Enterprise

Some Nokia 7 units are sending your data to China

Finland will reportedly investigate HMD Global

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Are you afraid of data theft? Lately, the online community has put the clamps on shady business practices in the tech industry. For example, Facebook was recently put under the microscope for selling its users’ data to willing buyers. However, for every documented case, dozens of undocumented others are lying in wait for unsuspecting victims.

Now, Finland is mounting a similar case against HMD Global, the current owners of the Nokia brand. Last month, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) received a tip from Henrik Austad, a local Nokia 7 user. While monitoring his handset’s outgoing traffic, Austad noticed a glaring anomaly: it was sending data packets to a Chinese server called “vnet.cn.”

For every instance that the screen turns on, the Nokia 7 sent the phone’s geographical data, SIM card number, and serial number to the Chinese server. Theoretically, the server’s owners (and anyone who can access the traffic) can know the whereabouts of specific users.

Investigating the tip, NRK discovered the server’s owners: China Telecom. Unfortunately, further investigations have warranted nothing. The media company speculates that the surveillance mechanism was intended for Chinese users but ended up with international markets.

HMD Global has since admitted to the fault. Apparently, the company has already detected the error before Austad’s tip. As a result, they released a Nokia 7 security patch a few weeks ago.

Unfortunately, HMD Global’s confession isn’t enough for its home country, Finland. In an email, Reijo Aarnio, Finnish Ombudsman for Data Protection, was surprised at the leaked information. As a result, Finland authorities will investigate the matter even further.

In their defense, HMD Global claims that “the data was never processed, and no personal information was shared with third parties or authorities.” Of note, the Nokia 7 is a China-exclusive phone. Later on, HMD Global released the international variants, Nokia 7.1 and Nokia 7 Plus.

SEE ALSO: MediaTek-powered Nokia 5.1 gets updated to Android 9 Pie

Enterprise

NVIDIA briefly becomes a US$ 1 trillion company

Right in the middle of Computex 2023

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Arguably, NVIDIA is one of the top contenders for MVP during this year’s Computex 2023. Though the brand didn’t exactly add anything new to its iconic GeForce RTX lineup, it made a lot of significant strides in the technical and entrepreneurial aspects of technology. It’s a strategic lineup of announcements. For a brief moment, NVIDIA has briefly breached US$ 1 billion in valuation in the middle of Computex 2023.

Right as the annual trade show started, NVIDIA wasted no time in announcing a new partnership with MediaTek for an upcoming slate of automotive processors. Then, days later, the company unveiled a bombastic set of announcements during its own keynote presentation. One such example is an advanced AI engine which can generate fluid conversations as an NPC in a video game.

It went beyond artificial intelligence, too. The keynote saw the introduction of the NVIDIA GH200, a “superchip” that the company calls “Grace Hopper.” The unbelievable processor comes with 72 cores, 96GB of HBM3 memory, and 576GB of GPU memory.

Supercomputers and artificial intelligence are on page one of NVIDIA’s playbook this year. It looks like the strategy is working. On Tuesday, the company’s share price peaked at US$ 419.38 per share. As a result, the company’s value bumped up to US$ 1 trillion, placing it in an esteemed club with others like Apple.

It was a short-lived victory, though. The day ended with the share price settling back down to US$ 401.11. The valuation closed at around US$ 992 billion.

Besides the Computex keynote, NVIDIA has been on a roll over the past few years. The company’s GPUs skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic, helping profits today.

SEE ALSO: NVIDIA develops an AI for NPCs

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Meta faces record-breaking US$ 1.3 billion fine

Over cybersecurity concerns

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Lately, Chinese companies, such as TikTok, found themselves in a tizzy over alleged cybersecurity issues in the United States. Cybersecurity isn’t a localized concern, though. All over the world, tech companies are finding themselves under the microscope for the same issue. Recently, Meta was on the receiving end of such a policy in Europe.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has announced a record-breaking US$ 1.3 billion fine against Meta, via The Verge. The fine, which has been in the making for ten years, is in response to the company’s transferring of European data to its servers in the United States. Lawmakers are adamant that the handling of data opens up cybersecurity concerns in the European Union.

Meta alleges that its current method of handling data is within the legal framework agreed upon by both the European Union and United States. The former claims that the current framework does not handle the privacy of European citizens with care. Of note, the claims only affect Facebook, not Meta’s other companies.

As a result, the European Union is ordering Meta to stop the transfer of data and to delete data currently stored in the United States. This is, of course, in addition to the hefty fine, which is currently the largest one of its kind. Though the fine is record-breaking, it’s still an unknown whether it will lead to a change for Meta, which bags multiple billions on a regular basis.

To prevent future incidents, the European Union and the United States are working on a new framework for data transfers between the territories.

SEE ALSO: Facebook, Instagram verification badge launches in the US

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TikTok sues US over ‘unconstitutional’ ban

Allegedly against right to free speech

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Last week, the state of Montana executed the first official ban against TikTok in the United States. Of course, no one expected the popular app to just stay down. Today, the company is suing the state over the attempts to ban the app.

The already signed bill tackles the issues put forth by the government years prior. According to the bill, TikTok is too risky as a security threat to allow into the country’s digital space. Should the bill go unopposed, TikTok will be effectively forbidden in the state starting next year, taking it away from app stores.

Now, the opposition is pretty clear. Via CNN, TikTok’s case alleges that the ban is unconstitutional and violates the right to free speech. Likewise, the company claims that the state of Montana should not have the right to ban the app. Since the issue is about national security, only the federal government should have that right.

Notably, TikTok’s own case isn’t the only opposition against the ban. A few days after the ban was announced, creators on the platform also sued the state. Their specific case tackles the issue of free speech especially among those who use the app in the state.

Even without the state’s localized ban, TikTok is already busy fighting off a statewide ban from the federal government. The company’s CEO even issued a call to arms, asking users to tell the government how much the app is valued in the United States. In Montana, the company now has another battle to wage. And, as mentioned before, a lot of parties are certainly looking at the results of the legal battle.

SEE ALSO: TikTok enlists users’ help to fight against ban

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