Tech Digest daily roundup: UK elections watchdog hit by hostile cyberattack
The UK’s elections watchdog has revealed it has been the victim of a “complex cyber-attack” potentially affecting millions of voters. The Electoral Commission said unspecified “hostile actors” had managed to gain access to copies of the electoral registers, from August 2021. Hackers also broke into its emails and “control systems” but the attack was not discovered until October last year. The watchdog has warned people to watch out for unauthorised use of their data. BBC
Elon Musk’s X Corp has accused the European Climate Foundation of helping an anti-hate speech campaign group conduct research against its rebranded Twitter platform. The claim was made in a blogpost on Monday that alleged the ECF had given the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) access to Brandwatch, a software tool that allows organisations to monitor posts on Twitter, which Musk last month renamed X. Guardian
Apple Music has a new station that’s designed to help you find songs you might like. The app’s Discovery Station will play a curated selection of music based on what you’ve been listening to lately but haven’t added to your library or heard before, as spotted earlier by Apple Insider and 9to5Mac. While Apple hasn’t officially announced the Discovery Station, it’s currently live on Apple Music’s mobile, desktop, and web apps for most users. You can find the option by heading to Listen Now and then looking beneath the Stations for You section. The Verge
Official specifications for the MG 4 Extended Range have been released, following their publication to industry data aggregators in late June. The new variant receives a 74.4kWh (usable) battery in place of the Long Range’s 61.7kWh pack. As previously reported by Autocar, this boosts the car’s official range from 270 miles (in equivalent Trophy specification) to 323 miles; an uplift of 19.6%. However, the larger pack also incurs a weight penalty of an additional 63kg compared with the Long Range. Autocar
Google may be bucking trends with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro as recent leaks suggest the new flagship series will be sticking to smaller storage sizes. This information comes from German tech news site WinFuture whose sources claim the standard Pixel 8 model will be available in two options: 128GB and 256GB. The Pixel 8 Pro will have the same configurations but also offer a 512GB option. This means the company will be sticking to the exact same storage spaces it’s been using for the past two years on Pixel 6 and Pixel 7. Tech Radar
Tesla’s 39-year-old chief financial officer has left the company with a $170m (£130m) fortune after just four years in the post. The electric car company announced on Monday that Zachary Kirkhorn had unexpectedly stepped down. In a LinkedIn post, the Harvard MBA graduate thanked chief executive Elon Musk for his “leadership and optimism, which has inspired so many people”. He did not give a reason for his departure. Mr Kirkhorn walks away with $168m in Tesla stock and options. He has also earned $1.2m in salary during his four years in his current role. Telegraph
