A threat group researchers call "Armored Likho" has gained access to government agencies and electrical power entities in Russia, Brazil, and Kazakhstan.

Attackers wasted little time targeting the latest memory disclosure flaw in Citrix's NetScaler products, after researchers published a proof-of-concept exploit (PoC).

FCC to let ISPs stop listing all passthrough fees, give single "up to" price.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce continued their love story this Fourth of July weekend. Jason Miller/Getty Images Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce married on July 3 in NYC, surrounded by up to 1,000 of their closest friends. The wedding was private, but also not. They shut down traffic in one of NYC's busiest neighborhoods. Given Swift's love of involving her fans, plus some on-the-ground evidence, is she releasing a wedding special? In one of Taylor Swift's songs, she promises her lover that "at every table, I'll save you a seat." As it turns out, we the public could be getting a seat at her "intimate," star-studded, 1,000-person Madison Square Garden wedding. Swift married Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on July 3 at the iconic sporting arena. Though no official photos have been released, it was a highly publicized affair: the ceremony was officiated by Adam Sandler, the bride and groom both wore Dior, and celebrities like Lena Dunham, Gigi Hadid, and Ethan Hawke were in attendance. Music legends Stevie Nicks and Sir Paul McCartney performed. Swift's decision to have a private wedding in the public eye — shutting down traffic in one of the busiest neighborhoods in America's biggest city — combined with her penchant for engaging fans and savvily monetizing her art and life, has left a lot of people wondering: Are we getting a Taylor Swift wedding special? Baby just say yes… to a wedding special The signs are pointing toward…maybe! It appears the event was photographed and filmed in some capacity, though it's unclear if we'll ever see fruits of that labor. "No parking" signs posted around MSG warned that a "film shoot" was taking place from June 20th to July 4th, and a banner at the venue warned that entering the arena constituted consent to being filmed and photographed, per posts on X. Guests were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements, Variety reported, which isn't unusual for celebrity weddings. (Then again, renting out MSG on America's semiquincentennial weekend isn't usual by celebrity standards, either.) Joseph Kahn, who directed several of Swift's music videos in the 2010s, confirmed on X that the couple enacted a no-phones rule. All of that points to very tight control of what the public will see from the wedding, at least for now. If controlling the narrative is the goal for the Swift-Kelces, it stands to reason that at some point, the newlyweds will want to release their version events. Just like they did with those carefully staged professional engagement photos, there's a high likelihood that we'll get select glimpses into their nuptials at a later date. Given that their wedding was a two-day extravaganza with star-studded performances, what better medium to release those glimpses in than the moving image? A (filmed) fairy tale Swift is no stranger to being the star of a documentary. Back in 2020, she was the subject of Lana Wilson's revealing and well-received Netflix documentary, "Miss Americana." She has an existing relationship with Disney, which has the streaming rights to her Eras Tour docuseries, which features behind-the-scenes footage of her record-breaking tour. Before that, Swift struck a deal with AMC to distribute the Eras Tour concert film — which is different from the Disney+ docuseries — in theaters. Execs from both companies were in attendance at her wedding, and AMC CEO Adam Aron gave a particularly detailed account of the nuptials on X before deleting his post. Whether the execs were there for business or pleasure, it's a sign that their relationships with Swift remain strong, and they're certainly useful if you'd like to, say, release a wedding concert documentary on a streaming service or in theaters. Like many Swifties and Swift-curious onlookers, I have to admit, I am curious about her wedding. Maybe it's that the prospect of my once-favorite billionaire tying the knot in a castle at MSG is so absurd that I can't look away. Maybe it's because Swift is so allergic to slaying that I desperately need to see what her Dior by Jonathan Anderson dress looked like. (Is it shaped like a pastry, per "Speak Now"?) Or maybe it's just that this wedding is the perfect payoff to the career-long narrative Swift has been building around her pursuit of love, and even an estranged fan like me can't help but be intrigued. But the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced the question isn't, "Will we get a Swift wedding cinematic event?" but rather, "What song lyric will she use to title it?" Read the original article on Business Insider

Drone intruders that possibly flew from Russian ships showed Europe isn’t ready.

Bloomberg: Sources: Vista Equity and Quinti made a takeover bid for Criteo that values the French ad tech company at a 50%+ premium to its stock price in recent weeks  —  Vista Equity Partners and the investment firm Quinti Capital have teamed up on a takeover offer for French advertising-technology company Criteo SA …

Julia Hornstein / The Information: Source: Thrive Capital spinoff Thrive Holdings seeks to raise around $2B from SoftBank, Altimeter, D1, and others, after previously raising $1B  —  Some of the biggest backers of OpenAI and its rivals are pooling their money in an offshoot of Thrive Capital that buys controlling stakes …

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Andrew Chung / Reuters: SCOTUS declines to block a Texas law requiring app stores and developers to verify the age of mobile device users, and for minors to obtain parental consent  —  The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to block a Texas law requiring app stores and developers to verify the age of mobile device users …

New data from Ramp and Revelio show that intensive Gen AI adoption is linked to higher headcount and more entry-level hiring, challenging fears that “AI kills jobs” and reshaping IT leaders’ strategies. The post Data From 21,000 Firms Reveals: AI Spending Is Creating Jobs, Not Killing Them appeared first on TechRepublic.

From a Revolutionary War flag to the Statue of Liberty...

Apple may launch up to 16 new products by the end of 2026, including a foldable iPhone, M5 Macs, new iPads and smart home devices. The post Apple’s 2026 Product Roadmap: iPhone 18 Pro, Mac Studio, and More appeared first on TechRepublic.

Bloomberg: Sources: the US considers housing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve at Commerce instead of Treasury amid concerns over Treasury's legal authority to manage it  —  The Trump administration's plan to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve has been complicated by two government departments vying to run it …

AI hiring in India’s IT sector rose 16% in June, outpacing broader IT recruitment as companies shift toward specialized talent. The post AI Jobs Rise 16% in India’s IT Sector as Overall Listings Fall appeared first on TechRepublic.

AI romantic companions — digital agents that can text, speak, flirt and are always available — are a rapidly growing social phenomenon. The number of AI companion apps rose by 700 per cent between 2022 and 2025. One of the more popular ones, Character.AI, reported about 20 million monthly active users in 2025. Their appeal is easy to understand. They are always available, highly customizable and offer a steady sense of being heard, desired and understood — at a time when loneliness and social disconnection are on the rise. Because these systems are designed to encourage attachment, people often humanize them in return. For some people, that can create the feeling of being deeply known, sometimes even more than by a human partner. Research shows that 21 per cent of romantic AI users prefer this “ultimate soulmate experience” to interacting with a real partner. The growing visibility of romantic AI companions has pushed the issue into public debate, raising a central question: If a chatbot can feel this intimate, does it count as cheating in a committed relationship? Our preliminary research suggests that, in Canada at least, people think it does. Emotional and sexual diversion Infidelity is usually understood as a violation of exclusivity, whether sexual or emotional, that diverts romantic love, attention or emotional investment away from a primary partner. Romantic AI companions are not simply entertainment or sexual tools. People often describe them as validating, emotionally responsive and easy to confide in. Some people turn to them for erotic role play or sexual exploration, while for others the bond deepens into dating or even a marriage engagement. In that sense, romantic AI companions can reproduce the very forms of emotional and sexual diversion that many already see as crossing a line. Recent research suggests this is no longer a marginal phenomenon. Surveys in the United States reveal that at least one in six adults reported interacting at least once with a romantic AI companion, and about one-third said a partner’s use would count as cheating. In another study of young adults in committed relationships, nearly two-thirds of regular users wished their partner behaved more like their AI companion. Worse than AI porn and sex toys We surveyed 1,815 Canadian adults and asked whether they would consider a partner’s engagement with a romantic AI companion to be cheating. We also asked how they would feel emotionally and whether those views varied depending on respondents’ demographic and ideological characteristics. Our results show that about half of respondents saw a partner’s romantic companion use as infidelity, and roughly three-quarters said they would react negatively. In fact, reactions to romantic companions were about as negative as reactions to dating apps and webcamming, both of which involve a human third party. They were more negative than reactions to all other sexual technologies, such as AI pornography and sex toys. Interestingly, nearly two-thirds of AI romantic companion users kept their use from their partner. Cis women, Gen Z react negatively The pattern was not the same for everyone. Cisgender women were about twice as likely as cis men to say romantic companion use counted as cheating. Gen Z participants also tended to react more negatively compared to older participants. Meanwhile, individuals in non-monogamous relationships were about half as likely as participants in committed monogamous relationships to perceive romantic companion use as infidelity. Ideology matters too. In our research, higher social conservatism and religiosity were linked to stronger infidelity judgments. Participants further to the right on the political spectrum were more likely to see romantic companion use as cheating. As findings from an unpublished study, these results should be read as tentative. Exploration or betrayal? Romantic AI companions are not seen as neutral tools. They occupy a distinct relational space among sexual technologies, one that can challenge couple boundaries even in the absence of a human third party. Their significance lies not only in what they can do, but also in what they may represent within a relationship: secrecy, emotional diversion, comparison or a shift in intimacy away from a human partner. For therapists and couples alike, the key question is not simply whether romantic companion use counts as cheating, but how it develops, whether it is disclosed, what needs it serves and how partners interpret it. The distinction between privacy and secrecy is especially important here. Some may see these systems as emotional support, self-expression or private sexual exploration; others may experience them as withdrawal or betrayal. Concerns arise when romantic companion use is concealed or replaces communication or conflict resolution with a partner. Chatbots can also begin to reshape the primary relationship in ways that feel like a boundary violation. Long-term impacts It is unclear how the use of a romantic companion unfolds within real romantic relationships over time. Research has yet to determine how romantic AI companions may influence relationship satisfaction and emotional intimacy among people in committed relationships, or the relational difficulties — such as conflict, unmet emotional or sexual needs — that may prompt them to seek these interactions. As AI-mediated intimacy becomes more visible in everyday life, answering these questions will be essential for understanding how romantic relationships are changing in an increasingly digital society. David Lafortune received funding from the Université du Québec à Montréal for this research. Valerie A. Lapointe receives funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et Culture. Ellfie Chen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Sam Smith / GamesBeat: Xbox appoints Helen Chiang as its first COO; Chiang was previously corporate vice president for the Minecraft Franchise and the studio head of Minecraft  —  Xbox has confirmed that Helen Chiang has been promoted to the role of new chief operating officer in the wake of structural changes at Microsoft.