Sam's News — tech — 2026-08-12¶

Security¶

8.5 Coin-sized device can hack Boeing 737 autopilot and flight systems¶

Security researchers demonstrated that a coin-sized device can be inserted into a Boeing 737 to redirect the autopilot or sabotage flight plans in under 60 seconds.

Sources: Wired RSS

7 UK criminal records office ACRO exposed sensitive data through unpatched CMS¶

The UK's criminal records office failed to patch its content management system or respond to security alerts, resulting in a data breach of sensitive information.

Sources: The Register RSS

A public AI tool identified a dangerous Zoom vulnerability in under 20 prompts that enables device hijacking during screen sharing.

Sources: Ars Technica RSS

7 Security researcher releases Windows zero-day despite Microsoft legal threat¶

Security researcher Nightmare Eclipse publicly disclosed a Windows zero-day vulnerability called ShieldBreak on August 12, 2026, despite Microsoft threatening legal action weeks earlier. ShieldBreak exploits a Windows Defender privilege-escalation flaw affecting Windows 10, Windows 11 (including 25H2), and Windows Server 2025; Microsoft has not released a patch as of disclosure.

Zero-day: ShieldBreak exploits Windows Defender privilege-escalation flaw
Affects Windows 10, Windows 11 (including version 25H2), and Windows Server 2025
Allows escalation from low-level user to full system access
Requires users to run a Windows app; Windows Defender must be enabled
No patch released as of August 12, 2026 disclosure date

Sources: TechCrunch AI Web Searched

Criminal group WindRelay uses coordinated malware and social engineering to clone contactless payment cards and complete fraudulent transactions in approximately 13 minutes. The attack targets Android users in Europe by impersonating bank helpdesk employees and installing SpyNote and NFC relay malware.

Attack duration: 13 minutes from initial phone call to fraudulent transaction
Targets Android users in Europe
Uses SpyNote (remote access trojan) and WindRelay (NFC relay malware)
Attacker relays live EMV APDU exchange (chip-to-reader handshake) to fraudulent POS terminal
File names for SpyNote installation included target's name, suggesting individual reconnaissance

Sources: The Register AI Web Searched

7 Tailscale Traces Database Corruption to 16-Year-Old SQLite WAL-Reset Bug¶

Tailscale identified a root cause of database corruption as a previously unknown bug in SQLite's write-ahead logging (WAL) reset mechanism that has existed for 16 years. The corruption issue caused multiple outages at Tailscale in late 2025 and early 2026; the company has confirmed the bug has been found, understood, and fixed.

Bug in SQLite WAL reset mechanism, 16 years old
Caused multiple outages in late 2025 and early 2026
Tailscale uses SQLite as primary database since 2022
Takes complete database snapshots every few minutes, uploaded to S3

Sources: Tailscale AI Web Searched, Hacker News (front page) RSS

Hardware¶

8 Google announces Pixel 11 series, Pixel Watch 5, and Pixel Tag¶

Google's Made by Google 2026 event announced the Pixel 11 series, Pixel Watch 5, new Pixel Tag device, and numerous Gemini AI features.

Sources: Wired RSS, Engadget RSS, TechCrunch RSS

Funding¶

7.5 Lovable raises $400M at $13.3B valuation following $500M ARR milestone¶

AI coding platform Lovable raised $400 million in Series C funding at a $13.3 billion valuation on August 12, 2026, led by Menlo Ventures and Scaleup Europe Fund. The round follows the company's achievement of $500 million in annualized revenue run rate in June 2026.

Series C: $400 million at $13.3 billion valuation (August 12, 2026)
Achieved $500 million annualized run rate in June 2026
Hosts 60 million projects; 900 million monthly visitors
Previous round (December 2025): $330 million at $6.6 billion valuation
June 2026: fivefold increase in Google Cloud usage via multiyear deal

Sources: TechCrunch AI Web Searched

AI¶

7 DeepMind sign-language transcription model powers Pixel 11 accessibility feature¶

Google's DeepMind created a sign language transcription model that Pixel 11 devices will use to convert sign language to text.

Sources: Engadget RSS

Product Launch¶

7 Apple delays standard iPhone 18 launch to 2026¶

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro series will launch this fall, but the base iPhone 18 model is delayed until Q1 2025.

Sources: Serper Discovery RSS, The Verge RSS