Malware spied on companies and governments

Malware spied on companies and governments in 10 countries since 2008

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/24/malware-regin-surveillance-companies-government-individuals-symantec

An advance malware application has been detected which spies on private companies, governments, research institutes and individuals in 10 countries since 2008, Symantec Corp the inventors of Norton reprted it on Sunday 23rd November. this specific malware is hard to detected and even when it is detected it isn't clear what the malware is actually doing, it has been described as having 5 layers and each layer has little information on that compleat layer and only once all layer have been discovered it can be analysed properly.

Regin uses what is called a modular approach that allows it to load custom features tailored to targets, the same method applied in other malware, such as Flamer and Weevil (the Mask). Some of its features were similar to Duqu malware, uncovered in September 2011 and related to a computer worm called Stuxnet, discovered the previous year. About 28% of targets were in telecoms, while other victims were in the energy, airline, hospitality and research sectors.The program was apparently withdrawn in 2011, but resurfaced in 2013.

Ched Evans

Ched Evans rape debate: Ofcom to investigate BBC DJ’s comments

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/dec/01/ched-evans-rape-debate-ofcom-bbc-nick-conrad-norfolk 

This article speaks about how ofcom are investigating the comments made by a DJ on a radio station which may be seen as offensive in which one of the things he said was women need to keep their knickers on. This is him referring to the Ched Evans case in which Evans was put in jail for allegedly raping a woman and has now been released and wants to come back into football again

I believe what he said was wrong but if he wanted to give his real opinion then he should have because there is no point in lying however what he said was wrong and I believe if something happens to him such as being suspended I believe it would be fair but he has apologized so he knows where he went wrong.

Reddit secures $50m

Reddit secures $50m in fundraising from investors including Snoop Dogg

 http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/01/reddit-secures-50m-fundraising-investors-snoop-dogg

This article is about the social news platform called Reddit, and it addresses the fact that Reddit has secured $50 million (£31 million) in funding from Venture Capitalists and investors. Amongst these investors there are names like the actor Jared Leto and Snoop Dogg. The fundraising was achieved after weeks from banning the “The Fappening” (A community which was dedicated to posting the nude celebrities photo after Reddit was accused of being slow to take action). The images were originally posted on 4chan but The Fappening had provided a home, which attracted more than 250 million views in days.

Key facts:

• Social news platform Reddit has secured $50m (£31m) in funding from venture capitalists and investors including actor Jared Leto and hip-hop star Snoop Dogg, and is preparing to give 10% of the new shares back to the website’s users.

In my opinion, I believe that this shows how institutions have attempted to speed up their response times in crises in order to prevent them happening again. Also, it presents how celebrities are also backing and supporting this institution. 

Inside the billion-dollar bubble

Title: Snapchat’s $10bn valuation: inside the billion-dollar bubble

http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/sep/04/snapchat-message-valuation-technology-bubble

This article first talks about how snapchat is a unique app available on iTunes and the apple app store has now become worth $10 billion, in a recent valuation of technology. The article then talks about the promotion of sexting on snapchat, and whether it is safe to use snapchat as they may not have deleted the images but just hidden them where the user cannot see. Then the article mentions that for a new app to become big they need to be innovative in order to outlast the tech giants. There are also three paragraphs on the irrational valuations of applications.

Fact:

·          Snapchat was valued at $10 billion

·          Facebook, a 10-year-old company, has been valued at $192bn; that’s 128 times its profits and higher than Coca-Cola, Toyota and Bank of America.

·         Google acquired YouTube for $1.6bn (in 2006) there was plenty of bubble-talk already

·         last year YouTube’s revenues were $3.6bn and Fortune valued the company at $15bn–$21bn

·         43% of all advertising money ($18.4bn) is now spent on search

This article brings up many good points in regards to privacy online, as it states that there are privacy issues when it comes to major tech giants. In regards to snapchat the concern is that the snaps haven’t actually been deleted but saved in a private area. In my opinion, it’s a violation of privacy and should be dealt with to keep all our information private.  

Google smart spoon

Google launches smart spoon shaking hands liftware

 http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/25/google-launches-smart-spoon-shaking-hands-liftware

Summary:

This article is about Googles expansion and development in todays technology. The smart spoon is a liftware spoon, which uses hundreds of algorithms to sense how a hand is shaking and make instant adjustments in order to stay balanced. The spoon is targeting a demographic of people with essential tremors and Parkinson’s diseases. Google are also working on how nanoparticles in blood might help detect diseases and a smart contact lens that would measure glucose levels in tears to help diabetics track their blood sugar levels.  

Key points:

·         The product is aimed at people with essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease and, according to the company, can reduce shaking of the spoon bowl by an average of 76%.

·         Essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease affect more than 10 million people worldwide, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s mother. Brin has also said he has a genetic mutation associated with higher rates of Parkinson’s. He has donated more than $50m to research for a cure.

·         The spoons are now available for $295.

This article shows the development of new and digital media has led to the growth of Google as the most dominant media institution and growing at a rapid rate, this evident from Google moving from the search engine industry to the vehicle and medical industry.

Facebook Avoid Tax

Facebook accused of refusing to listen to ‘voice of public opinion’

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/05/facebook-profit-tax-treasury-crackdown-multinationals

Summary:

This article is about Facebook avoiding tax in the UK by channelling it through Ireland and they are using corporate structures to avoid tax. This scenario is just like the Starbucks one which meant that they were not paying any corporation tax in the UK for the last three years. The Treasury was unable to say whether the crackdown would prevent Facebook from being able to avoid UK tax in the future.

Key points:

·         Facebook has been able to avoid paying any tax in the UK for the past two years despite Britain being one of its biggest markets, with 33 million people signing in at least once a month. Facebook’s UK accounts show the company made a loss of £11.6m last year.

·         He said the levy, dubbed the “Google tax”, which will impose a 25% tax on UK profits artificially shifted abroad, would raise more than £1bn over the next five years.

·         The “Google tax” rate is 5% higher than next year’s UK corporation tax rate of 20%, suggesting the chancellor hopes companies will choose to dismantle complex structures that divert profits to low-tax nations such as Luxembourg and Ireland, and choose to pay HM Revenue and Customs instead.

In my opinion, this article shows how major media institutions have become so complex and powerful and that they are crafty enough to find complex ways in avoiding tax to carry on becoming richer. 

Hackers and Cars

Driverless cars could face threat from hackers trying to cause road chaos

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/21/driverless-cars-hacking-threat-road-trials-january

Summary:

This article talks about the self driving car that being tested in 3 selected areas in the United Kingdom in January 2015. The article later talks about how these cars wouls be prone to hacking. The article talks about how the self-driving car could reduce road casualties by eliminating human error, however there is the counter point of the self-driving car could actually increase car accidents amongst motorists who will still use manual cars if and when they are mixing in the same roads, let alone the hacking of hackers trying to create mayhem.

Key points:

·         95% of the 1.2m annual deaths worldwide on the road involve human error. 

This article points out safety in new tecnology as they are newer and more dangerous risks that have been coming out with the introduction of technological developments. History will repeat itself again, similar to the introduction of the internet in the 90’s, where a new type of crime had been introduced.The whole network of self-driving cars will be a hackers playground with each car being his toys to manipulate.