Tech Update of the Day: DeepSeek Disrupts AI, RedMike Hackers Exploit Cisco Devices

-> DeepSeek Shakes Up AI: Tech Titans Scramble to Compete

Artificial Intelligence startup DeepSeek out of China is now the primary talk of the earnings calls of such big companies as Alphabet, AMD, Amazon, and Airbnb for their quarterly earnings calls. Executives are keeping an eye on the lower-priced AI models and what kind of attacks they can launch on the industry. Jassy from Amazon praised DeepSeek for that, saying there’s huge demand for many different AI models to serve different client needs. Cheaper AI could attract future buying from markets that would buy into competing products later. With the pace of innovation so clear, DeepSeek is well positioned to take on the incumbent competition and redefines the competitive landscape and therefore is a stock to watch.

-> RedMike Hackers Exploit 1,000+ Cisco Devices in Global Cyber Espionage

Salt Typhoon (RedMike) hacked over 1,000 Cisco devices between December 2024 and January 2025, targeting global telcos and universities. They exploited CVE-2023-20198 and CVE-2023-20273 to get admin access and set up covert GRE tunnels for spying.

Victims included UCLA, TU Delft, and telcos in the US, South Africa, Italy, and Thailand.

Experts recommend patching vulnerabilities, limiting access to web interfaces, and monitoring for unauthorized access.

Also, the Treasury Department sanctioned a Chinese contractor involved in the attacks and warned organizations to be aware of the constant threat of state-sponsored cyber activity, making the war of cyber more real.