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Apple patches high-severity eavesdropping vulnerability in Beats Studio Buds

18 June 2026 at 20:41

Apple has updated its Beats Studio Buds wireless earbuds to patch a high-severity vulnerability that could be exploited by nearby hackers to eavesdrop on users.

The vulnerability, CVE-2025-20701, allowed improper authentication in the firmware running on the Bluetooth-related chips, enabling people within signal range to impersonate devices that had previously been paired with the earbuds. The researchers demonstrated this in a series of end-to-end attacks that allowed them to eavesdrop on conversations or sounds within earshot of the phone microphone.

Apple joins the patch party

“Impact: An attacker within Bluetooth range may be able to listen through the microphone of a device which is not yet paired and actively seeking pair requests,” Apple said in a Tuesday security advisory. The fix is contained in Beats Firmware Update 1B211, which is delivered automatically while headphones are paired with and within Bluetooth range of a user’s iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Users can check their firmware version by going to Settings on their device, navigating to Bluetooth, and tapping the info button next to the headphones.

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Apple patches high-severity eavesdropping vulnerability in Beats Studio Buds

18 June 2026 at 20:41

Apple has updated its Beats Studio Buds wireless earbuds to patch a high-severity vulnerability that could be exploited by nearby hackers to eavesdrop on users.

The vulnerability, CVE-2025-20701, allowed improper authentication in the firmware running on the Bluetooth-related chips, enabling people within signal range to impersonate devices that had previously been paired with the earbuds. The researchers demonstrated this in a series of end-to-end attacks that allowed them to eavesdrop on conversations or sounds within earshot of the phone microphone.

Apple joins the patch party

“Impact: An attacker within Bluetooth range may be able to listen through the microphone of a device which is not yet paired and actively seeking pair requests,” Apple said in a Tuesday security advisory. The fix is contained in Beats Firmware Update 1B211, which is delivered automatically while headphones are paired with and within Bluetooth range of a user’s iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Users can check their firmware version by going to Settings on their device, navigating to Bluetooth, and tapping the info button next to the headphones.

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© Jeff Dunn

Before SpaceX IPO, investors in China secretly acquired stakes

A businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors was among the overseas investors who acquired stakes in SpaceX while it was still a private company. An entity linked to the Qatari royal family also took a stake.

The new details come from a private investor list obtained by ProPublica that sheds light on a particularly delicate issue for Elon Musk’s rocket company: which people in countries like China bought into the company, and how. SpaceX built its business off sensitive US government work like making spy satellites for the Pentagon. While there is no ban on Chinese investment in US military contractors, such investment is heavily regulated.

In a sign of its sensitivity to the concerns, SpaceX barred investors from China and Hong Kong from buying shares in its initial public offering last week due to “regulatory and compliance risks,” Bloomberg reported. The US government alleges that China has a strategy of using investments in sensitive industries for espionage and to get access to cutting-edge technology.

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Before SpaceX IPO, investors in China secretly acquired stakes

A businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors was among the overseas investors who acquired stakes in SpaceX while it was still a private company. An entity linked to the Qatari royal family also took a stake.

The new details come from a private investor list obtained by ProPublica that sheds light on a particularly delicate issue for Elon Musk’s rocket company: which people in countries like China bought into the company, and how. SpaceX built its business off sensitive US government work like making spy satellites for the Pentagon. While there is no ban on Chinese investment in US military contractors, such investment is heavily regulated.

In a sign of its sensitivity to the concerns, SpaceX barred investors from China and Hong Kong from buying shares in its initial public offering last week due to “regulatory and compliance risks,” Bloomberg reported. The US government alleges that China has a strategy of using investments in sensitive industries for espionage and to get access to cutting-edge technology.

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You can get my favorite image-stabilized binoculars for their cheapest ever price in this incredible anti-Prime Day deal

18 June 2026 at 17:26

The Fujinon Techno-Stabi 1640 binoculars were the first image-stabilized (IS) binoculars I got my hands on and they are, quite literally, showstopping. Handheld stargazing actually became fun for me, instead of just getting annoyed at squiggly lines of light. Regardless of whether you are a seasoned binocular pro or a beginner, when you start upping the magnification, views start amplifying hand shake and make observation impossible. What is the point of spending loads on high quality optics if you can't even get a still picture? I truly believe that when it comes to non-telescope stargazing, image stabilization (IS) is one of the best things you can spend your money on.

Get the Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars, on sale right now for $1,125 at Walmart.

I'm not saying that image-stabilized binoculars aren't expensive. They are, but you would realistically never need to buy another pair of high-magnification binoculars again. I recommend the Fujinon Techno-Stabi 1640 binoculars at full price, so getting $275 off them at their lowest price really is a steal. For prices on other binoculars and other optics, check out our Prime Day hub for the best prices during the summer sales events.

Save a huge $275 on the incredible Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars. They contain Fujifilm's premium optics in a lightweight package with some of the strongest image stabilization on the market.

I gave them four and a half stars in my full Fujifilm Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image stabilized binoculars review.View Deal

A man looking through the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars upwards with trees and buildings in the background.
These binoculars are perfect for sharp handheld observation of a range of night sky objects including stars, clusters and the moon. Harry Bennett / Future
A hand holding the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars with a beige wall in the background.
The Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 binoculars are great for holding in your hand and are highly portable. Harry Bennett / Future
A head-on view of the lenses on the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars on some wooden planks.
They have a neat, streamlined design despite their high-end optics.Harry Bennett / Future
A close-up of the lenses on the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars with wooden planks in the background.
40mm objective lenses aren't the biggest but the image-stabilization more than makes up for it. Harry Bennett / Future
A close-up of the battery compartment on the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars with wooden slats in the background.
A special screw feature tightens and loosens the battery compartment.Harry Bennett / Future
A close-up of the eyecups and right diopter on the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars with wooden planks in the background.
The eyecups are easy to adjust for different levels of eye relief. Harry Bennett / Future
A close-up view looking into the eyecups of the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars with wooden planks in the background.
The eyecups have over 15mm of eye relief with three different height presets. Harry Bennett / Future
The lens cover attached to the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars on wooden plank.
The rubber lens cap keeps the objective lenses dust-free during travel.Harry Bennett / Future
A close-up of the green image-stabilizer light with inter-pupillary distance markings on the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars.
A small green LED illuminates in between the eyecups when the image stabilization (IS) is active. Harry Bennett / Future
A birds-eye view of the Fujifilm Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars on some wooden planks.
A roof prism design keeps the weight low at 1.9 lbs (856 g).Harry Bennett / Future
A Fujinon binoculars pouch on a wooden table with sunlight and shadow cast across it.
The binoculars come with a soft padded case for storage when travelling or storing for long periods. Harry Bennett / Future

The Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image stabilized binoculars sit near the top of the binocular pyramid alongside the other best image stabilized binoculars thanks to their premium Fuji optics, lightweight build and powerful 3-degree image stabilization (IS). It is some of the strongest IS on the market, only being out ranked by other Fujifilm IS binoculars.

40mm objective lenses aren't the biggest for stargazing, where 50mm is the gold standard for low light, but you can't complain when observing star clusters at 16x magnification with zero shake. Even if you were using 16x50 binoculars without IS, that extra light-gathering ability would be useless when observing overhead without a tripod, the resulting view likely to be a mess of squiggly lights.

My favorite target with these was the Mirfak cluster in the constellation Perseus, which I could actually identify at this magnification thanks to the IS. It's amazing using them without the IS, then switching it on and watching the detail of the night sky emerge. They sit in a higher price bracket than regular models, but they really are some of the best optics you can buy for a heavy binocular user and now with over $250 off their asking price on Walmart, it's a great chance to save money on some exceptional technology. We are going to be seeing a lot of deals on binoculars, telescopes and cameras coming up to Amazon Prime Day. It starts on June 23, so make sure you check our Prime Day hub for all the best offers on skywatching gear and space gifts.

Key features: 16x magnification, 40mm objective lenses,+/- 3 degrees of image stabilization, multicoated extra-low dispersion (ED) glass, roof prism optical desing, 1.9 lbs (856 g) weight, 30-hour battery life.

Product launched: January 2025

Price history: This is the cheapest the Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 binoculars have been since May this year, when they dropped to 1150 on Amazon. This Walmart price currently beats Amazon's asking price.

Price comparison: Walmart: $1,125 | Amazon: $1,199 | Best Buy: $1,199

Reviews consensus: I rated the Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 binoculars four and half stars for their smooth image stabilization (IS) and lightweight design. Other reviews remark on the high price but argue that it is justified through the exceptional performance of these binoculars, with the difference made by IS like night and day.

Space: ★★★★½

Featured in guides: Best binoculars, best image-stabilized binoculars

✅ Buy them if: You want stock-still images of the night sky while using handheld binoculars.

❌ Don't buy them if: You want high definition images of deep-sky objects, whilst they can get you better views of them, a special deep space telescope or smart telescope will get you more detailed views of galaxies, star clusters and nebulas.

Check out our other guides to the best telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more.

Massive breach spills credentials for thousands of sensitive networks

17 June 2026 at 20:54

Researchers have uncovered a massive breach of Fortinet firewalls that has given Russian-speaking attackers near-unrestricted access to some of the world’s largest and most powerful organizations, including Oracle, Chevron, Lenovo, Federal Express, a NATO defense contractor, and Fortinet itself.

Nearly 74,000 Fortinet devices from more than 21,000 IP addresses in 194 countries have been compromised and their plaintext credentials exposed online, Bob Diachenko, a security researcher and head of SecurityDiscovery.com, said online and in an interview. He said he found the data after gaining access to the attackers’ command-and-control server and other infrastructure. The exposed data also included the industry, revenue, and employee count for each compromised organization.

Exceptional scale, poor opsec

Independent researcher Kevin Beaumont reported that “almost all” of the compromised devices remained online as of Wednesday morning. He went on to say that he has confirmed with multiple organizations found in the attackers’ logs that the credentials are real and current. In many cases, once the threat actors compromised the devices, they went on to access affected organizations’ centralized authentication systems, such as Radius servers and Microsoft Active Directory. The number of compromised devices comprises roughly half of all Internet-facing Fortinet firewalls, based on polling from Shodan.

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Tesco moving 40,000 server workloads off VMware amid Broadcom's “abusive conduct”

17 June 2026 at 20:43

Tesco, a retail conglomerate headquartered in the United Kingdom, is moving 40,000 server workloads off of VMware amid "abusive conduct" from Broadcom, recent legal filings claim.

Tesco filed a lawsuit in the UK’s High Court against Broadcom alleging breach of contract last year. According to a September report from The Register, the lawsuit claimed that in January 2021, Tesco bought perpetual licenses for VMware’s vSphere Foundation and Cloud Foundation, a subscription to VMware Tanzu, plus support services until 2026, with the option to extend support for four additional years.

But when Broadcom took over VMware in November 2023, it would not honor the deal and instead tried to get Tesco to pay “excessive and inflated prices for virtualization software for which Tesco has already paid” and would not allow it to buy support services for its perpetually licensed software without buying “duplicative subscription-based licenses for those same Software products," the initial complaint read, The Register reported at the time.

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