Maria Deutscher
Latest from Maria Deutscher
FTC finds that social media, streaming giants engaged in ‘vast surveillance’ of users
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has determined that a number of major social media and streaming companies engaged in “vast surveillance” of their users. The FTC detailed its findings in a report released today. Officials prepared the report based on records supplied by Google LLC, Amazon.com Inc., Snap Inc., Discord Inc., X Corp., Reddit Inc., ...
Veeam acquires Microsoft 365 data protection startup Alcion
Veeam Software Group GmbH today announced that it has acquired Alcion Inc., a startup with a platform for protecting Microsoft 365 environments from data loss. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Veeam is the world’s largest provider of enterprise backup and recovery software. According to Gartner Inc., the company had a 15.1% share ...
EU court scraps €1.49B antitrust fine against Google, mostly upholds Qualcomm penalty
The European Union’s second highest court today ruled on two antitrust fines that the bloc issued to Google LLC and Qualcomm Inc. in 2019. The General Court annulled the penalty imposed on Google, which was the largest of the two at €1.49 billion. It mostly upheld Qualcomm’s €242 million fine, reducing it by about 1%. ...
International task force shuts down Ghost crime app
An international law enforcement task force has shut down Ghost, an encrypted communications app that was used by criminals to coordinate their activities. Europol, which led the task force, announced the takedown today. The Australian Federal Police disclosed shortly thereafter that it had arrested the alleged developer and administrator of Ghost. Authorities have also taken ...
Google introduces new security and productivity features for Chrome Enterprise
Google LLC today debuted a set of new capabilities for Chrome Enterprise, a paid version of its browser geared towards organizations. Some of the feature additions are designed to help administrators enforce cybersecurity rules. The others focus on making workers more productive. Introduced in 2017, Chrome Enterprise includes controls that enable companies to block malicious ...
Business travel startup Hotel Engine reels in $140M at $2.1B valuation
Hotel Engine Inc., the operator of a hotel booking platform for business travelers, today announced that it has closed a $140 million Series C funding round. Private equity firm Permira led the investment at a $2.1 billion valuation. That’s up from the $1.3 billion Hotel Engine was worth following its previous raise in November 2021. ...
Google to roll out features for detecting AI-generated images across several services
Google LLC plans to implement C2PA, a technology for verifying the authenticity of media files, in its search engine and advertising systems. The company detailed the initiative today. The C2PA, or Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, is an industry group that was formed in 2021 by Intel Corp., Apple Inc. and a number of ...
Email security startup EasyDMARC closes $20M funding round
EasyDMARC Inc., a startup helping companies implement the DMARC email security standard, today announced that it has raised $20 million in an early-stage funding round. New York-based venture capital firm Radian Capital led the Series A investment. Hackers often attempt to disguise malicious emails by making it appear as if they were sent from a ...
Supermaven nabs $12M for its AI coding assistant
Supermaven Inc., a startup with an artificial intelligence coding assistant of the same name, today announced that it has closed a $12 million funding round led by Bessemer. The investment also included contributions from several angel investors. The group included OpenAI co-founder John Schulman, Perplexity AI Inc. co-founder Denis Yarats and Intercom Inc. co-founder Eoghan ...
Slack introduces new AI agents and automation workflows
Slack is updating its collaboration platform with a set of artificial intelligence features designed to save time for knowledge workers. The Salesforce.com Inc. unit detailed the enhancements today ahead of its parent company’s Dreamforce 2024 product event, which will kick off on Tuesday. The first addition to Slack’s feature set is a collection of AI ...