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Three things that have vanished: $3.6bn in Bitcoin, a crypto investment biz, and the two brothers who ran it
We got hacked and we'll be right back, duo said ... two months agoContinue readingUp to $3.6bn in Bitcoin has disappeared from a South African cryptocurrency investment outfit as well as the two brothers who ran it.
Africrypt, led by founder and CEO Raees Cajee and his sibling and COO Ameer, claimed two months ago it had been "hacked" and had to halt its operations. The biz also urged its investors – said to include celebrities, the rich, and the like – to keep quiet and not alert police as doing so would apparently hamper the process of recovering any coins stolen from the biz's digital wallets.
A group of 20 or so of those investors have since hired a law firm to investigate the fiasco, and obtained from the South African courts a provisional liquidation order against Africrypt. Raees, 21, and Ameer, 17, have until July to appeal against the order, though we note they have essentially vanished.
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Why investment in network infrastructure pays good digital learning dividends
Scalable, secure and reliable networks ease digital learning transitionsContinue readingSponsored As of early 2021, 10% of total enrolled learners around the world are still affected by temporary school closures as governments try to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics data. Many countries have been striving to build resilient systems so learning can continue to occur anywhere and at any time through classroom, online or hybrid learning.
For school boards, principals and administrators, priorities have to shift toward network upgrades or updates to drive effective digital learning. More importantly, they can evaluate and choose network infrastructure solutions that help to reap good digital learning dividends through imparting 21st century skills, or the 4Cs of creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration, in addition to the 3Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic.
The role of network infrastructure is particularly crucial in supporting digital learning transition at all levels. Where education used to be concentrated in school buildings, it can now be accessed wherever students and teachers have connectivity and access to the internet.
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Euro court rules YouTube not automatically liable for users illegally uploading copyright-protected material
It has to take action on takedowns though, prelim ruling on long-running Sarah Brightman spat findsContinue readingEurope's leading court has partly sided with YouTube regarding copyrighted works posted illegally online in a case that touches on "profound divisions" in how the internet is used.
The case, Frank Peterson and Elsevier Inc. v Google LLC and Others, was first brought by German music producer Peterson against the YouTube platform in the German courts in 2009.
In 2008, a number of recordings of songs from the album A Winter Symphony by singer Sarah Brightman – which he claimed he owned various rights to – were posted on YouTube without his permission. Songs from live performances of Brightman's tour were also posted online.
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Apple scrambles to quash iOS app sideloading demands with 'think of the children' defense
And if that doesn't work, terrorism or satanic panic next?Continue readingApple, fearing regulators will force it to allow people to sideload whatever apps they like on their own iOS devices, has published a paper arguing about the importance of its oversight. The iGiant also sent a letter to US lawmakers warning of supposed harm if its gatekeeping is disallowed.
The letter is directed at members of the House Judiciary Committee and its Antitrust Subcommittee, who on Wednesday held a markup hearing to amend and vote on the advancement of six antitrust bills intended to rein in Big Tech.
"We are concerned that many provisions of the recent package of antitrust reform legislation would create a race to the bottom for security and privacy, while also undermining innovation and competition," wrote Timothy Powderly, Apple senior director of government affairs for the Americas [PDF].
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Google bestows improved device management tools, authentication options on Chrome OS admins
IT managers told when punished Chromebooks are about to dieContinue readingPsychologist Abraham Maslow didn't mention Chromebooks when contriving his hierarchy of needs, and yet they have become essential to ordinary life during the pandemic, with the cheap computing devices being used for homeschooling and remote working.
Perhaps in recognition of that, Google has added a bevy of new features that it says are designed to improve fleet management and security.
IT managers responsible for administering fleets of Chromebooks can now see a visualisation of when their kit will reach end-of-life, and thus need replacing. Google has committed to providing eight years of software updates for Chrome OS devices, after which they'll cease to receive security patches and new features.
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John McAfee dead: Antivirus tycoon found lifeless in prison after court OKs extradition
UK-born wild man of infosec faced trial in America for tax evasionContinue readingJohn McAfee was found dead in his cell in a Barcelona prison on Wednesday, according to the Catalan justice department.
Spain’s high court – the Audiencia Nacional – had just hours earlier agreed to his extradition to America to stand trial for alleged tax evasion.
The 75-year-old, British-born former antivirus baron, who founded McAfee Associates in the late 1980s and made his millions before more or less retiring in the mid-1990s, was being held at a prison in Sant Esteve Sesrovires following his arrest at Barcelona airport in October 2020.
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Google set to face fresh sueball over its Play Store revenue commission after probe by several US states – report
Suit may be filed as soon as next weekContinue readingGoogle is reportedly facing a new civil antitrust suit following a Play Store investigation by several US states.
The suit – which may be filed as early as next week and is being led by Utah, Tennessee, North Carolina, and New York – is believed to focus on the Chocolate Factory's requirement that all apps distributed through its marketplace use Google's own payment tools, which take a 30 per cent commission.
Work on the suit is said to have commenced last year and is likely to be filed in North Carolina, which has served as the venue for multiple app store disputes in recent months. These include, ironically, a suit filed by Epic Games against Google.
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Anyone still using cash? British £50 banknote honouring Alan Turing arrives
Bank of England flies pride flag as it launches new noteContinue readingThe UK's new £50 note has entered circulation on the 109th anniversary of the birth of its subject, the mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing.
Initially announced two years ago, and unveiled back in March, the note is due to become available in bank branches and ATMs over the coming days.
Its arrival completes the Bank of England's range of polymer notes, and the clock is ticking down to 30 September 2022, at which point the previous paper versions of the £20 and £50 notes cease to be legal tender (although it is expected that deposits using the older notes will be still be accepted.)
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The Linux Foundation dives into machine learning with Open Voice Network, dataset licence launches
Looks to improve the simplicity with which such things are sharedContinue readingThe Linux Foundation has announced two projects with which it aims to help settle the choppy waters of machine learning: the Open Voice Network (OVN), and the CDLA-Permissive-2.0 licence for machine learning datasets.
"Voice is expected to be a primary interface to the digital world, connecting users to billions of sites, smart environments and AI bots," said Mike Dolan, senior veep and general manager of projects at the Linux Foundation. "It is already increasingly being used beyond smart speakers to include applications in automobiles, smartphones and home electronics devices of all types.
"Key to enabling enterprise adoption of these capabilities and consumer comfort and familiarity is the implementation of open standards. The potential impact of voice on industries including commerce, transportation, healthcare and entertainment is staggering and we're excited to bring it under the open governance model of the Linux Foundation to grow the community and pave a way forward."
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Samsung pushes out single console all-in-one RAN kit for cramped European markets
Smaller physical footprint to tempt carriers needing to build out 5GContinue readingSpace may be the final frontier, but for telecoms operators it is a pressing concern, particularly those based in countries where land comes at a premium, most notably the UK. Enter Samsung, which has introduced its first all-in-one antenna and radio unit for the European market.
Introduced at the company's Samsung Networks: Redefined shindig, the One Antenna Radio incorporates a 3.5GHz Massive MIMO radio unit with several passive antennas tuned for mid and low-band spectrum.
These components are usually two distinct elements within a RAN. By consolidating them into a single unit, Samsung said it will allow carriers to more efficiently use limited space, thanks to its simpler cabling and smaller physical footprint.
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Intrepid squid mission may help in kraken riddle of why zero-g makes astronauts sick
Boffins looking for changes to cephalopods' symbiotic relationship with bioluminescent bacteria on ISSContinue readingImmunology boffins in the US are hoping to learn the secret of how to keep humans well enough for long enough to live on the Moon or travel to Mars by sending some tiny squid into space.
While this may seem like a slightly counterintuitive plan, the reason the squid were chosen as test subjects is perfectly sensible and not because NASA is joining in with some informal "Be Mean To Sealife" week for US government bodies – despite the US Air Force's recent efforts to kill snails with missiles and the US Navy's decision to set off big explosions in the Atlantic.
Rather, the sickness-studying whitecoats are trying to find out if watching how Hawaiian bobtail squid react to zero gravity will help them understand why it upsets the way humans react to germs.
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