Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) posted a significant jump in quarterly profits, driven by robust demand for AI chips. Net income rose by just over 60% year-on-year to NT$360.7bn (£9.77bn), outpacing analysts’ expectations.
Revenue also grew by 41.6% compared to the same period in 2024, although it dipped slightly from the previous quarter due to weaker smartphone sales.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker has not yet seen any major changes in customer behaviour, including from Apple and Nvidia, despite increasing uncertainty over potential US tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors.
While concerns about trade tensions grow, particularly with former President Donald Trump suggesting the US should reclaim chip production, TSMC says it is continuing with business as usual for now.
Instead of scaling back, TSMC is expanding its investment in the US, with plans to spend up to $160bn. Analysts believe this move could help the firm argue for a more favourable position should tariff negotiations intensify.
The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Wendell Huang, acknowledged the risks posed by changing trade policies but said revenue growth is still expected in the next quarter.
Despite global pressures, TSMC remains optimistic, forecasting revenue between $28.4bn and $29.2bn. Although the company’s shares have fallen more than 20% so far this year, some analysts say the stock is now undervalued and well-positioned to rebound once market conditions stabilise.
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Scammers are using fake mobile banking apps to trick people into handing over valuable items without receiving any payment.
These apps, which convincingly mimic legitimate platforms, display false ‘successful payment’ screens in person, allowing fraudsters to walk away with goods while the money never arrives.
Victims like Anthony Rudd and John Reddock have lost thousands after being targeted while selling items through social media marketplaces. Mr Rudd handed over £1,000 worth of tools from his Salisbury workshop, only to realise the payment notification was fake.
Mr Reddock, from the UK, lost a £2,000 gold bracelet he had hoped to sell to fund a holiday for his children.
BBC West Investigations found that some of these fake apps, previously removed from the Google Play store, are now being downloaded directly from the internet onto Android phones.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute described this scam as an emerging threat, warning that in-person fraud is growing more complex instead of fading away.
With police often unable to track down suspects, small business owners like Sebastian Liberek have been left feeling helpless after being targeted repeatedly.
He has lost hundreds of pounds to fake transfers and believes scammers will continue striking, while enforcement remains limited and platforms fail to do enough to stop the spread of fraud.
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Spotify has resolved a global outage that left tens of thousands of users unable to stream music, with the company confirming the app is now ‘back up and functioning normally.’
The disruption, which began on Wednesday, affected search functions and artist pages, though downloaded music remained accessible during the issue.
The platform denied online rumours of a security breach, stating reports of a hack were ‘completely inaccurate.’
Users experienced timeout messages and errors when attempting to search for music, prompting frustration on social media, where many expressed disappointment and called for swift resolution.
With over 675 million users worldwide, Spotify’s brief downtime sparked threats from some users to switch to rival services such as Apple Music and YouTube.
The company responded on social media during the outage, acknowledging the problem and assuring users it was being investigated.
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Zoom has resumed normal service after a widespread outage left users unable to join meetings or access its website for nearly two hours.
The disruption began around 2:40PM ET and was visible on monitoring platforms like Cisco’s ThousandEyes, which showed a sharp drop in connectivity.
Many users reported seeing an ‘Unable to Connect’ message when trying to join meetings, while others were locked out entirely.
The company’s main website displayed a 502 Bad Gateway error, and even Zoom’s press email was unreachable.
Although the exact cause remains unconfirmed, a Reddit post suggested the issue may have stemmed from the domain being temporarily placed in a server hold, possibly due to DNS or verification problems.
The issue appeared to be resolved around 4:12PM ET, though some users experienced delays as DNS updates propagated across networks.
Zoom confirmed via X that service had been restored and thanked users for their patience. Further details from Zoom or its domain provider, GoDaddy, have yet to be released.
Service has now been restored after the earlier outage, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding.
Since Colorado began accepting cryptocurrency for tax payments in September 2022, the amount paid via crypto has been minimal. Out of the $11 billion in income tax collected since 2022, just 0.0005%, or roughly $57,000, has been paid using digital assets.
The state initially saw eight crypto payments totalling $16,426 in 2022, which rose to 22 payments amounting to $23,241 in 2023. However, the number declined again in 2024 to $17,544 across 48 payments.
Governor Jared Polis’ initiative allows taxpayers to use PayPal’s Crypto Hub, converting their crypto into US dollars. It means Colorado doesn’t directly receive crypto, undermining the notion that digital assets are widely used for tax payments.
Bitcoin, primarily a store of value, doesn’t lend itself to transactions like these, according to experts.
Although Colorado leads in this innovation, Utah is the only other state accepting cryptocurrency for taxes. Looking ahead, commentators suggest that stablecoins, rather than Bitcoin, will become the primary method for crypto-based transactions.
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OpenAI has introduced a new monitoring system to reduce the risk of its latest AI models, o3 and o4-mini, being misused to create chemical or biological threats.
The ‘safety-focused reasoning monitor’ is built to detect prompts related to dangerous materials and instruct the AI models to withhold potentially harmful advice, instead of providing answers that could aid bad actors.
These newer models represent a major leap in capability compared to previous versions, especially in their ability to respond to prompts about biological weapons. To counteract this, OpenAI’s internal red teams spent 1,000 hours identifying unsafe interactions.
Simulated tests showed the safety monitor successfully blocked 98.7% of risky prompts, although OpenAI admits the system does not account for users trying again with different wording, a gap still covered by human oversight instead of relying solely on automation.
Despite assurances that neither o3 nor o4-mini meets OpenAI’s ‘high risk’ threshold, the company acknowledges these models are more effective at answering dangerous questions than earlier ones like o1 and GPT-4.
Similar monitoring tools are also being used to block harmful image generation in other models, yet critics argue OpenAI should do more.
Concerns have been raised over rushed testing timelines and the lack of a safety report for GPT-4.1, which was launched this week instead of being accompanied by transparency documentation.
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AMD has warned that new US government restrictions on exporting AI chips to China and several other countries could materially affect its earnings.
The company said it may face charges of up to $800 million related to unsold inventory, purchase commitments, and reserves if it fails to secure export licences for its MI308 GPUs, now subject to strict control measures.
In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, AMD confirmed it would seek the necessary licences but admitted there is no guarantee they will be granted.
The move follows broader export restrictions aimed at protecting national security interests, with US officials arguing that unrestricted access to advanced chips would weaken the country’s strategic lead in AI, instead of preserving it.
AMD’s stock dropped around 6% following the announcement. Competitors are also feeling the impact. Nvidia expects charges of $5.5 billion from similar restrictions, and Intel’s Gaudi hardware line has reportedly been affected as well.
The US Commerce Department has defended the move as necessary to safeguard economic and national interests.
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Russia is preparing to amend its criminal code to include cryptocurrency-related terms. The change would assist law enforcement in confiscating coins during investigations.
The bill, drafted by the Ministry of Justice, is set to be presented to the State Duma shortly. At present, cryptocurrency lacks legal status in general criminal cases, causing complications for police and prosecutors.
The absence of legal definitions for crypto-related terms has made investigations and confiscations challenging, especially for assets held in online wallets. Experts note that the bill will clarify crypto handling procedures but may raise questions about previous court seizures.
Some legal professionals have welcomed the move, but concerns have been raised about protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens. Others stress the need for law enforcement to be properly equipped and trained before implementing such changes.
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Small businesses are increasingly falling victim to scams targeting their Instagram and Facebook accounts, with many reporting long and frustrating recovery processes.
Wedding dress designer Catherine Deane, whose Instagram account was hacked through a fake verification link, described the experience as ‘devastating’ and said it took four months and persistent efforts to regain access.
Despite repeated emails to Meta, the issue was only resolved after a team member contacted someone within the company directly.
Cybersecurity experts say such cases are far from isolated. Jonas Borchgrevink, head of US-based firm Hacked.com, said thousands of business accounts are compromised every day, with some clients paying for help after months of failed recovery attempts.
Scammers often pose as Meta support, using convincing branding and AI-generated messages to trick victims into revealing passwords or verifying accounts on fake websites. These tactics allow them to gain control of business profiles and demand ransoms or post fraudulent content.
Meta has declined to disclose the full scale of the problem but says it encourages users to enable security features like two-factor authentication and regularly check their account safety. Some businesses, however, report being locked out despite not being hacked.
Others say Meta has wrongly removed pages without notice, with limited recourse or explanation. Calls are growing for the company to improve its support systems and take faster action to help affected businesses recover access to their vital online platforms.
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The US Secret Service, in collaboration with Canadian officials, launched ‘Operation Avalanche‘ to target compromised wallets on the Ethereum blockchain.
The operation focused on disrupting an ongoing approval phishing scam, which had already cost victims $4.3 million.
Approval phishing occurs when scammers trick victims into signing illicit blockchain transactions, allowing fraudsters to drain funds from their wallets.
The US Secret Service assisted Canadian officials, helping to disrupt the scam and prevent further losses.
Both US and Canadian authorities have committed to continuing their efforts to identify stolen assets and return them to the victims. The operation highlights the importance of global law enforcement collaboration in combating crypto-related crimes.
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