Whatsapp takes Israeli firm to court over cyber attack October 30, 2019 Whatsapp is suing Israel’s NSO Group, saying that the firm was behind cyber-attacks that infected devices with malware. The Facebook-owned messaging service accused the company of sending malicious software to around 1,400 mobile phones for spying purposes. Read more: NSO deny spyware is capable of obtaining individual’s data from cloud Journalists, human rights activists, political [...]
How Amazon is inspiring the next generation of engineering October 30, 2019 When I was a teenager growing up in the 80s, I can clearly remember the “practical” lessons at school, and the satisfaction of building things – like my first ever circuit to power a lightbulb. These moments undoubtedly shaped my choice to become an engineer. Those “eureka” moments are powerful for any young person. When [...]
British satellite giant Inmarsat gets green light for $3.4bn takeover October 29, 2019 The government has given the green light for a $3.4bn (£2.6bn) private equity buyout of British satellite giant Inmarsat. Read more: Satellite firm Inmarsat ditches dividend ahead of $3.4bn private equity takeover Culture secretary Nicky Morgan today said she has waved through the merger after accepting a series of remedies put forward by Inmarsat and [...]
Tiktok owner Bytedance denies having immediate plans for Hong Kong listing October 29, 2019 Bytedance, the $75bn Chinese firm behind short-form video app Tiktok, has denied reports it is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong as soon as next year. The Financial Times has reported that the seven-year-old startup could list in the territory as soon as the first quarter of next year, but Bytedance denied [...]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is fuelling the toxic media discourse she so despises October 29, 2019 At a US congressional hearing last week, representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – the leading light of the 2018 Democratic intake – confronted Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg was supposedly attending the hearing to discuss libra, Facebook’s nascent digital currency, now facing considerable legislative pressure. In five blistering minutes, Ocasio-Cortez widened her aim, taking him to [...]
Happy birthday, internet – let’s make the next 50 years just as innovative October 29, 2019 How do we define the birth of the internet? As an ambiguous, shifting entity, it is often hard to define what the internet even is, let alone its beginning. In my eyes, the date the first message was sent across the telephone network, from one computer to another – late on the evening of 29 [...]
Alphabet shares dip as profit fails to meet expectations October 28, 2019 Google parent Alphabet missed Wall Street estimates on its third-quarter results tonight, having failed to live up to expectations on profit takings. Alphabet reported earnings per share of $10.12 for the three months to the end of September and net income of $7.07bn, versus expectations of $12.44 per share according to consensus estimates polled by Refinitiv. [...]
Uber sizes up to the City in financial services push October 28, 2019 Ride-hailing app Uber has taken a leaf out of the Square Mile’s book, and today revealed a move into financial services. The tech giant has set up a new division within the company called Uber Money, which will include a digital wallet and support for the firm’s debit and credit cards. The debit card is [...]
Fitbit shares halted on reports of Google takeover bid October 28, 2019 Trading of shares in wearable device maker Fitbit was suspended today following a report that Google owner Alphabet has tabled a takeover bid. The Silicon Valley tech giant has held discussions with Fitbit, although there is no guarantee a deal will be secured, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It is unclear how [...]
Virgin Galactic shares blast off as Sir Richard Branson’s firm makes New York Stock Exchange debut October 28, 2019 Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, has taken off on the New York Stock Exchange this afternoon, with shares soaring more than eight per cent in early trading. The company completed a merger with a US investment vehicle late on Friday, making it the first commercial space venture to go public. Branson, who [...]