Eric David
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Microsoft fights Russian hackers not with tech, but with lawyers
Russia has become a hotbed for cyberthreats over the years, but Microsoft Corp. thinks it has found a solution to the elusive Russian hackers: lawyers. Microsoft has put its powerful legal resources toward fighting Fancy Bear, a cyberespionage group that is allegedly sponsored by the Russian government, The Daily Beast reported. Microsoft filed a lawsuit last year against Fancy Bear, ...
Largest darknet market, AlphaBay, was taken out by global police operation
The U.S. Department of Justice has officially confirmed its role in the global law enforcement operation that took down the darknet marketplace AlphaBay earlier this month. AlphaBay, which allowed the sale of illegal goods and services like drugs and hacking tools, disappeared on July 5. In a statement released today, the DOJ confirmed reports that alleged ...
Twitter says it’s making progress on fighting abuse, for real this time
For years, Twitter Inc. has been facing an uphill battle in trying to keep abuse off of its social network, but thanks to some new features and strategies, the company said today, it has made significant progress over the last six months. Ed Ho, general manager of consumer product and engineering at Twitter, said in January that ...
‘Autonomy as a service’ AI startup Brain Corp raises $114M
Proving once again that no jobs are safe from automation, San Diego startup Brain Corp. builds autonomous floor cleaning robots that can safely navigate store aisles without knocking anything over. Today, it announced that it’s one step closer to building an army of robot mops thanks to an impressive $114 million later-stage funding round. The Series C round ...
Google Glass makes a comeback – in the enterprise
It turns out Google Glass was only mostly dead when Google Inc. decided to shelve its overhyped smart glasses in January 2015. Google’s not-so-secret research and development company, X (formerly Google X), announced today that Google Glass Enterprise Edition is now available for companies who are looking for a simple, wearable display solution in the workplace. ...
Amazon’s meal kit trademark gives Blue Apron indigestion
Amazon.com Inc. has filed for a new trademark for a cook-it-yourself meal kit delivery service, suggesting that the e-commerce giant might be looking to compete with similar services such as Blue Apron and HelloFresh. This month, Amazon filed for trademark serial number 87517760, with the phrase “We do the prep. You be the chef.” So ...
Desktop Metal raises $115M to make metal 3D printing more affordable
3D printing has the potential to drastically reduce manufacturing costs across multiple industries, especially for specialty metal parts that would normally require manual fabrication, but the cost of metal 3D printers puts them out of reach for most individuals and smaller businesses. Massachusetts-based startup Desktop Metal Inc. thinks it can solve that problem, and today ...
WaveOptics raises $15.5M to build smaller, cheaper optics for augmented reality
Many of the augmented reality applications we have seen in the last few years have been toys and gimmicks used for entertainment value, but AR technology has been steadily gaining popularity in the enterprise. U.K.-based startup WaveOptics is one of several companies looking to make AR not only viable, but also scalable for big businesses. Today the ...
Uber partners with Russian rival Yandex in $3.7B deal
Uber Technologies Inc. is looking to expand its coverage in Russia and parts of Europe and Asia through a $3.72 billion joint venture announced today with Russian internet giant Yandex Europe AG, which is sometimes called the “Google of Russia.” Uber will be merging with Yandex in six different countries, including Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Georgia. Uber ...
Video-editing AI makes fake Obama videos that look real
In a post-Photoshop world, most of us know that pictures can’t always be trusted. Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, it looks like video might lie to us too. Researchers at the University of Washington have developed an AI that can alter video footage of a person speaking to make their lips match up with different audio, literally putting words ...