Staff Writer - itbusinessdirect

Microsoft Expands Artificial Intelligence Footprint in Montreal

January 19, 2017 Staff Writer

Microsoft has plans to double the size of its local AI research group and aswell give the University of Montreal $6 million and McGill University $1 million over the next five years to help spur artificial-intelligence research. The moves were announced Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos by Microsoft president Brad Smith; Navdeep Bain, Canada’s minister of innovation, science, and economic Development; and other officials. The news also comes just days after Microsoft announced its acquisition of Maluuba, an AI startup founded by University of Waterloo grads. That business was founded…

Share this

Internet of Things based DDoS attacks to rise in 2017

January 17, 2017 Staff Writer

Cyber criminal networks are increasingly taking advantage of the Internet of Things era to spread malware and create zombie networks, or botnets, unbeknownst to their device owners. According to the Indian express the cyber-criminals will use the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in 2017 to extend their reach as there are now several Internet of Things (IoT) devices containing outdated codes and operating with well-known vulnerabilities as reported by a global security firm. The writer says that the criminals will use ever more sophisticated and convincing targeted attacks to lure…

Share this

Apple is increasing the price of apps in the UK by 25% because of Brexit

January 17, 2017 Staff Writer

Apple is raising prices on its UK App Store by almost 25% to reflect the sharp depreciation of the pound following June’s vote to leave the European Union The Guardian Reports. The new prices enshrine parity between the dollar and the pound, at least for apps on the iOS and Mac app stores. An app that costs $0.99 in the US, and used to cost £0.79, will now cost £0.99. According to the Business Insider, It’s not the first time Apple has increased its prices in the UK to adjust for…

Share this

Apple’s AirPods have taken 26% of the online market for wireless headphones

January 12, 2017 Staff Writer

Apple finally launched the wireless Bluetooth powered AirPods. Already, AirPods own 26% of the online wireless headphone market, cementing what Apple CEO Tim Cook has called “a runaway success.” Wireless headphones accounted for half of the entire online U.S. headphones market for the first time in December 2015. Three out of every four headphones sold online in the states were of the wireless variety. Besides Apple, Samsung has its Gear IconX wireless ear buds that compete with the AirPods. But Apple does have the benefit of having sold millions of Apple iPhone…

Share this

Data Could Be the Next Tech Hot Button for Regulators

January 10, 2017 Staff Writer

Wealth and influence in the technology business have always been about gaining the upper hand in software or the machines that software ran on. As government regulators dig into this new era of data competition, they may find that standard antitrust arguments are not so easy to make. Using more and more data to improve a service for users and more accurately target ads for merchants is a clear benefit, for example. And higher prices for consumers are not present with free internet services. According to the New York Times,…

Share this

Apple celebrates the tenth anniversary of the iPhone

January 10, 2017January 10, 2017 Staff Writer

Apple celebrated the tenth anniversary of the iPhone on January 9th. The company posted a press release today marking the occasion. Ten years ago today, Steve Jobs took to the stage at Macworld 2007 to introduce a device that would become Apple’s most recognizable and successful product: the iPhone. To celebrate the anniversary, Apple launched a tribute page dedicated to the famous handset. The press release quote that iPhone has enriched the lives of people around the world with over one billion units sold. It quickly grew into a revolutionary platform for…

Share this

British Government Launches Cyber Security Review

January 9, 2017January 10, 2017 Staff Writer

Cyber security has become one of the priority risks to be dealt with by organisations given that the number of cyber-attacks is on the rise. They are increasingly sophisticated and have an enormous economic and reputational impact on organisation. Governments are not immune to this threats. According to Reuters, the British government said on Monday it is launching a national inquiry into cyber security to assess the extent to which the UK is protected from an ever-increasing tide of attacks worldwide. Cyber-attacks in the UK have been on the rise, with businesses…

Share this

Facebook artificial intelligence technology lets blind people ‘see’ photos

January 9, 2017 Staff Writer

As the internet becomes dominated by images, Facebook is launching a system which can “read” photos and tell visually impaired people what appears in them using the Artificial Intelligence technology. Using artificial intelligence (AI), Facebook’s servers can now decode and describe images uploaded to the site and provide them in a form that can be read out by a screen reader. The new accessibility technology is intended to allow blind and visually-impaired people to share and take part in photos on Facebook. As the internet is changing from a medium based…

Share this

United States Imposes Cybersecurity Sanctions on Russia

January 6, 2017 Staff Writer

On December 29, 2016, President Obama issued a new executive order that expands the authority of the US Secretary of Treasury to impose sanctions on individuals and entities for cyber-attacks to maintain cybersecurity reports the Business Advisor. This action marks the first-time sanctions have been imposed under the Cybersecurity Sanctions Program established on April 1, 2015, with the designation of nine entities and individuals. The new executive order specifically sanctioned five entities and four individuals in Russia for cyber operations aimed at the US election. The State Department announced that…

Share this