Scott Johnson and Darren Kitchen join me to chat about the latest NSA revealtions, the ultra-secure new Blackphone, and whether encryption and security have gone mainstream.
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Show Notes
Apple refunds $32.5 million as part of FTC settlement: The BBC reports Apple will refund US$32.5 million as part of a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission. The settlement is in response to complaints about in-app purchases made by children without parental consent. Apple has also agreed to change billing procedures to insure customers give comest before they are charged. That change will be in place by March 31st. An internal email from CEO Tim Cook obtained by 9to5 Mac claims the settlement terms were things Apple would have done anyway.
The Blackphone: Ars Technica reports Phil Zimmermann, the creator of PGP email encryption, along with other folks from the SilentCircle encryption company have teamed up with the Geeksphone folks to create a new mobile phone called the Blackphone that will feature a suite of privacy and security tools. Its PrivatOS will feature secure phone calling, tecting, video chat, file sharing, browsing, and a built-in VPN. The Blackphone will be unlocked and work on GSM carriers. Blackphone will be available for pre-order beginning February 24, 2014, at Mobile World Congress.
NYT: NSA has implanted software in 100k computers worldwide: The New York Times reports the NSA has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world, some of which aren’t connected to the Internet. How? The agency secretly inserts circuit boards sometimes by USB which transmit covert radio signals to a base station that is up to 8 miles away. The cards can be inserted by spies, manufacturers, or sometimes an unwitting user. Targets of the project include the Chinese Army, Mexican drug cartels and Mexican police, EU trade institutions and various friendly governments. The information comes from documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
News From You:
Facebook to launch Flipboard-like reader? tm204’s subreddit submission seems to have garnered some interest from you. He posted a ReCode story about Facebook possibly launching a Flipboard-like news reader this month. According to Recode’s Mike Isaac, the product would be known as “Paper” and be a mobile-focused news reading app or possibly Web app. The product supposedly comes out of the team behind the Facebook News Feed and is an attempt to make Facebook into your morning news-reading experience much like the good old newspaper used to be.
Human travel to Mars affordable by the 2030s? stephanater’s submission got some votes from y’all too. Mashable reports sending humans to Mars by the 2030s could be affordable. Relatively speaking. A workshop of 60 folks from government, academic, and other organizations found that a NASA-led mission could work within the agency’s budget if it was restored to pre-sequestration levels. NASA would also have to continue to develop the Space Launch System heavy lifting rocket and the Orion space capsule.
The News From You segment reflects YOUR votes so get in the subreddit and vote at dailytechnewsshow.reddit.com
More links from the show:
EU wants more concessions from Google related to anti-competition charges:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/15/us-eu-google-idUSBREA0E0PF20140115
Hewelett-Packard is getting back into the smartphone market, sort of:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2088241/hp-launches-voiceenabled-tablets-in-india.html
New versions of Google’s Chrome browser for iOS and Android include optional setting to reduce browser data usage by up to 50 percent:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/15/5311892/chrome-reduced-data-usage-google-translate-app-shortcuts