Apple Addresses Critical Security Loopholes Across All Devices Via Latest Firmware Updates

Apple today has rolled out a series of firmware updates for all supported devices under its ecosystem. According to the respective support pages published on the company’s website, these contain security-based fixes for the CoreGraphics and WebKit vulnerabilities that potentially allows for a “zero-click” installation of malicious software onto affected Apple products.

Malware that exploits these vulnerabilities are capable of infecting a device without requiring the victim to do anything, hence the term “zero-click”. One such example of this is the Pegasus hacking platform, a spyware tool developed by an Israeli firm known as the NSO Group.

If both of these names sound familiar, this is because they have been associated with several attacks on platforms including Apple’s iMessage, as well as Facebook’s encryption-based private messaging service WhatsApp. The Pegasus tool is alleged to be capable of committing various privacy breaching acts such as compromising user data and passwords, as well as remote activation of a device’s onboard microphone or camera.

Security researchers at Citizen Lab reports that NSO may have likely been relying on the CoreGraphics loophole – an exploit also first discovered by the research group –  to gain access and install the Pegasus spyware onto a target’s device. Apple credited Citizen Lab for the crucial discovery in the patch notes that are included together with the series of recently released firmware updates.

Meanwhile, Apple notes that this particular WebKit vulnerability addressed in the new update was discovered by an anonymous researcher. Prior to the fix, the exploit is reported to have affected devices under the company’s iOS and macOS Big Sur platforms. For the uninitiated, WebKit is the web browser engine used by various Apple first party applications such as Safari, Mail, and App Store. This isn’t the first time a vulnerability was discovered in the engine, as the company has addressed three other similar issues back in March, May and July of this year.

Apple users are highly advised to update their devices with today’s newly released firmware upgrades. These latest versions include iOS 14.8 for the 7th gen iPod touch and iPhone models from 6s onwards; iPadOS 14.8 for all iPad Pro models, iPad Air 2 onwards, iPad 5th gen onwards, and iPad mini 4 onwards; macOS Big Sur 11.6 for all supported Mac devices; and finally, watchOS 7.6.2 for Apple Watch Series 3 onwards.

Clubhouse App No Longer Invite-Only Across All Platforms

Clubhouse has announced that it is no longer invite-only across all mobile platforms. As revealed by company co-founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth via its official blog, this major change is made effective immediately through the latest version of the app that is now available for download on both iOS and Android platforms. 

The decision to remove its invite-only approach is a long time coming, the company revealed. Ever since its launch a year ago, Clubhouse has always been intended to be accessible by anyone in order to have “meaningful conversations” with each other – bypassing limitations such as distance, especially during these trying times.

“The invite system has been an important part of our early history. But we’ve always wanted Clubhouse to be open,” the company said in its latest blog post. “Everyone in the world should have access to meaningful conversations. And the best rooms on Clubhouse are the ones where you meet people from far outside your social circle, with very different views and lived experiences, who change your perspective on the world.”

It added that the invite-only approach was necessary in order to keep things under control during its early stages, especially while the company continues to introduce newer features and improvements to its app. However, this also unintentionally gave Clubhouse a members-only, closed-doors appeal – a similar vibe given by exclusive nightclubs or even secret groups.

Further building up the public’s desire to gain access during this phase are the multitudes of endorsements by public figures and celebrities, who hold exclusive talks or hangout sessions via Clubhouse. This led to a good number of existing members taking advantage of their limited app invites by selling them on various e-commerce platforms, usually at exorbitant prices. Thankfully, this cheeky way of profit-making has become obsolete now that the app finally opened its doors to the public – a move that would definitely anger both scalpers and those who previously paid a premium in order to score an invite.

Along with the announcement, Clubhouse also unveiled its new logo (shown on top) in the same blog post. This will be used to represent the company for general usage such as marketing and so on but will not replace its app icon, it noted. Clubhouse will continue its tradition to update its icon every month, featuring a monochrome image of selected public figures to represent the platform’s community.

With its invite-only element now gone, will Clubhouse retain its appeal? Being a pioneer to the audio-only chat room craze that has spawned numerous clones by competing social media companies, it looks like the app will see no problem by removing the restriction. If anything, it might cause it to flourish even further, especially with the number of well-known names that have been relying on the platform throughout the months since its debut.

Leaker Claims Upcoming Macs Will All Come With 1080p Webcams

Last week, we saw reports of Apple debuting the M2 chip with a redesigned MacBook Air in 2022, courtesy of Twitter leaker @dylandkt. Said leaker has, over the weekend, made a new claim. In it, they note that upcoming Macs will come with an improved webcam.

More specifically, the leaker claims that the upcoming MacBook Pro, as well as “the entire Mac Lineup” will come with a 1080p webcam. Beyond that, details are a little on the vague side of things. Though the bit about the entire Mac lineup should mean that all variants of the MacBook will be getting the webcam upgrade treatment.

The tweet itself also mentions a video by YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips, which decries laptop webcams in general. With regards to that, merely pushing laptop webcams up from 720p to 1080p wouldn’t really solve that problem. But that’s beside the point.

As 9to5Mac points out, at the moment only the 27-inch iMac of 2020 and the new M1 iMac have a 1080p webcam. Which is a surprisingly small number of products that have it. If the leaker is right, it would mean that Apple’s laptops will get access to better webcams as well.

Bank Of England Governor Warns Crypto Investors That They May Lose All Their Money

Interest in cryptocurrencies may be surging but there are still notable skeptics out there. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned cryptocurrency investors that they risk losing all of their money.

According to CNBC, Bailey was recently asked about the rising value of cryptocurrencies at a press conference, prompting him to say, “They have no intrinsic value. That doesn’t mean to say people don’t put value on them, because they can have extrinsic value. But they have no intrinsic value.”

“Buy them only if you’re prepared to lose all your money,” he added.

Unsurprisingly, his comments weren’t taken well by crypto enthusiasts. Cryptocurrency entrepreneur and billionaire Cameron Winklevoss tweeted, “People who don’t invest in #Bitcoin should be prepared to lose all of their money due inflation. All central bankers know this. Few understand this.”

Winklevoss and his brother, Tyler Winklevoss, famously sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing their idea for the social media platform. They later founded a cryptocurrency exchange called Gemini. According to Forbes, both are now billionaires – thanks to their investments in bitcoin.

Relatedly, the Bank of England itself along with the UK Treasury are exploring the possibility of introducing a central bank-backed digital currency.

Nearly Two-Thirds Of Google Searches End With No Clicks At All

Almost two-thirds (or 64.82%) of Google searches in 2020 ended without people clicking through to another website, market research firm SparkToro found using data from SimilarWeb. In other words, people mostly just looked at the search results page and then decided to move on.

While that may be surprising, it really shouldn’t be. It can be argued that Google isn’t a search engine anymore, but an all-knowing guru. Type in any question and chances are, you’ll receive an answer on the search results page itself with no further clicking required.

This obviously applies to currency and time conversions, weather queries, and mathematical calculations. But it also helps that Google is integrated with Wikipedia – search for “nyan cat” and you’ll see a preview of its Wikipedia entry.

This is generally a good thing and Google deserves much credit for anticipating what users need and want. But it also implies that the tech giant has created this closed ecosystem and hogs all the traffic for itself.

So Google pushed back pretty hard against SparkToro’s findings, saying that they were based on “flawed methodology”. The company said that people searching multiple times as they reformulated their queries would falsely inflate the search-to-click ratio.

Someone looking for sneakers, it said, might go through a few zero-click searches before ultimately clicking through to a retailer’s website. Furthermore, people directly connecting with businesses, or navigating directly to apps would skip the traditional click-through altogether.

“We send billions of visits to websites every day, and the traffic we’ve sent to the open web has increased every year since Google Search was first created,” the company declared.

Are you wondering why Google even bothered to respond? Consider that the tech giant has recently been in the sights of US and European regulators over antitrust issues.

Uber Reclassifies All UK Drivers As Workers After Supreme Court Ruling

Uber will be reclassifying all of its 70,000 UK drivers as workers, Bloomberg reported. This means Uber drivers will get minimum wage, vacation pay, and other benefits. The move follows a growing push for gig worker rights around the world – including in Malaysia, where they still lack legal rights.

Uber’s move, which is currently restricted to the UK, was prodded by an unanimous labour-friendly ruling by the country’s highest court last month. The e-hailing pioneer said it would base minimum wage payment on time after drivers accept trip requests via the app.

This still falls short of what some drivers are demanding – that minimum wage is paid from the moment they log into the app until they log off. And drivers won’t enjoy the full rights of employees, who exist in a separate legal category and are entitled to rights like severance pay.

Regardless, the UK court ruling and Uber’s response remain significant, raising questions of when gig workers in Malaysia will receive similar protections and benefits.

As The Star noted, Malaysian gig workers currently aren’t recognised as employees by law – so things like minimum wage, working hours limitations, paid annual and sick leave, and unfair dismissal does not apply to them.

In fact, Grab’s Terms of Service took pains to emphasise that drivers aren’t employees of the company, but “third party providers” that the company connects to users.

So gig workers like e-hailing drivers are presently in a sort of legal limbo in Malaysia. Because they don’t fit the standard definitions of an employee, they’re also unlikely to find relief in our labour courts if they have a complaint.

The government has been mulling new laws to fix this situation, but nothing has materialised thus far.

Leica To Increase Prices Across All Product Lines Starting April 2021

Leica has announced that it will be increasing the prices across all of its product line starting on 1 April 2021. According to a press release provided to website Red Dot Forum, the camera maker says that the new prices will vary by product, but will generally reflect on an average of 2% to 5% increase.

“Over the past year, the relationship between the US Dollar and Euro has suffered and we have absorbed these costs,” Leica wrote. “However, as this continues, we need to adjust our pricing in order to ensure pricing integrity across all Leica subsidiaries and to continue delivering the highest quality of products.”

According to the product price list provided by the company via Red Dot Forum, a majority of Leica lenses will be seeing an increase of US$100 to US$200 – with the exception of higher-end models such as the Summilux-M 90mm f/1.5 ASPH, which is listed to have an increase of US$700. The same can be said for the brand’s camera collection as well, with the likes of the Q and S series to see a price hike as low as US$100 and as high as US$1,000. Although Leica says the upcoming price hike will see a 5% increase at most, the list actually reveals jumps reaching up to 9% – albeit only affecting a small number of its products.

The camera maker noted that not all of its products will see a price increase next month. Recent releases such as the APO-Summicron-M 35 f/2.0 ASPH, Leica D-Lux 7 Street Kit, Q2 Daniel Craig x Greg Williams, and the APO Summicron-SL 28mm f/2.0 ASPH will be exempted from this.

The upcoming price adjustment is slated to apply across all markets simultaneously on 1 April. For a full list of products and their new prices, please refer to the Red Dot Forum link provided below. Before you ask, Leica Malaysia has confirmed with us that the price changes will be reflected on all of the brand’s products sold in the local market as well. However, it noted that the updated price list has not been made available just yet.

Moscow Metro To Enable Facial Recognition Payment Technology At All Stations

Moscow Metro, the Russian capital’s subway authority, will be enabling payment by facial recognition at all metro stations by the end of the year. Here’s the impressive part – it allegedly works even if you’re wearing a mask.

Using this so-called FacePay system requires having a Russian bank account attached with biometric data on file, according to The Moscow Times who cited an Interfax report. But if you do, having your face scanned by cameras at the turnstiles or ticket booths will cause the fare to be deducted from your account and the turnstiles to open.

Moscow Deputy Mayor Maxim Liksutov reportedly asserted that the system functions even for mask-wearing passengers. It’s an impressive claim for sure – given that most facial recognition systems currently struggle with masks, even on flagships phones.

Like their Chinese counterparts, Russian authorities have eagerly deployed facial recognition tech to identify criminal suspects, raising questions about potential abuse and privacy violations.

Metro security service head Andrei Kichigin reportedly said that the metro’s facial recognition cameras assisted in the arrests of over 900 suspected criminals in the last six months.

Still, the metro’s FacePay system may set it apart from all other train systems in the world, for now. According to Kichigin, tests have already begun, with participants passing successfully through the turnstiles 2,000 times so far.