22-Dec-2025 Japan Forces Apple & Google to Open Up; Waymo Tangled in SF Outage; Android Malware

Welcome to Hacked dAily, the first AI-driven cybersecurity podcast brought to you by the marvelous wizards at Cytadel Cyber. We serve up the freshest cyber news daily with a pinch of sarcasm and a dollop of humor to keep those professional ears engaged and entertained. First up, Japan's Fair Trade Commission is causing Apple and Google to break a sweat by easing the vice grip on their app marketplaces. Will this invite a flood of new app stores or just a modest trickle? We've got our popcorn ready, do you? Meanwhile, San Francisco's power outage turned Waymo's robotaxis into confused guests at a blackout party, while Elon Musk claimed his Teslas kept the lights on—very on-brand for him. On a more sinister note, the cybercriminal underworld is serving up a disastrous Christmas special with a triple-threat Android malware that combines dropper techniques, SMS theft, and remote access trojans. Think of it as a not-so-merry Swiss army knife of cyber threats. In other mischief, beware of the “ClickFix” scam—a handshake that actually hits you with a Qilin ransomware pie in the face. It's a reminder that in the digital world, not every "prove you're not a robot" click is your friend. And finally, the East-West AI battle rages on as China's tech innovators race at turbo speed to outpace the West. It's the ultimate coding showdown, and we're all strapped in for the ride. Tune in, chuckle, and learn only here on Hacked dAily! This episode is sponsored by Cytadel Cyber. Specialist in Ransomware Readiness Assessments, Threat Intel-Led Red Teaming, AI DeepFakes, AI Voice Cloning and AI Vishing Simulations. Cyatdel helps you test your cyber resilience against the threats of today, keeping your data secure. Checkout cytadel.co.uk for more information.