Major Bitcoin heist and device vulnerabilities dominate tech news
A $320 million Liquid Network theft leads a wave of cyber incidents alongside new hardware launches and chip sector warnings.
The TechMap Live reporter · · 2 min read · from 10 reports
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Right now the biggest story is a $320 million Bitcoin heist on the Liquid Network. Hackers didn't steal private keys — they went after the federation that runs the sidechain and drained almost all of its reserves in hours. At the same time, researchers found LG smart TVs quietly scanning home networks and recording audio even in standby, and MikroTik routers have six fresh flaws that let attackers take over devices with SSH exposed. On the hardware side, Xiaomi just showed off a foldable phone with its own Xring O3 chip, LG launched a 14-inch AI laptop claiming 30-hour battery life, and ProLogium started volume production of solid-state batteries in France. The chip industry looks shaky — nearly half of manufacturers say conditions are problematic and most are seeing revenue drop. Microsoft dropped a developer-focused Windows 11 build needing 64 gigs of unified memory, and Isar Aerospace flew its Spectrum rocket from Norway. Lots moving, but the security incidents are the ones to watch.
Cyber attacks and flaws
The Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain developed by Blockstream, lost roughly 320 million dollars worth of Bitcoin in a matter of hours. Researchers say no private keys were stolen, pointing instead to a federation-level exploit that drained about 95 percent of the network's reserves. Separately, LG smart TVs running webOS were found scanning home networks and recording audio even in standby mode, a behavior traced to vulnerabilities in the operating system.
In Poland, CERT Polska disclosed six flaws in MikroTik's RouterOS that let attackers hijack devices with SSH exposed to the internet without needing authentication. The vulnerabilities affect a wide installed base of routing hardware used by businesses and ISPs.
New devices hit the market
Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Fold, a wide-format foldable phone powered by its home-grown Xring O3 chip, paired with LPDDR6 memory and a 200-megapixel camera. LG introduced its first 14-inch Gram Book AI 2026 laptop, running on Intel's Wildcat Lake platform and claiming up to 30 hours of battery life.
ProLogium started mass production of its Gen 3.5 solid-state lithium ceramic battery in France, promising record-breaking range for electric vehicles. The company says the line is now operating at volume.
Chip sector stress and other moves
A survey of chip manufacturers shows 45 percent reporting problematic business conditions, with revenue declining for more than half of the companies polled. The data points to a broad slowdown across the semiconductor supply chain.
Microsoft released Project Zenith, a Windows 11 configuration aimed at developers that requires at least 64 gigabytes of unified memory. In space, Germany's Isar Aerospace successfully launched its Spectrum rocket from the Andøya Space Center in Norway.
Questions people ask
How did the Liquid Network lose $320 million without private keys being stolen?
The theft targeted the federation that manages the sidechain rather than individual wallets. Attackers exploited the federation's governance structure to move roughly 4,000 BTC, about 95 percent of the network's reserves, in a few hours.
What makes the LG TV and MikroTik vulnerabilities dangerous?
LG TVs can scan local networks and record audio while appearing to be in standby, exposing household data. The MikroTik flaws let unauthenticated attackers take over routers with SSH open to the internet, giving them a foothold in corporate and ISP networks.
Are the new Xiaomi and LG devices available globally?
The announcements came from Beijing and Seoul respectively, with no global release dates or pricing disclosed in the reports. Availability outside China and South Korea has not been confirmed.
The events in this briefing
Every event summarised above, in the order it was reported. Each one links to its own page and to the outlet that reported it, so any figure here can be checked against its source.
- ProLogium begins solid-state battery production · Frandroid
- Xiaomi launches Xiaomi 18 Fold with Xring O3 chip · 3DNews
- Liquid Network Bitcoin heist of 320 million dollars · heise online
- Chip manufacturers report problematic business conditions · 3DNews
- Microsoft releases Project Zenith Windows 11 variant for developers · Benchmark.pl
- LG launches 14" Gram Book AI 2026 laptop · 3DNews
- LG TVs found to scan local network and record audio via webOS vulnerabilities · Mezha
- Hackers steal $320M in Bitcoin from Liquid Network federation · dev.ua
- Hackers exploit RouterOS flaws to hijack MikroTik devices · Help Net Security
- Isar Aerospace launches Spectrum rocket from Andøya · Xataka
This briefing was written by an automated reporter from 10 event reports already published on this site. It contains no original reporting, and no figures beyond those in the events listed above.
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