EU okays IBM's $34 bn buyout of Red Hat

France24 –AFP, 27 June 2019

IBM's tie-up with Red Hat will be one of the biggest tech mergers ever
GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Brussels (AFP) - The EU's powerful anti-trust authority on Thursday cleared the buyout by IBM of open source software company Red Hat, one of the biggest tech mergers in history which the computing giant said would enhance its cloud offerings.

"The European Commission has approved unconditionally ... the proposed acquisition of Red Hat by IBM, both information technology companies based in the US," a statement from the EU executive said.

"The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns," it added.

The commission, the guardian of competition in the EU, took very little time to authorise the operation and has not demanded any concessions from the companies.

If approved by authorities worldwide, the tie-up will be the third biggest tech merger in history, according to CNBC. Red Hat said it was the biggest involving a software company.

Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services over the internet, including storage and software, and is considered fundamental to a highly connected world.

The EU's anti-trust teams have taken close looks at tech mergers, including Facebook's buyout of WhatsApp, in which the social network was fined in 2017 for failing to provide correct information.

Brussels' bans on mergers are extremely rare: since the arrival of European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager at the end of 2014, there have only been six.

Once known primarily for its computer hardware, IBM has made cloud computing a priority in its growth strategy, like Amazon and Microsoft.

Red Hat will continue to operate as a separate unit led by its current management team.

Founded in 1993, Red Hat launched its famous version of Linux OS a year later, becoming a pioneering proponent of the open source movement that arose to counter giants like Microsoft whose models were based on keeping their source code secret.

The Raleigh, North Carolina based company is today present in 35 countries and employs some 12,000 people, and is one of the best-known open-source players whose customers pay for tailor-made solutions.

Major disruption hits KPN phone services, emergency service number fails

DutchNews, June 24, 2019

Photo: KPN

Major problems hit KPN telephone services on Tuesday afternoon, putting the emergency 112 number out of action and disrupting the company’s fixed link and mobile networks.

Police are calling on people who need emergency help to dial 088-6628240 instead, or to report to a police station. Extra police patrols have also been drafted in to increase the number of points of contact between the emergency services and the public. 

People experiencing problems in using their mobile phones should switch off their 4G services to see if this helps, KPN said. 

Phoning via Whatsapp, Facetime and Skype may also be possible as these use internet rather than the 4G network, where the problem appears to have originated. 

KPN says it is working towards a solution for the disruption, which began around 4pm but has not said when the problem may be fixed. 

Dutch railway company NS has also urged people to avoid Utrecht’s central railway station, where services have been disrupted for ‘various reasons’. 

‘We are recommending you avoid Utrecht Centraal for safety reasons,’ NS said in a statement. ‘Communication has been made more difficult by the KPN telephone breakdown.’

Mega verstoring op #UtrechtCS 😔 #geentreinennaarhetzuiden @NS_online Komen er bussen? Met airco graag 😇 pic.twitter.com/8A2BTKZIsc

— Lisette Kaptein (@lieskaptein) 24 juni 2019

Related Articles:

Back-up failures led to emergency 112 phone line breakdown
KPN officials summoned to explain 112 emergency network failings

Huawei turns to Africa to offset US blacklist

Yahoo – AFP, Pierre Donadieu and AFP's African bureaus, June 9, 2019

Chinese tech giant Huawei, now in the middle of US-Chinese tensions, has
looked to bolster its ties in Africa (AFP Photo/Pau Barrena)

Paris (AFP) - As the US leads a drive for the West to shun Huawei over security fears, the Chinese tech giant has sought to strengthen its position in Africa, where it is already well-established.

Huawei has taken a leading role in developing next-generation 5G mobile phone networks around the world.

But it has been in turmoil since Washington charged its equipment could serve as a Trojan horse for Chinese intelligence services.

The world's second smartphone marker fiercely denies the allegations, but the US has urged countries to avoid it and several companies have distanced themselves.

They include Google, whose Android operating system runs most smartphones.

And as Washington and Beijing duke it out in an escalating trade war, nations around the world are faced with the dilemma of having to choose a side between the world's two top economies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin weighed in on Friday, slamming Washington's attempt to "unceremoniously push" Huawei out of the global market. Earlier in the week, Russia's MTS telecoms giant signed a deal with Huawei to develop a 5G network in the country.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, a guest of Putin at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg, said China was "ready to share technological inventions with all partners, in particular 5G technology".

But will the escalating fight lead to African nations having to choose between China -- the continent's top trade partner -- and the US?

"For African countries this trade war may end up a binary choice. It will be very difficult for Africa to just ignore" it, said Aly-Khan Satchu, an independent economic analyst based in Nairobi.

'Very aggressive strategy'

Huawei, now a major factor in US-Chinese tensions, has looked to strengthen its ties in Africa, last week signing an agreement to reinforce its cooperation with the African Union.

"This was a way to show that Huawei is still present in Africa and that they want to remain a major player by positioning themselves in this very important growth sector," said Ruben Nizard, an economist and Sub-Saharan Africa specialist at the French financial services firm Coface.

The deal comes after the French newspaper Le Monde reported in 2018 that China had spied on the AU's headquarters in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, citing sources inside the organisation.

The report said the spying began in 2012 after the completion of the AU's new headquarters that was financed by China, and was only noticed when technicians discovered data on the building's servers was being sent to Shanghai.

Both China and the AU reject the allegations.

Huawei has established itself across Africa since launching in Kenya in 1998, and now operates in 40 countries, providing 4G networks to more than half of the continent.

It will also showcase 5G -- the next-generation mobile phone network that will transmit data at far greater speeds -- in Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held from June 21 to July 19.

"Africa is a market Huawei had identified and which they conquered thanks to a very aggressive strategy based on cheap financing and speed of execution," Satchu told AFP.

"The fact that Huawei has equipped the AU says it all," he added.

'Big Brother Beijing'

Huawei's presence in Africa goes far beyond selling smartphones and building mobile networks.

In South Africa, it provides training at the country's top universities, this year launching a specialised course on 5G.

Kenya's government signed a 17.5-billion-shilling ($172 million) deal with Huawei in April to build a data centre and "smart city" services.

The Chinese giant also offers a "safe city" surveillance programme.

This initiative, according to the firm's website, "can prevent crimes targeted towards the normal citizen, tourists, students, elderly persons etc before they occur".

It has been deployed in Kenya's capital Nairobi as well as Mauritius, with 4,000 "smart" surveillance video cameras set up at 2,000 sites across the Indian Ocean island nation.

Some media outlets in Mauritius have condemned the system as "digital dictatorship" from "Big Brother Beijing".

But Ghanaian Security Ministry Albert Kan-Dapaah, for one, says Huawei's video surveillance technology helps catch criminals.

"When a crime has been committed, thanks to the cameras, we work magic," Kan-Dapaah says in a promotional video for the Chinese firm.

Huawei Marine, the company's submarine cable arm, is helping to deploy a key 12,000-kilometre (7,450-mile) cable system connecting Africa to Asia.

With Huawei so deeply embedded in Africa, the continent may find it difficult to avoid becoming a collateral victim of the US-China bust-up.

"Africa is caught in the middle of a trade war that they should not have to take part in, because they have nothing to gain," said Nizard.

China grants 5G commercial licences despite US tech battle

Yahoo – AFP, June 6, 2019

5G is the next-generation cellular network that offers faster data transfer speed
and could enhance technologies such as autonomous driving, remote medical
diagnosis and mobile payments (AFP Photo/STR)

China on Thursday granted 5G commercial licences to four domestic companies, as it races to be a global leader in advanced wireless networks amid fierce rivalry from the United States.

5G is the next-generation cellular network that offers faster data transfer speed and could enhance technologies such as autonomous driving, remote medical diagnosis and mobile payments.

But Beijing's ambitions have faced a major challenge from Washington, which has blacklisted Chinese tech giant Huawei just as it seeks to provide equipment for 5G networks in several countries.

Since last year, 5G trials have been conducted in Chinese cities ahead of plans to deploy the technology across the country in 2020, and now the government has given the green light.

The Industry and Information Technology Ministry said state-owned telecom providers China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Broadcasting Network Corporation received business licences to operate fifth-generation digital cellular mobile communication services.

"After the issuance of 5G licences, we will continue to welcome foreign companies to actively participate in China's 5G market, seek common development of China's 5G, and share the achievements of China's 5G development," said Miao Wei, the minister of industry and information technology, according to the ministry's Twitter-like Weibo account.

wi

China Mobile later said it would offer 5G services in 40 Chinese cities this year.

The United States has urged other countries to shun Huawei over concerns that its equipment could be used by Beijing's intelligence services.

Chinese 5G to 'lead world'

Commenting on the announcement, Huawei -- which produces both network equipment and mobile phones -- said it will "fully support" Chinese operators to build 5G infrastructure.

"(We) believe that in the near future, China's 5G will lead the world," Huawei said on Weibo.

Another Chinese phone maker, Vivo, said its 5G devices are ready for network testing and will be on sale once trials are complete.

The administration of President Donald Trump banned US companies in May from selling high-tech components to Huawei on national security grounds, though a 90-day reprieve was issued.

The move has led to an escalation in the US-China trade war, with Beijing preparing its own blacklist of "unreliable" foreign companies.

Several firms have already distanced themselves from Huawei, including Google, whose Android operating system runs the vast majority of smartphones in the world.

Huawei signed a deal with Russian telecom company MTS on Wednesday to develop a 5G network in the country over the next year, on the sidelines of a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The firm has also signed a draft agreement with the African Union that includes cooperation in 5G communications.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the approval of the licenses was Beijing's way to show the world that "China will continue to expand its openness and sustain the global free trade system that is experiencing volatility due to unilateralism and protectionism".

South Korea launched the world's first nationwide 5G mobile networks in April, while US mobile carrier Verizon began rolling out its 5G services in Chicago and Minneapolis.

A limited rollout is also expected in Japan in 2019 before full services start in time for next year's Tokyo Olympics.

It is the rollout in China, however, that is likely to have a global impact on 5G technology.

"As the world's largest mobile market, almost anything that China does is significant," said Peter Jarich, head of GSMA Intelligence, adding that the country has the "power to drive the market... around the world".

Dutch to get tough on hosting companies with child porn clients

DutchNews, May 28, 2019

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Dutch public prosecution department is going to get tougher on website hosting companies which allow child pornography on their servers, the Financieele Dagblad said on Tuesday. 

The department receives some 25,000 reports of child pornography a year and says this is being partly facilitated by providers who claim not to be aware of the problem.

‘We have been too cautious,’ public prosecutor Martijn Egberts told the paper. 

Currently some hosting companies only remove illegal material when ordered to do so in court. But the department wants to be able to take legal action against hosting companies which it sees as complicit, despite the legal problems. 

‘It is extremely difficult to prove that hosting companies are deliberately closing their eyes to material which they are storing or which is being exchanged via their networks,’ Egberts told broadcaster NOS. 

There are some 600 to 800 hosting companies in the Netherlands, the FD said.

One year on, EU's GDPR sets global standard for data protection

Yahoo – AFP, May 24, 2019

European Union (UE) Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova addresses a press
conference taking stock of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The EU's strict data laws have set the global benchmark for protecting personal information online since coming into force a year ago, but some worry that many users have barely noticed the change.

The "General Data Protection Regulation" (GDPR), launched on May 25 last year, enhances the rights of internet users and imposes a wide range of obligations on companies, including that they request explicit consent to use personal data collected or processed in the European Union.

The EU has billed it as the biggest shake-up of data privacy regulations since the birth of the web, saying it sets new high standards as the world seeks closer scrutiny of tech giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon.

It has also prompted other authorities around the world to strengthen their own data laws.

The US state of California, home to global tech haven Silicon Valley, last year adopted stringent data legislation largely inspired by the GDPR.

Japan meanwhile has worked with the EU to finalise common rules to offer its citizens an equivalent level of data protection as the GDPR.

And Australia plans to significantly strengthen sanctions against companies that breach data privacy rules, following the EU's lead -- the GDPR allows fines of up to four percent of a firm's turnover.

Companies slow to implement

But the transition has not always been easy -- companies inside and outside the EU have spent a total of hundreds of millions of euros to comply with the regulations.

Much of this has gone to upgrading how firms handle the vast amounts of data streaming in every day.

"Many companies face a major problem: their IT system was designed around providing services, but not around the data, which is constantly duplicated in all directions, sent to multitudes of providers and suppliers," said Gerome Billois, an expert at the IT service management company Wavestone.

He added that 31 percent of companies fail to implement the GDPR's "right to be forgotten" -- which allows people to have their personal data deleted -- because "they don't know precisely where the data is".

But Jean-Michel Franco of the French software company Talend says the industry is now "starting to get up and running" in implementing the GDPR.

Users ignoring rights?

However several campaign groups that defend the rights of internet users say that the GDPR's lofty goals are still a long way from being reached.

The main difference that most EU internet users notice under the GDPR are consent banners that pop up as they access a website.

Many users simply give their consent in the quickest way possible rather than asking for "more information" and being led into a maze of dense information and further questions.

A recent study of one urban transport website found that nearly 80 percent of users simply clicked the "accept all" button to move onto the site as quickly as possible.

Only around 10 percent of users chose to read the information detailing their rights -- if the explanations were short -- while another 10 percent read them thoroughly, according to the study of more than 280,000 people conducted in February by mobile marketing firm Ogury.

145,000 complaints

But while many internet users may pay the changes little heed, the GDPR has empowered some to take action against tech giants.

So far nearly 145,000 complaints and questions have been registered with the EU's national authorities in charge of enforcing the GDPR, an initial assessment revealed this week.

The complaints have also triggered severe penalties, including France's record 50 million euros ($56 million) fine on US giant Google for not doing enough to inform users on how their data is used.

EU Justice and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Vera Jourova has said the regulation is like "a one-year-old baby who has an appetite and is very agile".

There was widespread criticism in the months leading up to the regulation coming into force, but now voices "around the world are calling for comprehensive data protection rules similar to GDPR", she added.

Google v Huawei hits millions of smartphone users

Yahoo – AFP, Erwan LUCAS, May 20, 2019

Huawei users will start losing access to Google's proprietary services such as
Gmail and Maps (AFP Photo/ALAIN JOCARD, CHRISTOF STACHE)

Paris (AFP) - Hundreds of millions of smartphone users will be affected by Google's decision to sever its Android operating system ties with Chinese handset maker Huawei.

The decision, in the midst of a US trade war with China, means that Huawei users will start losing access to Google's proprietary services such as Gmail and Maps, and be shut out of future upgrades to Android on their phones.

The move by the California internet giant on the software front was compounded by news that US chipmakers have stopped supplying Huawei, hitting the hardware of its phones.

Many customers affected

Huawei sold nearly 203 million phones last year, up from 150 million in 2017, according to data tracking firm Gartner, overtaking Apple to threaten Samsung atop the global charts.

For the first quarter of 2019, before its recent run-in with President Donald Trump's administration, Huawei sold 59 million handhelds, IDC calculated.

Those users risk losing access to important upgrades to Android released by Google in future, although for now Huawei said it would continue to provide security updates.

The Chinese company will only be able to access software patches and distribute them from Android's open source project, not proprietary information retained by Google, meaning that apps on Huawei phones could become unusable.

An ongoing trade dispute is unlikely to be helped by a fresh US move 

against Huawei (AFP Photo/FRED DUFOUR)

No easy fix for Huawei

To get around the Google ban, Huawei would ultimately have to build its own operating system, as Apple has for its iPhones. That cannot be done in a hurry.

Microsoft offers a salutary example. Between 2010 and 2017, the US company tried to entice users to buy phones built on its own Windows mobile operating system. But the phones never took off and the company pulled the plug on the OS.

Huawei does have a big advantage over Microsoft, given the bigger scale of its mobile market penetration.

Software developers might feel compelled to offer a Huawei-specific version of their apps. Or the Chinese manufacturer could start a new branch of the Android family based on the open source version available now.

But that will all take time.

Risks for Google too

The widespread mobile usage of Maps, Gmail and Google's other services has helped the US company build a market-leading position with Android alongside its crushing dominance in desktop browsing.

But in cutting off Huawei, Google risks being deprived of the revenue-generating data of all those phone owners around the world.

And other Chinese smartphone makers, such as Xiaomi, Oppo and OnePlus, will be watching closely.

Should Huawei build its own system, it's conceivable that those companies might join it, in a bid to end their own vulnerability to future actions by the US government or companies.

EU adopts powers to respond to cyberattacks

Yahoo – AFP, Lachlan CARMICHAEL, May 17, 2019

EU ministers said the 28-nation group would, for the first time, be able to impose
asset freezes and travel bans on individuals, firms and state bodies implicated
in cyberattacks (AFP Photo/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

Brussels (AFP) - The European Union on Friday adopted powers to punish those outside the bloc who launch cyberattacks that cripple hospitals and banks, sway elections and steal company secrets or funds.

EU ministers meeting in Brussels said the 28-nation group would now, for the first time, be able to impose asset freezes and travel bans on individuals, firms and state bodies implicated in such attacks.

"The Council (of EU countries) established a framework which allows the EU to impose targeted restrictive measures to deter and respond to cyberattacks," it said in a statement.

It added that sanctions will be considered if a cyberattack is determined to have had a "significant impact" on its target.

The goal is to bolster the security of EU institutions, firms and individuals against what Britain called an increase in the "scale and severity" of cyberattacks globally.

"This is decisive action to deter future cyberattacks," British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said after Britain and its EU partners drafted the measures.

"For too long now, hostile actors have been threatening the EU’s security through disrupting critical infrastructure, attempts to undermine democracy and stealing commercial secrets and money running to billions of euros," Hunt said.

"Our message to governments, regimes and criminal gangs prepared to carry out cyberattacks is clear," Britain's top diplomat added.

"Together, the international community will take all necessary steps to uphold the rule of law and the rules based international system which keeps our societies safe.”

The British government has pledged to continue close cooperation with the EU after it leaves the bloc in line with the 2016 referendum.

'Big step forward'

Under the sanctions regime, diplomats said, the 28 EU countries would have to vote unanimously to impose sanctions after meeting a legal threshold of significant impact.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured April 2019) said that "the international 

community will take all necessary steps to uphold the rule of law" (AFP Photo/Daniel 

LEAL-OLIVAS)

For example, countries would look at the scope and severity of disruption to economic and other activities, essential services, critical state functions, public order or public safety, diplomats said.

They would examine the number of people and EU countries affected and determine how much money, intellectual property and data have been stolen.

EU diplomats told reporters it could also cover the hacking of European elections by a third party or country. Elections for a new European Parliament take place May 23-26.

In line with US intelligence assessments, EU officials highlight in particular the threat of disinformation and election hacking from Russia.

EU countries would also study how much the perpetrator has gained through such action.

A Dutch diplomat told reporters that the powers amount to a "big step forward" toward building a more secure cyberspace.

European leaders in October had called for a regime to impose sanctions against cyberattacks.

US and European police said Thursday they have smashed a huge international cybercrime network that used Russian malware to steal 100 million dollars from tens of thousands of victims worldwide.

EU diplomats said the bloc will now start drawing up a blacklist for potential sanctions in cyberattack cases.

A number of powerful people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin appear on a blacklist of 164 Russians and Ukrainians that was established after Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Those blacklisted are under travel bans and asset freezes just like those that would be imposed on those implicated in cyberattacks.

Global $100 mln cybercrime gang busted

Yahoo – AFP, Sara MAGNIETTE, May 16, 2019

Prosecutions have been launched in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the United
States over a huge international cyber scam, while five Russians charged in the US
remain on the run (AFP Photo/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

The Hague (AFP) - US and European police said Thursday they have smashed a huge international cybercrime network that used Russian malware to steal $100 million (89 million euros) from tens of thousands of victims worldwide.

Prosecutions have been launched in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the United States over the scam, while five Russians charged in the US remain on the run, the EU police agency Europol said.

The "organised crime network behind $100 million in malware attacks" targeted "more than 41,000 victims, primarily businesses and their financial institutions," Europol said.

Police in Germany and Bulgaria were also involved.

The cyber gang used GozNym malware to infect victims' computers, steal their online banking login details and then siphon money from their accounts.

The stolen money was then laundered in US and other accounts.

Scott Brady, the US Attorney General for the western district of Pennsylvania where the US indictment was unsealed, said the operation was an "unprecedented" international effort.

"Unsuspecting European and American victims thought they were clicking on a simple invoice, but were instead giving hackers access to their most sensitive information," Brady added.

The alleged leader of the GozNym criminal network, Alexander Konovolov, 35, of Tbilisi, who goes by the online name "NoNe", was arrested in the former Soviet state of Georgia, the US Department of Justice said.

US Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Scott Brady (pictured October 2018) 

said the operation was an "unprecedented" international effort (AFP Photo/ALEX WONG)

His alleged technical assistant Marat Kazandjian, 31, aka "phant0m," was also arrested in Georgia.

'Fled to Russia'

Konovolov recruited hackers who advertised their services on "Russian-speaking online criminal forums", and eventually controlled the malware-infected computers of more than 41,000 victims, Europol said.

The five Russians charged in the US included the alleged developer of the malware, identified as Vladimir Gorin, but they cannot be extradited because Russia does not send suspects abroad.

Gorin "oversaw its creation, development, management and leasing to other cyber criminals" including the Georgian alleged leader of the group, Europol said.

One of the Russians, Viktor Eremenko, was arrested in Sri Lanka at the request of US authorities in 2017 but "through the intervention of the Russian government" was freed on bail, after which he fled to Russia.

Bulgarian Krasimir Nikolov was arrested and extradited to the United States in 2016 and has already pleaded guilty to the charges in the indictment, the DOJ said.

Ukrainian police meanwhile arrested Gennady Kapkanov, 36, also known as "firestarter", on suspicion of hosting a so-called "Avalanche" network that provided services to more than 200 cybercriminals including the Georgians.

He allegedly fired an assault rifle through the door of his apartment at police, the DOJ said.

Europol announced the smashing of the Avalanche network in a major operation in 2016, saying that it had infected half a million computers in 188 countries.

The latest operation was a follow-up from that, Europol said.

Dutch researchers find major vulnerability in Intel chips

DutchNews, May 15, 2019

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Researchers at Amsterdam’s VU university have discovered a major leak in Intel microchips which make it possible to get hold of passwords and other sensitive information. 

The vulnerability, named Rogue In-Flight Data Load, was discovered a year ago but only just made public to give Intel time to develop an acceptable fix. 

The leak covered all Intel processors made since 2008 and would have been extremely easy to abuse, the researchers say. 

‘Even if home users used their browsers to visit a website with an advert or other content with a malware Java programme, the hacker could still steal information,’ the researchers say. There were also problems with cloud services. 

However, Herbert Bos, who was in charge of the research, told broadcaster RTL Z that most consumers should not immediately be very concerned and that specific targets, such as senior employees of a company or senior government officials, were more likely to have been victims. 

Intel has now taken steps to close the leaks and protect users, who are now being recommended to update their processors and software.