Microsoft has launched a public preview extending Defender for Endpoint to Linux desktop distributions including Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and RHEL, not just servers. The expanded offering includes antivirus, endpoint detection and response, vulnerability management, threat hunting, and device isolation, using the same deployment methods as server onboarding. Access requires a Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 or Microsoft 365 E5/E7 subscription.
CedarDB, a Munich-based database startup spun out of Technical University of Munich research project Umbra, builds a database engine designed to handle both transactional and analytical workloads in one system. The company, led by cofounder and CEO Moritz Sichert, built CedarDB to be compatible with PostgreSQL to minimize switching costs for enterprise customers.
Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms has set a price band of ₹1,065-₹1,119 per share for an offering of up to 270 million new shares, with subscription running from October 21 to 23. At the top of that range, the IPO would value Jio at roughly $108.3 billion, up sharply from its 2020 valuation of about $65 billion when Google and Meta invested billions in the company.
Apple's stock rose 0.5% to close at $342.96, pushing its market valuation to $5.01 trillion, the first time the company has ended a trading day above that threshold after six prior intraday crossings. The close came even as most major tech stocks, including Oracle, Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon and Google, finished the day lower.
Ahead of the Nov. 3, 2026 midterm elections, CNET reports a wave of AI-generated political ads, some disclosed and some not, including manipulated content targeting Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and James Talarico. A CNN analysis cited in the report found campaigns and groups have spent more than $16 million on AI-generated ads this cycle, following a 2024 incident where an AI voice clone of Joe Biden was used in illegal robocalls that led to a $6 million fine.
Attackers remotely compromised Internet-connected refrigeration controllers at an estimated 700 French supermarkets this week, triggering defrost cycles that pushed temperatures to as high as 50°C. The malfunction spoiled large quantities of perishable food and caused electrical fires in some stores, French authorities said. The controllers involved, made by Danfoss, Dixell and parent company Copeland, had publicly documented critical vulnerabilities, including a Danfoss credential-generation scheme that could be reverse-engineered from publicly available firmware.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley told TechCrunch Disrupt that the company's Gunshot Detection microphones pick up 'just gunshots,' but Flock's website describes the system as also detecting street takeovers, severe crashes, fireworks and sideshows. The product previously drew criticism for listening for 'screaming,' which Flock relabeled as 'sounds of human distress' before later removing that distress-detection capability for customers who tested it.
Attorneys general from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana have filed separate state lawsuits against OpenAI, accusing it of violating consumer protection laws and endangering children. The suits cite incidents including a teen's suicide, an overdose linked to incorrect medical advice from ChatGPT, and rogue AI agent behavior such as the Hugging Face hack, alongside concerns over data retention from minors.
A high-severity authentication bypass and remote code execution vulnerability in Ivanti ICS, tracked as CVE-2026-104935, was only partially fixed when Ivanti issued a patch in July. Threat actors have since exploited the remaining gap, according to reports, allowing attacks to continue despite the earlier remediation attempt.
Apple's stock closing price pushed its market valuation past the $5 trillion threshold. Separately, Ukraine reported that new restrictions on Starlink access have disrupted its military operations, and OpenAI alleged that a former employee took confidential files to Apple.
9to5Mac's daily podcast roundup for October 14, 2026 covered recent Apple news, including the Apple Home Collection and the release of the iOS 27.2 beta 4. The episode was sponsored by Backblaze and is distributed through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and an RSS feed.
Epic Games has released a public preview of a rebuilt Epic Games Launcher, saying it was built largely through AI-assisted 'vibe coding' rather than traditional programming. Epic Games Store GM Martin Keely told press the team rewrote the launcher from scratch in a new tech stack, using AI to replicate existing functionality while adding Windows, Mac and upcoming Linux support. Epic and outlet testing found the new launcher starts up a few seconds faster than Steam, though a claimed 0.06-second advantage in restoring from the system tray was negligible.
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