Important announcements
A security flaw in Facebook allows users to get millions of fake likes
A security loophole on Facebook has allowed about a million accounts, real and fake, to generate at least 100 million “likes” and comments. The researchers from the University of Iowa in the US and Lahore University of Management Science in Pakistan found sites that operate ‘collusion networks’, which rapidly generate likes for free.
You can read more here.
A new Bluetooth vulnerability can hack a phone in 10 seconds
Security company Armis has found a collection of eight exploits, collectively called BlueBorne, that can allow an attacker access to a phone without touching it. The attack can allow access to computers and phones, as well as IoT devices. “Armis believes many more vulnerabilities await discovery in the various platforms using Bluetooth. These vulnerabilities are fully operational, and can be successfully exploited, as demonstrated in our research“, said the security company.
More info are available here.
Kaspersky software was banned from use in US federal agencies
The US government has banned federal agencies from using cybersecurity software made by Russian company Kaspersky Lab over fears that the firm has ties to state-sponsored spying programs. “The department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies, and requirements under Russian law that allow Russian intelligence agencies to request or compel assistance from Kaspersky and to intercept communications transiting Russian networks,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
You can read more here.
Top new products
Huawei Mate 10
The phone will have a 5.99-inch screen, the Kirin 970 SoC, 6GB of RAM, and 64 or 128GB of built-in storage. It will come with a dual camera on the backwith 12 MP and 20 MP sensors and a 4,000 mAh battery.
More info here.
iPhone X
The phone has 5.8-inch OLED display, 64GB of internal storage, processor six-core A11 Bionic and a 12-megapixel primary camera. It goes on sale starting at $999 on October 27.
More info here.
Meizu M6
The phone will have a MediaTek MT6750(64 bit) Octa-Core processor, 5.2-inch HD IPS screen and 16GB/32GB of internal storage. It will come with a 12MP primary camera and a 5MP front camera.
More info here.
Top interesting info
Samsung announced plans for Galaxy Note smartphone with bendable display in 2018
Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung’s mobile business, said the company plans to release in 2018 a smartphone using its bendable OLED screen technology, but he said there are several hurdles it has to overcome, leaving room to push back the release if those problems are not solved. Koh said: “As the head of the business, I can say our current goal is next year. When we can overcome some problems for sure, we will launch the product”.
You can read more here.
China will shut down domestic Bitcoin exchanges
China plans to ban trading of bitcoin and other virtual currencies on domestic exchanges. The ban will only apply to trading of cryptocurrencies on exchanges. While Beijing’s motivation for the exchange ban is unclear, it comes amid a broad clampdown on financial risk in the run-up to a key Communist Party leadership reshuffle next month.
More info can be found here.
Facebook can now share government search warrants with users
Federal prosecutors said that nondisclosure orders stopping Facebook from telling customers about search warrants for their account information “are no longer needed”. Nate Cardozo, a lawyer for the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, told BuzzFeed News that although the organization was pleased with the outcome, he expected there would be other cases in the future that would ultimately lead to definitive court rulings on the issue of when the government can block tech companies from notifying customers about demands for their information.
You can read more here.
