By Emilio Parodi MILAN (Reuters) – Italian police have placed four people under house arrest as part of a probe into alleged illegal access to state databases, and are investigating dozens, including Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, son of the late billionaire founder of Luxottica, a source said on Saturday. A lawyer for Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio said he was “eagerly awaiting the completion of preliminary investigations to be able to prove he has nothing to […]
Tag: tech
SpaceX catches giant Starship booster in fifth flight test
By Joey Roulette (Reuters) -SpaceX in its fifth Starship test flight on Sunday returned the rocket’s towering first stage booster back to its Texas launch pad for the first time using giant mechanical arms, achieving another novel engineering feat in the company’s push to build a reusable moon and Mars vehicle. The rocket’s first stage “Super Heavy” booster lifted off at 7:25 a.m. CT (1225 GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas launch facilities, sending the […]
US FBI disrupts second Chinese hacking group, director says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. law enforcement has disrupted a second major Chinese hacking group nicknamed “Flax Typhoon” and wrested thousands of compromised devices from its grasp, FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Wednesday. Wray, at a cybersecurity conference in Washington, said Flax Typhoon was being run by a Chinese company called the Integrity Technology Group that posed as an IT firm but also “collected intelligence and performed reconnaissance for Chinese government security agencies.” In an advisory […]
Australia plans social media ban for children
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia said on Tuesday it planned to introduce legislation this year to ban children from using social media platforms, citing the risks it could pose to physical and mental health. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his centre-left government would begin an age verification trial over the next few months. “I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts. We want […]
French authorities charge Telegram’s Durov in probe into organized crime on app
By Gabriel Stargardter and Tassilo Hummel PARIS (Reuters) -A French judge put Telegram boss Pavel Durov under formal investigation on Wednesday in a probe into organized crime on the messaging app, but granted the entrepreneur bail on condition he pays 5 million euros, reports twice a week to police and does not leave French territory. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement the judge found there were grounds to formally investigate Durov on all […]
South Korea to ask Telegram, other social media firms to help tackle digital sex crimes
By Hyunsu Yim SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean authorities called on Telegram and other social media platforms on Wednesday to work together with them in deleting and blocking sexually explicit deepfake content, seeking to appease public and political outrage over the problem. The steps follow reports by several domestic media outlets that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were often found in Telegram chatrooms. A 24-hour hotline for victims will also be […]
Russia says DDoS attack disrupts Telegram, WhatsApp
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian users of Telegram and WhatsApp had trouble accessing the messaging apps on Wednesday due to disruption the state communications monitoring service said was caused by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The service said the attack had been repelled and that the messaging networks were working normally again. Russian media said other sites, including Wikipedia, Skype and the social media platform Discord had also been affected. “The disruption is related to a DDoS […]
Musk’s X ‘deceives’ users with blue checks, EU charges
By Raziye AKKOC BRUSSELS, Belgium, July 12, 2024 (AFP) – Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform is misleading users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, and is also violating EU content rules, Brussels said Friday, in a finding that could lead to hefty fines. EU regulators are unhappy with the blue badge system under Musk’s ownership since anyone can now obtain it with a premium subscription, whereas before it was reserved for verified accounts […]
Meta pauses AI plans in Europe after privacy complaints
VIENNA, June 14, 2024 (AFP) – Meta has paused plans to use personal data to train its artificial intelligence technology in Europe, Ireland’s regulator said Friday, after the social media giant was hit with privacy complaints. Last week, a Vienna-based privacy campaign group filed complaints in 11 European countries against Meta, saying the global tech giant’s planned privacy policy change would allow “unlawful” use of personal data to train an “undefined” type of current and […]
TikTok says cyberattack targeted big names including CNN
SAN FRANCISCO, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – TikTok on Tuesday said it slammed the door on a cyberattack that targeted high-profile accounts including CNN. The number of accounts compromised was “very small” and TikTok has beefed up defenses to thwart the method used by the hackers, according to a spokesperson. “We have taken measures to stop this attack and prevent it from happening in the future,” the spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry. […]
OpenAI disbands team devoted to artificial intelligence risks
SAN FRANCISCO, May 18, 2024 (AFP) – OpenAI on Friday confirmed that it has disbanded a team devoted to mitigating the long-term dangers of super-smart artificial intelligence. OpenAI weeks ago began dissolving the so-called “superalignment” group, integrating members into other projects and research, according to the San Francisco-based firm. Company co-founder Ilya Sutskever and team co-leader Jan Leike announced their departures from the ChatGPT-maker this week. The dismantling of an OpenAI team focused on keeping […]
What next for TikTok in the US?
WASHINGTON, April 24, 2024 (AFP) – TikTok on Wednesday said it will fight a new US law that orders the popular video sharing app to break away from its Chinese owners or face an outright ban in the United States. Here is what could happen next for one of the world’s most downloaded apps. What does the law say? The bill signed by President Joe Biden gives TikTok 270 days (roughly nine months) to find […]





