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Allianz Life says ‘majority’ of customers’ personal data stolen in cyberattack

Security /

U.S. insurance giant Allianz Life has confirmed to TechCrunch that hackers stole the personal information of the “majority” of its customers, financial professionals, and employees during a mid-July data breach. When reached by TechCrunch, Allianz Life spokesperson Brett Weinberg confirmed the breach. “On July 16, 2025, a malicious threat actor gained access to a third-party, […]

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Google took a month to shut down Catwatchful, a phone spyware operation hosted on its servers

Security /

Google has suspended the account of phone surveillance operator Catwatchful, which was using the tech giant’s servers to host and operate the monitoring software. Google’s move to shut down the spyware operation comes a month after TechCrunch alerted the technology giant the operator was hosting the operation on Firebase, one of Google’s developer platforms. Catwatchful

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Cybercrime forum Leak Zone publicly exposed its users’ IP addresses

Security /

A self-styled “leaking and cracking forum” where users advertise and share breached databases, stolen credentials, and pirated software was leaking the IP addresses of its logged-in users to the open web, security researchers have found. Leak Zone left an Elasticsearch database exposed to the internet without a password, according to researchers at UpGuard. In a

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Nevoya raises $9.3M as its EV truck fleet reaches cost parity with diesel

Transportation /

Los Angeles-based Nevoya came out of stealth last year with the ambitious goal of breaking the EV truck adoption logjam. Nevoya made enough progress on its goal to attract investors — and a $9.3 million seed round — to help it move even faster. The young company, which buys electric trucks and offers them to

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Three things veteran planetary health investors look for in a startup

Climate /

Ask any founder or investor: fundraising is never easy. And in a market with this level of uncertainty, the difficulties are compounded. “Everyone has to go through fundraising, and it’s a relatively challenging market right now,” Kyle Teamey, managing partner at RA Capital Planetary Health, told TechCrunch. “That’s good for a bit of empathy.” Teamey

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Anduril alums raise $24M Series A to bring military logistics out of the Excel spreadsheet era

AI /

Silicon Valley is doubling down on defense as geopolitical tensions rise and appetite for modernizing warfare grows. And while many of the startups garnering large valuations are focused on hardware and weaponry — think Anduril, Shield AI, and Skydio — Rune Technologies wants to tackle AI-enabled software for military logistics.  “The U.S. military runs on

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Cursor snaps up enterprise startup Koala in challenge to GitHub Copilot

Enterprise /

The startup behind the viral AI coding app Cursor is snapping up top talent from AI enterprise startups in a bid to bolster its competition with Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot and win over businesses looking to supercharge their employees with AI coding tools. In one recent case, Cursor maker Anysphere struck a deal to acquire the

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Rivian restarting work on its Georgia factory, emails show

Transportation /

Rivian will resume prep-work on its planned Georgia factory in August and is still looking to break ground early next year, according to emails TechCrunch obtained through a public records request.   The restarted effort comes months after the Biden administration’s Department of Energy approved a $6.6 billion meant to fund construction. Rivian has invested more

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Confident Security, ‘the Signal for AI,’ comes out of stealth with $4.2M

Fundraising /

As consumers, businesses, and governments flock to the promise of cheap, fast, and seemingly magical AI tools, one question keeps getting in the way: How do I keep my data private? Tech giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Google, and others are quietly scooping up and retaining user data to improve their models or monitor for

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Chinese authorities are using a new tool to hack seized phones and extract data

Security /

Security researchers say Chinese authorities are using a new type of malware to extract data from seized phones, allowing them to obtain text messages — including from chat apps such as Signal — images, location histories, audio recordings, contacts, and more. On Wednesday, mobile cybersecurity company Lookout published a new report — shared exclusively with

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