Technology | The Guardian

The law requires a balance between flexibility and tyranny, and was never intended to allow the government to dictate software designRelated: The FBI wants a backdoor only it can use – but wanting it doesn’t make it possibleApple’s celebrated fight with the FBI over the security of its encrypted iPhones has shone the spotlight on an old and obscure federal law from 1789 known as the All Writs Act (AWA). Continue reading...

PwC says not enough companies are dealing with big threat of economic crime and problem of ‘silver fraudsters’UK businesses are battling a huge rise in cybercrime capable of bringing down entire companies, according to analysis by accountancy company PwC.In a report that singled out the UK as a hotbed of economic crime, PwC said the threat of cyber offences was now a “board-level issue”, but warned that not enough companies were taking it seriously enough. Continue reading...

Threats from the terrorist group are part of ‘everyday life’, Twitter says, following the companies’ attempts to block terrorist content on social mediaIslamic State has released a 25-minute video featuring the faces of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg being riddled with mock bullet holes.Isis has begun to respond with increasing urgency as Facebook and Twitter have attempted to block terrorist content on the network. Representatives from both companies were among those who met senior White House officials in January to discuss how to deal with terrorism online. Continue reading...

Rapper tweeted about upcoming album amid Twitter storm in which he talked about his debt and criticized Grammys as ‘completely out of touch’Kanye West has said he will release a new album this summer, announcing the plans on Twitter.New album coming this summer Continue reading...

The NRA is not opposed to smart guns, engineers say. So why isn’t the market flooded with biometrically accessible firearms? We went to a ‘smart-gun symposium’ in San Francisco to find outA federal agent lost his loaded gun in San Francisco last week after leaving the firearm on top of his car and driving off. In September, police say a man with a Glock 26 pistol stolen from a federal immigration officer’s car shot and kill a beloved Oakland artist. And in July, a man allegedly used a federal ranger’s semi-automatic pistol to shoot 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle in a random San Francisco killing.The thefts and resulting gun violence have raised questions about the individual officers and agency protocols, but in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, police officials and tech entrepreneurs say the offenses shed light on a much broader issue: the need for personalized “smart” guns that only the weapons’ owners can use. Continue reading...

A smartphone app piloted by the NHS could improve communication between hospital staff and help patients get vital care fasterGoogle DeepMind, the tech giant’s London-based company most famous for its groundbreaking use of artificial intelligence, is developing a software in partnership with NHS hospitals to alert staff to patients at risk of deterioration and death through kidney failure.The technology, which is run through a smartphone app, has the support of Lord Darzi, the surgeon and former health minister in the Blair government who is director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London. Continue reading...

Social media giant Facebook has reformed the way its users can react to posts by their friends, adding a range of Reaction buttons to depict a wider range of emotions. The Reactions, which include Love, Haha, Wow and Angry, will appear alongside the traditional ‘like’ on users’ devices from Wednesday, with the rollout set to be complete in a few days Continue reading...

A new word processor allows writers to get work done without distraction. Which is fine until you need to check a fact

Weakness in communication between electric car and app provides opportunities for hackersHackers can control features in Nissan’s Leaf electric cars over the internet, enabling them to remotely enable the air conditioning and heating, or pull information from the car including driving history, replete with GPS co-ordinates.The car can be hacked by exploiting a weakness in the way it communicates with its companion app, NissanConnect EV. The app itself can be used to control the in-car climate and check driving range, but only for the owner’s car. Continue reading...

People will now be able to use a variety of faces and a heart – named Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry – on friends’ posts, but not commentsUsers no longer have to take the time and effort to write “dislike” on Facebook posts about firings and deceased pets: the company now provides a selection of expressive images christened Reactions to use for a wider variety of occasions than simply hitting “like”.The faces and a heart have names: Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry. A video explaining the concept in greater depth was posted to Facebook’s blog on Wednesday morning. Users simply hover a cursor or hold down a finger over the traditional upturned thumb and the new selection pops up. Continue reading...

Forget brightly coloured cases – 2016 will be the year of the hard-sell of phone add-ons, as manufacturers try to ensure brand loyaltyAs the world’s largest mobile trade show, MWC 2016, draws to a close in Barcelona, one thing is for certain: the days of the smartphone being the be-all and end-all are over. We’re now in the second coming of the accessory, with virtual reality leading the charge.Samsung, LG, Sony, Xiaomi, HP, Alcatel and others all lined up to announce their latest smartphones, some garnering interest, others less so. But while the new and shiny smartphones were plentiful, they were dwarfed by the sheer volume of add-ons. Continue reading...

Public accounts committee says £130m deal seems ‘disproportionately small’ compared with size of UK businessGoogle’s controversial tax deal has been criticised for being “disproportionately small” by parliament’s public spending watchdog.The new analysis of the deal to pay £130m in back taxes has been released amid claims that the French government is seeking about€1.6bn (£1.3bn) in back taxes from the tech company. Continue reading...

Much like climate change denialists, politicians continue to debate encryption – ignoring the consensus of experts that it must not be compromisedThe FBI’s demand that Apple create a defeat device for decrypting a phone that belonged to a mass murderer has all the ingredients for a disastrous public conversation.Combine a highly technical debate about information security with an emotionally charged subject matter, then confuse the whole issue with a 24-hour news cycle tick-tock about who did what, when, and you end up bogged down in questions like, “Does it matter if the FBI directed the local cops to try to change the phone’s password, inadvertently creating the lockout?” Continue reading...

Atlas, the latest robot from Google’s Boston Dynamics, can withstand a beatingGoogle’s long-standing quest to build the robot overlords which will eventually subjugate humanity and usher in a 1,000-year reign of the machines is apparently progressing nicely.The company’s robotics subsidiary, Boston Dynamics, has revealed the latest iteration of its Atlas robot, most recently seen doing the hoovering last month. Continue reading...

‘On your very best day at work – the day you come home and think you have the best job in the world – what did you do that day?’ social network asks prospective employeesTechnology companies are notorious for favouring impossible job interviews. Google’s questions range from logic puzzles (“how would you weigh an elephant without using a scale”?) to puzzles of a different sort altogether: it asks would-be music curators to put together a playlist that would please Susan Boyle fans, to make sure that they don’t accidentally hire music snobs.Facebook too has its own range of interview questions. Their technical challenges are as tough as any other Silicon Valley firm, with candidates reportedly asked to write code to find words on a Boggle board, or find sums in an array of numbers. And even non-technical jobs are given their own head-scratchers: one executive assistant candidate in London was asked “If your exec was stuck in Paris and needed to get to Milan, but their flight was cancelled and their phone was dying, what would you do?” Continue reading...

While the iPhone itself has advanced, its software is stuck in the past, making it feel like trying to drive a sports car with the handbrake onWhile every other smartphone manufacturer is trying to speed up your smartphone, providing ever snappier interactions, better links and faster access, Apple is intentionally holding the iPhone in the slow lane.It’s obvious when you look at the iPhone and its default interactions. Everything has a smooth animation. Those slick-looking motions were interesting about three years ago, but today they’re holding users up, slowing things down that that should be quick. Continue reading...

Broadcaster’s new Android and iOS app will help people discover music from its radio and TV output and listen to it through streaming servicesThe BBC is launching a standalone smartphone and tablet app for its BBC Music brand, helping people listen and watch music clips from its radio and TV output.The app is being released as a free download today for Android and iOS devices, although it will only be available in the UK. Continue reading...

Firm has submitted list to federal judge of at least 11 times since September that DoJ has sought access to newer models of iPhone than was earlier suggestedApple has challenged the White House’s claims that its use of a controversial law to access the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook is limited in scope.The Department of Justice has sought access to iPhones, including the company’s very latest models, under the All Writs Act at least 11 times since September, according to a letter from Apple counsel Marc Zwillinger to federal magistrate judge James Orenstein dated Monday. Continue reading...

What the US intelligence agency is asking the tech company to do may not affect mobile security as much as its CEO Tim Cook wants you to believe

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates welcomes the debate over privacy and security following the row between Apple and the FBI. The FBI wants Apple to override its encryption features to access an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. Photograph: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

US government is asking for a particular case, and Apple should comply, says Microsoft co-founder GatesThe Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has waded into the row between Apple and the FBI, arguing that the government agency is right to demand co-operation from Silicon Valley when it comes to terrorism investigations.Gates also questioned Apple chief executive Tim Cook’s characterisation of the case as a demand for a “back door”, the Financial Times reported. Continue reading...

‘It needed enemies fast – so I just drew this pig thing I’ve been drawing since I was 10’Rovio only had enough money to make one game. It was 2009 and, as the company’s sole designer, I had to start coming up with ideas. I’ve always been keen on drawing animals, so I sat at my computer and drew a bunch of birds, giving them beaks, a rounded shape – and angry eyebrows. I had this idea of an angry flock of birds, running around destroying things. Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Tuesday Continue reading...

Facebook chief executive qualifies comments supportive of Tim Cook, saying social network is guided by ‘a big responsibility to help prevent terrorism’Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday that he was “sympathetic” with Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook in his standoff with the FBI – but the Facebook boss left the door open to helping authorities fight terrorism and “different types of attacks”.“If we have opportunities to basically work with the government to make sure there are not terrorist attacks, obviously we are going to take those opportunities,” Zuckerberg told delegates at the world’s biggest mobile congress in Barcelona. Continue reading...

Donna Seymour is the second high-ranking official to leave OPM since the hacking of personal information of 22 million people was disclosed last JulyThe top technology official at the US Office of Personnel Management announced her retirement on Monday amid calls for her ouster by some Republican lawmakers.

Some are questioning the ride-sharing company’s less stringent safety standards after driver Jason Dalton completed rides between several shootings in MichiganThe spotlight is once again on Uber and its alarmingly light safety requirements after a driver went on a mass shooting spree, killing six people and injuring two in Michigan this weekend, while picking up and dropping off passengers in between.

Online abuse can be cruel – but for some tech companies it is an existential threat. Can giants such as Facebook use behavioural psychology and persuasive design to tame the trolls?It was a book on the curious decline of the murder rate that gave Aja Bogdanoff her idea.Her job back then stopped short of actual bloodshed, but it left her no stranger to the dark side of human nature. A software engineer who built and moderated online comment platforms, Bogdanoff spent her days wading through insults, and her spare time firefighting more urgent incidents. She could see platforms being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of antisocial users, but couldn’t figure out how to get one jump ahead of them. Continue reading...

Lawyer says US attorney’s office asked him on 14 February to file brief asking company to help unlock shooter’s iPhone amid feud over encryptionFederal prosecutors asked an attorney for victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attack to aid their case two days before they asked a judge to order Apple to unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters, spurring a massive privacy battle, the Guardian has learned.

FBI director James Comey says he hopes people will ‘stop saying the world is ending’, while Apple CEO Tim Cook argues that iPhone user data is ‘under siege’The director of the FBI has pleaded for responsible dialogue and calm in an escalating public battle with Apple, even as the company’s chief executive, Tim Cook, vowed to continue a legal fight that carries widespread implications for digital privacy and law enforcement.

The company’s AI startup DeepMind will take on the Go champion Lee Se-Dol in March, but hopes that ‘human ingenuity’ will be the real winnerDon’t ask Demis Hassabis, the chief executive of Google’s artificial intelligence startup DeepMind, to indulge in mind games before a big competition. “We hope that whatever the result, the power of human ingenuity will be the winner” isn’t the sort of fighting talk that will make an opponent quake in their boots.Hassabis’ DeepMind is preparing for the bout of its life: a five-game match against Lee Se-Dol, one of the strongest players in the world at the ancient game of Go. Continue reading...

Among the secretive, almost religious community of expert security engineers, breaking your own encryption is seen as shameful and unholyApple’s security team are a tight-knit tribe of hackers driven by a strict belief system and with almost unparalleled power around the company’s Cupertino campus, according to a former employee who worked closely with them.Related: Apple says the FBI is making access demands even China hasn't asked for Continue reading...

The place to talk about games and other things that matterIt’s Monday. Continue reading...

A mysterious island begs to be explored in the sublime new indie game from Jonathan Blow, Unravel is a bit woolly and Bravely Default’s sequel has little of value to add(PC, PS4 , Thekla, cert: 3)

South Korean mobile giant unveils new top-end Android phones with fan favourite microSD card slot, super-fast cameras and larger batteriesSamsung has unveiled its latest Galaxy S7 flagship smartphones, bringing back favourite features as it aims to close out the top-end of the Android market.

It looks like an ordinary four-door family saloon, but don’t be fooled: this new V8 Merc is one of the fastest cars you can buyPrice: £66,810

The tech company claims San Bernardino government workers botched an attempt to access gunman Syed Farook’s iCloud account and reset his passwordThe US government is asking for greater access to Apple’s software than even the Chinese government, an Apple executive has said, as the company resists an order forcing it to help the government crack the passcode for a phone that was used by a San Bernardino shooter.America’s most valuable company and its government used increasingly bellicose tones on Friday in a debate over whether national security can dictate how Silicon Valley makes products. Continue reading...

Court filing from Department of Justice says Apple is more concerned with ‘its marketing strategy’ than helping FBI unlock San Bernardino shooter’s iPhoneThe FBI accused Apple of prioritizing its public relations strategy over a terrorism investigation on Friday in a significant escalation of this week’s war between the tech company and the law enforcement agency.Related: Inside the FBI's encryption battle with Apple Continue reading...

Fond memories of Donkey Kong, Tron or Pac-Man? Fancy yourself a pinball wizard? Vector Volcano in Bend, Oregon, is the place to revisit classic 70s and 80s games – without needing a fistful of coinsThe afternoon when I destroyed the Death Star in my X-wing fighter was a pretty big moment for me but, somehow, it went unnoticed. Maybe it was because the woman next to me needed her concentration for a takedown in Street Fighter 2, or perhaps it was Tron or Mortal Kombat or Asteroids. Maybe Donkey Kong, Missile Command or Pac-Man. I’m not sure – like I say, I’d just given the Empire a major kicking and there may have been fist pumping.Related: Top 10 national and state parks in Oregon Continue reading...

Suicide Prevention tool lets users flag posts from friends that cause concern and leads to help options sent to those deemed to be strugglingFacebook has launched a new feature in the UK to offer support to users at risk of taking their own lives.The social network developed the Suicide Prevention tool with support from the Samaritans charity. Continue reading...

High street bank and First Direct to offer 15 million customers its biometric banking software to access online and phone accounts using their fingerprint or voice. And yes, it does work if you have a coldHSBC is rolling out voice recognition and touch ID services for 15 million customers by the summer in a big step towards biometric banking in the UK.Other banks are also introducing biometric security, but HSBC, which recently suffered an online cyber attack, is the first to roll it out to millions of retail customers. Continue reading...

As HSBC rolls out biometric identification for its customers, how do these methods work and can these systems be fooled?HSBC will become the first bank in the UK to roll out voice recognition technology for its telephone banking system to every customer, and it has also embraced fingerprint scanners for its smartphone app. But how do they work and are they safe? Continue reading...

As Mailbox prepares to shut down, here are seven other contenders for managing your inbox on the move on Android and iPhoneTwo months ago, if you’d asked me what the best email app for smartphones was, I’d have said Mailbox without missing a beat.But then came the announcement that Dropbox was shutting down its excellent mobile email client on 28 February – a deadline that the app has been reminding users of constantly ever since. Continue reading...

Nottingham-based developer Dambuster Studios didn’t just survive the collapse of two publishers – it made a better shooter in the processThe next time you’re trying to perform a complex task while some annoying distraction scuppers your efforts, spare a thought for Dambuster Studios. In the process of making Homefront: The Revolution, the Nottingham-based developer was forced to weather the loss of not one but two publishers due to financial difficulties – an unusual occurrence even in the high-risk world of videogames.The game this embattled team is making will be the sequel to 2011 first-person shooter Homefront, which depicts a near-future US invaded and occupied by the Greater Korean Republic (you never know: with North Korea testing missiles and Donald Trump riding high in US polls, it could prove prophetic). Set in 2029, this follow-up presents a fully open-world, as opposed to the single-path of its predecessor, and, fascinatingly, some of its key new features come from that unfeasibly difficult conception. Continue reading...

As the US government attempts to weaken encryption, Facebook and Twitter have both come out in support of Apple. But why are tech companies so afraid?Facebook and Twitter stepped into the battle with the FBI, with both companies pledging that they “stand with Apple” and will “aggressively fight” attempts to weaken encryption.Apple is heading deeper in to a legal battle with the FBI, which is attempting to access encrypted information on an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers. Continue reading...

The Russian-owned firm was charged with paying huge kickbacks to a relative of dictator Islam Karimov in order to access the country’s mobile marketVimpelCom, the Amsterdam-based telecoms company, has agreed to pay $835m to settle US and Dutch charges that it paid massive bribes to enter the Uzbekistan telecommunications market, the US justice department has said.

The masters of Silicon Valley have a knack for technological innovation, but they also can’t stop inventing new and awful ways of putting their feet in their mouths. Test your knowledge of the tech industry’s worst ambassadors by clicking your answers and seeing how you did at the end.

The world’s biggest e-commerce company is taking a page from the ride-sharing service and asking drivers to sign up for shifts to deliver packagesAmazon.com is quietly inviting drivers for its new “on-demand” delivery service to handle its standard packages, as the online retailer known for low prices and razor-thin profit margins looks to speed up delivery times and tamp down its growing multibillion-dollar logistics bill.

‘Consumers deserve a break and a choice’ says FCC chairman as measure would allow people to swap cable boxes for cheaper devices and appsThe Federal Communications Commission voted to boost competition in the $20bn pay television set-top box market on Thursday by allowing consumers to swap pricey cable boxes for cheaper devices and apps.Related: Proposed FCC rule change could make TV cable box an endangered species Continue reading...

The company’s Chinese business is now worth $8bn, but is losing money as it tries to compete with local firm Didi KuaidiUber is burning through more than a billion dollars a year in China as it wages a fierce price-war against local rival Didi Kuaidi, its chief executive said.The company’s Chinese business boosted its valuation last month to more than $8bn after raising more than $1bn in its latest funding round, but the US ride-hailing app is not yet profitable in mainland China because of the intense competition. Continue reading...