Techmeme: An in-depth look inside a covert Russian operation to get dual-use specialist microchips, which are protected by EU export controls, into the hands of the state (Financial Times)

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November 13, 2023, 3:40 AM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

A look at Apple's work on its “ambitious and compelling” OS updates for 2024, paused for a week after hitting a key milestone in iOS 18 and macOS 15 development — Apple's recent software development delay underscores the need to get ambitious 2024 updates right.

More: 9to5Mac, MySmartPrice, Supercharged, Forbes, AppleInsider, The Verge, AppleInsider, PhoneArena, and iPhone in Canada Blog

Mastodon: @paul@tapbots.social. X: @markgurman, @biz_socks, and @albin1887

Forums: r/iphone, r/ios, r/technology, and r/apple

Financial Times:

An in-depth look inside a covert Russian operation to get dual-use specialist microchips, which are protected by EU export controls, into the hands of the state — A rare look inside a covert Russian-led operation to get strategic technology protected by European export controls into the hands of the state

X: @dcuthbert, @maxseddon, @maxseddon, @maxseddon, @maxseddon, @elinaribakova, @maxseddon, @xtophercook, @elinaribakova, @maxseddon, @alenapopova, and @xtophercook

LinkedIn: Raimonds Bricis and Leen Paape. Forums: r/UkrainianConflict

Reuters:

Chinese chipmaker YMTC filed a lawsuit against Micron on November 9, 2023 in California, alleging that the US chipmaker infringed eight of its patents — Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) has filed a lawsuit against U.S. rival Micron Technology (MU.O) alleging infringement of eight of its patents.

More: South China Morning Post and Global Times

X: @rnaudbertrand, @lithos_graphein, @kanthan2030, and @lithos_graphein

Forums: r/Sino and r/hardware

Wall Street Journal:

Former FTX employees, including general counsel Can Sun, plan to launch crypto exchange Backpack, protecting user funds using lessons learned from FTX's failure — Ex-FTX lawyer Can Sun and other former company executives want the new exchange to allow customers to verify holdings at any time

More: Unchained Crypto, Bitcoin Insider, PYMNTS.com, crypto.news, Cointelegraph, The Daily Beast, and The Block

Mastodon: @carnage4life@mas.to. Bluesky: @marypcbuk.bsky.social. X: @caspiancey, @caspiancey, @caspiancey, @digitalartchick, @riddle245, @deitaone, @smtuffy, @silvermanjacob, @zarchasmpgmr, and @quinnypig. LinkedIn: James Herbick, MS, MBA

David Gilbert / Wired:

Experts say terrorist groups are using generative AI to bypass the hashing databases used by tech companies to automatically remove violent extremist content — Experts are finding thousands of examples of AI-created content every week that could allow terrorist groups and other violent extremists …

Wes Davis / The Verge:

Many Threads users report that the app now has a privacy option that lets them opt out of having their posts show up on Instagram and Facebook — Many Threads users are now saying they have the ability to opt out of having their posts shown on Instagram and Facebook.

More: PCMag, Livemint, 9to5Mac, and NewsBytes

Threads: @ami.l.berger, @jbillinson, @datadrivenmd, @michaelgreshko, @ipedro, @kiriappeee, @brooksrocco, and @dryllyrd. X: @jonah_manzano

Bloomberg:

Foxconn launches two prototype low-Earth orbit communication satellites on a SpaceX rocket, as Foxconn diversifies into new sectors with greater urgency — - Taiwan's Foxconn wants to replicate outsourcing model in orbit — Company launches first two LEO satellites on a SpaceX rocket

More: The Register, Benzinga, SpaceNews, Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), NewsBytes, South China Morning Post, Android Central, and Neowin

X: @mytechmusings, @honhai_foxconn, and @honhai_foxconn

Shanti Das / The Guardian:

Investigation: the UK biomedical research database Biobank shared the sensitive health data of ~500K volunteers with insurance companies despite pledging not to — Observer investigation reveals UK Biobank opened its biomedical database to insurance firms despite pledge it would not do so

Jack Ewing / New York Times:

How Łukasz Krupski, a Tesla whistleblower in Norway, leaked personnel records and Autopilot data that caught the attention of regulators in several countries — An employee who was fired after expressing safety concerns leaked personnel records and sensitive data about driver-assistance software.

Mastodon: @carnage4life@mas.to and @pallenberg@mastodon.social

X: @mrstad, @stephaniemflynn, @michellesdude, and @thefawcette

LinkedIn: Nicholas Benes, Michael Plunkett, and Deb Hileman, SCMP. Forums: r/RealTesla

Charlotte Yang / Bloomberg:

Xiaomi is up 60%+, gaining about $20B in market value since June 2023 on the back of strong Xiaomi 14 series sales and its foray into EV and other businesses — - Xiaomi up more than 60% from June low on new smarthphone push — JPMorgan sees ‘trading opportunity in the next six months’

Hannah Lang / Reuters:

In a major policy change, banks on the payment app Zelle have started refunding scam victims as of June 30, 2023 after pressure from US lawmakers and the CFPB — Banks on the payment app Zelle have begun refunding victims of imposter scams to address consumer protection concerns raised …

Threads: @cg_inthepaint

Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times:

Sam Altman says he expected “to raise a lot more” from Microsoft and other investors to keep up with the punishing costs of building more sophisticated LLMs — Sam Altman expects big tech group will back start-up's mission to create software as intelligent as humans

X: @starcourse

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:40 AM ET, November 13, 2023.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Source: Bari Weiss is planning to create a masthead for CBS News as part of a broader overhaul of standards and procedures

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Comcast extends Mike Cavanagh's contract through January 1, 2029, and grants a ~$35M performance-based stock package; he's set to become co-CEO in January 2026

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

WBD's board says it will “carefully review and consider” Paramount's revised offer, which includes a full backstop personally guaranteed by Larry Ellison

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More News

Kate Irwin / Decrypt:

Esports leaders discuss ongoing industry challenges, including VC bubbles, layoffs, and ageism, and call for wealthy game studios to take on more responsibility

X: @decryptmedia and @iamhodler_

Sarah Zheng / Bloomberg:

Alibaba and JD.com reported YoY sales increases for Singles Day, but neither company provided overall revenue figures for the event for the second straight year

More: The Information, Reuters, Tech in Asia, The Register, Tech Xplore, and South China Morning Post

X: @economics, @shanghaimacro, @24hcitizen, and @michaelxpettis

Mark Kleinman / Sky News:

London-based Monument, a digital bank focused on “mass affluent” customers in the UK, raised a $50M Series B, a source says at a £150M+ pre-money valuation

More: Tech.eu, Crowdfund Insider, BusinessCloud, FinTech Futures, Financial IT, FinSMEs, and AltFi

X: @markkleinmansky. LinkedIn: Wasim Khouri, Monument, and Ian Rand

David Gilbert / Wired:

Google's Jigsaw unit and Tech Against Terrorism launch Altitude, a free tool that helps smaller platforms detect and remove terrorist content on their networks

More: The Economic Times and The Verge

X: @techvsterrorism, @jason_kint, @austen, @bitcloud, @jigsaw, @basedbeffjezos, @josephjacks_, @bradsmi, @martin_casado, @geetkhosla, @mer__edith, @boztank, @jigsaw, @jigsaw, @techvsterrorism, @kvnbbg, and @daithaigilbert

LinkedIn: Clare S. and Mark Dobson. Forums: r/technology

Andi Yu / ABC:

DP World Australia, the country's second largest port operator, resumes operations after a cyberattack halted the movement of goods in and out of Australia

Steph Batalis / Foreign Policy:

Chatbots can lower the information barrier to help malicious actors build a bioweapon, making chatbot development guardrails a good first step for biosecurity

More: Cryptopolitan and ChinaTechNews.com

Threads: @ethank and @carnage4life

X: @vijaypande, @vijaypande, @vijaypande, @clementdelangue, @kevinallison, and @foreignpolicy

LinkedIn: Scott C. Lemon, Adam Russell, Krystal Jackson, and Steph Batalis

Earlier Picks

Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:

Humane's Ai Pin is a bizarre cross between Google Glass and a pager, the lack of apps seems extremely limiting, and $699 is too high compared to other wearables

More: Mashable, Hackaday, Supercharged, Insider, Humane, ExtremeTech, GeekWire, and Android Headlines

Threads: @carnage4life, @seyitaylor, @ericflo, @alexanderbellgram, @kbode, @ryancoleman, @prakashm14, @neil.cybart, @katienotopoulos, @craiggrannell, @jason_tiernan, @jbruck, @chris, @jseibert, @seyitaylor, and @donaldrichard

Mastodon: @counternotions@mastodon … and @arstechnica@mastodon.social

X: @neilcybart, @growing_daniel, @artemr, @maxwinebach, @chih98, @rsgnl, @chrisjbakke, @varunramg, @pungme, @thestalwart, @dylanmcd8, @timokissel, @arstechnica, @peggyktc, @ronamadeo, @esthercrawford, and @buccocapital

LinkedIn: Scott C. Lemon, John Miner, Marc Calamia, and Timo Kissel. Forums: Ars OpenForum

Jonathan Randles / Bloomberg:

Filing: FTX sues crypto exchange Bybit and two affiliates to recover ~$953M, including $327M+ that they allegedly withdrew just before FTX filed for bankruptcy

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

A profile of Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones, who succeeds Whitney Wolfe Herd and is charged with turning around a company whose stock is down ~80% since its 2021 IPO

More: The Economist, Insider, and BBC

X: @salfordsmith61 and @joshuaogundu

Reuters:

EC official: X had just 2,294 EU content moderators, versus 16,974 at YouTube and 6,125 at TikTok, according to reports submitted by the companies in September

More: Gizchina, TechCrunch, and RTHK

Threads: @carnage4life and @carnage4life

X: @romanadamczyk5, @jacqumalaret, and @xavierdegraux

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:

Report: Apple product and search result pages on Amazon have few, if any, rival ads, after Apple asked for preferential treatment, leading to their 2018 deal

Source: Insider. More: PhoneArena, The Verge, Engadget, Supercharged, PCMag, SamMobile, Benzinga, and AppleInsider

Bluesky: @marypcbuk.bsky.social. X: @alistairmbarr. LinkedIn: Eugene Kim. Forums: r/technology

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:

Maine's government says that MOVEit hackers may have accessed the personal information of ~1.3M individuals, which is close to the state's entire population

More: Security Affairs, Mashable, Maine.gov, Maine.gov, GovTech, WebProNews, HealthcareInfoSecurity.com, SC Media, HotHardware, Dark Reading, The Verge, Cybersecurity Dive, and WHDH-TV

Mastodon: @markcarter@hachyderm.io. X: @tylerp_31. Forums: Hacker News and r/hacking