Good morning. It’s Thursday, April 4, and we’ll be taking tomorrow off in observance of Good Friday. Today we are covering:
FBI declares suspected Chinese hack of US surveillance system a ‘major cyber incident’
Microsoft launches 3 new AI models in direct shot at OpenAI and Google
Tim Cook (Still) Believes in Crazy Ideas
Google AI Pro now comes with 5 TB of storage, no price increase
US Job-Cut Announcements in Tech Keep Rising With AI Adoption
Let’s dive in
FBI declares suspected Chinese hack of US surveillance system a ‘major cyber incident’
By John Sakellariadis via POLITICO
The FBI has classified a suspected Chinese cyber intrusion into one of its surveillance systems as a “major cyber incident” under FISMA, signaling that the breach likely caused serious harm to U.S. national security and may represent a significant counterintelligence win for China.
According to a March notice to Congress, the hackers appear to have entered an FBI system by exploiting a commercial internet service provider’s vendor infrastructure and accessed highly sensitive data, including pen register and trap-and-trace surveillance returns and personally identifiable information tied to subjects of FBI investigations.
The incident underscores the growing reach of Chinese state-backed hackers, following earlier intrusions linked to groups such as Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon; while U.S. officials say the FBI moved quickly to respond, it remains unclear what specifically triggered the designation or whether the required interagency cyber response has been fully activated.
𝕏: The FBI last week decided a recent China-linked cyber intrusion into a sensitive agency surveillance system constituted a “major incident” under a federal data security statute, according to 3 people with knowledge. - John Sakellariadis (@johnnysaks130)
Microsoft launches 3 new AI models in direct shot at OpenAI and Google
By Michael Nuñez via VentureBeat
Microsoft unveiled three in-house AI models, MAI-Transcribe-1, MAI-Voice-1, and MAI-Image-2, expanding its push into speech transcription, voice generation, and image creation through Microsoft Foundry and a new MAI Playground.
The launch signals a more direct competitive move against OpenAI, Google, and other model makers, with Microsoft positioning the new systems as lower-cost, more efficient alternatives for high-value enterprise AI use cases.
In VentureBeat’s interview, Mustafa Suleyman said Microsoft plans to keep building state-of-the-art models across modalities so the company can offer top performance at lower cost while reducing dependence on outside AI providers.
𝕏: Microsoft is getting serious about its AI Copilot tools. They just dropped another one (2nd one today). New in Microsoft 365 Copilot: Council Run multiple models (Anthropic + OpenAI) on the same prompt at the same time… - David Hendrickson (@TeksEdge)
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Tim Cook (Still) Believes in Crazy Ideas
By Ryan D’Agostino via Esquire
Esquire’s 50th-anniversary portrait of Apple frames the company as both a personal cultural force and a global mythmaker, tracing its arc from the Apple IIe, Macintosh, iMac, and iPhone to today’s creator economy, where Apple’s devices do not just enable work but effectively power the entire business of being online.
At the center is Tim Cook, who says Steve Jobs’s ethos still defines Apple: a belief in simplicity, fierce collaboration, bold ideas, and ruthless focus; Cook argues that while Apple must engage with every government and political faction, its core values on privacy, accessibility, education, dignity, and sustainability have not changed.
The article presents Apple at 50 as both enormously powerful and still dependent on “crazy ideas,” spotlighting Cook’s navigation of Trump-era tariffs, U.S. manufacturing investments, and supply-chain upheaval while insisting the company’s future will come from the same formula that built its past: saying no to most things, betting big on a few, and trusting that innovation can still feel almost unbelievable.
𝕏: Apple CEO Tim Cook’s memo to staff today to mark its 50th Anniversary. “The opportunities ahead of us are among the greatest we have ever seen.” - Mark Gurman (@markgurman)
Google AI Pro now comes with 5 TB of storage, no price increase
By Abner Li via 9to5Google
Google AI Pro now includes 5 TB of storage at no extra cost, up from 2 TB on the $19.99/month plan, with the added space usable across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.
The update applies globally and boosts the value of Google AI Pro, though the new storage total was not yet fully reflected on one.google.com or in the mobile app as of Wednesday afternoon.
The change widens the gap between Google’s AI tiers: AI Plus at $7.99/month includes 200 GB, while the next storage step above Pro is 10 TB for $49.99/month; Google AI Ultra at $249.99/month includes 30 TB.
𝕏: Sweet news for our Google AI Pro subscribers! We know your memories and projects need space to grow, so we’re expanding Google AI Pro’s storage offering from 2TB to 5TB — at no additional cost. Now you have a little extra room to create more with Google AI and securely store more of the memories that matter most. - shimrit ben-yair (@shimritby)
US Job-Cut Announcements in Tech Keep Rising With AI Adoption
By Julia Fanzeres via Bloomberg
US tech companies announced 18,720 job cuts in March, making the sector the leading source of planned layoffs as AI investment drives leaner staffing models.
March’s total was more than 24% higher than a year earlier, underscoring how artificial intelligence adoption is increasingly reshaping workforce decisions across the industry.
The sector has now logged more than 52,000 layoffs in 2026, marking the highest first-quarter total since 2023, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
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Take care, enjoy the long weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Monday.
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