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

Apple Eyes Production in India; Thieving Russian Botnet Exposed

Posted December 20th, 2016 at 1:21 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: WSJ: Apple in Talks With India to Manufacture Locally Apple has been in communication with the Indian government to explore manufacturing its products locally in India. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple sent a letter to New Delhi to lay out manufacturing plans and request financial incentives. India’s Prime Minister, Narendra […]

Taking Your Data to the Cloud? Read the Fine Print First.

Posted December 16th, 2016 at 1:00 am (UTC-4)
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Every time you reach for your smartphone to access your social media feed or dig up a contact, you are tapping into remote servers that house your data, also known as the cloud. And while most people probably don’t give this a second thought, they should – if they want to keep their information private […]

One Billion Yahoo Accounts Hacked; Messenger AI Gets Bigger Role

Posted December 15th, 2016 at 12:50 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: One More Time:1 billion Yahoo Accounts Stolen in Biggest Hack Ever Yahoo announced Wednesday that one billion user accounts were hacked and stolen in 2013 – the largest hack ever and the second for the beleaguered company. In September, Yahoo revealed that up to 500 million user accounts were compromised. The breach […]

Evernote Takes Liberties With User Data; Drone Deliveries Makes History

Posted December 14th, 2016 at 12:00 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Evernote ‘Privacy’ Policy Update Allows Employees to Read Your Notes If you are using the Evernote app to take notes, you might want to reconsider. Evernote’s latest update to its “privacy” policy lets some of the company’s employees read your notes in the interest of improving machine learning. It bears mentioning that […]

‘Pokémon GO’ Goes to India; ‘Popcorn Time’ Redefines Ransomware

Posted December 13th, 2016 at 10:17 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Reliance Jio Brings ‘Pokémon GO’ to India Starting Wednesday India is about to catch the Pokémon GO craze – beginning Wednesday. The country’s 4G-LTE carrier, Reliance Jio, has partnered with Niantic, Pokémon GO’s publisher and developer to bring the game to the Indian masses. Unofficially, however, many Indians have already been busy […]

For Developing World, 2016 Brought Education, Drones, Big Data

Posted December 9th, 2016 at 11:18 am (UTC-4)
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2016 opened new technology frontiers for developing countries in education and healthcare, thanks to mobile devices and a little help from nonprofits and tech giants. In parts of the developing world, mobile technology has been bridging the gap where there is spotty or no traditional internet connectivity, a lack of teachers, limited school resources, and […]

German Firm Suffers Massive Cyberattack; Facebook Tackles Fake News

Posted December 8th, 2016 at 11:49 am (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: ThyssenKrupp Secrets Stolen in ‘Massive’ Cyberattack Germany’s ThyssenKrupp AG conglomerate said Thursday a massive cyberattack stole trade secrets from its steel production and manufacturing plant design divisions. The attack was discovered in April and traced back to February. The company, one of the world’s largest steel makers, is still trying to determine […]

Malicious Ads Put Millions at Risk; the Trouble With Smart Cities

Posted December 7th, 2016 at 1:03 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Malicious Online Ads Expose Millions to Possible Hack Cybersecurity firm ESET says infected banner ads have put millions of internet users at risk of installing Trojans and spyware on their computers since October. The company said Stegano, as the attack campaign is called, has spread from malicious ads on several reputable sites, […]

Connected Toys Raise New Fears; Hackers Target Wi-Fi Router Keys

Posted December 6th, 2016 at 12:43 pm (UTC-4)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Consumer Groups Warn Connected Toys Open Bedroom Door to Strangers The Norwegian Consumer Council and various consumer rights groups in Europe and the United States say Internet-connected toys subject children to hidden marketing messages and let them chat with strangers over their Bluetooth connection. The toys also record conversations and send them […]

Ransomware Gets Bolder as Bigger Players Join the Game

Posted December 2nd, 2016 at 11:00 am (UTC-4)
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Ransomware attacks are becoming more brazen if the November 25 assault on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) is any indication. And cybersecurity experts project a surge in these types of digital assault as new players get into the act. “Unfortunately, this is a trend,” said Comodo Senior Research Scientist, Kenneth Geers. “And it works.” […]