Digital world

  Tech giant Apple is causing concern after its iPhone web applications in the EU were malfunctioning across user devices. Many assumed it was a serious bug that needed a fix but  new reports   are proving   otherwise . These progressive web applications found across the EU had many citizens complaining about how they were not functioning correctly after being installed in some recent iOS beta versions. Apple was seen updating its respective websites to give out a justification on this front and why users were facing issues across the board. It’s not a huge surprise because the company mentioned how the ordeal has nothing to do with it but in fact, has opted to blame the matter on the stringent Digital Markets Act. They feel the complexities involved are massive and one contributing reason has to do with enabling various browser engines to function that is why we’re seeing the matter unfold to begin with. To keep you better updated on this front, the company came und...

  The EU is gearing up to  criminalize serious offenses  such as the display of child abuse through AI imagery and deepfakes. The country’s regulatory bodies have been calling it an act that was a long time coming, especially because so many laws continue to spring up as a means of curbing the matter and the rise in tech developments. In the same way, it’s making proposals linked to calling the act of showcasing child abuse through livestreams a criminal offense as well. They are also making ways to ban the exchange of pedophile manuals as they would be called a criminal offense under this plan. This is said to be a part of a wide plan regarding measures of the EU which hopes to boost such laws and more in the future. The online risks are serious in this case and from what we’re seeing right now, it’s getting more difficult for users to curb the matter while victims are finding it harder to report such crimes. Right now, the proposal in question goes back to 2011 and it h...

  An ex-CIA software developer has been subjected to a whopping  40-year-long jail sentence , sparking shock on Thursday. The man who goes by the name of Joshua Schulte received a four-decade-long sentencing for leaking high-profile and confidential data of the CIA to WikiLeaks. And for those who might not be aware, this is the name given to a massive offense and one of the worst data breaches done in history. The Southern District of New York confirmed yesterday how the court’s decision was massive but a long time coming. Remember, it comes exactly eight years after we saw and heard the news about the developer stealing archive copies that were handed personally by him to WikiLeaks. He was deemed guilty of the likes of espionage and hacking while generating false statements toward the FBI. Meanwhile, more shocking findings had to do with rolling out fake statements toward the FBI which is a major crime. Schulte made use of unauthorized privileges from the administration in te...

  The notion that children can somehow stop experiencing the symptoms of ADHD as they get on in years has been thoroughly debunked by science, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, there is a chance that smartphones might actually be giving adults ADHD without them even realizing it. This type of disorder usually originates in children under the age of 12, but it seems as though smartphones are causing adults to develop the symptoms related to it as well with all things having been considered and taken into account. It bears mentioning that the symptoms can look rather different in adults than they do for children, with anger management issues, excessive restlessness, low self esteem, trouble with relationships, a lack of time management skills and many others factoring into the mix. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the proportion of adults with ADHD was around 6.3% in 2020, which is a significant uptick from the 4.4% ...

  Up until the mid 2010s, the general trend around the world was that corruption had started to decline somewhat, which led many to assume that it would soon become a thing of the past. In spite of the fact that this is the case, a general decline in law and order that has been going on since 2016 has led to corruption making a comeback, and it might even get far worse than might have been the case otherwise. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 23 countries have seen their corruption levels become the worst they’ve ever been in the past 30 years or so.  This data  is  coming   out of   Transparency   International , and it also points to a rise in authoritarianism all around the world. However, it bears mentioning that democratic countries aren’t immune to this backsliding either. The UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and Iceland are all democratic countries, but they all hit their lowest scores on the index...

  The state of California is willing to roll out a list of bills that are designed to ensure kids remain protected from all kinds of social media harms at all times. The lawmakers in the state have floated a few ideas regarding the privacy of minors’ data and also about how changes to laws from the past also need to be discussed in detail. The new laws arose after a state law regarding a safety bill for kids was launched and said to be rolled out soon but for now, that’s not happening and it’s been put on hold. The new law  would give parents the chance to get rid of addictive algorithms and feeds belonging to their kids’ social media channels. Once that’s passed, it would enable parents of those kids below the age of 18 to choose whether or not they could attain access to apps online during their school hours or night hours. Social media firms have created platforms to ensure users are not addicted and that means kids too. So many studies have gone on to speak about how young...

  ByteDance, the renowned Chinese technology firm responsible for the popular TikTok platform, has unveiled something new for its users— StreamVoice . This tool, leveraging generative-AI technology, enables users to seamlessly alter their voices to mimic others. As of now, StreamVoice remains inaccessible to the general public, yet its introduction underscores the noteworthy progress in AI development. The tool facilitates the effortless creation of audio and visual impersonations of public figures, commonly referred to as "deepfakes." Notable instances include the use of AI to emulate the voices of President Joe Biden and Taylor Swift, a phenomenon particularly prevalent as the 2024 election looms. Collaborating on this groundbreaking initiative are technical researchers from ByteDance and Northwestern Polytechnical University in China. It's imperative to note that Northwestern Polytechnical University, recognized for its collaborations with the Chinese military, should ...

  Gen. Nakasone reveals how NSA buys lots of Americans' internet data without permission for foreign intel and cybersecurity. Netflow data shows internet traffic details, raising privacy worries for mental health and assault survivor sites. Senator Wyden reveals NSA's domestic data collection, worries about agencies getting Americans' data without asking. ODNI urged to make spy agencies follow rules like FTC's for legal data buying and be transparent about data keeping. The departing chief of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), General Paul Nakasone, has unveiled a revelation that raises eyebrows from privacy critics — the NSA is delving into an extensive pool of commercially available web browsing data from Americans, all without the encumbrance of obtai ning a warrant. This disclosure,  unveiled  by  Senator Ron Wyden after Nakasone's correspondence , peels back the layers on the NSA's acquisition of a diverse array of information procured from data broke...

  Thanks to the rapid advances made in the field of AI, autonomous weapons systems, or killer robots in colloquial terms, might soon become a reality. As a result of the fact that this is the case, the UN has adopted a resolution to make these systems less effective than might have been the case otherwise. These types of weapons can acquire targets without any human involvement whatsoever, which makes them an especially dangerous outcome of the current AI race. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that  Harvard law lecturer  Bonnie Docherty recently spoke out about this issue. She described autonomous weapon systems as systems that rely on sensor inputs to determine targets rather than human input. It turns out that they have actually been used multiple times in the past, although they are not quite as sophisticated as they would eventually end up becoming. Systems used during the ethnic conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region ...

  Seeing scammers and imposters arise on social media is now a norm in the online world. But you’d expect tech giants like Meta to do more to help safeguard its users online by getting rid of fake profiles. However, the reality seems to be far from that as many noticed the number of fake profiles surging across the Instagram app. In the past year, we’ve seen the issue go from bad to worse and the app’s parent firm is really falling behind in terms of finding a solution to the matter, despite there being many signs that a certain profile is making use of another’s identity or image. An investigation was also carried out by tech media outlet  Bleeping Computer  on this front and they noticed how a large number of reports were filed against such scam accounts featuring fake IDs and they were impersonating internet personalities or other public figures but ended up getting dismissed by the admin. Clearly, it’s a huge issue and no appeal made a difference, not to mention how t...

  Surfshark  recently did a deep dive into the top 100 most popular apps on the App Store, and they found that 20% of the data they are collecting is for tracking purposes with all things having been considered and taken into account. These apps were ranked based on 32 data points that they are currently in the process of collecting, all of which are defined by Apple’s privacy policy. Facebook and Instagram were found to be the least privacy conscious apps of all. They collect all 32 data points, all of which are tied to the identity of the user in question, and 7 of which are used specifically for tracking purposes. These include data points such as names, home addresses as well as phone numbers, which seems to suggest that these apps offer far less privacy than users would ideally prefer. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that X, formerly known as Twitter, was also a major offender in this regard. It collected fewer data points...