Welcome to the September 10, 2025 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

• U.S. to Bar Some Chinese Labs from Testing Electronics
• Automation Comes for Tech Jobs in the Capital of AI
• Perl Programming Language Rises Again
• CISA Sounds Alarm over TP-Link Wireless Routers Under Attack
• Legacy Tech Brands Seek Battlefield Experience
• NOAA Launches Robotic Hurricane Research Vessels
• South Korean Military to Train 500,000 ‘Drone Warriors’
• Online Images Can Hijack Your Computer
• Microsoft Open-Sources the 6502 BASIC Coded by Bill Gates
• AI Turns Printer into a Partner in Tissue Engineering
• Tool Helps Scientists Eavesdrop on Freshwater Soundscapes
• DNA-based Neural Network Learns from Examples

U.S. to Bar Some Chinese Labs from Testing Electronics

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has moved to withdraw recognition from seven Chinese government-owned or -controlled labs that test U.S. electronics, citing national security concerns. The FCC also said U.S. recognition of four other Chinese labs expired in May and will not be renewed. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said foreign adversaries should not control labs that certify devices for the U.S. market.
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Automation Comes for Tech Jobs in the Capital of AI

Salesforce laid off 262 employees from its offices in San Francisco, the latest in a string of cuts as CEO Marc Benioff champions AI as a driver of productivity and efficiency. Benioff has said AI already handles up to half of Salesforce’s work, reducing the need for thousands of customer support roles. The layoffs highlight Silicon Valley’s broader shift toward automation and stricter management, with tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon also cutting staff while pushing AI products.
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Perl Programming Language Rises Again

Legacy programming language Perl has seen a resurgence in the Tiobe index of language popularity, coming in at No. 10 in the latest rankings, up from No. 27 a year ago. Dating back to 1987, Perl ranked as high as third on the Tiobe ranking in its heyday. Tiobe CEO Paul Jansen speculated that the “technical” reason for Tiobe’s resurgence is the large number of books about Perl on Amazon.
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CISA Sounds Alarm over TP-Link Wireless Routers Under Attack

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has warned that two flaws in routers produced by China's TP-Link, CVE-2023-50224 and CVE-2025-9377, are under active attack. The vulnerabilities expose users to credential theft and remote code execution on models including Archer C7(EU) V2 and TL-WR841N/ND(MS) V9. CISA urged organizations to prioritize remediation as part of their vulnerability management programs. A third bug in the CWMP protocol, disclosed separately, can crash routers.
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Legacy Tech Brands Seek Battlefield Experience

Legacy tech giants like Nokia, Dell, and Oracle are adapting civilian technologies like 5G networks, cloud computing, and AI analytics for combat use as battlefields in Ukraine and Gaza become data-driven arenas where drones, sensors, and bodycams stream vast amounts of information. Nokia and Ericsson are pushing secure 5G systems for NATO, while Oracle and Palantir power the U.S. military’s Maven Smart System. Dell is producing rugged AI-enabled hardware for frontline troops.
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NOAA Launches Robotic Hurricane Research Vessels

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched five uncrewed robotic vessels off the U.S. Virgin Islands to collect data on hurricane formation and behavior. Partnering with the University of Southern Mississippi and robotics firm Oshen, NOAA plans to deploy more of the C-Star vessels this fall. Powered by wind and solar energy, the C-Stars use small thrusters for precise positioning and transmit high-resolution images, videos, and environmental data.
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South Korean Military to Train 500,000 ‘Drone Warriors’

South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced plans to train 500,000 “drone warriors” in drone operation and piloting across its military ranks. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back unveiled the initiative at the Army’s 36th Infantry Division base in Wonju, designating it the military’s first dedicated drone training ground. The program will provide every soldier the chance to earn drone piloting credentials while strengthening ties with the domestic drone industry.
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Online Images Can Hijack Your Computer

Researchers at the University of Oxford in the U.K. warn that AI agents may be vulnerable to hidden attacks embedded in images. Explained Oxford's Yarin Gal, any such sabotaged image can trigger a computer “to retweet that image and then do something malicious, like send all your passwords. That means that the next person who sees your Twitter feed and happens to have an agent running will have their computer poisoned as well.”
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Microsoft Open-Sources the 6502 BASIC Coded by Bill Gates

Microsoft has open-sourced its 1976 version of BASIC for the MOS 6502 processor, used in early microcomputers like the Commodore PET, VIC-20, and C64. Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen wrote the company’s first product, BASIC for the Altair 8800 microcomputer and the Intel 8080 processor that powered it, in 1975. A year later, Gates and Ric Weiland, Microsoft’s second employee, ported Microsoft BASIC to the 6502 processor. Version 1.1, now on GitHub, includes fixes to the garbage collector identified by Commodore and jointly implemented in 1978 by Commodore engineer John Feagans and Gates.
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AI Turns Printer into a Partner in Tissue Engineering

An AI-driven 3D bioprinting system developed by researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands uses volumetric bioprinting with laser imaging to “see” where cells are located in real time and adapt designs dynamically. This allows it to create custom blood vessel networks, layer multiple tissue types, and correct for obstacles during printing, all within seconds. Explained Utrecht's Sammy Florczak, "This new printer essentially has its own ‘eyes’—the laser-based imaging—and ‘brain’—the new AI software."
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Tool Helps Scientists Eavesdrop on Freshwater Soundscapes

Researchers at Griffith University in Australia developed a tool to analyze underwater soundscapes in freshwater ecosystems. Traditionally, scientists use waterproof microphones to record rivers, but processing the tens of thousands of sounds captured daily is time-consuming. Built in R, the new tool groups sounds by time, frequency, and amplitude, streamlining analysis. Tested in South-East Queensland, it identified nearly 90% of distinct sounds, including those masked by flowing water.
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DNA-based Neural Network Learns from Examples

A DNA-based neural network developed by California Institute of Technology researchers is capable of learning, mimicking the brain’s ability to retain and act on information. Unlike traditional electronic neural networks, the system, made from strands of DNA, uses chemical reactions to process data, storing memories in molecular “wires” that flip on to encode patterns. The network can recognize molecular representations of handwritten numbers, building chemical memories over time similar to human learning.
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