Research firm Klue has disclosed that a credential from a restricted pilot program dating to 2022 was exploited by hackers earlier this month to obtain vast amounts of data from its corporate clients, including several firms in the cybersecurity sector.

This new information indicates that Klue might have had ample time to retire the credential utilized in the pilot, raising concerns about the company’s security measures and what preventive steps could have been taken to safeguard its clients’ data.

The intrusion at Klue, headquartered in Vancouver and detected on June 12, was made public last Friday, allowed cybercriminals to retrieve data from numerous clients, among them the maker of password manager LastPass and several other cybersecurity firms. The attackers leveraged their access to Klue’s systems, which store the keys — referred to as OAuth tokens — used to retrieve their clients’ data saved in various clouds and databases, enabling them to download that information and extort the firms.

Klue spokesperson Katie Berg informed TechCrunch that the ongoing investigation suggests the credential utilized by the attackers to access client data “was initially given to a third-party in 2022, for a limited pilot.”

When queried by TechCrunch, Klue refrained from explaining the pilot’s purpose, its duration, or disclosing the identity of the third-party that received the credential. Klue also did not clarify why the credential was not revoked after the pilot’s conclusion.

Klue did not reply to follow-up inquiries regarding the incident prior to publication.

Uncertainties surround the incident as the company states its investigation is ongoing.

Klue has not disclosed what type of credential was compromised, merely mentioning in a blog post that it was a “legacy credential linked to an integration service.” Klue also did not specify whether the credential was an employee’s username and password, or if it believes the credential was taken from the third-party rather than its own systems.

These specifics could be vital for understanding how the breach occurred — and for preventing similar incidents in the future.

In its statement to TechCrunch, Klue added that the firm is “undertaking a thorough review of credential management, vendor access controls, monitoring capabilities, and deployment security processes,” without providing additional details.

A hacking collective known as Icarus has claimed responsibility for the breach on its data leak platform and has issued public threats to release the stolen data if their ransom demands are not met.

Klue has not indicated whether it has engaged with the hackers or if it plans to acquiesce to their demands.

Do you have further information regarding the Klue cyberattack? Are you a business impacted by the breach? We would like to hear from you. To securely reach out to Zack Whittaker, contact him via Signal at username zackwhittaker.1337.

Anthropic is launching a novel service named Claude Tag, an “always-on Claude” that resides in Slack, functioning as an AI colleague. This new option — enabling users to tag @Claude for insights in conversations and task assignments — will be available in beta for Slack users of Claude Enterprise and Claude Team.

Claude Tag represents an advancement of several current integrations. Users can currently DM @Claude within Slack or mention it in channels for immediate assistance, while Claude Code in Slack channels coding requests from mentions to comprehensive coding sessions online, providing updates within the thread. 

However, Claude Tag introduces a layer of ongoing context and memory that was challenging to maintain with earlier tools. “As Claude engages with its channel, it continuously learns about the work,” stated Anthropic. “Claude can also autonomously collect information from other parts of the organization, provided it is authorized to access other channels.”

With Claude Tag, every participant in a Slack channel can connect to a single Claude identity, meaning “anyone can see what Claude has been doing and can continue the discussion from where the last individual left off.” System administrators will determine which tools, data, and channels Claude is permitted to access, and each Claude identity will remain confined to the channels defined by the admins, ensuring that a Claude configured for legal tasks cannot influence the engineering channel, for instance.

When tasked with a specific assignment, Claude Tag will deconstruct the task into phases and will progress through them utilizing whatever tools are available, responding in a Slack thread with what it has accomplished. Yet, Claude Tag also includes an ambient mode that proactively engages in the conversation to keep the team informed, highlight items from around the organization, and follow up on neglected threads or responsibilities.

Anthropic claims this creates the experience of “collaborating with a genuine colleague — one capable of producing work publicly, with significantly enhanced context and understanding than previously possible.”

That context is an increasingly vital component of enterprise applications, and Anthropic is not alone in this focus. Microsoft is also emphasizing context through Graph, manifested in Copilot and Work IQ. Snowflake and Databricks are positioning their platforms as back-end support containing implicit organizational insights that agents can utilize. Glean is also developing an intelligence layer that comprehends company context, bridging the model and enterprise data.

LastPass, the password management provider, is alerting its clients that their personal data and customer support case files were compromised in a recent security breach involving one of its technology partners, representing the company’s most recent data leak in years.

An email forwarded to TechCrunch from an impacted user indicated that LastPass stated the breach was linked to market research company Klue, rather than its own systems. Nonetheless, hackers leveraged their access to extract vast amounts of data regarding LastPass users.

LastPass is among a growing cadre of cybersecurity firms that have reported data violations due to the breach at Klue, which the firm revealed last week. Other affected companies include HackerOne, Recorded Future, and Tanium.

In a blog entry detailing the incident, LastPass disclosed that the attackers acquired users’ names, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, along with customer support case information and sales-related data.

LastPass confirmed that its own systems, including users’ password vaults, remained secure.

It is not yet clarified what information was included in the customer support tickets, although they probably contain bits of potentially confidential or sensitive information. Clients usually reach out to customer service regarding billing problems or to gain access to their accounts. Previous cases involving customer support tickets have involved credentials and government-issued identification documents.

Representatives from LastPass did not promptly reply to TechCrunch’s inquiries for comments or questions regarding the incident, including the number of customers impacted.

According to its website, LastPass has over 33 million users and approximately 1.6 million paying clients as of 2024.

In 2022, LastPass faced a data breach, in which hackers compromised the entire collection of customer password vaults, utilized for storing sensitive credentials, including passwords, tokens, and various personal and card numbers.

Although the vaults were secured with master passwords known solely to the customer, the breach enabled hackers to brute-force and crack the vaults offline using the weakest master passwords and subsequently access the information within. Several cryptocurrency thefts were later connected to the LastPass breach, as thieves were suspected of pilfering the victims’ wallet keys by cracking their password vaults.

Klue CEO Jason Smith stated in a blog post that the company detected hackers within its systems on June 12. A hacking and extortion organization named Icarus claimed responsibility for the breach and publicly threatened to disclose the stolen data if a ransom isn’t fulfilled.

Smith has not responded to TechCrunch’s emails regarding the incident, including inquiries about how many customers are affected and whether the company has communicated with the hackers.

Box. Boho. Knotless. Most Black women know precisely what those terms allude to: braided hairstyles. This age-old tradition has become almost a rite of passage, with many Black women and girls still today perched in salon chairs for up to 12 hours at a time while a stylist intricately weaves patterns into their hair. 

However, this is also part of the issue. For millennia, hair braiding has been a labor-intensive endeavor. That was until recently, however. Yinka Ogunbiyi recounted to TechCrunch how she found herself alone in her London apartment during the COVID-19 lockdown and attempted to braid her own hair: “It took me four days,” she stated. 

Ogunbiyi, who holds an MS in engineering from Harvard and an MBA, had previously launched a smart cooking appliance brand, redirecting her focus to braiding as a technical challenge needing resolution.

After extensive research, she introduced a robotics startup on Tuesday: HaloBraid aims to assist salons in accelerating the braiding process with its inaugural device, expected to launch later this year, acting as a braiding aide for professional stylists. The company has secured $7 million in a seed funding round led by Seven Seven Six, the venture firm of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. 

Ogunbiyi provided limited details on the device, noting that patents are still pending, but did explain its functionality: A stylist initiates the braiding and then transfers the remainder of the process to HaloBraid, which can complete the braid in mere seconds. She emphasized that the product is designed to be gentle on hair and can assist with both knotless and box braids. 

Ogunbiyi discovered in her research that individuals spend approximately 8 billion hours braiding hair annually. In her survey of 2,000 respondents, 95% indicated they would have their hair braided more frequently if it were quicker. Meanwhile, stylists endure long hours in their work, often resulting in health problems like carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis.

Ohanian recognized that there is a substantial market and a likelihood for returns for a device designed to simplify the braiding process. 

Ohanian, who is married to Serena Williams—known for her iconic braided hairstyles on the tennis court—also has two Black children who wear braided styles. “I’ve examined precisely how long these braiding sessions last,” he shared with TechCrunch, adding: “My eldest daughter enjoys the ritual for the first few hours, but by the ninth hour, everyone is prepared to call it a night.” 

He pointed out how Dyson transformed tools for hairstyling (such as their well-known hair dryer) whereas technology for textured hair has yet to be fully explored “despite a dedicated audience ready to spend.”

“This is hardware’s moment,” he noted, referencing other investments he has made, like the rocket company Stoke and the asteroid mining enterprise AstroForge. “An automated braider seems entirely feasible. This product is truly distinct, with a clear strategy for entering the market.” 

Additional investors in the seed funding round include AlleyCorp and Bling Capital. The startup will allocate the new funding towards product development, manufacturing, and establishing salon partnerships. 

HaloBraid has few rivals in the hair-braiding-device landscape, the most notable competitor being Braidiant. Ogunbiyi stated that one reason for the challenges in innovating within this sector is the inherent difficulty of working with hair, particularly for a process as intricate as braiding. She remarked that hair is one of the “most challenging substrates in the world to manipulate,” and she needed to incorporate techniques from various sectors, from material science to inkjet printing, to create this device.

With fresh funding and validation in hand, the startup now faces the challenge of navigating through to launch day. However, Ogunbiyi stated she and her team of around 15 are already contemplating additional devices to develop, such as one capable of undoing braids (a task that can often take just as long as the braiding itself). 

“HaloBraid is our initial product, but our broader vision is to develop groundbreaking technology that accelerates textured haircare, making it quicker, simpler, more comfortable, and more enjoyable,” she said. 

On Tuesday, Meta announced the release of a new series of smart glasses named Meta Glasses, with a starting price of $299. These glasses are being developed in collaboration with EssilorLuxottica; however, unlike the company’s previous offerings, they do not feature Ray-Ban or Oakley branding.

Starting today, the Meta Glasses are available in various countries, offered in multiple color and lens options.

Meta has been advancing its presence in the wearable market as competition intensifies. It is important to note that Meta and EssilorLuxottica dominate this sector, holding an estimated market share exceeding 80%, based on statistics from Counterpoint Research.

Although the Meta Glasses lack a screen, they are equipped with a camera and built-in speakers. A specific button by default activates the Meta AI assistant, though users can modify it to access a preferred function.

Meta claims that the new glasses feature a battery life of over eight hours, with the portable charging case offering an additional 40 hours of usage.

The initial model of the new glasses, designated the “Meta Adventurer,” showcases a rectangular design, available in both regular and larger sizes. The “Meta Fury” frame is square-shaped, reminiscent of popular men’s eyewear. Most eye-catching are the “Meta Glasses by Kylie,” which have a sleek oval design created in partnership with American model Kylie Jenner.

Meta states that the Meta AI assistant integrated into these glasses can respond to inquiries ranging from sports scores to nearby dining recommendations, comprehend visual inputs, and assist with daily tasks.

The company revealed that these screenless glasses will soon implement the “Pedestrian navigation” feature, which offers walking directions. Additionally, Meta will introduce support for 14 new languages within its live translation tool, including Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, and Korean.

The launch of Meta’s smart glasses series follows Snap’s introduction of Specs, its eagerly awaited consumer smart glasses, priced at $2,195.

Founders do not develop in isolation. The most successful founders gain knowledge from peers facing akin obstacles, acquire wisdom from those who have previously scaled operations, and cultivate connections with investors who can drive the next growth phase.

You have merely four days remaining to save as much as $190 on your ticket to TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 before Early Bird pricing concludes on June 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

On November 4 in Boston, over 1,000 founders and investors will gather for an entire day filled with actionable insights, peer learning, and valuable networking aimed at aiding startups in accelerating their growth.

This is TechCrunch’s premier founder conference, tailored specifically for founders. Whether you’re gearing up to secure funding, enhancing revenue, recruiting your next team members, or strategizing for your next significant milestone, Founder Summit brings you together with the individuals and tactics that can advance your business.

Register by June 26 to benefit from up to $190 off your ticket. Groups of four or more can enjoy savings of up to 30%.

Gain knowledge from founders, operators, and investors who have succeeded before

TechCrunch Founder Summit is crafted to offer actionable insights that you can implement straight away.

You’ll network with:

• Founders encountering comparable growth phases

• Skilled operators who have expanded businesses, teams, and revenues

• Investors discussing their criteria and where they’re investing

The discussions are open, targeted, and designed to assist founders in addressing actual business issues. Register here to save up to $190.

Practical sessions tailored for every growth stage

The programming of Founder Summit centers on the decisions that influence a company’s destiny. Through breakout sessions and roundtable discussions, you’ll acquire insights you can use immediately.

Past subjects have encompassed:

• Raising a Series A

• Creating pitch decks that engage investors

• Preparing for Series C and further

• Achieving $10 million in ARR

• Determining when to sell your startup

• Ready your company for a public offering

Whether you’re securing your initial funding or moving towards your next major goal, these sessions are tailored to assist you in making informed decisions and accelerating progress. Register here to save up to $190.

Gain insights from founders and investors molding the future

Former speakers have imparted firsthand experiences regarding company establishment, fundraising, and expansion, including:

Additional speakers feature prominent figures from Sequoia Capital, NFX, Underscore VC, Glasswing Ventures, Wing Venture Capital, Construct Capital, Greylock, and Precursor Ventures.

The agenda for 2026 is currently being developed, with more founders, operators, and investors anticipated to be announced soon on the event page.

Keen on leading a discussion? Propose a topic for a breakout or roundtable session for a chance to be selected for the agenda by the TechCrunch audience.

Register prior to the rates soaring on June 26

TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 is the venue where founders gather to acquire actionable insights, forge meaningful connections, and expedite growth.

Join over 1,000 founders and investors in Boston on November 4 for a day of education, networking, and discussions that could influence the future of your enterprise.

Early Bird discounts expire in just four days, June 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Sign up now to save up to $190 on your ticket and up to 30% when registering as a group before prices rise.

Regardless of whether you’re a baseball enthusiast, Ribbie is a captivating site that transforms real-time Major League Baseball (MLB) statistics into 8-bit broadcasts featuring animated pixel art reminiscent of arcade games.

“I appreciate the abundance of data available to baseball enthusiasts […] but when I attempt to track a game with ESPN Gamecast, it ends up feeling rather dull,” shared Ribbie founder Eric Brownrout with TechCrunch.

However, the concept for Ribbie didn’t come to life until Brownrout created a pixel-art representation of Phillies power hitter Kyle Schwarber as a logo for his fantasy baseball team.

“I was captivated by the style, and began pondering ways to adapt it into a data visualization tool,” Brownrout recounted. “A swift Google inquiry led me to the MLB public StatsAPI, and I realized I could potentially recreate an entire baseball game in that pixelated design.”

Like numerous tech professionals in San Francisco, Brownrout has spent many late nights experimenting with Claude Code. What sets him apart, however, is that his trials produced something genuinely enjoyable.

“I extensively utilized Claude Code and Codex to modify a project that could have dragged on for months into something I could create and release over a few weekends,” he noted. “I employed Codex for the image- and sprite-generation process, while Claude Code aided in developing the web application. Having never created a video game before, this was a fresh experience for me.”

Accessing Ribbie — a term inspired by the baseball statistic RBI (runs batted in) — takes you to a pixel-art styled living space displaying the MLB games currently in action, and you can opt to “watch” one with Ribbie. (There’s an option to zoom in on the display and remove the living room visuals if a more straightforward view is preferred.)

On prominent play-by-play platforms like ESPN’s Gamecast and MLB’s own Gameday, the interface is straightforward, conveying information with simplicity and minimalism.

Ribbie, on the other hand, emphasizes visual appeal, featuring distinctive pixel-art designs for every stadium and player. Yet, it remains user-friendly enough to display game scores, along with details on who’s pitching, batting, or on base.

Since the data powering these visualizations is sourced from the MLB’s API, most of the information typically found on other applications is accessible, while offering a richer play-by-play experience. Brownrout recently introduced fantasy baseball support, enabling users to manage their rosters and track the active players in their respective games.

“I’m just really fond of the charm of the tiny pixel-art stadiums,” Brownrout reflected. “There’s something immensely gratifying about it that’s hard to articulate. I believe it’s one of the reasons people are enamored with games like Stardew Valley. It’s an entire pixelated universe in the palm of your hand.”

Projects like Ribbie feel invigorating because they don’t seek to extract anything from users, a rarity in an age where we are so accustomed to being monitored online. But can initiatives like Ribbie endure? Will it be unavoidable for the MLB’s legal team to target Ribbie due to a cartoonish rendition of Shohei Ohtani?

These concerns are valid, but Brownrout believes he has safeguards in place (pun intended). He cited a legal case from 2007 where the court decided that baseball statistics are facts and thus not eligible for copyright. This precedent allows fantasy baseball services to thrive without needing the MLB’s approval.

“The API is the same one that fuels fantasy baseball sites, third-party stats platforms, and live game discussions on Reddit […] Historically, it has been utilized for various official and fan-generated projects,” he stated. “In the end, the project is entirely free and non-commercial, and I emphasize on the website that Ribbie is an unaffiliated fan initiative. It’s a ‘love letter’ to baseball, not something aiming to rival MLB.tv.”

Even with Brownrout’s hectic schedule as the co-founder of AI SaaS platform Frigade, he continues to dedicate time to Ribbie out of his passion for the sport.

“I’m incorporating sound effects and more intricate animations to make it easier for people to follow along while it plays in the background,” he mentioned. “My neighbors must think I’m out of my mind because last night, I was in my room recording 100 iterations of ‘Ball! Strike! Out!’ on my iPhone for the Ribbie audio track.”

The recruitment process has been frequently critiqued for its lack of efficiency and transparency. Applicants invest significant time crafting applications and sending cover letters, only to vanish into what often seems like a mystery. The introduction of generative AI has complicated matters further, with companies increasingly depending on AI-driven screening tools to handle a staggering volume of applications.

Fika Jobs, a startup based in Stockholm, believes there is a more effective method. The firm is creating a video-centric recruitment platform that merges AI interview agents with brief video profiles, producing a hybrid experience akin to LinkedIn and TikTok. Rather than focusing solely on CVs, applicants partake in AI-driven interviews intended to highlight their character and communication abilities.

On Tuesday, Fika Jobs revealed a pre-seed round of $4 million, aimed at furthering platform development, expanding the team, and gearing up for a broader rollout later this year.

For those seeking employment, the journey begins with linking a LinkedIn profile. The AI at Fika assesses the applicant’s history and formulates tailored interview questions. Candidates then engage in an approximately 10-minute video interview with the AI agent, currently utilizing Google’s Gemini systems.

Following the interview, Fika automatically converts answers into brief video snippets and compiles them into a profile. Instead of applying individually to each vacant position, candidates maintain an up-to-date profile that hiring managers can discover and revisit as new roles emerge.

The concept originated from co-founders and siblings Jakob Dubois (CEO) and Alexander Dubois (CTO) during their time developing their former startup.

“While we were creating [social app] Gaff, we dedicated a significant amount of time to recruitment and nearly overlooked a candidate due to his unimpressive resume,” Jakob Dubois shared with TechCrunch. “We ultimately had a conversation with him, and within minutes, his determination, enthusiasm, and ambition were clear. Precisely the type of individual we sought to employ.”

This encounter led the founders to believe that certain attributes valued by employers are hard to represent on paper.

In contrast to most rivals (including Alex, Maki, and Mercor) that concentrate on aiding employers in sourcing, screening, and matching candidates efficiently through AI, Fika is constructing a platform where candidates have video-centric profiles, and employers can explore a pool of individuals who have already been interviewed and assessed by AI.

If proven successful, Fika Jobs could assist employers in evaluating communication skills and cultural integration early in the recruitment process, supplementing conventional CV and application critiques. This methodology may prove particularly beneficial for early-career candidates and those from non-traditional backgrounds, whose potential may not be evident from a resume alone.

However, video profiles also carry legitimate bias risks that should be taken into account. When employers are able to observe a candidate’s race, age, gender, appearance, and accent prior to assessing their qualifications, it opens the door to discrimination that a resume, despite its shortcomings, somewhat conceals. There’s a reason some companies have shifted to blind resume reviews.

The platform intends to provide early access to candidates this week, with a broader public introduction anticipated this autumn. Initially, the focus will be on Sweden before expanding globally. Fika currently operates with a small team but expects to grow to around 10 employees by year’s end.

The founders report that over 100 companies are waiting, although they declined to disclose which ones. They mentioned that more than 50 companies have trialed the platform, including Plenty Labs, SICS.ai, Kognity, and Rebtel.

The platform remains free for job seekers. Employers incur no costs upfront; however, Fika takes 10% of a candidate’s first-year salary upon a successful placement. (The company points out that this is less than the typical 20% to 30% fees imposed by traditional recruiters and headhunters.)

The funding round was led by Luminar Ventures, with contributions from Alliance VC and the co-founders of King, Sebastian Knutsson and Riccardo Zacconi, known for developing the popular mobile game Candy Crush.