News of the Cyber World

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Warner Brothers Discovery Executives

Warner Bros. Discovery Executives Resign from Board After DoJ Investigates Anti-Trust Violations

Two Warner Bros. Discovery executives, Steven Miron and Steven Newhouse, have resigned from the Board of Directors after the Department of Justice told them they were under investigation for possible anti-trust violations.

The board adopted a resolution to reduce its size from 13 to 11 members after the pair resigned from their positions. Per Variety:

Miron and Newhouse were targeted by the Justice Department because both serve on the board of Warner Bros. Discovery and cable giant Charter Communications, two separate companies that do significant business together. Miron and Newhouse were longtime investors in Discovery Inc. prior to the 2022 marriage of Discovery and WarnerMedia, and they also had board seats from Charter Communications after Charter acquired Advance/Newhouse’s Bright House Networks cable systems in 2016.

The DOJ said the conflict with respect to Miron and Newhouse serving on both Warner Bros. Discovery’s and Charter’s boards was this: Charter, through its Spectrum cable service, and WBD, including through its Max streaming subscription services, both sell video services to customers. The Justice Department said the antitrust division’s enforcement efforts to date related to Section 8 conflicts have “unwound or prevented interlocks” involving at least two dozen companies.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Kades of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division called the investigation a “win for consumers.”

“Today’s announcement is a win for consumers,” said Kades. “In enacting Section 8 of the Clayton Act, Congress was concerned that competitors who shared directors would compete less vigorously to provide better services and lower prices.”

UK & Sexting

Second UK Lawmaker Targeted in ‘Honeytrap’ Sexting Phishing Scam

A second British lawmaker has acknowledged receiving explicit messages on his phone in what police are investigating as a malicious phishing attempt against politicians, their staff and journalists.

Conservative legislator Luke Evans said he had been a victim of “cyber flashing and malicious communications” a month ago, when an unknown individual sent him “an explicit image of a naked lady.”

Evans said in a video message Friday that he’d immediately reported the incident to police and parliamentary authorities.

Another Conservative MP, William Wragg, revealed on Thursday that he had disclosed some colleagues’ phone numbers to an unknown individual who contacted him on a gay dating app.

Wragg said he’d exchanged messages with the individual, who called himself Charlie, and had sent an explicit photo of himself. Wragg told The Times of London that he was “scared” and “manipulated” into giving his colleagues’ numbers to the unknown individual he had met on Grindr.

News website Politico was the first to report that several current and former parliamentarians, staffers and political journalists had been contacted by an unknown number on WhatsApp. The sender claimed to be “Charlie” or “Abi” and tried to strike up flirtatious conversations.

The honeytrap sexting scam has been described as “spear phishing,” a type of cyberattack that targets specific groups. It involves scammers pretending to be trusted senders in order to steal personal or sensitive information.

Politico said some of those targeted were sent naked images, with at least two reported to have responded by sending images of themselves.

The Leicestershire Police force in central England – where Evans has his constituency – and London´s Metropolitan Police both say they are investigating reports of malicious communications.

Microsoft Denounces China's Disinformation Campaign

Microsoft: China Is Deploying AI-Powered Disinformation to Influence U.S. and Taiwanese Voters

China is leveraging artificial intelligence to target voters in the United States, Taiwan, and other countries with disinformation campaigns, according to recent cybersecurity research from Microsoft and U.S. officials.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft’s cyber-threat report, published on Friday, reveals that Chinese-linked online actors are using more advanced methods, including generative AI tools, to spread false information through fake social media accounts. These tactics aim to identify divisive domestic political issues and potentially influence elections in foreign countries.

The report highlights that accounts on X/Twitter, some more than a decade old, began posting last year about topics such as American drug use, immigration policies, and racial tensions. In some cases, these posts relied on relatively rudimentary generative AI for their imagery and asked followers to share opinions about presidential candidates, potentially to gain insights into U.S. voters’ political views.

Tom Burt, Microsoft’s head of customer security and trust, expressed concern about the evolving tradecraft and ample state resources behind China’s disinformation operations. “We’re seeing them experiment,” Burt said. “I’m worried about where it might go next.”

In Taiwan’s January presidential election, Microsoft detected a surge in the use of more sophisticated AI tools, including an AI-created fake audio clip of a former presidential candidate endorsing one of the remaining candidates. This marked the first time Microsoft’s researchers observed a nation-state actor using AI to attempt to influence a foreign election.

Meta & AI

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Introduces ‘Made with AI’ Labels Ahead of 2024 Election

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is claiming to address the potential misuse of AI during the upcoming 2024 presidential election through a new system to label AI-generated videos, images, and audio posted on its platforms.

The New York Post reports that Meta Vice President of Content Policy Monika Bickert revealed in a blog post on Friday that the company will start applying “Made with AI” labels to AI-generated videos, images, and audio posted on its platforms starting in May. This new policy is an expansion of the company’s previous approach, which only addressed a narrow set of doctored videos.

In addition to the “Made with AI” labels, Meta will also apply separate and more prominent labels to digitally altered media that poses a “particularly high risk of materially deceiving the public on a matter of importance,” regardless of whether the content was created using AI or other tools. This shift in approach marks a significant change in how Meta handles manipulated content, moving from a focus on removing a limited set of posts to keeping the content up while providing viewers with information about how it was made.

The new labeling approach will apply to content posted on Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and Threads platforms, while other services like WhatsApp and Quest virtual reality headsets are covered by different rules. Meta will begin applying the more prominent “high-risk” labels immediately, according to a company spokesperson.

Free Verification Checks on Twitter... for Influential Users

Elon Musk Hands Out Free Verification Checks on X/Twitter for ‘Influential’ Users

Variety reports that Elon Musk has once again stirred up controversy on X/Twitter by restoring blue check marks to “influential members of the community.” This decision comes after Musk’s initial plan to remove legacy blue checks and require users to subscribe to X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue) to maintain their verified status.

Musk had discussed this change on March 27, writing: “Going forward, all X accounts with over 2,500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free.”

The new policy, which appears to have gone into effect on Wednesday night, grants complimentary X Premium subscriptions to accounts with over 2,500 verified subscriber followers and X Premium+ to those with more than 5,000 followers. However, not all users are thrilled about the unexpected change.

Several high-profile users took to X/Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with the restored blue checks...

Twitter's System Purge

Elon Musk’s X/Twitter Claims to Fight ‘Bots & Trolls’ with System Purge

Quartz reports that Elon Musk, the owner of X/Twitter, announced on Thursday that a system to purge the site of bots and trolls is currently “underway.” In a post on the platform, Musk asked users to report any legitimate accounts that are accidentally suspended during this process by replying to his post or contacting the official account for X’s Product and Infrastructure teams, @XEng.

X/Twitter’s safety team stated that this initiative is part of a broader effort to make the platform “a better, safer space for everyone.” The team emphasized that they are “casting a wide net to ensure X remains secure and free of bots” and that this proactive approach will help eliminate accounts that violate the platform’s rules against manipulation and spam.

Users have been complaining about the increasing presence of bots on the platform, many of which have even been “verified” by X/Twitter. These automated accounts often reply to posts with unrelated or nonsensical content, making it difficult for users to find genuine responses from real people.

As Breitbart News recently reported, the platform has a major porn problem that also involves bots:

According to John Herrman of New York magazine, one particularly viral type of post on X involves the phrase “pussy in bio,” often leading users to simple scams. These posts, frequently generated by porn spambots, lure lonely individuals into following a series of links, promising to connect them with local singles. The ease with which such scams proliferate on the platform highlights X/Twitter’s inability to effectively combat the issue at scale.

Beyond the “PIB” scams, X has become a haven for OnlyFans creators looking to market themselves. While Twitter, even before Musk’s acquisition, had liberal content policies allowing for porn when correctly labeled and restricted from certain high-profile areas, the current situation on X/Twitter has escalated. Herrman reports that the platform is now inundated with posts promoting OnlyFans agencies, which are essentially accounts for OnlyFans creators staffed by call center workers impersonating real people, operating in a manner similar to flirt sites.

Tesla Faces Trouble in China's EV Market

Elon Musk’s Tesla Faces Trouble as China EV Market Cools Off

China, the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market, is expected to see a slower growth rate in electric cars sales this year, spelling trouble for major players like Tesla and local competitor BYD. More than half of Tesla’s sales come from the communist country, adding more problems to the company which is the worst performing stock in the S&P 500 this year.

Business Insider reports that according to the China Passenger Car Association, sales of new-energy vehicles in China are projected to rise by 25 percent to 11 million units in 2024. While this may seem like a healthy increase, it is significantly lower than the 36 percent growth rate observed last year. This slowdown in demand is raising concerns for EV manufacturers, particularly Tesla and BYD, which have been battling for dominance in the Chinese market.

Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has been struggling to keep up with its Chinese rivals’ aggressive price cuts. In 2023, the company slashed prices for its Model 3, S, X, and Y in China to compete with local brands like BYD, which offers much cheaper vehicles such as the $11,000 Seagull. Despite these efforts, Tesla lost its title as the world’s top EV seller for 2023 to BYD. The price war between Tesla, BYD, and other local companies has gotten so bad that Musk signed a pledge to uphold “core socialist values” in the communist country by not engaging in further price slashing.

Seth Goldstein, an equities strategist for Morningstar, believes that a significant portion of Tesla’s first-quarter delivery miss can be attributed to the intense price competition in China. He stated, “There’s a lot of price competition, and we’re seeing consumers go to other brands with cheaper offerings.” Tesla’s decision to hold prices steady this year appears to have backfired, as the company missed Wall Street forecasts for deliveries, and its market share in China has fallen from 11 percent in early 2023 to around seven percent.

The slowdown in China’s EV market can be attributed to several factors, including the constant price cuts by local companies, which have irritated some potential buyers. Additionally, China’s economy has struggled since the end of the pandemic, with deflationary pressures and an ongoing property-market crisis dampening consumer spending.

Amazon, India & AI

Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’ AI Shopping Tech Relies Heavily on 1,000 Indian Employees Watching Customers

Gizmodo reports that Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology, introduced in 2016 as a groundbreaking innovation in grocery shopping, promised customers a seamless, checkout-free experience. However, recent reports have shed light on the reality behind the technology, revealing that it relies heavily on human reviewers, rather than being a purely AI-driven system.

According to The Information, the “Just Walk Out” technology, which uses cameras and sensors to track customer purchases, employed more than 1,000 people in India to watch and label videos to ensure accurate checkouts. These workers essentially served as remote cashiers, monitoring customers as they shopped.

The report stated that as of 2022, 700 out of every 1,000 ‘Just Walk Out’ sales required human intervention, falling significantly short of Amazon’s internal goal of less than 50 reviews per 1,000 sales. This revelation raises questions about the true nature of the technology and its reliance on human labor.

An Amazon spokesperson, while disputing the characterization of how many purchases require reviews, acknowledged that Machine Learning data associates validate “a small minority” of shopping visits when AI cannot determine a purchase. However, the scale of human involvement in the “Just Walk Out” system appears to be more significant than initially believed.

The heavy reliance on human reviewers has led Amazon to phase out the technology in its Amazon Fresh grocery stores, opting for a more reliable solution called Dash Carts. These shopping carts feature embedded scanners and screens, allowing customers to check out as they shop.

Google Search & AI

They Want Your Data AND Your Money: Google Considers Introducing Paid AI Features in Search Results

In a significant shift from its long-standing ad-funded model, Google is reportedly exploring the possibility of charging users for AI-powered search features, according to a recent Financial Times report.

Citing three people familiar with the company’s plans, the Financial Times reported that Google might introduce a paid tier for search results that utilize generative artificial intelligence tools, a new approach to monetize its new AI-enhanced search capabilities.

This potential move would mark a first for Google, which has relied solely on advertising to fund its search product since 2000. However, the company is no stranger to charging for AI enhancements in other offerings. For instance, the “AI Premium” tier of a Google One subscription costs an additional $10 per month compared to a standard “Premium” plan, while “Gemini Business” adds $20 a month to a standard Google Workspace subscription.

Under the proposed plan, Google’s standard search (without AI) would remain free, and subscribers to the paid AI search tier would still see ads alongside their Gemini-powered search results. However, the increased costs associated with AI-powered search may necessitate this new revenue stream. A Reuters report from last year suggested that running a search query through an advanced neural network like Gemini could cost ten times more than a standard keyword search, potentially adding billions of dollars in extra costs across Google’s network.

The demand for AI-enhanced search remains uncertain, as evidenced by the limited impact of Microsoft’s Bing search engine, which heavily invested in generative AI features over the past year. Additionally, the uptake of Google’s experimental opt-in “Search Generative Experience” (SGE) has been reportedly limited.

Apple Focuses on Home Robotics Not Cars

Apple Moves into Home Robotics as Next Frontier After Car Project Fizzles

Bloomberg reports that according to people familiar with the situation, Apple has teams investigating a push into personal robotics, with engineers exploring a mobile robot that can follow users around their homes. The tech giant has also developed an advanced table-top home device that uses robotics to move a display around.

The robotics work is taking place within Apple’s hardware engineering division and its AI and machine-learning group, led by John Giannandrea. Matt Costello and Brian Lynch, two executives focused on home products, have been overseeing the hardware development. However, the company has not yet fully committed to either project, and the work is still considered to be in the early research phase.

Apple’s pursuit of the “next big thing” has been an ongoing challenge since the Steve Jobs era, as it becomes increasingly difficult to envision a product that could match the success of the iPhone, which accounted for 52 percent of the company’s $383.3 billion in sales last year. The company is under growing pressure to find new revenue sources, especially after scrapping its electric vehicle project in February and with its mixed-reality goggles expected to take years to become a major moneymaker.

The robotics work originally started within Apple’s Titan car project around 2019, when it was run by Doug Field, now a top EV executive at Ford Motor Co. Field tapped a series of executives to work on robotics initiatives, ranging from nearly silent indoor drones to home robots. The group included Lynch, Nick Sims (a former Google home products manager), and Dave Scott (who left Apple in 2021 and then returned in 2022 to work on the Vision Pro).

Apple Says Bye to 600 Workers...

Apple Lays Off 600 in Wake of Electric Vehicle Failure

Business Insider reports that Apple, known for its stability and infrequent layoffs, has taken the surprising step of cutting over 600 jobs in California, according to filings with the California Employment Development Department. The affected employees were primarily involved in expensive research and development projects, such as the secretive electric vehicle initiative, which was scrapped in February after costing the company $1 billion annually since 2014. Another project impacted by the layoffs was an in-house endeavor to create brighter smartwatch screens using microLED technology.

These layoffs, while relatively small compared to Apple’s total workforce of approximately 161,000, are indicative of a more focused approach being adopted by CEO Tim Cook. The decision to streamline R&D efforts comes as Apple faces numerous challenges that threaten its dominance in the tech industry.

One of the most pressing issues is the slowing sales of the iPhone, particularly in China, which is Apple’s most important international market. According to data from Counterpoint Research, iPhone sales in China fell by 24 percent in the first six weeks of 2024, with overall shipments in February being 33 percent lower than the same month in the previous year. This decline can be attributed to increased competition from rivals like Huawei, whose 5G-enabled Mate 60 Pro has been gaining favor among Chinese consumers.

In addition to product-related challenges, Apple is also grappling with legal battles on multiple fronts. The DOJ recently sued the company over claims of monopolizing the smartphone market, while in the European Union, Apple faces pressure from regulators to comply with the new Digital Markets Act, which aims to open up its App Store to more competition.

Ford & EV's

Green New Fail: Low Sales Force Ford’s Electric SUV And Truck Plans Off The Road

With U.S. electric vehicle sales starting to slow, Ford Motor Co. says it will delay rolling out new electric pickup trucks and a new large electric SUV as it adds gas-electric hybrids to its model lineup.

The Dearborn, Michigan, company said Thursday that a much ballyhooed new electric pickup to be built at a new factory in Tennessee will be delayed by a year until 2026.

The big electric SUV, with three rows of seats, will be delayed by two years until 2027 at the company’s factory in Oakville, Ontario near Toronto.

The retreat comes as U.S. electric vehicle sales growth slowed to 2.7 percent in the first quarter of the year, far below the 47 percent increase that fueled record sales and a 7.6 percent market share last year. Sales of new vehicles overall grew nearly 5 percent, and the EV market share declined to 7.1 percent.

Hybrid sales, however, grew 45 percent from January through March, while plug-in hybrids, which can go a short distance on battery power before a gas-electric system kicks in, grew 34 percent according to Motorintelligence.com.

Ford also said it “expects to offer” hybrid versions of all its gasoline passenger vehicles by the end of the decade in North America.

Industry analysts say most early technology adopters and people who want to cut emissions have already purchased EVs. Automakers now have to convince skeptical mainstream buyers to go electric, but those customers fear limited range and a lack of charging stations.

Ford expects pretax losses for its electric vehicle unit to widen from $4.7 billion last year to a range of $5 billion to $5.5 billion this year. But it foresees commercial vehicles making $8 billion to $9 billion, up from $7.2 billion last year. Gasoline powered vehicles and hybrids are expected to make $7 billion to $7.5 billion, about even with last year.

Colombian FARC & TikTok

Colombia Denounces FARC Terrorists for Recruiting Minors with TikTok

The Colombian government asked its citizens to denounce TikTok accounts that are being used by the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) terrorist organization to recruit minors into its ranks, Colombia’s Communications Minister Mauricio Lizcano announced Thursday.

Lizcano made the announcement one day after a report published by Agence France-Presse (AFP) found that FARC is using the Chinese social media platform to spread propaganda. FARC is urging young Colombians to join the terrorist organization through dozens of TikTok accounts that have so far produced hundreds of posts.

AFP states in its report that FARC is luring Colombian minors with promises of wealth and images that glorify its fighters among vast fields of coca leaves — the main ingredient used in the manufacture of cocaine — to entice them to join the terrorist organization. While the majority of the videos are being published and shared on TikTok, AFP noted that some videos are also being shared on Facebook.

Some of the accounts, which boast thousands of followers, have shared images of men in fatigues on horseback or crossing rivers, accompanied by motivational and “revolutionary” messages that glorify the guerilla lifestyle, AFP found.

Lizcano, in remarks given to reporters, asked citizens to report the FARC TikTok recruitment videos to the nation’s authorities so that they can subsequently track the people behind the publications and, if necessary, prosecute them.