Tag: All Regions

It’s been almost 10 months since a trial date was set in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, and with all of the other big tech cases going on right now, including Google’s other antitrust proceedings, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about this one. But believe it or not, the trial will start in less than a month, on November 6th, in the United States District Court in California’s Northern District. The court released a tentative list of witnesses, mostly executives…

Reddit’s latest transparency report shows a modest increase in DMCA takedown notices. The number of copyright infringement-related user- and subreddit bans has declined, however. The latest data follows a hectic period at Reddit, where protests over an API policy change triggered a ‘dramatic’ 1169% increase in user data requests. With millions of daily users, Reddit is without a doubt one of the most visited sites on the Internet. The community-oriented platform has “subreddits” dedicated to pretty much every topic one…

Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a large-scale surprise attack against Israel on Saturday, firing thousands of rockets from Gaza and sending fighters to kill or abduct people as Israel retaliated with devastating air strikes. At least 70 people were reported killed in Israel, while Gaza authorities released a death toll of 198 in the conflict’s bloodiest escalation in years, which also left hundreds more wounded on both sides. “We are at war,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the military launched a series of strikes against targets in the blockaded coastal…

Ottawa, Ontario — A Canadian woman allegedly linked to Islamic State jihadis who was repatriated from a camp in Syria six months ago has been charged with participating in a terrorist group, police said Friday.Ammara Amjad was arrested Thursday in Milton, Ontario, west of Toronto, “for her alleged participation in the activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement. The 29-year-old was granted bail during a brief court appearance…

23andMe has confirmed to BleepingComputer that it is aware of user data from its platform circulating on hacker forums and attributes the leak to a credential-stuffing attack. 23andMe is a U.S. biotechnology and genomics firm offering genetic testing services to customers who send a saliva sample to its labs and get back an ancestry and genetic predispositions report. Recently, a threat actor leaked samples of data that was allegedly stolen from a genetics firm and, a few days later, offered to sell…

MGM Resorts reveals that last month’s cyberattack cost the company $100 million and allowed the hackers to steal customers’ personal information. The hospitality and entertainment giant disclosed a cybersecurity issue on September 11, 2023, which impacted its main website, online reservations systems, and in-casino services like slot machines, credit card terminals, and ATMs. A few days later, it was revealed that the threat actor responsible for the disruption was an affiliate of the BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware gang known as Scattered Spider. These hackers breached MGM’s…

Cloudflare has enabled Encrypted Client Hello for all customers on free plans, which includes many pirate sites. The new privacy feature makes it impossible for Internet providers to track which websites subscribers visit. As a result, it also renders pirate site-blocking efforts useless, if both the site and the visitor have ECH enabled. Website blocking has become the go-to anti-piracy measure for the entertainment industries when tackling pirate sites on the internet. The practice has been around for well over…

MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian Army will now receive less Redback infantry fighting vehicles than planned as the government redirects funding for that effort toward long-range strike systems and littoral maneuver craft. The government’s recent Defence Strategic Review recommended the Army pivot from a “balanced” structure of equally equipped combined arms brigades to a “focused” force able to meet the changing threat in the Asia-Pacific region. The document places an emphasis on long-range strike and littoral maneuver capabilities while retaining…

The Telegram channel of Israeli President Isaac Herzog was briefly hacked before being “very swiftly” restored, his spokesman said on Thursday. The breach on Wednesday evening was thought to be “criminal in nature,” the spokesman said, suggesting it was not linked to a foreign power or tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Initial checks show no concern that information was obtained,” the statement from the president’s office said.   An investigation is being conducted by Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency,…

In just a few months, “AI Hub” became a massively popular Discord server with over half a million members. While copyright infringement was strictly forbidden, not all users stuck to the rules. This previously raised the attention of the RIAA, and now appears to have caused the server’s downfall after it was suddenly shut down. Artificial intelligence is booming. Dozens of companies are enthusiastic about its potential and many regular people are tinkering with it too. The ‘AI Hub’ Discord…

In letters sent to all insurance firms, the regulator reminded them of its expectations to make sure they’re checking their products are providing fair value to their customers. The FCA also identified further evidence that some Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) products may be failing to provide fair value to customers. This comes as the FCA publishes its latest insurance Value Measures Data (Jan-Dec 2022), which revealed potential concerns over the value of GAP products to customers. GAP insurance is an…

The information supplied by banks, building societies and payment companies suggests that no firm closed an account between July 2022 and June 2023 primarily because of a customer’s political views. The Payment Accounts Regulations ban banks or building societies discriminating on this basis. The FCA will be doing further work with firms to verify the data and to better understand the reasons behind, for example, the closure of accounts due to reputational risk. By far the most common reasons providers…

Facing a likely roadblock from House Republicans on aid for Ukraine, President Joe Biden said Wednesday he’s planning to give a major speech on the issue and suggested there may be “another means” to provide support for Kyiv if Congress continues to balk. “I’m going to be announcing very shortly a major speech I’m going to make on this issue and why it’s critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment” to Ukraine, Biden…

Jerusalem – Azerbaijan’s space agency, Azercosmos, acquired two multi-spectral electro-optical spy satellites from Israel Aerospace Industries as part of the Azersky-2 program. The Azeri Agency and the Tel Aviv area-based company did not disclose the satellite model or value of the contract in announcing the deal, but both have previously said the agreement is worth about $120 million, and Defense News learned that the model is the OptSat-500. This is the first announced sale of this new model of the…

About 100,000 industrial control systems (ICS) were found on the public web, exposed to attackers probing them for vulnerabilities and at risk of unauthorized access. Among them are power grids, traffic light systems, security and water systems. Exposed ICSs include units (sensors, actuators, switches, building management systems, and automatic tank gauges) for critical infrastructure systems. Cybersecurity company BitSight alerted of the threat after identifying the problem in multiple sectors and impacting many Fortune 1000 companies in 96 countries. Bitsight told BleepingComputer…

I know many of you have heard this before, but Cory Doctorow’s “enshittification” concept is such a useful framework to think about things: first, companies are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. As I’ve highlighted, much of this is driven by the ridiculous demands of Wall St. and the belief that companies have a fiduciary…