Earlier this month, officials from a group of 30 countries agreed to take a more coordinated approach to secure the next generation of fast mobile communication networks, known as 5G. The United States and others worry that technology companies located in countries with governments like China’s could be subject to state influence, making the networks … continue reading -> “Is 5G Chinese Technology a Threat to US National Security?”

A senior U.S. State Department official said there is no need for President Donald Trump to sign an executive order to explicitly ban Chinese telecommunication company Huawei from taking part in the buildout of the U.S. 5G networks. The four largest U.S. telecom carriers — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint — have agreed not to … continue reading -> “Official: Executive Order Not Needed to Ban Huawei in US 5G Networks”

U.S. law enforcement officials announced on Wednesday the indictment of two Israeli operators of a website that referred hundreds of thousands of users to underground internet marketplaces to purchase drugs, weapons and other illegal products.     Tal Prihar, 37, an Israeli citizen living in Brazil, and Michael Phan, 34, who lives in Israel, were … continue reading -> “US Indicts 2 Israeli Operators of Darkweb Gateway”

Google’s self-driving car spinoff, Waymo, is teaming up with Lyft in Arizona to attempt to lure passengers away from ride-hailing market leader Uber. The alliance announced Tuesday will allow anyone with the Lyft app in the Phoenix area to summon one of the 10 self-driving Waymo cars that will join the ride-hailing service by end … continue reading -> “Waymo, Lyft Take on Uber with Rides in Self-Driving Car”

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is expected to showcase much-anticipated updates to the company’s hardware lines and artificial intelligence. Google will also likely address privacy updates as concerns about data sharing continue to plague the tech industry. Facebook dedicated much of its own conference last week to addressing privacy. Rumors suggest that Google may unveil a … continue reading -> “Google Annual Event to Showcase New Hardware, AI”

When Google launched its now distinctive digital assistant in 2016, it was already in danger of being an also-ran. At the time, Amazon had been selling its Echo smart speaker, powered by its Alexa voice assistant, for more than a year. Apple’s Siri was already five years old and familiar to most iPhone users. Google’s … continue reading -> “Google’s AI Assistant Aims to Transcend the Smart Speaker”

Alphabet’s Google is set to roll out a dashboard-like function in its Chrome browser to offer users more control in fending off tracking cookies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Cookies are small text files that follow internet users and are used by advertisers to target consumers on … continue reading -> “WSJ: Google Set to Launch Privacy Tools to Limit Online Tracking “

Microsoft announced an ambitious effort it says will make voting secure, verifiable and subject to reliable audits. Two of the three top U.S elections vendors have expressed interest in potentially incorporating the open-source software into their proprietary voting systems.   The software kit is being developed with Galois, an Oregon-based company separately creating a secure … continue reading -> “Microsoft’s Offers Software Tools to Secure Elections”

Virtual Reality had a fantastic year in 2016, with the release of several anticipated VR glasses, including the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive. Gaming and technology fairs presented the new toys proudly, but the boom quickly declined, leaving the technology to only niche applications. Now, a southeastern Chinese city has opened an entertainment park … continue reading -> “Ride a Roller Coaster with No Wheels, No Track”

An innovative Czech company is changing the way we think of light, by capturing and transforming it in ways that save money and generally make the world a more beautiful place. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

Lightweight, cheap to make and easier to send into outer space. Academics in the U.S. are developing an inflatable robot with money from the American space agency, NASA. NASA says the blow-up technology can handle the cosmos and existence back here on Earth. Arash Arabasadi has more. …

European and American investigators have broken up one of the world’s largest online criminal marketplaces for drugs, hacking tools and financial-theft wares in raids in the United States, Germany and Brazil. Three German men, ages 31, 22 and 29, were arrested after the raids in three southern states on allegations they operated the so-called “Wall … continue reading -> “European, US Authorities Bust Major Darknet Site”

Cybersecurity officials from dozens of countries on Friday proposed a set of principles to ensure the safety of next generation mobile networks amid concerns over the use of gear made by China’s Huawei. The non-binding proposals were published at the end of a two-day meeting in Prague to discuss the security of new 5G networks. … continue reading -> “30 Nations Pitch Internet Security Rules Amid Huawei Concern”

Vietnam is used to being an order taker. Companies such as Nokia and Samsung Electronics use the Southeast Asian country’s cheap labor to assemble consumer electronics for export. Those investments from abroad have slowly handed Vietnam the supplies, parts and know-how needed for local companies to make their own smartphones. In a bellwether case, a … continue reading -> “Vietnam Develops Own Smartphones After Decades of Contract Work”

Nearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed Thursday that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowledged the nature of the mishap. Instead, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp., … continue reading -> “SpaceX Admits Crew Capsule Destroyed in April Test”

The hugely popular social media site Facebook has banned Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and several others for hate speech. Facebook said Thursday that the individuals violated its policy against instigating violence. “Individuals and organizations who spread hate or attack or call for the exclusion of others on the basis … continue reading -> “Facebook Bans Several Personalities for Hate Speech”

Britain’s prime minister fired her defense minister Wednesday after finding ‘compelling evidence’ that he leaked information to journalists about a secret decision to allow China’s tech giant Huawei to participate in some parts of the country’s 5G network. State Department correspondent Nike Ching reports his dismissal comes as the U.S. is renewing warnings on Huawei. … continue reading -> “US Renews Warning to Allies on Huawei”

For years, Facebook said it wanted to be the world’s digital town square. Now Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, has a more intimate vision, the digital living room, enabling private conversations between people and groups. The company spelled out how it is changing at its annual developer event in San Jose, California. Michelle Quinn reports. …

Far from being a Netflix killer, Apple envisions its forthcoming Apple TV+ streaming service as one that could sit alongside other services that viewers buy, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Tuesday. Apple in March said it will launch a streaming service with original content from big names including Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg. … continue reading -> “In Streaming Wars, Apple Says It Can Coexist With Netflix”

U.S. cyber spies last year unmasked the identities of nearly 17,000 U.S. citizens or residents who were in contact with foreign intelligence targets, a sharp increase from previous years attributed partly to hacking and other malicious cyber activity, according to a U.S. government report released on Tuesday. The unmasking of American citizens’ identities swept up … continue reading -> “Report: US Cyber Spies Unmasked Many More American Identities in 2018”

U.S. lawmakers drafting a bill to create rules governing online privacy hope to have a discussion draft complete by late May with a Senate committee vote during the summer and are intensifying efforts, but disputes are likely to push that timetable back, according to sources knowledgeable about the matter. The issue is of huge concern … continue reading -> “US Lawmakers Struggle to Draft Online Privacy Bill”

One big concern about autonomous vehicles is that logical computers sometimes have trouble dealing with a messy world. To the point, a pedestrian was struck and killed by an autonomous vehicle in Arizona last year. But new algorithms are trying to solve that potentially deadly problem. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

A few months after he turned 17 — and more than two years before he was arrested — Vincent Vetromile recast himself as an online revolutionary. Offline, in this suburb of Rochester, New York, Vetromile was finishing requirements for promotion to Eagle Scout in a troop that met at a local church. He enrolled at … continue reading -> “Twitter Terror: Arrests Prompt Concern Over Online Extremism”

Local governments often try to solve problems using old technology. A U.S. Senate bill aims to fund small tech teams to help state and municipal governments update and rebuild government systems. Deana Mitchell takes a look at the impact on one program that is serving the needy. …

Kenyan innovators are betting on digital technologies to attract young people to agriculture currently dominated by an aging population. With 98 percent mobile phone penetration, according to the latest data from the Communications Authority of Kenya, the cellphone is proving to be an important source of extension services in areas where such services are not … continue reading -> “Kenya Taps Into Technology to Attract Young People to Farms”