2.5 billion Gmail users at risk

According to Google statistics, there are currently more than 2.5 billion users using Gmail. This is a lucrative target for hackers and online scammers.

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Hackers use many forms of AI-based fraud to try to hijack Gmail accounts. Photo: Cnet

Recently, Sam Mitrovic – a Microsoft solution consultant – issued a warning after he almost became a victim of a “hyperrealistic AI scam call” that is capable of fooling even the most experienced users.

In the blog, he said he received a Gmail account recovery approval notice, a common phishing attack method.

After ignoring this notice, nearly a week later he received another request for approval followed by a phone call 40 minutes later.

When he answered the phone, he heard an American accent, claiming to be a Google support employee and saying his Gmail account had suspicious activity.

The caller continued to ask confusing questions, adding that a hacker had accessed Mitrovic's account in the past 7 days and downloaded account data, which reminded him of the notification and missed call from a week ago.

While answering the phone, Mitrovic Googled the number and found that it led to official Google websites. He asked the caller to email the account.

At first, the email seemed legitimate – the sender used a Google domain – but when he checked the recipient, he found another email that didn't use a Google domain.

The caller said 'hello'. I ignored it for about 10 seconds, and then it said 'hello' again. At this point, I realized it was an AI voice with perfect pronunciation,” Mitrovic blogged.

Google announced that it has joined forces with the Global Anti-Phishing Alliance (GASA) and the DNS Research Federation in a new initiative to fight scammers.

Deepfake AI isn't just used for porn and political purposes, it's also being used to take over people's accounts.

So, the advice is to stay calm when someone claiming to be from Google approaches you. Never make a hasty decision no matter how urgent the caller seems.

SpaceX successfully recovers Super Heavy rocket

Early on the morning of October 13 (local time), SpaceX launched the giant Starship rocket from the Starbase site in South Texas, USA. After a short journey into space, the 50m high upper stage landed in the Indian Ocean after orbiting the Earth as planned.

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The Super Heavy booster returned to the launch pad and was "captured" by the mechazilla system on October 13. Photo: SpaceX

During this test, Elon Musk's company made history by successfully recovering the reusable Super Heavy booster stage. It separated from the Starship and slowly fell vertically back to the launch pad.

Previously, booster stages were either thrown into the water or damaged, but this time, SpaceX “grabbed” it with the giant mechanical arms of the system called mechazilla.

SpaceX's feat is considered incredible. Capturing the booster stage is crucial to Starship's reusable design.

On social network X, CEO Elon Musk did not hide his pride when calling this "a big step forward in creating multi-planetary life".

This is the first time SpaceX has captured a booster without any serious damage, instead of exploding or falling into the water.

US investigates TSMC

According to The Information, the US Department of Commerce has opened an investigation into TSMC to see if the company violated export regulations when manufacturing chips for Huawei.

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The US is investigating TSMC for its ties to Huawei. Photo: Bloomberg

The Information reported that the US Department of Commerce has contacted TSMC in recent weeks to inquire about manufacturing for Huawei.

In an emailed statement, the world's largest chip foundry asserted that it is a “law-abiding company” and has processes in place to ensure compliance.

Huawei was blacklisted by the US in 2020 over national security concerns, barring it from buying chips made with US equipment.

The US also banned Huawei from producing its own chips using US technology without a license from the Department of Commerce.

Until now, Huawei has insisted that all of its advanced chips are manufactured by SMIC – China's largest foundry.

TSMC is the world's largest contract chipmaker and plays a key role in the chip supply chain. It is a major supplier of advanced chips used in AI and smartphones.

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