PayPal has just announced
that it now has more than 250 million customers using its payment
services. It has taken the firm just over 18 months to get to that goal
since it announced that it had passed 200 million users in February last
year. The company said that the growth in users meant that around three
million people were joining the service every month.
The milestone was announced by Dan Schulman, President and CEO of
PayPal, in a statement to PayPal employees all around the world, he
said:
“250 million is a big figure. After all, if the PayPal platform was a
country, it’d be the 5th most populated in the world, ahead of Brazil
(210M) and just trailing Indonesia (266M). But like with everything else
in our business, it’s not about the macro numbers, it’s about the
individual experiences. The small businesses that support families and
fuel communities. The single-parents managing for their families. The
college students figuring out their budgets. The non-profits working to
serve those in need. The people and families and entrepreneurs who are
new to digital finance and turn to us because they need a better way to
borrow, to save, to spend, to share. The immigrants working hard to
create a better life for their families and using our platform to send
money back home.”
Given its current trajectory of bringing in three million new
customers every month, PayPal would reach 500 million customers in under
seven years, although, as more people come online around the world
there’s a good chance that the three million figure will rise, reducing
the time it takes to reach the next milestone.
The news comes just over a week since the firm announced
that it would be revamping its mobile app. The new redesign returns the
app to PayPal’s blue and white colour scheme, removing the bit of teal
that’s present in the old design. It also makes it easier to send and
receive money from your contacts.
Earlier this year, Google announced the Android Enterprise Recommended programme which is is designed to highlight those devices with the best support from vendors. Today, the software giant has decided to add a rugged phone section to the programme for those businesses which operate in a tougher environment.
Currently there are ten rugged devices that prospective buyers can
find, they are Dolphin CN80, Dolphin CT40, Dolphin CT60, Point Mobile
PM45, Sonim XP8, Zebra Technologies TC25, Zebra Technologies TC51, Zebra
Technologies TC56, Zebra Technologies TC70x, and Zebra Technologies
TV75x.
According to Google, some of the requirements for rugged devices to join the Android Enterprise Recommended programme include:
Minimum hardware specifications for Android 7.0+ devices
Delivery of Android security updates within 90 days of release from Google, for a minimum of five years
Certified for ingress protection
Rated for drop testing
Support for bulk deployment of devices including Android zero-touch enrollment
Support for at least one additional major OS release
Google said that the programme is still in its early stages but has
received positive feedback from customers, partners, and industry
analysts. Even though it is aimed at enterprise, it’s also good for
general customers who want to find a device that won’t get abandoned on
release by its vendor.
mSpy is the creator of a mobile monitoring software, primarily
focused toward parents as a way of keeping track of their children's
activities on their phones. The software has attracted negative
attention since its launch in 2010, especially with regards to the
ethics involved, as the premise of the app is highly controversial. In
2015, the company suffered a data breach which led to customer data being posted on the dark web.
Now, more than three years later, the company is involved in another massive controversy, as per a report by Brian Krebs from KrebsOnSecurity.
According to the cybersecurity expert, mSpy leaked sensitive
information - including usernames and passwords - of more than a million
of its paying customers and devices targeted by the spy software.
All private information could reportedly be observed on a database on
the open web that required no authentication whatsoever to access. The
amount of sensitive user data that was on display before the database
was taken offline yesterday is not something that will be taken lightly
by the app's customers. Usernames, passwords, and encryption keys of
users who purchased an mSpy license any time over the last six months,
or even simply logged in to the company's website was available. Quite
importantly, the aforementioned key would have enabled anyone to track
the mobile device running the software.
That's not all, however. Customer names, email addresses,
transaction details of all licenses purchased, user logs, and more were
leaked as well. The records exposed were not limited to only user data
relevant to mSpy. The database also included browser information, Apple
iCloud username and authentication token, and WhatsApp and Facebook
messages of users who had the mSpy mobile app installed. Furthermore,
user activity was viewable in live time as well.
Security researcher Nitish Shah, who initially became aware of this
incident, says that the spyware company's support personnel were
unhelpful when he reported his findings to them, and that they blocked
him when a demand to allow contact with the CTO or Head of Security was
made. On the other hand, KrebsOnSecurity contacted mSpy last week as
well, and received a reply via mail yesterday. The email was sent by the
company's Chief Security Officer and read as follows:
"We have been working hard to secure our system from any possible
leaks, attacks, and private information disclosure. All our customers’
accounts are securely encrypted and the data is being wiped out once in a
short period of time. Thanks to you we have prevented this possible
breach and from what we could discover the data you are talking about
could be some amount of customers’ emails and possibly some other data.
However, we could only find that there were only a few points of access
and activity with the data."
The firm did not state the amount and scope of data leaked, rather
terming it as a "possible breach" of "only a few points of access and
activity". Although, as stated above, the database has since been taken
offline, a massive data leak such as this certainly puts the company's
security policy in question. Furthermore, given that many of mSpy's
paying customers are parents who use the app to spy on the activities of
their children, it makes the breach of their own privacy somewhat
ironic.
Google has announced
that it has developed a new AI tool to help organisations tackle child
sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. The new AI uses deep neural
networks for image processing and can assist reviewers sorting through
images to find the most likely CSAM content and get it removed if the
content is illegal.
The web giant said that it will be making the tool available for free
to NGOs and industry partners via the Content Safety API. Discussing
the API, Susie Hargreaves OBE, CEO, Internet Watch Foundation, said:
“We, and in particular our expert analysts, are excited about the
development of an artificial intelligence tool which could help our
human experts review material to an even greater scale and keep up with
offenders, by targeting imagery that hasn’t previously been marked as
illegal material. By sharing this new technology, the identification of
images could be speeded up, which in turn could make the internet a
safer place for both survivors and users.”
According to Google, the process of identifying CSAM online
is sped up considerably with the new tool. The firm stated that it can
help a reviewer find and take action on 700% more CSAM content over the
same period of time, in other words, the time it takes to check one
piece on content, seven pieces can be checked instead, or 700 pieces
could be checked in the same amount of time it takes to check 100 pieces
and so on.
If you’re interested in using the Content Safety API service within your organisation, you can reach out to Google via this form.
Mozilla is getting ready to crack down on trackers found throughout
the web. Trackers are typically used by websites to collect information
about the user, allowing for more accurate, targeted advertisements,
which comes at the cost of both performance, privacy, and even security.
For that reason, in future versions of Firefox, Mozilla is targeting
some of the more harmful forms of tracking to improve users' experience
on the web.
For starters, the organization is taking aim at trackers that take longer to load. According to a recent study by Ghostery,
55.4% of the page loading time on an average website is dedicated to
loading trackers from third-parties, which can be quite a hit,
especially on slower connections. Mozilla has already added an option to
block slow-loading trackers in Firefox Nightly, and if testing goes
well, it will be available to everyone starting with Firefox 63.
As part of Mozilla's second key initiative, cross-site trackers,
which follow the user around across all the different websites they
visit, will be targeted. Already available in Firefox Nightly as well,
the ability to remove cookies and block storage access from third-party
trackers is expected to roll out to the general public with Firefox 65.
Lastly, the company is concerned about websites that abuse their
power to harm users, for example, by running scripts that silently mine
cryptocurrencies without the user's consent. Firefox will automatically
block these harmful practices at some point in the future, but the
browser's developer didn't specify when this will happen.
It's interesting to note that Mozilla recently launched a new Test Pilot feature
that also tracks the user's browsing habits to some degree. With that
being said, the organization vows to a privacy-conscious approach with
its implementation, so those concerned with their online privacy still
have reasons to prefer Firefox over other browsers.
What you see above, is the phone in its most basic form. Despite its
simple appearance, the MP02 offers support for 4G LTE bands and also
runs Android.
The curious handset will make its debut at the London Design Festival
in a few weeks. It will be the successor to the MP01, which made its
debut a year ago and offered users peace of mind, being free from
distractions. The new model will follow in the footsteps of its
predecessor, still aimed at offering a minimalistic experience, but will
improve in certain key areas.
The MP02 will feature 4G LTE connectivity, which is a leap forward
when compared to the MP01, which only featured support for 2G. This is a
huge plus, considering that some parts of the world do not even have
access to 2G service anymore. Since you will be able to take advantage
of faster data speeds, the MP02 will also be able to function as a
hotspot, allowing devices to be tethered to it.
Since it will be running Android, the software will be able
to handle more complex interactions. For example, the new phone will
allow for threaded text messaging and will even have a user-defined
dictionary. A partnership with BlackBerry will provide the device with
enhanced security, helping to protect and safeguard your data.
Those that pre-order the handset will be treated to a free LAMY
writing instrument. If located in London, you will be able to purchase
the handset at the Jasper Morrison Shop starting on September 17.
Pricing and pre-order details have not yet been disclosed but all should
be revealed on September 17.
PayPal has just announced
that it now has more than 250 million customers using its payment
services. It has taken the firm just over 18 months to get to that goal
since it announced that it had passed 200 million users in February last
year. The company said that the growth in users meant that around three
million people were joining the service every month.
What you see above, is the phone in its most basic form. Despite its
simple appearance, the MP02 offers support for 4G LTE bands and also
runs Android.
