Smart devices can now be hacked through voice assistants
By shining a light on smart devices' microphones, researchers in Japan have found that any voice assistant like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa can be hacked, allowing the hacker complete access to the device. Since microphones respond to light in the same way as they do to sound, it is nearly impossible to get rid of this problem without recreating them from scratch, eventually reminding the users to be more cautious while using these devices.
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The US plans a crackdown on the Chinese technology companies
The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said in a statement that Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat pose "significant threats to the personal data of American citizens". Wednesday's announcement marks a further deterioration in relations between Washington and Beijing. President Donald Trump hinted at a potential ban on apps like TikTok in order to safeguard the security of American users
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Tencent adds $200 billion this year, now bigger than Facebook
China’s gaming and social media giant Tencent is now more valuable than Facebook, Tencent’s market capitalization has surpassed Facebook’s following a huge rally in the Chinese firm’s shares this year. The total value of publicly traded shares of the Chinese gaming and social media giant that owns WeChat stood at $664.50 billion at around 3:07 p.m. Singapore time. Meanwhile, Facebook’s market cap totaled $656.15 billion as of Tuesday’s close
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Zoom misses its deadline to publish the first transparency report
Video conferencing app Zoom missed its own deadline to publish its first transparency report. The video conferencing giant previously said it would release the number of government demands it has received by June 30. But the company said it’s missed that target and has given no firm new date for releasing the figures. It comes amid heightened scrutiny of the service after several security and privacy concerns came to light
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Techcrunch
Google will give $1,000 to every employee to support work from home
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he expects most employees will largely be working from home for the rest of the year. To help with the shift to working from home, the company has offered virtual training and classes. And it has shifted some of its notorious perks online. Google also recently offered all employees a $1,000 allowance to spend on equipment to help outfit their home workspaces
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CNN