Things are looking worse for Huawei as South Korean chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix are reportedly suspending shipments to the embattled company.
US officials have been tightening the noose around Huawei, a company they claim is a threat to national security. All Chinese companies are required to cooperate with Chinese authorities, but Huawei is largely considered to have much closer ties with Chinese military and intelligence officials than other companies.
As a result, the US has been working to isolate Huawei, pressuring allies to ban the company’s equipment and imposing sanctions that prohibit suppliers from doing business with it. This even applies to overseas companies that base some of their products on US tech. TSMC has already committed to cutting off Huawei, prompting the Chinese firm to warn that production of its custom smartphone chips were in jeopardy.
Now, according to UPI, Samsung and SK Hynix are following suit. This move will only increase pressure on a company already reeling from bans and sanctions.
Verizon has become the first wireless carrier to pilot the use of quantum key distribution (QKD) to help secure its network.
Quantum key distribution is a type of cryptography that relies on the principles involved in quantum mechanics, and specifically quantum entanglement. As a result, because information is transmitted in a quantum state, it’s impossible for a third-party to snoop on the transmission without being detected. This makes QKD one of the only types of encryption that is future-proofed in a world where quantum computing will render other forms of encryption obsolete.
Verizon has now demonstrated how QKD can be used to protect its network. Quantum keys were created and exchanged over a QKD network and used to encrypt video streams. The recipient was able to watch the videos in real-time, while any hackers would be instantly detected.
“We continue to innovate and discover new ways to ensure safe networks and communications down the road for both consumers and enterprises,” said Nicki Palmer, chief product development officer at Verizon. “In testing advanced security technologies, our QKD trial demonstrates how quantum-based technology can strengthen data security today and in the future.”
“The use of quantum mechanics is a great step forward in data security,” said Christina Richmond, analyst at IDC. “Verizon’s own tests, as well other industry testing, have shown that deriving “secret keys” between two entities via light photons effectively blocks perfect cloning by an eavesdropper if a key intercept is attempted. Current technological breakthroughs have proven that both the quantum channel and encrypted data channel can be sent over a single optical fiber. Verizon has demonstrated this streamlined approach brings greater efficiency for practical large-scale implementation allowing keys to be securely shared over wide-ranging networks.”
Intel launched their 10nm Tiger Lake CPU today increasing product performance by 20 percent. “Our 10-nanometer process that our Tiger Lake product will run on today is a step function improvement from the 10-nanometer process we launched just last year,” says Intel CEO Bob Swan. “Its process will deliver 15 to 20 percent more performance in the products that we are launching. At the end of the day, product performance is what matters most to our customers.”
Bob Swan, CEO of Intel, discusses the launch of their 10nm Tiger Lake CPU which provides a significant improvement in product performance:
Product Performance Is What Matters
The PC is a more and more an essential ingredient of our everyday lives. Whether you are studying from home, working from home, and trying to stay connected from home, it’s just more important. The Tiger Lake product that we are launching today, in essence, addresses those activities that we are doing. Whether it’s content creation, inherent productivity, or connectivity, it addresses those key things that are becoming more relevant in terms of how we engage with our PC and how we engage with each other.
At the end of the day, product performance is what matters most to our customers. Under that umbrella, there are multiple things that have evolved over time. Process continues to be very important. Packaging becomes more relevant as we pull different technologies together. Software plays an increasingly important role. The technologies required to build a computer today are much different than they used to be. With Tiger Lake, it’s not just about the CPU or the microprocessor, it’s about the WiFi. Connectivity is so important, upgrading WiFi, and upgrading graphics capabilities, The nature of the PC today and how it’s evolved incorporates more technology. Where process continues to be important, it’s not relatively as important as it once was.
Tiger Lake Will Deliver 20 Percent More Performance
The naming convention over time has lost its relevance. It’s become less of a technical articulation of capabilities and a little bit more of a marketing articulation. Our 10-nanometer process that our Tiger Lake product will run on today is a step function improvement from the 10-nanometer process we launched just last year. Its process will deliver 15 to 20 percent more performance in the products that we are launching. It’s a very exciting time not just because of the Tiger Lake product (the CPU) but how we’ve coupled it with other technologies to address the most top of mind experiences with advanced processing technology that we refer to as SuperFin.
The relative importance of graphics and the role that it plays, not just in gaming but in communications today is so much higher. That’s why with this product launch the enhanced capabilities of our integrated graphics is a real big bump in overall performance. It’s also an increasingly relevant technology and capability in today’s PC. In essence, the use of the PC and what the graphics technology we’ve built into this product does is rising the role that the PC will play as it become more and more an essential ingredient in our everyday lives.
There Will Be Significant Demand For Tiger Lake
Over the last several years we’ve added $20 billion in revenue to the size of the company. From our PC, our internet of things, our communication, and from our cloud businesses, we’ve experienced dramatic growth. It was critical for us to keep pace in ensuring that we have the capacity and the supply to deal with that growth. We’ve made tremendous progress at the end of last year and through the first six months of this year getting that capacity in place.
For both 14-nanometer, which today is the lion’s share of the products we are shipping, but increasingly we are adding capacity. We expect there will be significant demand for the new product that we announced today but also the new products that we have coming in the second half of this year, particularly in the server Xeon chip.
https://youtu.be/PMAi5lXMkXA
Intel CEO Bob Swan: Tiger Lake Will Deliver 20% More Performance
As US-led sanctions take a toll, Huawei is increasingly shifting its focus to the cloud to help secure its future.
Huawei is one of the main network equipment providers worldwide, competing with Nokia and Ericsson. In addition, it is one of the top smartphone makers. Despite its success, it has been under increasing pressure from the US over security concerns.
While all Chinese companies must comply with the Chinese government, Huawei is largely seen as having unusually strong ties to the Chinese intelligence and military community. As a result, US officials have been adamant in their accusations that Huawei represents a threat to the national security of any country allowing the company’s equipment on their networks. This has led the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK to institute bans of the beleaguered company.
The US has also modified its Entity List and Foreign Direct Product Rule to exclude Huawei from accessing products based on US technology, even if those products are manufactured by non-US companies. This effectively cut Huawei off from TSMC, one of its biggest chip suppliers, causing Huawei to admit it will likely have to stop making its own chips as a result.
According to the Financial Times, Huawei is now shifting its focus to its cloud business in an effort to stabilize and ensure its future survival. Recognizing the growing importance of its cloud unit, Huawei elevated it to equal footing with its telecoms and smartphones units back in January. The company still has much ground to cover before it catches up with rivals Tencent and Alibaba, but FT reports the Chinese government is planning to give Huawei more public cloud contracts to help it stabilize.
The Trump administration has been putting increasing pressure on Chinese firms, including Huawei, ZTE, TikTok and WeChat. All four companies have been banned, with TikTok and WeChat’s ban going into effect on September 15. TikTok has been desperately trying to find a buyer before the ban, in order to keep its US, Australia and New Zealand operations going. There has been no such discussions regarding WeChat.
The impending ban has been a major concern for many US tech companies. Apple is especially vulnerable, as it relies on China for a fifth of its sales. WeChat is so important in China that it is used for everything, including messaging, purchasing, paying bills, social media and more. A phone without WeChat would be viewed as crippled in Chinese society. The Trump administration has tried to reassure companies they could still do business with WeChat within China, but the app is very popular among Chinese nationals abroad as a way to stay in contact with family and friends.
In addition to the fallout with consumers, there are concerns over manufacturing. Apple relies on China for a large part of its manufacturing, making it vulnerable to retaliation from the Chinese government.
It remains to be seen if some kind of deal will be reached to avoid a worst-case scenario.
If something is too good to be true, it probably is. That’s a lesson many people are learning about Techno Android phones.
Techno phones have become extremely popular in Africa, where they have supplanted long-time favorites Samsung and Nokia. While the phone looks nice and has modern functionality, its biggest selling point is its price. Techno phone can be had for much less than competing brands.
According to an investigation by BuzzFeed News and Secure-D, the price was actually much higher. The investigation showed that preinstalled malware was stealing people’s data, interrupting chats and phone calls with popups, as well as secretly installing apps that subscribed people to services—in effect stealing their money.
What makes the whole debacle worse is the fact that the maker of Techno phones, Transsion, specifically targets some of the world’s poorest communities. Their business model has been so successful that, as BuzzFeed points out, they’re the fourth-largest phone maker in the world, behind Apple, Samsung and Huawei.
Transsion, of course, has denied wrongdoing, saying the issue originated with a supply chain vendor. They went on to tellBuzzFeed:
“We have always attached great importance to consumers’ data security and product safety. Every single software installed on each device runs through a series of rigorous security checks, such as our own security scan platform, Google Play Protect, GMS BTS, and VirusTotal test.”
They failed to explain, however, how the malware made it on the phones if they have “a series of rigorous security checks.” Even if Transsion is telling the truth, their incompetence alone borders on criminal.
Walmart is getting in on the TikTok action, joining Microsoft’s bid to purchase the beleaguered social media platform.
TikTok has gone from one privacy and security scandal to the next, culminating in the Trump administration instituting a ban that will go into effect on September 15, unless a buyer can be found. Microsoft has emerged as a frontrunner, although Oracle has also expressed interest.
Now it appears that Walmart is joining Microsoft in its bid, seeing a unique e-commerce opportunity.
“The way TikTok has integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets,” reads the company’s statement. “We believe a potential relationship with TikTok U.S. in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace and advertising businesses. We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of U.S. TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of U.S. government regulators.”
It will be interesting to see what Microsoft and Walmart can make of TikTok, should a sale be successful.
The Department of Justice has announced it is charing Uber’s former Chief Security Officer (CSO) Joseph Sullivan for obstruction of justice.
The charges stem from a data breach Uber suffered in 2016, just days after Sullivan testified before the FTC about a 2014 data breach. In the 2016 data breach, hackers “accessed and downloaded an Uber database containing personally identifying information, or PII, associated with approximately 57 million Uber users and drivers. The database included the drivers’ license numbers for approximately 600,000 people who drove for Uber.”
Rather than report the new breach, Sullivan orchestrated an attempt to pay off the hackers to prevent the FTC from finding out. To cover his tracks, Sullivan funneled the money through a bug bounty program and tried to get the hackers to sign NDAs. To matters worse, the NDAs includes statements falsely indicating that no data had been taken, statements Sullivan insisted remain in the agreements.
“Uber’s new management ultimately discovered the truth and disclosed the breach publicly, and to the FTC, in November 2017,” writes the DOJ. “Since that time, Uber has responded to additional government inquiries.
“The criminal complaint also alleges Sullivan deceived Uber’s new management team about the 2016 breach. Specifically, Sullivan failed to provide the new management team with critical details about the breach. In August of 2017, Uber named a new Chief Executive Officer. In September 2017, Sullivan briefed Uber’s new CEO about the 2016 incident by email. Sullivan asked his team to prepare a summary of the incident, but after he received their draft summary, he edited it. His edits removed details about the data that the hackers had taken and falsely stated that payment had been made only after the hackers had been identified.”
The entire incident is a case study in how not to handle a data breach. At the same time, Uber’s new CEO and management team are to be commended for doing the right thing as soon as they discovered the truth.
Blackberry phones are back from the dead with new models planned for 2021.
Blackberry helped pioneer the modern smartphone, and held a special place in the hearts of millions of users. Blackberry devices were known for always-on connectivity and best-in-class physical keyboards. Like many devices, however, Blackberry lost ground to Apple’s iPhone and the plethora of Android devices that followed soon after. After some attempts to continue manufacturing their own phones, Blackberry shifted their focus to software and licensed the manufacturing rights to outside companies.
TCL Communication was granted the global license rights and manufactured Blackberry devices until this year. In February, TCL announced they would stop selling Blackberry-branded devices as of August 31, 2020 and had lost all “rights to design, manufacture or sell any new BlackBerry mobile devices.”
A new company, OnwardMobility, has secured the rights to continue manufacturing Blackberry phones, and they seem determined marry the best of Blackberry with the latest technology. According to the company’s announcement, the new phones will feature 5G, be powered by Android and will have a physical keyboard. The devices will be developed in close association with Blackberry and FIH Mobile, a Foxconn subsidiary. FIH Mobile’s involvement will help “ensure world-class design and manufacturing.”
Given Blackberry’s well-established reputation for security and privacy, it’s no surprise OnwardMobility is heavily leveraging that, promising “the most productive, most user-friendly and most secure mobile devices ever created.”
“BlackBerry is thrilled OnwardMobility will deliver a BlackBerry 5G smartphone device with physical keyboard, leveraging our high standards of trust and security synonymous with our brand. We are excited that customers will experience the enterprise and government level security and mobile productivity the new BlackBerry 5G smartphone will offer,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, BlackBerry.
Instagram has announced it will start asking some users to provide their government ID to prove who they are.
According to Instagram, the new policy is meant to help cut down on accounts that try to mislead people or engage in “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” Instagram goes on say a review could be triggered when they see “the majority of someone’s followers are in a different country to their location, or if we find signs of automation, such as bot accounts for example.”
Once an account has been reviewed and verified, the user will be able to continue using it. Instagram claims that IDs will be stored securely, and then deleted within 30 days after the review is completed. They also claim that the information will not be shared on the person’s profile, preserving pseudonymity.
While Instagram is to be commended for wanting to protect users, it’s hard not to imagine what could go wrong. After all, Instagram is owned by Facebook, a company that has proven time again it lacks either the ability or the necessary motivation to protect its users privacy. What could possibly go wrong with giving it copies of government IDs?
Cense AI has inadvertently leaked 2.5 million detailed medical records of auto accident victims.
Cense AI is an “SaaS platform that helps business in implementing Intelligent Process Automation, intelligent bots to automate tasks without disrupting current system.” The company specializes in “simplifying implementation of business process automation using Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing.”
According to security researcher Jeremiah Fowler, working in collaboration with Secure Thoughts, Cense AI left two folders with medical data exposed on the same IP address as the company’s website. The two folders contained a combined “2.5 million records that appeared to contain sensitive medical data and PII (Personally Identifiable Information). The records included names, insurance records, medical diagnosis notes, and much more.” In addition, there were clinics, insurance providers and accounts contained in the data.
This is a massive breach on the part of a company trusted with the most sensitive type of customer information, and serves as a cautionary example of what can happen when outside companies are given access to medical data.
What’s more, to date, there has not been any public statement, blog post or explanation on Cense’s part. In other words, this appears to be another case study in how not to handle a data breach.
A security researcher has been awarded a bug bounty after discovering Instagram was retaining data long after he had deleted it.
According to TechCrunch, security researcher Saugat Pokharel discovered that Instagram’s Download Your Information tool included data he had deleted over a year ago. With any online platform, deleting data on the user’s end doesn’t immediately delete it on the company’s. The information must be deleted from the entire network, including any backups, a process that usually takes a couple of months.
In Pokharel’s case, however, when he downloaded his data, it included private direct messages and photos he had deleted over a year ago, well past any reasonable time it should have taken. He submitted the bug via Instagram’s bug bounty program and the company fixed the issue.
An Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch: “The researcher reported an issue where someone’s deleted Instagram images and messages would be included in a copy of their information if they used our Download Your Information tool on Instagram. We’ve fixed the issue and have seen no evidence of abuse. We thank the researcher for reporting this issue to us.”
Senator Josh Hawley is calling on Google to ban TikTok following revelations the app sidestepped Android safety measures to track users.
TikTok has stumbled from one privacy issue to another. It’s been sued for allegedly uploading videos to Chinese servers without consent, it has abused the privacy of children and been accused of rampant censorship. The social media app’s woes have contributed to the Trump administration threatening to ban it if a deal cannot be reached to sell it to a US company.
In the latest revelation, TikTok sidestepped a safeguard in Android to collect unique identifiers for at least 15 months. This gave the company the ability to track users, giving them no recourse or way to opt out.
Senator Hawley is calling on Google to ban the app as a result.
TikTok skirted a privacy safeguard in Google’s Android OS to collect unique identifiers from millions of mobile devices, data that allows them to track users online without allowing them to opt out.
Sen. Hawley is calling for Google to ban @tiktok_us from its platform.
— Senator Hawley Press Office (@SenHawleyPress) – August 11, 2020
One thing is clear: Even if a US company is able to purchase TikTok, it will have its work cut out regaining the trust the beleaguered platform has lost.
Capital One has been fined some $80 million by the government for failing to adequately protect consumer data.
In 2019, Capital One suffered one of the largest financial hacks in history, exposing 80,000 bank account numbers and 140,000 Social Security numbers. The US Treasury Department’s Comptroller of the Currency said the bank was negligent when it transitioned to the cloud in 2015, and failed to properly implement the necessary security measures.
In some cases, the company’s internal audit failed to catch security issues. In other cases, the Board of Directors failed to act on issues the internal audit did flag. As a result, the Treasury Department is fining Capital One $80 million, which the company has agreed to pay.
Capital One’s example should serve as a reminder to companies that security should always be a prime consideration—not an afterthought.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed his concerns about an upcoming ban of social media app TikTok.
TikTok has become widely popular around the world, and has been the big winner among social media platforms during the pandemic. Some might think a TikTok ban would be in Facebook’s best interest, but that isn’t how Zuckerberg sees it.
According to BuzzFeed News, Zuckerberg said: “A lot of people are out there saying that this helps Facebook and my reaction to that is only in the most narrow sense. Yes, they are a competitor this year, and this month, next month maybe our engagement will go up. Maybe it will make Reels a little bit easier just to roll out. But you don’t run a company for the next month or the next quarter.”
Zuckerberg is evidently concerned that banning TikTok sets a bad precedent that could one day be used by other countries to ban Facebook. It remains to be seen if a ban will actually happen, as the ban isn’t set to take effect until September 15. In the meantime, Microsoft is working to purchase TikTok’s US operations. Should that happen, the precedent Zuckerberg is worried about may never come to pass.
President Trump has followed through on his promise, issuing a ban on TikTok, as well as WeChat, with both bans set to take effect in mid September.
Trump has been threatening to ban TikTok as concerns have mounted that the social media platform represents a security and privacy threat. Microsoft is currently working on a deal to buy TikTok’s US operations. Although Trump initially opposed such a deal, following a call with CEO Satya Nadella, Trump gave Microsoft a limited window to make it happen.
It appears that window is 45 days, as executive orders will result in TikTok and WeChat being banned on September 15.
According to Reuters, Trump said WeChat “automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users. This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information.”
In the order banning TikTok, Trump said the US “must take aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security.”
Cannon has suffered a crippling ransomware attack, impacting numerous services and resulting in data loss and theft.
Cannon’s online photo and video storage service experienced a nearly week-long outage, as well as data loss for customers using the 10GB of free storage Canon offered. Despite the obvious problems, Canon was tightlipped about the issue, and refused to comment.
In response, BleepingComputer set out to investigate. A source confirmed to BleepingComputer that Canon’s email, Microsoft Teams and other applications were all experiencing outages. BleepingComputer was also able to obtain a partial copy of a Maze ransomware note Canon allegedly received. After reaching out to Maze, Maze operators confirmed to the publication they had successfully breached Canon, although denied they were responsible for issues with the image site that initially prompted BleepingComputer to investigate. The hackers also claimed to have stolen some 10TB of data, including private databases.
If the ransomware attack is as bad as the Maze operators are claiming, Canon is in a tough spot. While it’s understandable that they wouldn’t want to reveal details about the attack, being as tightlipped as they have been will likely backfire in the long run.
Following a weekend of back-and-forth talks, Microsoft appears to be pursuing a deal to purchase TikTok.
TikTok has found itself in hot water, with the Trump administration threatening to ban the social media app. This comes on the heels of numerous controversies surrounding the app’s privacy and security. It has been sued over claims it uploaded user videos to servers in China without permission. Numerous government, military and business organizations have banned the app, and the company has been accused of violating child privacy. In a rare rebuke within the tech industry, at least one CEO labeled it “fundamentally parasitic.”
The end result has been the Trump administration first threatening, and then promising to ban the app in the US. At the last minute, however, Microsoft floated the possibility of buying the beleaguered social media company. After initial opposition from the administration, it appears a meeting between Trump and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has opened the way for talks to continue.
”Following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Donald J. Trump, Microsoft is prepared to continue discussions to explore a purchase of TikTok in the United States,” says the company blog.
”Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President’s concerns. It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury.
”Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks, and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020. During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States Government, including with the President.”
GPS company Garmin is the latest high-profile organization to be the victim of a major ransomware attack.
Garmin’s customers experienced widespread outages, with some having far-reaching consequences. For example, pilots that rely on flyGarmin lost the ability to download up-to-date aviation information, effectively grounding them unless they could use an alternative option.
The company has said “it was the victim of a cyber attack that encrypted some of our systems on July 23, 2020. As a result, many of our online services were interrupted including website functions, customer support, customer facing applications, and company communications. We immediately began to assess the nature of the attack and started remediation. We have no indication that any customer data, including payment information from Garmin Pay™, was accessed, lost or stolen. Additionally, the functionality of Garmin products was not affected, other than the ability to access online services.”
Beyond that, Garmin is not disclosing many additional details, including whether they paid the ransom or were able to begin decrypting their systems through other means. In fact, Garmin is only describing the incident as a “cyber attack” although, as the BBC points out, multiple outlets have confirmed it was indeed a ransomware attack.
Garmin says its services should be up and running within a few days, although there may be some delays as the company catches up on the information backlog.
China has expressed its disappointment in the UK’s decision to ban Huawei and said there will be a cost.
The UK initially decided to allow Huawei to participate in its 5G networks in a limited role, despite US pressure to ban the Chinese firm. US officials have accused Huawei of being a threat to security. Even though the UK did not initially ban Huawei, it implemented rules to keep the company’s equipment away from sensitive locations, such as nuclear sites and military bases. In addition, Huawei equipment could not be used on the core network and could not comprise more than 35% of the network.
After increased pressure, including sanctions that cut Huawei off from chipmaker TSMC, the UK reversed its decision. According to the BBC, China has wasted no time expressing its displeasure.
“The UK side has used groundless risks as an excuse to co-operate with the United States… violating the relevant commitments made by the UK,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
“Any decisions and actions must come at a cost,” she added.
Given the UK and China’s trade relationship, further escalation could hurt both countries. Only time will tell what Ms Hua meant, and what any “cost” might entail.
An EU court has struck down a privacy agreement that made it possible to share the data of EU citizens with the US.
Under the EU-US Privacy Shield, companies could implement higher privacy standards to allow for the transfer of EU citizen data. This was necessary because of the EU’s stricter privacy legislation. In spite of the goals behind the Privacy Shield, privacy groups raised a number of concerns about its effectiveness.
In particular, advocates were concerned about the privacy threat the US government poses. Thanks to the Edward Snowden leaks, the world is aware of the US government’s long history of digital spying, even on law-abiding citizens. Advocates were concerned that, even if a company met the necessary data sharing privacy requirements, there was no guarantee the US government wouldn’t snoop on any shared data.
Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy advocate, initially filed the complaint that eventually made its way to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). After considering the case, the ECJ struck down the law.
This will have major ramifications for many companies with customers in the EU. At the very least, companies will need to use Standard Contractual Clauses. This is a type of non-negotiable legal contract drawn up in the EU that governs data transfers. Specifically, they are used to make sure any data transfer abides by the GDPR privacy laws, especially when transferring the data to a country that does not have the same level of privacy protection.
The ECJ’s decision is a big win for privacy advocates, and will no doubt put additional pressure on the US to adopt privacy regulation of its own.
