Daily Tech News 21 October 2025

• That crashing sound you heard at 3AM wasn't the cats getting the zoomies and taking out your new 4k TV, it was just Amazon's US-East-1 datacenter collapsing in a screaming heap and taking half the internet with it. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Oh dear.

  U.S. users of Downdetector are reporting issues with Snapchat, Roblox, Amazon, Alexa, Ring, Robinhood, Max (HBO), Chime, Venmo, Epic Games, McDonald's, Fortnite, Lyft, Hulu, Disney+, Roku, Signal, and carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. PC gaming platform Steam, as well as online forums like Reddit, are also impacted.

  Wait, Steam?
  
  This was actually serious.

  Popular banking apps and tools like Zoom, Pokémon Go, PlayStation Network, and more are also struggling, as are some AI services such as Perplexity.

  Serious but mostly a blessing.

• OpenAI now seems to be legally pursuing anyone who has ever mentioned it without what the company considers due deference. (The Verge) (archive site)
  
  Seven small non-profits that lobbied for the company to be regulated or simply commented on its deeply suspect plans to restructure from a public-benefit company have received subpoenas demanding any and all information relating however tangentially to OpenAI or regulatory efforts that could potentially affect OpenAI, including but not limited to California's SB 53, SB 1047, and AB 501.
  
  OpenAI's CSO (Chief Something Officer) took to Twitter to blame Elon Musk.
  
  Charming people. Let's give them a trillion dollars.
  
  

• ChatGPT has found solutions to 10 open Erdos problems. (Twitter)
  
  Can I see them?
  
  No. Also I deleted my tweet. And that knock at your door is probably a process server.
  
  
  
• China says the NSA tried to hack its clock. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Do you have evidence of this?
  
  Yes.
  
  Can I see it?
  
  No.
  
  
  
• If you're running the Linux 6.12.43 LTS kernel it is trivially easy to crash the entire system thanks to what appears to be a kernel maintainer's acceptance of patches generated by garbage AI. (Xcancel)
  
  Someone's going to get a lecture from Linus.
  
  
  
• Foreign hackers breached an American nuclear weapons facility via flaws in Microsoft SharePoint. (CSO Online)
  
  Are we not even trying anymore?
  
  
  
• The hacking group formerly known as Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters claims to have the personal information of thousands of US government officials, including those working for the NSA, DIA, and Air Force. (404 Media) (archive site)
  
  It is most gratifying that your enthusiasm for our planet continues unabated, and so we would like to assure you that the guided missiles currently converging with your ship are part of a special service we extend to all of our most enthusiastic clients, and the fully armed nuclear warheads are of course merely a courtesy detail. We look forward to your custom in future lives ... thank you.
  
  
  
• How the former lead of Grand Theft Auto's new studio went through $270 million and produced a game that was variously described as "bad", "unfinished", and "you'll be hearing from our lawyers". (Hot Hardware)
  
  Hookers and blow, probably, though the article doesn't go into that level of detail.
  
  
  
• Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg calls Tumblr his "biggest failure so far". (Tech Crunch)
  
  Don't sell yourself short, Matt.

posted by Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

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