Hackers hunting for bigger targets

After declining in 2022, ransomware payments soared in the first half of the year as cybercrooks honed in on big companies with deep pockets. From January to June, companies paid at least $449 million in ransoms, an increase of $176 million from the same period last year, according to Chainalysis, which tracks illicit payments made in cryptocurrency, the No. 1 way ransoms are paid.

This trend of “big-game hunting” is lucrative for cybercrooks, who have raised their initial ransom demands to tens of millions of dollars per attack.

While ransomware attacks and ransom payments have risen, overall cyberattacks have declined, especially low-level scams, with crooks netting 77% less revenue for non-ransomware attacks in the first half of the year.

Black Panther video game announced

After conquering comics and movies, Marvel superhero Black Panther is getting his own video game. The big-budget project is expected to include Black developers, who are underrepresented in the industry. Kevin Stephens, studio head for Cliffhanger Games, the game’s developer, said the development team will be built on “the values of diversity, collaboration and empowerment” and the game will reflect the “authenticity that the world of Black Panther deserves.”

Back in the fold

Samsung, the No. 2 seller of smartphones, trails No. 1 Apple by a wide margin, but it’s hoping foldable phones will close the gap. On Wednesday, Samsung is poised to unveil two next-generation foldables, the Galaxy Fold 5 and the Galaxy Flip 5. Samsung also is expected to roll out a new smartwatch with several health features, including the ability to track heart rhythms.

Spotify eyes adding music videos

Music-streaming service Spotify is considering adding full-length music videos to its app, a response to growing competition for the Gen Z audience from YouTube and TikTok. The feature would add to Spotify's growing efforts to establish video — which in the streaming media era has tended to be more lucrative than audio — as a core part of its app. — BLOOMBERG NEWS