ICT news

• Malaysia Asks Microsoft, CrowdStrike To Consider Covering Losses From Global Outage

  24-07-2024 23:20 via slashdot.org
  
  Malaysia's digital minister said today he has asked global tech firms Microsoft and CrowdStrike to consider compensating companies that suffered losses during last week's global tech outage. From a report: Five government agencies and nine companies operating in aviation, banking and healthcare were among those affected in Malaysia, minister Gobind Singh Deo told reporters. "If there are any damages or losses, where there have been any parties that have made such claims, I've asked them to consi
  
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• Open Source AI Better for US as China Will Steal Tech Anyway, Zuckerberg Argues

  24-07-2024 22:15 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has advocated for open-source AI development, asserting it as a strategic advantage for the United States against China. In a blog post, Zuckerberg argued that closing off AI models would not effectively prevent Chinese access, given their espionage capabilities, and would instead disadvantage U.S. allies and smaller entities. He writes: Our adversaries are great at espionage, stealing models that fit on a thumb drive is relatively easy, and most tech companies are far f
  
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• A Hacker 'Ghost' Network Is Quietly Spreading Malware on GitHub

  24-07-2024 22:01 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Researchers at Check Point have uncovered a clandestine network of approximately 3,000 "ghost" accounts on GitHub, manipulating the platform to promote malicious content. Since June 2023, a cybercriminal dubbed "Stargazer Goblin" has been exploiting GitHub's community features to boost malicious repositories, making them appear legitimate and popular.
  Antonis Terefos, a malware reverse engineer at Check Point, discovered the network's activities, which include "starring," "forking," and "watchin
  
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• The AI Job Interviewer Will See You Now

  24-07-2024 21:22 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  AI is increasingly being employed in job interviews across China and India, marking a significant shift in recruitment practices in the region. This follows a similar practice making inroads in the U.S. Rest of World adds: A 2023 survey of 1,000 human-resources workers by the U.S. firm ResumeBuilder found that 10% of companies were already using AI in the hiring process, and another 30% planned to start the following year. The research firm Gartner listed natural-language chatbots as one of 2023
  
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• Google's Exclusive Reddit Access

  24-07-2024 20:41 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google is now the only search engine that can surface results from Reddit, making one of the web's most valuable repositories of user generated content exclusive to the internet's already dominant search engine. 404 Media: If you use Bing, DuckDuckGo, Mojeek, Qwant or any other alternative search engine that doesn't rely on Google's indexing and search Reddit by using "site:reddit.com," you will not see any results from the last week.
  DuckDuckGo is currently turning up seven links when searching
  
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• Microsoft: Our Licensing Terms Do Not Meaningfully Raise Cloud Rivals' Costs

  24-07-2024 20:05 via slashdot.org
  
  In a response to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority's investigation into cloud services and licensing, Microsoft has defended its practices, asserting that its terms "do not meaningfully raise cloud rivals' costs." The Windows-maker emphasized Amazon's continued dominance in the UK hyperscale market and noted Google's quarter-on-quarter growth, while also highlighting the declining share of Windows Server relative to Linux in cloud operating systems and SQL Server's second-place position
  
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• OpenAI Could Lose $5 Billion This Year

  24-07-2024 19:23 via slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI has built one of the fastest-growing businesses in history. It may also be one of the costliest to run. The Information: The ChatGPT maker could lose as much as $5 billion this year [non-paywalled source], according to an analysis by The Information, based on previously undisclosed internal financial data and people involved in the business. [...] On the cost side, OpenAI as of March was on track to spend nearly $4 billion this year on renting Microsoft's servers to power ChatGPT and its
  
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• T-Mobile Expands Fiber Footprint With Metronet Acquisition

  24-07-2024 18:41 via slashdot.org
  
  T-Mobile and investment firm KKR have formed a joint venture (JV) to acquire fiber service provider Metronet. From a report: The fiber provider reaches over 300 communities and more than 2 million homes in 17 states. Metronet is both a pure-play fiber company and independent FTTH operator. In some markets, Metronet delivers residential speeds up to 5 Gbit/s. The acquisition includes Metronet's broadband infrastructure, residential fiber business operations and existing customers. The JV will acq
  
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• CrowdStrike Offers a $10 Apology Gift Card To Say Sorry For Outage

  24-07-2024 18:02 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, reporting for TechCrunch: CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm that crashed millions of computers with a botched update all over the world last week, is offering its partners a $10 Uber Eats gift card as an apology, according to several people who say they received the gift card, as well as a source who also received one. On Tuesday, a source told TechCrunch that they received an email from CrowdStrike offering them the gift card because the company recognizes "the
  
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• US Urges Vigilance By Tech Startups, VC Firms on Foreign Funds

  24-07-2024 17:28 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The US is warning homegrown tech startups and venture capital firms that some foreign investments may be fronts for hostile nations seeking data and technology for their governments or to undermine American businesses. From a report: Several US intelligence agencies are spotlighting the concern in a joint bulletin Wednesday to small businesses, trade associations and others associated with the venture capital community, according to the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. "Unfortun
  
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• Wealthy Western Countries Lead in Global Oil and Gas Expansion

  24-07-2024 16:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  A surge in new oil and gas production in 2024 threatens to unleash nearly 12 billion tonnes of planet-heating emissions, with the world's wealthiest countries -- such as the US and the UK -- leading a stampede of fossil fuel expansion in spite of their climate commitments, new data reveals. From a report: The new oil and gas field licences forecast to be awarded across the world this year are on track to generate the highest level of emissions since those issued in 2018, as heatwaves, wildfires,
  
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• AI Adoption Creeps as Enterprises Wrestle With Costs and Use Cases

  24-07-2024 16:00 via slashdot.org
  
  Global enterprises are grappling with the complexities of AI adoption, according to hundreds of top industry executives at a recent private software conference hosted by UBS. UBS adds: We heard:
  1. The data points from a private GPU cloud infrastructure provider were a very bullish readthrough to GPU demand, Microsoft's AI infra capabilities and the ramp of enterprise/software demand for training and inference compute.
  2. One F500 customer was at 1% Office Copilot roll-out, moving to perhaps 2%
  
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• Mark Zuckerberg Imagines Content Creators Making AI Clones of Themselves

  24-07-2024 15:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Content creators are busy people. Most spend more than 20 hours a week creating new content for their respective corners of the web. That doesn't leave much time for audience engagement. But Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, thinks that AI could solve this problem. In an interview with internet personality Rowan Cheung, Zuckerberg laid out his vision for a future in which creators have their own bots, of sorts, that capture their personalities and
  
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• Digital Tax Talks In G20 Spotlight As US Tariff Threat Looms

  24-07-2024 12:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Negotiations on a global tax deal have extended beyond the June 30 deadline, with countries now looking to the G20 finance leaders meeting for progress. "The stakes in the negotiations are high," reports Reuters. "A failure to reach agreement on final terms could prompt several countries to reinstate their taxes on U.S. tech giants and risk punitive duties on billions of dollars in exports to the U.S." Some countries, like Canada, have already implemented their own digital services tax. Reuters
  
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• Sunday Was the Hottest Day Ever Recorded On Earth, Scientists Say

  24-07-2024 09:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  On Sunday, global temperatures reached their highest levels in recorded history (source may be paywalled; alternative source), with a daily average of 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit). "The historic day comes on the heels of 13 straight months of unprecedented temperatures and the hottest year scientists have ever seen," adds the Washington Post, citing preliminary data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service. From the report: Though Sunday was only slightly warmer than the wo
  
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• DHS Has a DoS Robot To Disable Internet of Things 'Booby Traps' Inside Homes

  24-07-2024 05:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media's Jason Koebler: The Department of Homeland Security bought a dog-like robot that it has modified with an "antenna array" that gives law enforcement the ability to overload people's home networks in an attempt to disable any internet of things devices they have, according to the transcript of a speech given by a DHS official at a border security conference for cops obtained by 404 Media. The DHS has also built an "Internet of Things" house to tr
  
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• Hackers Leak Documents From Pentagon IT Services Provider Leidos

  24-07-2024 04:02 via it.slashdot.org
  
  According to Bloomberg, hackers have leaked internal documents stolen from Leidos Holdings, one of the largest IT services providers of the U.S. government. Reuters reports: The company recently became aware of the issue and believes the documents were taken during a previously reported breach of a Diligent Corp. system it used, the report said, adding that Leidos is investigating it. The Virginia-based company, which counts the U.S. Department of Defense as its primary customer, used the Dilige
  
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• Alphabet To Invest Another $5 Billion Into Waymo

  24-07-2024 03:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  During Alphabet's second-quarter earnings call today, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat announced the organization will spend an additional $5 billion on its self-driving subsidiary, Waymo. "This new round of funding, which is consistent with recent annual investment levels, will enable Waymo to continue to build the world's leading autonomous driving technology company," said Porat. TechCrunch reports: Porat noted that Google will focus on improving overall efficiencies in its "other bets" segment, which
  
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• Indie Game Publisher Humble Games Reportedly Lays Off All Staff

  24-07-2024 02:45 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Humble Games, the indie game publisher behind the popular pay-what-you-want "Humble Game Bundle," has laid off its entire staff of 36 people. However, the company says it is not shutting down and Humble Bundle will not be impacted. Instead, the job cuts are part of a restructuring of operations. GameSpot reports: In a statement shared with GameSpot, Humble Games confirmed that Humble Bundle will have "no impact on its operations. Additionally, ongoing and upcoming games from Humble Games will st
  
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• The Kremlin Jails the Father of Russia's Internet

  24-07-2024 02:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA): Alexey Soldatov, a Russian Internet pioneer and a founder of the first Internet provider in the country, has been sentenced by a court to two years in a labor colony on charges of "abuse of power." Soldatov, 72, had been detained by a court in Moscow. He is terminally ill. Very few in Russia believe in the government charges against a man widely known as a Father of the Russian Internet -- and who is less we
  
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• House Committee Calls On CrowdStrike CEO To Testify On Global Outage

  24-07-2024 01:20 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  According to the Washington Post (paywalled), the House Homeland Security Committee has called on the CrowdStrike CEO to testify over the major outage that brought flights, hospital procedures, and broadcasters to a halt on Friday. The outage was caused by a defective software update from the company that primarily affected computers runnings Windows, resulting in system crashes and "blue screen of death" errors. From the report: Republican leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee demand
  
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• Switzerland Now Requires All Government Software To Be Open Source

  24-07-2024 00:18 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Switzerland has enacted the "Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks" (EMBAG), mandating open-source software (OSS) in the public sector to enhance transparency, security, and efficiency. "This new law requires all public bodies to disclose the source code of software developed by or for them unless third-party rights or security concerns prevent it," writes ZDNet's Steven Vaughan-Nichols. "This 'public money, public code' approach aims to enhance gover
  
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• EU To Investigate Delivery Hero, Glovo Over Food Delivery Cartel Concerns

  24-07-2024 00:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: The European Commission announced a formal investigation into Berlin-based food delivery giant Delivery Hero and its Spanish subsidiary, Glovo, on Tuesday, citing cartel concerns. The Commission will launch an in-depth probe into agreements between the online delivery firms to establish whether any anticompetitive activity has taken place. "The Commission is concerned that, before the takeover, Delivery Hero and Glovo may have allocated geogra
  
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