Today’s Tech Sightings: Thai Activists Work to Keep Open Web Amid Online Freedom Restrictions Thailand’s military junta has been steadily pursuing people who allegedly have defamed the country’s king on Facebook and other online services. Writer Janjira Sombatpoonsiri notes that hundreds of websites were blocked in May as internet restrictions increased. But pro-democracy activists are […]
Thai Activists Fight for Web Freedom; Google to Train Millions in Africa
Apple’s iPhone Turns 10; New Details Emerge About ‘Petya’ Data Wiper
Today’s Tech Sightings: Here’s Everything the iPhone Has Replaced in the Last 10 Years On June 29, 2007, the first iPhone was born. It had a unique feel to it that continues to permeate new iterations of the device. And despite a bumpy start, connectivity limitations, and battery issues, it was an instant hit that […]
‘WannaCry’ Clues Point to China as New Vulnerability Raises Red Flags
Today’s Tech Sightings: WannaCry Ransom Note Analysis Points to Chinese-speaking Perpetrator Cybersecurity experts continue to comb through evidence to identify the criminals who launched the global ‘WannaCry’ ransomware attack. While initial speculation linked the attackers to North Korea, researchers at cybersecurity firm Flashpoint now say Chinese speakers could be behind the English and Chinese versions […]
Social Media Access Urged After UK Attack; New Ransomware Detected
Today’s Tech Sightings: UK Takes on Social Media Giants After Manchester Terror Attack U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd has urged social media services like Facebook and Twitter to tackle terrorism posts and give law enforcement access to encrypted messages. The appeal followed an Islamic State terrorist attack at a Manchester pop concert that left 22 […]
WannaCry Blame Game Points to North Korea
Today’s Tech Sightings: The finger-pointing is underway in the massive WannaCry or WannaCrypt ransomware attack that affected nearly 150 countries, with security researchers suggesting North Korean hackers might be behind it and Microsoft blaming the U.S. government. The hackers allegedly used tools leaked by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to exploit a vulnerability in […]
Android’s App Permissions Flaw; Assistive Tech Gets Smarter
Today’s Tech Sightings: Serious App Permissions Flaw Will Not be Fixed Until Android O Google’s Android operating system might get a lot of unwanted attention from hackers because of its popularity, but research from Check Point security firm points to deeper problems. Google Play’s app permission model grants apps downloaded from the store extensive access, […]
Murder, Graphic Content Haunt Facebook; Android Pay, PayPal Team Up
Today’s Tech Sightings: Facebook Kicks Off F8 Developer Conference Amid Murder Controversy CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a lot to talk about at Tuesday’s F8 developer conference in San Jose, California. But his keynote speech comes at an inopportune time as the social media giant grapples with violent videos of murder, torture and rape. In the […]
Kids Lose Sleep With Touchscreen Use; an Argument for Editing Tweets
Today’s Tech Sightings: Study: Kids Who Use Touchscreen Devices Sleep Less at Night Earlier research has linked television and video games to sleep problems, but for the first time, a new study appearing in the Scientific Advances journal, looked at the use of mobile touchscreen devices among children. The study found that infants and toddlers […]
Asia Takes Brunt of 2016 Hacks; High-profile Twitter Accounts Hijacked
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, […]