Amnesty International researchers published a toolkit to help anyone scan their iPhone and Android devices for evidence of compromise by NSO's Pegasus spyware
Over the weekend, an international consortium of news outlets reported that several authoritarian governments — including Mexico …
Sources: a group of Facebook data scientists asked for resources to measure COVID misinfo on Facebook at the start of the pandemic, but execs denied the request
The company doesn't know some specifics about how falsehoods about Covid-19 and vaccines for the virus spread on its social network.
Biden backtracks on his Facebook criticism, says he meant top users spreading vaccine misinfo were “killing people”, and urges Facebook to reduce misinformation
Biden walks back attack over vaccine lies Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post : The Technology 202: Facebook isn't sharing how many Americans viewed vaccine misinformation New York Times : 'Facebook isn'...
DOJ unseals charges against four Chinese nationals, believed to be part of China-backed APT 40 hacking group; charging docs focus on activity from 2011 to 2018
The US Department of Justice has indicted four Chinese nationals today for hacking companies, government agencies …
Snowden calls for spyware trade ban amid NSO news, saying the industry should not exist and “they don't make vaccines—the only thing they sell is the virus”
the only thing they sell is the virus. https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson : This explanation of the Pegasus spyware and how it no longer even requires a target to click a dod...
About 15,000 Mexicans, including politicians, reporters, and activists, as well as 50 people close to Mexico's president appear in leak as potential NSO targets
and priests. It is unbelievable how deep this story goes. https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Seema Chishti / @seemay : *11* numbers used by the former court assistant and her family were put under #Pega...
Sources: Apple is delaying return to office deadline by at least a month to October amid rising COVID cases, will give employees a month's notice before return
- The iPhone maker is now eyeing an October return for workers — Covid-19 variants continue to spread across many countries
Investigation: Israel-based NSO Group's malware infected 23 phones belonging to government officials, reporters, execs, and activists, out of 67 checked
US, EU, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and NATO blame China for cyberattacks, including the massive attack on Microsoft's Exchange Servers in March
including EU institutions and EU industries. “We continue to urge the Chinese authorities to ... not allow its territory to be used for malicious cyber activities.” https://www.consilium.europa.eu/ .....
BlockFi CEO confirms it received an order from the New Jersey Bureau of Securities to stop accepting new Interest Accounts; existing users won't be impacted
I write about how digital assets are going to change the world — According to a draft press release from the New Jersey Office …
Austria's Supreme Court asks CJEU if Facebook “undermines” GDPR by treating a contract as consent to deliver targeted ads, following a request from Max Schrems
BREAKING: Austrian Supreme Court asks CJEU if Facebook “undermines” the GDPR by confusing ‘consent’ with an alleged ‘contract’.
DuckDuckGo launches a new Email Protection service that forwards emails from a free “@duck.com” address to users' regular inbox after scanning them for trackers
This is your chance to get an ‘@duck.com’ email address — DuckDuckGo is launching a new email privacy service meant …
UK proposes new pro-competition rules for digital economy, including allowing its Digital Markets Unit to suspend, block, and reverse decisions by tech giants
Digital firms with deep-rooted market power to be subject to mandatory code to drive up competition
Of the 67 phones Amnesty's Security Lab probed, 34 were iPhones, of which 23 showed signs of a successful Pegasus infection and the others showed attempts
Phones of 22 Indian people, who were on a list of hundreds, were checked and 7 had been infected with NSO malware; the list included top opposition politicians
Square launches Square Banking, which offers savings, checking, and loan services to Square merchants
Building on the success of the Square Debit Card and Square Capital, the company is launching Square Banking, a combination of savings, checking and loan services for Square merchants.
YouTube acquires India-based social commerce startup Simsim, sources say for over $70M; Simsim raised $17M to date and was last valued at $50.1M
YouTube has acquired social commerce startup Simsim, the Google-owned firm said on Tuesday. Neither of the firms disclosed the terms of the deal …
OpenSea, one of the largest marketplaces for NFTs, raises $100M Series B led by a16z at a $1.5B valuation; OpenSea had $160M in digital asset sales in June
The NFT venue has crossed into the rarefied air of crypto unicorns. — OpenSea, one of the largest digital art marketplaces …
CIRP: Android and iOS each accounted for 50% of smartphone activations in the US in Q2, the same as Q2 2020, after iOS' share climbed steadily from 31% in 2017
Activations of iOS and Android devices are now evenly split in the United States, with little sign of movement toward either platform dominating …
Uber expands grocery delivery service to more than 400 US cities and towns, including SF, NYC, and DC, partly fueled by a partnership with Albertsons Companies
announced the first major expansion of its — grocery delivery service in the US. The company is more than doubling the number … Source: Uber .
Ottawa used facial recognition on ~2.95M travelers at Toronto's Pearson airport between July and Dec. 2016, experts say with no public discussion in advance
In an effort to identify potential deportees, the federal government quietly tested facial recognition technology on millions … Tweets: @lex_is and @moore_oliver Tweets: Lex Gill / @lex_is : Extraordi...
Mural, which offers a whiteboard-like digital environment for users to collaborate, raises $50M Series C, valuing it at $2B+, says it's tripled ARR in last year
This morning Mural, a startup that builds digital collaboration software with a focus on visual presentation …
IBM reports Q2 revenue of $18.75B, up 3% YoY, compared to estimates of $18.29B; revenue of Cloud & Cognitive Software unit, which includes Red Hat, is up 6% YoY
Jordan Novet / CNBC :
China calls out 145 apps, including those from Amazon and ByteDance, alleging that they illegally collected user info, and gives them until July 26 to stop
The 145 named apps have until July 26 to take corrective measures or face punishment, the Ministry of Information Technology (MIIT) …
Titan, an investing app with ~30,000 users and ~$500M in assets under management, raises $58M Series B led by a16z, valuing the startup at $450M
Titan, a startup that is building a retail investment management platform aimed at the new generation of “everyday investors,” …
Fabric, which helps companies build their own e-commerce sites, raises $100M, source says at a valuation of $850M
- Funding gives the platform developer a value of $850 million — Fabric, a startup specializing in e-commerce platform development, raised $100 million in new funding …
Dish Network signs a deal to pay AT&T at least $5B over the next 10 years to use AT&T's 4G and 5G networks for its MVNOs
Allison Johnson / The Verge :
TikTok launches Spark Ads, an ad format that allows brands to sponsor already published posts with the post creators' approval, potentially cutting out agencies
Spark Ads allows brands to tap into pre-existing influencer posts, cutting out the middleman
Capchase, a lending service that helps SaaS companies with recurring revenue grow their operations, raises $280M, following a $125M round in June
Almost overnight, platforms that offer non-dilutive capital for recurring revenue businesses have become white-hot.
NSO Group spent millions on lobbyists and consultants in the US but seems to have been rebuffed by US law enforcement agencies, which balked at its tools' cost
even *after* their involvement in the death and detention of journalists and rights defenders around the world! https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Zack Whittaker / @zackwhittaker : Amazon has known N...
Tencent to buy British video game developer Sumo Digital for $1.27B, a 43% premium on Sumo's Friday closing price
Muvija M / Reuters :
Sources: AT&T is in discussions to sell Xandr to Indian ad tech company InMobi; the mismanaged ad unit has annual revenue of ~$300-$380M and losses of $50-$90M
AT&T is in discussions to sell its ad unit to Indian ad tech giant InMobi, sources tell Axios. Tweets: @sarafischer , @aripap , @loupas , @awolk , @loudmouthjulia , @reckless , and @karlbode Tweets: S...
Path Robotics, which is developing robotic welding tech driven by computer vision and AI, raises $100M Series C led by Tiger Global, after May's $56M Series B
In May, Path Robotics announced a $56 million Series B. It was a sizable raise, as far as robotics rounds go.
Sundae, a residential real estate marketplace that pairs sellers of dated or damaged property with potential buyers, raises $80M Series C
Sundae, a residential real estate marketplace that pairs sellers of dated or damaged property with potential buyers, has raised $80 million …
Substack is funding the launch of podcast network Booksmart, which will start with five podcasts; subscribers will get extra content for $7/month or $70/year
Substack is funding the launch of a new podcast network called Booksmart Studios, executives tell Axios. Tweets: @tomgara See also Mediagazer Tweets: Tom Gara / @tomgara : “Garfield was fired from New...
GlobalFoundries says it will spend ~$1B on expanding its largest chip fab, which is in Malta, NY, and create a new fab in Malta via a private-public partnership
1TB of data belonging to Saudi Aramco is for sale on the dark web, with some files dating back to 1993; the company blames the leak on 3rd-party contractors
Swiggy raises $1.25B Series J led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 and Prosus Ventures at a post-money valuation of $5.5B, with Vision Fund 2 alone investing $450M
Manish Singh / TechCrunch :
Andreessen Horowitz hires former Intel CEO Bob Swan as Growth Operating Partner; Bob Swan stepped down from Intel in February
Since we raised the first a16z Growth Fund in 2019, our aim remains to partner … Vish Gain / Silicon Republic : Andreessen Horowitz hires ex-Intel CEO Bob Swan to lead growth fund Mike Rogoway / Orego...
Study: US telecom giants spent $234M on lobbying during the 116th Congress alone, to fight bills promoting net neutrality, local community broadband, and more
Jokr, an NYC-based rapid grocery delivery service operating in the US, Brazil, and Mexico, raises $170M Series A
Ivan Levingston / Bloomberg :
Filing: Robinhood is looking to raise as much as $2.3B in its IPO and sets a range of $38-$42 per share at a valuation as high as $35B
Maggie Fitzgerald / CNBC :
India-based fitness app HealthifyMe raises $75M Series C from LeapFrog and Khosla Ventures, bringing its total raised to $100M
Catherine Shu / TechCrunch :
Cybersecurity company Rapid7 acquires threat intelligence service IntSights for $335M; IntSights had raised $71.3M to date from Qumra Capital and others
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
Tilting Point, which acquires and publishes free-to-play mobile games, raises $235M led by General Atlantic
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat :
SmartRecruiters, which offers a SaaS platform spanning the entire recruitment process from job listings to offers, raises $110M Series E at a $1.5B valuation
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch :
Choco, which makes ordering software for restaurants and their suppliers, raises a $100M Series B led by Left Lane Capital at a $600M post-market valuation
Christine Hall / TechCrunch :
Employment Hero, an automated HR management service for SMEs, raises A$140M Series E at a valuation of A$800M; the company was last valued at A$250M in March
Catherine Shu / TechCrunch :
Norway-based imove, a white-label service that lets companies offer car subscription services under their own brands, raises $22.3M Series A
Mike Butcher / TechCrunch :
Dover, which helps recruiters aggregate multiple candidate pools to source suitable job candidates automatically, raises $20M Series A led by Tiger Global
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch : Tweets: @anvishapai and @ycombinator Tweets: Anvisha / @anvishapai : Very excited to share our Series A led by Tiger Global Lots to build, incredibly grateful to our cust...
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