Search This Blog
Powered by Blogger.

Blog Archive

Labels

Load More
Trendy Right Now

Popular Posts

Showing posts with label Tech Giant. Show all posts
Vulnerability management
Global Outage Tech Giant Technology Threat Landscape Vulnerability management

Are We Ready For The Next Major Global IT Outage? Here's All You Need to Know

 

Last Friday, a glitch in the tech firm led to a global disruption impacting cross-sector activities. Hospitals, health clinics, and banks were impacted; airlines grounded their planes; broadcasting firms were unable to broadcast (Sky News went off the air); emergency numbers such as 911 in the United States were unavailable; and MDA experienced several troubles in Israel. 

This incident had a significant impact in the United States, Australia, and Europe. Critical infrastructure and many corporate operations were brought to a halt. In Israel, citizens instantly linked the incident to warfare, namely the UAV that arrived from Yemen and exploded in Tel Aviv, presuming that Iran was attacking in the cyber dimension. 

What exactly happened? 

CrowdStrike, an American firm based in Texas that provides a cybersecurity protection system deployed in several companies across the world, announced on Friday morning that there was a glitch with the most recent version of their system given to customers. The issue caused Microsoft's operating system, Windows, not to load, resulting in a blue screen. As a result, any organisational systems that were installed and based on that operating system failed to load. In other words, the organisation had been paralysed. 

But the trouble didn't end there. During the company's repair actions, hackers "jumped on the bandwagon," impersonating as staff members and giving instructions that essentially involved installing malicious code into the company and erasing its databases. This was the second part of the incident. 

Importance of risk management 

Risk management is an organisational discipline. Within risk management processes, the organisation finds out and maps the threat and vulnerability portfolio in its activities, while also developing effective responses and controls to threats and risks. Threats can be "internal," such as an employee's human error, embezzlement, or a technical failure in a computer or server. Threats can also arise "externally" to the organisation, such as consumer or supplier fraud, a cyberattack, geopolitical threats in general, particularly war, or a pandemic, fire, or earthquake. 

It appears that the world has become far more global and technological than humans like to imagine or believe. And, certainly, a keyboard error made by one individual in one organisation can have global consequences, affecting all of our daily lives. This is the fact, and we should recognise it as soon as possible and start preparing for future incidents through systematic risk management methods.
Read more »
User Privacy
Data Breach Data Leak Tech Giant User Data User Privacy

Cyber Criminals Siphoned 'Almost All' of AT&T's Call Logs Over Six Months

 

Hackers accessed AT&T's data storage platform in April, stealing metadata from "nearly all" call records and messages sent by users over a six-month period in 2022. AT&T filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, stating that it learned of the incident on April 19.

The company revealed to a local media outlet that the breach took place via the third-party cloud platform Snowflake, a data storage giant plagued by hackers who have attacked some of the company's most notable clients and released stuff affecting hundreds of millions of individuals. An investigation revealed the attacker stole files from AT&T's Snowflake account between April 14 and April 25.

When asked why the attacker was still able to access the Snowflake account nearly a week after AT&T detected the issue, the spokesman stated that it "took time to investigate the claim of a breach, determine its source, isolate the impacted data, and close off the illegal access point." 

The spokesperson stated that the hackers took "aggregated metadata" regarding calls or messages, not the content of the talks. AT&T has the most wireless subscribers in the United States, far more than rivals Verizon and T-Mobile. 

According to an annual report for 2022, the incident affected around 109 million people's accounts. The telecom giant believes the hacker stole "files containing AT&T records of customer call and text interactions" from around the beginning of May 2022 to the end of October, as well as on January 2, 2023.

The hack impacted "records of calls and texts of nearly all of AT&T's wireless customers and customers of mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) using AT&T's wireless network.” 

“These records identify the telephone numbers with which an AT&T or MVNO wireless number interacted during these periods, including telephone numbers of AT&T wireline customers and customers of other carriers, counts of those interactions, and aggregate call duration for a day or month,” the company noted in the SEC filing. 

“For a subset of records, one or more cell site identification number(s) are also included. While the data does not include customer names, there are often ways, using publicly available online tools, to find the name associated with a specific telephone number.” 

AT&T pledged to tell current and former customers, and it stated it had locked down the "point of unlawful access." The company stated in the filing that at least one person was arrested in connection with the theft.
Read more »
Technology
App security LastPass Password Manager Tech Giant Technology

Tech Giant Apple Launches Its Own Password Manager App

 

People with knowledge of the matter claim that Apple Inc. launched a new homegrown app this week called Passwords, with the goal of making it simpler for users to log in to websites and apps. 

The company introduced the new app as part of iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS 15, the next major versions of its iPhone, iPad and Mac operating systems, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the initiative hasn’t been announced. The password-generating and password-tracking software was unveiled on June 10 at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. 

The new app is backed by iCloud Keychain, a long-standing Apple tool for syncing passwords and account information across several devices. This capability was previously concealed within the company's settings app or displayed when a user logged into a website. 

Apple is attempting to encourage more people to use safe passwords and improve the privacy of its devices by making the feature available as a standalone app. However, the action increases competition with third-party apps. The new app will compete with password managers such as 1Password and LastPass, and Apple will allow users to import credentials from rival services. 

The app displays a list of user logins and divides them into categories such as accounts, Wi-Fi networks, and Passkeys, an Apple-supported password replacement that uses Face ID and Touch ID.

Like most password managers, the data can be auto-filled into websites and apps when a user logs in. The software will also function with the Vision Pro headset and Windows computers. It also supports verification codes and functions as an authentication software similar to Google Authenticator. 

The Passwords push is only one part of the WWDC event. The primary focus will be Apple's artificial intelligence project, which will include features such as notification summaries, fast photo editing, AI-generated emoji, and a more powerful Siri digital assistant. Apple will also announce a collaboration with OpenAI to utilise the ChatGPT chatbot.
Read more »
Tech Giant
Application Vulnerability Mobile Security Phone Alarm Social Media Tech Giant

Apple Working to Patch Alarming iPhone Issue

 

Apple claims to be working rapidly to resolve an issue that resulted in some iPhone alarms not setting off, allowing its sleeping users to have an unexpected lie-in. 

Many people rely on their phones as alarm clocks, and some oversleepers took to social media to gripe. A Tiktokker expressed dissatisfaction at setting "like five alarms" that failed to go off. 

Apple has stated that it is aware of the issue at hand, but has yet to explain what it believes is causing it or how users may avoid a late start. 

It's also unknown how many people are affected or if the issue is limited to specific iPhone models. The news was first made public by the early risers on NBC's Today Show, which sparked concerns. 

In the absence of an official solution, those who are losing sleep over the issue can try a few simple fixes. One is to prevent human error; therefore, double-check the phone's alarm settings and make sure the volume is turned up. 

Others pointed the finger at Apple designers, claiming that a flaw in the iPhones' "attention aware features" could be to blame.

When enabled, they allow an iPhone to detect whether a user is paying attention to their device and, if so, to automatically take action, such as lowering the volume of alerts, including alarms. 

According to Apple, they are compatible with the iPhone X and later, as well as the iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Pro 12.9-inch. Some TikTok users speculated that if a slumbering user's face was oriented towards the screen of a bedside iPhone, depending on the phone's settings, the functionalities may be activated. 

Apple said it intends to resolve the issue quickly. But, until then, its time zone-spanning consumer base may need to dust off some old gear and replace TikTok with the more traditional - but trustworthy - tick-tock of an alarm clock.
Read more »
Vulnerabilities and Exploits
Encryption Cracks M-Series Chips Tech Giant User Security Vulnerabilities and Exploits

Critical Flaw Identified in Apple's Silicon M-Series Chips – And it Can't be Patched

 

Researchers have identified a novel, unpatched security vulnerability that can allow an attacker to decrypt data on the most advanced MacBooks. 

This newly discovered vulnerability affects all Macs utilising Apple silicon, including the M1, M2, and M3 CPUs. To make matters worse, the issue is built into the architecture of these chips, so Apple can't fix it properly. Instead, any upgrades must be done before the iPhone maker launches its M4 chips later this year. 

The vulnerability, like last year's iLeakage attack, is a side channel that, under specific circumstances, allows an attacker to extract the end-to-end encryption keys. Fortunately, exploiting this flaw is challenging for an attacker, as it can take a long time. 

The new flaw was identified by a group of seven academic academics from universities across the United States, who outlined their findings in a research paper (PDF) on microarchitectural side channel attacks. 

To demonstrate how this issue could be exploited by hackers, they created GoFetch, an app that does not require root access. Instead, it merely requires the same user privileges as most third-party Mac apps. For those unfamiliar with Apple's M-series chips, they are all organised into clusters that house their respective cores. 

If the GoFetch app and the cryptography app being targeted by an attacker share the same performance cluster, GoFetch will be able to mine enough secrets to reveal a secret key. 

Patching will hinder performance

Patching this flaw will be impossible as it exists in Apple's processors, not in its software. To fully resolve the issue, the iPhone manufacturer would have to create entirely new chips. 

The researchers who found the vulnerability advise Apple to use workarounds in the company's M1, M2, and M3 chips to solve it, as there is no way to fix it. 

In order to implement these solutions, cryptographic software developers would need to incorporate remedies such as ciphertext blinding, which modifies or eliminates masks applied to sensitive variables, such as those found in encryption keys, before or after they are loaded into or saved from memory. 

Why there's no need for concern

To leverage this unfixable vulnerability in an attack, a hacker would first have to dupe a gullible Mac user into downloading and installing a malicious app on their computer. In macOS with Gatekeeper, Apple limits unsigned apps by default, which would make it much harder to install the malicious app required to carry out an attack. 

From here, this attack takes quite some time to complete. In reality, during their tests, the researchers discovered that it took anywhere between an hour and ten hours, during which time the malicious app would have to be operating continually. 

While we haven't heard anything from Apple about this unpatched issue yet, we'll update this post if we do. Until then, the researchers advised that users maintain all of the software on their Apple silicon-powered Macs up to date and apply Apple updates as soon as they become available.
Read more »
User Privacy
Data Breach Data Leak Streaming Platform Tech Giant User Privacy

Roku Data Breach: Over 15,000 Accounts Compromised; Data Sold for Pennies

 

A data breach impacting more than 15,000 consumers was revealed by streaming giant Roku. The attackers employed stolen login credentials to gain unauthorised access and make fraudulent purchases. 

Roku notified customers of the breach last Friday, stating that hackers used a technique known as "credential stuffing" to infiltrate 15,363 accounts. Credential stuffing is the use of exposed usernames and passwords from other data breaches to attempt to enter into accounts on other services. These attacks started in December 2023 and persisted until late February 2024, as per the company. 

Bleeping Computer was the first to reveal the hack, pointing out that attackers used automated tools to undertake credential-stuffing assaults on Roku. The hackers were able to bypass security protections using techniques such as specific URLs and rotating proxy servers. 

In this case, hackers probably gained login credentials from previous hacks of other websites and attempted to use them on Roku accounts. If successful, they could change the account information and take complete control, locking users out of their own accounts. 

The publication also uncovered that stolen accounts are being sold for as few as 50 cents each on hacking marketplaces. Purchasers can then employ the stored credit card information on these accounts to purchase Roku gear, such as streaming devices, soundbars, and light strips. 

Roku stated that hackers used stolen credentials to acquire streaming subscriptions such as Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus in some instances. The company claims to have safeguarded the impacted accounts and required password resets. Furthermore, Roku's security team has discovered and cancelled unauthorised purchases, resulting in refunds for affected users. 

Fortunately, the data breach did not compromise critical information such as social security numbers or full credit card information. So hackers should be unable to perform fraudulent transactions outside of the Roku ecosystem. However, it is recommended that you update your Roku password as a precaution. 

Even if you were not affected, this is a wake-up call that stresses the significance of proper password hygiene. Most importantly, change your passwords every few months and avoid using the same password across multiple accounts whenever possible.
Read more »
Tech Giant
Cyber Attacks cyber intrusion Data Leak Russian Hackers Tech Giant

Microsoft Claims Russian Hackers are Attempting to Break into Company Networks.

 

Microsoft warned on Friday that hackers affiliated to Russia's foreign intelligence were attempting to break into its systems again, using data collected from corporate emails in January to seek new access to the software behemoth whose products are widely used throughout the US national security infrastructure.

Some experts were alarmed by the news, citing concerns about the security of systems and services at Microsoft, one of the world's major software companies that offers digital services and infrastructure to the United States government. 

The tech giant revealed that the intrusions were carried out by a Russian state-sponsored outfit known as Midnight Blizzard, or Nobelium.

The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Microsoft's statement, nor on Microsoft's earlier statements regarding Midnight Blizzard activity.

Microsoft reported the incident in January, stating that hackers attempted to break into company email accounts, including those of senior company executives, as well as cybersecurity, legal, and other services. 

Microsoft's vast client network makes it unsurprising that it is being attacked, according to Jerome Segura, lead threat researcher at Malwarebytes' Threatdown Labs. He said that it was concerning that the attack was still ongoing, despite Microsoft's efforts to prevent access. 

Persistent Threat

Several experts who follow Midnight Blizzard claim that the group has a history of targeting political bodies, diplomatic missions, and non-governmental organisations. Microsoft claimed in a January statement that Midnight Blizzard was probably gunning after it since the company had conducted extensive study to analyse the hacking group's activities. 

Since at least 2021, when the group was discovered to be responsible for the SolarWinds cyberattack that compromised a number of U.S. federal agencies, Microsoft's threat intelligence team has been looking into and sharing research on Nobelium.

The company stated on Friday that the ongoing attempts to compromise Microsoft are indicative of a "sustained, significant commitment of the threat actor's resources, coordination, and focus.” 

"It is apparent that Midnight Blizzard is attempting to use secrets of different types it has found," the company added. "Some of these secrets were shared between customers and Microsoft in email, and as we discover them in our exfiltrated email, we have been and are reaching out to these customers to assist them in taking mitigating measures.”
Read more »
Technology
AI Model Llama 3 LLM Model Tech Giant Technology

Meta Plans to Launch Enhanced AI model Llama 3 in July

 

The Information reported that Facebook's parent company, Meta, plans to launch Llama 3, a new AI language model, in July. As part of Meta's attempts to enhance its large language models (LLMs), the open-source LLM was designed to offer more comprehensive responses to contentious queries. 

In order to give context to questions they believe to be contentious, meta researchers are attempting to "loosen up" the model. For example, Llama 2, Meta's current chatbot model for social media sites, ignores contentious subjects like "kill a vehicle engine" and "how to win a war." The study claims that Llama 3 would be able to comprehend more nuanced questions like "how to kill a vehicle's engine," which refers to turning a vehicle off as opposed to taking it out of service. 

To ensure that the responses from the new model are more precise and nuanced, Meta will internally designate a single person to oversee tone and safety training. The goal of the endeavour is to improve the ability to respond and use Meta's new large language model. This project is crucial because Google recently disabled the Gemini chatbot's capacity to generate images in response to criticism over old photos and phrases that were sometimes mistranslated. 

The research was released in the same week that Microsoft, the challenger to OpenAI's ChatGPT, Mistral, the French AI champion, announced a strategic relationship and investment. As the tech giant attempts to attract more clients for its Azure cloud services, the multi-year agreement underscores Microsoft's plans to offer a variety of AI models in addition to its biggest bet in OpenAI.

Microsoft confirmed its investment in Mistral, but stated that it owns no interest in the company. The IT behemoth is under regulatory investigation in Europe and the United States for its massive investment in OpenAI. 

The Paris-based startup develops open source and proprietary large language models (LLM), such as the one OpenAI pioneered with ChatGPT, to interpret and generate text in a human-like manner. Its most recent proprietary model, Mistral Large, will be made available to Azure customers first through the agreement. Mistral's technology will run on Microsoft's cloud computing infrastructure.
Read more »
Technology
Electric Car iPhone Maker Self Driving Car Tech Giant Technology

Apple Cancels It's Ambitious Plan of Building an Electric Car

 

Ten years after it was first claimed that the maker of the iPhone was working on the project, Apple is reported to have scrapped its plan of making electric cars (EVs).

The project, which employs nearly two thousand people, has never been acknowledged by the company in public. 

According to Bloomberg News, many project workers will be transferred to the iPhone maker's artificial intelligence (AI) section. 

Apple's automobile team was reportedly named the Special Projects Group as part of CEO Tim Cook's Project Titan. 

The company was first reported to be working on a fully autonomous car without a steering wheel or pedals while it spent billions of dollars on research and development. However, the team was understood to still be years away from producing a vehicle. 

"This is a smart and long-awaited decision," Ray Wang, founder and chief executive of Silicon Valley-based consultancy Constellation Research stated. "The market demand for EVs is not there and AI is where all the action is.”

Apple has been looking at fresh opportunities beyond the iPhone and computers, such as its recently released Vision Pro virtual reality gear. 

Demand for EVs has slowed in recent months as borrowing prices remain high, making the market more competitive as big firms compete to acquire customers. In recent months, US automakers Ford and General Motors have postponed plans to increase EV output. 

Rivian, the developer of electric trucks, announced last week that it plans to reduce its personnel by 10% and intends to keep production the same this year. 

In January, Tesla warned that its sales growth would be slower this year than in 2023. The company, led by multibillionaire Elon Musk, has been lowering pricing in major areas across the world, including Europe and China, as it faces stiff competition from Chinese rivals like BYD. 

Emojis of a salute and a cigarette were used by Mr. Musk to respond to a story about the Apple project's demise on the social media platform X.
Read more »
Workplace Security
Artificial Intelligence Cyber Security Data Leak Tech Giant Third Party Apps Workplace Security

Amazon Issues ‘Warning’ For Employees Using AI At Work

 

A leaked email to employees revealed Amazon's guidelines for using third-party GenAI tools at work. 

Business Insider claims that the email mandates employees to refrain from using third-party software due to data security concerns.

“While we may find ourselves using GenAl tools, especially when it seems to make life easier, we should be sure not to use it for confidential Amazon work,” the email reads. “Don’t share any confidential Amazon, customer, or employee data when you’re using 3rd party GenAl tools. Generally, confidential data would be data that is not publicly available.” 

This is not the first time that Amazon has had to remind employees. A company lawyer advised employees not to provide ChatGPT with "any Amazon confidential information (including Amazon code you are working on)" in a letter dated January 20, 2023.

The warning was issued due to concerns that these types of third-party resources may claim ownership over the information that workers exchange, leading to future output that might involve or resemble confidential data. "There have already been cases where the results closely align with pre-existing material," the lawyer stated at the time. 

Over half of employees are using GenAI without permission from their employer, according to Salesforce research, and seven out of ten employees are using AI without receiving training on its safe or ethical use. Merely 17% of American industries own vaguely defined AI policies. In sectors like healthcare, where 87% of worldwide workers report that their employer lacks a clear policy on AI use, the issue is particularly noticeable. 

Employers and HR departments need to have greater insight into how their staff members are utilising AI in order to ensure that they are using it carefully.
Read more »
Tech Giant
App Developers App Store Apple Data Breach Digital Services Epic Games Financial Exploit Fortnite Google Tech Giant

Epic Games Wins: Historic Decision Against Google in App Store Antitrust Case

The conflict between tech behemoths Google and Apple and Fortnite creator Epic Games is a ground-breaking antitrust lawsuit that has rocked the app ecosystem. An important turning point in the dispute occurred when a jury decided to support the gaming behemoth over Google after Epic Games had initially challenged the app store duopoly.

The core of the dispute lies in the exorbitant fees imposed by Google and Apple on app developers for in-app purchases. Epic Games argued that these fees, which can go as high as 30%, amount to monopolistic practices, stifling competition and innovation in the digital marketplace. The trial has illuminated the murky waters of app store policies, prompting a reevaluation of the power dynamics between tech behemoths and app developers.

One of the key turning points in the trial was the revelation of internal emails from Google, exposing discussions about the company's fear of losing app developers to rival platforms. These emails provided a rare glimpse into the inner workings of tech giants and fueled Epic Games' claims of anticompetitive behavior.

The verdict marks a significant blow to Google, with the jury finding in favor of Epic Games. The decision has broader implications for the tech industry, raising questions about the monopolistic practices of other app store operators. While Apple has not yet faced a verdict in its case with Epic Games, the outcome against Google sets a precedent that could reverberate across the entire digital ecosystem.

Legal experts speculate that the financial repercussions for Google could be substantial, potentially costing the company billions. The implications extend beyond financial penalties; the trial has ignited a conversation about the need for regulatory intervention to ensure a fair and competitive digital marketplace.

Industry observers and app developers are closely monitoring the fallout from this trial, anticipating potential changes in app store policies and fee structures. The ruling against Google serves as a wake-up call for tech giants, prompting a reassessment of their dominance in the digital economy.

As the legal battle between Epic Games and Google unfolds, the final outcome remains years away. However, this trial has undeniably set in motion a reexamination of the app store landscape, sparking debates about antitrust regulations and the balance of power in the ever-evolving world of digital commerce.

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, stated "this is a monumental step in the ongoing fight for fair competition in digital markets and for the basic rights of developers and creators." In the coming years, the legal structure controlling internet firms and app store regulations will probably be shaped by the fallout from this trial.

Read more »
Technology
Google Account Inactive Account Playstore Tech Giant Technology

Reminder: Google Has Started to Purge Inactive Accounts

 

You should log into any old Google account you wish to maintain if you haven't used it in a few years to avoid having it deleted due to Google's inactive account policy. Google revealed the new guidelines in May, stating that account deletions would start as early as December 2023. Since then, Google has begun notifying impacted users through email that their accounts may be deleted starting in the first week of December. 

To be clear, Google has not stated that it will delete all eligible accounts from the first of December.The company intends to proceed in stages, "beginning with accounts that were created and never used again." However, now appears to be as good a time as any to ensure that your old accounts are in order so that you don't risk losing important data.

For a Google Account to remain active for an additional two years, it is often sufficient to simply sign in. Google adds that actions that fall under its policy regarding inactive accounts include sending or receiving emails, using Google Drive, viewing YouTube content, downloading apps from the Google Play Store, searching the Google Play Store, and signing in with Google to access third-party services. 

It's a good idea to confirm that the email address linked to your account is accessible after you log in. This is due to Google's announcement that it will notify affected users of an upcoming deletion through several notifications sent to both their recovery email addresses and affected Google accounts. 

If you want to prevent the deletion of any content stored in Google Photos, you'll need to sign in separately, but logging in to your Google account should be sufficient to stop it from being deleted altogether for two years. According to a 2020 policy, the search giant "reserves the right to delete data in a product if you are inactive in that product for at least two years." Nevertheless, neither accounts with active subscriptions linked to them nor accounts with YouTube videos will be deleted. 

Google stated that it modified its policies for security reasons when it announced the new guidelines in May, pointing out that inactive and outdated accounts are more likely to be compromised. Ruth Kricheli, vice president of product management at Google, stated in the company blog that "forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user.”
Read more »
Technology
AI Chatbot ChatGPT Generative AI Tech Giant Technology

Amazon Introduces Q, a Business Chatbot Powered by Generative AI

 

Amazon has finally identified a solution to counter ChatGPT. Earlier this week, the technology giant announced the launch of Q, a business chatbot powered by generative artificial intelligence. 

The announcement, made in Las Vegas at the company's annual conference for its AWS cloud computing service, represents Amazon's response to competitors who have released chatbots that have captured the public's attention.

The introduction of ChatGPT by San Francisco startup OpenAI a year ago sparked a wave of interest in generative AI tools among the general public and industry, as these systems are capable of generating text passages that mimic human writing, such as essays, marketing pitches, and emails.

The primary financial backer and partner of OpenAI, Microsoft, benefited initially from this attention. Microsoft owns the rights to the underlying technology of ChatGPT and has used it to develop its own generative AI tools, called Copilot. However, competitors such as Google were also prompted to release their own versions. 

These chatbots are the next wave of AI systems that can interact, generate readable text on demand, and even generate unique images and videos based on what they've learned from a massive database of digital books, online writings, and other media. 

According to tech giant, Q can perform tasks like content synthesis, daily communication streamlining, and employee assistance with blog post creation. Businesses can get a customised experience that is more relevant to their business by connecting Q to their own data and systems, according to the statement. 

Although Amazon is the industry leader in cloud computing, surpassing competitors Google and Microsoft, it is not thought to be at the forefront of AI research that is leading to advances in generative AI. 

Amazon was ranked lowest in a recent Stanford University index that evaluated the transparency of the top 10 foundational AI models, including Titan from Amazon. Less transparency, according to Stanford researchers, can lead to a number of issues, including making it more difficult for users to determine whether they can trust the technology safely. 

In the meantime, the business has continued to grow. In September, Anthropic, a San Francisco-based AI startup founded by former OpenAI employees, announced that Amazon would invest up to $4 billion in the business. 

The tech giant has also been releasing new services, such as an update for its well-liked assistant Alexa that enables users to have conversations with it that are more human-like and AI-generated summaries of customer product reviews.
Read more »
UK Home Secretary
Cyber Security Data Privacy End To End Encryption Tech Giant UK Home Secretary

UK Home Secretary Clashes with Meta Over Data Privacy

 

Suella Braverman, the UK Home Secretary, wants to "work constructively" with Meta on the company's plans to implement end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messaging in Instagram and Facebook by the end of the year, which she thinks will provide a "safe haven" for paedophiles and harm children. 

Meta said it will continue to share relevant details with law enforcement and child abuse charities. Braverman has written to tech giant to voice her worries. 

A number of charities and technology professionals have signed the letter, which begs the firm to disclose more details on how it will keep consumers safe. 

Braverman told Times Radio earlier this week that E2EE might lead to platforms being "safe havens for paedophiles."

"Meta has failed to provide assurances that they will keep their platforms safe from sickening abusers," Braverman added, urging parents to "take seriously the threat that Meta is posing to our children. It also must develop appropriate safeguards to sit alongside their plans for end-to-end encryption.” 

Braverman stated that the government will use the powers given to it by the new Online Safety Bill legislation, which allows telecoms regulator Ofcom to compel tech companies to violate E2EE and hand over information linked to probable abuse cases if necessary. 

It is currently unclear whether this is possibly feasible without incorporating back-door access to such systems, which, according to tech companies, creates security and privacy issues. 

Meta stated that it has a "clear and thorough approach to safety" that focuses on "sharing relevant information with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and law enforcement agencies." 

Braverman's intervention comes a day after the Online Safety Bill was given final approval by parliament and will now receive royal assent before becoming law. Tech firms such as Meta have decried the bill's threat to E2EE, with WhatsApp threatening to leave the UK if it becomes law. 

The government appeared to make a partial retreat earlier this month, stating it would only employ these powers as a "last resort" and when a technology that permits information to be extracted in a secure manner is established. 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated his support for the measure earlier this year, in April. "I think everyone wants to make sure their privacy is protected online," Sunak said. "But people also want to know that law enforcement agencies can keep them safe and have reasonable ways to do so, and that's what we're trying to do with the Online Safety Bill." 

Meta said in August that by the end of the year, it would be implementing E2EE on private communications across all of its platforms.
Read more »
Technology
AI Development AI technology Artificial Intelligence Environment Sustainable Technology Tech Giant Technology

AI Development May Take a Toll on Tech Giant’s Environment Image


The Reputation of tech giants as a safe investment for investors interested in the environment, social issues, and governance as well as consumers who value sustainability is clashing with a new reality – the development and deployment of AI capabilities. 

With new data centres that use enormous quantities of electricity and water, as well as power-hungry GPUs used to train models, AI is becoming a greater environmental risk.

For instance, reports show that Amazon's data centre empire in North Virginia has consumed more electricity than Seattle, the company's home city. In 2022, Google data centres used 5.2 billion gallons of water, an increase of 20% from the previous year. The Llama 2 model from Meta is also thirsty.

Some examples of tech-giants that have taken initiatives to reduce the added environment strain include Microsoft’s commitment to have their Arizona data centers consume no water for more than half the year. Also, Google announced a cooperation with the industry leader in AI chip Nvidia and has a 2030 goal of replacing 120% of the freshwater used by its offices and data centres.

However, these efforts seem like some carefully-crafted marketing strategy, according to Adrienne Russell, co-director of the Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy at the University of Washington.

"There has been this long and concerted effort by the tech industry to make digital innovation seem compatible with sustainability and it's just not," she said. 

To demonstrate her point, she explains the shift to cloud computing and noted the way Apple’s products are sold and presented to show association with counterculture, independence, digital innovation, and sustainability, a strategy used by many organizations. 

This marketing strategy is now being used to showcase AI as an environment-friendly concept. 

The CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, touted AI-driven "accelerated computing"—what his business sells—as more affordable and energy-efficient than "general purpose computing," which he claimed was more expensive and comparatively worse for the environment.

The latest Cowen research report claims that AI data centres seek power, which is more than five times the power used in a conventional facility. GPUs supplied by Nvidia consume around 400 watts of power, making one AI server consume at least 2 kilowatts of power. Apparently, a regular cloud server uses around 300-500 watts.

Russel further added, "There are things that come carted along with this, not true information that sustainability and digital innovation go hand-in-hand, like 'you can keep growing' and 'everything can be scaled massively, and it's still fine' and that one type of technology fits everyone." 

As businesses attempt to integrate huge language models into more of their operations, the momentum surrounding AI and its environmental impact is set to rise.

Russel further recommended that companies should put emphasis on other sustainable innovations, like mesh networks and indigenous data privacy initiatives.

"If you can pinpoint the examples, however small, of where people are actually designing technology that's sustainable then we can start to imagine and critique these huge technologies that aren't sustainable both environmentally and socially," she said.

Read more »
Twitter
Digital Services Social Media Tech Giant Technology Twitter

Tech Giants Grapple Russian Propaganda: EU's Call to Action

 


In a recent study published by the European Commission, it was found that after Elon Musk changed X's safety policies, Russian propaganda was able to reach a much wider audience, thanks to the changes made by Musk. 

After an EU report revealed they failed to curb a massive Kremlin disinformation campaign surrounding Russia's invasion of Ukraine last month, there has been intense scrutiny on social media platforms Meta, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok, among others. 

As part of the study conducted by civil society groups and published last week by the European Commission, it was revealed that after the dismantling of Twitter's safety standards, very clearly Kremlin-backed accounts have gained further influence in the early part of 2023, especially because of the weakened safety standards. 

In the first two months of 2022, pro-Russian accounts have garnered over 165 million subscribers across major platforms, and have generated over 16 billion views since then. There have still been few details as to whether or not the EU will ban the content of Russian state media. According to the EU study, the failure of X to deal with disinformation, had these rules been in place last year, would have violated these rules if they had been in effect at the time. 

Musk has proven to be more cooperative than social media companies in terms of limiting propaganda on their platforms, even though they are finding it hard to do the same. In fact, according to the study, Telegram and Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, have made little headway in limiting Russian disinformation campaigns as a result of their efforts. 

There has been a much more aggressive approach to the fight against disinformation in Europe than the US has. By the Digital Services Act that took effect last month, major tech companies are expected to take proactive measures to reduce risks related to children's safety, harassment, the use of illegal content, and threats to democratic processes, or risk getting fined significantly. 

There were tougher rules introduced for the world's biggest online platforms earlier this month under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). Several large social media companies are currently operating under the DSA's stricter rules, which demand that they take a more aggressive approach to policing content after the website has been identified as having a minimum of 45 million monthly active users, which includes hate speech and disinformation.

If the DSA had been operational a month earlier, there is a possibility that social media companies could have been fined if they had breached their legal duties – leading to a breach of legal duties. The most damning aspect of Elon Musk's acquisition of X last October is the rapid growth of hate and lies that have reigned on the social network. 

As a result of the new owner's decision to lift mitigation measures on Kremlin-backed accounts, along with removing labels from related Russian state-affiliated accounts, engagement grew by 36 percent between January and May 2023. The new owner argued that "all news" is propaganda to some degree, thus increasing engagement percentages. 

As a consequence, the Kremlin has stepped up its sophisticated information warfare campaign across Europe, threatening free and fair elections across the continent as well as fundamental human rights. There is a chance that platforms will be required to act fast before it is too late to comply with the new EU digital regulation that is now in effect, the Digital Services Act, which was implemented on August 25th, before the European parliamentary elections in 2024 arrive.

It was recently outlined by the Digital Security Alliance that large social media companies and search engines in the EU with at least 45 million monthly active users are now required to adopt stricter content moderation policies, which include clamping down on hate speech and disinformation in a proactive manner, or else face heavy fines if they do not.   
Read more »
Threat Landscape
MFST Stock Tech Giant Tech Products Technology Threat Landscape

Zscaler, Palo Alto Under Pressure from Microsoft's Rapidly Increasing Cybersecurity Offerings

 

Microsoft (MSFT) continues to put pressure on cybersecurity stocks with new products aimed at Zscaler (ZS), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Cloudflare (NET), CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD), and others. MSFT stock has kept on shining this year, with a 39% increase, amid an artificial intelligence-driven boom in the technology sector.

Zscaler shares slid 6.6% today, closing at 137.68 on the stock exchange. The Microsoft security revelation also caused ZS stock to slump 4.5% on Tuesday. Microsoft's stock increased 1.4% to 337.20 on Wednesday. PANW stock dropped 7% to 232.64.

Analysts believe Microsoft's foray into the computer security Secure Service Edge sector, known as SSE, will have an influence on other cybersecurity equities such as Palo Alto Networks, Cloudflare, and upstart Netskope. 

Expansion in cybersecurity offerings

"While the offering will be competitive to the SSE vendors, we view Microsoft's competitive position in SSE as less strong than other areas of security where it has long had capabilities (endpoint, identity), and likely to be less competitive in the enterprise segment," said KeyBanc Capital analyst Michael Turits in a note to clients. 

"The reaction to ZS stock appears overdone," noted analyst Roger Boyd at UBS, "especially when considering ZS's near-exclusive focus on the enterprise segment. The expectation is that the initial Microsoft Security Edge solution will be primarily aimed at small- and medium-sized businesses. Instead, we see this as a bigger risk for vendors with SMB exposure, including Cloudflare and potentially Fortinet (FTNT)." 

By offering bulk discounts on numerous products to big businesses, Microsoft has put pressure on some cybersecurity stock prices. A new automated cybersecurity product powered by generative AI was also released by Microsoft in early 2023. The platform manages threat detection using a new AI assistant and is known as Microsoft Security Copilot. 

Analysts have reported that the software giant's security sector currently generates $20 billion in yearly sales and is increasing at a 33% annual rate. Microsoft bundles products through its Azure cloud computing business and Office 365 platform.

According to Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges, Microsoft's yearly research and development investment on security now exceeds $4 billion, up from $1 billion three years ago. However, Borges believes that cybersecurity companies will be able to weather the storm. 

"Many enterprises and small businesses rely on Microsoft to provide a baseline level of security, and then overlay best-in-breed providers," Borges explained. "We see cloud security as a good example of a total addressable market in which both Microsoft and third-party vendors like Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, and (startup) Wiz are capturing growth."

Meanwhile, Microsoft has not specified a release date for the new computer network SSE products. Microsoft also did not reveal pricing.
Read more »
Technology
Data Safety OpenAI Social Media Tech Giant Technology

Here's Why Twitter is Limiting the Number of Tweets You May View

 

Twitter users who read an excessive number of tweets may eventually run out of something to read. You can thank Elon Musk for it. 

The Twitter owner said last Saturday that rate constraints, or limitations on the number of tweets you can read each day, will be temporarily imposed for users. Musk used the practice of data scraping and system manipulation, in which bots and outside entities take large amounts of Twitter data for their own use, to justify the new plan. 

However, as Musk continued altering limits, confusion quickly arose. He said in his initial tweet on Saturday that verified users would only be able to read 6,000 posts per day, unverified accounts 600 posts per day, and new unverified accounts 300 posts per day. Verified accounts pay the $8 monthly or $84 annually for a Twitter Blue subscription, whilst unverified accounts use Twitter for free. 

Musk amended the figures later that day when he tweeted that verified users will be able to see 8,000 tweets per day, unverified accounts 800, and new unverified accounts 400. There's still more, though. The restrictions would be 10,000 per day for verified users, 1,000 per day for unverified users, and 500 per day for new unconfirmed users, according to the Twitter CEO in a third tweet that same day.

Several Twitter users also began asking questions, such as what counts as a new unverified account, how to keep track of how many tweets we've viewed, and how long these temporary restrictions will last. One person said, "Elon, if I close my eyes and skip past some, will they still count towards my 6,000?" Another person inquired, "Can we have a Ticker that shows how many we have viewed?" 

Musk had already expressed his concern over data scraping before the new limits were revealed. In a post on Friday, he claimed that hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses had been actively mining Twitter data to the point that it was impairing user experience. He indicated he was open to suggestions when I asked what Twitter might do to stop that. 

With regard to data scraping, Musk's most recent complaints have been on AI firms like OpenAI that collect a sizable amount of information from websites like Twitter to train their chatbots. 

He stated in an additional tweet on Friday that "almost every company doing AI, from startups to some of the biggest corporations on Earth, was scraping vast amounts of data. It is rather galling to have to bring large numbers of servers online on an emergency basis just to facilitate some AI startup's outrageous valuation."
Read more »
Technology
AI Chatbot ChatGPT Chinese Firm Tech Giant Technology

Tech Giant Alibaba to Launch ChatGPT Rival

 

Alibaba, a global leader in technology, has revealed a new artificial intelligence product that will soon be incorporated into all of the company's apps and is similar to ChatGPT. 

Earlier this year, Alibaba revealed it was developing a ChatGPT competitor to the immensely popular AI chatbot. Alibaba Cloud, the company's cloud computing division, revealed on Tuesday that it would be releasing a generative AI model called Tongyi Qianwen (TQ), which stands for "truth from a thousand questions." 

In an initial product demonstration, the AI model was seen scheduling travel plans, writing invitations, and advising customers on make-up purchases. 

The company announced that the TQ rollout will start with a deployment on Tmall Genie, the company's Alexa-like voice assistant, and DingTalk, Alibaba's office communication and collaboration software. 

The device has the ability to write emails, create business proposals, and summarise meeting notes in both Chinese and English. Alibaba claimed that by using the voice assistant Tmall Genie, the product can have "more dynamic and vivid conversations" with users in China. Specifically, TQ can give users vacation tips, healthy diet recipes, and "develop and tell stories to children." 

Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang stated at a webcast event that the new technology would "bring about big changes to the way we produce, the way we work, and the way we live our lives." 

"We are at a technological watershed moment driven by generative AI and cloud computing, and businesses across all sectors have started to embrace intelligence transformation to stay ahead of the game,” stated Zhang. 

"As a leading global cloud computing service provider, Alibaba Cloud is committed to making computing and AI services more accessible and inclusive for enterprises and developers," he added. 

The company stated the AI model will be incorporated into "all business applications across Alibaba's ecosystem in the near future," though it did not give a specific timeline for the TQ implementation. 

China's new AI regulations 

The launch of Alibaba's AI product coincides with the release of recently-drafted AI regulations from China's cyber space authority. The Cyberspace Administration of China presented steps for controlling generative AI on Tuesday, mandating that creators of new AI products submit to security evaluations before making them available to the general public. 

According to the draft law, information produced by upcoming AI products must uphold the nation's "core socialist values" and refrain from inciting subversion of the rule of law.

Additionally, it outlined guidelines forbidding AI material from endorsing racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination and specified that AI content shouldn't spread misinformation.

In a frenetic battle for market supremacy, tech behemoths from all over the world have recently begun creating and selling generative AI technologies. 

While initiatives from Meta, Microsoft, and Google have been unveiled to varying degrees of acclaim, ChatGPT has continued to make quick advancements to its ground-breaking AI language model.

A contentious request was made earlier this month for major tech firms to comply with a six-month moratorium on "out-of-control" AI development. 

The broad expansion of AI has sparked growing concerns about the technology's potential ethical and economic implications. In response, over 1,300 academics, tech experts, and business professionals signed an open letter supported by Elon Musk encouraging AI companies to limit development in late March.

A ban against ChatGPT has been issued by Italy, the first Western nation to do so, after the nation's privacy agency expressed worries about the AI chatbot's data privacy practises. Meanwhile, an Australian mayor may file the first lawsuit over ChatGPT's errors. 

Alibaba's cloud division hopes to make TQ AI available to customers so they may create their own unique language models, and the business has already announced plans to include additional features including picture processing and text-to-image synthesis.

Beta testing of TQ is currently available for mainstream enterprise customers in China.
Read more »
Tech Giant
Cyber Crime Cyber Squatting Domain Provider Lawsuit phishing Tech Giant

Freenom Suspends Domain Registrations After Being Sued by Meta

 

Freenom, a domain name registrar that has attracted spammers and phishers with its free domain names, no longer accepts new domain name registrations. The action was taken just days after Meta filed a lawsuit against the Netherlands registrar, alleging that the latter ignored abuse reports concerning phishing websites while generating revenue from visitors to such abusive domains, according to Brian Krebs.

Five so-called "country code top level domains" (ccTLDs) are managed by Freenom, including.cf for the Central African Republic,.ga for Gabon,.gq for Equatorial Guinea,.ml for Mali, and.tk for Tokelau. 

Freenom has never charged for the registration of domains in these country-code extensions, likely to entice consumers to pay for services that are related to them, such as registering a.com or.net domain, for which Freenom does charge a fee. 

Social media giant Meta filed a lawsuit against Freenom in Northern California on March 3, 2023, citing trademark infringement and violations of cybersquatting. The lawsuit also demands information on the names of 20 separate "John Does" — Freenom customers that Meta says have been particularly active in phishing assaults against Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp users. 

The lawsuit makes reference to a 2021 study on domain abuse done for the European Commission, which found that those ccTLDs run by Freenom comprised five of the Top Ten TLDs most frequently utilised by phishers. 

As per Brian Krebs, the complaint asserts that the five ccTLDs to which Freenom offers its services are the TLDs of choice for cybercriminals because Freenom offers cost-free domain name registration services and hides the identities of its customers even after being shown proof that the domain names are being used for unlawful purposes. Freenom keeps granting those same clients additional infringing domain names even after getting complaints from them about infringement or phishing. 

Meta further claims that "Freenom has repeatedly failed to take appropriate steps to investigate and respond appropriately to reports of abuse," and that it monetizes traffic from infringing domains by reselling them and by including "parking pages" that direct visitors to other commercial websites, pornographic websites, and websites used for malicious activities like phishing. 

Requests for comment have not yet received a response from Freenom. However, as at the time of writing, attempts to register a domain via the business' website resulted in the following error message: 

“Because of technical issues the Freenom application for new registrations is temporarily out-of-order. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience. We are working on a solution and hope to resume operations shortly. Thank you for your understanding.” 

Freenom has its headquarters in The Netherlands, but the case also names a few of its other sister firms as defendants, some of which are established in the US. When Meta first filed this action in December 2022, it requested that the case be sealed in order to limit the public's access to court records related to the case. Following the denial of that request, Meta modified and re-filed the case last week. 

According to Meta, this isn't just an instance of another domain name registrar ignoring abuse concerns because it's bad for business. According to the lawsuit, Freenom's proprietors "are a part of a web of businesses established to promote cybersquatting, all for the advantage of Freenom." 

“On information and belief, one or more of the ccTLD Service Providers, ID Shield, Yoursafe, Freedom Registry, Fintag, Cervesia, VTL, Joost Zuurbier Management Services B.V., and Doe Defendants were created to hide assets, ensure unlawful activity including cybersquatting and phishing goes undetected, and to further the goals of Freenom,” Meta claimed. 

Brian further explained that although the reason for Freenom's decision to stop offering domain registration is yet unknown, it's possible that the company has recently been the target of disciplinary action by the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which regulates domain registrars. 

In June 2015, ICANN put a 90-day hold on Freenom's ability to register new domain names or start inbound transfers of existing ones. ICANN's conclusion that Freenom "has engaged in a pattern and practise of trafficking in or use of domain names identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark of a third party in which the Registered Name Holder has no rights or legitimate interest" is the basis for the suspension, according to Meta.


Read more »
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)