Welcome to the BrevFeed daily tech briefing for Monday, September 21. We've got 6 stories for you today across A.I., security, software, cloud, hardware and startups. Let's get into it.

In AI, SpaceXAI has launched Grok Bot, a new AI agent for Mac, iOS, Windows, and Linux, designed to automate tasks across various applications. It acts as an "AI teammate," signing into existing services to perform tasks end-to-end and only returning for approval. Users can teach Grok Bot by demonstrating processes, and it remembers preferences, with an Android version coming soon.

Alongside Grok Bot, the company released Grok 4.6, an updated AI model. This new version scored 61 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, matching GPT-5.6 Sol, and shows strong performance in long-running agents and complex tasks like coding and knowledge work. SpaceXAI states that Grok 4.6 offers competitive intelligence at a lower cost, with API pricing remaining unchanged from its predecessor.

These releases follow SpaceXAI's recent acquisition of Cursor, an AI coding company, which was finalized in mid-August. This collaboration aims to strengthen SpaceXAI's position in the AI coding market, with both Grok Bot and Grok 4.6 developed with Cursor's involvement.

In cloud computing news, Amazon Web Services has confirmed the permanent loss of some customer data in its UAE data centers. This comes six months after drone strikes impacted AWS facilities in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.

Specifically, AWS stated it cannot restore access to resources and data exclusively located in the mec1-az2 Availability Zone in the UAE. The company is advising customers to migrate their applications to other AWS regions and to restore backups or copy accessible data.

AWS is still working to recover resources in other affected zones, and while they are replacing damaged infrastructure, there is no full service restoration timeline. The damage reportedly exceeded AWS's redundancy capabilities, preventing complete data restoration in the affected zone.

Turning to security, the npm package Jscrambler was recently compromised in a supply chain attack. Malicious code, specifically an infostealer, was deployed through a preinstall hook in versions 8.14.0 and several subsequent releases. These compromised versions were downloaded nearly 1,500 times before the issue was discovered.

The attack was attributed to compromised npm publishing credentials, allowing attackers to insert the malware. Jscrambler quickly deprecated the affected versions and released a clean update, advising users to update immediately to prevent potential exposure of sensitive data like cloud credentials and cryptocurrency wallets.

This incident underscores the ongoing security risks in open-source dependencies and the need for robust security protocols in the package publishing process. It highlights how sophisticated supply chain attacks can be, emphasizing vigilance for developers using open-source components.

In AI news, Donald Trump has dismissed calls for increased controls on artificial intelligence, labeling them a "sick conspiracy." He stated that the only necessary "guardrail" for AI is a strong and smart president.

Trump's comments came after prominent AI industry leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis, and SpaceX boss Elon Musk, advocated for slower AI development. Trump criticized Amodei, claiming his administration had previously stopped AI leaders from engaging in "bad things."

The appeals for slower AI progress, combined with Trump's dismissal of regulation, coincided with a market downturn for AI-related tech stocks like Nvidia and AMD. Trump also announced plans to create an "AI Force" and appoint an "AI czar," comparing the effort to the creation of the Space Force.

In startup news, The Boring Company, founded by Elon Musk, has successfully closed a three-billion-dollar Series D funding round, pushing its valuation to an impressive twenty-three billion dollars.

This significant investment was led by the United Arab Emirates, and the company has already announced plans to construct over 150 kilometers of tunnels within the UAE, marking a major international expansion.

The Boring Company aims to alleviate traffic congestion through its underground tunnel networks. While its only public loop is currently in Las Vegas, connecting hotel casinos and the convention center, the company recently broke ground on a new project in Nashville, Tennessee, and is also developing a Hyperloop between Austin and San Antonio to reduce travel time to under 30 minutes.

In aviation news, Joby Aviation has completed a 3,100-mile autonomous flight across the United States. The company used a modified Cessna Caravan aircraft equipped with its autonomy technology, which handled taxiing, takeoffs, navigation, and landings without human pilot control.

The flight, which started in California and ended in North Carolina, was remotely supervised from Joby's headquarters and Shaw Air Force Base. A human monitor was on board for compliance, but the aircraft operated autonomously throughout the journey.

This demonstration signals Joby's expansion beyond its electric air taxi focus. The company is now targeting defense and commercial freight applications for its autonomy stack, which can be retrofitted onto conventional aircraft. This move is supported by a 17-million-dollar Air Force contract and the acquisition of Resonant Sciences.

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