Daily Tech Headlines – October 5, 2016
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| Daily Tech Headlines – October 5, 2016 | |
| Number | 86 |
| Broadcast Date | OCTOBER 5, 2016 |
| Episode Length | 7:18 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Yahoo accused of scanning for the NSA, A Nobel prize for nano machines, and hacks on insulin pumps.
Headlines
- Reuters reports two former Yahoo employees and a third source, say Yahoo built custom software to search incoming email in compliance with a classified directive from either the US NSA or FBI in 2015. Email was scanned for a "set of characters" as it arrived and messages containing the string were stored for remote retrieval. Reuters could not determine what information was handed over if any. Yahoo's Chief Information Security Officer Alex Stamos discovered the program in May 2015 initially believing the company had been hacked. Stamos left Yahoo in June and now works at Facebook. Yahoo unsuccessfully challenged searches on specific email accounts in 2007. A Yahoo spokesperson told Business Insider the article was misleading, saying, "The mail scanning described in the article does not exist on our systems.” Twitter, Google, Facebook and Apple all told TechCrunch they have never received such a request. Microsoft told TechCrunch it has never engaged in that kind of email scanning. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland where Yahoo has its European headquarters is making enquiries into the report.
- The 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir Fraser Stoddart and Bernard Feringa in recognition of their work designing and synthesizing nanoscale machines. Sauvage led a group that first made a molecule rotate around another in a controlled manner. Stoddart led a group that first threaded a molecular ring onto a rod to make an axle. Feringa's team first made a molecular motor. The developments have led to nano versions of elevators, muscles and four wheel drive nanocars.
- Bloomberg reports sources say that Twitter board members are divided on whether to continue to pursue a sale. CEO Jack Dorsey believes the company should stay independent while former CEO Ev Williams is among those who favor a sale. Bloomberg says the board is consulting with outside advisers on how to deal with disagreement. Formal bids could come within the next few weeks.
- Johnson and Johnson has learned of a security vulnerability in one of its insulin pumps that could allow an attacker to manipulate the dosage. Though the risk is low, and there is no evidence of the vulnerability being exploited, Johnson and Johnson is advising the approximately 114,000 patients who use the device on how to fix the problem. The attack would require someone to be within 25 feet of the pump in order to spoof unencrypted wireless communication from the pump's remote. Jay Radcliffe from security firm Rapid7 advised Johnson and Johnson of the exploit in April and published it Tuesday.
- Amazon introduced Prime reading Wednesday, which gives subscribers to Amazon Prime in the US access to a rotating library of more than a thousand books, comics and magazines. The service is available on iOS and Android as well as Kindle tablets. Amazon will continue to offer the Kindle Lending Library to Prime subscribers. That service limits borrowing to one book a month and can only be accessed on Amazon hardware.
- Henrik Fisker said Tuesday he plans to launch a new electric car company next year in California called Fisker Inc. with a battery subsidiary called Fisker Nanotech. Fisker's previous company Fisker automotive went bankrupt in 2013 and was sold to Chinese auto parts manufacturer Wanxiang in 2014. The new Fisker company plans to launch a competitor to the Tesla Model S for $65,000 and second smaller model for $35,000. He promised the batteries will use graphene and have a 400 mile range.
- Roku has introduced the Roku Direct Publisher tool which lets anyone create a Roku channel without having to code. Users must host the videos themselves. Rolling Stone, Us Weekly and Cracked have used the tool to make apps. Channels built in the tool cannot charge subscriptions or video on demand fees yet.
- MacRumors notes the Apple TV third generation is no longer listed in Apple's stores. The older Apple TV sold for $69 but did not support the app store or Siri. The 4th gen Apple TV sells for $149 at the cheapest.
- The first phone with Google's Project Tango augmented reality depth sensing cameras, the Lenovo Phab2 Pro will be released in November. The 6.4-inch device will retail for $499 unlocked in the US. CNET notes the phone will not support Daydream VR.
- Reuters notes the Korea Electronic Times reports Samsung will be the sole manufacturer for Qualcomm's next generation of Snapdragon chips. Samsung will manufacture the Snapdragon 830 series on its 10-nanometer production facilities. KET also reports Samsung has agreed to use the 830 in half of its next update to the Galaxy S line in 2017. Samsung was the sole manufacturer of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 line of chips.
- Bloomberg reports that Amazon is in talks with EU regulators to settle an e-book antitrust probe. The investigation centers on Amazon's ebook contracts, which required publishers to disclose to Amazon terms offered to other distributors, and required a match in some cases. The deal would reportedly be similar to Apple's agreement in 2012 to overhaul their e-book pricing. Any deal would need to be reviewed by publishers before being finalized.
- Social networking company Pinterest named its first CFO, former vice president of finance at Twitter, Todd Morgenfeld. Morgenfeld worked at Twitter for the past 18 months, with stints at HP and Goldman Sachs as well. Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann said the move does not signal any plans for an IPO. Pinterest's current head of finance, Natalie Fair, is currently “looking at other opportunities within the company,” according to Silbermann.
- In a press release, Faraday Future announced a partnership with battery supplier LG Chem for its forthcoming FF-series of electric vehicles. The statement claims that the batteries developed in partnership for the company's Variable Platform Architecture will have the highest energy density for a production automative battery, although no specifics were announced. LG Chem currently supplies batteries for the Chevy Bolt.
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| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines Part 2 – October 4, 2016" |
Daily Tech Headlines – October 5, 2016 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – October 6, 2016" |