between BLOBS, mantle plumes and giant volcanic eruptions – not drawn to scale. Mantle plumes rise very slowly through the mantle because they transport hot solid rock, not melt or lava. At lower pressures in the uppermost 200km of Earth’s mantle, the solid rock melts, leading to eruptions.
A long-sought relationship
In our new study, we simulated mantle convection from 1 billion years ago and found that mantle plumes rise from moving BLOBS and can sometimes be gently tilted.
Giant volcanic eruptions can be identified by the volume of volcanic rocks preserved at Earth’s surface. The ocean floor preserves detailed fingerprints of mantle plumes for the past 120 million years or so (there is not much seafloor older than that).
Oceanic plateaus, such as the Ontong Java-Manihiki-Hikurangi plateau currently in the southwest Pacific Ocean, are linked to plume heads. In contrast, series of volcanoes such as the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain and the Lord Howe seamount chain are linked to plume tails.
We used statistics to show that the locations of past giant volcanic eruptions are significantly related to the mantle plumes predicted by our models. This is encouraging, as it suggests that the simulations predict mantle plumes in places and at times generally consistent with the geologic record.
Model BLOBS, plume tails, and giant volcanic eruptions under the African hemisphere from 300 million years ago. BLOBS are coloured in dark red and plume tails are coloured by depth in yellow to orange tones, with warmer colours at greater depths. At the surface, the outlines of continental blocks are shown in transparent grey, and giant volcanic eruption locations are shown as green triangles. Are BLOBS fixed or mobile?
We showed that the considered eruption locations fall either onto or close to the moving BLOBS predicted by our models. Eruption locations slightly outside moving BLOBS could be explained by plume tilting.
We represented fixed BLOBS with 3D images of Earth’s interior, created using seismic waves from distant earthquakes (a technique called seismic tomography). One out of the four seismic tomographic models that we considered matched the locations of past giant volcanic eruptions, implying that the fixed BLOBS scenario cannot be ruled out for geologically recent times – the past 300 million years.
One of the next steps for this research is to explore the chemical nature of BLOBS and plume conduits. We can do so with simulations that track the evolution of their composition.
Our results suggest the deep Earth is dynamic. BLOBS, which are some 2,000km below Earth’s surface, move hundreds of kilometres over time, and are connected to Earth’s surface by mantle plumes that create giant eruptions.
To take a step back and keep things in perspective: while deep Earth motions are significant over tens of millions of years, they are generally in the order of 1 centimetre per year. This means BLOBS shift at roughly the rate at which human hair grows.
Read more:
Where should we look for new metals that are critical for green energy technology? Volcanoes may point the way
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Browser extensions turn nearly 1 million browsers into website-scraping bots
MellowTel is also problematic because the sites it opens are unknown to end users. That means they must trust MellowTel to vet the security and trustworthiness of each site being accessed. And, of course, that security and trustworthiness can change with a single compromise of a site. MellowTel also poses a risk to enterprise networks that closely restrict the types of code users are permitted to run and the sites they visit.
Attempts to reach MellowTel representatives were unsuccessful.
Tuckner’s discovery is reminiscent of a 2019 analysis that found browser extensions installed on 4 million browsers collected users’ every movement on the web and shared them with customers of Nacho Analytics, which went defunct shortly after Ars exposed the operation.
Some of the data swept up in the collection free-for-all included surveillance videos hosted on Nest, tax returns, billing invoices, business documents, and presentation slides posted to, or hosted on, Microsoft OneDrive and Intuit.com, vehicle identification numbers of recently bought automobiles along with the names and addresses of the buyers, patient names and the doctors they saw, travel itineraries hosted on Priceline, Booking.com, and airline websites, Facebook Messenger attachments and Facebook photos, even when the photos were set to be private. The dragnet also collected proprietary information belonging to Tesla, Blue Origin, Amgen, Merck, Pfizer, Roche, and dozens of other companies.
Tuckner said in an email Wednesday that the most recent status of the affected extensions is:
- Of 45 known Chrome extensions, 12 are now inactive. Some of the extensions were removed for malware explicitly. Others have removed the library.
- Of 129 Edge extensions incorporating the library, eight are now inactive.
- Of 71 affected Firefox extensions, two are now inactive.
Some of the inactive extensions were removed for malware explicitly. Others have removed the library in more recent updates. A complete list of extensions found by Tuckner is here.
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