Month: September 2020

A Chinese firm with suspected ties to the Chinese government has been amassing a database of detailed personal information on 2.4 million people, including more than 50,000 Americans, according to findings by an independent researcher and an Australia-based cybersecurity firm.       Christopher Balding, an American professor who taught at Peking University's HSBC School of Business in Shenzhen for nine years, analyzed the data with Internet 2.0, a cybersecurity firm based in Canberra. They published their findings this week.      Balding said the database was leaked to him in 2019.   The cache, called the Overseas Key Information Database (OKIDB), contains the personal information of roughly 2.4 million people. Many of them are influential policymakers who can exert influence in their fields of specialty.   According to their report, the database…

President Donald Trump has threatened a US ban on TikTok could happen as early as next week ...

Social media companies are taking down videos and images that could be vital in prosecuting serious crimes, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are increasingly using artificial intelligence algorithms to remove material deemed offensive or illegal. Human Rights Watch says vital evidence is being missed or destroyed. Henry Ridgwell reports. ...

The U.S. government announced sanctions Wednesday on two Russian nationals for their role in the theft of at least $16.8 million worth of cryptocurrency.In the phishing scheme, which was conducted in 2017 and 2018, Danil Potekhin and Dmitrii Karasavidi allegedly created web sites that looked like legitimate currency exchange sites. Victims would enter their information, which was then used to access real accounts.The two, who were identified by the Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security, then allegedly laundered the stolen cryptocurrencies through multiple virtual currency exchanges using fake profiles.“The individuals who administered this scheme defrauded American citizens, businesses and others by deceiving them and stealing virtual currency from their accounts,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement. “The Treasury Department will continue to use our authorities to…

Indonesia has had more than 220,000 COVID-19 cases and the country still hasn’t reached its peak. Social distancing is an important part of controlling the virus and new technology aims to help people stay safely apart. VOA's Rendy Wicaksana reports from Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Camera: Rendy Wicaksana    ...

U.S. prosecutors announced criminal charges on Wednesday against five suspected Chinese hackers and two Malaysian businessmen in connection with cyber intrusions in recent years on more than 100 companies and other entities in the United States and in other countries.       The alleged hacking effort, from early 2014 until August 2020, targeted thousands of computers around the world, including the computer networks of several companies in the $1 billion video gaming industry, resulting in millions of dollars in losses, law enforcement officials said.   The five hackers, alleged members of a Chinese hacking group known as APT-41, remain at large.  They were identified as Zhang Haoran, 35; Tan Dailin, 35; Jiang Lizhi, 35; Qian Chuan, 39; and Fu Qiang, 37.      The two Malaysian businessmen -- Wong…

North Korean hackers are probably working with Russian-speaking cybercriminals on ransomware and other malicious software, researchers said Wednesday.     Security firm Intel 471 said in a report it found links between North Korean hacker group Lazarus, known for attacks on banks worldwide, and a Russian-operated malware operation called TrickBot.     TrickBot is described in the report as a "malware-as-a-service offering, run by Russian-speaking cybercriminals, that is not openly advertised on any open or invite-only cybercriminal forum or marketplace."    It works with "top-tier cybercriminals with a proven reputation," the report said.     The Intel 471 report said other security researchers have pointed to possible links between the groups, but that its investigation found more evidence, including signs that malware developed in North Korea was offered for sale…

Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio are among celebrities taking part in a 24-hour Instagram "freeze" on Wednesday to protest against what they say is parent company Facebook's failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation. They were among the high profile names lending their backing to the "#StopHateforProfit" movement's latest campaign. The movement asks people to put up a message highlighting what they called the damage Facebook does but otherwise refrain from posting on Instagram for a day. "I can't sit by and stay silent while these platforms continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation – created by groups to sow division and split America apart – only to take steps after people are killed," Kardashian West posted on her Instagram account…

Two Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed all 346 passengers and crew aboard were the "horrific culmination" of failures by the planemaker and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a U.S. House panel concluded after an 18-month investigation. The crashes "were not the result of a singular failure, technical mistake, or mismanaged event," the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Democratic majority said in its highly critical report released on Wednesday. "They were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA." The 737 MAX was grounded in March 2019 after the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 near Addis Ababa which killed all 157 aboard. In October 2018, a Lion Air…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday he is confident there will be effective 5G competitors to China's Huawei from Western vendors at comparable costs, adding that he believes Western technologies will come to dominate telecommunications. "I am confident that there will be a cost-effective deliverables from Western trusted vendors that can deliver the same services, or better services, at comparative cost," Pompeo said during an Atlantic Council event. In what some observers have compared to the Cold War arms race, the United States is worried 5G dominance would give China an advantage Washington is not ready to accept. With U.S.-China relations at their worst in decades, Washington has been pushing governments around to world to squeeze out Huawei Technologies Co, arguing that the firm would hand over…

Starting Sept. 15, China's telecom giant Huawei — once a symbol of Chinese technology prowess — will be cut off from essential supplies of semiconductors. Without those chips, Huawei cannot make the smartphones or 5G equipment on which its business depends, business analysts say.The sanctions against one of China’s most successful technology companies were announced in August, when the United States introduced a new set of rules that prohibit foreign chipmakers that rely on U.S. technology from selling any chips to Huawei without first obtaining a special license.In recent weeks, suppliers from South Korea and Taiwan have all indicated they will comply with the sanctions and cease their supply of semiconductors to Huawei on Tuesday, the day the new moves against the Chinese company comes into force.“Unfortunately, in the second…

Some people stuck inside during coronavirus lockdown are playing video games. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, entrepreneurs are catering to young people who want to share the gaming experience. From Kinshasa, Anasthasie Tudieshe has the story. ...

ByteDance, the Chinese company behind the wildly popular video sharing app TikTok, has rejected Microsoft’s bid to buy the app and appears to be leaning toward a deal with investors led by Oracle.  The Trump administration has given ByteDance until September 20 to make a deal or stop operating inside the U.S.  On Sunday, the Microsoft's corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington. (Photo: Diaa Bekheet)In a statement, Microsoft said its proposal “would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests. To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation.”The fate of TikTok in the U.S. hangs in the balance as it approaches the Trump administration deadline. In recent months, the video app…