TheChek News Flow

Russian government hackers found using exploits made by spyware companies NSO and Intellexa

Google says it has evidence that Russian government hackers are using exploits that are “identical or strikingly similar” to those previously made by spyware makers Intellexa and NSO Group.

In a blog post on Thursday, Google said it is not sure how the Russian government acquired the exploits, but said this is an example of how exploits developed by spyware makers can end up in the hands of “dangerous threat actors.”

In this case, Google says the threat actors are APT29, a group of hackers widely attributed to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or the SVR. APT29 is a highly capable group of hackers, known for its long-running and persistent campaigns aimed at conducting espionage and data theft against a range of targets, including tech giants Microsoft and SolarWinds, as well as foreign governments.

Google said it found the hidden exploit code embedded on Mongolian government websites between November 2023 and July 2024. During this time, anyone who visited these sites using an iPhone or Android device could have had their phone hacked and data stolen, including passwords, in what is known as a “watering hole” attack.

The exploits took advantage of vulnerabilities in the iPhone’s Safari browser and Google Chrome on Android that had already been fixed at the time of the suspected Russian campaign. Still, those exploits nevertheless could be effective in compromising unpatched devices.

According to the blog post, the exploit targeting iPhones and iPads was designed to steal user account cookies stored in Safari specifically across a range of online email providers that host the personal and work accounts of the Mongolian government. The attackers could use the stolen cookies to then access those government accounts. Google said the campaign aimed at targeting Android devices used two separate exploits together to steal user cookies stored in the Chrome browser.

Google security researcher Clement Lecigne, who authored the blog post, told TechCrunch that it is not known for certain who the Russian government hackers were targeting in this campaign. “But based on where the exploit was hosted and who would normally visit these sites, we believe that Mongolian government employees were a likely target,” he said.

Lecigne, who works for Google’s Threat Analysis Group, the security research unit that investigates government-backed cyber threats, said Google is linking the reuse of the code to Russia because the researchers previously observed the same cookie-stealing code used by APT29 during an earlier campaign in 2021.

A key question remains: How did the Russian government hackers obtain the exploit code to begin with? Google said both iterations of the watering hole campaign targeting the Mongolian government used code resembling or matching exploits from Intellexa and NSO Group. These two companies are known for developing exploits capable of delivering spyware that can compromise fully patched iPhones and Android phones.

Google said the exploit code used in the watering hole attack targeting Chrome users on Android shared a “very similar trigger” with an exploit developed earlier by NSO Group. In the case of the exploit targeting iPhones and iPads, Google said the code used the “exact same trigger as the exploit used by Intellexa,” which Google said strongly suggested that the exploit authors or providers “are the same.”

When asked by TechCrunch about the reuse of exploit code, Lecigne said: “We do not believe the actor recreated the exploit,” ruling out the likelihood that the exploit was independently discovered by the Russian hackers.

“There are multiple possibilities as to how they could have acquired the same exploit, including purchasing it after it was patched or stealing a copy of the exploit from another customer,” said Lecigne.

NSO Group did not respond to TechCrunch’s inquiry prior to publication. In a statement provided after publication, NSO spokesperson Gil Lainer said: “NSO does not sell its products to Russia. Our technologies are sold exclusively to vetted U.S. & Israel-allied intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Our systems and technologies are highly secure and are continuously monitored to detect and neutralize external threats.”

TechCrunch contacted the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC and Mongolia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York for comment, but did not hear back by press time. Intellexa could not be reached for comment. Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer did not respond to a request for comment.

Google said users should “apply patches quickly” and keep software up-to-date to help prevent malicious cyberattacks. According to Lecigne, iPhone and iPad users with the high-security feature Lockdown Mode switched on were not affected even when running a vulnerable software version.

Bill Ackman seeks to revive IPO with sweeteners for investors

US fund relaunch could include right to buy extra shares or stock in billionaire’s hedge fund

Bill Ackman is seeking to resurrect the initial public offering of Pershing Square USA by offering sweeteners to early investors, as the billionaire tries to address one of the key stumbling blocks to the float.

The hedge fund manager has sounded out backers about a structure that would include additional incentives alongside Pershing Square USA stock, after Ackman last month withdrew the IPO of his new US investment fund following weak demand.

He originally set a $25bn target for the New York Stock Exchange listing of the closed-end fund, which would have made it one of the largest-ever IPOs. Ackman withdrew the listing after cutting the fundraising target by more than 90 per cent to just $2bn.

Ackman has discussed several options for the new structure, one of which would gift early investors in Pershing Square USA the right to buy extra shares in the vehicle in the future at a fixed price through warrants, two people familiar with the matter said.

However the real prize for investors in Pershing Square USA is likely to be rights to buy into the eventual IPO of his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, which manages investments for both the proposed US vehicle and his existing European fund.

A structure that combines shares in Pershing Square USA with another security would resemble that of a special purpose acquisition company, or Spac. Warrants and Pershing Square USA shares would trade as a unit for a period after the IPO before separating to trade as separate instruments.

Under the previous plans for the IPO, Ackman had sought to lure investors by waiving management fees for the fund’s first year of trading.

However during the marketing process, Ackman met resistance from investors who sought further incentives to invest in the IPO rather than waiting to buy shares after the launch, when such funds often trade at a discount. If warrants were issued alongside the Pershing Square USA stock, the structure might no longer include such a waiver, one of the people said.

Two of the people familiar with the matter said discussions were fluid and were still subject to change.

Separately, two people close to the hedge fund said they expected Ackman to bring the Pershing Square IPO back to the market before the end of this year to keep up perceived momentum.

The investor, who has become a big presence on Elon Musk’s social media platform X and racked up more than a million followers, was hoping to rely on his newfound “notoriety” to drum up interest for Pershing Square USA stock.

Ackman sold a 10 per cent stake in his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, to a group of investors including San Francisco-based Iconiq Capital and Israeli insurance company Menora Mivtachim at a valuation of $10.5bn in June. The Financial Times previously reported that Ackman planned to list his hedge fund as early as 2025.

Ackman is known for coming up with novel structures that have at times caused friction with regulators.

In June 2021, Ackman bought a 10 per cent stake in Universal Music Group using money raised through his Spac, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, in a first deal of its kind.

It was ultimately shot down by regulators, which prompted him to come up with a new type of blank-cheque company called a special purpose acquisition rights company or Sparc where investors had the right but not the obligation to put money into a future deal.

Pershing Square declined to comment.

Traders speculate that China’s central bank will step in to manage sovereign debt yields

China’s central bank purchased Rmb400bn ($56.3bn) of long-dated sovereign bonds on Thursday, a move that traders interpreted as preparation to directly shore up bond yields in its booming debt markets.

The People’s Bank of China said it bought Rmb300bn worth of 10-year notes and Rmb100bn of 15-year notes from primary dealers, which had been sold by the Ministry of Finance to roll over maturing bonds only earlier in the day.

Analysts said the move, which stops the bonds from being traded in the market, further fuelled speculation that China’s central bank will soon intervene in the bond market to prevent an eventual snapback that could trigger Silicon Valley Bank-style losses in the financial system.

Chinese debt has rallied this year as global investors bet that Beijing will be forced to stimulate consumer demand in the world’s second-largest economy.

But the PBoC has repeatedly warned that falling yields — which move inversely to prices — risk provoking a liquidity crisis in the banking system. Earlier in the summer, the PBoC said it was ready to directly buy and sell in the market for the first time in decades to prevent a sharp fall in long-term yields.

“The PBoC is trying to engineer the yield curve”, said Wei Li, head of multi-asset investment for BNP Paribas in China, who described the buying action as a “sizeable amount”. “Now they have a lot more long-term debt on hand [because] speculators are betting against the central bank,” Li added.

Traders’ expectations that the central bank would soon buy and sell sovereign notes were fuelled by the PBoC’s creation of a new section on its website called “notices on the purchase and sale of sovereign bonds”.

Chinese authorities have been concerned about the yields on longer-dated debt as it is a source of funding for financial institutions such as pension funds.

Analysts said that purchasing the bonds gave the central bank the flexibility to sell at a later date, influencing the prices of 10-year to 15-year bonds. Selling long-dated debt in the market would raise yields.

The newly purchased notes, with a maturity of 10 to 15 years, would replace previous notes with the same amount but would only carry a duration of seven years, said He Xueqin, an analyst with Guangfa Securities. So far, the PBoC only holds Rmb1.52tn in government bonds, mostly with shorter maturities ranging from one to three years. 

“The increased holdings of the long-term bonds will give PBoC better control in yields, and the approach for the PBoC to managing the short- and long-term yield curves will also become more diverse,” said He. 

China’s central bank has adopted various approaches this year to indirectly shore up sovereign bond yields, including verbal warnings and regulatory inspections.

But investors have nevertheless defied the warnings and continued to buy bonds, sending the long end of the curve to historical lows. The yield of 10-year government bonds fell to a level of 2.12 per cent before it rebounded to 2.17 on Thursday.

“[Buying the bonds] might seem like an odd move given that the central bank has spent recent months trying to prevent yields from falling,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics in London. “But most signs suggest that it still intends to reduce its government bond holdings rather than increase them.” 

Apple Intelligence is still in beta with iOS 18.1 and macOS 15.1. When announced in June, Apple said that its AI features would only be available in US English – and although Apple Intelligence works in other countries, the first betas required users to change the region of their device to the US. However, it seems that Apple is dropping this requirement.

Enabling Apple Intelligence outside the US

With the third beta of iOS 18.1 and macOS 15.1, which was released to developers on Wednesday, Apple has changed the release notes for the updates. Whereas previously the release notes said that the device region had to be set to the US, the notes for beta 3 only mention that users must set Siri to the US English language.

9to5Mac can confirm that it’s now possible to try out Apple Intelligence features just by changing Siri’s language and the device language to US English, without changing the region settings. Changing the region of the device can affect things like the format of phone numbers and calendar.

Of course, features like Writing Tools and Summarization still only work in English, but the change will certainly be welcomed by those who don’t live in the US but still want to take a look at Apple Intelligence’s features. Users in the EU and China are still unable to activate Apple Intelligence.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the hardware requirements for Apple Intelligence remain the same: iPhone 15 Pro or later, or iPads and Macs with the M1 chip or later.

Also with beta 3, Apple introduced the first preview of Clean Up – a new feature for erasing objects and people from photographs. Clean Up processes images locally and requires the same Apple Intelligence-compatible devices.

While iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia will be released to the public next month, Apple Intelligence won’t be available until October.

Sales at Victoria Beckham's fashion and beauty brand rose 52 percent in fiscal 2023, while adjusted EBITDA shot up to 1.8 million pounds.

LONDON — Victoria Beckham Ltd. saw revenue and profits rocket in 2023, with the company reporting “substantial” growth in wholesale, online and in the Mayfair flagship.

The privately owned company issued a results update four months earlier than usual, reporting a 52 percent uptick in total revenue to 89.1 million pounds compared with the previous year.

Last year was the third consecutive period of high-double-digit growth, and the brand added that sales momentum has continued into 2024, across all product categories and despite lackluster demand in the luxury market.

In 2023, adjusted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, reached 1.8 million pounds, compared with 200,000 pounds in 2022.

Operating losses fell to 200,000 pounds from 900,000 pounds as the company continues to focus on streamlining the business, driving efficiencies and becoming profitable.

David Belhassen, founder of NEO Investment Partners, which holds a significant minority stake in the business, said that “in the context of a difficult environment, the brand has sustained very high growth” and has seen improving EBITDA.

“The team is working hard to continue building the House of VB on ever stronger foundations. The priority remains the development of products with the highest standards to offer our community total satisfaction,” Belhassen added.

Earlier this year, Belhassen hinted at the increase in EBITDA and in an interview said: “The house of VB is now fully live, and a reality. It was a dream for Victoria and I when we partnered, and it is happening. We are now embarking on a new phase with only the sky as the limit.”

NEO purchased its stake in Beckham’s business for about 30 million pounds in 2017.

Marie Leblanc, chief executive officer of Victoria Beckham Ltd., said that following a repositioning in 2021, 2023 was “a very strong year of progress for the company. We continue to build a loyal consumer following on the back of successful Paris Fashion Week shows and new partnerships, with performance across direct-to-consumer channels and leather goods being particularly positive.”

The company said that last year it saw “substantial growth” in fashion and accessories sales across all three of its channels: wholesale, online and the flagship at 36 Dover Street in London’s Mayfair.

Bestsellers in 2023 included a gathered waist midi dress, which accounted for one in every 10 online sales. The company said the dress, which costs around 850 pounds and comes in a variety of colors, continues to sell out.

The leather goods collection, which launched in 2022, has continued to perform well, with belts becoming the fastest-growing category. The brand said demand was up thirteenfold year-on-year in 2023.

Growth has continued into 2024, with the direct-to-consumer channels flourishing, and the leather goods range now accounting for more than 20 percent of online sales, two years after the launch.

So far this year the company has also struck deals with Mango for a limited-edition capsule and a range of jointly branded watches with Breitling.

Victoria Beckham Beauty, which marks its five-year anniversary next month, continued to grow in 2023. It launched a trio of fragrances; expanded the makeup range with new shades of its top-selling Satin Kajal Liner, and broke into the brow category and the highly competitive contour market.

Katia Beauchamp, CEO of of Victoria Beckham Beauty, described 2023 as a “significant year of growth” for the beauty business, driven by product development, and the brand’s growing repeat purchase rate.

“In 2023, the vast majority of our business has been direct, which has allowed us to deepen our focus on high quality customers who continue to engage with us,” she said.

The beauty division has expanded further in all categories including skin care, where it has a longstanding partnership with Augustinus Bader. The latest launch with Bader is in the complexion category, with the Concealer Pen set to debut in September.