Tech

Alphabet Inc’s Google on Thursday published reports for 131 countries showing whether visits to shops, parks, and workplaces dropped in March when many governments issued stay-at-home orders to rein in the spread of the novel coronavirus. Google’s analysis of location data from billions of users’ phones is the largest public …

It’s the end of an era at Microsoft. The giant company announced Friday that co-founder and Technology Advisor Bill Gates stepped down from the board of directors to dedicate more time to his philanthropic efforts, including global health, development, education and his increasing work tackling climate change. He’ll continue to …

Twitter and Facebook have suspended more than 80 accounts following a Reuters investigation that linked them to a network of news sites backed by the Indonesian army that publish pro-government propaganda about the restive region of Papua. The 10 sites in the network appear to be independent news outlets. But …

An election app in use by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political party potentially exposed sensitive personal information for the country’s entire national voting registration of about 6.5 million citizens, according to Israeli media reports. The cellphone-based program, identified as the Elector app, is meant to manage the Likud party’s …

Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will stand up for principles like free expression and encryption, even if it means facing a backlash. “This is the new approach, and I think it’s going to piss off a lot of people. But frankly, the old approach was pissing off a lot of people …

Jeff Bezos met federal investigators in April 2019 after they received information about the alleged hack of the billionaire’s mobile phone by Saudi Arabia. Bezos was interviewed by investigators at a time when the FBI was conducting an investigation into the Israeli technology company NSO Group, according to a person …

Australia is a wealthy, advanced country, yet its broadband internet is curiously slow. After previously being ranked below Kenya, a new global internet index by Speedtest has Australia ranked 68th in the world. According to the index, Australia’s internet is more sluggish than Kazakhstan’s (64th), Kosovo’s (61st) and Montenegro’s (60th). …

The UK government will allow Chinese tech giant Huawei to play a limited role in supplying the country’s 5G networks, it has been announced today. The government said the package of restrictions being announced on “high risk” 5G vendors will allow it to “mitigate the potential risk posed by the …

British officials have proposed granting Huawei a limited role in the UK’s future 5G network, resisting U.S. calls for a complete ban over fears of Chinese spying, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The recommendation, made at a meeting of officials from senior government departments on Wednesday, comes …

The billion-dollar Israeli spyware company accused of helping hack Jeff Bezos A bombshell UN report published Wednesday accuses Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of hacking Jeff Bezos’ phone in 2018. The UN report indicates that Mohammed carried out the hack using technology from the NSO Group, a billion-dollar Israeli …

Google’s chief executive called Monday for a balanced approach to regulating artificial intelligence, telling a European audience that the technology brings benefits but also “negative consequences.” Sundar Pichai’s comments come as lawmakers and governments seriously consider putting limits on how artificial intelligence is used. “There is no question in my …

Customers just can’t get enough folding phones. Chinese tech giant, Huawei says it’s rivaling the likes of Samsung in its bid to popularize a new line of premium smartphones with a folding display. According to the company, it’s now selling 100,000 units of its $2,400 Mate X per month which …

Boeing has released another trove of internal company messages suggesting it lied to regulators, and showing fierce criticism from an unnamed employee who said the crash-prone 737 MAX aircraft was “designed by clowns.” In its release of the redacted communications on Thursday following an internal probe, Boeing acknowledged some of …

Deliberate internet shutdowns by governments across the world in 2019 have cost economies over $8 billion, according to a new report by Top10VPN. Shutting down the internet as a tactic to stifle dissent came to prominence during the 2011 Egyptian uprising when the government cut off access for several days …

Mercedes-Benz managed to make a car that looks even more ridiculously futuristic than Tesla’s Cybertruck. At CES on Monday Mercedes-Benz revealed a new concept car called the AVTR. The acronym stands for advance vision transportation, but it is also a reference to the 2009 film “Avatar,” which features blue-skinned characters …

U.S. shoppers spent more online during this year’s holiday shopping season, a report by Mastercard Inc showed on Wednesday, with e-commerce sales hitting a record high. The holiday shopping season is a crucial period for retailers and can account for up to 40% of annual sales. But this year, Thanksgiving, …

Russia has successfully tested Runet, a country-wide alternative to the global internet, its government has announced. Details of what the test involved were vague but, according to the Ministry of Communications, ordinary users did not notice any changes. The results will now be presented to President Putin. Experts remain concerned …

Google and Apple have removed an Emirati messaging app called ToTok amid claims that it is used for state spying. Not to be confused with China’s TikTok, ToTok markets itself as an easy and secure way to chat by video or text. However, The New York Times (NYT) has reported …

Boeing’s board of directors has named current Chairman David L. Calhoun as chief executive officer and president, effective as of 13 January 2020, the company’s statement says. Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Dennis Muilenburg has resigned, the company says, announcing new CEO David Calhoun. “I strongly believe in the future …

A team of scientists claims to have sensationally developed the world’s first “uncrackable” security system code, even capable of keeping the threat of quantum computers at bay. In their research, “Perfect secrecy cryptography via a mixing of chaotic waves in irreversible time-varying silicon chips”, published in the scientific journal Nature …