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FBI says ATM ‘jackpotting’ attacks are on the rise, and netting hackers millions in stolen cash

In 2010, the famed security researcher Barnaby Jack spectacularly hacked into an ATM cash machine onstage at the Black Hat security conference, forcing it to spit out reams of bank notes in front of an awestruck audience. 

More than a decade later, ATM jackpotting — as it’s called — has broken free from the realms of theoretical security research into big business in the criminal world.

According to a new security bulletin issued by the FBI, hackers have rapidly ramped up their attacks in recent years, with more than 700 attacks on cash dispensers during 2025 alone, netting hackers at least $20 million in stolen cash.

Per the bulletin, the FBI says hackers are using a mix of physical access to ATM machines, such as generic keys for unlocking front panels and accessing hard drives, and digital tools, like planting malware that can force ATMs to rapidly dispense cash in a flash.

The FBI warned that one particular malware, known as Ploutus, affects a variety of ATM manufacturers and cash dispensers by targeting the underlying Windows operating system that powers many ATMs. Ploutus grants the hackers full control over a compromised ATM, allowing them to issue instructions capable of tricking the dispenser into disbursing notes without drawing funds from customer accounts.

Ploutus takes advantage of extensions for financial services, or XFS software, which ATMs rely on to communicate with its various other hardware components, such as the PIN keypad, the card reader, and the all-important cash dispensing unit.

“Ploutus attacks the ATM itself rather than customer accounts, enabling fast cash-out operations that can occur in minutes and are often difficult to detect until after the money is withdrawn,” per the FBI bulletin.

Security researchers previously found issues with XFS software that can allow hackers to trick ATMs into dispensing cash.

an animated GIF of an ATM dispensing wads of cash on stage at the Black Hat conference in 2009.
Barnaby Jack, the late security researcher credited with the first ATM “jackpotting” attacksImage Credits:YouTube

Updated the lede paragraph to amend date.

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SoftBank to spend an eye-popping $33B to build huge US gas power plant

SoftBank subsidiary SB Energy is expected to build a massive 9.2 gigawatt natural gas-fired power plant on the Ohio-Kentucky border, according to a report from Bloomberg. If completed, it would be the largest power plant in the U.S., capable of powering around 7.5 million homes.

With a price tag of $33 billion, the project would be more expensive than recent natural gas-fired power plants, which have skyrocketed in cost, Bloomberg notes. It’s unclear who will ultimately foot the bill, though traditionally rate-payers have shouldered the burden for new generating capacity.

The Japanese investor is a partner in the Stargate project with OpenAI. SB Energy did not say whether the new power plant would feed directly into the grid or if it would power data centers. OpenAI and SoftBank are in the process of building a “proof of concept” data center at GM’s former Lordstown automotive assembly plant.

A power plant of this size is likely to take years, perhaps a decade, to complete even before taking into account the shortage of natural gas turbines. If completed, the project could emit around 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to our calculations based on public, energy-use metrics. When including methane leaks from the natural gas supply chain, the climate impact could be even bigger. 

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Reddit is testing a new AI search feature for shopping

Reddit announced on Thursday that it’s testing a new AI search tool that takes community recommendations and matches them with products from some of the company’s shopping and advertising partners.

A small group of users in the U.S. will start to see search results that include interactive product carousels with pricing, images, and direct where-to-buy links.

The announcement reflects Reddit’s broader push to combine its community-driven platform with e-commerce capabilities. The move comes as Reddit launched its first shoppable ad product last year, called Dynamic Product Ads (DPA), which display personalized product recommendations to users based on their interests.

Now, when users who are part of the test search for something like “best noise-canceling headphones” or “electronic gift ideas for a college student,” they will see a carousel of related products at the bottom of the results.

This carousel will feature products directly mentioned by users from conversations on related posts and comments. If users tap on the product, they can view more details and then be directed to the retailer to purchase the item.

“This feature surfaces top-recommended products directly from discussions, giving redditors instant information about any product,” the company wrote in a blog post. “This test is designed to make Reddit easier to navigate while keeping community perspectives at the center of the experience. We’ll continue learning from how people use this new feature and refine the experience over time.”

While platforms like TikTok and Instagram have long integrated shopping features, Reddit is now looking to follow suit. Of course, Reddit isn’t the only tech platform that recently started exploring AI-driven shopping, as OpenAI’s ChatGPT rolled out an “Instant Checkout” feature last September that lets users make Etsy and Shopify purchases within conversations.

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Thursday’s announcement comes after Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said during the company’s earnings release last week that the platform’s AI search engine could be the next big opportunity for its business, not just in terms of product, but also as a revenue driver.

Huffman also noted that weekly active users for search grew 30% over the past year, increasing from 60 million to 80 million, while weekly active users for the AI-powered Reddit Answers feature rose from 1 million in the first quarter of 2025 to 15 million by the fourth quarter.

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As browser wars heat up, Chrome adds new productivity features

As AI companies and startups push their way into the web browser market, the world’s biggest browser, Google Chrome, is rolling out a handful of new features. The company on Thursday announced the official launch of a trio of options, including Split View, PDF annotations, and a Save to Google Drive feature, designed to more deeply integrate Chrome with one of Google’s other online services.

While these particular additions aren’t focused on AI, Google already integrated its Gemini AI assistant into Chrome. The move was made in response to the increased competition from AI providers like OpenAI and Perplexity, which are dabbling in agentic browsers. These so-called browser wars have pushed Google to be less stagnant in terms of developing and releasing more consumer-facing features.

With Split View, multitasking in Chrome has become easier as the feature puts two pages side-by-side in the same tab. This lets you work across two web pages or watch a video while taking notes, among other things. To use the feature, you’ll drag a tab to the left or right edge of the browser window or right-click a link and select “Open Link in Split View.” The tabs will automatically snap into place. When no longer needed, you can exit the Split View layout via an option found via a right-click.

Image Credits:Google

Another practical addition is the PDF annotations feature, which lets you add notes to a PDF or highlight its text from the browser. This means you don’t have to download the PDF and then open it in another application to work with its content. The option, a long time coming, could make it much simpler to do basic PDF tasks, like digitally signing a document, filling out a form, making notes within a file or personal document, and more.

Image Credits:Google

Finally, the new Save to Google Drive feature will allow you to save any PDF directly to your Google Drive account, instead of your computer, where it may get lost. When using this feature, the saved files will appear in a Saved from Chrome folder in your Drive, making them easy to find.

Image Credits:Google

Today’s update follows the expansion of Gemini and other agentic features to Chromebook users last month. And soon, Chrome is poised to adopt another change that was first spearheaded by its competitors: support for vertical tabs. (Tech-savvy users can even enable that option now, in an experimental phase, by changing a flag.)

This reimagined way to organize open tabs was one of the flagship features in The Browser Company’s first alternative browser, Arc, and is now found in its AI browser, Dia. By adding this feature and the others, Google hopes to give Chrome users fewer reasons to switch.

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