Apple reportedly hired Amazon exec to lead corporate security operation

Rumour has it Apple has managed poach Amazon’s vice president of information security days ahead of its meeting with U.S. prosecutors in court over a highly contentious encryption battle over an iPhone connected to the San Bernardino terror attack. Reuters via Fortune reports George Stathakopoulus has been working for Apple for about a week already to head its corporate security operation. It’s said he’s reporting to CFO Luca Maestri. He is supposedly responsible for securing corporate computers used to design and create products and software. He’s also working on systems storing sensitive customer data.

There’s no confirmation yet if he’s been hired and his LinkedIn page still lists Amazon as his employer. But according to Fortune, a reporter called Apple’s switchboard and asked to speak with Stathakopoulus and was then connected to a person who answered, “George’s office.”

Source: Apple Insider

Facebook rumoured to be unveiling ‘Bot Store’ at F8 conference

Facebook will reportedly unveil a game-changing feature at its upcoming F8 developer conference. The social network will supposedly introduce the Bot Store, which will allow its users to download a range of automated programs that they can interact with through Messenger. For example, you can download a bot for a fast food joint. You can just send the bot your message and it’ll ring that up for you. These bots could change the way we use the Internet and even replace browsers and apps, centralizing everything in this one service.

Chat platforms like Slack and Telegram have been using bots for a while but bringing said feature to Facebook’s one billion users will bring the feature to the mainstream market. The F8 conference is happening on April 12 to 13 in San Francisco. We have to wait ‘til then to get news.

Source: Independent

WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat reportedly working on boosting encryption

Following the ongoing battle between the FBI and Apple, it seems some tech companies are looking to boost their encryption. Reports claim the likes of WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Facebook are looking for ways to protect user data. WhatsApp is said to be preparing to offer encrypted voice calls. Back in 2014, WhatsApp brought end-to-end encryption to Android users. Now the reports claim the service will be bringing encrypted calls and group messaging to its over one billion users. Snapchat is said to be working on its own secure messaging platform, and Facebook is supposedly looking into boosting the security of its Messenger app.

Google is reported to be also putting its encrypted email technology to use elsewhere but a source claims this isn’t entirely a sure thing but it has been “an ongoing effort for a long time.” Google has to find the balance between securing data and maintaining its business model of targeting advertisements based on messages. It’ll get tricky when encryption comes to play.

Source: SlashGear

Apple might not be pushing through with its TV service

We might be getting a new show from Apple but it seems their plans to put up a standalone TV service might be on the backburner at the moment. CNN interviewed CBS CEO Les Moonves recently and he claims their network hasn’t had recent talks with Apple about its TV service. Moonves even said they’ve given Apple a notice about how the “phone is always ringing” as other companies are trying to partner with CBS for a similar streaming service.

Speculation is Apple decided to drop its TV service plans for now because networks like CBS demand too much money. While Apple is keen on keeping its rumoured pricing scheme of around US$30 to $40 and it wants to incorporate all major networks.

Source: CNN | Via: The Next Web