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Communication / ICT in Northern America

  • FBI ,Probe of 1.2 Bln Stolen Web Credentials

    UNITED STATES, 2015/11/26 A hacker who once advertised having access to user account data for websites like Facebook and Twitter has been linked through a Russian email address to the theft of a record 1.2 billion Internet credentials, the FBI said in court documents. That hacker, known as "mr.grey," was identified based on data from a cyber security firm that announced in August 2014 that it had determined an alleged Russian crime ring was responsible for stealing data from additional than 420,000 websites, the documents said. The papers, made public last week by a federal court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, provide a window into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe of what would all to the major collection of stolen user names and passwords.
  • Facebook Ready to Beam Free Internet to Remote Regions in Kenya

    UNITED STATES, 2015/10/09 Facebook has begun taking steps to beam free high-speed internet to the remote parts of Kenya in a move likely to scare local telecommunications firms. Together with French based satellite provider Eutelsat, the two firms will accelerate data connectivity in Sub Sahara Africa with a focus on Kenya and Nigeria. "I am excited to announce our initial project to deliver Internet from space as part of our internet.org programme to connect the world," said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement Tuesday. INTERNET.ORG
  • Microsoft Buys Israeli Cybersecurity Startup

    ISRAEL, 2015/09/29 Microsoft said Tuesday it bought an Israel-based cybersecurity startup specializing in defending programs and content in the cloud, as it expands offerings for the enterprise. Microsoft did not disclose how much it paid for Adallom, but the website TechCrunch put the purchase price at $250 million. The acquisition comes as Microsoft responds to the trend toward cloud-based computing, in which data or software is accessed remotely over the Internet. Microsoft built its revenue selling packaged programs such as its widely used Office software for business or home computers, but the tech giant is shifting to offering that software through cloud-based subscriptions.
  • US Secretary of National John Kerry shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China

    CHINA, 2015/08/03 In February 2014 Chinese President Xi Jingping declared his intent to do everything necessary for China to become a cyber power. Since again Xi and his government have been hyperactive on all relevant fronts: political, legal, economic, organisational and diplomatic. The Chinese leadership’s attention became even additional focused on cyber issues in May 2014 at the same time as the United States indicted five Chinese military personnel for cyber espionage involving commercial secrets of US-based corporations. But, as documented in my 2014 book Cyber Policy in China, Xi’s cyber focus had been decades in the making. China has been struggling since 1983 to overcome its technological backwardness for the data economy and, since around 2000, for a potential cyber war.
  • BlackBerry most used smartphone in Africa according to Facebook

    CANADA, 2014/10/11 Smartphone usage in Africa is not always easy to determine, particularly as there is multiple SIM ownership (subscribers have more than one subscription). Although many networks now provide 3G, and 4G is live in a small number of markets, the distribution of broadband - an essential element for the effective operation of a smartphone - is still a very long way from being universal. When a smartphone is acquired, it needs to be used for something, and the social networking site Facebook is generally regarded as one of the more popular Web destinations in Africa, and it provides some very useful data relating to device usage, which can be extracted country-by-country.
  • Apple Inc said it has signed a long-awaited agreement with China Mobile

    CHINA, 2014/01/01 Apple Inc said it has signed a long-awaited agreement with China Mobile Limited to sell iPhones through the world’s biggest network of mobile phone users. In a transaction that could add billions of dollars to its revenue, Apple said its smartphones will be available to China Mobile customers starting January 17. Pricing and availability details for the iPhone 5S and 5C lines will be disclosed at a later date, Reuters quoted it as saying in a statement. China Mobile, which has about 760 million customers, will begin registering orders for iPhone from December 25, the company said on its account on the Sina-Weibo micro-blogging service.
  • Four LatAm countries could auction 700MHz spectrum in 2014 – 4G Americas

    ARGENTINA, 2013/10/15 Four nations in Latin America could auction spectrum in the 700MHz band next year, according to a statement by 4G advocacy group 4G Americas. Most regulators in the region have expressed interest in auctioning 700MHz spectrum for mobile broadband services, but face the challenge of guaranteeing that these frequencies are free from interference, as in a lot of markets, analog TV signals must be migrated to a digital format in order to free up spectrum in the 700MHz band for use by mobile services. The Chilean government is expected to auction spectrum in the 700MHz band in February of next year, according to telecoms regulator Subtel.
  • Mexico is a good location for IT

    MEXICO, 2013/06/12 Next a disappointing year in 2009 in the midst of a weak external economic environment, Mexico’s IT services and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries are again expanding at a rapid pace. According to the new available data from investment and export promotion agency ProMexico, both sectors experienced a slowdown in 2009, with combined annual revenues falling by 19.7% to $4.9bn. However, sales bounced back in 2010, reaching $6.1bn, followed by a further development to $6.5bn in 2011.
  • Infrastructure evolution set to test tower space

    EUROPE, 2013/01/06 We have come to expect technology advances that result in consumer electronics equipment getting smaller, additional powerful and in most cases cheaper. This process can be seen in the hands and pockets of most consumers where that smartphone or tablet device houses additional processing power and came at a cheaper price than desktop computers of a decade ago.
  • Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) has continued to see increases in its user base throughout Latin America's

    NORTHERN AMERICA, 2012/12/29 Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) has continued to see increases in its user base throughout Latin America's major markets in the 12 months through Q3, according to BNamericas' new stats statement. Facebook users in Brazil reached 59.6mn at the end of Q3, jumping from 30.5mn at the end of 3Q11.