Featured December 30, 2022
Twitter Probed Over Users’ Personal Data Leaks
Twitter is being probed over personal data protection after a hacker claimed to have details of more than 400 million users.
Identified as “Ryushi”, the hacker is demanding $200 000 or £166 000 to hand over the data and delete it. The details include that of some celebrities.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) says it will look into Twitter’s compliance with data protection law in relation to that security issue.
The watchdog launched an own-volition enquiry pursuant to section 110 of the Data Protection Act of 2018 following multiple media reports showing one or more collated datasets of Twitter user personal data had been made available on the internet.
Also read: Fidelity Files to Trademark Financial Advice and NFT Markets in Metaverse
The DPC is an Irish supervisory authority responsible for upholding fundamental rights of individuals in the EU to have their personal data protected.
Twitter’s European headquarters are based in Dublin, therefore, the DPC is the lead authority supervising its compliance with EU data protection rules.
High profile Twitter users’ data at risk
Although the size of the haul is not confirmed, reports say the data includes phone numbers and email addresses including those of celebrities and politicians.
The Guardian reported US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s data was included in the sample published by the hacker.
“The datasets were reported to map Twitter IDs to email addresses and or telephone numbers of associated data subjects,” said DPC.
“The DPC corresponded with Twitter International Company in relation to a notified personal data breach that TIC Claims to be the source vulnerability used to generate the datasets and raised queries in relation to DGPR compliance,” adds DPC.
Twitter mute over the claim
Twitter has not issued an official statement on enquiries about the personal data leaks.
But responding to a tweet by cyber-security reporter Brian Krebs over the breach, Twitter chief executive officer Elon Musk said: “Don’t be the clown on the clown car!”
Krebs however notes the breach probably occurred before Musk took over as Twitter CEO.
Cyber-crime intelligence company Hudson Rock says it was the first to raise the alarm about the personal data sale.
The firm’s chief technology officer Alon Gal told the BBC there were a number of clues that appeared to support the hacker’s claim, although agreeing the amount of data had not been verified.
However, Gal said it seemed the data was not copied from an earlier breach in which details were published from 5.4 million accounts
According to Gal, only 60 emails of the sample 1 000 provided by the hacker in the earlier incident appeared and was confident that this breach “is different and significantly bigger.”
“The hacker aims to sell the database through an escrow service that is offered on a cyber-crime forum. Typically, this is only done for real offerings,” he said.
An escrow service is a third party that agrees to release funds only when certain conditions such as handing over data are met.
Worrisome trend
Concerns have been raised over personal data protection at a time the world is increasingly becoming digital.
Knowing how damaging the loss of data can be to the platform, the hacker has warned Twitter that its best chance of avoiding a large data-protection fine is to buy the data “exclusively.”
“Ryushi” highlighted they exploited a problem with a system that lets computer programmes connect with Twitter to compile the data.
Although Twitter fixed the problem in the system, it is believed the weakness was used in an earlier breach which affected more than 5 million accounts.
Last year, a hacking forum published phone numbers and personal data of hundreds of millions of Facebook users online for free.
The data included personal information of 533 million users from 106 countries including over 32 million records on users in the US, 11 million in the UK and 6 million users in India exposing their phone numbers, full names, locations, bios, birthdates and in some cases their email addresses.
Its parent company – Meta was fined $276 million over the data breach.
AI
Japan Leads the Way by Adapting Copyright Laws to the Rise of AI
In a groundbreaking move, the Japanese government announced that copyrighted materials used in artificial intelligence (A.I.) training would not be protected under intellectual property laws, according to local media reports.
The Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Keiko Nagaoka, confirmed this decision. Nagoka stated that it was applicable to A.I. datasets regardless of their purpose or source.
The policy shift was a response to the increasing significance of A.I. across various industries, including robotics, machine learning, and natural language processing.
Japan aims to foster an open and collaborative environment by exempting A.I. training data from copyright restrictions to stimulate innovation and progress.
This move has sparked a global conversation about the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights, raising important questions about balancing innovation and copyright protection.
A.I. training, copyright laws, and fair use policy
Japan’s decision to exempt A.I. training data from copyright laws has sparked global discussions on the delicate balance between intellectual property protection and A.I. advancements.
The Japanese copyright strategy is similar to the United States Fair Use Policy. The Fair use policy promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Most European countries also have an open policy toward using copyrighted materials in A.I. training.
Over the past months, several high-profile cases have involved A.I. training and copyright law. The U.S. House Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing examining the intersection of generative A.I. and copyright law.
Speaking at the committee hearing, Sy Damle, a former General Counsel of the U.S. Copyright Office, argued in support of the fair use policy, describing the use of copyrighted works to learn new facts as “quintessential fair use.”
How does this impact the A.I. industry?
Several experts have aligned with Japan’s notion that removing copyright barriers in A.I. training will expedite the development of innovative solutions, ultimately driving economic growth in AI-dependent sectors.
Additionally, the move could prompt a reassessment of copyright laws in other nations as governments grapple with the challenges presented by A.I. technology.
While its long-term impact remains uncertain, Japan’s bold step signifies a significant milestone in the global conversation surrounding A.I., copyright, and the necessary legal frameworks to support these emerging technologies reshaping our world.
Japan warns OpenAI about collecting sensitive data
Reuters reported that Japanese regulators had warned OpenAI against collecting sensitive information without people’s consent.
Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission told the ChatGPT-creator to minimize its collection of sensitive data for machine learning, adding that it may take action against the firm if its concerns persist.
The warning is coming amid reports that over half of Japan’s population wants more stringent control of the A.I. sector. According to the report, there is widespread concern among the people about the general use of such tools.
Meanwhile, Japan is not the only country concerned about OpenAI’s data collection methods. Earlier in the year, Italy temporarily banned ChatGPT over privacy concerns.
Business
Twitter Now Worth Only a Third of Musk’s $44B Purchase Price
It’s been almost seven months since Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion but the tech entrepreneur has failed to invigorate the company’s fortunes. Financial services corporation Fidelity now estimate the value of the app to stand at just 33% of Musk’s purchase price.
Musk completed his famous takeover of the microblogging site in October, fulfilling his long-term desire to be the boss of Twitter.
The tech billionaire was criticized for overspending on Twitter during the acquisition. Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter, with $33.5 billion in equity. However, Musk has also acknowledged he overpaid and said it was only worth half of what he paid.
“Myself and the other investors are obviously overpaying for Twitter right now. The long term potential for Twitter in my view is an order of magnitude greater than its current value,” said Musk.
Twitter was valued at $20 billion in March by Musk himself in an email that was sent to the company’s employees.
Reminder: Elon Musk massively overspent on his Twitter purchase out of ego and now wants you to pay for it through a subscription plan 😂
— tridder.pugs (@tridder46290) November 3, 2022
Twitter struggles under Musk
Following Musk’s takeover, many corporations and companies cut ties with the platform. Musk’s erratic decision-making and management style is blamed on driving a host of advertisers away.
Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, General Mills, Mondelez, Pfizer, and United Airlines are among the major corporations that paused or pulled their advertisements from Twitter due to concerns regarding hate speech and conspiracy theories.
International ad and consulting firm Interpublic, which represents American Express, Coca-Cola, Fitbit, Spotify, and dozens of other major corporations, has also stopped advertising on the platform. That cut caused Twitter to lose $24 billion. Given the recent advertiser exodus it is unsurprising that Fidelity downgraded Twitter’s value – but it remains unclear exactly how they arrived at a final valuation.
In November, Fidelity initially decreased the value of its Twitter stake to 44% of the purchase price. This was followed by subsequent markdowns in December and February.
“In 2021, Twitter generated more than 4.5 billion U.S. dollars in advertising service revenues, up from 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in the previous year,” according to Statista.
Also Read: Six Months of Twitter Under the Rule of Elon Musk
Additionally, the micro-blogging platform produced around $571 million in data licensing revenue, up from $508 million 2020.
Insider Intelligence projected “that Twitter’s 2023 ad revenues would reach $4.74 billion worldwide.” However, since Musk took charge, the market research company has cut its projection by “nearly $2 billion, to just $2.98 billion, as the app grapples with brand safety issues, confusing policies, and broken technology.”
Twitter Blue: a flop card
Twitter Blue, a subscription-based verification checkmark with various features, remains one of the most popular changes in Musk’s brief tenure.
In November, the Tesla chief introduced a feature called “Blue for $8/month,” which brought a drastic change to Twitter’s policy by providing a verification checkmark known as a Blue tick.
This feature also offers additional benefits such as the ability to edit tweets, half-ads, longer tweets, text formatting, bookmark folders, NFT profile pictures, etc.
Interestingly, though, the change has been copied by Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, whose subscription service Meta Verified lets users add a blue checkmark to their accounts.
You will also get:
– Priority in replies, mentions & search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam
– Ability to post long video & audio
– Half as many ads— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
Musk faced accusations of charging its users to cover his $44 billion, which he invested to become the boss. Despite the criticism for removing legacy checkmarks from popular accounts, Twitter Blue generated $11 million on mobile in its first three months as a new product.
The amount it has generated is slightly lower than expected, as Twitter has 368 million monthly active users worldwide.
However, Twitter is adding more features to the paid verification badge as Musk tries to develop it as a flagship product under the Twitter umbrella.
Featured
Mark Zuckerberg Unveils $500 Meta Quest 3 VR Headset
Mark Zuckerberg has announced the new Meta Quest 3 virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) headset. The new version of the Quest will feature a higher-resolution display, a faster processor, and improved tracking, the Meta founder and CEO claimed.
In a blog post on Thursday, Meta revealed the headset also features a new design that is 40% thinner and more comfortable to wear compared to Quest 2, its predecessor. Quest 3 will be released later this year in over 20 countries, including the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia.
The 128GB headset starts at a price of $499.99 and users have the option to pay for more storage space. However, a lot more detail about the headset was left unannounced, including the full specifications of the chipset that will power it.
Zuckerberg said more information about the new Quest would be revealed at Meta’s “Connect” conference on Sept. 27. “Quest 3 will be the best way to experience MR and virtual reality in a standalone device. It’ll be compatible with Quest 2’s entire library…” he wrote on Instagram.
Virtual reality market heats up
The launch of Meta’s Quest 3 comes at a time when the virtual reality market is starting to heat up. Apple is reportedly working on its own headset that is expected to be launched on Monday during the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
Also read: 3 Top Headsets to Watch: Samsung XR Glasses, Meta Quest Pro, Apple Reality Pro
The headset is rumored to be similar to the Meta Quest 3 in terms of its focus on graphics and comfort. According to industry reports, it will be used for gaming and social features. Other companies such as Sony and Magic Leap, are also developing new virtual reality products.
Earlier this week, PC maker Lenovo announced that its enterprise-focused ThinkReality VRX headset had gone on sale with a starting price of $1,299.
Meta did not discuss Apple’s imminent headset launch. But the timing of Mark Zuckerberg’s reveal suggests it may have been scheduled to beat Apple to market. For a long time, Meta, formerly Facebook, has looked to VR and augmented reality as the next big thing in tech.
It is all part of Zuckerberg’s grand plan to build the metaverse, a virtual world where people can work, play, and socialize. Quest 3 will be a key part of that strategy. The headset is the “first” that can provide both virtual reality and mixed reality experiences in a single device.
This means users can fully immerse themselves in virtual worlds, or they can overlay virtual objects onto the real world.
“Ultimately, our vision is to…[go] beyond the rigid classifications of ‘virtual reality’ and ‘mixed reality’ to deliver truly next-gen experiences that let you effortlessly blend the physical and virtual worlds,” said Mark Rankin, Meta’s vice president of virtual reality.
“Meta Reality gives you both the deep, immersive magic of VR and the freedom and delight of making your physical world more fun and useful with MR. We’re excited to see what developers and creators can build on the Quest Platform…”
The Quest 3 upgrade
According to Meta’s blog post, the new version of the Quest is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, the Meta Quest 2. It features a higher-resolution display than Quest 2, meaning that images and videos will look sharper and more detailed.
The Quest 3 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which Meta claims to be significantly faster and more powerful than the processor in Quest 2. Meta said the new chipset will allow for more immersive and realistic virtual realty experiences.
With a battery life of up to three hours, the headset comes with new controllers to help with how people can use it more effectively and efficiently. The new system is fully capable of AR gaming and users can still access over 500 VR games, apps, and experiences from Quest 2.
Meta said the Quest 2, which has been well received in the market since launch in 2020, will see its price drop to $299.99 from $400 starting June 4. The product will also receive software updates to boost performance and speed.
“Quest 2 remains our most affordable entry point to VR and [Quest] Pro is optimized for work use cases, with face and eye tracking for more authentic self-expression in meetings,” the firm said in its announcement.
“We’ll continue to sell Quest 2 and Pro alongside Quest 3, and we’ll keep shipping new software updates to make the Quest experience even better.”
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