Search results for "computers"

Biden's AI czar focuses on societal risks, preventing harm

Computer scientist Lynne Parker made breakthroughs in getting robots to work together so they could perform difficult missions, like cleaning up after a nuclear disaster, waxing floors or pulling barnacles off a ship. Her job now is getting the U.S. government working together — alongside American businesses, research universities and international allies — as director […]

Irish health system struggling to recover from cyberattack

Ireland’s health system struggled to restore computers and treat patients Tuesday, four days after it shut down its entire information technology system in response to a ransomware attack. Thousands of diagnostic appointments, cancer treatment clinics and surgeries have been canceled or delayed since Friday’s cyberattack. Authorities said hundreds of people were assigned to get crippled […]

Ransomware hits AXA units in Asia, hurts Ireland healthcare

Cybercriminals have hit four Asian subsidiaries of the Paris-based insurance company AXA with a ransomware attack, impacting operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, the insurer said. The criminals claimed to have stolen 3 terabytes of data including medical records and communications with doctors and hospitals. In Ireland, meanwhile, the national healthcare system […]

Tesla to stop accepting Bitcoin for car payments

Electric car maker Tesla will stop accepting Bitcoin as a payment, CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Wednesday, citing environmental concerns. “We are concerned about rapid increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Musk said on Twitter. He added that cryptocurrency is a […]

Emergency program to give people $50 off internet bill

Americans can begin applying for $50 off their monthly internet bill on Wednesday as part of an emergency government program to keep people connected during the pandemic. The $3.2 billion program is part of the $900 billion December pandemic-relief package. The government is increasing spending on broadband as the pandemic made stark that millions of […]

Apple's 'walled garden' faces Epic attack in app store trial

Apple’s lucrative app store was alternately portrayed as a price-gouging monopoly and a hub of world-changing innovation during the preamble to a trial that may reshape the technological landscape. The contrasting portraits were drawn on Monday as lawyers for Apple and its foe, Epic Games, outlined their cases in an Oakland, California, federal court before […]

Microsoft profits soar as cloud demand continues in pandemic

Microsoft’s profits soared during the first three months of 2021, thanks to ongoing demand for its software and cloud computing services during the pandemic. The company on Tuesday reported fiscal third-quarter profit of $14.8 billion, up 38% from the same period last year. “Over a year into the pandemic, digital adoption curves aren’t slowing down. […]

Facebook says it halts hackers tied to Palestinian security

Facebook said Wednesday it has broken up a hacker network used by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ intelligence service in an attempt to keep tabs on journalists, human rights activists and government critics. The report by the social networking giant threatened to deal another embarrassing blow to Abbas’ Fatah party weeks ahead of parliamentary elections. Fatah, […]

Apple unveils new products, schedules privacy crackdown

Apple spruced up its product line at an event Tuesday while slipping in quiet notice of a software update, now due next week, designed to enhance the privacy of iPhone users at the expense of digital advertisers such as Facebook. Timing for the software upgrade trickled out during a series of announcements for new iPads, […]