Search the archive

TRUE3D BANNERS

Turn your existing image or video creative into an interactive ad that reduces CPC by 30%.

CLOVER SECURITY

Design-led product security with AI agents that act like experienced security architects and extend the team's reach.

RUNLLM

RunLLM is an AI agent that resolves technical issues by reading logs and code.

THE AWKWARD EXIT: $150M TO $300M ACQUISITIONS

A $200M exit is often life-changing for a founder but a failure for a Series C investor. This "Grey Zone" creates boardroom deadlock. Early investors (Seed/Series A) are happy with a 5x return, while late-stage funds that underwrote a $1B outcome may block the sale to avoid a write-down. The solution: negotiate secondary sales during your growth rounds.

SILICON VALLEY BUILDS AMAZON AND GMAIL COPYCATS TO TRAIN AI AGENTS

Several Silicon Valley startups have spent the past several months recreating popular websites so AI systems can learn to navigate the internet and complete specific tasks on their own. If an AI system learns to use a replica of the site, it can use the real site, too. The shadow sites are a significant part of the tech industry's efforts to transform chatbots into AI agents. Many companies believe that AI agents will be able to replace some white-collar workers in the coming years.

A BETA IS LIKE INVITING GUESTS OVER

The main advantage of a beta is not research - it is basic hygiene.

VANITY ACTIVITIES

Optimization often masks itself as productivity.

JEFF BEZOS ON THE 4 PRINCIPLES THAT DIFFERENTIATED AMAZON

Amazon's edge comes from four simple habits: obsessing over customers, inventing instead of copying, thinking in 5–7 year horizons, and taking operations seriously.

Download The Proactive Defender's Guide to Infostealers

STEALTHY BROWSER EXTENSIONS WAITED YEARS BEFORE INFECTING 4.3M CHROME, EDGE USERS WITH BACKDOORS AND SPYWARE

ShadyPanda, a threat actor, compromised 4.3 million Chrome and Edge users through a seven-year campaign that published legitimate extensions, accumulated Featured and Verified status, and then weaponized them via malicious updates containing backdoors and spyware. The malware enabled complete browser surveillance, with remote code execution capabilities, hourly C2 communication to a server, arbitrary JavaScript execution with full browser API access, and real-time exfiltration of browsing data. ShadyPanda exploited the fundamental gap that allows marketplaces to review extensions only at submission, rather than monitor post-approval updates. Five extensions with over 4 million combined installs remain active on the Edge marketplace.

FAKE CALENDLY INVITES SPOOF TOP BRANDS TO HIJACK AD MANAGER ACCOUNTS

There is an ongoing phishing campaign that uses Calendly to impersonate popular brands to phish for business ad manager accounts. These accounts are tempting for threat actors as they can be used as a springboard to launch malvertising campaigns with advanced features like geo-targeting, domain filtering, and device-specific targeting. The victims receive a Calendly invite from the threat actor impersonating a recruiter with a fake meeting invitation, which directs the user to an Attacker-in-the-Middle phishing page that attempts to steal login credentials.

NORTH KOREA LURES ENGINEERS TO RENT IDENTITIES IN FAKE IT WORKER SCHEME

North Korea's Famous Chollima are running a campaign in which they attempt to lure developers into renting their identities for illicit fundraising. The attackers offer legitimate engineers a percentage of the salary for a remote job if they grant the threat actor remote access to their computer. In some cases, they act as a frontman for the agent in interviews.

HOW A RUSSIAN THREAT ACTOR USES A RECENT WINRAR VULNERABILITY IN THEIR UKRAINE OPERATIONS

Primitive Bear (Gamaredon), an FSB-attributed APT group, exploited CVE-2025-6218, a critical WinRAR path traversal vulnerability affecting versions through 7.11, in targeted spear-phishing campaigns against Ukrainian military units and government entities using military-themed lures. The attack chain leveraged malicious RAR archives containing HTA files with obfuscated VBScript, weaponizing a path traversal flaw to write payloads directly to Windows Startup folders, then used mshta.exe as a LOLBIN to fetch secondary-stage malware from a DynDNS-based C2 infrastructure across 14 active domains. The campaigns demonstrated sophisticated tradecraft, including minimal obfuscation, multi-stage payload delivery, phishing URL masquerading (president.gov.ua@malicious-domain), and infrastructure leveraging InterLIR IP marketplaces and No-IP dynamic DNS services. Defenders are recommended to update WinRAR to 7.12+, block HTA execution via AppLocker/WDAC, and monitor LOLBIN abuse and Startup folder modifications.

AWS SECRETS MANAGER ANNOUNCES MANAGED EXTERNAL SECRETS

Managed external secrets is a new capability in AWS Secrets Manager that allows automatic rotation for participating third-party SaaS secrets without the overhead of rotation, Lambda function creation, or management. At present, the supported third-party vendors are Salesforce, BigID, and Snowflake. AWS has released a guide for becoming an integrated third-party vendor. The guide demonstrates how to create, manage, and view external secrets.

AI AGENTS FIND $4.6M IN BLOCKCHAIN SMART CONTRACT EXPLOITS

SCONE-bench, created by Anthropic researchers, contains 405 exploit-prone smart contracts. Claude Opus 4.5, Sonnet 4.5, and GPT-5 exploited 34 contracts worth $4.6 million. Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-5 found two new zero-day vulnerabilities in 2,849 new contracts, producing exploits worth $3,694 at an API cost of $3,476 for GPT-5. This shows that profitable autonomous exploitation is feasible with current models. Security teams should adopt AI agents for smart contract auditing before deployment, as the decreasing window for exploitation and dropping costs ($1.22 per run) give attackers advantages, while enabling proactive vulnerability detection and fixing.

Early Bird Registration Now Open!

TELEGRAM'S COCOON NETWORK GOES LIVE, CHALLENGES AMAZON, MICROSOFT IN AI COMPUTE

Telegram Cocoon is a TON blockchain-based decentralized AI compute network that connects GPU providers (compensated in toncoin tokens) with privacy-focused applications that require AI model execution. It is positioned as a confidential alternative to centralized cloud providers like Amazon and Microsoft. The network employs attested compute layers to process AI requests while settling payments on-chain. Security professionals should note ecosystem concerns, including hardware limitations restricted to specific Intel processors, potential scrutiny of the "100% confidentiality" claims, and the strategic implications of a central messaging platform controlling AI compute infrastructure that could process sensitive organizational workloads.

INDIA ORDERS SMARTPHONE MAKERS TO PRELOAD STATE-OWNED CYBER SAFETY APP

India's telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity app that cannot be deleted. Smartphone makers will have 90 days to ensure the government's Sanchar Saathi app is preinstalled on new devices and should push the app to existing devices in the supply chain via software updates. Apple is expected to push back on this requirement and may come to a compromise in which it agrees to nudge users to install the app.

VT-PY

vt-py is the official Python client library for VirusTotal. The library allows for interacting with the VirusTotal REST API v3.

SAPORO (PRODUCT LAUNCH)

Saporo provides a graph-native identity security platform that analyzes relationships, events, and misconfigurations across on‑prem, cloud, and machine identities to surface attack paths, reduce exposure, and harden access to critical assets before exploitation.

GLASSWORM MALWARE RETURNS IN THIRD WAVE OF MALICIOUS VS CODE PACKAGES

Glassworm malware returned for a third wave on OpenVSX and Microsoft Visual Studio marketplaces with 24 new packages impersonating popular developer tools. The supply chain attack evolved to use Rust-based implants alongside invisible Unicode character obfuscation, steals GitHub, npm, and OpenVSX credentials plus cryptocurrency wallet data from 49 extensions, deploys SOCKS proxies for traffic routing, and installs HVNC clients for stealthy remote access while manipulating download counts to boost search rankings. Development teams should immediately audit installed VS Code extensions against published IOC lists, verify publisher authenticity before installation, monitor for suspicious extension updates, and implement controls to detect invisible Unicode characters in code reviews to prevent credential theft and environment compromise.

VULNERABILITY IN OPENAI CODING AGENT COULD FACILITATE ATTACKS ON DEVELOPERS

A command-injection vulnerability in OpenAI's Codex CLI allows trusted local configuration files to execute attacker-controlled commands without user approval. By slipping malicious configs into a repository, an attacker could gain remote access, run arbitrary commands, steal secrets, and even poison supply chains via CI and build systems. OpenAI fixed the issue in Codex CLI version 0.23.0 after disclosure.

now to get your 3 FREE INFOSEC SKILLS SEATS.

AUSTRALIAN MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR WI-FI ATTACKS AT AIRPORTS AND ON FLIGHTS

Australian hacker Michael Clapsis was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for using a Wi‑Fi Pineapple to run evil twin attacks at major Australian airports and on domestic flights.

MALICIOUS NPM PACKAGE USES HIDDEN PROMPT AND SCRIPT TO EVADE AI SECURITY TOOLS

A typosquatted npm package, eslint-plugin-unicorn-ts-2, poses as a TypeScript ESLint plugin and runs a post-install script that steals environment variables and embeds a deceptive prompt apparently intended to confuse AI-based scanners.

campaign workflows with Asana.

Try Asana for free →

THE DROP: SOCIAL TRENDS REPORT

This report highlights 4 shifts shaping social performance. Saves signal real value and help boost reach. Platforms reward watch time over simple views, while feeds work best when content is tailored separately to new audiences and loyal fans. Thoughtful format choices outperform frequent posting. Together, these trends show that depth and relevance now drive stronger results than volume.

HOW AMERICA'S BIGGEST RETAILERS ARE RETHINKING THEIR BUSINESSES AND THEIR STORES

Target, Walmart, and Best Buy are redesigning store operations to align more closely with ecommerce and retail media. Target is adjusting store layouts to separate fulfillment and in-person shopping. Best Buy's marketplace now offers 11 times more SKUs than physical locations and supports in-store media placements from partners like Meta and ESPN. Retail media is becoming central to these companies' strategies, not only generating ad revenue but also influencing traffic, inventory movement, and partner collaboration.

MAKE SMALL DISCOUNTS A GAMBLE

People are far more likely to choose an uncertain discount when the guaranteed option is small. Research found a 92.6% lift in choice for a 10% chance at a free stay, over a 1% guaranteed discount. The effect also appeared in other tests, including a 12.3% increase in choice for an uncertain gym offer over a guaranteed 10% discount. The impact grew when the guaranteed discount was tiny or framed as a percentage, such as a 27.3% lift when the certain option was shown as 10% off instead of a fixed amount. Small guaranteed discounts often feel trivial, so people shift toward the larger but uncertain reward.

DECONSTRUCTING THE POWER OF REELS

Success on Reels comes from using native creative cues and clear storytelling. Early brand and message placement, repeated branding, paired speech and music, and combined audio and visual cues increase brand interest and purchase intent. For direct response, show the product often, add simple brand cues, highlight features, use a clear CTA, and try native elements like emojis. A strong hook helps both brand and DR ads. The most effective approach is to test and refine based on your goals and audience.

skills in 4 free sessions

FULL CIRCLE 2025 (EVENT)

Full Circle is a free virtual conference for small B2B marketing teams on December 9 and 10 at 9:30 am ET. It focuses on building human brands in a crowded AI-driven landscape. Speakers cover how to reach hard-to-access buyers, scale a founder's voice, and turn influencers into a reliable distribution channel. The program provides systems and frameworks to help small teams cut through the noise.

THE NEXT ERA: AI CAMPAIGN CREATION (WEBINAR)

This webinar, today at 1 pm ET, explores how Knak and OpenAI are transforming campaign creation with new AI capabilities. Knak leaders will walk through upcoming features, show how AI accelerates campaign production, and reveal the latest GenAI updates. The session will focus on expanding creative possibilities and streamlining workflows.

GOOGLE PUSHES DEEPER INTO LIFECYCLE TARGETING WITH NEW GA AUDIENCE TEMPLATES

Google has introduced new customer lifecycle features in Analytics that automate audience creation and dynamic remarketing. High-value and lapsed customer segments are now available as templates and integrate with Google Ads goals. Dynamic remarketing through Analytics enables personalized product ads without separate setup.

HELP US IMPROVE OUR ADS AND GET $20 (TLDR SURVEY)

The first 100 readers to complete our quick 2-minute survey about TLDR Marketing ads will receive a $20 Amazon gift card!

PRIVATE LABEL'S ALLURE TRANSCENDS INCOME LEVELS

Affluent consumers are driving growth in private label grocery sales, with over 82% of households earning more than $100,000 reporting increased purchases of store-brand items. This shift reflects a broader trend where brand perception is being reshaped by price sensitivity and product quality. A majority of shoppers now view private labels as equal to or better than national brands. This changing sentiment is making store-owned brands a competitive tool not only for value shoppers but also for affluent buyers, redefining how brand equity is built across income segments.

AI, NETWORKS, AND MECHANICAL TURKS

LLMs create a major shift in how search and recommendation systems work because they can understand both what content is and why it matters, rather than relying only on correlation from large user bases. This reduces the cold start problem because a company can use an external model with broad general knowledge instead of building its own Mechanical Turk from scratch. LLMs can surface deeper inferences, such as linking a purchase of packing tape and bubble wrap to life events like moving, and then suggesting home insurance or broadband. This also reshapes how companies learn about users because LLM assistants gain their own partial view of user behavior, adding a new type of filter in a world with infinite products and media.

YOUTUBE'S 2025 GLOBAL CULTURE & TRENDS REPORT

A country-by-country breakdown of the topics, creators, songs, and podcasts that topped lists around the world.

HOW TO WRITE A “MIC DROP” STRATEGIC NARRATIVE

An infographic outlining the core components of a company story.

* Unlimited parallel test runs

* 24-hour maintenance and on-demand test creation * Zero flakes, guaranteed

Schedule a demo to learn more

APPLE TO REVAMP AI TEAM AFTER ANNOUNCING TOP EXECUTIVE'S DEPARTURE

Apple's senior vice president in charge of AI strategy has stepped down. His duties will be split among other senior vice presidents responsible for software engineering, services, and operations. Amar Subramanya, who was involved with developing Google's Gemini chatbot, will join Apple as vice president of AI. The reorganization signals a new era for Apple's AI work, which has so far failed to keep up with the industry.

DEEPSEEK DEBUTS NEW AI MODELS TO RIVAL GOOGLE AND OPENAI

DeepSeek has unveiled two new models. The startup claims DeepSeek-V3.2 matches the performance of OpenAI's GPT-5 across multiple reasoning benchmarks. DeepSeek-V3.2-Speciale is designed for mathematical computations and matches the performance of Google's Gemini-3 Pro. It also performed at gold medal levels on the International Math Olympiad.