Techmeme
October 21, 2019, 3:50 PM

Top News

Facebook:
Facebook bans networks, three originating in Iran and one in Russia, running “inauthentic” accounts, Pages, and Groups misleading users in the US, Latin America  —  Today, we removed four separate networks of accounts, Pages and Groups for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook:
Facebook says it will more prominently label content that fact-checkers deem false on Facebook and Instagram, will ban ads suggesting voting is pointless  —  By Guy Rosen, VP of Integrity; Katie Harbath, Public Policy Director, Global Elections; Nathaniel Gleicher, Head of Cybersecurity Policy …
Washington Post:
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
NordVPN confirms it found out a few months ago that one of its datacenters was hacked in March 2018, leaving it vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks  —  NordVPN, a virtual private network provider that promises to “protect your privacy online,” has confirmed it was hacked.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL review: fast face unlock, smooth display, and great still camera, but average video recording and battery life, and no ultrawide camera  —  There's a baseline for “fast enough” on Android phones, and the Pixel 4 more than hits it.  It might not be the fastest Android phone …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Researchers show how malicious voice apps for Alexa or Google Home eavesdrop on users, as Amazon and Google take a lax approach to vetting the platforms  —  Exclusive: Amazon, Google fail to address security loopholes in Alexa and Home devices more than a year after first reports.
Ionut Ilascu / BleepingComputer:
Hackers breached the internal network of Avast likely aiming for another supply chain attack on CCleaner; Avast says it didn't find malicious changes to the app  —  Hackers accessed the internal network of Czech cybersecurity company Avast, likely aiming for a supply chain attack targeting CCleaner.
Bloomberg:
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have privately recommended several potential hires to Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign, two of whom were hired  —  - Facebook CEO, wife privately recommended hires to Democrat  — Zuckerberg facing barrage of criticism in DC for bias, privacy
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Microsoft acquires Edmonton-based Mover to bolster its cloud migration solutions, just weeks after acquiring Movere, another cloud migration company  —  Microsoft today announced that it's acquired Mover, an Edmonton-based provider of admin-led and self-service cloud file migration offerings.
Financial Times:
Joint UK and US probe finds that a Russian cyber espionage unit hacked the tools of a hacker group linked to Iran's government to lead attacks in 35+ countries  —  A Russian cyber espionage unit has hacked Iranian hackers to lead attacks in more than 35 countries, a joint UK and US investigation has revealed.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Microsoft announces Secured-core PCs, which will come from many vendors like Dell and adhere to security best practices for better firmware attack protection  —  Microsoft today announced a new initiative to combat threats specifically targeted at the firmware level and data stored in memory: Secured-core PCs.
Wall Street Journal:
The Indian government is trying to tempt cellphone manufacturers with lower taxes, incentives, and less red tape, to make the country a major source of exports  —  Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is trying to tempt cellphone makers, manufacturers with lower taxes and less red tape as economy slows down
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
As Amazon regularly fails to prevent expired food from being sold by merchants, concerned brands are often compelled to police marketplace listings on their own  —  - Amazon's marketplace has grown to millions of sellers, making it hard for the company to adequately police the platform.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Why the next AI frontier is phone calls, with Beside CEO Maxime Germain
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Great Chat:
So what happens after AGI?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He's a Must-Read Media Gossip.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:50 PM ET, October 21, 2019.

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.

More News

Fanny Potkin / Reuters:

Earlier Picks

Rita El Khoury / Android Police:
Andrea Shalal / Reuters: