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- HazyBeacon Hacks AWS|Neo4j to Launch ‘Alternative to Palantir Gotham’|Microsoft’s Azure HorizonDB redux
HazyBeacon Hacks AWS|Neo4j to Launch ‘Alternative to Palantir Gotham’|Microsoft’s Azure HorizonDB redux
Deep Dive: Slack and Discord for the Data Practitioner
Gladstone Benjamin
June 08, 2026
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What’s in today’s newsletter:
HazyBeacon exploits AWS for stealthy malware attacks ☁️
Neo4j acquires GraphAware to rival Palantir Gotham ✨
Microsoft launches scalable PostgreSQL for AI workloads 🚀
Snowflake unveils open framework for AI interoperability🧠
Also, check out the weekly Deep Dive - Slack and Discord for the Data Practitioner
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AWS
TL;DR: HazyBeacon malware exploits AWS cloud services, using multiple accounts and EC2 for stealthy attacks, revealing cloud vulnerabilities that demand stronger monitoring, collaboration, and advanced security strategies worldwide.
HazyBeacon malware campaign exploits AWS cloud services to conduct stealthy espionage and data theft attacks.
Attackers use multiple AWS accounts and Elastic Compute Cloud to host command and control servers dynamically.
The campaign reveals cloud platforms' vulnerability, requiring enhanced monitoring and security beyond traditional measures.
Organizations and cloud providers must collaborate on comprehensive policies and threat intelligence sharing to mitigate risks.
Why this matters: HazyBeacon's exploitation of AWS reveals the growing challenge of securing trusted cloud platforms against sophisticated malware. It underscores the need for stronger, collaborative cloud security measures and continuous monitoring as attackers increasingly exploit cloud services to evade detection and execute stealthy cyber espionage.
GRAPH DATABASE
TL;DR: Neo4j is acquiring GraphAware to develop a platform rivaling Palantir Gotham, enhancing graph analytics for government, cybersecurity, and finance, increasing competition and innovation in complex data integration.
Neo4j plans to launch a platform rivaling Palantir Gotham by acquiring graph consultancy GraphAware.
GraphAware’s expertise will enhance Neo4j’s custom graph applications and accelerate new platform development.
The new platform targets industries like government, cybersecurity, and finance with advanced graph analytics.
Neo4j’s move signals rising demand for graph databases and intensifies competition against Palantir.
Why this matters: Neo4j’s acquisition of GraphAware aims to disrupt Palantir Gotham’s stronghold by offering advanced, customizable graph analytics to critical sectors, signaling a shift toward more accessible, competitive solutions in complex data integration that could accelerate innovation and broaden adoption of graph technology across industries.
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MICROSOFT AZURE
TL;DR: Microsoft’s Azure HorizonDB enhances PostgreSQL with AI-optimized scalability, advanced indexing, and distributed SQL, boosting performance for AI workloads while simplifying operations and supporting enterprise AI transformations.
Azure HorizonDB is Microsoft’s enterprise-ready PostgreSQL database tailored specifically for AI workloads and applications.
It offers enhanced horizontal scalability, advanced indexing, and distributed SQL for efficient large-scale data management.
HorizonDB improves throughput and reduces latency, optimizing data access for machine learning and AI model demands.
This innovation supports AI adoption by simplifying operations and accelerating training while maintaining PostgreSQL compatibility.
Why this matters: Azure HorizonDB bridges traditional relational databases with AI demands, enabling enterprises to efficiently manage vast data at scale. By reducing latency and complexity while preserving PostgreSQL's familiarity, it accelerates AI model development, positioning Microsoft as a key enabler in cloud-based AI transformations.
SNOWFLAKE
TL;DR: Snowflake introduced an open, modular framework for enterprise data and AI interoperability, enhancing integration, governance, and real-time sharing while fostering collaboration and reducing vendor lock-in.
Snowflake launched an open framework to enhance interoperability among enterprise data and AI applications.
The framework features a modular design enabling seamless interaction among data ingestion, processing, storage, and AI deployment.
It supports improved data governance, security, and real-time sharing, accelerating AI innovation and accuracy across diverse data sources.
Snowflake’s initiative fosters a collaborative ecosystem, reducing vendor lock-in and promoting flexible adoption of best-of-breed technologies.
Why this matters: Snowflake’s open framework tackles data silos and system incompatibilities, enabling enterprises to unify data and AI workflows. This fosters faster innovation, better AI accuracy, and stronger governance while reducing costs and vendor lock-in, potentially setting new industry standards for interoperable enterprise data and AI management.
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DEEP DIVE
Slack and Discord for those who work with databases and the like
I stated last week that I was to attend a ClickHouse one day training session. The instructor at the end stated that ClickHouse does indeed have a Slack channel. Now, to be honest, I have not utilized Slack and Discord very much, but I wondered to myself, what other database companies maintain these types of channels.
Some of the reasons to join these are as follows:
You get answers from the people who wrote the code.
You see failure patterns at scale.
Early warning on roadmap and breaking changes.
Direct line for feature requests and bug triage.
Talent and peer signal.
I think even for myself, I will start to investigate these various Slack and Discord channels for my own edification.
With that said, I assembled 2 sets of channels below for your perusal (Nothing too earth shattering this week as my mind is recuperating from a Snowflake exam and preparing for a Databricks exam in July):
Set 1: Support-Oriented Communities With Visible Staff, Core-Team or Expert Participation
Company or Product | Category | Slack or Discord Access | Official URL |
|---|---|---|---|
QuestDB | Time-series database | Slack — technical support and direct access to the QuestDB team | |
Qdrant | Vector database | Discord — help from users and the core team | |
SurrealDB | Multi-model database | Discord — active team participation and escalation of complex issues | https://surrealdb.com/docs/cloud/billing-and-support/support |
Upstash | Serverless Redis and Kafka platform | Discord — interact with developers and the Upstash team | |
Redpanda | Streaming data platform | Slack — public community chat with the Redpanda team | |
InfluxDB | Time-series database | Slack and Discord — discussions with community members and InfluxData staff | |
StarRocks | OLAP and real-time analytics database | Slack — real-time chat with peers and StarRocks experts | |
Estuary | Real-time data integration and CDC platform | Slack — onboarding support and interaction with the Estuary team | |
Tiger Data / TimescaleDB | PostgreSQL time-series platform | Slack — developers, community members and office hours | |
Soda | Data-quality platform | Slack — free community support for open-source and trial users | https://docs.soda.io/soda-documentation/soda-v3/learning-resources/support |
Materialize | Streaming SQL database | Slack — informal technical assistance and product discussions | |
Zilliz / Milvus | Vector database platform | Discord and Slack — technical discussions and engineering office hours | |
Turso | Distributed SQLite and libSQL platform | Discord — help from experienced developers and Turso staff | |
Hasura | GraphQL and data API platform | Discord — community engineering engagement and technical discussions | |
Convex | Backend and database platform | Discord — product questions, feedback and unresolved-support escalation | |
CockroachDB | Distributed SQL database | Slack — direct access to community experts and experienced developers | |
ScyllaDB | NoSQL database | Slack — real-time technical discussions with experts and users | |
Meltano | Data integration and ELT platform | Slack — community help with team-assisted support channels | |
Great Expectations | Data-quality platform | Slack — support from Great Expectations staff and users | |
MotherDuck | DuckDB-based cloud data warehouse | Slack — product support questions, troubleshooting and community discussions | |
Neon | Serverless PostgreSQL platform | Discord — collaboration with the Neon team and wider user community |
Set 2: Wider User Communities With Official Slack or Discord Access
These are valuable for peer support, implementation advice, technical discussions, networking and product awareness. Employees may participate, but you should not assume that a staff member will respond to each question.
Company or Product | Category | Slack or Discord Access | Official URL |
|---|---|---|---|
ClickHouse | Columnar OLAP database | Slack — large official community for support and product discussions | |
Airbyte | Open-source data integration platform | Slack — community support and connector-development discussions | |
Chroma | Vector database | Discord — open-source community and expert help; direct engineer support is plan-dependent | |
Supabase | PostgreSQL backend platform | Discord — code-level help from an active developer community | |
Prisma | ORM and database tooling | Discord — help, implementation discussions and community interaction | |
Neo4j | Graph database | Discord — official real-time community chat; the former public Slack was retired | https://neo4j.com/blog/news/neo4j-community-is-migrating-from-slack-to-discord/ |
dbt Labs / dbt | Data transformation and analytics engineering | Slack — large practitioner community; forum preferred for durable support questions | |
Dagster | Data orchestration platform | Slack — technical questions, workflow discussions and knowledge sharing | |
Prefect | Data orchestration platform | Slack — workflow discussions and community help | |
DataHub | Metadata and data-catalog platform | Slack — product discussions, technical help and implementation ideas | |
Collate / OpenMetadata | Metadata and data-governance platform | Slack — questions, product updates and community support | |
Tinybird | Real-time analytics platform | Slack — community support for real-time data workloads | |
Confluent | Kafka, Flink and streaming data platform | Slack — real-time chat with peers and streaming experts | |
Redis | In-memory database and data platform | Discord — general questions, answers and community knowledge sharing | |
Pinecone | Vector database | Discord — official vector-search developer community | |
FerretDB | MongoDB-compatible PostgreSQL proxy | Slack — quick technical questions; GitHub Discussions used for longer topics | |
Apache Airflow | Open-source data-orchestration project | Slack — large ecosystem with end users and core contributors; not an Astronomer customer-support channel | |
DuckDB / DuckLabs | Embedded analytical database | Discord — official project community | |
PostgreSQL | Open-source relational database project | Slack — volunteer and expert community; not a company-operated support desk |
Gladstone Benjamin
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