Law enforcement shuts down VPN service used by two dozen ransomware gangs

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories to start your morning

View this email online in your browser  May 22, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Law enforcement shuts down VPN service used by two dozen ransomware gangs: First VPN promised hackers complete anonymity for their cyberattacks. But Europol said it was able to notify the service’s users that they have now been identified. Read More Meta quietly launches a new Reddit-like app called Forum: The company describes the app as a "dedicated space built for deeper discussions, real answers and communities you care about." Read More Finnish phone-maker HMD bundles Indian AI chatbot onto new smartphone in push to reach local market: HMD is pre-loading Sarvam's Indus chatbot app, which supports 22 Indic languages Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Register Now! A message from Schneider Electric The future of energy starts now From microgrids to smart homes, advanced energy technology is redefining reliability, sustainability, and performance at scale. At Schneider Electric, we believe the future of energy is unified, digital, and decarbonized – and we’re building it today, for everyone. Read insights Morning Must-Reads Waymo expands pause to four cities as robotaxis keep driving into floods: Waymo's robotaxi service is now suspended in both Atlanta and San Antonio, as the company works to stop its vehicles from driving into flooded roads. Read More Who will benefit most from SpaceX IPO? Mostly Elon — and a few from his inner circle: Elon Musk has the largest stake in SpaceX by billions of shares. The other biggest shareholders also have longstanding and deep ties to Musk. Read More Waymo halts freeway rides after robotaxis struggle in construction zones: The service suspension comes as Waymo has also paused operations in Atlanta and San Antonio after its robotaxis drove into flooded streets. Read More Trump Mobile confirms it exposed customers' personal data, including phone numbers and home addresses: President Trump’s branded cell phone maker and cell provider said the exposure was linked to a third-party platform, and was evaluating whether it needs to notify customers. Read More SpaceX scrubs first Starship V3 launch just before liftoff: SpaceX fueled the third-generation rocket booster and ship and was just moments away from liftoff, before calling a scrub. It's expected to try again Friday. Read More A message from Microsoft and NVIDIA Design, train & ship scalable AI: NVIDIA at Microsoft Build Get hands-on with real code, real systems, and real results. Join NVIDIA June 2–3 at Microsoft Build, happening in San Francisco and online. Developer-first activities, sessions, and solution demos available to both on-site and virtual attendees. Virtual passes are still available—sign up now. Learn more Last but Not Least Smart ring maker Oura files to go public: The Finnish company said in September that it has sold 5.5 million smart rings to date. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107

Law enforcement shuts down VPN service used by two dozen ransomware gangs

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  May 21, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Law enforcement shuts down VPN service used by two dozen ransomware gangs: First VPN promised hackers complete anonymity for their cyberattacks. But Europol said it was able to notify the service’s users that they have now been identified. Read More Spotify will reserve tickets for top fans of an artists in a bid to drum up engagement: Spotify said that it will monitor activity like streams and shares to determine who is a top fan Read More Waymo pauses Atlanta service as its robotaxis keep driving into floods: Waymo's robotaxi service is now suspended in both Atlanta and San Antonio, as the company works to stop its vehicles from driving into flooded roads. Read More A message from Deck Migrate customer data from any platform No source API. No manual export. No complex workaround. Deck logs in, extracts the data, and returns it schema-matched and ready to ingest. If a human can use it, Deck can too. Try It Free Afternoon Must-Reads Beauty booking startup Fresha hits $1B valuation with KKR backing: Beauty and wellness booking marketplace Fresha says it has raised $80 million investment from KKR’s Next Generation Technology Growth fund, KKR's growth equity arm. Read More Hark raises $700M Series A for its secretive 'universal' AI interface: Hark expects to release its first multimodal models this summer, which it says will power a personal AI platform that works with existing products and services. The company expects to follow that with hardware devices built specifically for those systems. Read More Spotify launches an ElevenLabs-powered audiobook creation tool: Spotify is releasing new audiobook plans later this year Read More NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani takes to Twitch to chat with New Yorkers: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is launching a Twitch series today at 4 p.m. ET. Read More Google is pitching an AI agent ecosystem to consumers who may not buy it: One of the most promising introductions at Google’s I/O developer conference on Tuesday was a new way for consumers to use the web: AI agents. Unfortunately, it was also the most confusing. Read More A message from Microsoft and NVIDIA Design, train & ship scalable AI: NVIDIA at Microsoft Build Get hands-on with real code, real systems, and real results. Join NVIDIA June 2–3 at Microsoft Build, happening in San Francisco and online. Developer-first activities, sessions, and solution demos available to both on-site and virtual attendees. Virtual passes are still available—sign up now. Learn more Last but Not Least Who will benefit most from SpaceX IPO? Mostly Elon — and a few from his inner circle: Elon Musk has the largest stake in SpaceX by billions of shares. The other biggest shareholders also have longstanding and deep ties to Musk. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107