Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

All posts by Aida Akl

Expert: Current Smartphone Design Not Sustainable

Posted March 17th, 2017 at 11:35 am (UTC-4)
2 comments

More than two billion smartphones are in use around the world and the numbers are growing. So are the mountains of hazardous e-waste our tech addictions are fueling. But a leading expert believes changing the way smartphones are designed could help address the e-waste problem. A lot of people hold on to their smartphones until […]

How Yahoo Was Hacked; Android 7.1.1 Nougat for Nexus 6 Downgraded

Posted March 16th, 2017 at 12:18 pm (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: Who the Russian Hackers Targeted When They Stole Yahoo Emails Russian spies and cybercriminals charged for allegedly hacking into more than 500 million Yahoo accounts in 2014 targeted diplomats, executives and an investigative reporter, according to U.S. Department of Justice documents. They also searched millions of accounts for credit cards, financial information […]

Asia Takes Brunt of 2016 Hacks; High-profile Twitter Accounts Hijacked

Posted March 15th, 2017 at 12:53 pm (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: APAC Bore Brunt of Cyberattacks in 2016 The Asia-Pacific region took the lion’s share of cyberattacks in 2016, according to security firm Trend Micro. The region attracted three times more malware infections than North America and six times more than of Latin America.  APAC experienced up to 500,000 unknown threats each day, […]

Millions of Twitter Accounts Are Bots; Looking to Musk to Fix the World

Posted March 14th, 2017 at 9:38 am (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings Study: Up to 48 Million Twitter Accounts Are Bots Twitter, according to a joint study released by the University of Southern California and Indiana University, has more than 48 million bot accounts – and some of them could be among your followers.  Twitter has about 319 million active monthly users. The study […]

Mobile Tech Key to Migrant Health Care Solutions

Posted March 10th, 2017 at 11:33 am (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

More than 65 million people around the world are displaced and on the move with no access to health care. But mobile technology will soon change that, thanks to a partnership between design consultancy Frontend and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). When migrants and refugees fleeing their hometowns arrive at an emergency center or […]

More Ads Stray Into Windows 10; Backup Files Before Next iOS Update

Posted March 9th, 2017 at 1:14 pm (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: Microsoft Ads Invade Windows 10’s File Explorer Microsoft is spamming Windows 10 systems with ads that are appearing in the file system. Some users report an ad about Office 365 hidden in an offer to expand cloud storage. Writer Ian Paul shares a tip to turn these ads off if you are […]

Getting More Women Into Tech; Millions of Android Devices at Risk

Posted March 8th, 2017 at 1:03 pm (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: Microsoft, LinkedIn Encourage Girls to Pursue STEM on International Women’s Day The World Economic Forum notes that only 16 percent of female students graduate from STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curricula. In the U.S., only 26 percent of employees in computer and mathematics jobs are women, according to the Department of […]

Alleged CIA Hacking Kit Published; Danish Watchdog Calls Out Google

Posted March 7th, 2017 at 12:59 pm (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: WikiLeaks Publishes CIA Trove Alleging Wide-scale Hacking Thousands of documents, allegedly from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, have been dumped on the internet, purportedly exposing the agency’s massive trove of hacking tools. The documents were published by WikiLeaks, though it is unclear how the group gained access to them. The dump includes […]

Cope With Eating Disorders, ADHD and Smoking With These Apps

Posted March 3rd, 2017 at 11:30 am (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

A few months into 2017, some folks might still be having a hard time following up on their New Year’s resolutions and others may be looking for ways to change their behavior. But a few interesting apps that recently crossed Techtonics’ radar could nudge you in that direction and give you a helping hand. Recovery […]

Jury Out on Online Suicide-prevention Tools; ‘TorrentLocker’ Is Back

Posted March 2nd, 2017 at 12:31 pm (UTC-4)
Leave a comment

Today’s Tech Sightings: Big Questions Surround Facebook’s Suicide-Prevention Tools Facebook has been ramping up its suicide-prevention tools to include ways to encourage users to report people whose Facebook streams contain signs of self-injury. The person with the perceived suicidal tendencies then sees a message that provides resources for help. Writer Rachel Metz says experts see […]