Unofficial 7-zip.com website served up malware-laden downloads for over a week — infected PCs forced into a proxy botnet

Always get your wares from reputable sources.

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U.S. lawmakers demand sales ban on chipmaking tools to China — bipartisan group targets ASML’s Dutch exports of lithography machines used to create advanced chips

Bipartisan group of lawmakers want the U.S. government to impose export controls on all wafer fab equipment bound to China except those that can be made locally and make allies do the following.
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Adding AI to sinus surgery system saw malfunctions rocket from eight to 100 incidents, according to new investigation — skull-puncturing errors are the stuff of nightmares

The introduction of AI to the operating theater doesn’t always work out as optimists, or the FDA, might expect.

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U.S. government plans tariff exemptions for TSMC, if it follows through on American investment — $165 billion already pledged to increase production capacity, but details of the deal are still murky

Following the announcement of impending chip import tariffs in January, the Trump Administration is now planning to offer major U.S. tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon the ability to circumvent them. Howeve…

Samsung and SK hynix shorten memory contracts as pricing power shifts back to suppliers — both companies now at 40-50% operating margins

Samsung and SK hynix have begun moving away from long-term, fixed-price supply contracts, replacing them with shorter agreements and post-settlement pricing mechanisms.
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China’s top chipmaker warns that rushed AI data center capacity could remain idle — SMIC chief says utilizing ballooning capacity ‘has not been fully thought through’

Co-CEO of SMIC warns that massive data centers that are currently being built in the U.S. and other regions could end up sitting idle if some AI projects do not take off.
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South Korean exchange’s $40B Bitcoin mistake casts pall over country’s fledgling crypto legislation — staffer fat-fingered 620,000 BTC instead of Korean Won

A South Korean crypto exchange mistakenly issued 15 times its holdings in Bitcoin during an ill-fated promotional effort, drawing the ire of regulators during a sensitive period for crypto legalization in the country.
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Memory makers are set to earn $551 billion from the AI boom, twice as much as contract chip manufacturers — forecasts suggest that 2026 revenue will skyrocket thanks to data center demand

While all makers of microelectronics are set to benefit from the AI supercycle, the memory industry is projected to generate more than twice the revenue of the foundry industry.
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White House mulling tariff exemptions for Big Tech — Amazon, Google, Microsoft, other AI hyperscalers to be spared worst of import duties with U.S.-Taiwan deal

The White House is considering a tariff carve-out for big AI tech companies, like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, allowing them to purchase imported AI chips from TSMC without getting slapped with an import tax.
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Alphabet is doubling its capital expenditure to a staggering $180 billion in 2026 — earnings suggest that the company’s AI investments may be paying off

Google announced in its Q4 earnings call this week that it expected to more than double its capital expenditure in 2026 over 2025’s already sky-high numbers, to up to $185 billion.
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