How 522 apps are cashing on the Metaverse buzz

Metaverse does not exist yet but 522 mobile apps are already using the buzzword to gain new users and earn more money via various app stores. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are now the second-most mentioned term in conjunction with metaverse, a new report said on Friday. https://ift.tt/UknCLQA

Toshiba to invest $1 billion to double power chip production

Toshiba will invest around 100 billion yen in the new plant, on top of a 25 billon yen investment in a 300-millimeter fabrication line it is building at an existing chip plant, a Toshiba spokesperson said. https://ift.tt/pL0vJAz

Facebook may face criminal case in Australia

Iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest said on Thursday he is launching criminal proceedings against Meta Platform Inc's Facebook in an Australian court. https://ift.tt/HJr4LCEeR

KP Snacks, a major British snack producer, has been hit by the Conti ransomware, impacting supplies of Skips, Hula Hoops, McCoy's, and others to supermarkets (Ax Sharma/BleepingComputer)

Ax Sharma / BleepingComputer:
KP Snacks, a major British snack producer, has been hit by the Conti ransomware, impacting supplies of Skips, Hula Hoops, McCoy's, and others to supermarkets  —  KP Snacks, a major producer of popular British snacks has been hit by the Conti ransomware group affecting distribution to leading supermarkets.

Samsung Galaxy A51 receives February 2022 security update

Samsung Galaxy A51 is getting a security patch update for the month of February, 2022. The company is rolling out the firmware version A515FXXS5EVA1 that comes with multiple privacy and security features along with the Android security patch. https://ift.tt/1Mj7ULrBq

Germany-based Flip, a chat app for frontline workers, raises $30M led by Notion Ventures and HV Capital and says it has 1M users across 200 organizations (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Germany-based Flip, a chat app for frontline workers, raises $30M led by Notion Ventures and HV Capital and says it has 1M users across 200 organizations  —  More than 80% of the world's workforce, some 2.7 billion people, do not spend their days in front of computers, and that has led …

FBI tested Pegasus spyware's capabilities, claims report

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly confirmed that it had a license to use Israeli company NSO Group's Pegasus spyware and it tested out the software's capabilities. https://ift.tt/KOL2vyj4M

Startup that builds 'brain-mimicking' chips gets $25 million funding

Rain Neuromorphics Inc., a startup designing chips that mimic the way the brain works and aims to serve companies using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, said on Wednesday it raised $25 million. https://ift.tt/rYA9SKNbO

Sony reports Q3 gaming revenue dropped by 8% YoY to ~$7.09B, operating profit rose 12.1% YoY to ~$810M; Sony shipped 3.9M PlayStation 5 consoles for 17.3M total (Sam Byford/The Verge)

Sam Byford / The Verge:
Sony reports Q3 gaming revenue dropped by 8% YoY to ~$7.09B, operating profit rose 12.1% YoY to ~$810M; Sony shipped 3.9M PlayStation 5 consoles for 17.3M total  —  The PS4 had sold more at this point  —  Sony shipped just 3.9 million PlayStation 5 consoles in its all-important holiday quarter …

Sundar Pichai on Google’s billion dollars bet on India

Reiterating his vision to help India join the digital bandwagon, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said the ongoing investments are a reflection of the company's confidence in the future of the country and its digital economy. https://ift.tt/p3rcGx4z8

Alphabet says its board has approved a 20-for-1 stock split, slated for July 1 with shareholder approval; Google last split its stock in 2014 (Jordan Novet/CNBC)

Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Alphabet says its board has approved a 20-for-1 stock split, slated for July 1 with shareholder approval; Google last split its stock in 2014  —  - Before the Alphabet rebrand in 2015, Google effectively split its stock with the introduction of a third class of shares.

Saudi Aramco buys 7.4% stake in software firm Cognite

Saudi Aramco has bought a 7.4% stake in Norwegian industrial software group Cognite from oil firm Aker BP, Cognite said on Wednesday. https://ift.tt/TO9EjFKgk

Apple reportedly files lawsuit to stop upcoming indie film

Apple is reportedly seeking to halt the distribution of an action-comedy film titled 'Apple Man', fearing consumers may believe the film is associated with the Cupertino-based tech giant. https://ift.tt/ER3J91mub

Report: crypto-based sports fan platform Iqoniq, which partnered with Spain's LaLiga and others, has entered liquidation; Iqoniq raised €100M in July 2020 (Ed Dixon/SportsPro)

Ed Dixon / SportsPro:
Report: crypto-based sports fan platform Iqoniq, which partnered with Spain's LaLiga and others, has entered liquidation; Iqoniq raised €100M in July 2020  —  Fan engagement platform Iqoniq has gone into liquidation, leaving multiple sporting organisations potentially out of pocket.

1 in 7 ransomware extortion attacks leak OT data: Report

After collecting and analysing data posted on the dark web after being stolen during ransomware extortion attacks, experts have found that roughly 1 in 7 leaks from industrial organisations are likely to expose sensitive operational technology (OT) documentation, a report said on Tuesday. https://ift.tt/VF4szRnE0