Category Archives: Technology

Amazon’s Ring doorbell was used to spy on customers, FTC says in privacy case

Posted on by

In the agency’s latest effort to hold big tech accountable, the company agreed to settle the privacy violations for $5.8m

A former employee of Amazon’s Ring doorbell camera unit spied on female customers for months in 2017 with cameras placed in bedrooms and bathrooms, the Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Wednesday when it announced a $5.8m settlement with the company over privacy violations.

Amazon also agreed to pay $25m to settle allegations it violated children’s privacy rights when it failed to delete Alexa recordings at the request of parents and kept them longer than necessary, according to a court filing in federal court in Seattle that outlined a separate settlement.

Continue reading...

Nvidia: chipmaker’s strategic AI moves result in a tech position of power

Posted on by

The company is now the fifth most valuable in the US after investing in artificial intelligence early on

Nvidia saw its valuation soar to $1tn on Tuesday, making it the fifth most valuable American company and one of the first major corporate beneficiaries of the hype around AI.

The chipmaker has been a major and in some cases dominant player in several industries for years. But no development has raised its profile – and its potential windfall – as much as the current excitement around generative AI.

Continue reading...

NHS data breach: trusts shared patient details with Facebook without consent

Posted on by

Observer investigation reveals Meta Pixel tool passed on private details of web browsing on medical sites

NHS trusts are sharing intimate details about patients’ medical conditions, appointments and treatments with Facebook without consent and despite promising never to do so.

An Observer investigation has uncovered a covert tracking tool in the websites of 20 NHS trusts which has for years collected browsing information and shared it with the tech giant in a major breach of privacy.

Continue reading...

Report: ‘massive’ Tesla leak reveals data breaches, thousands of safety complaints

Posted on by

Whistleblower files reveal customer and employee information plus complaints about driver assistance system

Tesla has failed to adequately protect data from customers, employees and business partners and has received thousands of customer complaints regarding the carmaker’s driver assistance system, Germany’s Handelsblatt has reported, citing 100 gigabytes of confidential data leaked by a whistleblower.

The Handelsblatt report said customer data could be found “in abundance” in a data set labelled “Tesla Files”.

Continue reading...

GCHQ warns of fresh threat from Chinese state-sponsored hackers

Posted on by

National Cyber Security Centre urges operators of critical national infrastructure to prevent hacks

The UK’s cybersecurity agency has urged operators of critical national infrastructure, including energy and telecommunications networks, to prevent Chinese state-sponsored hackers from hiding on their systems.

The National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, issued the warning after it emerged that a Chinese hacking group known as Volt Typhoon had targeted a US military outpost in the Pacific Ocean.

Continue reading...

United Nations official and others in Armenia hacked by NSO Group spyware

Posted on by

At least a dozen victims were found to have been hacked by Pegasus during clashes in the region in 2021

Researchers have documented the first known case of NSO Group’s spyware being used in a military conflict after they discovered that journalists, human rights advocates, a United Nations official, and members of civil society in Armenia were hacked by a government using the spyware.

The hacking campaign, which targeted at least a dozen victims from October 2020 to December 2022, appears closely linked to events in the long running military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Continue reading...

US Congress members demand that PayPal end ban on Palestinian business

Posted on by

Other payment companies do business with Palestinians in the occupied territories, but PayPal only provides services to Israelis there

Eleven members of the US Congress have demanded PayPal end a ban on doing business with Palestinians in the occupied territories while permitting Israeli settlers to use the digital payment platform.

The letter, authored by Representative Mark Pocan, says PayPal is discriminating against Palestinians by denying “equal access to the digital economy”.

Continue reading...

Biden trade curbs on China risk huge damage to US tech sector, says Nvidia chief

Posted on by

Jensen Huang says Chinese firms will ‘just build it themselves’ if they cannot buy from US

The US risks causing “enormous damage” to its tech industry if it continues restrictions on trade with China, according to the chief executive of the chipmaker Nvidia.

Jensen Huang said curbs introduced by the Biden administration, which include restricting the export to China of advanced chips made with US technology, had left the business with “our hands tied behind our back”.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Huang said: “If [China] can’t buy from … the United States, they’ll just build it themselves. So the US has to be careful. China is a very important market for the technology industry.”

Continue reading...

‘Don’t F&*! The Planet’: Atlassian issues net zero guide for companies cutting climate impact

Posted on by

Tech firm founded by Australians Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar says net zero must be achieved by cutting emissions by 90% and only offsetting the remainder

As corporate reports go, the title of Aussie tech firm Atlassian’s guide for other companies to cut their greenhouse gas emissions is as direct and flavoursome as they come: “Don’t F&*! The Planet.”

The firm, founded by Australians Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, says it is already running its operations on 100% renewable electricity and has a “science-based target” to reach net zero emissions no later than 2040.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

With DeSantis campaign event, Musk seeks to shore up a sinking Twitter

Posted on by

The social network has floundered since the tech billionaire took over – political live streams may give the platform relevance

The news that Ron DeSantis will launch his presidential campaign during a live Twitter appearance with Elon Musk marks the tech billionaire’s latest attempts to shore up engagement with the social network at a moment of crisis for the company.

The event – which will take place Wednesday on Twitter Spaces, a live stream feature that is often broadcasted at the top of Twitter’s feed – was confirmed by Musk on Tuesday afternoon. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal CEO Summit, Musk called the Florida governor’s decision “ground breaking” and said it won’t be the last political event that Twitter will host.

Continue reading...

Netflix crackdown on password sharing reaches the UK

Posted on by

Streaming company tells millions of British subscribers that the service can no longer be used free by other households

Netflix has begun its crackdown on the millions of UK subscribers who share their passwords with friends and family who live outside of their household.

The streaming company has sent a letter to almost four million British subscribers that it has identified as giving friends and family members outside their home free access.

Continue reading...

Facebook owner Meta fined €1.2bn for mishandling user information

Posted on by

Penalty from Ireland’s privacy regulator is a record for breach of EU data protection regulation

Facebook’s owner, Meta, has been fined a record €1.2bn (£1bn) and ordered to suspend the transfer of user data from the EU to the US.

The fine – equivalent to $1.3bn – imposed by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), which regulates Meta across the EU, is a record for a breach of the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Continue reading...

Fraudster jailed for running multimillion-pound website iSpoof

Posted on by

Tejay Fletcher’s site offered tools allowing criminals to make phone calls that appeared to be from trusted companies

The mastermind behind an online fraud shop used to con victims out of more than £100m has been jailed for more than 13 years.

Tejay Fletcher, 35, bought a £230,000 Lamborghini, two Range Rovers worth £110,000 and an £11,000 Rolex after making about £2m from the iSpoof.cc website. He was the founder and leading administrator of the site, which was brought down last year in the UK’s biggest fraud sting.

Continue reading...

Spain hopes domestic tasks app will ensure men pull their weight

Posted on by

Free app designed to shed light on ‘mental load’ overwhelmingly carried by women when it comes to chores

The Spanish government is hoping to encourage men to do more at home by developing a free app that will log how much time each household or family member spends on domestic chores.

Announcing the measure in Geneva earlier this week, Spain’s secretary of state for equality, Ángela Rodríguez, said the aim was to shed light on the invisible “mental load” overwhelmingly carried by women when it comes to domestic tasks.

Continue reading...

UK will lead on ‘guard rails’ to limit dangers of AI, says Rishi Sunak

Posted on by

PM sounds a more cautious note after calls from tech experts and business leaders for moratorium

The UK will lead on limiting the dangers of artificial intelligence, Rishi Sunak has said, after calls from some tech experts and business leaders for a moratorium.

Sunak said AI could bring benefits and prove transformative for society, but it had to be introduced “safely and securely with guard rails in place”.

Continue reading...

Man accused of stabbing Cash App founder Bob Lee pleads not guilty

Posted on by

The San Francisco district attorney has alleged Nima Momeni planned to kill Lee and left him to ‘slowly die’

The man accused of fatally stabbing Cash App founder Bob Lee has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Nima Momeni, 38, was arraigned on Thursday in a San Francisco courtroom on a single murder charge in Lee’s death last month.

Continue reading...

Montana becomes first US state to ban TikTok

Posted on by

Greg Gianforte, the governor, signed legislation prohibiting mobile app stores from offering the video-sharing platform by next year

Montana has became the first US state to ban TikTok after the governor signed legislation prohibiting mobile application stores from offering the app within the state by next year.

The move is among the most dramatic in a series of US escalations against TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance. TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny over its ties to China, amid concerns that such links could pose a national security threat.

Continue reading...

Elon Musk: I will tweet what I want even if it loses me money

Posted on by

Twitter owner and Tesla chief defends tweet about George Soros after being accused of antisemitism

Elon Musk has said he will continue sending controversial tweets even it loses him money, as he defended himself against accusations of antisemitism over tweets about George Soros.

The Twitter owner and Tesla chief executive said he is “allowed to say what I want to”, as he defended a tweet posted on Tuesday saying the billionaire financier “reminds me of Magneto” – the Jewish villain in the X-Men series.

Continue reading...

Ministers looking at body-worn facial recognition technology for police

Posted on by

Government’s intentions revealed in document produced for surveillance camera commissioner

Ministers are calling for facial recognition technology to be “embedded” in everyday policing, including potentially linking it to the body-worn cameras officers use as they patrol streets.

Until now, police use of live facial recognition in England and Wales has been limited to special operations such as football matches and public events such as the coronation.

Continue reading...

Vice files for bankruptcy protection amid cut-price sale to consortium

Posted on by

Digital publisher and owner of Vice News and Vice TV was once valued at $6bn but has agreed sale for $225m

Vice, the once high-flying media startup that reached a peak valuation of nearly $6bn (£5bn), has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US as the digital publisher engineers a cut-price sale to a group of lenders.

The company, whose assets include Vice News, Motherboard, Refinery29 and Vice TV, has agreed a sale to a consortium that includes Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital for $225m in the form of a credit bid for its assets as well as assuming Vice’s “significant liabilities”.

Continue reading...