Facebook launches initiative to fight online hate speech

Facebook is launching a UK initiative to train and fund local organisations to combat extremism and hate speech.

It comes a week after the social network announced steps of its own to remove terrorist-related content from its site.
The UK Online Civil Courage Initiative's initial partners include Imams Online and the Jo Cox Foundation.
Facebook has faced criticism for being slow to react to terrorist propaganda on its platforms.
"The recent terror attacks in London and Manchester - like violence anywhere - are absolutely heartbreaking," said Facebook's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg.
"No-one should have to live in fear of terrorism - and we all have a part to play in stopping violent extremism from spreading.
"We know we have more to do - but through our platform, our partners and our community we will continue to learn to keep violence and extremism off Facebook."

In recent months, governments across Europe have been pushing for technology companies to take more action to prevent online platforms from being used to spread extremist propaganda.
In particular, security services have criticised Facebook, Twitter and Google for relying too much on other people to report inappropriate content, rather than spotting it themselves.
In April, Germany passed a bill to fine social networks up to €50m (£44m) if they failed to give users the option to report hate speech and fake news, or if they refused to remove illegal content flagged as either images of child sexual abuse or inciting terrorism.
Following the London Bridge terror attack, UK PM Theresa May announced that new international agreements needed to be introduced to regulate the internet in order to "deprive the extremists of their safe spaces online".
And last week in Paris, Mrs May and French President Emmanuel Macron launched a joint campaign to look at how they could make the internet safe, including making companies legally liable if they refused to remove certain content.

Similar initiatives to counter hate speech were launched in Germany in January 2016 and in France in March 2017.
They have held training workshops with more than 100 anti-hate and anti-extremism organisations across Europe, and reached 3.5 million people online through its Facebook page.
In the UK, people are being encouraged to visit the UK OCCI Facebook page, to share stories, content and ideas, and use the hashtag #civilcourage.
Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox and the founder of the Jo Cox Foundation, has welcomed the move.
"This is a valuable and much needed initiative from Facebook in helping to tackle extremism," he said.
"Anything that helps push the extremists even further to the margins is greatly welcome. Social media platforms have a particular responsibility to address hate speech that has too often been allowed to flourish online.
"It is critical that efforts are taken by all online service providers and social networks to bring our communities closer together and to further crack down on those that spread violence and hatred online."
Credit: Reuters

Two Britons arrested over Microsoft hack

Two men have been arrested for their part in an alleged plan to hack into Microsoft's network.

A 22-year-old from Sleaford and a 25-year-old from Bracknell were detained by police on Thursday.
It is believed that the men were involved in repeated attempts to infiltrate the Microsoft network between January and March this year.
Both were charged under the UK's Computer Misuse Act that criminalises unauthorised access to computers.
Police said the pair were part of a larger group that was plotting the cyber-intrusion into the software giant's systems, seeking to steal customer data.
Detectives from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (Serocu) carried out the raids which, said Det Sgt Rob Bryant, also led it to seize devices believed to have been used in the attacks.
He added that Serocu had worked with Europol, the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit, the FBI and Microsoft to investigate the intrusions.
"After speaking with Microsoft, we can confirm they did not gain access to customer information," he said. "It is too early to speculate on what information the group has accessed."
Tom Burt, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel of the Digital Crimes Unit told the BBC: "Today's action by authorities in the UK represents an important step. Stronger internet security depends on the ability to identify and prosecute cybercriminals.
"This requires not only a strong technical capability, but the willingness to acknowledge issues publicly and refer them to law enforcement. No company is immune from cybercrime. No customer data was accessed, and we're confident in the integrity of our software and systems.
"We have comprehensive measures in place to prevent, detect, and respond to attacks. We also have specialist teams focused on working with law enforcement to identify people who attack either us or our customers, and we're committed to fast and effective action against attackers."

Credit: BBC

Hacker jailed 16 months after using bank glitch to go on £100,000 spending spree

 A 24-year-old man who exploited a temporary vulnerability in the computer systems of a UK bank to steal nearly £100,000 has been jailed for 16 months following a spending spree which included the purchase of two high-end cars and face tattoos.
James Ejankowski, from East Riding of Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced this week (19 June) alongside his partner, 26-year-old Charlotte Slater, for stealing more than £99,000 from the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank in December last year using the bug.

According to Gazette Live, he used the bank's now-fixed computer flaw to transfer money that was not his own between a current account and savings account for roughly an hour between midnight and 1am.
He later funnelled the cash through his partner's Natwest bank account and told close family members that he won the cash on a scratchcard, it emerged.
"He has indicated his intent to pay all the money back when he is able to do so," Ejankowski's lawyer Andrew Turton told Teesside Crown Court.
"He thought it would be a good thing to do to have tattoos all over his face and that is what he did, and he will have to live with that for now."
At the time, Ejankowski transferred more than £53,000 to Slater's bank account and more than £1,300 to his father-in-law's account. Out of the funds stolen he bought a BMW and a Range Rover. The defendant, who is unemployed, also gave "thousand pounds" to his aunt.
Out of the stolen money, the inadvertent bank hacker claimed to have £40 left, the Gazette said.
Police later interviewed the couple after Ejankowski handed himself into the authorities on Boxing Day last year. Slater, of the same address, said she was aware her partner was unemployed and that he had a previous conviction, allegedly for seven offences of fraud.
The judge handed Slater a six-month suspended jail sentence and 30 days rehabilitation after she admitted "acquiring criminal property," the Gazette revealed. "She appears to have received no personal gain, and [it] was a lesser role," prosecutor Shaun Dryden told the court.
There have been a number of hacking incidents against financial institutions over the past 12 months. In the UK, a flaw with Tesco Bank's online service resulted in £2.5m being stolen from 9,000 customers. In another case further afield, a sophisticated hack compromised millions of dollars.

Credit: ibtimes

Facebook CEO lauds Nigerian woman leading a huge online community

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has been talking about the impact online communities are making around the world.
He is due to address the global tech giant’s inaugural Facebook Communities Summit to be held in Chicago next month.
Ahead of the Chicago summit, he has been meeting people who have helped build meaningful Facebook communities. One of such people is Lola Omolola, a Nigerian who lives in Chicago.

Two years ago, she founded a secret Facebook group called Female IN, or FIN. It's a no-judgment space where more than a million women come to talk about everything from marriage and sex to health issues and work problems -- and it's helping end the culture of silence that exists for women.

‘‘Two years ago, she founded a secret Facebook group called Female IN, or FIN. It’s a no-judgment space where more than a million women come to talk about everything from marriage and sex to health issues and work problems — and it’s helping end the culture of silence that exists for women in some parts of the world.
‘‘I’m looking forward to meeting more admins like Lola and talking about how we can help them do even more to build community. I’ll share more info on the summit as we get closer, and I’ll stream the event live from my profile later this month,’‘. Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post published on Tuesday (June 6).
Female IN describes itself as ‘‘a movement of 1,000,000+ women focused on building compassion, providing support and nurturing the power of self-expression in a culture where women are meant to be seen and not heard.’‘
Facebook is the only medium through which they can be contacted and to access the group an existing member (known as FINster) is empowered to add other members.
He stressed how the platform continues to play a lead role in making the world more open and connected. He said there was, however, more to be done to promote mutual togetherness and to build a common understanding.
‘‘This summit will be the next chapter and we’ll discuss more of what we’re building to empower community leaders to bring the world closer together,’‘ he added.

Will Kat.cr Return?

It looks like KickassTorrents (Kat.cr) is down, possibly for good. Users began reporting problems with KickassTorrents on Wednesday, although the site itself was still reporting that everything was running fine. But now nothing is working, including the site’s own status page. Recent news that KickassTorrents’ alleged owner was arrested and seven domains were seized by the U.S. government likely means that the site will be down for good soon.
Here’s what you need to know.

1. The KickassTorrents’ Status Webpage Is Now Unreachable

Users have been reporting problems with KickassTorrents. On the KickassTorrents Fan Club on Facebook, users have reported problems including:
Others responded with comments that page was sending them an error message that just read “is not available right now.”
Meanwhile, KickassTorrents’ status site first reported that “all systems are up and running.” However, users were suspicious that this information wasn’t up to date:

(kastatus.com)

And they were right, because now the site shows the following:

(KickassTorrents status)

It’s not looking good for KickassTorrents.

---

2. The Site Is Down Because Domains Were Seized by the U.S. Government

The problems that users are experiencing are likely the result of a lawsuit that the U.S. filed against the alleged KickassTorrents owner, along with the seizure of seven KickassTorrents domains.
According to the complaint, the seized domains are:

• kickasstorrents.com
• kastatic.com
• thekat.tv
• kat.cr
• kickass.cr
• kickass.to
• kat.ph

According to Kickass Torrents’ status website, before it was taken down, the site still had proxy sites including kickassto.co, kickass.ag, kickass.cs, katproxy.is, thekat.se, katproxy.cc, lovekat.org, and an onion site. But now, none of those sites are working either.
KAT has moved its domains before. In early June, the site was pushing back against repeated attempts to block its domains, and it added a new domain on the Tor network.

---

3. The Alleged Owner, Artem Vaulin, Faces Up to 20 Years in Jail

Artem Vaulin’s LinkedIn page, without a profile photo. (LinkedIn)

Artem Vaulin, the alleged owner, faces up to 20 years in jail for copyright infringement and money laundering conspiracy. The 30-year-old from Ukraine was arrested in Poland and the United States is seeking extradition. According to the lawsuit, Vaulin owned a company called Cryptoneat which may have been used as a front for KickassTorrents. However, an in-depth look at the company’s website, Instagram page, and Facebook page (most of which have since been taken down) looked like a legitimate company with possibly up to 20 employees.
According to CryptoNeat’s LinkedIn page:

We are a software development company crafting our own products since 2008. Our latest project is wine scanner iOS application Wineeapp.com.
We support personal responsibility and involvement with no overmanagement standing in the way of imagination and creative thinking.
Flexible schedules and smart workspace — we hold to the ergonomics cult: Herman Miller chairs, standing desks, Apple hardware and multi-monitor configurations.”

Cryptoneat also has an Instagram page here, which has since been taken down.

4. Copycat Sites of KickassTorrents Are Already Cropping Up

Meanwhile, copycat sites are already cropping up. The Verge reported that KAT.am, one KickassTorrents clone, had popped up online but was sketchy. (The site had an internal server error when we visited.) The creators told The Verge that it had the complete KAT database, including comments and user information. Another one at KickassTorrents.website was a limited mirror. (The Verge reported it was an Isohunt.to site, but TorrentFreak said this information was not accurate.) Meanwhile, TorrentFreak reported many more clones appearing, including Kickass.to (which now displays a seizure notice), and sites like Kickass.la who are telling reporters that they are an “official backup.”
Is this the end of KickassTorrents? Likely so, since the domains are now under the government’s control. Copycat sites may pop up, but we’re unlikely to see KickassTorrents again.

UK robot cars to challenge Google

A British firm has developed autonomous car software that could be used by a variety of vehicle manufacturers.

Most of the high-profile work on self-driving cars has come out of the United States, where Google and Tesla have been testing their technology.
Oxford-based Oxbotica took the BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones for a drive and told him that the technology would be tested in a public trial in London this year.

Xbox announces cross-platform play

Xbox gamers will soon be able to play online against people using other systems such as PC and possibly even Playstation, Microsoft has announced.

Currently gamers can only play together online if they use the same system.
One of the first games to support cross-platform play will be Rocket League, which Xbox and PC gamers will be able to play together via Xbox Live.
There is "an open invitation" for other networks to collaborate, the tech giant said.
The announcement was made as the developers conference ID@Xbox takes place this week.
The collective represents 1,400 independent studios creating games for Xbox One and Windows 10 devices.
Director Chris Charla said that it was "up to developers" to support the feature, in a letter posted online.
"Xbox Live players will always have the option of choosing to play only with other Xbox Live players," he added.
Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all operate their own online networks for multiplayer games, with Sony and Microsoft charging gamers a monthly fee.
"Cross-network play has been the number one most requested feature our community has asked for since Rocket League was first announced on Xbox One," said Psyonix, the studio behind Rocket League. "Today's announcement is a dream come true."
Credit: BBC

AMD launches XConnect, partners with Intel, Razer to drive desktop gaming on laptops

When it comes to gaming, laptop owners have always been stuck between a rock and a hard place. Thin and light systems often portability and convenience, but limited gaming performance. Larger, desktop-replacement systems offer more than enough firepower for gaming, but are typically heavy and fall into the category of “transportable” rather than portable.
The handful of external chassis that have been built by various vendors tend to have their own limitations and often require a reboot when changing the graphics mode, or don’t support laptop hibernation. They’re also typically tied to either a specific product family or even a single product SKU.
AMD wants to offer mobile gamers a more flexible option, and it’s partnered with Razer and Intel to make it possible. XConnect is the name of AMD’s driver support and implementation using Thunderbolt external graphics.
AMD wrote drivers for its own Radeon GPUs in order to support an external graphics chassis. Radeon cards running Radeon Software 16.2.2 or later are capable of plug-and-play configuration with an external chassis. The new software can monitor which applications are running on an external GPU and offers the option to close current applications and prep the system for safe removal. Unlike previous solutions, you can connect or disconnect an external dock without rebooting the system.
Credit: Extreme Tech

North Korea nuclear H-bomb claims met by scepticism

International scepticism and condemnation have greeted North Korea's claim to have successfully carried out an underground hydrogen bomb test.

If confirmed, it would be North Korea's fourth nuclear test since 2006 and mark a major upgrade in its capabilities.
But nuclear experts have questioned whether the size of the blast was large enough to have been from an H-bomb.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the test "unequivocally", calling it "profoundly destabilising for regional security".
The UN Security Council is now holding an emergency meeting.

• How the world has reacted
• What we know so far
• How to stage an underground test
• Leaders condemn reports of H-bomb test
• Crisis solutions on social media
• Pyongyang's nuclear tests

South Korea called the test a "grave provocation" but said it was difficult to believe it was an H-bomb.
Hydrogen bombs are more powerful and technologically advanced than atomic weapons, using fusion - the merging of atoms - to unleash massive amounts of energy.

 

Atomic bombs, like the kind that devastated two Japanese cities in World War Two, use fission, or the splitting of atoms.
Bruce Bennett, an analyst with the Rand Corporation, was among those casting doubts on Pyongyang's test: "The bang they should have gotten would have been 10 times greater than what they're claiming.
"So Kim Jong-un is either lying, saying they did a hydrogen test when they didn't, they just used a little bit more efficient fission weapon - or the hydrogen part of the test really didn't work very well or the fission part didn't work very well."
The data "doesn't support suggestions that the bomb was a hydrogen bomb", Chinese military expert Du Wenlong told state broadcaster CCTV.
A South Korean politician, Lee Cheol-woo, said he was briefed by the country's intelligence agency that the blast "probably falls short" of a hydrogen detonation.
But former British ambassador in Pyongyang John Everard warned "an explosion of that size is quite enough to wipe out a city and I think that, of course, is deeply worrying".
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, said further analysis was needed to determine the nature of the test, while calling it "a strong challenge to international peace and stability". In other reaction:

• China, North Korea's main ally, said it "firmly opposes" the test
• Japan called it a "major threat" to its national security
• The US said it would "respond appropriately to any and all North Korean provocations"
• Russia warned the action could amount to "a severe violation of international law", calling for the resumption of talks
• The EU urged North Korea "cease this illegal and dangerous behaviour''
• Nato said North Korea should abandon nuclear weapons

Heading into the UN meeting, Mr Ban said the test was "deeply troubling and "a grave contravention of international norms".
The UK ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, said: "We will be working with others on a resolution on further sanctions."
Credit: BBC

Europe to build moon town by 2030

A MANNED base on the moon should become reality by 2030, according to the European Space Agency.
ESA chiefs say the planned “Moon Village”, which would be built by 3D printers, could help mankind explore the galaxy.
The plans say robots will land on the Moon and prepare the surface for human life, and come complete with a series of stunning concepts showing what the Moon base could look like.
Astronauts could then use the Moon as a space base to push on and explore more celestial bodies, such as Mars, NASA’s top priority target destination.
With water found by NASA on Mars, speculation about alien life is rife as the ESA confirmed their Moon colony dreams at a two-day conference entitled Moon 2020-2030 – A New Era of Coordinated Human and Robotic Exploration.

The conference, which featured 200 scientists and experts coming together to plan mankind’s next giant leap in space exploration, was held last month at the European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noorwijk, the Netherlands.
Kathy Laurini of NASA is optimistic that a European Moon base could act as a stepping stone for Mars-bound astronauts.
She told Space.com: “The ESA space-exploration strategy sets the Moon as a priority destination for humans on the way to Mars.
“And the recent talk of a ‘Moon Village’ certainly has generated a lot of positive energy in Europe – [of] Europe playing a role in a global human exploration scenario.
“The timing is right to get started on the capabilities which allow Europe to meet its exploration objectives and ensure it remains a strong partner as humans begin to explore the solar system.”
The ESA tested the possibility of using Moon soil with 3D printers back in 2013 and devised a material which could be built into domes to defend residents against background space radiation.
Source: CNN

How fast will 5G be?

 

 Just five years after the first 4G smartphone hit the market, the wireless industry is already preparing for 5G.

Each of the four nationwide cell phone carriers, as well as smartphone chipmakers and the major network equipment companies are working on developing 5G network technology for their customers.
There are many significant hurdles that all the industry players have to clear before you'll see a little 5G symbol next to the signal bars on your smartphone screen. For example, it has yet to be determined what 5G even means, let alone what it will look like and when it will get here.

But as consumers use up rapidly growing amounts of 4G bandwidth watching streaming videos on their phones, 5G will soon become a necessity. As telecom engineers work furiously to develop 5G technology, we're getting a clearer picture of the who, what, where, when and why of 5G.

The "G" in 3G, 4G and 5G stands for "generation." So 5G will be the fifth generation of wireless network technology.

The standards for 5G have not yet been set. According to Bill Smith, president of AT&T's (T, Tech30) network operations, 5G will likely be defined in 2018, and the standards for 5G will codified sometime in 2019 by the standards-setting International Telecommunication Union, a branch of the United Nations.

The standards will determine which wireless technologies can be called "5G," as well as what its characteristics must include, such as how fast it will be.
Still, it's possible to make a very educated guess about what 5G will look like based on the emerging 5G technologies that the wireless industry is experimenting with.

Here's the elevator pitch: 5G will be faster, smarter and less power-hungry than 4G, enabling a slew of new wireless gadgets. 5G will let us have faster smartphones, more smart-home devices and longer-lasting wearable gizmos.

With all the questions surrounding 5G and all the wrinkles that need to be ironed out, it's exceedingly unlikely that anything Verizon does will be widely deployed. For example, the smartphone makers will need to develop chips that are capable of sending and receiving 5G signal without driving costs significantly higher.

Credit: CNN

China Telecom chairman Chang Xiaobing under investigation

The chairman of one of China's largest state-owned mobile operators, China Telecom, is being investigated by the country's anti-corruption watchdog.

Chang Xiaobing is "suspected of serious violation of discipline", according to a statement on the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection website.
The executive was reported missing by local media on Sunday.

He is the latest in a series of high-profile executives to become embroiled in Beijing's crackdown on corruption.
The government's ongoing anti-corruption drive resulted in more than 70 senior officials at state firms being investigated in 2014.

Top Chinese executives investigated

• Jiang Jiemin, former chairman of leading energy group China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) jailed for 16 years in October for graft
• Xu Jianyi, former chairman of top automaker China FAW Group expelled from the ruling Communist Party in August for embezzling funds and taking bribes
• Shen Hao, former president of financial media group 21st Century jailed for four years last week for extortion and blackmail
• Cheng Boming, president of China's largest brokerage, CITIC Securities, under investigation in September for alleged trading on insider information

Little information was given on the investigation involving Mr Chang, but the statement mentioned his position as the former chairman of the country's second-largest mobile operator China Unicom.
The 58-year-old became the chairman at China Telecom in August. Earlier this year, there were reports that the government was considering merging the two telecom giants.

Government scrutiny of the top firms in the world's second largest economy has spread beyond state-owned enterprises.

Earlier this month, Guo Guangchang, the chairman of one of China's largest private conglomerates Fosun International, was also reported to have gone missing, which eventually led the firm to announce that he was helping with a police investigation. He reappeared in public a few days later.

Correspondents say that Beijing's crackdown on corruption is partly about using high profile cases to prove the government is serious about tackling corruption.

But many suspect that the downfall of some executives and other investigations can also be attributed to ongoing political infighting and an attempt to pressure high profile figures to toe the party line.

Credit: BBC