TechCrunch Top 3

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🧑‍🏫 It's spelled H-A-C-K: PowerSchool, a cloud-based education software for K-12 schools, announced today that it experienced a "cybersecurity incident" on December 28, when hackers were able to access the company's customer portal. The extent of the breach is unclear. Read more

🤖 More, more, more: The behemoth CES 2025 continues in Las Vegas today. From a basketball robot to a satellite pet tracker — I probably need this for my Siberian husky — we've got the latest releases and news from the ground. Check out our live updates

🇷🇺 Taking credit: Earlier this week, Nodex, a Russian internet service provider, was hit by a cyberattack that wiped internal servers and collapsed internet connectivity for its customers. A Ukrainian hacking group, Ukrainian Cyber Alliance, is taking credit for the hack. Read more

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Afternoon must-reads

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🎮 He did what? Elon Musk likes to boast about his video game prowess on X. He recently posted videos of himself beating the highest level of Diablo IV in mere minutes. People are wondering how he had time to do so. I can think of at least one reason why … Read more

🤳 A smart approach: Video-sharing social media company Triller has announced a platform that helps TikTok creators back up their TikToks on Triller. This comes as the U.S. weighs whether to ban TikTok. Considering Triller is a TikTok competitor, this is a smart play. Read more

🦾 Time to settle: Boston Dynamics and Ghost Robotics announced today that they have settled their dispute that began nearly two and a half years ago over a Boston Dynamics patent regarding "legged robots." Read more

📆 A longtime hack: The Japanese government is accusing a Chinese hacking group, MirrorFace, of targeting and breaching numerous Japanese government organizations, companies, and individuals since 2019. Geez. Read more

🤔 Accidental downgrade: Microsoft said it was upgrading the AI model behind its Bing Image Creator tool before the holidays. But many users did not like the "upgrade." Microsoft is reverting back to the old model for now. Read more

🥊 Mastodon vs. Meta: Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko had some thoughts on Meta's content moderation changes that Mark Zuckerberg announced this week. He said they're "deeply troubling" and a "concern to anyone with a conscience." He also reminded users that Mastodon will take action against hate speech reposted on its platform from Threads. Read more

Around the web

👑 His power: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has a lot of influence in the tech industry. How much, exactly? Well, Huang's statement yesterday that "very useful" quantum computers are still a few decades away sent quantum stocks spiraling. Read more

♾️ Censor-ception: Speaking of Meta's content moderation, 404 Media reported today that Meta's platforms are removing the publication's stories regarding explicit ads on Meta platforms because of "nudity," despite the pieces containing the same images from the paid ads. Read more

Before you go

Image Credits: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Images

🍿 Remember MoviePass? Theodore Farnsworth, the former CEO of MoviePass, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and securities fraud after misleading investors that the company's unlimited plan was sustainable. The real question is: How did the investors believe that in the first place? Read more