 |
|
A daily dose of today's top tech news, in brief.
|
| |
|
|
You need to hear this.
| |
|
US government removes Kaspersky Lab software from two lists of approved vendors
The United States government has removed Kaspersky Lab software from two lists of approved vendors for IT services. The move comes as the result of an ongoing investigation into Kaspersky Lab and its ties to the Kremlin, during which the FBI visited the homes of at least a dozen US Kaspersky employees. The decision to remove Kaspersky Lab was made after "review and careful consideration," according to a spokesman for the US General Services Administration.
"Kaspersky Lab said that it has not yet been informed by any US government agency about its vendor status, and stated that 'by all appearances, Kaspersky Lab happened to be dragged into a geopolitical fight where each side is trying to use the company as a pawn in its game,'" Neowin writes. "Kaspersky Lab has repeatedly claimed that the company does not have ties to any government."
Eugene Kaspersky, the company's founder and CEO, offered to testify before congress last week and to turn over the software's source code to US authorities. The government has not, as of now, taken him up on the offer.
AMD releases details on the upcoming Ryzen Threadripper CPUs
Last night, AMD made an unexpected disclosure of some details about its highly anticipated Ryzen Threadripper CPU line. The lineup appears to target a consumer category above "high-end," with massive performance "carving a new consumer category above high-end desktop," AnandTech writes.
"Threadripper would support up to 16 cores, up to 32 MB of L3 cache, quad-channel memory support, and would require a new socket/motherboard platform called X399, sporting a massive socket with 4094-pins (and also marking an LGA socket for AMD)."
The CPU's will be named the 1920X and 1950X, and will be priced at $799 and $999 respectively. Following the success of AMD's Ryzen lineup, the company has its sights set on the massive marketshare held by Intel, coming after Intel's Core i9 offering.
Verizon disputes volume of records exposed, but most recent security lapse highlights 2FA concerns
Verizon has disputed the reported volume of records exposed in a recent security lapse, claiming the volume was closer to 6 million, rather than the 14 million initially reported. Regardless of the number of acounts exposed, the case reinforces concerns regarding SMS security expressed by security experts. In an op-ed from the Verge we wrote about earlier this week, two-factor authentication came under fire as a critical security measure that remains far from where it should be.
A key argument made in the Verge's op-ed is a criticism of mobile carriers' lack of interest in improving infrastructure and security, leaving SMS an unsuitable delivery method for 2FA codes. Now, in the case of the Verizon security error, millions of phones, and all 2FA systems that use the phone as a contact point, have been exposed to the possibility of remote hijacking.
Although SMS is no longer deemed a suitable delivery method for 2FA confirmation codes by security experts, digital services have shown little interest in moving to other options. The burden falls on mobile carriers, like Verizon, to improve security infrastructure and avoid simple mistakes that leave millions of users vulnerable.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|  |
|
But there's more going on in the world than that.
| |
|
Google rolls out new Backup & Sync desktop app, offering broader file-type compatibility
Google announced its new desktop app last month, a replacement for Google's existing desktop backup services. Essentially a combination of Google Photos and Google Drive Desktop, the new app aims to offer an easy way for users to backup a majority of their computer's files.
"The new tool offers a simple user interface, where you'll first sign into your Google account, then select the folders you want Google to continually back up to Google Drive," TechCrunch writes. "Because it's replacing current users' existing Google Drive installations, the tool will respect any current settings you've already specified on Mac and PC, Google explained last month, when it announced the tool was in the works."
Google is offering the storage for free to Google Drive users, but is suggesting G Suite business users avoid installing the app at this time. This is due to an impending release of Google's Drive File Stream, which is expected to roll out for all G Suite domains later this year.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
