Latest news with #AdobeAfterEffects
Mint
14-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
Pakistani hackers use pirated software to infect 1.88mn devices, steal credentials, earn $4.67mn: Report
A Pakistan-based cybercrime network has been linked to one of the largest and most profitable malware delivery operations uncovered in recent years, according to new research by cybersecurity intelligence company CloudSEK. The group, allegedly run by individuals connected through family ties in Bahawalpur and Faisalabad, is accused of exploiting demand for pirated software to distribute credential-stealing malware to millions of devices worldwide, the report highlighted. CloudSEK's report,The Anatomy of an Attack: Pakistan-Based Infostealer Delivery Network Exposed, details how the syndicate used search engine optimisation (SEO) poisoning, forum spam, and paid advertising to push cracked versions of popular software, including Adobe After Effects and Internet Download Manager, via malicious WordPress sites. The sites concealed malware such as Lumma Stealer, Meta Stealer, and AMOS inside password-protected archives. The operation is believed to have involved 5,239 registered affiliates and nearly 3,900 distribution sites, generating 449 million clicks and more than 1.88 million recorded installs. CloudSEK estimates the network's tracked revenue at $4.67 million, though the actual figure is likely higher due to unrecorded transactions. Payment records indicate affiliates were compensated via Payoneer (67 per cent) and Bitcoin (31 per cent), with the top earners taking in almost half of all payouts. In 2020 alone, more than $130,000 was paid to participants over a five-month period. Investigators linked the operation to two interconnected pay-per-install networks, active from 2018 until this month, and SpaxMedia, later rebranded as The campaign maintained hundreds of long-term domains alongside disposable short-lived addresses to evade takedowns. Reportedly, a significant breakthrough occurred when the operators themselves were compromised by infostealer malware, revealing internal credentials, payment histories, and links between individuals, domains, and financial accounts. CloudSEK's findings also coincide with a spike in cyberattacks on Indian government bodies and critical infrastructure in the run-up to the country's 79th Independence Day on 15 August 2025. According to the company's parallel investigation, more than 4,000 incidents were recorded in the weeks before the celebrations, targeting sectors such as defence, finance, and administration. The surge followed heightened tensions after the Pahalgam terror attack. Threat actors from Pakistan, China, and other countries are reported to have engaged in coordinated campaigns involving phishing emails, fraudulent websites, data breaches, and large-scale scams. Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups, including Pakistan-linked APT36 and China-based APT41, deployed credential theft operations aimed at harvesting sensitive government and corporate data. Authorities have warned citizens to be vigilant and to report suspicious activity, as attackers have been using methods such as spoofed domains, fake mobile applications, and social engineering schemes to lure victims. The timing of the attacks indicates a strategic intent to cause disruption during a national event. CloudSEK notes that the syndicate's use of legitimate payment services, mainstream advertising channels, and public-facing forums demonstrates how such large-scale operations can function openly. It recommends targeted domain seizures, financial disruption in cooperation with payment processors, search engine de-indexing of malware-hosting sites, and public awareness drives to counter both ongoing and future threats.
Business Insider
23-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
An AI startup that wants to be the Canva of video has raised $9.2 million. Read its pitch deck.
Turning the ideas in your head into visual content has never been easier thanks to a flurry of new AI tools. And Rebecca Kossnick's goal is to simplify content creation even further for the everyday person with Hypernatural, a generative AI platform that creates both image and video content. "We think about what we're building as kind of the Canva for video," Kossnick, Hypernatural's CEO, told Business Insider. If Canva proved that you don't need a degree for graphic design to be your passion, Hypernatural wants to prove that you don't need to know Adobe After Effects to turn ideas into videos. Founded in 2023 by Kossnick and Taylor Hughes (CTO), who first met while working at Facebook, Hypernatural's video generation tech uses an average of 15 different AI models, such as Google 's Veo 3, Lightricks' LTX, and Black Forest Labs ' Flux. Kossnick said that the platform's speed is a key selling point. "We're not building a foundation model, we're building the technology to understand and deploy the foundation models as quickly as possible," Kossnick said. The startup told Business Insider exclusively that it has raised a total of $9.2 million in funding across two rounds from investors AIX Ventures, Underscore VC, Adverb Ventures, Character Capital, and 43 VC. Part of Hypernatural's total funding includes a $6.8 million seed round led by AIX that closed in December 2024. Currently a team of five, Hypernatural's funding will go toward hiring (Kossnick emphasized its focus on recruiting engineering talent) and building out the platform's technology. "We're throwing money on what's working," Kossnick said. AI video generation startups have been raising capital left and right. Moonvalley, which has its own AI video model, told BI earlier this month that it raised $84 million. Hedra, another AI video creation platform, announced a $32 million Series A round in May. Building for both creators and everyday consumers "People are excited to try and buy products that support their creativity," Kossnick said. "That's sort of where we see consumer and the 'prosumer' creator economy merge. Sometimes you're creating for other people … sometimes you're creating for you because you wanted to see the rest of the story." It's quite easy to navigate Hypernatural's tools. For instance, I made a 54-second video (with 20 AI-generated images Hypernatural created) about a journalist writing a story in roughly a minute. Here's how the platform works: Users input a text prompt and choose a style (such as anime), length, and size of the video. It then generates a full script (users can also use an existing script, and paid subscribers can upload audio files). At this stage, users can choose from a selection of narrator voices and characters (custom-made characters require a paid subscription). Hypernatural's platform then spits out a video and brings the user to an editing page where they can rearrange scenes, edit the script, and either reanimate scenes or pull from its stock library of AI-generated video. "Our users really care about the rights of all of the images and videos that we create," Kossnick said. "We're only working with models that are providing us with commercial rights, which would pass on to users as well." Its "creator" tier annual subscription costs $12 a month, and higher tiers that offer more content credits and custom characters go up to $48 a month. It also has a free tier with limited access to the platform's tools. Hypernatural said it has more than 1 million users. While Kossnick said Hypernatural's early users include "niche creators and storytellers," such as podcasters, writers, and faceless influencers, it wants to expand beyond professionals. "We're building the platform for everyone," Kossnick said. Note: The company updated and redacted some details in the deck. The deck begins with a video example. Hypernatural introduces its 5-person team. "We're a 5-person team with deep experience in video and AI," the slide reads. "Collectively, we've launched 4 companies and held product, design and eng leadership roles at Descript, Figma, Meta, YouTube, Clubhouse, and Twitter." Hypernatural emphasizes that its tool is fun. Here's what the slide says: Even bigger picture: Fun IS the point By inventing a new form of video that's fun, accessible, and personalized, we dramatically grow the pie of who make video — and how often they can do it. Right now, people export their content to post it elsewhere, but they also watch the content in Hypernatural. We envision this behavior growing and becoming dominant over time. Then it maps out the current market. It then describes its customers as storytellers. Hypernatural Here's what the slide says: Our customers today are storytellers: authors, entrepreneurs, and creative people. Authors Author 1 [608 videos] A sci-fi novelist who has serialized his books across hundreds of TikTok videos Author 2 [129 videos] A fantasy novelist who uses his videos to drive Amazon sales of his books. He recently announced that one of his books reached #1 in Amazon's Military Fantasy category Entrepreneurs Simpli Faceless/James Ward [522 videos]: A consultant for content creators who runs a creator community and multiple successful channels built on Hypernatural Witness Mi. [590 videos] A memory-preservation service built entirely on Hypernatural video creation technology Niche Content Creators Some creators' names were redacted in this slide. Then it shares customer testimonials of the platform. Courtesy of Hypernatural Here's what the slide says: "Hypernatural AI has been a game-changer for us. It's the only AI video generation platform we've found that actually produces usable, high-quality videos fit for real marketing and storytelling needs. We tested several other platforms that took hours just to generate short clips—Hypernatural gives us full-length, emotionally compelling videos in under two minutes. The speed, quality, and reliability make it clear: we've found our long-term video partner." Courtesy of Hypernatural Here's what the slide says: "I just wanted to take a moment to express how absolutely blown away I am by your video generator. I'm very new to the AI world, especially video creation, and after using your software, I'm completely speechless. I just generated an animation, and the entire experience was fun, easy, and incredibly fast. I've never used anything like this before, and I can honestly say it's the perfect software for someone like me—simple yet powerful. It made me feel like a creator in a way I never have before.... Courtesy of Hypernatural Here's what the slide says: "I can't tell you how thrilled we are with the Hypernatural software. If there is one tool we can't live without it would definitely be Hypernatural. I have a community called Simpli Faceless, and almost 100% of our members are using Hypernatural. We have been able to help people get hundreds of millions of views at this point, and there is no way we could do it without you." — James Ward, Founder of Simpli Faceless Hypernatural ends the deck by laying out its fundraising ask. "We're raising $7M, led by AIX Ventures, to pour gas on the fire," the slide reads. Here's what else the slide says: Quality Double down on our differentiating features Characters Custom Styles Expand data moat and invest more in eval tooling (we are really good at this), fine tuning, custom models We have unique, scaled data signal for what good means for generated video (good = done = exported) Marketing Scale up influencer marketing Specifically long-tail and international influencers Invest in community advocates Continue to grow organic posting/advocacy loop Scale up affiliate program Product Build the obvious features (on the endless list of features) that people are begging for. E.g. Music tracks High quality exports The ability to undo changes Right-to-left editing Bring more inference in house Drive down costs, more cutting edge models
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Roads not taken: 7 careers you can pursue if you have a creative knack
In classrooms dominated by numbers and facts, there's often a student whose imagination runs ahead of the curriculum. While some carefully underline textbooks, others sketch in the margins. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Where most see questions, they see stories, colors, rhythm, or structure. For years, creativity was treated as something secondary—a soft skill or a personal quirk. But the world has changed. Innovation now begins with original thinking, and industries are turning toward those who can bring ideas to life in unconventional ways. For students who've always felt more at home with a paintbrush than a calculator, or who think in metaphors rather than measurements, there is good news: a growing number of careers reward exactly that kind of creative flair. Here are seven dynamic and future-proof careers built for those with a creative knack. Graphic Designer Overview: Graphic designers use visual composition to communicate ideas. From social media creatives and ad campaigns to books and websites, they shape the visual identity of brands, products, and publications. Where creativity fits: Visual storytelling, layout design, brand identity, and problem-solving through aesthetics. Skills required: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, typography, color theory, design principles. Industries: Advertising, publishing, digital media, fashion, product design. Animation and Motion Graphics Artist Overview : These professionals create animated content for films, advertisements, games, and digital platforms. They give movement to illustrations and use motion to enhance storytelling. Where creativity fits : Bringing static art to life, visual effects, character and scene development. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Skills required : Adobe After Effects, Blender, Maya, Toon Boom, storytelling, timing. Industries : Film, gaming, ed-tech, digital marketing, OTT content. Content Strategist or Copywriter Overview : Content professionals develop messaging strategies and write compelling copy that aligns with brand goals. They work across blogs, ad scripts, websites, emails, and more. Where creativity fits : Wordplay, tone building, storytelling, persuasive writing. Skills required : SEO basics, editorial judgment, brand language development, grammar, storytelling. Industries : Marketing, media, tech companies, start-ups, publishing. Fashion Designer or Stylist Overview : Fashion designers and stylists conceptualize clothing, accessories, and outfits that express individuality and current trends. They balance aesthetics, functionality, and cultural relevance. Where creativity fits : Textile patterns, silhouette crafting, color palettes, trend interpretation. Skills required : Sketching, draping, fabric knowledge, design software (e.g., CLO3D, CorelDRAW). Industries : Apparel, film & TV, personal styling, retail, haute couture. User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Designer Overview : UX/UI designers create digital experiences that are both intuitive and visually appealing. Their work ensures users find websites and apps easy—and enjoyable—to navigate. Where creativity fits : Designing wireframes, user flows, digital aesthetics, interaction experiences. Skills required: Figma, Adobe XD, prototyping tools, human-centered design thinking. Industries: Tech, fintech, e-commerce, health tech, SaaS platforms. Game Designer Overview : Game designers develop the mechanics, storylines, characters, and environments of video and mobile games. This field combines imagination, storytelling, and interactivity. Where creativity fits : World-building, character design, narrative arcs, level design. Skills required : Unity, Unreal Engine, programming basics, 3D modeling, scripting. Industries : Gaming studios, ed-tech, virtual reality, entertainment media. Creative Technologist Overview : A hybrid role that merges art and technology, creative technologists build interactive digital installations, AR/VR experiences, and tech-enabled artworks. Where creativity fits : Experimentation, tech-driven storytelling, installation art, and digital innovation. Skills required : Coding (JavaScript, Python), electronics (Arduino, Raspberry Pi), interaction design, generative art tools. Industries : Museums, tech labs, experiential marketing, new media art. Where creativity leads, opportunities follow A creative mind is no longer confined to galleries or theatre stages—it's now central to innovation across industries. With the right skills and a willingness to adapt, students with artistic vision, imaginative flair, or narrative thinking can carve successful and fulfilling careers in diverse domains. The future belongs to those who not only think outside the box—but redesign it altogether.
