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In contrast to publications like Stratechery that discuss the business of technology, The Hamiltonian discusses the technology of business.
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This was a tough week for social media platforms again. With Twitter, Facebook and Tik Tok making headlines, citing privacy and data complications, including one of Twitter’s largest hacks was seen this week, further highlighting the uphill battle for data ownership. We also explore the EU’s decision to overturn US data transfer agreement in Facebook’s privacy case. We take a look at Tik Tok’s plan of action following country wide bans of its platform. In our bandwidth section, we discuss Google’s acquisition of Fitbit and what this means for your healthcare data, followed by Oracle’s recent win of a framework agreement for the provision of secure cloud services to the Government of Canada. Finally, on the lighter side of the news, the upside of the pandemic!
Stay safe and have a great week ahead!
The Signal
This past week, Twitter suffered the largest data breach in its companies history. Over 130 very high profile, highly influential accounts were compromised, all with an eerily similar message. Accounts belonging to people like Kim Kardashian, Barak Obama and of course, Elon Musk’s all had their accounts hacked, with the perpetrator leaving a tweet about Bitcoin, with the intention of scamming millions of their followers. Many, including us, wonder why good old Donald Trump wasn’t included in this breach. (Later reports show he has extra layers of security around his Twitter which was why the hackers couldn’t get to him)
Twitter hack: 130 accounts targeted in attack
The hackers were successful, as the bitcoin account surged to a whopping $121,000. The scam tweets posted on Wednesday are similar to a past scam tweets asking for bitcoin, with one major difference; this time the attackers were able to post them from compromised verified accounts with lots of followers.
Twitter hackers who targeted Elon Musk and others received $121,000 in bitcoin, analysis shows
The FBI is now investigating the attack, with Twitter still trying to work out if private data (which include direct messages) were stolen.
130 high-profile Twitter accounts targeted in hacking attack
Next up, our good friend Mark Z is back and (well continues to be) front and centre in the news sphere. Tech companies like Facebook could be prevented from sending data back to the US, after the latest ruling in a long running European legal drama found that there are not enough protections against snooping by US intelligence agencies.
Tech firms like Facebook must restrict data sent from EU to US, court rules
The legal battle ends after 7 years, since 2013, when privacy activist Max Schrems put forth a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commissioner. His whole argument, in light of the Edwin Snowden revelations, was that US law did not offer sufficient protection against surveillance by public authorities.
Max Schrems challenges legality of EU data transfer tools
In practical terms, this ruling means that non-EU companies, or companies looking to move European user’s data abroad, will have to ensure an equivalent level of protection to the strict European data law. This could be a massive problem for other multinational countries, as they have huge sets of data all over the world.
We couldn’t end this section without bringing up Tik Tok and what has transpired since all the claims and accusations that came out last week. In the past couple of weeks, Tik Tok was in the news citing data privacy and collection issues, that were serious enough for the entire country of India to ban them. Within 24 hours, Tik Tok had lost over 200 million users, just from India alone, with a potential revenue loss of over $6 billion.
TikTok May Lose Up To $6 Billion As Result Of India Ban; Users Urged To Delete App
Since Indian’s ban, Canada, The United States and Europe are taking seriously what they should be on the lookout for, in terms of what kind of information Tik Tok may be collecting. Even Amazon sent an email banning to its employees from using or downloading the app, but then quickly reversed course saying the email was sent “in error”. Wells Fargo is the latest organization to tell its employees to uninstall the app. The US is looking very closely at possibly banning it with Canada wanting evidence of data misuse before considering the ban.
Is it time to delete TikTok? A guide to the rumors and the real privacy risks.
Tik Tok’s CEO contends that the app continue to comply with all country standards and regulations.
Canada needs evidence of data misuse before considering Tik Tok ban: MPs
The Bandwidth
Google is courting the EU. Why? Because it’s trying to secure approval to acquire the wearable company, Fitbit. Google explains that this deal is not about data, but about devices.
Why wearable tech needs the Fitbit/Google deal to happen
Last year, Google announced a $2.1 billion deal to acquire Fitbit, in an attempt to bolster its business in wearable technology, like smartwatches and other devices. Earlier this month, a group of 20 consumer organizations sent letters to antitrust regulators, highlighting concerns over Google's proposed acquisition.
Google pledges not to use Fitbit health data, amid EU antitrust concerns
Google has offered not to use health data of fitness tracker company Fitbit to help it target ads to address EU antitrust concerns. The EU is currently seeking feedback on Google’s data pledge.
EU regulators seek feedback on Google's Fitbit data pledge
Google’s Fitbit deal could avoid EU antitrust probe by agreeing not to use health data for ads
Oracle has won a huge contract with the Government of Canada, where the company has been awarded a framework agreement to provide secure cloud services.
Under the terms of the agreement, Oracle’s Canadian federal government customers can securely store, manage and process sensitive data and applications in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
The news forms part of the Government of Canada’s cloud-first strategy where it uses cloud services as its preferred delivery option when initiating information technology investments, initiatives, strategies and projects. The access to Oracle Cloud regions in Toronto and Montreal created by this agreement will help support Canadian government in its digital transformation journey.
Oracle Awarded Framework Agreement From Government Of Canada
India might have passed the 1 million mark today in Covid-19 cases, but their tech sector continues to be a booming industry. On Wednesday, Google announced it would invest $4.5 billion in India’s Jio Platforms, the unit of Reliance Industries which oversees music, movie and telecommunication ventures. Google now joins Facebook, who purchased 9.9% stake worth $5.7 billion last month.
Why Google and Facebook Are Racing to Invest in India
Reliance Industries is a large, sprawling company owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia. Traditionally a petrochemical company, today it has many subsidiaries including a technology arm firm called Jio Platforms.
“This effort will unlock new opportunities, further power the vibrant ecosystem of applications and push innovation to drive growth for the new Indian economy.” – Sameer Samat, Vice President, Product Management, Google
The Noise
Bridging the Digital Divide
Considering the pandemic had cancelled 2020 to some degree, experts are now saying the global health crisis has brought about an 'unbelievable call to action' to address the gap, where 3.6 billion people are not connected to the internet.
Pandemic Spurs Countries' Action on Digital Divide
The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare highlighting the fundamental impact this can have on people’s lives, as everything from education to work, shopping for essentials and even access to critical information.
Countries are now looking at this digital divide closer, in hopes to address and bridge this gap, to allow access to the internet for all.