Snapshot · This Week in Tech (Audio)
The Arch Linux AUR repository saw over 1,500 packages with injected malware in a supply chain attack affecting Node.js, Plasma, Firefox, and browser packages.
Where this was said
At 2:21:00 · chapter starts 2:15:20
CrowdStrike's report reveals that North Korea's Famous Chollima group — posing as remote IT workers and online recruiters — accounted for 47% of all state-backed intrusions at US tech companies from April 2025 to May 2026. Richard Campbell describes a developer friend who now tests video interview subjects by asking them to close their eyes mid-session, catching AI-generated avatars whose eyelids render incorrectly. Spotify's removal of 57,000 AI-generated fake podcast episodes promoting opioids and cryptocurrency — 94% with zero plays — illustrates the scale of automated platform abuse. The Arch Linux AUR supply chain attack injected malware into 1,500+ packages including Node.js, Plasma 6, and Firefox, with Christina Warren explaining why AUR's low-oversight model makes it particularly vulnerable and noting that even Arch's developers have suggested shutting it down temporarily.
Spotify found and removed 57,000 fake podcast episodes promoting illegal drugs including opioids and modafinil, with 94% having zero plays.
Spotify removed 57,000 fake podcast episodes promoting opioids, modafinil, and crypto on unregulated sites — with 94% having zero plays. The podcasts are almost certainly AI-generated, marking a new vector for automated drug trafficking.
Bhanu and his team built approximately 50 free tools to attract search traffic, each linked back to SiteGPT.
With AI coding tools like Cursor, Bhanu can now create a new free marketing tool in less than 5 minutes by referencing existing tools.
Bhanu filters Ahrefs keyword results to show only those with a keyword difficulty below 10, making them realistic ranking targets for any decent website.
Bhanu sets a minimum search volume of 1,000 monthly searches when selecting keywords to target with free tools.
PropGPT averaged 20 downloads per day right after launching on the App Store through influencer marketing.
Eyal and Yali shut down all marketing and spent 4 months completely rebuilding PropGPT from scratch.
PropGPT has accumulated over 40,000 total downloads since launch.
PropGPT's large language model (AI) operating costs are just $20 per month, and the cost is continually falling.
Ad-based monetization works well for game apps where users spend extended time in-session, as seen with Grid and Wordle.
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