Technology

CBS News reports: Senior managers at Facebook knew about a data breach associated with campaign consulting firm Cambridge Analytica before it was first reported in the media in 2015, according to a U.K. Parliament report that concludes the company “deliberately misled” a wide-ranging investigation into disinformation, “fake news” and election interference. “Some malicious forces use Facebook to threaten and harass …

The BBC reports: Russia is considering whether to disconnect from the global internet briefly, as part of a test of its cyber-defences. The test will mean data passing between Russian citizens and organisations stays inside the nation rather than being routed internationally. A draft law mandating technical changes needed to operate independently was introduced to its parliament last year. The …

TechCrunch reports: Starting February 28th, Facebook’s “Why am I seeing this?” button in the drop-down menu of feed posts will reveal more than the brand that paid for the ad, some biographical details they targeted and if they’d uploaded your contact info. Facebook will start to show when your contact info was uploaded, if it was by the brand or …

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: A 24-year-old Fort Worth man died last month after his vape pen exploded in his face, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. William Brown was at a vaporizer store in Keller when it happened. His grandmother, Alice Brown, said he had just purchased the device and was using it for the first time …

Business Insider reports: Apple temporarily disabled group FaceTime calls after it was alerted to a major bug, which allows iPhone or iPad users to secretly hear what someone is saying before they answer the call. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was among those advising people to disable FaceTime until Apple releases a fix, which it said could be as early as …

Forbes reports: In an official blog post published January 25th about YouTube’s changes to its recommendation algorithm, the Google-owned company announced they would be cracking down on conspiracy-laden videos and other “borderline content”… by ceasing to list them in the “Up Next” sidebar. Examples listed of content no longer being recommended included 9/11 truther documentaries, flat earth conspiracy videos and …

Bloomberg reports: The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halted flights at Newark Liberty International Airport after a drone sighting. The civilian aircraft was spotted north of the New Jersey hub at an altitude of 3,500 feet, FAA spokesman Greg Martin said Tuesday. The U.S. government last week unveiled a long-awaited set of proposals to dramatically expand civilian drone flights while also …

Mashable reports: YouTube has toughened its stance on dangerous pranks and challenges. While silly antics are a prevalent part of the video platform’s culture, a spate of troubling incidents from the Bird Box challenge, the fire challenge, and the Tide Pod challenge has spurred YouTube into action. YouTube has unveiled updated community guidelines for creators, with a new section on …

Bloomberg reports: Google’s battle against French proponents of a worldwide “right to be forgotten” enters a decisive phase at the European Union’s top court on Thursday, in a case that highlights the growing tensions between privacy, freedom of speech and state censorship. Ahead of a ruling later this year, an adviser at the EU Court of Justice will on Jan. …

Singapore’s Straits Times reports: Chinese gay dating app Blued is halting new user registration for a week, it said on Sunday (Jan 6), following media reports that underage users caught HIV after going on dates set up via the world’s largest networking app for the LGBT community. On Saturday (Jan 5), citing academic research, financial magazine Caixin said juveniles were …

Engadget reports: USB chargers and devices are universally accessible and easy to use, but they come with a host of potential security risks, namely the spread of malware from infected devices, and data leakage should a device fall into the wrong hands. Now, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) — the big dog in the advancement of USB tech — has …

Business Insider reports: Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday warned investors that the company expects to fall as much as $9 billion short of its earlier revenue target for the first fiscal quarter of 2019. In a rare guidance revision, Cook pointed to a struggling market in China as the biggest factor for the change. Cook added that “rising trade …

The Associated Press reports: A computer virus hit newspaper printing plants in Los Angeles and at Tribune Publishing newspapers across the country. Tribune Publishing said a computer virus disrupted production of the Chicago Tribune and its other newspapers, the Chicago Tribune reported. Tribune Publishing also reported the attack to the FBI on Friday, the Chicago Tribune said. The virus that …

The Daily Beast reports: Elon Musk has filed a motion to dismiss the defamation claim brought by a British cave diver who the Tesla CEO called “pedo guy” and a “child rapist,” saying his “over-the-top insults” weren’t supposed to be taken seriously. Vern Unsworth is one of the cave divers who helped rescue 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach …

CNBC reports: The Justice Department on Thursday announced charges against Chinese two nationals accused of conducting a global hacking campaign. The defendants, Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong, are charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of multiple years long campaigns to steal from numerous foreign governments and dozens of companies. Through a …

CNBC reports: The Washington D.C. attorney general said Wednesday it will sue Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal on Wednesday. D.C. prosecutors said in the lawsuit that Facebook misled users in violation of the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act by allowing them to download an app produced by Cambridge Analytica which then improperly collected private information from the users without …

The New York Times reports: For years, Facebook gave some of the world’s largest technology companies more intrusive access to users’ personal data than it has disclosed, effectively exempting those business partners from its usual privacy rules, according to internal records and interviews. The special arrangements are detailed in hundreds of pages of Facebook documents obtained by The New York …

The BBC reports: New rules about adult content on blogging site Tumblr, which have upset many of its users, have come into force. The site no longer allows such material but said existing posts that fell foul of its new policy would be hidden, not deleted. It also tried to reassure users that Tumblr would remain a place for free …

Talking Points Memo reports: Google today is announcing plans to invest over $1 billion in capital improvements to create a new 1.7-million-square-foot campus in Lower Manhattan, dubbed “Google Hudson Square.” As part of the New York City expansion, Google and Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said in a blog post out this morning that the company “will have the …

CBS News reports: Facebook said Friday that a security glitch may have let third-party apps access the private photos of as many as 6.8 million users, the latest example of the social-media company failing to protect people’s online content. The incident, which took place during a 12-day period in September, included images never fully uploaded to the platform and those …