WhatsApp to Refer Security Breach to US Authorities

Facebook’s WhatsApp said on Tuesday a security breach on its messaging app had signs of coming from a private company working on surveillance and it had referred the incident to the U.S. Department of Justice. WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging tools, is used by 1.5 billion people monthly …

more ...

US Supreme Court Approves Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that an antitrust lawsuit against Apple can proceed. Consumers are suing the company, alleging Apple overcharges when downloading iPhone applications at the company’s App Store. Conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh joined with the four liberal judges in the 5-4 decision, agreeing with the plaintiffs that …

more ...

Technology Creates Virtual Wall Around Wildlife Preserve

South Africa, which has the largest population of rhinos in the world, has been the country hit hardest by poaching. Between 2007 and 2015, there was a 9,000% increase in poaching there, reaching a high of 1,215 animals in 2014. While numbers have been declining since then, poaching remains a …

more ...

New Fingerprint Technology Could Help Solve Old Crimes

A new mass spectroscopy machine is helping forensic scientists who are looking for a much better view of fingerprints on objects used in a crime. The current methods of making a copy of a fingerprint may not be good enough and DNA swabbing can damage evidence. VOAs Deborah Block reports. …

more ...

13-Year-Old ‘CyberNinja’ Hacks Drone to Show Cyber Threat

President Donald Trump signed an executive order this month designed to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity workforce, the front line against hackers, domestic and foreign. With 7 billion internet-connected devices in the world, and numbers expected to rise, the threat is growing. Faith Lapidus reports, web-connected devices, from smart homes to …

more ...

Wisconsin Cat Gets New Prosthetic Legs

A cat who lost his back legs when he was hit by a train got a new lease on life by getting new prosthetic limbs. They were designed by engineering students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison using a 3D printer. VOA’s Deborah Block has more. …

more ...

Space Tourism Steps Closer to Commercial Flight Reality

Billionaire Richard Branson is moving Virgin Galactic’s winged passenger rocket and more than 100 employees from California to a remote commercial launch and landing facility in southern New Mexico, bringing his space tourism dream a step closer to reality. Branson said Friday at a news conference that Virgin Galactic’s development …

more ...

Why Does Facebook Fail to Fix Itself? It’s Partly Humans

The question comes up over and over, with extremist material, hate speech, election meddling and privacy invasions. Why can’t Facebook just fix it? It’s complicated, with reasons that include Facebook’s size, its business model and technical limitations, not to mention years of unchecked growth. Oh, and the element of human …

more ...

Nike’s Plan for Better-Fitting Kicks: Show Us Your Feet

Nike wants to meet your feet. The sneaker seller will launch a foot-scanning tool on its app this summer that will measure and remember the length, width and other dimensions of customers’ feet after they point a smartphone camera to their toes. The app will then tell shoppers what size …

more ...

China Mobile’s Bid to Offer US Phone Service Rejected

U.S. communications regulators are rejecting a Chinese telecom company’s application to provide service in the U.S. due to national-security risks amid an escalation in tensions between the two countries.   The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted unanimously, 5-0 across party lines, to reject China Mobile International USA Inc.’s long-ago …

more ...

Co-Founder Chris Hughes: Time to Break Up Facebook

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes says it’s time to break up the social media behemoth. He says in a New York Times opinion piece that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has allowed a relentless focus on growth to crush competitors and “sacrifice security and civility for clicks.” Hughes says Facebook is a monopoly …

more ...

European, US Authorities Bust Major Darknet Site

European and American investigators have broken up one of the world’s largest online criminal marketplaces for drugs, hacking tools and financial-theft wares in raids in the United States, Germany and Brazil. Three German men, ages 31, 22 and 29, were arrested after the raids in three southern states on allegations …

more ...

30 Nations Pitch Internet Security Rules Amid Huawei Concern

Cybersecurity officials from dozens of countries on Friday proposed a set of principles to ensure the safety of next generation mobile networks amid concerns over the use of gear made by China’s Huawei. The non-binding proposals were published at the end of a two-day meeting in Prague to discuss the …

more ...

Vietnam Develops Own Smartphones After Decades of Contract Work

Vietnam is used to being an order taker. Companies such as Nokia and Samsung Electronics use the Southeast Asian country’s cheap labor to assemble consumer electronics for export. Those investments from abroad have slowly handed Vietnam the supplies, parts and know-how needed for local companies to make their own smartphones. …

more ...

SpaceX Admits Crew Capsule Destroyed in April Test

Nearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed Thursday that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap. Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for …

more ...

Facebook Bans Several Personalities for Hate Speech

The hugely popular social media site Facebook has banned Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and several others for hate speech. Facebook said Thursday that the individuals violated its policy against instigating violence. “Individuals and organizations who spread hate or attack or call for the exclusion …

more ...

US Renews Warning to Allies on Huawei

Britain’s prime minister fired her defense minister Wednesday after finding ‘compelling evidence’ that he leaked information to journalists about a secret decision to allow China’s tech giant Huawei to participate in some parts of the country’s 5G network. State Department correspondent Nike Ching reports his dismissal comes as the U.S. …

more ...

Facebook CEO Says Company Will Focus on Privacy

For years, Facebook said it wanted to be the world’s digital town square. Now Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, has a more intimate vision, the digital living room, enabling private conversations between people and groups. The company spelled out how it is changing at its annual developer event in San Jose, …

more ...

Sri Lanka Shuts Down Social Media After Terror Attack

People in Sri Lanka are experiencing a second day without access to some of the most popular social media sites within the country, after the government shut down the services in the wake of a terror attack that killed nearly 300 people and injured hundreds on Easter Sunday. Facebook and …

more ...

Melinda Gates Talks ‘Brash’ Microsoft Culture in New Book

Looking back at her time as an early Microsoft employee, Melinda Gates said the brash culture at the famously tough, revolutionary tech company made her want to quit, but that she didn’t discuss it with her boyfriend, and later her husband, Bill Gates, the company CEO who embodied that culture. …

more ...

Ford Unveils New Electric Fleet

Ford is showing off its new fleet of electric vehicles. Some of the standouts include a new hybrid plug-in and the promise of a new, all-electric model by 2022. The U.S. automaker plans to have a fleet of 40 different electric vehicles on the roads in the next three years. …

more ...

China’s Political System Helps Advance Its Artificial Intelligence

Recent technological advances demonstrated by China have started an intense debate on whether it is set to take a lead in the field of artificial intelligence, or AI, which has extensive business and military applications. U.S. concerns about China’s AI advances have also influenced, in part, the ongoing trade negotiations …

more ...