Huawei unveils server chipset as China cuts reliance on imports

New chip: A Kunpeng 920 chip is displayed during an unveiling ceremony in Shenzhen. Huawei is seeking growth avenues in cloud computing and enterprise services. — AP

https://youtu.be/IX5k_k4Q68c

HONG KONG: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has launched a new chipset for use in servers, at a time when China is pushing to enhance its chip-making capabilities and reduce its heavy reliance on imports, especially from the United States.

Huawei, which gets the bulk of its revenue from the sale of telecommunications equipment and smartphones, is seeking growth avenues in cloud computing and enterprise services as its equipment business comes under increased scrutiny in the West amid worries about Chinese government influence over the firm.

Huawei has repeatedly denied any such influence.

Chinese firms are also seeking to minimise the impact of a trade dispute that has seen China and the United States slap tariffs on each other’s technology imports.

For Huawei, the launch of the chipset – called the Kunpeng 920 and designed by subsidiary HiSilicon – boosts its credentials as a semiconductor designer, although the company said it had no intention of becoming solely a chip firm.

“It is part of our system solution and cloud servicing for clients. We will never make our chipset business a standalone business,” said Ai Wei, who is in charge of strategic planning for Huawei’s chipsets and hardware technology.

The Shenzhen-based company already makes the Kirin series of smartphone chips used in its high-end phones, and the Ascend series of chipsets for artificial intelligence computing launched in October.

It said its latest seven nanometre, 64-core central processing unit (CPU) would provide much higher computing performance for data centres and slash power consumption.

It is based on the architecture of British chip design firm ARM – owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp – which is seeking to challenge the dominance in server CPUs of US maker Intel Corp.

Huawei aims to drive the development of the ARM ecosystem, said chief marketing officer William Xu. He said the chip has “unique advantages in performance and power consumption”.

Xu also said Huawei would continue its “long-term strategic partnership” with Intel.

Huawei’s new ARM-based CPU is not a competitor to the US company’s x86 CPUs and servers, but complementary, Xu added. Redfox Qiu, president of the intelligent computing business department at Huawei, said the company shipped 900,000 units of servers in 2018, versus 77,000 in 2012 when it started.

Huawei was seeing “good momentum for the server business in Europe and Asia Pacific” and expects the contribution from its international business to continue to rise, Qiu added.

Huawei also released its TaiShan series of servers powered by the new chipset, built for big data, distributed storage and ARM native applications.

The firm founded chip designer HiSilicon in 2004 to help reduce its reliance on imports.

In modem chips, Huawei internally sources 54% of those in its own devices, with 22% coming from Qualcomm Inc and the remainder from elsewhere, evidence presented at an antitrust trial for Qualcomm showed. — Reuters


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Year 2018 review: Huawei and the technology cold war, competition in spheres of influence

The Huawei stand is seen during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Yves Herman / Reuters

Newspaper headline: A true multinational - A Huawei Technologies Co logo sits on display inside an electronic goods store in Berlin on December 17. Photo: VCG

2018 was the year that started the U.S.-China tech cold war. 2019 might be the year that splinters the global technology system into distinct spheres of influence.  

Whatever you call it, the U.S.-China science and technology relationship is being violently remade. While a tightly linked technology system benefited the United States and China over the last two decades, there is now widespread concern on both sides of the Pacific that the economic and security risks outweigh the gains. President Xi Jinping has embraced and accelerated policies designed to increase the innovativeness of the Chinese economy and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. The Trump administration has put Chinese technologies policies front and center as a danger to U.S. economic and national security. The eventual outcome of this contest may be two distinct technology systems, with other countries forced to choose if they are going to plug into American or Chinese technology platforms and standards.

Over the last year, the Trump administration has pressured Beijing to roll back Made in China 2025 and worked to prevent the flow of American technology to China. Congress passed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, which expands the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ ability to investigate foreign investment in “critical technologies”, and the Department of Commerce is expected to introduce new export controls on “emerging and foundational technologies.” In November 2018, then Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a China Initiative to identify priority Chinese trade theft cases and evaluate whether additional legislative and administrative authorities would be required to protect U.S. assets from foreign economic espionage. The Department of Justice indicted two alleged hackers from the Ministry of State Security in December 2018 for stealing secrets from the banking, finance, telecommunications, health care, energy, and automotive industries.

Huawei, the Chinese telecom manufacturer, sits at the center of this new cold war. 5G, the next generation of mobile communication technology, promises greater speed and capacity, and will enable the internet of things, automated vehicles, and other innovations. It will also introduce new cybersecurity vulnerabilities. While U.S. officials have never publicly provided evidence that Huawei equipment has backdoors or been tampered with, they warn that allowing the company to be involved in the build-out of 5G networks raises unmanageable security risks, and they have steadily increased pressure on the company at home and abroad. In January, after scrutiny from U.S. regulators, AT&T walked back from a deal to sell Huawei smartphones in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission proposed making it harder for smaller carriers to use the Universal Service Fund to pay for future purchases of telecom equipment from Huawei. In August, President Trump signed a bill that prohibited any carrier with any substantial amount of installed Chinese telecom equipment from federal government contracts.

Washington has pressured its allies not to use Huawei. In August, Australia effectively banned Huawei from supplying equipment to develop the country’s 5G wireless infrastructure. In November, the New Zealand government rejected a local telecom's proposal to use Huawei equipment in its 5G network upgrade. In December, a major British telecom announced that it would remove Huawei equipment, and UK intelligence officials have flagged security shortfalls in Huawei software. Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, India, and Japan are reportedly considering banning or limiting Huawei. While not directly connected to the cybersecurity concerns of Huawei products, the detention of CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada on charges she misrepresented subsidiary relationships in order to deceive U.S. banks into conducting business with Iranian telecommunications companies in violation of U.S. sanctions has raised the tensions around the company considerably.

The United States is also working with its allies to slow Huawei’s expansion in third markets. Australia objected after the Solomon Islands signed a deal with the company to explore building a link between it and the Australian mainland, and the government eventually stepped in and will pay for the bulk of the construction to keep Huawei out. Efforts by the United States, Japan, and Australia to stop Huawei in its efforts to build a submarine telecommunications cable to Papua New Guinea were not as successful when the country decided that it could not afford to walk away from a project that was more than half finished. As one minister put it, “Whatever views Australia or the U.S. might have in relation to cybersecurity, as far as Huawei or China are concerned, those are for the big boys to worry about.”

The race for 5G is far from over. U.S. companies hold a strong position in patents and technological development. Chinese telecoms are rapidly developing competing technologies, benefit from government support in roll out and implementation of 5G services, and often offer their products at prices twenty to thirty percent cheaper than their competitors. The challenge for Washington is to create an environment that supports innovation at home and a shared approach to 5G security with its friend and allies. The competition is likely to pick up in 2019, and the end result increasingly looks like separate spheres of technology influence.

Source: Blog Post by Adam Segal , Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

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China launches satellite for space-based free Internet broadband and free wifi worldwide

China Launches Satellite for Space-based Internet Broadband and wifi  worldwide 

 

China launches first low-Earth-orbit satellite
China launched its first low-Earth-orbit satellite at 7:51 am on Saturday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province, making substantial progress in the country's construction of a satellite communications system.

https://youtu.be/jgsVgJ83LLk

China has launched a communications satellite, marking the first step in building a vast network in space, capable of covering the entire world with broadband Internet service.

A Long March-11 rocket carrying the experimental satellite blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China this morning. It then entered its preset orbit. The launch is part of the Hongyun Project, backed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. The firm plans to launch four more satellites before the end of 2020 to form a small network for Hongyun's trial run to provide global Internet service.

The satellite was launched from a Long March 11 carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in north-western China and is the first in the Hongyun project planned by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC).

Beijing: China on Saturday launched its first communication satellite to provide broadband internet services worldwide in an apparent bid to rival Google and other international firms.

The satellite was launched from a Long March 11 carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in north-western China and is the first in the Hongyun project planned by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC).

The Hongyun project, started in September 2016, aims to build a space-based communications network to provide broadband internet connectivity to users around the world, especially those in the underserved regions.

The spacecraft is tasked with verifying basic designs of Hongyun satellite and demonstrating low-orbit broadband communications technologies, China Daily reported.

The satellite is expected to work beyond its design life of one year.

"Weighing 247 kilograms, the satellite works in a sun-synchronous orbit about 1,100 kilometers above earth. It is powered by solar arrays and has a design life of one year, but is expected to operate longer, Xiang Kaiheng, Hongyun's chief designer at CASIC Space Engineering Development Co Ltd here said.

CASIC plans to launch four mass-production Hongyun satellites in future.

"After a yearlong in-orbit technological demonstration by the satellite, CASIC plans to launch four mass-production Hongyun satellites before the end of 2020 to form a small network for Hongyun's trial run, the Daily quoted Xiang as saying.

Stating that CASIC currently intends to place more than 150 Hongyun satellites on orbits about 1,000 kms above the ground around 2023, he said that the constellation is likely to be further expanded in response to market demands.

The concept of running a low-cost, high-performance satellite network to provide space-based communications and internet services has become popular globally among industry players.

Currently, many foreign tech companies, including Google, SpaceX, OneWeb and Telesat, have already launched plans to use satellites to provide free internet access.

The US' SpaceX launched two experimental satellites last month to test technologies for its Starlink project, in which tech tycoon Elon Musk proposes to put a total of nearly 12,000 satellites into orbit by the mid-2020s.

Similarly, US firm, OneWeb, plans to launch a satellite constellation of 648 low-Earth orbit microsatellites by the end of 2019, though few developments have been reported.

Last month, a Chinese internet technology firm unveiled the first satellite in a constellation plan comprising of 272 satellites to provide free WiFi service worldwide.- News18

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中國在全球完成根服務器部署，美國想阻止，晚了 網絡，是現在社會必備的東西，沒有網絡，多數人都會坐臥不安，因爲刷朋友圈要網絡，購物要網絡，甚至吃飯都需要網絡點餐。這樣發達的網絡，自然讓我國躍居世界上互聯網用戶和訪問量最大的國家。但很多同學可能不知道，因爲我國互聯網起步較晚，所以全球的13台IPv4根服務器服務器，中國一個也沒有。

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US intensifying intervention in China through legislation means


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US Justice Department officials issued indictments on two Chinese nationals who allegedly stole, "in association with" the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), vast amounts of confidential data from at least 45 US tech companies and government agencies over the past ten years.

Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong were charged with three counts each of computer hacking, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment, the two men targeted and "stole hundreds of gigabytes of sensitive data" in aviation, space and satellite technology, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and oil and gas exploration, as well as from communications and computer processing firms and maritime technology companies. The indictment also said the hackers stole personal information on more than 100,000 US Navy personnel.

The indictment claimed the two men were part of the hacking unit, and worked for a company called Huaying Haitai, in association with the Chinese MSS.

This most recent charge is part of the unprecedented prosecutorial efforts aimed at so-called "Chinese government-backed hacking," and serves as an accurate reflection of the escalated attacks against China that have been carried out by the US through legal mechanisms. The indictment refers to specific individuals, which is actually misleading as it suggests the US has evidence worthy of an indictment against China. But the logical fallacies tucked inside the allegations will not prevent outsiders from thinking that the move was nothing more than a carefully constructed effort motivated by political purposes.

It is unknown if the two Chinese nationals in question, and the company they worked for, have hacked anything at all, let alone US corporations and institutions. However, it is an over-exaggeration to say the alleged hackers are so "omnipotent" that they can pilfer anything they desire from key American sectors. Are they capable of doing so in the real world?

Supposing, as the US DoJ indictment states, that hackers could get whatever they wanted through internet channels, where one or two individuals could steal technology developed by thousands of researchers, then the world's most profitable sector would be the hacking industry. Computer hackers would have the ability to take down pirates and drug-trafficking enterprises, as well as the top companies in innovation. They would be immune to any kind of legislation. If this really were the case, the best hackers would undoubtedly come from the US and other Western countries as they are most developed in the world.

The US government initially claimed that China's hacking efforts have so far cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars annually, a preposterous claim from any vantage point. To begin with, and assuming China is so powerful that it has stolen technological information for over a decade that is supposedly worth over a trillion in intellectual property, as the US has indicated, then how is it that China still lags behind the US in so many fields, from chips to electric vehicles, and even aviation engines?

Since the US has been combating hackers for such an extended period, then how is it that some are able to do whatever they want? If American institutions had such fragile cyber systems, then nothing would be worth stealing.

The bias here is rooted in such strong cultural arrogance that some American elites are now convinced that China's rapid growth could not have happened without first stealing US technology. After failing to find such Chinese cyberspies, US officials amplified concerns by publicly claiming that Chinese scholars and college students in the US were indeed engaged in some level of espionage. Now, these same people whimsically believe that Chinese hackers have an important role on the internet when it comes to US intellectual property theft.

Nobody knows how many hackers are in China, but there isn't one Chinese citizen who believes that a few online game masters, who could also be cyber thieves, are the true pioneers behind China's technology modernization. After all, officials from China's security sector are not that stupid or naïve.

It would be farcical in nature to pair cybersecurity authorities with gaming experts, especially when taking into account the Chinese system. Security officials do not blithely categorize gaming experts, while disregarding Sino-US relations, accusing them of stealing critical foreign technology from a variety of industries, the way a burglar would break into a department store.

Those security officials simply do not exist, who are technology experts that can create a complex system serving the needs of companies in all industries while effectively manipulating would-be hackers with ease. There is not an entity on the planet that would take such a risk when network security is one of the most sensitive issues between China and the US.

The US allegations against China are practically hysterical all by themselves. This latest round shows the US attack on China has become more comprehensive, which could see more of China's government agencies getting involved. Actually, it is inevitable. Therefore, instead of adhering to a low profile strategy, China must face these provocations from the US and do more to safeguard national interests.

In recent months, the US has taken provocative action, like sanctioning senior-ranking PLA generals, ordering their allies to arrest Huawei executives, to prosecuting and extraditing so-called "Chinese spies," and signing Tibet-related bills.

China needs to reflect upon the previous passivity that it has shown and respond proactively. China is a country that loves peace and always pursues gentle action. However, now is the time for China to consider new countermeasures against nations who have done nothing but pour dirty water on the country's basins. - Global Times.

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World's first artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor

The new AI anchors, launched by Xinhua and Beijing-based search engine operator Sogou during the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, can deliver the news with “the same effect” as human anchors because the machine learning programme is able to synthesise realistic-looking speech, lip movements and facial expressions, according to a Xinhua news report on Wednesday.

Develop and control: Xi urges China to use AI in race for tech future

“AI anchors have officially become members of the Xinhua News Agency reporting team. They will work with other anchors to bring you authoritative, timely and accurate news information in both Chinese and English,” Xinhua said.

The AI anchors are now available throughout Xinhua’s internet and mobile platforms such as its official Chinese and English apps, WeChat public account, and online TV webpage.

https://youtu.be/GAfiATTQufk

The world's first artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor made "his" debut at the ongoing fifth World Internet Conference in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The news anchor, based on the latest AI technology, has a male image with a voice, facial expressions and actions of a real person. "He" learns from live broadcasting videos by himself and can read texts as naturally as a professional news anchor.

The AI news anchor was jointly developed by Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run media outlet of China, and Chinese search engine company Sogou.com.

According to Xinhua, "he" has become a member of its reporting team and can work 24 hours a day on its official website and various social media platforms, reducing news production costs and improving efficiency.

Celebrity anchors are regarded as important assets at major news networks in the US. The highest paid news anchor, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, is reportedly paid US$100 million a year, while Diane Sawyer at ABC and Sean Hannity at Fox News earn US$80 million each. Celebrity anchors in China are generally paid a lot less because they work for state-run TV stations but they often earn extra money from product endorsements and book sales.

Predicting Beijing’s thinking via AI and People’s Daily

But AI anchors may one day challenge the human variety because of their ability to work 24 hours a day provided human editors keep inputting text into the system.

Xinhua said the achievement was a  “breakthrough in the field of global AI synthesis”, pioneering the synthesis of real-time audio and video with AI-created anchors in the news field. Search engine Sogou, which also does research and development in AI, is providing the underlying technology for the project.

China plans to be a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2030

The AI technology has a “endless prospects” because it will greatly improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of producing daily TV news reports, Xinhua said, adding that it could also quickly generate breaking news reports to improve the timeliness and quality of such reports. - South China Morning Post
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Malaysia's Broadband Plans Not Up to Speed Yet

Still waiting: Some existing users are exasperated as they have yet to enjoy the higher broadband speeds promised by their service providers.

Broadband users also complain of not enjoying lower prices

PETALING JAYA: The telcos may have announced lower prices and faster Internet speeds, but many existing fixed broadband users are complaining that they have yet to enjoy these benefits.

On Sunday, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced that Telekom Malaysia (TM), Maxis, Celcom and Time have introduced new entry-level plans below RM100 that are more than 30% cheaper.

But the price reduction and speed increase brought about by the Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP), which was implemented on June 8, have yet to trickle down to consumers.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said in a statement he was aware that not all existing fixed broadband users are enjoying higher speeds and lower prices.

“I found that the packages do not lower the price of services to existing customers. This means that they cannot benefit from the new packages immediately,” said Gobind.

“I will meet with the telco representatives to discuss this matter in the near future. At the same time, I would also like to emphasise that telcos that have offered the new packages should ensure the services are actually implemented.”

Gobind said MCMC is required to monitor the implementation of the new plans and manage all complaints received and to take firm action where necessary to ensure that the services provided are in line with what was promised.

MaxisOne Home Fibre subscriber Leela Krishnan is disappointed that she has yet to receive any update from Maxis.

“No SMS, e-mail or call from the company to tell how MSAP would affect my monthly bill, or what new plans are available for me,” said the graphics designer, 44.

Maxis said the upgrade was not automatic for existing customers as they have to first pick one of two plans – 30Mbps at RM89 or 100Mbps at RM129 per month.

They can do so at the Maxis page, bit.ly/2gacJxB, but will be recontracted for 24 months. Also, customers who break the new contract will incur a RM500 penalty.

Maxis said recontracting is necessary as it is providing a new router which is capable of maximising the higher speed for WiFi, and at no cost to the consumer.

Astro IPTV customers have also been left hanging on the status of their packages as the company has yet to announce anything.

Idzla Hafiz, 34, who is using the Astro IPTV 10 package, said he is paying RM148 for a mere 10Mbps broadband speed, and he has not received any updates.

“I hope I won’t be paying the same amount next month because that means I will be spending RM59 more than Maxis users and still get a lower speed,” he said.

An Astro spokesman told The Star that the company is still in discussion with its broadband partners – Time and Maxis.

“Discussions are progressing well and we hope our broadband partners will extend the same benefits to our Astro IPTV customers,” the spokesman said, adding that it hopes to make an announcement soon.

Meanwhile, TM’s free upgrade for existing users, which started in August, is expected to go on until the first quarter of next year, as it says it has over 800,000 subscribers to upgrade.

Unifi Home 20Mbps or lower subscribers will be upgraded to 100Mbps, 30Mbps to 300Mbps, 50Mbps to 500Mbps and 100Mbps to 800Mbps.

Public relations consultant Daniel Yao, a Unifi customer of seven years, said it is “ridiculous” that Unifi introduced a cheaper plan for new users but long-time users are still stuck in the same plans.

He said Unifi informed him that the only way to opt for the cheaper and faster plan is to terminate his current package and sign up for a new one.

“That means I need to sign a new contract and redo the whole thing at a TM office,” he added.

TM’s Streamyx customers, especially in the outskirts, have also been complaining to MCMC on Twitter that they are still not being upgraded to Unifi and are being forced to pay more for lower speeds due to lack of infrastructure.

“I found out that there are no suggestions provided to address the issues faced by existing Streamyx users, therefore this is something I need to tackle immediately,” said Gobind.

As at press time, TM has yet to respond to queries from The Star.

Celcom, which offers its Home Fibre plans only in Sabah, said it has upgraded all existing customers to the higher speeds and lower prices since September without recontracting.

All its Home Fibre users, starting from 10Mbps, were upgraded to 100Mbps, and their bill reduced to RM120 per month.

The telco said those who have yet to receive their upgrades can contact its customer service line at 1-300-11-3282.

Time also claims that it has upgraded all its existing users and notified them via e-mail.

The 100Mbps plan (RM149) was upgraded to 500Mbps (RM139) while the 300Mbps (RM189) and 500Mbps (RM299) plans were both upgraded to 1Gbps (RM189).

However, the new subscription fees will only be reflected in bills that are issued from Oct 15 onwards.

If users are still facing slow speeds, it recommends that they restart their router and perform another speed test.

It is best done via a desktop or laptop connected to the router via an Ethernet cable, as users may not be able to get the full speed via WiFi.

If nothing works, users can get in touch with Time via 1800-18-1818 or cs@time.com.my.

Source: The Star by angelin yeoh, mei mei chu, and sharmila nair

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Chinese Scientists Make Breakthrough in Replacing WiFi With LiFi

https://youtu.be/a1qvAy_9lLU

CHANGCHUN, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have made a breakthrough in creating full-New Postcolor emissive carbon dots (F-CDs), which brings them one step closer to developing a faster wireless communication channel that could be available in just six years.

Light Fidelity, known as LiFi, uses visible light from LED bulbs to transfer data much faster than radio wave-based WiFi.

While most current research uses rare earth materials to provide the light for LiFi to transmit data, a team of Chinese scientists have created an alternative -- F-CDs, a fluorescent carbon nanomaterial that proves to be safer and faster.

"Many researchers around the world are still working on this. We were the first to successfully create it using cost-effective raw materials such as urea with simple processing," said Qu Songnan, an associate researcher at Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which leads the research.

Qu said rare earth has a long lifespan which reduces the speed of LiFi transmission. However, F-CDs enjoy the advantage of faster data transmission speeds.

In previous studies, carbon dots were limited to the emission of lights such as blue and green. The new nanomaterial that Qu's team has developed can emit all light visible to the human eye, which is a breakthrough in the field of fluorescent carbon nanomaterial.

Qu said this is significant for the development of LiFi, which he expects to enter the market in just six years.

A 2015 test by a Chinese government ministry showed that LiFi can reach speeds of 50 gigabytes per second, at which a movie download can be completed in just 0.3 seconds

Source: Xinhua


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JPMorgan CEO warns he will fire any employee trading Bitcoin for being “stupid.”

 

JPMorgan CEO Predicts the Future of Bitcoin

 

Tough stand: Dimon has warned that he will fire JPMorgan traders who traded in bitcoin ‘in a second. For two reasons: It’s against our rules, and they’re stupid. And both are dangerous.’ — AFP

NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive officer Jamie Dimon said he will fire any employee trading bitcoin for being “stupid.”

The cryptocurrency “won’t end well,” he told an investor conference in New York on Tuesday, predicting it will eventually blow up. “It’s a fraud” and “worse than tulip bulbs.”

If a JPMorgan trader began trading in bitcoin, he said: “I’d fire them in a second. For two reasons: It’s against our rules, and they’re stupid. And both are dangerous.”

Bitcoin has soared in recent months, spurred by greater acceptance of the blockchain technology that underpins the exchange method and optimism that faster transaction times will encourage broader use of the cryptocurrency.

Prices have climbed more than four-fold this year – a run that has drawn debate over whether that’s a bubble.

Bitcoin initially slipped after Dimon’s remarks. It was down as much as 2.7% before recovering.

Last week, it slumped after reports that China plans to ban trading of virtual currencies on domestic exchanges, dealing another blow to the US$150bil cryptocurrency market.

Tulips are a reference to the mania that swept Holland in the 17th century, with speculators driving up prices of virtually worthless tulip bulbs to exorbitant levels.

That didn’t end well.

In bitcoin’s case, Dimon said he’s sceptical authorities will allow a currency to exist without state oversight, especially if something goes wrong.

“Someone’s going to get killed and then the government’s going to come down,” he said.

“You just saw in China, governments like to control their money supply.”

Dimon differentiated between the bitcoin currency and the underlying blockchain technology, which he said can be useful.

Still, he said banks’ application of blockchain “won’t be overnight.”

The bank chief said he wouldn’t short bitcoin because there’s no telling how high it will go before it collapses.

The best argument he’s heard, he said, is that it can be useful to people in places with no other options – so long as the supply of coins doesn’t surge.

“If you were in Venezuela or Ecuador or North Korea or a bunch of parts like that, or if you were a drug dealer, a murderer, stuff like that, you are better off doing it in bitcoin than US dollars,” he said.

“So there may be a market for that, but it’d be a limited market.”— Bloomberg


Related Links:

China's Central Bank Declares Initial Coin Offerings Illegal - Bloomberg

Bank Negara to issue guidelines on cryptocurrencies - Business News

SC cautions investors over initial coin offering risks ... - The Star Online

Roadblock for ICOs? - Business News | The Star Online

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Six simple steps to defend your data from ransomware

Ransomware blackmails Internet users by encrypting the files on their computer or mobile device and demanding payment, generally in the virtual currency bitcoin, to unlock them. — dpa

Recent ransomware attacks have rattled internet users around the world. This malicious software blackmails users by encrypting the files on their computer or mobile device and demanding payment, generally in the virtual currency bitcoin, to unlock them. But these six simple security measures can significantly reduce the risk of a computer being hit by an attack.

1. Regular updates: Software updates for browsers and operating systems don't just add new functions – they also install security patches to protect computers against the latest malicious software.

The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) recommends enabling automatic updates on a device and advises against the use of older operating systems such as Windows XP, for which Microsoft has stopped providing regular security updates.

Microsoft will also discontinue updates for the operating system's successor, Windows Vista, this summer – all the more reason to replace it with a newer version.

2. Be vigilant: Don't trust anyone, says nomoreransom.org, a website run by IT security companies and European law enforcement. Never open email attachments from suspicious accounts, don't click on questionable links and don't download unverified software.

Even emails from friends and co-workers should not necessarily be trusted. Before opening an attachment or clicking on a link, always take time to consider whether the sender's online account could have been hacked or their computer software infiltrated by malicious software.

3. Antivirus software: Enable all the security applications in your operating system, advises the BSI. Reliable antivirus software can provide further protection, but must be kept up-to-date.

4. Back up data: Creating digital duplicates of your files can protect your personal information from disappearing forever. In the event of an attack, you can just transfer over your back-up files.

Windows (Backup and Restore) and MacOS (Time Machine) have in-built applications for backing up your data, but they might not be accessible in the event of an attack. A more secure option would be to save your files in an external device, such as a hard disk drive, solid-state drive, DVD, or in the cloud.

To reduce the risk of spreading viruses, only connect the external drive to a device during file transfers. As an extra precaution, save your data in two separate external hard drives.

5. Fight back: If you happen to accidentally install malicious software or receive suspicious messages, immediately disconnect your device from the internet, instructs  nomoreransom.org. to be decrypted. This will prevent the infection from spreading.

You can then run a clean installation of your computer software, and transfer over your back-up files. For some types of ransomware, there are techniques to unlock the content on your computer.

The latest malware outbreak "Petya" can be stopped by creating the read-only filetype "C:\Windows\perfc.dat," which prevents it from scrambling your files. An initial report on the antidote published on the site bleepingcomputer.com has since been confirm by several IT security companies.

6. Never pay: A blackmailer's demands should never be met, says the State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) of Lower Saxony. There are several reasons for this, the LKA reports. First, even if you pay the ransom, there is no guarantee that you will regain access to your files.

Second, by paying the attacker, you are supporting the growth of a criminal industry. Every payment finances new attacks. In the case of the recent Petya outbreak, the payment system is useless, because only one email address was provided, which has since been shut down by the provider. — dpa

Related Links

Six simple steps to protect your data from ransomware

Six simple methods to save your information from ransomware http://www.techagentmedia.com/six-simple-methods-save-information-ransomware/ via @techagentmedia


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Hello, Penang police calling ... Macau Scammers reap RM2.7mil

Scammers busted: Penang CCID chief ACP Abdul Ghani Ahmad, flanked by DSP K. Balachandran and DSP Shamsul Farid Abdul Rani, showing seized passports, a photocopy of a MyKad and a letter during a press conference on the Macau Scam syndicate in George Town.

But the ‘officer’ on the other end of the line may well have been a member of a Macau Scam syndicate, which cloned the phone number of the state police headquarters to use in its con game. The operation, believed to have netted RM2.74mil so far, was smash

Syndicate cloned police phone number to trick 82 victims this year.

GEORGE TOWN: A Macau Scam syndicate has duped victims of more than RM2.74mil, using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to replicate the telephone number of the Penang police headquarters to con victims.

No fewer than 82 people had fallen prey to the scam since February.

The syndicate used a three-storey bungalow as its training centre before the members were deployed to Japan, Cambodia, Thailand and other Asian countries.

On Saturday, the syndicate was crippled by police following the arrest of 50 people, including three women.

Penang Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Asst Comm Abdul Ghani Ahmad said the suspects, aged between 17 and 42, were arrested at the bungalow in Taman Damai Utama in Puchong, Selangor, at about 8am.

“Intelligence gathering was carried out for about a month after we received a police report from a woman in Balik Pulau, who transferred RM5,000 to an account given by the scammers,” he told a press conference at the state police headquarters in Penang Road yesterday.

“She was told that her bank account would be frozen by Bank Negara Malaysia.

“The scammers promised to return the money to her a week later after the ‘investigations’ were over, but she did not get her money back.”

ACP Abdul Ghani said police investigations revealed that one of the suspects would pose as a bank officer and tell the victim that he or she had a loan with a particular bank.

If the victim denied it, the scammer would give them the contact number of a “Bank Negara officer” – another scammer – to check out the claim.

Those who are still not convinced would then receive a call from 04222 1522, which appeared to be the general line of the state police headquarters but had been replicated or cloned using VoIP technology to appear as such.

ACP Abdul Ghani added that another scammer, posing as a CCID officer, would then tell the victim that his or her bank account had been misused for criminal activities and was frozen pending investigation.

“The scammer will then ask the victim to transfer money to a specific account, and that would be the last they see of their money,” he said.

ACP Abdul Ghani added that 82 reports were lodged nationwide on this scam so far this year.

He said police also seized five mobile phones, a laptop, photocopied MyKad, photocopied passports, a set of scripts on what to say when posing as a police officer and bank officer, and 31 Malaysian passports.

In Police Custody: Some of the passports and Mykads seized from the Macau Scam syndicate being displayed at the state police headquarters in Georgetown.

“We are also checking if the mastermind was among the suspects arrested,” he said.

ACP Abdul Ghani added that the suspects were remanded for three days until today and would be brought to the Balik Pulau court for remand extension pending investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

Nobody knows exactly how the term “Macau Scam” came to be used.

However, former Interpol president Tan Sri Khoo Boon Hui has been quoted as saying that the scam apparently originated from Macau and was operated from other countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

Another version circulating was that the first victims were in Macau, but the Macau police have declined to comment.

Source: The Star by crystal chiam shiyingandmuhammad nazrul haffiz salim

Remand of Macau Scam suspects extended

BALIK PULAU: Fifty suspects of the Macau Scam syndicate have their remand order extended by another three days by a magistrate’s court here.

Sirens from four police cars blared as two trucks arrived at the courthouse at about 8.40am yesterday.

Dressed in purple lockup T-shirts, the suspects, aged between 17 and 42 who include three women, hid their faces when they saw the press corp.

They are believed to be part of a Macau Scam syndicate which used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to swindle 82 victims of more than RM2.74mil since February.

It was reported that the syndicate used VoIP to replicate the hotline number of the Penang police headquarters to trick victims.

They were arrested at a bungalow in Taman Damai Utama in Puchong, Selangor, at about 8am on Saturday after a woman from Balik Pulau lodged a report, claiming she had been duped into transferring RM5,000 to an account.

Police are investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. - The Star

Related links:

Remand extended for Macau Scam syndicate suspects - Nation

MACC looking for Sabri Ahmad Tah

26 Macau Scam Suspects Nabbed In Melaka - AudioBoom (podcast)


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