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NASA returns humans to deep space after over 50 years with February Artemis II Moon mission

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NASA returns humans to deep space after over 50 years with February Artemis II Moon mission

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NASA plans to return humans to deep space next month, targeting a Feb. 6 launch for Artemis II, a 10-day crewed mission that will carry astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

“We are going — again,” NASA said Tuesday in a post on X, saying the mission is set to depart no earlier than Feb. 6.

The first available launch period will run from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14, with launch opportunities on Feb. 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11.

If the launch is scrubbed, additional launch periods will open from Feb. 28 to March 13 and from March 27 to April 10. For the former, launch opportunities will be available on March 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11, and for the latter on April 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

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NASA SAYS AMERICA WILL WIN ‘THE SECOND SPACE RACE’ AGAINST CHINA

NASA’s new moon rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. This launch is the first flight test of the Artemis program.  (John Raoux/AP Photo)

The mission is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket the agency has ever built.

Preparations are underway to begin moving the rocket to the launch pad no earlier than Jan. 17. The move involves a four-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B aboard the crawler-transporter 2, a process expected to take up to 12 hours.

“We are moving closer to Artemis II, with rollout just around the corner,” Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said. “We have important steps remaining on our path to launch and crew safety will remain our top priority at every turn, as we near humanity’s return to the Moon.”

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TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY DUFFY TO ANNOUNCE NUCLEAR REACTOR DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE MOON

The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission (left to right): NASA astronauts Christina Hammock Koch, Reid Wiseman (seated), Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. (NASA)

The 322-foot rocket will send four astronauts beyond Earth orbit to test the Orion spacecraft in deep space for the first time with a crew aboard, marking a major milestone following the Apollo era, which last sent humans to the Moon in 1972.

The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, making Artemis II the first lunar mission to include a Canadian astronaut and the first to carry a woman beyond low Earth orbit.

After launch, the astronauts are expected to spend about two days near Earth checking Orion’s systems before firing the spacecraft’s European-built service module to begin the journey toward the Moon.

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BLUE ORIGIN LAUNCHES NEW GLENN ROCKET TO MARS AFTER DELAYS

A full moon was visible behind the Artemis I SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 14, 2022. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I tested SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. (NASA/Ben Smegelsky)

That maneuver will send the spacecraft on a four-day trip around the far side of the Moon, tracing a figure-eight path that carries the crew more than 230,000 miles from Earth and thousands of miles beyond the lunar surface at its farthest point.

Instead of firing engines to return home, Orion will follow a fuel-efficient free-return path that uses Earth and Moon gravity to guide the spacecraft back toward Earth during the roughly four-day return trip.

The mission will end with a high-speed reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, where NASA and Department of War teams will recover the crew.

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Artemis II follows the uncrewed Artemis I mission and will serve as a critical test of NASA’s deep-space systems before astronauts attempt a lunar landing on a future flight.

NASA says the mission is a key step toward long-term lunar exploration and eventual crewed missions to Mars.

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Anker’s last-gen sleep buds are nearly 40 percent off ahead of daylight saving time

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Anker’s last-gen sleep buds are nearly 40 percent off ahead of daylight saving time

Bad news: most Americans are about to lose an hour of sleep next week. Good news: if you have trouble falling (or staying asleep), Newegg is currently selling Anker’s Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds for $113.99 ($66 off) when you use coupon code MMSF88 at checkout, which drops them to just $6 shy of their lowest price to date.

A couple of us here at The Verge are fans of Anker’s last-gen sleep buds, which do a good job of muffling disruptive noises (including snoring). They’re lightweight and comfortable enough to wear overnight, even while sleeping on your side, with multiple ear tips and wings for a personalized fit. In fact, in his review, my colleague Thomas Ricker said that they improved his average sleep time by nearly 30 minutes within a two-week period.

What’s even more convenient is that they offer a variety of sleep-focused features to help you rest better. For example, you can use them to play a range of relaxing sounds, from meditation exercises and nature clips to white noise. You can use them as a regular pair of Bluetooth earbuds, too, just in case you prefer to listen to audiobooks or your own curated sleep playlist. They even come with adjustable EQ as well, though we wouldn’t recommend using them as your primary earbuds for music, given that they can’t match the audio quality you’d get from a pair of midrange earbuds from Apple, Sony, or Bose.

In addition, the Sleep A20 offer up to 14 hours of battery life and sleep tracking, providing insights into how long and how well you’ve slept via a companion app that also details your sleep positions and movements. The newer Soundcore Sleep A30 feature active noise cancellation, which is more effective at masking sounds than the A20’s passive isolation, but Anker’s last-gen earbuds remain a decent, budget-friendly option that can help you comfortably tune out most nighttime distractions for nearly half the price.

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Figure data breach exposes nearly 1M accounts

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Figure data breach exposes nearly 1M accounts

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If you have applied for a loan online, you probably shared more than you realized. Your name. Your email. Your date of birth. Maybe even your home address and phone number. Now imagine all of that sitting on a dark web forum.

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That is the reality for nearly 1 million people after hackers breached Figure Technology Solutions, a blockchain-focused fintech lender.

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What happened in the Figure data breach

Figure Technology Solutions, founded in 2018, uses the Provenance blockchain for lending, borrowing and securities trading. The company says it has unlocked more than $22 billion in home equity through partnerships with banks, credit unions, fintechs and home improvement companies. However, behind the scenes, attackers were working on a very different angle.

GOOGLE DROPPED DARK WEB MONITORING: SHOULD YOU CARE?
 

Nearly 1 million accounts were exposed after hackers breached fintech lender Figure Technology Solutions in a social engineering attack. (Felix Zahn/Photothek via Getty Images)

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According to breach notification data shared by Have I Been Pwned, information from 967,200 accounts was exposed. The leaked data included more than 900,000 unique email addresses along with names, phone numbers, physical addresses and dates of birth. That is a gold mine for identity thieves. Figure says the incident stemmed from a social engineering attack. What that means in simple terms is that someone inside the company was tricked into handing over access.

“We recently identified that an employee was socially engineered, and that allowed an actor to download a limited number of files through their account,” a Figure Technology Solutions spokesperson told CyberGuy in a statement. “We acted quickly to block the activity and retained a forensic firm to investigate what files were affected. We understand the importance of these matters and are communicating with partners and those impacted as appropriate. We are also implementing additional safeguards and training to further strengthen our defenses. We are offering complimentary credit monitoring to all individuals who receive a notice. We continuously monitor accounts and have strong safeguards in place to protect customers’ funds and accounts.”

Social engineering is the real weapon

When people hear the word blockchain, they think secure and untouchable. But attackers did not break cryptography. They targeted a human being. Groups like ShinyHunters specialize in this playbook. They reportedly claimed responsibility for the breach and, according to BleepingComputer, posted 2.5GB of data allegedly tied to thousands of loan applicants.

In recent weeks, the same group has claimed breaches involving companies like Canada Goose, Panera Bread and SoundCloud. Not every case is connected. Still, security researchers have observed a troubling pattern. Attackers impersonate IT support. They call employees. They create urgency. Then they direct victims to fake login portals that look nearly identical to real ones.

Once employees enter credentials and even multi-factor authentication codes, attackers gain access to single sign-on systems tied to major platforms like Microsoft and Google. From there, one compromised account can unlock a web of connected tools and internal systems.

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PANERA BREAD DATA BREACH EXPOSES 5.1M CUSTOMERS
 

Security researchers say the Figure data leak underscores how social engineering bypasses even blockchain-based platforms. (Maxim Konankov/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Why this matters to you

If your information was part of the Figure data breach, criminals now have enough detail to craft convincing phishing emails or phone scams. They can reference your real name. They can cite your address. They can pretend to be a lender or bank calling about your application.

Even if you never applied for a loan with Figure, this incident highlights something bigger. No platform is immune to human error. And social engineering works because it targets trust, not technology.

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The bigger lesson about blockchain and trust

Figure markets itself as blockchain native. Blockchain can provide transparency and strong cryptographic security. However, none of that protects against a well-crafted phone call.

Security failures often happen at the human layer. That is where attackers focus their energy. As more financial services move online, the attack surface grows. Loan applications, identity verification tools and cloud-based systems create convenience. They also create new targets.

How to protect yourself after the Figure data breach

You cannot control how companies secure their systems. You can control how you respond. Start by checking whether your email address appears in the exposed dataset, then take the steps below to lock down your accounts.

SUBSTACK DATA BREACH EXPOSES EMAILS AND PHONE NUMBERS
 

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Figure says an employee was tricked into granting access, allowing attackers to download sensitive customer data. (Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Check if your email was exposed

To see if your email address was affected, visit https://haveibeenpwned.com/. Enter your email address to find out whether your information appears in the leak. When finished, return here and begin Step 1 below.

Take these steps immediately

  1. Change any exposed passwords right away. Do not leave a known leaked password in place. Update it everywhere you used it. Use a password manager to create strong, unique passwords for every account. Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at Cyberguy.com
  2. Turn on multi-factor authentication wherever possible.
  3. Never share login codes with anyone, even if they claim to be IT support.
  4. Install strong antivirus software to help block phishing links, malicious downloads and ransomware that often follow major breaches. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.
  5. Consider a data removal service to reduce your personal information on data broker sites, which scammers often combine with breached data. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.
  6. Place a free fraud alert or credit freeze with the major credit bureaus.
  7. Monitor your bank and credit card statements weekly for suspicious activity.

Also, be cautious of unexpected calls about your accounts. If someone pressures you to act immediately, hang up and call the company directly using a number from its official website.

Kurt’s key takeaways

The Figure data breach is a reminder that technology alone cannot protect sensitive information. A single employee tricked into revealing credentials can expose hundreds of thousands of people. That is not a blockchain failure. It is a trust failure. If your data was involved, take action now. Even if it was not, treat this as a wake-up call. Your personal information has value. Criminals know it. Companies should know it too.

If one phone call can unlock nearly a million records, are companies investing enough in training people, or are they still betting everything on technology alone? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Apple’s website leaks MacBook ‘Neo,’ which could be its new cheaper laptop

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Apple’s website leaks MacBook ‘Neo,’ which could be its new cheaper laptop

During Apple’s week-long product launch event on Tuesday, a listing for the “MacBook Neo (Model A3404)” appeared on a regulatory compliance page on Apple’s website under its line-up of 2026 MacBooks. First spotted by MacRumors, the listing appears to be an accident and has since been removed, but may have been a leaked reference to a rumored entry-level MacBook. Unfortunately, it didn’t include any additional details beyond the device’s name and model number.

The lower price and an “entirely new design” could help the new MacBook appeal to students and casual users, competing with Chromebooks and low-cost Windows laptops. A more affordable MacBook could be especially appealing after Apple announced the M5 MacBook Air on Tuesday, which has a higher starting price than last year’s Air.

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