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Apple appears to be trying to secure access to new content and other information for Siri AI.
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Apple is in the process of tweaking its business models to cope with the unyielding memory price and availability crisis. Its response is now emerging across multiple fronts.
Finance or lease
The company's recently-introduced Apple Upgrade scheme in partnership with Klarna is a smart response to the reality that as devices inevitably become more expensive, consumers will shift from outright ownership to flexible lease and financing arrangements. With its partnership, Apple continues to generate revenue while also maximizing the likelihood customers will return the product at EOL, more about which later.
Samsung and Google have introduced similar schemes. "Financing models already dominant in India and Africa are now poised to reshape the US and European markets," said CCS Insight in a presentation exploring the consequences of the memory shortage.
Downgrade
Apple has seen a lot of success with the iPhone 17 this year. That success wasn't entirely because it's such a good smartphone; it also reflects consumers making the decision to purchase lower-specced devices to stay within budget. Apple continues to see
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Be careful what you wish for. That's what Microsoft found out recently when it discovered that AI — rather than making Windows more secure by helping the company close security holes — could help hackers find flaws faster than Microsoft can fix them.
It's put Microsoft in a serious bind. Should the company devote a potentially massive amount of resources to fix every AI-unearthed security issue as fast as it can? Or should it rush to close the most important ones, and clean up the minor ones later at much less cost?
What the company decides could have tremendous implications. For years, Microsoft has faced criticism from many in the US government because of how often its technologies have been hacked, potentially putting the nation's security at risk. Some members of Congress have suggested the government curtail contracts with Microsoft until the company proves it can provide more safety. Billions of dollars in federal contracts could be pulled.
To get a better insight into what could happen, let's look at AI's newfound prodigious ability to find security holes and bugs.
AI-fueled security mavens Mythos and Project Glasswing
Microsoft's AI-related security problems are an outgrowth of the launch of Anthropic's Mythos AI model, designed to handle cybersecurity and biology research. One of its goals is to uncover sec
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So, is this just the price of using online services, or should you be worried about how this information could affect your life?
How does your personal data become available?
One of the main currencies of the internet is information. This means that when you join a new site or service, there's a good chance that elements of the data you provide could be sold to data brokers. These companies can then put together the information they glean from various sources to build a profile on you, which is then either made available on people search sites or sold to a range of interested customers.
What harm comes with having personal data online?
Not only does this have potential risks to your privacy and safety, as anyone could get access to things like your phone number, businesses you own, or other contact details. But it could also work against you in a number of ways.
Data brokers can sell your data to financial bodies such as banks and insurance companies, who might decide that you're too much of a risk for loans, credit cards or mortgages.
Recruitment consultants can go to brokers for background checks on potential employees, all without your consent.
Healthcare providers can also approach brokers as part
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For Apple-using workers on the go, especially if you frequent shared co-working spaces or public places, don't assume you're as secure as you think you are.
Co-working spaces are particularly under threat, in part because criminals have already figured out that the people using them are good targets for data theft, ransomware, and more.
They've also realized that at least some of those working from such spaces might well be part of, or connected with, larger corporate entities — meaning a successful data heist could unlock the gates to greater and more profitable kingdoms. There are useful resources from government and industry aimed at helping workers lock down their devices and data. In the US, for instance, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has published a useful guide to explain some of the risks, while the US Office of Personnel Management offered up even more useful advice.
To read this article in full, please click here
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Nigel Williams-Lucas, director of Information Technology at Maryland-based footwear retailer DTLR, faced a challenge that most IT execs will recognize: the business was pushing hard on digital transformation, and the IT infrastructure was struggling to keep pace.
Store managers were seeking better data analytics and business intelligence from backend systems like inventory and sales. The business wanted IT systems to support customers ordering online and picking up at a physical store within two hours.
The network needed to securely support real-time, bandwidth-intensive IP security cameras. And Williams-Lucas wanted to roll out beaconing technology, in which the network gathers information about customer in-store activity via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and can send discount offers to a customer's phone based on where they are in the store and what they appear to be interested in.
To read this article in full, please click here
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