Today’s Tech Sightings:
A woman walks by a miniature of the Capitol building at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 20, 2016.
Congress Warned About Cybersecurity After Attempted Ransomware Attack on House
The U.S. House of Representatives’ technology staff warned legislators that their third-party email apps were increasingly being targeted by malware attacks. In an internal email obtained by TechCrunch, the staff advised legislators that access to YahooMail and Gmail will be blocked on the House network. But a spokesperson for the House Chief Administrative Officer declined to say if the attacks were successful or if ransom was paid.
Baidu CEO to Put ‘Values Before Profits’ After Outrage Over Student Death
Robin Lee, the CEO of China’s biggest search ad business Baidu urged staff to put ‘values before profit’ after a government regulator ordered the company to cut back on ads that appear in search results and may not be clearly marked. The incident follows public uproar over the case of 21-year-old student Wei Zexi, who died after taking part in a failed experimental treatment for cancer advertised on Baidu.
Facebook has denied allegations by a former employee that the social media giant deliberately omitted conservative topics from its popular ‘trending’ section. In a statement, Facebook said it has rigorous guidelines in place to ensure political neutrality and include perspectives from across the political spectrum.
More:
- Robots Will Make It Even Harder for Poor Countries to Get Rich
- SWIFT Messaging Rejects Bangladeshi Claims in Bank Cyber Heist
- IBM, 8 Universities to Train Watson for Cybersecurity Sleuthing
- US Investigates Security of Mobile Devices
- Thai Students Caught Using ‘Mission Impossible’ Exam Spy Glasses
- Report Claiming Bias in Facebook ‘Trending’ Topics Sparks Outcry
- Microsoft to Shutter MSN Portal in China in June
- GoDaddy ‘Mine’ Security Flaw Blows Up Your Account
- Siri Creators Show Off Their Next AI Assistant, Viv
