Month: November 2021

A $40bn (£29bn) takeover of UK chip designer Arm by US giant Nvidia will be subject to an in-depth inquiry by the UK’s competition watchdog.

Citing security and competition concerns, Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries told the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to launch a phase two investigation.

An initial inquiry by the CMA found “significant competition concerns”.

Nvidia said, however, that the merger would boost competition and innovation.

The firm said in a statement: “We will continue to work with the UK government to resolve its concerns”.

“The phase two process will enable us to demonstrate that the transaction will help to accelerate Arm and boost competition and innovation, including in the UK”, Nvidia said.

Europe launches investigation into Arm-Nvidia deal
Takeover of UK tech firm ‘raises serious concerns’
Chips based on Arm’s designs are used in a wide range of applications, including in the silicon inside many Apple products.

Announcing her decision, Ms Dorries said: “Arm has a unique place in the global technology supply chain and we must make sure the implications of this transaction are fully considered.”

“The CMA will now report to me on competition and national security grounds and provide advice on the next steps.”

In a letter to both Arm and Nvidia setting out the reasons for the decision, officials provided more detail on the national security concerns.

It suggested that the deal could see a “potential reduction of the UK’s autonomy to develop, operate or support defence and security systems that utilise Arm IP (intellectual property)”.

The deal also faces a competition probe by the European Commission.

Apple’s much promoted digital driver’s licence feature comes at a cost to the taxpayer, according to reports.

Announced in September, it will allow residents in eight US states to store state IDs and driver’s licences inside the Apple Wallet app on their iPhone.

Apple has “sole control” of several aspects of the rollout, CNBC reports.

But Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah “bear the burden of maintaining [the feature], at taxpayer expense”.

Using public-record requests and other means, CNBC acquired details of the agreements between some of those states and Apple:

Apple retains control over when the feature is launched and what devices are compatible – but state agencies are responsible for maintaining the relevant computer systems and legal compliance and Apple stipulates how they report on its “performance”
State bodies must employ or allocate people and resources to support the project “on a timeline to be determined by Apple” and, if Apple requests, “designate” project managers to answer Apple’s questions
The contract requires states to market the new feature – but Apple has review and approval power of those marketing materials
The digital ID must be “proactively” offered to every new licence holder or renewal at no extra cost to the person applying
States must promote it to agencies such as local law enforcement or anyone else who regularly checks IDs
“The end result is that states bear the burden of maintaining technology systems at taxpayer expense, a move that ultimately benefits Apple and its shareholders by making its devices even more essential than they already are,” CNBC’s report says.

Jason Mikula, a financial technology writer who also obtained the Apple records, wrote the states “have ceded a shocking degree of control to Apple”.

“Beyond giving Apple near total control over the programme, states also agree to terms that make it nearly impossible to terminate the programme in the future,” he said.

According to two memoranda of understanding, “the state agencies that have entered into them can only terminate them with Apple’s consent or for cause – if Apple breaches the terms of the agreement and doesn’t remedy within 30 days”.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

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When Apple announced the first details of its ID scheme, it emphasised the encryption and other security features, stressing neither the company nor state officials could know “when or where” users showed IDs.

During the coronavirus pandemic, there was significant public resistance in some countries – including the UK – to the idea of digital Covid passports or other ID, despite the NHS Covid-19 app eventually being widely adopted for that purpose in England.

Civil-liberties concerns also led to the scrapping of a 2019 attempt to introduce a more general digital-ID system in the UK.

Apple has promised to fix a problem with its iPhone 13 that means that screen repairs performed by unofficial parties break its Face ID feature.

The model contains a chip that “pairs” a screen with a specific phone and requires special software tools to “match” a new one.

Repair firms have found that without those tools, the facial-identification security function no longer works.

Apple, whose repairers use the tools, says it will issue a software update.

The feature has been widely criticised by right-to-repair advocates, who suggest it was included to limit who could repair iPhones.

The issue was first reported by iFixit, a company specialising in tools, parts and tech repair guides.

It labelled the new link between screen replacements and Face ID as a “dark day for fixers, both DIY and professional”.

Authorised repairs
The repair firm discovered that the new chip ensures that unless the replacement screen is “matched” to the phone’s unique serial number, Face ID does not work.

The only known existing work-around for independent or do-it-yourself repairers involves delicate, laborious work to transplant the chip from the old screen to the replacement.

The procedure needs specialist equipment and training, which only a fraction of repair shops were capable of, according to iFixit.

Apple told news outlets, including The Verge and The Register, a solution would be made available in a future update but gave no date.

It is not clear whether the issue was a bug or – as some right-to-repair advocates argued – part of a wider move by Apple to restrict third-party repairs.

Apple has often been labelled one of the main opponents of right-to-repair legislation, reportedly arguing that allowing consumers to repair their own devices could lead to injury.

The company’s co-founder, Steve Wozniak, who made the first Apple machines in a garage with Steve Jobs in the 1970s, has expressed support for the right-to-repair movement, saying Apple would not exist without the kind of tinkering repair enthusiasts are campaigning for.

Reacting to Apple’s pledge, iFixit’s Kevin Purdy wrote: “It’s a good day, if media attention and public pushback truly forced Apple’s hand.”

But he also warned that it was “an endless fight”.

“Apple – and the many companies it inspires – will advance again with more parts lockdowns, more feature reductions, more reasons why only their profitable repair centres can do this work,” he said.

A grandfather has told of how he lost money saved for Christmas presents after his family were duped by fraudsters on WhatsApp.

The 75-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, said they had been tricked by criminals posing as his grand-daughter on the messaging service.

He transferred £1,550 to the con-artists, for an emergency medical bill that was a fake.

WhatsApp and trading standards officers are warning others of the scam.

‘You feel a fool’
Fraudsters posing as the young student sent a message to her father, saying she had a case of haemorrhoids that she was embarrassed to talk about.

Subsequent messages suggested that she needed money for private medical care and asked for the money to be transferred directly.

The correct spelling of her unusual name helped convince the family it was genuine, and her grandfather agreed to pay the supposed bill.

Attempts to contact her directly failed, as the calls went straight to an answerphone.

Only after the money was paid did they get through to her, and realised they had been tricked.

“You feel such a fool,” her grandfather said. “I was angry that I was able to be duped.

“You get used to these scam calls, but they are getting quite clever. I used to run my own business, so if they can fool people like me, a lot of very vulnerable people will be in trouble.”

He is trying to get the money refunded from his bank, but so far they have said their fraud checks were sufficient and have refused to reimburse him.

Young targets
Surveys have suggested that 59% of those asked had received a message-based scam attempt in the last year.

Younger age groups, who were more likely to text than call, were said to be more exposed to these kinds of scams.

WhatsApp hijack scam continues to spread
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Trading standards officers said that scammers sent messages that appeared to come from a friend or member of the family, before asking for personal information, money, or a six-digit code.

Usually you would need this code when setting up a new account, or logging in to your existing account on a new device.

However, if you have not initiated this request, it could be a scammer trying to log in to your account.

The messages are sent from the compromised accounts of friends, or from an unknown number claiming to be a friend who has lost their phone or been locked out of their account.

“These kinds of scams are particularly cruel as they prey on our kindness and desire to help friends and family,” said Louise Baxter, head of the National Trading Standards scams team.

Advice from WhatsApp includes:

Stop. Take five minutes before responding. Make sure your WhatsApp two-step verification is switched on to protect the account
Think. Ask if the request makes sense. Scammers prey on people’s kindness, trust and willingness to help
Call. Verify that it really is your friend or family member by calling them directly
Kathryn Harnett, policy manager at WhatsApp, commented: “WhatsApp protects our users’ personal messages with end-to-end encryption, but we want to remind people that we all have a role to play in keeping our accounts safe by remaining vigilant to the threat of scammers.

“If you receive a suspicious message, even if you think you know who it is from, calling or requesting a voice note is the fastest and simplest way to check someone is who they say they are. A friend in need is a friend worth calling.”

The cost to all scam victims’ wellbeing has been estimated at a collective monetary total of £9.3bn a year, according to the consumer group Which?.

A US federal judge has denied a plea by Apple to delay changes to its App Store as a result of its landmark legal battle with Epic Games.

Apple largely won the fight with the maker of Fortnite. However, it was told it could no longer ban developers from telling customers about non-Apple payment options.

Apple appealed against that ruling.

However, it has been denied permission to delay implementing the change while its appeal is ongoing.

That means that from December, app makers will for the first time be allowed to tell their customers that they do not have to use Apple’s payment system.

Going outside that system means the developers do not pay Apple’s 15-30% cut of sales.

The current rules ban any mention of an external payment system inside apps downloaded from Apple’s App Store. So, for example, a TV or movie streaming service would not be allowed to tell people to sign up on a website before using the app.

‘Fundamentally flawed’
The initial judgement, handed down in September by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, found that Apple could not be considered a monopoly for the way it handles its App Store or the fees it charges. “Success is not illegal,” she wrote.

But this week, she threw out Apple’s request to delay implementing the changes on the one key part it lost.

“Apple’s motion is based on a selective reading of this court’s findings and ignores all of the findings which supported the injunction,” she wrote in her ruling.

“The motion is fundamentally flawed,” Judge Gonzalez Rogers added.

In the hearing, she was also critical of Apple’s request for a stay until all appeals are resolved – which could take years – rather than a limited one of some months while it tried to figure out how to change its long-standing rules.

Writing in her judgement, she said: “Other than, perhaps, needing time to establish guidelines, Apple has provided no credible reason for the court to believe that the injunction would cause the professed devastation.

“Links can be tested by app review. Users can open browsers and retype links to the same effect; it is merely inconvenient, which then, only works to the advantage of Apple,” she wrote.

In a statement provided to US media outlets, Apple indicated it plans to go to a different appeals court in a bid to get its bid approved.

If that also fails, then Apple must make the changes by 9 December, which will be 90 days since the initial ruling was handed down.

Epic has also appealed against the initial ruling, which it lost on nine of 10 issues.

The Duke of Sussex has said he warned Twitter boss Jack Dorsey about political unrest in the US – just a day before the deadly 6 January riots.

“I warned him his platform was allowing a coup to be staged,” Prince Harry said at the RE:WIRED tech forum in the US.

“That email was sent the day before. And then it happened and I haven’t heard from him since,” the duke said.

He was speaking at a session discussing whether social media was contributing to misinformation and online hatred.

Mr Dorsey, who is Twitter’s chief executive officer, has so far made no public comments on the issue.

Internet ‘being defined by hate, division and lies’
Prince Harry, who now lives with his wife Duchess of Sussex in California, appeared at Tuesday’s session via video chat as a guest speaker. He was introduced as the co-founder of the Archewell organisation.

The duke used his personal experience with online hatred and the press to reflect that social media companies were not doing enough to stop the spread of misinformation.

He said the internet was “being defined by hate, division and lies”, adding: “That can’t be right.”

His appearance via video chat comes two weeks after a data analytics company alleged that 70% of the hate directed towards the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Twitter was generated by just 55 accounts.

Meanwhile, investigations into what happened on 6 January, when a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC and disrupted the official certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the White House race, are continuing.

More than 670 people have been charged with taking part.

On Tuesday, a congressional committee investigating the riots summoned more of Mr Trump’s closest aides to give evidence.

Among the latest batch is a former White House press secretary, a senior policy adviser and personal assistants.

The inquiry is trying to find out if Mr Trump had foreknowledge of the attack.

A teenager who went missing in the US has been found after she used hand signals that went viral on TikTok to show she was in danger.

The girl had been reported missing by her parents in North Carolina on Tuesday morning, and was spotted inside a car in Kentucky two days later.

The 16-year-old used the gesture designed to help domestic abuse victims ask for help to alert a passing driver.

Authorities say they arrested a 61-year-old man.

A driver called police after noticing “a female passenger in the vehicle making hand gestures that are known on the social media platform TikTok to represent violence at home – I need help – domestic violence,” the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

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The caller noted that the girl “appeared to be in distress” and was being driven by an older male.

The girl, who has not been named, told officers she had travelled through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio.

Police later arrested James Herbert Brick, 61, of Cherokee, North Carolina, while he was driving near a Kentucky interstate on Thursday afternoon.

Signal for Help

The hand gesture is a one-handed sign someone can use when in distress, according to the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

The victim holds up their hand with their palm facing out, then tucks their thumb into their hand before closing their fingers on top of the thumb.

The campaign, called the “signal for help”, spread across social media in 2020 during the initial pandemic lockdowns, in an attempt to address a rise in domestic violence.

The idea was a way for domestic abuse victims to seek help using a non-verbal cue.

Videos demonstrating the signs also gained momentum in the UK in the aftermath of the murder of Sarah Everard, which sparked a debate over women’s safety.

One of Facebook’s earliest investors has labelled the social media giant’s plans for a metaverse as “dystopian”.

Meta, as Facebook is now known, is investing billions in the project.

But Roger McNamee told the BBC: “It’s a bad idea and the fact we are all sitting and looking at this like it’s normal should be alarming everyone.”

Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox told attendees at the Web Summit in Lisbon that the idea would make “the internet less flat”.

He said it would be considerably better than video conferencing as a space for meetings.

However, speaking at the same event, Mr McNamee was highly sceptical.

“Facebook should not be allowed to create a dystopian metaverse,” he said.

The term metaverse was coined in the 1990s in a science fiction novel Snow Crash, where it served as a virtual reality successor to the internet.

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Mr McNamee became a critic of Facebook as he began to see more misinformation on the platform. He said he was not convinced the metaverse would be safe in chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s hands.

“There’s no way that a regulator or policymaker should be allowing Facebook to operate there [in the metaverse] or get into cryptocurrencies,” he said.

“Facebook should have lost the right to make its own choices. A regulator should be there giving pre-approval for everything they do. The amount of harm they’ve done is incalculable.”

Real life
Mr Cox, speaking for Meta, put forward a different view – that the metaverse idea is the next step for the internet as a whole, not just for his company.

“Technology often starts in lower resolutions versions of what it becomes,” he said.

Feedback from Meta’s Oculus virtual reality headset users was that the technology, which was improving all the time, could be “incredibly fun”.

Mr Cox told Nicholas Carlson, editor-in-chief of news publication Insider, that his own dabbling in the metaverse included hosting meetings and entertainment for staff.

He said he and his wife had watched a comedy show with Facebook employees in which everyone appeared as avatars: “Twenty of us in the room, co-workers, all laughing together.”

That same technology was a good alternative to video calls, he argued.

“Everyone is exhausted by video conferencing. You don’t know who is looking at who, everyone is constantly interrupting each other.”

Meetings in the metaverse would be far better, he said, with Meta working on how to improve “spatial audio and body language” in virtual reality.

When asked why anyone would want to meet in virtual reality, he said: “It will not replace real life – nothing should – and I don’t want to design something that does.”

Getting Meta
He acknowledged that no one company, such as Meta, would own the metaverse, pointing to Roblox as an example.

Roblox, a user-generated gaming platform valued at $30bn (£22bn) and with 37 million users around the globe, has its own plans for the metaverse.

Chief executive David Baszucki has for several years been outlining his vision of it as a digital place where people play, work or learn with millions of 3D experiences.

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At Web Summit, Roblox’s head of music Jon Vlassopulos told the BBC: “I think our view of the metaverse is that we’ve been at it for about 15 years.

“So we’re ushering in the metaverse, and we feel it needs to be a place that everyone can access, a place where people can express themselves and connect together.

“We’ve been building around this vision for a long time. We’re excited that more people are coming it to validate that notion.”

Mr Cox was asked whether the metaverse – which Mr Carlson described as a “cartoon world” – was something that the tech giant should control.

He said that there would need to be “a set of standards and a set of protocols” along with “public discourse” about how to keep the space safe.

He added that Mr Zuckerberg was committed to safety, something he said the “company had been working on for over a decade”.

Instagram has brought back support for Twitter card previews after removing the feature nine years ago.

Now, when users share an Instagram link on Twitter, a small preview of the post will be displayed.

Instagram controversially removed the feature shortly after being acquired by Facebook in 2012.

Twitter card previews started for some users on Wednesday and will eventually be available to everyone. Instagram and Twitter are both promoting the change.

“If you want to share your latest Instagram post on the Twitter timeline too, you’re in luck: now when you share a link to an IG post in a tweet, it’ll show up as a card with a preview of the photo,” read a tweet on Twitter’s official support account.

Instagram sparked controversy with users when it removed support for Twitter cards in 2012.

The platform said that it wanted to take back control of its content following its merger with Facebook.

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom insisted at the time that the mandate came from himself, and not Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg.

He said Instagram was attempting to grow its web platform and shared hopes that the move would help increase traffic.

The Israeli company behind the controversial Pegasus spyware has been added to a US trade blacklist.

Pegasus has reportedly been used by nation states to target the phones of rights activists and journalists.

The US has now put its maker, NSO Group, on its “entity list”, banning business dealings with them.

NSO Group said it was “dismayed” by the decision, adding that its technology helped maintain US national security by “preventing terrorism and crime”.

It has long maintained that its software is sold only to military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies from countries with good human rights records.

But earlier this year, it was accused of having sold its technology to authoritarian governments, which then targeted innocent people.

“We look forward to presenting the full information regarding how we have the world’s most rigorous compliance and human rights programs that are based on the American values we deeply share, which already resulted in multiple terminations of contacts with government agencies that misused our products,” the company said in a statement.

However, US officials said that NSO Group and another Israeli firm, Candiru, had acted “contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States”.

On the face of it this is a surprising move by the US government.

The US and Israel are close allies, with their respective cyber-experts having co-operated, for example, to restrain Iran’s nuclear programme.

But the Pegasus military-grade spyware developed and sold by Israel’s NSO Group has emerged as a formidable cyber-weapon, used by some of its more autocratic customers in the Middle East to target a wide range of people, not just criminals and terrorists.

Journalists, lawyers, peaceful activists and even a member of the UK’s House of Lords have all had their phones secretly infected with malware that allows the customer to read every message, access all their data and even remotely turn on the microphone without the owner’s knowledge.

2px presentational grey line
The US Commerce Department said the decision was “based on evidence that these entities developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used these tools to maliciously target government officials, journalists, business people, activists, academics and embassy workers.

“These tools have also enabled foreign governments to conduct transnational repression, which is the practice of authoritarian governments targeting dissidents, journalists and activists outside of their sovereign borders to silence dissent. Such practices threaten the rules-based international order,” it said.

It also said the announcements were part of President Biden’s efforts to “stem the proliferation of digital tools used for repression”.

A Russian and a Singaporean company – which created hacking tools – were also added to the US trade blacklist.

Separately, the US State Department said it would not be taking action against Israel, Russia or Singapore, based on the actions of the individual companies.