Senate Intelligence Committee releases first volume of its investigation into Russian election hacking – TechCrunch

Smart Cars

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today released the first volume of its bipartisan investigation into Russia’s attempts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. elections. Helmed by Select Committee Chairman Richard Burr, the Republican from North Carolina, and Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner, who serves as vice chairman, the committee’s report, “Russian Efforts Against Election…

Unity, now valued at $6B, raising up to $525M – TechCrunch

Robotics

Unity’s private valuation is climbing but it’s growing unclear whether the company’s leadership is planning to take the 15-year-old gaming powerhouse public anytime soon. The company announced today that is has received signed agreements from D1 Capital Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Light Street Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Silver Lake Partners to fund a…

SoftBank announces AI-focused second $108 billion Vision Fund with LPs including Microsoft, Apple and Foxconn – TechCrunch

Cyber Attacks

SoftBank Group announced today that it will launch its second Vision Fund with participation from Apple, Foxconn, Microsoft and other tech companies and investors. Called the Vision Fund 2, the fund will focus on AI-based technology. SoftBank said the fund’s capital has reached about $108 billion, based on memoranda of understandings. SoftBank Group’s own investment…

Linux Botnet Adding BlueKeep-Flawed Windows RDP Servers to Its Target List

Web Security News

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new variant of WatchBog, a Linux-based cryptocurrency mining malware botnet, which now also includes a module to scan the Internet for Windows RDP servers vulnerable to the Bluekeep flaw. BlueKeep is a highly-critical, wormable, remote code execution vulnerability in the Windows Remote Desktop Services that could allow an unauthenticated remote…

Microsoft and the second Softbank Vision Fund as another play for corporate cloud dominance – TechCrunch

Smart Tvs

It looks like the return of Softbank’s Vision Fund may be less reliant on murder money and more reliant on Microsoft’s money-making machine for its backing. The rumored involvement of Microsoft in financing Softbank Vision Fund II (electric boogaloo?) is interesting for what it may indicate about how the relationship between venture investors, startups, and…

Apple could gradually switch to new laptop keyboard mechanism starting this fall – TechCrunch

Drones

Reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from TF International Securities has released a new report, as Apple Insider spotted. I’ve read the report and it focuses specifically on keyboard suppliers that would potentially work with Apple . And the company should potentially replace the unreliable butterfly mechanism with a new scissor mechanism. The first laptop that should receive…

CrunchMatch simplifies networking at TC Sessions: Enterprise 2019 – TechCrunch

Smart Cars

Get ready to experience world-class networking TechCrunch-style at TC Sessions: Enterprise 2019. On September 5, more than 1,000 of the top enterprise software minds and makers, movers and shakers will descend on San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. It’s a day-long conference featuring distinguished speakers, panel discussions, demos and workshops. It’s also a…