WebProNews

Category: SmallBusinessNews

SmallBusinessNews

  • Digital Adoption Platform WalkMe Secures $90 Million in Funding

    Digital Adoption Platform WalkMe Secures $90 Million in Funding

    WalkMe has successfully closed another round of funding to the tune of $90 million, according to a company announcement. This round of investment was led by Vitruvian Partners, with Insight Partners also participating.

    WalkMe is a “digital adoption platform” (DAP) built on the idea that—with so many different software platforms and business processes—employees can be overwhelmed trying to learn and and use everything in their day-to-day duties. WalkMe provides a way for companies to include step-by-step guidance, using AI to anticipate employee needs and provide the necessary information and help.

    “Throughout the digital transformation journey, organizations lacking a digital adoption strategy face a costly and often losing battle. WalkMe’s DAP makes it effortless to use any software, website or app – analyzing and automating processes so users can complete tasks faster and easier, while executives can glean valuable insights from the plethora of data.”

    Mike Risman, Managing Partner of Vitruvian Partners, praised the success WalkMe has had so far, while expressing confidence in the company’s ability capitalize on its position in the market.

    “In a few short years, WalkMe has emerged as the category-defining market leader in the fast-growing Digital Adoption Solutions space,” said Mike Risman, Managing Partner of Vitruvian Partners. “We are excited to partner with WalkMe as an investor during this pivotal time of accelerated growth and global expansion as the company capitalizes on its market leadership. WalkMe helps the world’s most forward-looking enterprises deliver on their digital transformation strategy. The company’s platform delights employees with more efficient software interactions, empowers business process owners to steer and re-engineer workflows and provides analytics to help CIOs manage the complexity of the digital transformation proactively.”

    The company says it will continue to expand “into new markets, including Latin America, and will continue to invest in and rapidly scale its Digital Adoption Platform to meet growing customer demand.”

  • Ericsson to Pay Over $1 Billion Fine to Settle Bribery Charges

    Ericsson to Pay Over $1 Billion Fine to Settle Bribery Charges

    ZDNet is reporting that Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson has pled guilty to bribing officials in multiple countries and agreed to pay more than $1 billion in fines.

    Ericsson admitted to engaging in a long-standing scheme to bribe officials in China, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Kuwait and Vietnam from 2000 to 2016. The longest campaign was in China, running the full 17 years.

    “As part of the settlement, Ericsson entered into a three-year agreement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to resolve charges of violating the anti-bribery, books and records, and internal controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In the agreement, the DoJ agreed to defer any criminal charges and have them dismissed after the three-year period in exchange for Ericsson paying a fine of almost $521 million.”

    Ericsson also settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the tune of $540 million over the same charges. When taken together with the DOJ fines, Ericsson is paying a total of $1.06 billion.

    “I am upset by these past failings. Reaching a resolution with the US authorities allows us to close this legacy chapter. We can now move forward and build a stronger company,” Börje Ekholm, Ericsson President and CEO, said.

    “The settlement with the SEC and DoJ shows that we have not always met our standards in doing business the right way. This episode shows the importance of fact-based decision making and a culture that supports speaking up and confronting issues. We have worked tirelessly to implement a robust compliance program. This work will never stop.”

  • T-Mobile, Sprint Merger Case Begins Monday; Major Issues On the Line

    T-Mobile, Sprint Merger Case Begins Monday; Major Issues On the Line

    A case that will have significant ramifications for the U.S. wireless industry will begin Monday, as T-Mobile and Sprint defend their merger plans.

    The number three and four carriers have been pursuing a merger agreement that has been widely opposed by various entities. After initial concerns, both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) signed off on the merger. Despite the federal agencies backing it, a coalition of nearly 20 states filed a lawsuit to prevent the merger.

    Over the course of the past few months, T-Mobile has been working overtime trying to address concerns the individual states have, in the hopes of whittling down opposition. The strategy has proved relatively successful, as a number of states have dropped out of the lawsuit after receiving concessions from T-Mobile. Texas, Nevada and Colorado are the most recent ones to drop the suit, leaving 13 states and the District of Columbia still pursuing it.

    As The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, “legal experts say it is unprecedented for the states to reject such a settlement and sue to block a merger of this size and national scope without the support or involvement of federal authorities.”

    The WSJ report emphasizes the long-term stakes hanging in the balance.

    “A victory for the carriers, which say the merger will allow them to offer better services, could arm other companies with new arguments for the benefits of consolidation. But a win for the coalition could give states newfound power in antitrust enforcement when they are also investigating U.S. tech giants.

    “If the states prevail, ‘companies will have to take them more seriously,’ said New York University law professor Harry First. ‘They’ll have to have really serious discussions with states like California and New York.’”

  • New Google Chrome Feature May Drive Users to Firefox

    New Google Chrome Feature May Drive Users to Firefox

    The Register is reporting on a new feature in an upcoming version of Google Chrome that has privacy-conscious users worried. A recent API called getInstalledRelatedApps may allow websites to determine what apps are installed on a user’s device.

    At first glance, the API seems to have an admirable purpose. If users have both web and native applications installed, they could be bombarded by duplicate sets of notifications. If a website can determine that its native app is installed, it would then prioritize notifications for the native app. Unfortunately, the API doesn’t really seem to be aimed at improving the experience—not for the user at least.

    In response to a question from Opera developer Daniel Bratell, expressing concern about how this API would help users, Google engineer Rayan Kanso wrote:

    “Although this isn’t an API that would directly benefit users, it indirectly benefits them through improved web experiences,” Kanso wrote. “We received very positive OT [off-topic] feedback from partners using this API, and the alternative is them using hacks to figure whether their native app is installed.”

    In other words, this API is more about making it easier for web and app developers’ marketing needs than it is truly making users’ lives easier.

    The privacy implications are clear: If websites can determine what apps are installed on a person’s phone or tablet, it can provide a relatively complete picture, otherwise known as a fingerprint, about that person’s habits.

    As The Register points out, Peter Snyder, a privacy researcher at browser maker Brave, voiced his own concerns:

    “I don’t follow the claim about non-fingerprint-ability. If I’m a company with a large number of apps (e.g. google), with 16-32 apps registered in app stores, the subset of which apps any user has installed is likely to be a very strong semi-identifier, no, and so be extremely risky for the user / valuable for the fingerprinter, no?

    “Apologies if I’m misunderstanding, but this seems like a very clear privacy risk.

    Put differently, if this isn’t a privacy risk, whats the rational behind disallowing this in private browsing mode?”

    With browsers like Firefox and Safari placing an emphasis on privacy and security, it’s a safe bet this is yet another move that will drive users away from Chrome.

  • FCC Votes Against Changing Cell Phone Safety Rules; No Evidence of 5G Health Risks

    FCC Votes Against Changing Cell Phone Safety Rules; No Evidence of 5G Health Risks

    With all four of the major U.S. carriers rolling out some form of 5G, there have been widespread concerns about potential health risks, especially regarding the millimeter wave (mmWave) variety.

    Because mmWave has limited range, base stations and repeaters must be placed every couple to few hundred yards apart, blanketing areas with 5G signal and radio frequency (RF) emissions. Physicians, consumer groups and governments around the world have expressed concern, with some jurisdictions even putting a hold on further deployment until more research can be done.

    In a recent report by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), however, the body voted unanimously not to make changes to the guidelines governing wireless safety, believing the current standards are sufficient.

    “After reviewing the extensive record submitted in response to that inquiry, we find no appropriate basis for and thus decline to propose amendments to our existing limits at this time” the report reads. “We take to heart the findings of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), an expert agency regarding the health impacts of consumer products, that ‘[t]he weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems.’ Despite requests from some to increase and others to decrease the existing limits, we believe they reflect the best available information concerning safe levels of RF exposure for workers and members of the general public, including inputs from our sister federal agencies charged with regulating safety and health and from well- established international standards.”

    The FCC’s findings echo those by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA). According to ZDNet, Nathan Wahl, ARPANSA government international relations assistant director, told the Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts: “Our assessment of 5G is that it is safe.”

  • Craigslist Finally Releases Its Very Own, Official iOS App

    Craigslist Finally Releases Its Very Own, Official iOS App

    “Better late than never” goes the old saying. Of course, well over a decade late may be pushing it a bit. Craigslist doesn’t appear to have gotten the memo, however, as they have finally released an official iOS app—a full 11 years after the App Store debuted.

    Craigslist Categories
    Craigslist Categories

    Despite being late to the game, the app is #5 in the Shopping category at the time of writing, providing a small demonstration of the staying power of the classifieds site. The app offers all the basic functionality one would expect, including the ability to view ads, search items, post items for sale and manage an account.

    The app offers several main categories, such as Community, For Sale, Gigs, Housing, Jobs, Resumes and Services, with each one having additional subcategories.

    The Android version has not been officially released yet, but there is a beta version available.

  • Apple Explains iPhone 11 Frequent Location Checking

    Apple Explains iPhone 11 Frequent Location Checking

    Apple has finally explained behavior that lead some to believe new iPhones or iOS 13.x had a privacy bug.

    Security researcher Brian Krebs discovered that the iPhone 11 Pro “intermittently seeks the user’s location information even when all applications and system services on the phone are individually set to never request this data.” He originally contacted Apple on November 13 to report the problem.

    Earlier this week, Apple responded to Krebs by simply saying: “It is expected behavior that the Location Services icon appears in the status bar when Location Services is enabled. The icon appears for system services that do not have a switch in Settings.”

    Needless to say, this vague response is not what people want to hear from a company that has planted its flag on respecting user privacy. Fortunately, Apple has since issued a statement to KrebsOnSecurity, along other venues, providing more information.

    “Ultra Wideband technology is an industry standard technology and is subject to international regulatory requirements that require it to be turned off in certain locations. iOS uses Location Services to help determine if iPhone is in these prohibited locations in order to disable Ultra Wideband and comply with regulations. The management of Ultrawide Band compliance and its use of location data is done entirely on the device and Apple is not collecting user location data.”

    Ultra Wideband is used by AirDrop to enable users to share files from one iPhone to another. The technology gives iPhones “spatial awareness.” This is what makes it possible for users to “share a file with someone using AirDrop simply by pointing at another user’s iPhone.”

    While Apple does plan on allowing users to turn the feature off in the future, it is unknown when this will happen, especially since it involves working with government regulation.

    In any event it’s reassuring to know there is no breach of privacy in play. However, Apple could have saved itself—and its customers—a lot of headache by being more transparent in its initial response or, better yet, by documenting the feature before it became a concern.

  • Workona Launches Desktop For The Cloud; Raises $6 Million in Seed Funding

    Workona Launches Desktop For The Cloud; Raises $6 Million in Seed Funding

    Workona has announced “the launch of their cloud desktop, a work management platform that allows users to access and manage resources across more than 75 popular cloud apps from a single unified system.”

    The company recently completed “a $6 million seed funding round, led by K9 Ventures and August Capital, to accelerate its product development and user acquisition.”

    Recognizing that “modern teams run on cloud software,” Workona is trying to bring the disparate pieces of a cloud-based workflow together in a productive, intuitive manner. Workona’s cloud-based desktop connects to the most popular cloud apps in use today, such as Amazon, Asana, Basecamp, Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Docs, Outlook, Zoom and more. Each app can be accessed and worked with inside Workona. Shared workspaces take collaboration up a notch, increasing productivity even more.

    “So many people spend their days working in the cloud, but there was no platform to manage that work. That’s what Workona does,” said Quinn Morgan, Workona co-founder and CEO. “Previously, all of your cloud apps, projects, and documents were scattered across the web. Workona’s cloud desktop pulls them together into one powerful system.”

    Having a central location to access different tools and platforms significantly increases a user’s efficiency.

    “Workona is a force multiplier because it impacts every level of your work,” Morgan said. “Your apps and projects are at your fingertips, so every action you take is significantly faster.”

    “Workona solves a problem that is staring us in the face, but we haven’t noticed it yet,” said Manu Kumar, Workona board member and K9 Ventures investor. “Microsoft and Apple used to put an enormous amount of engineering power into optimizing the desktop, but all that was forgotten when we transitioned to working in the browser. Workona has picked up where they left off by bringing the best features of a desktop to the cloud.”

    The company says that early users come “from both startups and Fortune 500 companies, and include industry leaders like Twitter, Salesforce, Amazon, and NASA.” It’s a safe bet that list will continue to grow.

  • Verizon, T-Mobile and US Cellular Exaggerated 4G LTE Coverage

    Verizon, T-Mobile and US Cellular Exaggerated 4G LTE Coverage

    Yesterday we reported on the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) plans to allocate $9 billion to assist rural 5G rollout. It appears that decision was motivated by an investigation showing that Verizon, T-Mobile and US Cellular exaggerated the extent of their 4G LTE coverage.

    The investigation resulted from complaints in 12 states that the three carriers’ coverage was not as good as advertised. FCC staff drove nearly 10,000 miles testing wireless signals on Samsung S9 smartphones.

    “Only 62.3% of staff drive tests achieved at least the minimum download speed predicted by the coverage maps—with U.S. Cellular achieving that speed in only 45.0% of such tests, T-Mobile in 63.2% of tests, and Verizon in 64.3% of tests,” the report says. “Similarly, staff stationary tests showed that each provider achieved sufficient download speeds meeting the minimum cell edge probability in fewer than half of all test locations (20 of 42 locations). In addition, staff was unable to obtain any 4G LTE signal for 38% of drive tests on U.S. Cellular’s network, 21.3% of drive tests on T-Mobile’s network, and 16.2% of drive tests on Verizon’s network, despite each provider reporting coverage in the relevant area.”

    There is more at stake than mere inconvenience, however, as the report goes on to highlight.

    “The Commission and the public must be able to rely on the deployment data that providers submit to the Commission. Inaccurate data jeopardize the ability of the Commission to focus our limited universal service funds on the unserved areas that need the most support.”

    In other words, if coverage maps show an area has excellent wireless reception, the FCC is unlikely to green-light funds to improve coverage in that area. Therefore, areas that inaccurately display coverage could end up being denied funds they desperately need.

    The FCC proposed a number of remedies, including penalties for carriers that overstate coverage and appropriations from Congress to cover the expense of having manual driving checks to verify signal.

    Hopefully, whatever the FCC decides will help resolve the issues wireless customers have experienced for years—where what they pay for doesn’t always match what they were promised.

  • T-Mobile’s Low-Band 5G Two to Four Times Faster Than 4G

    T-Mobile’s Low-Band 5G Two to Four Times Faster Than 4G

    T-Mobile recently announced the nationwide availablility of their low-band, 600MHz 5G, expected to be 20 percent faster than 4G. If VentureBeat’s testing is any indication, T-Mobile subscribers should be very happy with real-world speeds.

    With 5G rollout dominating the news, one thing that has quickly become obvious is not all 5G is created equal. Most carriers around the world are focusing on low-band 5G, offering relatively modest speed boosts in exchange for wider coverage. In the U.S., however, carriers are focusing heavily on millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G.

    mmWave refers to the spectrum between 24 and 100GHz. Because very little of this spectrum is used for anything else, it offers carriers a tremendous amount of unused bandwidth. The short wavelength also offers transfer speeds much faster than older 4G, with speed measured in gigabits rather than megabits. Unfortunately, that speed comes at the expense of range and penetration, with mmWave base stations having effective ranges in the hundreds of yards. Similarly, buildings, trees, windows, even a hand, can negatively impact the quality of the signal.

    T-Mobile, therefore, decided to focus on 600MHz low-band 5G for its nationwide rollout while it continues to slowly build out its mmWave service. Initial estimates predicted a modest 20 percent speed increase over existing 4G, which VentureBeat reporter Jeremy Horwitz decided to put to the test.

    “Thankfully, my initial testing of T-Mobile’s low-band 5G network revealed a more complex reality than the company’s conservative figure,” Horwitz wrote. “The good news is that low-band 5G downloads peaked at 227Mbps, 2-4 times faster than T-Mobile’s LTE service at the same locations, and far higher than the aforementioned 20% estimate. But the bad news is that you won’t always achieve the peak speeds, and — surprise — early T-Mobile 5G phone adopters can’t actually use 5G for tethering, only smartphone service.”

    T-Mobile is taking a three-tier approach, with 600MHz for the low-band and mmWave for the high-speed, short-range portions. If the merger with Sprint goes through, T-Mobile will use Sprint’s 2.5GHz spectrum to bridge the gap as faster, medium-range service.

    The fact that T-Mobile’s low-band 5G is already beating expectations is a good sign for the company and its subscribers moving forward.

  • FCC Announces $9 Billion 5G Fund For Rural America

    FCC Announces $9 Billion 5G Fund For Rural America

    Rural America has traditionally lagged behind the rest of the country when it comes to wireless access. Get far enough off the beaten track and wireless coverage pales in comparison to urban environments.

    According to an announcement by the Federal Communications Commission, however, the 5G rollout may finally help close that gap. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai plans on establishing the 5G Fund to provide $9 billion to help carriers deploy 5G in rural areas, especially “areas with sparse populations and/or rugged terrain.” The fund will also use at least $1 billion for precision agricultural needs.

    “5G has the potential to bring many benefits to American consumers and businesses, including wireless networks that are more responsive, more secure, and up to 100 times faster than today’s 4G LTE networks,” said Chairman Pai. “We want to make sure that rural Americans enjoy these benefits, just as residents of large urban areas will. In order to do that, the Universal Service Fund must be forward-looking and support the networks of tomorrow. Moreover, America’s farms and ranches have unique wireless connectivity needs, as I’ve seen across the country. That’s why I will move forward as quickly as possible to establish a 5G Fund that would bring next-generation 5G services to rural areas and would reserve some of that funding for 5G networks that promote precision agriculture. We must ensure that 5G narrows rather than widens the digital divide and that rural Americans receive the benefits that come from wireless innovation.”

    If the FCC succeeds in narrowing the digital divide, it would be a boon for rural communities and households, where even wired high-speed internet lags behind. Widespread 5G access could open a world of economic possibilities for these areas.

  • Dell Turning to AMD Amid Intel Chip Shortage

    Dell Turning to AMD Amid Intel Chip Shortage

    Yahoo is reporting that Dell is increasingly looking to AMD in response to Intel’s chip shortages.

    Intel has experienced significant supply issues in 2019, even penning an open letter to customers and partners apologizing for the chip shortages. In the letter, executive vice president Michelle Johnston Holthaus wrote:

    “I’d like to acknowledge and sincerely apologize for the impact recent PC CPU shipment delays are having on your business and to thank you for your continued partnership. I also want to update you on our actions and investments to improve supply-demand balance and support you with performance-leading Intel products. Despite our best efforts, we have not yet resolved this challenge.”

    It appears that at least one major customer is not waiting for the challenge to be resolved. According to Yahoo, Dell is looking to source chips from AMD to make up for Intel’s shortages.

    “We are evaluating AMD chips,” Tom Sweet, Dell’s CFO, said on Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade in response to a question about what the company planned to do in view of Intel’s struggles.

    The move is particularly significant, as Dell has predominantly used Intel’s chips for 35 years. That focused reliance on the chip giant, however, is largely to blame for Dell’s 6 percent decline in consumer PCs during its most recent quarter.

    With Intel not expected to have their supply issues resolved until the second half of 2020, Dell appears to be adopting the philosophy ‘don’t have all your eggs in one basket.’

  • TikTok Accused of Illegally Collecting Data and Uploading It to China

    TikTok Accused of Illegally Collecting Data and Uploading It to China

    A California student has filed a class-action lawsuit against TikTock, the wildly popular social media app from China. According to a report in the Daily Beast, the suit alleges that TikTok uploads data without user consent—in some cases without a user even creating an account.

    Misty Hong, a student at Palo Alto, claims she downloaded the app but never got around to setting up an account. According to the suit, TikTok created an account using her phone number, and began analyzing videos she took but never uploaded. These videos included a facial scan.

    “The app, she alleges, transferred all of her information to servers owned and operated by companies that cooperate with the Chinese government. She’s filed the lawsuit on behalf of all U.S. residents who have downloaded TikTok, roughly 110 million people.”

    The suit also alleges the app secretly gathers “users’ locations, ages, private messages, phone numbers, contacts, genders, browsing histories, cell-phone serial numbers, and IP addresses. That data was allegedly then sent to Chinese servers.”

    TikTok’s executives have tried to reassure the American public that their data is stored in Virginia, with a backup in Singapore. In a recent New York Times profile, they tried to reassure American users that their data cannot be accessed by Chinese officials. Nonetheless, previous user agreements did stipulate that data could be sent to China. The suit is alleging that practice has continued despite changes to the agreement saying it won’t.

    Convincing users of its independence is a tall order, given that Chinese corporations are required to cooperate with Chinese intelligence when requested. This is partly what has led to Huawei being blacklisted in the U.S. and under scrutiny in many countries around the world.

    U.S. senators have already warned of the threat to national security TikTok may pose, should it be sending data back to China. This lawsuit will only add to those concerns and could result in punitive measures taken against ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok.

    In the meantime, given China’s poor history of respecting individual privacy—including, but not limited to China now requiring facial recognition scans to open a wireless account—this news should come as a surprise to exactly no one.

  • Apple Could Move to Two iPhone Releases a Year; Four iPhones Expected in 2020

    Apple Could Move to Two iPhone Releases a Year; Four iPhones Expected in 2020

    According to CNBC, analysts at J.P. Morgan believe Apple could be switching up its iPhone release schedule, releasing new models twice a year instead of once.

    Since 2011, Apple has traditionally released iPhones either in September or October. As the market has become increasingly more competitive, however, an entire year between major releases has allowed competitors to leapfrog the iPhone’s features.

    In a note to investors, J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee cites supply chain checks as the basis for their prediction.

    “Based on our supply chain checks, we are expecting a strategic change in the launch cadence with the release of two new iPhone models in 1H21 followed by another two in 2H21, which will serve to smooth seasonality around the launch.”

    In the short-term, the analysts also believe there will be a total of four iPhones released in 2020, instead of the normal three. Even more significant, they believe that all four of the devices next year will have both OLED screens and 5G support, according to Chatterjee’s note.

    “The 2H20 lineup will include all OLED phones, with screen sizes of 5.4″ (one model), 6.1″ (two), and 6.7″ (one), broadening the screen size range from 5.8″ to 6.5″ in 2019. We expect the two higher end models (one 6.1″, one 6.7″) to include mmWave support, triple camera and World facing 3D sensing, while the lower-end models (one 6.1″, one 5.4″) will include support for only sub-6 GHz and dual camera (no World-facing 3D sensing).”

    J.P. Morgan has raised its 12-month price target for Apple to $296 from $290.

  • Facebook Testing Tool to Allow Users to Move Photos to Other Services

    Facebook Testing Tool to Allow Users to Move Photos to Other Services

    Facebook is testing a new tool that will make it easier for users to move their images and photos to other platforms, according to a report on SFGate. Facebook has come under increasing scrutiny by lawmakers and regulators for how it handles user data.

    According to the report, “U.S. and European regulators have been examining Facebook’s control of personal data such as images as they look into whether the tech giant’s dominance is stifling competition and limiting choice for consumers. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reacted by calling for new rules to address ‘data portability’ and other issues.

    “Facebook said that as it worked on a new set of data portability tools, it had discussions with policymakers, regulators, and academics in the U.K., Germany, Brazil and Singapore to learn about which data should be portable and how to protect privacy.”

    The new tool will allow users to migrate data to Google Photos first, with other services to come later. The tool will be available in Ireland first, tweaked based on feedback and then rolled out to users worldwide in the first half of 2020.

  • TrueDialog Database With Tens of Millions of Texts Left Exposed Online

    TrueDialog Database With Tens of Millions of Texts Left Exposed Online

    According to researchers at privacy firm vpnMentor, millions of Americans’ data is at risk following the discovery of a breached database belonging to TrueDialog. TrueDialog is “the leading SMS provider for mass text messaging, SMS marketing and personalized 2-way SMS texting at scale.”

    vpnMentor’s research team, led by Noam Rotem and Ran Locar, discovered the database, which was linked to “many aspects” of TrueDialog’s business. The database had “millions of account usernames and passwords, PII data of TrueDialog users and their customers, and much more.”

    The researchers found the database as part of a web mapping project, using port scanning “to examine particular IP blocks and test open holes in systems for weaknesses.” As ethical hackers, the company tries to identify breaches in an effort to make the web safer. Once a breach is found, they verify the database’s identity and alert the company who owns it.

    In the case of TrueDialog’s database, vpnMentor was able to access it because it was left “completely unsecured and unencrypted.” The database was 604 GB in size and “included nearly 1 billion entries of highly sensitive data.” The entries included account login details, full names, TrueDialog account holders and users, message contents, email addresses, time stamps of sent messages and more.

    vpnMentor says the type of data could make it possible for bad actors to take over TrueDialog customer accounts, engage in corporate espionage, steal identities, run phishing scams and blackmail users.

    Once the researchers verified the threat level, they reached out to TrueDialog to notify them and offer assistance in securing the database. Shortly after, access to the database was shut down, although TrueDialog never contacted vpnMentor.

    The Takeaway

    There are several lessons to be learned from TrueDialog’s data breach.

    • First and foremost, it is beyond shocking and inexcusable for a company of TrueDialog’s size and resources to be so irresponsible with customer data. There is simply no justification for leaving data—let alone highly sensitive data—unencrypted and exposed for the world to see.
    • As a general rule, when privacy researchers alert a company of a data breach, it’s never a good idea to ignore them. Even if steps are taken to fix the issue, ignoring the researchers who found it gives the impression the company doesn’t care or has something to hide.
    • Going silent is never a good response. TechCrunch was just one outlet that reached out to TrueDialog’s chief executive, John Wright, for comment. At the time of writing, John Wright and TrueDialog had not returned requests for comment or even acknowledged the breach. Wright also did not answer any of TechCrunch’s questions about what steps would be taken to alert impacted users, or notify regulators.

    In short, if there’s a single point to take away from TrueDialog’s experience, it’s this: Don’t do anything TrueDialog has done in this case.

  • DHL Slated to Debut Electric Delivery Van in U.S. Next Year

    DHL Slated to Debut Electric Delivery Van in U.S. Next Year

    Reuters is reporting that German logistics company DHL is planning on debuting an all-electric delivery van in the United States next year.

    DHL will debut the Work L delivery van through its electric vehicle subsidiary StreetScooter beginning Spring 2020. The company will initially use the van in two U.S. markets, one on each coast, with full deployment coming in 2022 or 2023.

    According to the Centre for Alternative Technology, cities around the world are working to significantly reduce emissions, with “cities such as Oslo, Antwerp, Melbourne and Copenhagen have risen to this bigger ambition and are pushing for 100 per cent greenhouse gas reductions by at least 2050.”

    Companies such as DHL, Amazon and others are working to reduce their impact when making deliveries, especially when considering that the transportation industry was responsible for 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010.

    DHL already has a significant head start in this arena, thanks to StreetScooter. According an interview with Ulrich Stuhec, StreetScooter’s chief technology officer, StreetScooter has “the most experience on the road while others are still working on their first prototypes.”

    In Amsterdam, Vienna and Germany, “roughly 10,000 of the 12,000 StreetScooter electric vehicles on the road make DHL deliveries.”

    StreetScooter estimates their vehicles already save roughly 36,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, per truck.

  • Ockam Raises $4.9 Million in Funding to Enable IoT Developers

    Ockam Raises $4.9 Million in Funding to Enable IoT Developers

    Ockam is a Bay Area company that builds tools to enable developers to “develop trustful IoT systems with…easy to use tools, methods, and protocols.” The company announced it has raised $4.9 million in seed funding to continue its efforts to aid developers build secure, scalable IoT systems.

    “Today we are excited to announce a major milestone in the evolution of Ockam. We closed $4.9 million in seed funding from a group of world class investors: Future Ventures, Core Venture Group, Okta Ventures, and SGH Capital. These additional resources will accelerate our mission: to enable the builders who are ushering in our shared vision of a seamless connected world.

    “Since inception we have forged our vision for a seamless connected world into a suite of products that democratize secure IoT development. As Ockam CTO Mrinal Wadhwa states in his often cited lecture on building autonomous systems, ‘for far too long, it’s been exceptionally difficult and expensive to build secure connected device systems.’ These additional capital resources allow us to increase the pace at which we roll out new functionality to the Ockam system, and extend the depth to which we can help builders of IoT systems tackle their complex challenges.

    “The next few months will be focused on extending our Team capabilities with the most passionate builders who want to join us in our mission to tackle big problems in IoT. To learn more about our plans to scale, please check out our Team page.”

    With backers like Okta Ventures willing to invest in Ockam’s business, it’s a safe bet the young company has a bright future helping developers secure and scale IoT systems.

  • China Requiring Facial Recognition Scans For Mobile Users

    China Requiring Facial Recognition Scans For Mobile Users

    China is ramping up its attacks on privacy, with new rules due to take effect requiring all citizens to submit to facial recognition scans when registering for mobile service. The BBC is reporting the new rules were first announced in September and went into effect December 1.

    China has been working for years to eliminate online anonymity among its citizens, even requiring online platforms to verify users’ identities before they’re allowed to post content. These new regulations are an effort to “strengthen” the government surveillance system and give them a way to track mobile users.

    According to the BBC, “Jeffrey Ding, a researcher on Chinese artificial intelligence at Oxford University, said that one of China’s motivations for getting rid of anonymous phone numbers and internet accounts was to boost cyber-security and reduce internet fraud.

    “But another likely motivation, he said, was to better track the population: ‘It’s connected to a very centralised push to try to keep tabs on everyone, or that’s at least the ambition.’”

    This goal is much easier in a country like China, where the vast majority of citizens access the internet via their phones. China is already known as a surveillance state, where facial recognition is regularly used to track citizens. This latest move will only increase the government’s surveillance powers.

  • Huawei Receives A 90-Day License Extension

    Huawei Receives A 90-Day License Extension

    Reuters is reporting that Huawei has received a 90-day license extension from the Trump administration today, allowing U.S. companies to continue doing business with the telecom equipment provider.

    After being blacklisted by the Trump administration in May, Huawei has been granted extensions that have allowed it to continue doing business with American companies. The move is especially important to rural networks, as many of them depend on Huawei equipment to operate.

    “There are enough problems with telephone service in the rural communities – we don’t want to knock them out. So, one of the main purposes of the temporary general licenses is to let those rural guys continue to operate,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business Network.

    The U.S. has long maintained that Huawei’s ties to the Chinese government make it a threat to national security. All Chinese companies can be impressed into service, assisting the Chinese government in intelligence gathering. Huawei, however, seems to have much closer ties to the government than many other companies. The U.S., and its allies, believe Huawei’s equipment has backdoors that are being used to assist the Chinese government. The company has also faced multiple allegations of intellectual property theft.

    In spite of its reputation, there’s no denying that Huawei is the world leader in 5G telecom equipment. Network operators around the world have warned governments that banning Huawei would result in years of delay and billions in additional cost to 5G rollouts.

    Today’s extension for Huawei is another reminder just how hard it will be to completely replace the company.

  • Nines Radiology Aims to Upend Radiology Using AI, Scores $16.5 Million In Funding

    Nines Radiology Aims to Upend Radiology Using AI, Scores $16.5 Million In Funding

    Nines Radiology has raised $16.5 million in Series A funding, according to a company press release.

    Nines Radiology was founded in 2017 by self-driving-car pioneer David Stavens and NYC radiologist Dr. Alexander Kagen. The unlikely partnership aims to use technology, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), to revolutionize how radiologists interact with patients. In the company’s press release detailing a successful round of funding, the company also unveiled their mission.

    “We have a fundamental belief that radiology reimagined with modern data science can significantly improve the lives of patients and clinicians alike,” said co-founder and CEO David Stavens. “We’re working to pioneer new approaches and innovations from clinical care, engineering and data science. Radiologists at Nines are care providers, innovators, builders, and thought leaders. Our radiologists provide the best patient care, while also working with our engineers to build the future.”

    The company is betting on the ability of technology and AI to help cut through the complexity modern radiologists face on a day-to-day basis.

    “Radiology exams are becoming ever more detailed and complex with advancements in imaging technology, which in turn increases the workload on radiologists,” said Dr. Kagen, who will serve as Chief Medical Officer for Nines in addition to his role at Mount Sinai. “Radiologists need to be at the forefront of reimagining the future of medicine. Nines is a place where radiologists are empowered to build technology that unlocks the next level of patient care.

    “The right solution for radiologists is the one that results in the right interpretation. We are combining technology and clinical expertise to help radiologists intelligently prioritize their ever-growing imaging worklists. Nines is designed to help radiologists adapt and build toward a near-term future where technology plays an increasingly larger role in improving patient outcomes.”

    Nines Radiology is yet another example of AI and machine learning being used to improve and revolutionize industries.