Welcome to the BrevFeed daily tech briefing for Wednesday, August 12. We've got 6 stories for you today across A.I., security, software, cloud, hardware and startups. Let's get into it.

Turning to legal news, a Florida teenager has dropped his social media addiction lawsuit against Meta, just days before a jury trial was set to begin in Los Angeles. The plaintiff, identified as R.K.C., had previously settled similar claims with TikTok, Snap, and YouTube.

This means Meta avoids a trial in this specific case without making any payment. The lawsuit was part of a larger trend accusing social media companies of designing addictive platforms that harm young users, with R.K.C. claiming he experienced sleep loss, depression, and anxiety from his social media use.

While Meta avoided this particular trial, the company still faces 42 similar cases from individual states, and a separate trial against Meta began Monday in Tennessee. Meta also had a 375-million-dollar judgment against it in New Mexico earlier this year.

In tech news, Microsoft is implementing significant layoffs, affecting 4,800 employees, which is about 2.1% of its total workforce. A large portion of these cuts, 3,200 jobs, are within the Xbox division and will be phased out through fiscal year 2027.

This restructuring includes spinning off four Xbox game studios, such as Double Fine Productions and Ninja Theory, to operate independently. These changes are part of Microsoft's efforts to streamline operations and improve profitability within the Xbox unit, which has faced financial challenges.

Microsoft states these actions are a response to evolving customer needs and industry shifts, partly influenced by AI technology, though the company clarifies AI isn't directly replacing these roles. This move reflects a broader trend in the tech industry where companies are balancing cost-cutting with investments in new areas like AI.

In hardware news, Apple is reportedly testing RAM chips from Chinese supplier ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, for devices sold in China. This move comes as Apple faces rising RAM prices and aims to diversify its supply chain. CXMT is currently on a U.S. defense blacklist due to alleged military ties, which presents a challenge for Apple.

Apple is seeking U.S. government approval to use CXMT's products more broadly, potentially even for devices sold outside of China. This situation highlights the ongoing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, especially concerning technology and supply chains. U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns about companies using blacklisted Chinese suppliers, citing national security risks.

CXMT is a significant player in China's memory chip market and is seen as crucial to the country's goal of a self-reliant AI supply chain. The company is also planning an IPO to raise billions of dollars, with a substantial portion of its ownership held by state-owned entities. This development underscores the complex interplay of business, national security, and global tech dynamics.

Turning to security, Craneware, a UK-based software provider for over 2,000 US hospitals and pharmacies, has reported a data breach. The company confirmed that hackers accessed and stole a significant volume of employee, customer, and partner data.

Craneware provides essential billing and patient management software to healthcare providers. While the company states that its operations and services to hospitals remain undisrupted, the incident has been reported to the FBI and the UK's Information Commissioner's Office.

External forensic experts are currently investigating the full extent of the breach. Although hackers have been removed from Craneware's systems, the investigation is ongoing, and the sensitive nature of healthcare data involved means the industry is closely monitoring the situation.

In hardware news, rumors are circulating about the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro Max, suggesting it will feature a significantly larger battery. Leaks indicate the eSIM model could boast a 5,567mAh capacity, a notable jump from the iPhone 17 Pro Max's 5,088mAh.

This increased battery size is also expected to make the iPhone 18 Pro Max heavier, potentially weighing in at 240 grams, and it might be two millimeters thicker. These changes could further differentiate the Pro Max from the standard iPhone 18 Pro model.

While these details are unconfirmed and based on leaks, if true, they suggest Apple is aiming to provide extended battery life for its premium device. This could influence consumer choices, especially for those prioritizing longer usage between charges.

Turning to security, Cloudflare is moving to post-quantum cryptography, adopting new algorithms called ML-KEM for encryption and ML-DSA for digital signatures. This change is designed to protect against the threat that future quantum computers could pose to current encryption methods like RSA.

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, standardized these ML-KEM and ML-DSA algorithms in 2024 after an international competition. Cloudflare is already using ML-KEM for most of its traffic to enhance security against potential quantum attacks.

Cloudflare aims to achieve full post-quantum security by 2029. However, the current ML-DSA algorithm has some limitations, including larger data sizes compared to older methods. NIST is actively working on developing more efficient post-quantum signature schemes to address these challenges as quantum computing technology advances.

That's the BrevFeed daily briefing. We'll be back tomorrow with the stories that matter in tech. Thanks for listening.