Articles by David Jones

Lawmakers this week sent to the White House the draft version of a bill that would penalize technology companies if they failed to cooperate on encryption cases, according to Capitol Hill sources The bill, sponsored by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would open up tech comp...

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on Tuesday announced a US$2.25 billion plan to expand the federal Lifeline subsidy program to help low-income consumers afford broadband Internet service Lifeline, which currently allows low-income consumers to buy mobile phone service at a discount, would let them buy standalone broadband starting Dec. 1 for $9.25 per mont...

Researchers atMIT and theUniversity of Innsbruck last week announced that they had designed and constructed the world's first scalable quantum computer, a development that could make existing encryption technology obsolete They built the computer using five atoms in an ion trap, according to a report published in the journal Science....

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'Ad Al-Hussein on Friday weighed in on the Apple-FBI dispute, asking U.S. authorities to proceed with great caution. The legal fight centers on a court's order that Apple help the FBI access encrypted iPhone data to aid its investigation of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Such a move could lead to ...

Amazon on Thursday announced two products, Echo Dot and Amazon Tap, that extend the range of the Alexa-enabled home automation products anchored by the company's Echo device, which uses voice recognition to manage routine tasks The Echo Dot is a small, hands-free device that uses the same far-field voice-recognition technology as Amazon Echo.

The GermanCartel Office on Wednesday announced the launch of an investigation into Facebook over allegations that it abused its market position by infringing data protection rules, specifically in connection with the terms of service governing user data The investigation is aimed at Facebook Inc. USA, the company's Irish subsidiary, and Facebook Ge...

Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell on Tuesday testified before the House Judiciary Committee that his company should not be required write new code for software that would weaken the security of the iPhone in the wake of the San Bernardino, California, terrorist attacks The FBI wants Apple to take action that would put the privacy and security of m...

FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday testified before the House Judiciary Committee that the government has the legal right to gain limited access to the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, California, shooters and other suspected terrorists Congress and the judicial system can create a mechanism to protect the safety of the American people while p...

TheEuropean Commission on Monday released a draft of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement, which would replace the controversial Safe Harbor provisions that regulated U.S. access to the data of European residents The legal texts aim to finalize the reform of EU data protection rules, which apply to all companies doing business in the region, EC off...

A federal magistrate judge on Monday ruled that Apple did not have to unlock an encrypted iPhone used in a federal drug case The ruling gave the company a key victory against the Department of Justice in the midst of a legal struggle over an FBI request that the encrypted phone of one of the suspected shooters in the San Bernardino, California, mas...

The Obama administration plans to increase the amount of private communications the National Security Agency can share with other government agencies without first adding privacy protections, according to a report published last week in The New York Times The plan would ease restrictions on the amount of intercepted email and telephone intelligence...

Salesforce shares held strong on Friday, following Thursday's spike on the company's release of a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report that beat Wall Street estimates and raised revenue guidance for fiscal year 2017 The stock finished up 11 percent Thursday, at $69.42, and held the gains on Friday, closing at $69.11....

MasterCard on Monday announced facial recognition and fingerprint technology that essentially would allow customers to take selfies to help authenticate their identity when engaged in mobile shopping The rollout, which is planned for this summer in the U.S., Canada and part of Europe, follows a pilot of biometrics by MasterCard and International Ca...

CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday took Apple's battle with the FBI directly to the public, penning an open letter in defense of the company's resistance to a court order mandating it to create a way to access data in the iPhone used by the San Bernardino terrorists A federal magistrate issued the order because the high level of encryption built into the devi...

IBM on Tuesday introduced the z13s, a mainframe computer system optimized for hybrid cloud deployment. The z13s is designed to provide advanced cryptography for mid-sized firms that need a high level of data protection The advanced cryptography includes built-in hardware security features that effectively double the speed of data encryption and dec...

Apple will begin selling new models of its iPad tablets and iPhones in mid-March, according to a report published last week in 9to5Mac It will debut a 4-inch iPhone, called the "iPhone 5se," as well as a new iPad Air at a March 15 event, followed by a retail and online sales launch three days later, said the report, which cited unnamed sources. App...

The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday said it recently discovered and halted an automated bot attack on its electronic filing PIN application website Identity thieves used malware in an attempt to generate E-file PINs for 464,000 Social Security numbers stolen from another source, the IRS said. The hackers succeeded in accessing an E-file PIN for...

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdams last week confirmed that his company was exploring an acquisition of some of Yahoo's assets, which would be placed under the corporate umbrella of Verizon's AOL unit McAdams discussed Verizon's interest in an interview with Mad Money host Jim Cramer....

Amazon last week added Uber calling, Spotify listening and Domino's pizza ordering to its growing list of functions available to Echo's voice-activated speakers and Alexa software Users need only to ask Alexa to call an Uber or an UberX, which is one of the various levels of the Uber private car service, to get a ride....

Intel this week released a new report showing some major improvements and continued challenges in its effort to achieve workforce diversity, and challenged rival companies to show their cards The report comes a year after Intel CEO Brian Krzanich pledged to make improvements amid a sea of criticism about the industry's domination by young white mal...