The Guardian says ransomware attack compromised staff’s personal data

The Guardian has confirmed that it was the victim of a ransomware attack, and that the damage is more serious than first thought. In an update to staff, Guardian group chief Anna Bateson and newspaper editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said the December attack was “highly sophisticated” and accessed the personal data of UK employees. There was no evidence of the data being exposed online, or that the intruders had breached data for readers or non-UK editions.

Bateson and Viner understood that this was a “criminal” ransomware campaign, and that the perpetrators hadn’t targeted The Guardian as a media outlet. The paper has alerted both police as well as the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office. The leaders didn’t identify the suspected culprits.

The fallout from the cyberattack has worsened. While The Guardian now expects some vital systems to return within two weeks, workers now won’t return to the office until early February. That will give the IT team more time to restore infrastructure, the outlet said. Staff have largely been working from home since the attack was spotted on December 20th, but were originally told only to stay away from the office for the remainder of that week.

The company has continued to run its online and print publications in the weeks since. Even so, the confirmation still makes this one of the more serious online security incidents for the press in recent memory. Fast Company was knocked offline for eight days early last fall, while The New York Postfell prey to a rogue employee weeks later. The Guardian is still dealing with the consequences of the ransomware over three weeks later, and won’t return to normality for a while yet.

Apple finally lets businesses customize their listings in Maps

Apple Maps still isn’t likely to replace Google Maps for some users (it only got multi-stop routes last year), but Apple thinks it has another way to shrink the feature gap: give stores more control over what you see. The company has launched a free Ap…

Apple finally lets businesses customize their listings in Maps

Apple Maps still isn’t likely to replace Google Maps for some users (it only got multi-stop routes last year), but Apple thinks it has another way to shrink the feature gap: give stores more control over what you see. The company has launched a free Ap…

Xbox test feature shuts down your console during scheduled hours to save energy

The sleep mode on modern consoles lets them wake up quickly, but it also consumes a significant amount of energy as the system never really shuts off. Microsoft thinks it can offer a compromise, however. It’s releasing an Insider test that gives Xbox Series X, Series S and One owners an “active hours” sleep option. Choose that and your console will shut down at times when you aren’t likely to use it, cutting your energy use. You can manually schedule the hours if you know when you play, but an automatic option is available if you want the console to adapt to your habits.

The feature will be automatically enabled and scheduled on Xbox Series X/S systems. The Xbox One will default to always active, and you’ll have to configure the hours yourself.

The company is also introducing a “shutdown (energy saving)” option that reportedly uses up to 20 times less power than sleep while still allowing overnight updates to your Xbox and its games. If you don’t mind the longer startup times and the absence of remote wake, you can reduce your energy footprint and potentially shrink your bills. The update will be automatic for Xbox Series X/S users in the Insider program, and it should be available as early as today for One models.

The Xbox is also borrowing “carbon aware” downloads from Windows 11. If carbon intensity data is available in your region, the machine will schedule OS and game updates for those times when it’s most likely to rely on local renewable energy, rather than simply grabbing files in the early morning. Insiders will have this perk right away if the Xbox Series X/S is configured for automatic updates, while the One will have multiple test options to help with feedback.

It’s unclear how much energy these features might save in the real world. Microsoft estimates that two Xbox consoles using the eco-friendly shutdown feature will save carbon equivalent to that a tree removes in a decade, but that also assumes your device is powered down for 20 hours per day. Carbon aware downloads only matter if renewables have a significant presence in your area, we’d add. Combined with Apple’s Clean Energy Charging, though, it’s evident tech brands now see software as a way to advance their environmental goals.

Microsoft reportedly axes dual-screen Surface Duo 3 in favor of a ‘true’ foldable

Microsoft’s dual-screen Android phones have been less than successful, to put it mildly, and there are now hints the company is shaking up its mobile strategy. Windows Centralsources claim Microsoft has cancelled a twin-screen Surface Duo 3, which was reportedly slated for release late this year, and will instead focus on a “true” foldable phone. The new device’s specs and name aren’t known, but it would have a 180-degree hinge with an outside cover display akin to the Vivo X Fold.

The cancelled Surface Duo 3 was “finalized,” according to the sources. It would have supposedly addressed some of its predecessor’s shortcomings with narrower edge-to-edge screens and wireless charging. Microsoft isn’t said to have settled on a release window for the foldable, suggesting that the product is unlikely to arrive in 2023.

The purported insiders also say Microsoft is planning to expand its Android phone offerings. It’s apparently “exploring” other form factors, including prototypes of more conventional smartphones. A software initiative, “Perfect Together,” would also provide tighter integration between Surface phones and Windows, much like the iPhone’s close ties to the Mac.

We’ve asked Microsoft for comment and will let you know if we hear back. The Surface Duo series has struggled in the market between its high prices (up to $1,500), unreliable software and performance that frequently trails the latest Android flagships. While the dual-screen design has offered some clever multitasking features, it’s been a tough sell when rivals like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line have generally been more powerful and trustworthy.

A foldable Surface phone would put Microsoft into more direct competition with brands like Samsung and Vivo. There’s no guarantee it will stand out in a growing field. If the rumored pivot is real, however, it also indicates that Microsoft is still committed to Android devices — it’s not giving up just because its first forays failed to gain traction.

Samsung’s first Unpacked event of 2023 takes place February 1st

The rumors were true, apparently. Samsung has announced that its first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2023 will take place February 1st at 1PM Eastern. And unlike last year’s events, the company is comfortable with an in-person presentation — it’s inviting …

Former Forza Horizon leaders open ‘AAA’ studio Maverick Games

Yet more video game veterans are forming a new studio after leaving an industry heavyweight. Key leaders from Forza Horizon creator Playground Games have established Maverick Games, a Leamington Spak, UK development house devoted to ‘AAA’ titles. Gamesindustry.biznotes the studio is headed by former Horizon creative director Mike Brown, while executive producer Tom Butcher, technical chief Matt Craven, content director Gareth Harwood and audio lead Fraser Strachan.

The 10-person team’s art director is Ben Penrose, who most recently worked at Vampire the Masquerade: Blood Hunt developer Sharkmob but also has experience at Playground. Former EA experience director Elly Marshall is in charge of experience and interface development. Sega and Sumo veteran Harinder Sangha is the operations chief.

Maverick hasn’t shared much about its first project, but does say it will be an open-world title for consoles and PCs. Brown suggests the game will be a response to how people entertain themselves in the modern era — think subscription services and TikTok. That means games that are continuously involving without being repetitive, Brown explains.

As with similar launches, Maverick is hoping to veer away from ‘safe’ projects. Brown tells GI.biz he wants to encourage “creative risks,” but also wants to keep out “toxic” egos that can damage the team. Sangha hopes the company can help improve diversity in the game industry. This is about shaking up the existing formula which, while reliable, doesn’t allow for much variety.

Brown and Sangha stressed that they left their respective former employers on good terms. However, they and Maverick are part of a broader trend of high-profile game devs going independent after dealing with creative frustration (or simply boredom) at major studios. Simply speaking, big-name brands can’t assume their top talent will stick around.

Facebook and Instagram will limit ads targeting teens based on gender (updated)

Meta is taking more steps to limit potentially harmful ad campaigns. The company is placing more restrictions on advertisers’ ability to target teens. From February onward, Facebook and Instagram will no longer let marketers aim ads at teens based on gender — only age and location.

In March, Meta will expand the ad preferences in Facebook and Instagram to let teens see fewer sales pitches for a given topic. Teens could already hide the ads from specific advertisers, but this gives them the choice of automatically downplaying whole categories like TV dramas or footwear.

The social media giant has put ever-tighter restrictions on the content teens can access. In 2021, Facebook and Instagram barred advertisers from using teens’ interests to target ads. Instagram also made accounts private by default for teens under 16, and this year limited sensitive content for all new teen users. Meta has likewise limited the ability of “suspicious” adults to message teens on both platforms.

This is the second major ad policy change in a week. Just a day before, Meta rolled out an AI-based system meant to reduce discriminatory ad distribution. The technology is launching as part of a settlement with the federal government over charges that Facebook let companies target ads based on ethnicity, gender and other protected classes.

As with those earlier efforts, Meta has a strong incentive to act. The attorneys general of 10 states are investigating Instagram’s effects on teens, while the European Union recently fined Meta the equivalent of $402 million for allegedly mishandling privacy settings for younger users. Governments are concerned that Meta might be exploiting teens’ usage habits or exposing them to threats, including content that could lead to mental health issues. The new protections won’t solve these problems by themselves, but they might show officials that Meta is serious about curbing ads that prey on teens.

Update 1/10 2:39PM ET: Meta says it already prevents ads from targeting teens based on follows and likes. We’ve updated the story accordingly.

NASA is funding ideas for a Titan seaplane and faster deep space travel

NASA is still willing to fund unusual concepts in its bid to advance space exploration. The agency is handing out $175,000 initial study grants to 14 projects that could be useful for missions in and beyond the Solar System. The highlight may be TitanAir, a seaplane from Planet Enterprises’ Quinn Morley that could both fly through the nitrogen-and-methane atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan and sail its oceans. The “flying boat” would collect methane and complex organic material for study by sucking it in through a porous leading edge.

A project from UCLA’s Artur Davoyan, meanwhile, could speed up missions to the outer edge of the Solar System and even interstellar space. His design (shown at middle) would propel spacecraft by producing a “pellet-beam” of microscopic particles travelling at very high speed (over 74 miles per second) using laser blasts. The concept could dramatically shorten the time it takes to explore deep space. Where Voyager 1 took 35 years to reach interstellar space (the heliopause, roughly 123AU from the Sun), a one-ton spacecraft could reach 100AU in just three years. It could travel 500AU in 15 years.

Pellet-beam spacecraft propulsion concept
Artur Davoyan

Other efforts are sometimes similarly ambitious. MIT’s Mary Knapp has proposed a deep space observatory that would use a swarm of thousands of tiny satellites to detect low-frequency radio emissions from the early universe, not to mention the magnetic fields of Earth-like exoplanets. Congrui Jin from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln has envisioned self-growing habitat building blocks that could save space on missions to Mars, while Lunar Resources’ Peter Curreri has devised pipelines that could shuttle oxygen between Moon bases.

These are all very early initiatives that aren’t guaranteed to lead to real-world tests, let alone missions. However, they illustrate NASA’s thinking. The administration is funding the projects now in hopes that at least one will eventually pay off. If there’s even partial success, NASA could make discoveries that aren’t practical using existing technology.