Google is introducing a new defense for Android called ‘Developer Verification’ to block malware installations from sideloaded apps sourced from outside the official Google Play app store.

For apps on Google Play, there was already a requirement for publishers to provide a D-U-N-S (Data Universal Numbering System) number, introduced on August 31, 2023.

Google says this has had a notable effect in reducing malware on the platform. However, the system didn’t apply to the vast developer ecosystem outside the app store.

“We’ve seen how malicious actors hide behind anonymity to harm users by impersonating developers and using their brand image to create convincing fake apps,” reads Google’s announcement.

“The scale of this threat is significant: our recent analysis found over 50 times more malware from internet-sideloaded sources than on apps available through Google Play.”

Although the threat is more prevalent outside Google Play, the developer verification requirement applies to both apps on Google Play and apps hosted on third-party app stores.

Starting in 2026, all apps installed on certified Android devices must come from developers who have verified their identity with Google.

Early access to the Developer Verification program will begin this year in October, and the system will open to all Android application developers in March 2026.

In September 2026, the identity verification requirement will become mandatory for Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand, before it rolls out globally in 2027.

The expected effect is to have sideloading, non-compliant apps blocked by the operating system with a security message on certified devices.

Certified Android devices are those that have passed Google’s Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) and are approved to ship with Google Play Services, Play Store, and Play Protect.

In practice, this encompasses all mainstream devices from Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, and the Google Pixel line.

Non-certified devices are those from Huawei, Amazon Fire tablets, and shady Chinese TV boxes or smartphones that use heavily modified OS images and questionable components.

Those devices are not subject to the new rule enforcement, and their users will be able to continue sideloading APKs from unverified and anonymous developers.

What you need to know

• Google is rolling out AI agents in Cloud that can handle everything from data analysis to code execution.
• Gemini CLI is gaining GitHub Actions, an agent that automates issue and contribution triage and serves as an AI teammate.
• The five other agentic solutions are aimed at data scientists and engineers working in Google Cloud business environments.

Google Cloud is bolstering its offerings in the agentic era with six new AI agents tailor-made for developers, data scientists, and data engineers alike. The agents are available in preview starting today, Aug. 5, including a GitHub Actions helper for the Gemini command-line interface (CLI).

The company says the fresh AI tools are the start of an agentic enterprise for its customers, which aims to bridge the operational and analytical needs of a business. Alongside the agentic helpers, Google Cloud is creating Gemini Data Agents APIs and the Agent Development Kit (ADK), which are the foundation for a customizable platform that can be used to create custom AI tools for unique workflows.

These are the new AI agents developers and businesses can try out now in Google Cloud:

• Data Engineering Agent in BigQuery — a data-prepping agent optimized for cleaning, transforming, and preparing information for AI use.
• Data Science Agent in BigQuery Notebooks — a workspace agent that turns notebooks into intelligent infrastructure for data science teams.
• Conversational Analytics Agent + Code Interpreter — a chatbot-style tool that supports conversational question-and-answer dialogue using the context of unique data sets.
• Migration Agent for Spanner — a data modernization agent designed for Google Cloud’s global database service, Spanner.
• Conversational Analytics API — a custom agent builder for developers and businesses.
• Gemini CLI GitHub Actions — a coding teammate for your GitHub repository, found in Gemini CLI.

Everything you need to know about Google’s new AI agents

Google Cloud is for businesses, first-and-foremost, and these AI agents are intended to help with everything from software development and data analytics to managing global distribution and infrastructure networks. For example, the Data Engineering Agent can automate workflows that were once manual processes. It supports data ingestion from external sources, like Google Cloud Storage, and can complete contextual actions on your behalf.

Google provides the example prompt of “Create a pipeline to load a CSV file, cleanse these columns, and join it with another table.” With that, the Data Engineering Agent can complete the multi-action requests independently. The Spanner Migration Agent can work in tandem with the Data Engineering Agent, as it’s intended for legacy systems that are still needing modernization.

The Data Science Agent can automate typical analytical workflows, according to Google. It handles common tasks like exploratory data analysis (EDA), data cleaning, featurization, and machine learning predictions based on provided data sets in either BigQuery or Vertex AI.

The Conversational Analytics Agent is also getting a boost, as it’s now getting a Code Interpreter function. It receives thorough and specific natural language questions, and automatically converts them into Python code. From there, Code Interpreter can run the generated code, creating visual and interactive graphics based on the results. It’s all running in Google Data Cloud, and thus the company claims it’s secure and governed.

Gemini CLI is getting better for teams with GitHub Actions

Finally, Gemini CLI is getting an upgrade that enhances multi-user support and GitHub integration. For those unfamiliar, Gemini CLI is a command-line terminal for Gemini that’s open-source and can be run locally. It’s available in beta globally now on GitHub.

The story behind Gemini CLI’s new GitHub Actions agent is pretty interesting. Amidst a heavy burden of GitHub feature requests and contributions for the open-source Gemini CLI, Google needed a way to respond quickly at scale. So, it created GitHub Actions — an autonomous agent that can handle issue triage and pull request reviews independently. Now, it’s giving away what it created to manage Gemini CLI issues and contributions as GitHub Actions.

Aside from issue triage and pulling request reviews, GitHub Actions also serves as a collaborative coding agent that can work as your AI teammate.

All of these Google Cloud features are available in preview or beta starting today, and you can try them now.

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According to a joint statement released on June 6, 2025, 31 Bitcoin Core developers have taken a clear stance on how the network should handle non-monetary uses. They stressed that their role is not to support or block data inscriptions and other non-financial activities.

The move has stirred strong feelings across the community, with debates touching on freedom, fees, and the very purpose of Bitcoin.

Developer Stance On Data Policies

Based on reports, the Core team said they won’t step in to stop “harmless” data from entering the blockchain. They pointed out that Bitcoin’s main strength is its resistance to censorship. So, any user-driven software choices must stand.

A statement on Bitcoin Core development and transaction relay policy – https://t.co/K4AaPPqTSD

— Bitcoin Core Project (@bitcoincoreorg) June 7, 2025

They made it plain: it’s up to node operators to pick what they accept. This approach aims to keep the network free, even if that means it carries extra data.

Community Voices Split

Following the statement, reactions poured in. Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3, called the developers’ tone hollow and said recent changes have “opened the floodgates” for spam. He argued that removing technical barriers encourages unwanted data.

Bitcoin Core devs have been changing the network gradually to enable spam and now seem focused on also removing barriers for spammers. It’s disingenuous to just say “it is what it is now, too bad.”

This statement itself is also inappropriate. Feels like an NYA from Core devs. https://t.co/ACIqyvK12f

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) June 7, 2025

On the flip side, Jameson Lopp of Casa praised the clear explanation of relay rules. Lopp pointed out that a unified voice from developers helps to cut down on past confusion over policy.

Recent Upgrade Sparks Worries

On May 8, 2025, Core developers removed a long-standing limit on transaction data size. That tweak lets anyone include bigger chunks of information in transactions. Critics worry this will drive up blockchain bloat and push fees higher.

Supporters say predicting what miners will include—and passing that info along—is key to keeping Bitcoin running smoothly. They claim this neutral relay policy helps miners and users alike, even if not everyone buys into it.

Future Forks And Layer Solutions

Looking ahead, some think a new fork could split off a “pure money” chain that blocks data inscriptions. Others foresee layer-2 networks or sidechains taking on the heavy lifting for art, messaging, and other uses.

Either way, most agree that wallets and node software will soon offer options: one for clean, finance-only transactions, and another for those who don’t mind extra data. This choice will let users vote with their settings instead of relying on developers to make the call.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

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A malicious Python package targeting Discord developers with remote access trojan (RAT) malware was spotted on the Python Package Index (PyPI) after more than three years.

Named “discordpydebug,” the package was masquerading as an error logger utility for developers working on Discord bots and was downloaded over 11,000 times since it was uploaded on March 21, 2022, even though it has no description or documentation.

Cybersecurity company Socket, which first spotted it, says the malware could be used to backdoor Discord developers’ systems and provide attackers with data theft and remote code execution capabilities.

“The package targeted developers who build or maintain Discord bots, typically indie developers, automation engineers, or small teams who might install such tools without extensive scrutiny,” Socket researchers said.

“Since PyPI doesn’t enforce deep security audits of uploaded packages, attackers often take advantage of this by using misleading descriptions, legitimate-sounding names, or even copying code from popular projects to appear trustworthy.”

Once installed, the malicious package transforms the device into a remote-controlled system that will execute instructions sent from an attacker-controlled command-and-control (C2) server.

The attackers could use the malware to gain unauthorized access to credentials and more (e.g., tokens, keys, and config files), steal data and monitor system activity without being detected, remotely execute code for deploying further malware payloads, and obtain information that can help them move laterally within the network.

​While the malware lacks persistence or privilege escalation mechanisms, it uses outbound HTTP polling instead of inbound connections, making it possible to bypass firewalls and security software, especially in loosely controlled development environments.

Once installed, the package silently connects to an attacker-controlled command-and-control (C2) server (backstabprotection.jamesx123.repl[.]co), sending a POST request with a “name” value to add the infected host to the attackers’ infrastructure.

The malware also includes functions to read from and write to files on the host machine using JSON operations when triggered by specific keywords from the C2 server, giving the threat actors visibility into sensitive data.

To mitigate the risk of installing backdoored malware from online code repositories, software developers should ensure that the packages they download and install come from the official author before installation, especially for popular ones, to avoid typosquatting.

Additionally, when using open-source libraries, they should review the code for suspicious or obfuscated functions and consider using security tools to detect and block malicious packages.