Emergency Patches, Ransomware Exposes, and Rising QR Code Scams

In this episode of Cybersecurity Today, host Jim Love discusses the latest urgent security updates and cyber threats. Google has released an emergency Chrome patch to fix a high-severity zero-day vulnerability, while Microsoft issued an emergency patch to resolve Windows 11 boot failures caused by their May 2025 update. A mysterious whistleblower known as 'Gang Exposed' is doxing major ransomware leaders, providing invaluable intelligence for global cybersecurity efforts. Additionally, 'Quishing,' or QR code phishing, is emerging as a new threat, with cybercriminals taping malicious QR codes on public lampposts and street corners. This trend bypasses traditional digital defenses, underscoring the need for public awareness and vigilance. The episode emphasizes the importance of immediate updates, informed vigilance, and proactive cybersecurity measures.

00:00 Emergency Chrome Patch and Windows 11 Boot Fix
00:28 Google's Zero-Day Vulnerability in Chrome
02:28 Microsoft's Emergency Update for Windows 11
05:35 Gang Exposed: Unmasking Ransomware Leaders
07:55 Quishing: The New QR Code Phishing Threat
10:22 Conclusion and Viewer Engagement

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
The killer app for the Metaversemight actually be a killer.
There's a rumour that apple's iPhone17 air could ditch USB-C forever.
Going fully wireless.
Broadcom cuts VMware's lowesttier channel partners to focus
on VMware Cloud Foundation.
Shopify Beats Canada Revenue Agency incourt and gets $90,000 in legal costs.

(00:27):
Welcome to hashtag Trending.
I'm your host, Jim Love.
Let's get into it.
Meta has found a way to breathe lifeinto its struggling Metaverse investments
through an unlikely alliance with theDepartment of Defense, partnering with the
same company founded by an executive, itfired for his pro-Trump political views.
The social media giant announcedThursday it will work with the defense

(00:50):
contractor and Andural industries todevelop AI powered virtual and augmented
reality combat helmets for US soldiers.
The partnership could providea crucial revenue stream for
Meta's Reality Labs Division.
And Meta's invested about$70 billion since 2019 with
little in the way of payback.
The collaboration reunites Meta, CEOMark Zuckerberg with Palmer Lucky, the

(01:14):
Oculus VR founder, who was pushed out ofMeta in 2017 after donating $10,000 to
an anti Hillary Clinton political group.
Lucky co-founded Andural afterhis departure and now leads
the defense technology startup.
lucky said in a statement, I'm gladto be working with Meta once again.
My mission has long been to turnwar fighters into technomancers

(01:37):
and the products we arebuilding with Meta do just that.
The partnership comes as Zuckerberg hasshifted Meta towards Republican friendly
policies under Trump's second presidency,including ending fact checking programs
and diversity initiatives while donating$1 million to Trump's inauguration.
The Meta Andural deal reflects a dramatictransformation in Silicon Valley's

(02:00):
relationship with military contracts.
Google employees famously heldwalkouts in 2018 and forced executives
to abandon military projects today.
Defense applications are somethingcompanies want to shout from the rooftops.
As one analyst noted, the shifthighlights a cultural change where
developing technology for war is no longerconsidered taboo among tech workers.

(02:23):
Companies argue that if US firms don'tdevelop military technology, foreign
adversaries will gain advantages.
The companies are developingsomething called Eagle Eye, a helmet
system that combines artificialintelligence with augmented reality
to give soldiers superhuman senses.
The system will help soldiersdetect drones flying miles away
and identify hidden threats.

(02:44):
As part of the $22 billion SoldierBorn Mission Command program originally
awarded to Microsoft, but transferredto Andural February for Meta the Defense
Partnership offers ROI for RealityLabs, which reported a $4.2 billion
loss in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
Consumer vr.

(03:04):
Adoption remains limited despite massiveinvestments in the Metaverse vision,
And maybe the killer app for mixed realityis indeed a killer app Wrote Tech analyst,
David Lee, noting the irony that Meta'sconsumer-focused technology might find
its purpose in military applications, Metaand Andural have jointly bid on an Army

(03:25):
contract worth up to a hundred milliondollars, potentially opening the door to
billions in defense revenue that couldjustify the company's metaverse spending.
The partnership represents a full circlemoment where Silicon Valley's military
origins developing chips for defensebefore branching into consumer products
are reversed with consumer technology nowflowing back to military applications,

(03:50):
There's a rumor that suggests thatApple is considering making its upcoming
iPhone 17 Air, the first completelyport less iPhone, eliminating even
the recently adopted USB-C port infavor of wireless only charging.
While the company reportedly backedaway from this radical design
earlier, the speculation highlightsApple's potential wireless future.

(04:12):
The rumored iPhone 17 air expectedto debut in fall 2025 is said to
be Apple's thinnest smartphoneever at just 5.5 millimeters thick.
Sources suggest the extreme thinnessdrove Apple to consider eliminating
the USBC port entirely, relying solelyon MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging

(04:34):
Bloomberg's, mark Germond reported thatApple ultimately decided against the
port design, partly due to concernsabout European Union regulations.
However, EU officials have apparentlysince confirmed that a fully
wireless device would actually belegal under current directives.
The European Commission Press OfficerFredrica McColey clarified that

(04:55):
if such radio equipment cannot berecharged via wired charging, it
does not need to incorporate theharmonized wired charging solution.
This regulatory clarity could pave the wayfor Apple to pursue port list designs in
future models, especially as the companyhas made MagSafe technology compatible
with a universal Qi2 wireless standard.

(05:16):
The rumored iPhone 17 air would reportedlysacrifice significant features for
thinness, including eliminating theSIM card slot, removing the second
speaker, and reducing battery capacity.
The device would sit between theentry level and the premium models
at an estimated $900 US price point.
Industry analysts remain skepticalabout consumer readiness for wireless

(05:38):
only devices, citing concerns aboutcharging speed, travel compatibility,
and data transfer limitations.
However, apple has historically drivenadoption of controversial design
changes from removing headphone jacksto eliminating physical keyboards.
Apple has steadily improvedwireless charging capabilities.
Boosting mag safe speeds from 15 wattsto 25 watts with the iPhone 16 series

(06:02):
and the company's adoption of theQi2 standard ensures compatibility
with third party wireless chargers.
Addressing potential EU concerns aboutthe proprietary charging systems and if
successful, the iPhone 17 Air could serveas the testing ground for broader wireless
adoption across Apple's, smartphonelineup, potentially reshaping how

(06:23):
consumers interact with mobile devices.
we've been hearing rumorsof a big change in the fall.
but All information in this story consistsof unconfirmed rumors and should be
treated as speculation until officiallyannounced by Apple, Broadcom announced
Sunday that it's eliminating the lowesttier of VMware's channel partner program,

(06:44):
cutting access for thousands of resellersas the company continues streamlining
operations following its $61 billionacquisition of the virtualization giant
VMware's four tier channel programpreviously included Pinnacle, premier
Select, and registered partners.
The registered tier, the entry-levelpartnership category is being

(07:05):
completely retired in the Americas,Asia Pacific, and Japan regions.
the company says the registeredtier is being retired as the vast
majority of customer impact andbusiness momentum comes from partners
operating within the top three tiers.
That's according to Brianmots, Broadcom's, senior Vice
President for Global CommercialSales and Partners in Sunday's.
Blog post announcement.

(07:27):
In addition,
Laura Falco Broadcom's Head of GlobalPartnership Programs told the Register
that the vast majority of these registeredpartners are inactive and lack the
capabilities to support customers.
Through VMware's evolvingprivate cloud journey.
Affected partners will receive 60days notice before deauthorization,
however, some long-term partnersdispute the inactive characterization.

(07:50):
Canadian managed servicesprovider Members IT group a
VMware partner for over 19 years.
Learned this week it willlose reseller status.
CTO.
Dean cul pits told ours, Technica,the only reason we were inactive is
because of their own stupid greed.
We and our customers would've happilycontinued even with a 10 or 20% increase

(08:11):
in price, 50% and more with zero warning.
Last year after customers alreadyhad their FY 24 budget set was the
straw that broke the camel's back.
but Members IT group isn't alone.
major distributor, Ingram Microended its VMware relationship earlier
this year due to these changes.
Broadcom is emphasizing its focus onVMware Cloud Foundation or VCF Broadcom's

(08:36):
private cloud platform that combinescompute, storage, and networking.
Partners who remain must demonstratehigher levels of commitment
and technical capabilities.
But Broadcom is also raising requirementsfor the remaining three tiers.
Pinnacle Partners must either holdExpert Advantage Professional Services
partner status for VCF deployment,or maintain a dedicated small and

(08:58):
medium sized business practice.
Both Pinnacle and Premier Partnersmust maintain dedicated sales
and technical staff and executejoint business plans with VMware.
These changes don't applyto European partners.
VMware told the Register, we don'thave any program changes in Europe to
announce But this exemption comes amidgrowing regulatory scrutiny as European

(09:21):
trade associations have criticizedBroadcom's changes and urged the European
Commission to investigate the company.
Gartner VP and analyst MichaelWarlow told the Register, the
move will benefit VMware's rivals.
Broadcom seems intent on destroyingwhat was one of the most Successful
partner ecosystems in the industry.

(09:41):
He said These partners willrush into the waiting hands of
Microsoft and Nutanix and AWS.
The latest cut continues Broadcom'scontroversial reshaping of VMware's
business model since the acquisition,including eliminating perpetual licenses
and moving to subscription only models.
Now some have speculated thatBroadcom realizes they have a finite

(10:02):
amount of time to recover theirinvestment before new technologies.
Or changes in the industry willchange the virtualization landscape.
Others have thought of it as a morestandard flip flop that has always
been part of channel programs.
We start with enthusiastic expansionand then we realize we've got too
many partners and it's followed byShrinkages and focus, and noting that
Microsoft is also making noises aboutpotentially culling their partners

(10:27):
to focus on those most alignedwith their strategic objectives.
and in a world where it seems thatgovernment has an unchecked access to all
your information, a bright spot appears.
A federal court decided with ShopifyThursday in a major privacy battle
against the Canada Revenue Agencyordering the government to pay $90,000

(10:49):
in legal costs after the CRA failedto justify its sweeping data request.
The CRA was seeking over six yearsof records from Canadian Shopify
merchants to verify tax compliances,demanding names, birth dates, addresses
phone numbers, bank account details,and complete transaction histories.
The agency also wanted to share somedata with Australia's tax office

(11:13):
and Judge Guy Régimbald rejectedthe request ruling that CRA had.
Failed to define an identifiable groupof individuals whose data it wanted.
He said, courts won't entertain requestsfor information on unnamed parties
that are unintelligible, incoherent,or otherwise beyond its understanding.
Shopify's, CEO, Toby Lutka calledthe CRA's behavior blatant overreach

(11:38):
on social media, and the companyargued that the merchant group was
overly broad and inconsistentlydefined when it fought the 2023 case.
The ruling now protects merchantprivacy while setting a precedent
requiring tax agencies to preciselydefine their data requests.
The CRA says it's analyzing thedecision, but hasn't indicated

(11:58):
whether it will appeal.
Judge ]Régimbald ordered the CRA to pay$45,000 in legal costs for each of the
two related cases, totaling $90,000.
And that's our show for today.
Love to hear your comments.
You can write to me [e-mail] or find
me on LinkedIn, or if you'rewatching this on YouTube, just
leave a comment under the video.

(12:19):
if you can go to buy me a coffee.com/techpodcast, that's buy me a coffee.com/tech
podcast, and for the price of acup of coffee and a donut once a
month, you help us pay our bills.
I am your host, Jim Love.
Whether you're buying me acoffee or enjoying your own,

(12:40):
have a wonderful Wednesday.