Tekin Night September 26, 2026: TeamCity Ransomware, Xbox Reset & GTA 6

Ransomware Gangs Exploit Critical TeamCity Vulnerability

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a severe warning on Wednesday, September 23, 2026: ransomware gangs are now actively exploiting a critical vulnerability in JetBrains TeamCity. This security flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-63077, is one of the most dangerous vulnerabilities of 2026 with a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10.

TeamCity is a popular platform for continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) developed by JetBrains, used by thousands of technology companies worldwide to automate software build, test, and deployment processes. Now this critical tool has become a target for ransomware attacks.

Nature of the Vulnerability: Unauthenticated Code Execution

CVE-2026-63077 is a critical security flaw in TeamCity On-Premises that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on the server without any authentication whatsoever. This means anyone who can reach a TeamCity server over HTTP or HTTPS can potentially take complete control of the system.

The problem lies within TeamCity's agent polling protocol the mechanism that build agents use to communicate with the server. Attackers can abuse this protocol to bypass authentication checks and execute operating system commands with the same privileges as the TeamCity server process.

Attack Timeline and Response

JetBrains patched this vulnerability on July 25, 2026, releasing TeamCity On-Premises versions 2025.11.7 and 2026.1.3. Security researcher Antoni Tremblay had privately disclosed the issue to JetBrains on July 10, and the company responded relatively quickly.

But the story doesn't end there. On August 5, 2026, CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog a clear sign that active exploitation was already occurring in the wild. And now, on September 23, the agency has warned that ransomware gangs have joined the attackers.

The time gap between the patch release and the KEV listing is concerning. It appears that many organizations didn't update quickly enough and are now facing serious risk.

CFTC Authorizes Use of Tokenized Assets

In a major step toward mainstream adoption of blockchain technology and crypto assets in traditional financial markets, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on September 24, 2026, released updated guidance that allows firms under its oversight to invest customer funds in tokenized assets and use blockchain for recordkeeping.

What Changed?

The new guidance covers two important areas that are critical for financial firms looking to bring traditional assets onto blockchain. The first area concerns investing customer funds in tokenized versions of assets that were already permitted. The second area addresses using blockchain technology for maintaining records required under CFTC rules.

In plain language, if a futures commission merchant (FCM) or clearinghouse was previously allowed to invest customer funds in U.S. Treasury bonds, they can now invest in tokenized versions of those same bonds. Similarly, if a firm was required to maintain transaction records, they can now store those records on a blockchain.

Why This Matters

The tokenized asset market is growing rapidly, and according to some analysts, the total value of this market reached $46 billion in September 2026. These assets are digital versions of real-world assets such as bonds, stocks, real estate, or even physical commodities issued on blockchain networks.

The benefits of tokenization are numerous: faster settlement, reduced costs, increased transparency, and improved asset divisibility. For example, a million-dollar building can be divided into thousands of tokens, allowing retail investors to participate in expensive real estate investments.

Until now, regulatory uncertainty has been one of the biggest barriers to widespread adoption of tokenization. Financial firms weren't sure if they could legally work with these assets. The CFTC's new guidance removes this ambiguity at least for firms regulated by this agency.

Limitations and Requirements

Of course, this authorization isn't unconditional. The CFTC has specified several important points. First, firms must ensure that the tokenized asset is economically equivalent to the underlying asset. Second, if using public blockchains for recordkeeping, firms must be able to produce required records even if the network becomes temporarily unavailable.

This means firms can't rely solely on a public blockchain. They need backup solutions or must maintain local copies of data to ensure they can meet regulatory requirements if problems arise.

Waymo's Explosive Texas Growth: 49% in Three Weeks

Waymo, the autonomous taxi company owned by Alphabet (Google's parent company), is experiencing one of the fastest growth periods in its history. According to Texas state vehicle registration data and the Texas Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Tracker, Waymo's fleet in the state has grown 49 percent over the past three weeks, reaching 1,102 autonomous vehicles as of September 24, 2026.

From Three Cities to Fifteen

In September 2024, Waymo operated in just three cities: Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Today, the company offers robotaxi service in 15 U.S. cities, with most of those commercial launches occurring in the past year. Ridership has also skyrocketed, with Waymo now averaging 500,000 paid robotaxi rides every week globally.

But what's truly remarkable is the speed of growth in Texas. At the end of August, Waymo had just over 700 vehicles in the state. Now, just three weeks later, that number has reached 1,102 an addition of roughly 400 new vehicles in a matter of weeks.

Using Chinese-Built Zeekr Minivans

Another interesting detail is that Waymo is using Chinese-built Zeekr minivans for its growth. Despite high import tariffs that the U.S. government has imposed on Chinese vehicles, Waymo has decided to absorb these additional costs to accelerate its market share growth.

This strategy shows that Waymo is currently focused more on rapid growth and market capture than short-term profitability. The company wants to become the dominant industry player before competitors like Cruise (GM), Zoox (Amazon), or Tesla with its FSD can establish a strong foothold.

Expansion to Austin Highways

Another important development is that Waymo is now operating on highways in Austin, Texas a significant step for autonomous vehicle technology. Highway driving with high speeds and split-second decision-making presents different challenges than city street driving. Waymo's expansion into this domain demonstrates the company's confidence in its autonomous technology.

Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar Goes Generally Available

Google on September 24, 2026, publicly released one of its most compelling AI capabilities: Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar. This technology, first showcased at Google Cloud Next 2026, is now officially available for Gemini Enterprise customers.

Video Avatar with Lip Synchronization

The key feature of this new capability is the addition of a realistic video avatar that moves in sync with the AI's speech. The avatar can take the form of a cartoon character or a realistic human, and its lip movements are perfectly synchronized with the words the AI speaks.

By coupling live dialogue capabilities with low-latency streaming video, Google has created a more natural and visually engaging conversational experience for enterprise users. This technology can be used in various scenarios such as customer support, online education, virtual consulting, and personal assistants.

Support for 97 Languages

One of the standout features of Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar is its extensive language support. The system can respond in 97 different languages and correctly perform lip synchronization for each of them. This enables multinational companies to use a single AI assistant for their customers and employees around the world.

Enterprise Only, For Now

The important note is that this capability is currently only available for Gemini Enterprise customers and hasn't been released for general public or personal subscriptions. Google likely wants to test this technology in enterprise environments first before deciding whether to make it available to the general public.

This approach makes sense because enterprise usage typically involves a higher volume of interactions and reveals potential issues more quickly. Additionally, enterprise customers are willing to pay higher fees, helping Google offset the significant infrastructure costs of this capability.

Major Xbox Restructuring: 268 Layoffs and Halo Moves to Activision

On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Microsoft announced another round of layoffs in its Xbox division this time with deeper and more strategic impact than before. In this round, 268 people from Halo Studios and other first-party studios were laid off, and in a shocking decision, the Halo series the franchise that built the Xbox brand in 2001 was handed over to Activision.

Halo Is No Longer Halo

Halo has always been more than just a game the franchise defined Xbox's identity. When the first Xbox launched in 2001 with Halo: Combat Evolved, it was this game that transformed Microsoft's console from a newcomer into a serious competitor. Master Chief became the symbol of Xbox, just as Mario is for Nintendo or Kratos is for PlayStation.

Now, after years of struggling with development problems, underperforming recent entries, and widespread criticism of Halo Infinite, Microsoft has decided to transfer Halo to Activision the studio that makes Call of Duty.

This transfer means the next mainline Halo game will be built by a "purpose-built team" at Activision, while Halo Studios becomes a support studio for Halo Infinite and Halo: Campaign Evolved with just a skeleton crew remaining to maintain existing games.

Why Such Radical Changes?

In an internal memo that Matt Booty, Xbox's Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, sent to employees and later published publicly, these changes were described as part of "Continuing Our Reset." These actions are part of a broader restructuring that Xbox began in July.

Booty stated that these actions including studio divestitures have brought them roughly three-quarters of the way through the previously announced restructuring. In other words, this isn't the end more changes are coming.

But why does Xbox need such radical restructuring? The answer lies in market performance. Xbox has fallen significantly behind PlayStation in this console generation. The Series X and S combined have sold only about 35 million units, while PS5 has sold over 95 million. Game Pass, despite being an attractive product, hasn't achieved the expected growth, and many of Xbox's first-party games have failed to meet expectations.

Rockstar Unveils $400 GTA 6 Collector's Box - Without the Game!

In an announcement that was both exciting and peculiar, Rockstar Games on September 24, 2026, unveiled the Grand Theft Auto VI: The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection collector's box. The price? $399.99 in the United States or £349.99 in the UK. The contents? Everything except the actual game!

What's in the Box?

This collection includes a wide range of Vice City-inspired merchandise the fictional city where GTA 6 takes place, Rockstar's version of Miami. Contents include:

A collectible statue, Vice City-style sunglasses, a wallet, a "swizzle stick" (a small drink stirrer), a mirror, a hat, and lots of other merchandise all designed with the Vice City and 1980s theme. Everything is packaged in a large box that's presumably appealing to collectors.

But here's the kicker: the Rockstar store page explicitly states "Note: Grand Theft Auto VI game sold separately." Yes, you read that correctly you pay $400 and receive no copy of the game.

Mixed Reactions

The gaming community's reaction to this collection has been mixed. Some, especially hardcore GTA collectors, are excited and ready to pay this amount for official and exclusive merchandise. These people argue that these items may increase in value over time, similar to previous GTA collections that now sell at higher prices on the secondary market.

But many others criticize the fact that the game isn't included. They point out that previous GTA IV ($90) and GTA V ($150) collections included the actual game, so why is this one more than double the price without it? If the standard game is $79.99 and the Ultimate edition is $99.99, the total cost reaches $480 to $500 an amount many people can't justify.

Strategy or Greed?

The main question is: is this a smart strategic move or just greed? On one hand, Rockstar knows that GTA 6 will likely be one of the biggest entertainment events in history, and die-hard fans are willing to pay any amount. On the other hand, separating the game from the collection and selling each separately might be seen as exploiting fan enthusiasm.

One theory is that Rockstar wants to make the collection more appealing to true collectors people who will likely buy multiple copies of the game on different platforms and don't want an extra copy in the collector's box. However, this reasoning isn't convincing for most fans.