Dhaka, Jul 10 (UNB) – A security firm says deepfaked audio is being used to steal millions of pounds, reports the BBC. Symantec said it had seen three cases of seemingly deepfaked audio of different chief executives used to trick…
Category: ICT Horizon
E-com rules promoted in name of women’s economic empowerment
Geneva, Jul (Kinda Mohamadieh) – Women in digital trade was the subject of a workshop convened at the World Trade Organization on 1 July. The day-long workshop was co-convened by the European Union, Trinidad and Tobago and Senegal, the fifth…
Twitter bans ‘dehumanising’ posts toward religious groups
San Francisco, July 9 (AP/UNB) — Twitter now prohibits hate speech that targets religious groups by using dehumanizing language, a ban it says may extend to other categories like race and gender. The social network already bars hateful language directed…
Internet users in Bangladesh hit 94 million: Minister
Dhaka, Jul 9 – Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Tuesday said the number of internet subscribers reached 94.4 million as of May. The minister said this in Parliament while replying to a starred question from ruling party MP…
Libra: Facebook’s new currency fails the Hayek test
by Peter Bofinger Libra means ‘balance’ in Latin. But Peter Bofinger argues that Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency would be highly risky for holders and a giant enrichment programme for the company. Facebook’s idea of issuing its own cryptocurrency has met strong…
Bandwidth limits of GP and Robi reduced for dues nonpayment
Dhaka, July 04 – The government has reduced the bandwidth capacities of two telecom operators Grameenphone (GP) and Robi as they did not pay its due amount to the government. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BRTC) instructed the country’s five…
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp hit by photo glitch
Dhaka, July 3 (UNB) Some Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users cannot upload photos, videos and files. A spokesman for Facebook, which owns all three apps, told BBC News: “We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.”…
Bangladesh to host 2019 ABU RadioAsia Conf Oct 29-31
Dhaka, July 1 (UNB) – Bangladesh will host the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) RadioAsia Conference and Radio Song Festival on October 29-31 in the city for the first time. Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar will welcome delegates to the ABU…
Nokia distances itself from boss’s warning on Huawei 5G kit
Dhaka, Jun 30 (UNB) -Telecoms giant Nokia has disowned the comments one of its senior executives made about rival Huawei, reports the BBC. Nokia’s chief technology officer Marcus Weldon told the BBC that the UK should be wary of using…
Myanmar: Internet shutdown risks lives: HRW
Immediately End Restrictions in Rakhine, Chin States Bangkok – The Myanmar government should immediately lift internet restrictions imposed on nine townships in Rakhine and Chin States, Human Rights Watch said today. The disruption to internet services since June 21, 2019…
Facebook ‘evaluating’ deepfake video policy
San Francisco, June 27 (AP/UNB) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the company is evaluating how it should handle “deepfake” videos created with artificial intelligence and high-tech tools to yield false but realistic clips. In an interview at the Aspen…
UN expert fears for civilians after Burma Internet shutdown
Dhaka, June 24 (UNB) – The Myanmar government’s shutdown of mobile data networks in nine townships could have serious implications for human rights and humanitarian monitoring in the conflict areas of Rakhine and Chin States, a UN expert warned on…
US struck Iranian computers earlier this week
Washington, Jun 23 (AP/UNB) — Officials say U.S. military cyber forces earlier this week launched a retaliatory cyber strike against Iranian computer systems amid escalating tensions between the two countries. Three U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that the operation…
Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei coming on facebook live on Monday
Dhaka, June 16(UNB)-Ren Zhengfei, Founder and CEO of Huawei- a leading global information and communications technology solutions provider, will come on Facebook Live to discuss the contemporary crisis of Huawei on Monday. The duration of the live discussion will be…
Target’s tech trouble clogs stores with long checkout lines
San Francisco, Jun 16 (AP/UNB) — A glitch stalled checkout lines at Target stores worldwide Saturday, exasperating shoppers and potentially eating into sales at a prime time for retailers, the day before Father’s Day. The roughly two-hour outage periodically prevented…
Robi launches women- focused digital lifestyle service
Dhaka, June 15 (UNB)- Robi has launched a women focused digital lifestyle service, Ichchedana. Combining safety and security features, Ichchedana provides complete lifestyle solution for the women. Any Robi prepaid customer can register for this service by just dialing the…
Huawei wins ‘Best 5G Core Network Technology’ award
Dhaka, Jun 14(UNB)- Huawei’s 5G intelligent and simplified core network solution won “Best 5G Core Network Technology” Award at the 5G World Summit-2019 held in London recently. 5G will bring many changes to industries and promote new industry applications and…
Big data and its enclosure of the commons
by Ekkehard Ernst Digital dystopias are overdone but inequality is rising. The answer lies in treating data as a commons and Big Data as a collective-action problem. The fear of the machine is back. Dystopian views of a world without…
ICT-enabled flexible working—all plain sailing?
by Irene Mandl and Oscar Vargas Llave Tech-based flexible working conjures up the independent consultant tapping on her tablet with a latte to hand. But the picture may not be so positive. Flexible working time and flexible places of work…
Amitabh Bachchan’s Twitter Account Hacked
Dhaka, Jun 11 (UNB) – Megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s Twitter account was allegedly hacked on Monday night by Ayyildiz Tim, which claimed to be a Turkish hacker group, reports NDtv. The group replaced Bachchan’s profile picture with a photo of Pakistan…
16 organisations fined for providing illegal internet connections
Dhaka, June 10 – Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has fined 16 internet providers Tk 20.20 lakh and filed cases against four others for providing internet connections without licences. The cases were filed with Sonadanga Model Police Station in Khulna,…
Tarique remark not discoruteous, says Hasan Mahmud
Dhaka, Jun 10 (UNB) – Taking a swipe at Dr Kamal Hossain-led Jatiya Oikyafront, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Monday said those who are unable to keep themselves united want to forge a greater national unity against the government.…
Digital Security Act not for curbing press freedom: Minister
Dhaka, Jun 10 (UNB) – Law Minister Anisul Huq on Monday told visiting European Union Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore that the government has enacted the Digital Security Act to deal with cybercrimes, not to suppress press freedom.…
G20 urged to speed up digital tax on tech giants
FUKUOKA, Japan, June 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Top G20 finance officials agreed Saturday there was an urgent need to find a global system to tax internet giants like Google and Facebook but clashed on the best way to do it.…
Facebook stops Huawei from pre-installing apps on phones
London, Jun 8 (AP/UNB) — Facebook said Friday it has stopped letting its apps come pre-installed on smartphones sold by Huawei in order to comply with U.S. restrictions, a move that deals a fresh blow to the Chinese tech giant.…
Google’s challenge to game consoles to kick off in November
New York, June 7 (AP/UNB) — Google will kick off its Stadia streaming service to challenge the video game industry in November — but initially only as part of a $130 bundle that includes hardware and a pass for a…
Google Doodle celebrates Lucky Akhand’s birthday
earch engine giant Google is celebrating the 63rd birth anniversary of renowned Bangladeshi singer-composer Lucky Akhand. It posted a doodle on its Bangladeshi homepage showing Akhand, donning a cap, playing guitar and singing. Doodles are alterations made to the Google…
YouTube updates hate speech guidelines to prohibit videos
San Francisco, June 6 (AP/UNB) — YouTube updated its hate speech policies Wednesday to prohibit videos with white supremacy and neo-Nazi viewpoints. The video streaming company says it has already made it more difficult to find and promote such videos,…
Is ‘Big Tech’ too big? A look at growing antitrust scrutiny
Is Big Tech headed for a big breakup? San Francisco, June 5 (AP/UNB) —The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are moving to investigate Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple over their aggressive business practices, and the House Judiciary…
Internet users in Bangladesh soar by 6 lakh in April
The number of country’s internet users soared by six lakh to reach 9.37 crore in April which is all time highest, according to the latest statistics of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Mobile phone-based connection has contributed the highest with…