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Nvidia building its first industrial AI cloud in Germany

1 year ago | [YT] | 6

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Tesla's potential robotaxi launch in Austin

1 year ago | [YT] | 6

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Alphabet Inc.'s Sundar Pichai said his company will keep expanding its engineering ranks at least into 2026, stressing human talent remains key even as Google's parent ramps up AI investments.

1 year ago | [YT] | 6

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Apple's WWDC 2025 begins today (June 9), with the keynote expected to reveal major software updates, including a shift to “iOS 26” to align with the year. Rumoured features include a fresh design, desktop mode for iPhones, better battery life, and live translation via AirPods. The event runs until June 13.

1 year ago | [YT] | 6

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AI-driven innovations and product launches present both opportunities and challenges. While AI can automate tasks and create new roles, it also raises concerns about job displacement and the potential for AI-driven cyberattacks. Cybersecurity professionals are actively developing AI-powered tools to detect and respond to these threats.

1 year ago | [YT] | 6

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Elon Musk's Starlink has received a licence from the telecom department for providing satellite internet services in India, a key milestone that will take it closer towards launching commercial operations in the country.

Starlink is the third company after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications to get a licence from the Department of Telecommunications to provide satellite internet services in the country.

A fourth applicant, Amazon's Kuiper is still waiting for approvals.

DoT sources confirmed on Friday that Starlink has indeed received the licence, and said the company will be granted trial spectrum in 15-20 days of applying for it.

Starlink will now have to comply with the security norms such as providing access for lawful interception, before starting services.

The licence came hours after a huge public spat between Musk and US President Donald Trump. The falling-out between the world's richest man and the world's most powerful person began when Musk, who left his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.

On Thursday, it erupted in the verbal duel after Trump criticised Musk in the Oval Office. Musk responded saying "Trump would have lost" without his help, prompting the US President to end US contracts.

The licence from DoT came nearly a month after the Starlink was issued a letter of intent (LoI) by the telecom department.

The companies that have received the licence would, however, have to a wait a tad longer for commercial satcom spectrum as the Trai just recently sent its recommendations on pricing, and terms and conditions, to the government for its consideration.

The players will be able to start their services after the allocation of radio wave frequencies.

Typically, even before the commercial spectrum, the trial spectrum is required to test, and verify the systems and processes on security parameters to demonstrate that all norms and requirements, are being complied with.

The status of the Starlink's final nod from the Indian space regulator, In-SPACe could not be immediately ascertained.

Starlink is a satellite internet service developed by SpaceX -- the American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded in 2002 by the world's richest man Musk. It provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet worldwide using satellite technology and is aptly described by some as broadband beamed from the skies.

Unlike conventional satellite services that rely on distant geostationary satellites, Starlink utilises the world's largest low Earth orbit or LEO constellation (550 km above Earth).

This constellation of LEO satellites (7,000 now but eventually set to grow to over 40,000) and its mesh delivers broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, and video calls.

Starlink, which had been vying for an India licence for some time now, recently signed pacts with Ambani's Reliance Jio and Mittal's Bharti Airtel, which together control more than 70 per cent of the country's telecom market, to bring the US satellite internet giant's services to India.

The nod for the satcom offering -- known for its resilience in harsh conditions and conflict zones -- coincides with escalation of Donald Trump-Elon Musk feud in the US.

Early last month, the government had issued stringent security norms mandating legal interception of satellite communication services and barred companies from linking connection of users in any form with any terminal or facility located outside the country's border as well as processing of their data overseas.

The tighter security rules also mandate service providers to indigenise at least 20 per cent of their ground segment of the satellite network within years of their establishment in the country. The satcom service licence holders will require security clearances for specific gateway and hub locations in India and compliance to monitoring, interception facilities and equipment requirements.

India's rules mandate satcom firms to demonstrate system capabilities with respect to security aspects, including monitoring, to the Department of Telecom (DoT) or its authorised representatives before starting operations in India.

It is pertinent to mention that Telecom regulator TRAI last month recommended that satellite communication companies like Starlink pay 4 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as spectrum charges to the government -- a rate steeper than what these firms had been lobbying for.

Operators offering satellite-based broadband internet services in urban areas would have to shell out an additional Rs 500 per subscribers annually, TRAI recommended. No additional levy would be applicable for services in rural areas.

COAI, whose members include Reliance Jio and Airtel, recently approached the telecom department to raise concerns over TRAI recommendations on the satcom spectrum.

The industry body argued that "incorrect assumptions" have led to unjustifiably low spectrum charges for satellite services relative to terrestrial networks -- a claim strongly rejected by Trai, which has ruled out any review of recommendations at this stage, based on industry body COAI's charges.

1 year ago | [YT] | 6

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“When it comes to customer data, we offer a flat guarantee to our customers: customer data is customer data. We never use that data for training any model ourselves. All of our customers can rest assured that their data, and any AI products they build on top of it, will only be used to answer questions for them,” Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy told indianexpress.com.

At the latest edition of Snowflake Summit, Ramaswamy highlighted the company’s unswerving commitment to data security and responsible AI implementation. The CEO spoke about the comprehensive measures the company is undertaking to protect customer data while enabling innovative AI capabilities.

Addressing the concerns about AI companies and their data usage practices, Ramaswamy said, “We’ve built mechanisms that surface security data and alerts to our customers, including visibility into how many of their accounts are not protected with strong authentication. We take these lessons seriously and are dedicated to actively collaborating with our customers to ensure the security of their data.

The AI data cloud company has, over time, strengthened its security posture, implementing what it describes as a ‘shared destiny’ model that places greater responsibility on Snowflake to proactively protect customers rather than relying solely on traditional shared responsibility frameworks. Integral to Snowflake’s enhanced security strategy is the mandatory implementation of two-factor authentication across all accounts.

1 year ago | [YT] | 6

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OpenAI’s ChatGPT is growing 5.5x faster than Google Search. What do you use for search now?

1 year ago | [YT] | 9

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Samsung Electronics is nearing a wide-ranging deal to invest in Perplexity AI and put search technology from the artificial intelligence startup at the forefront of the South Korean company’s devices.

The two companies are in talks to preload Perplexity’s app and assistant on upcoming Samsung devices and integrate the startup’s search features into the Samsung web browser, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The firms have also discussed weaving Perplexity’s technology into Samsung’s Bixby virtual assistant, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Samsung is planning to announce the Perplexity integrations as early as this year, the people said, with the goal of including the service as a default assistant option in the Galaxy S26 phone line that’s slated to launch in the first half of 2026. However, the specific details haven’t been finalized and could still change.

The tech giant is also expected to be one of the biggest investors in a new round of funding for Perplexity, the people said. The startup is in advanced discussions to raise $500 million at a $14 billion valuation, Bloomberg News has reported.

The broad tie-up may help Samsung reduce its reliance on Alphabet Inc.’s Google and pave the way for it to work with a mix of AI developers, similar to Apple Inc.’s strategy for its devices and services. For Perplexity, the arrangement would mark its biggest mobile partnership to date and follows a recent integration deal with Motorola.

Representatives for Samsung and Perplexity declined to comment.

The two companies entered discussions about a partnership earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported in April. In recent weeks, the two sides met in South Korea, leading to them closing in on an agreement, the people said.

Samsung and Perplexity have also discussed building an AI-infused operating system and an AI agents app that can tap into functionality from Perplexity and a range of other AI assistants, the people said.

Apple has also shown interest in working with Perplexity. The iPhone maker has discussed using Perplexity as an alternative to Google Search as well as a substitute for ChatGPT integration in the Siri voice assistant, Bloomberg News has reported.

“We’ve been pretty impressed with what Perplexity has done, so we’ve started some discussions with them about what they’re doing,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, said during recent testimony at a Google antitrust trial.

It’s unclear how Perplexity’s relationship with Samsung, one of Apple’s fiercest rivals, would affect that.

1 year ago | [YT] | 6

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In one of the largest known breaches of its kind, more than 184 million passwords tied to major tech platforms, financial institutions, health services, and even government portals have been exposed in a massive data leak. The breach was discovered by cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler, who found an unsecured, unencrypted database accessible online containing email addresses, passwords, authorisation URLs, and login credentials, all stored in plain text.

The exposed data spans popular platforms such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Instagram, and Snapchat, but the implications go far beyond social media. Login credentials for bank accounts, health portals, corporate systems, and government services were also included, raising serious concerns about fraud, identity theft, and national security.

Fowler believes the data was likely harvested using infostealing malware, such as Lumma Stealer, which is a malicious software that silently infects devices to collect sensitive information like usernames, passwords, and financial details. Once obtained, this data is commonly sold on the dark web, where cybercriminals exploit it for various malicious purposes, including online scams and ransomware attacks.

Alarmingly, the database was not protected or encrypted, meaning anyone who stumbled upon it could easily access the information. Fowler alerted the hosting provider, which swiftly restricted access, but the company declined to disclose who had uploaded the data.

To verify the authenticity of the breach, Fowler reached out to several individuals whose credentials appeared in the database. Many confirmed that the leaked information was genuine. The dataset also included business login details, posing additional risks such as corporate espionage, stolen intellectual property, and the spread of ransomware.

Cybersecurity experts are urging people to take immediate steps to protect themselves, especially those who reuse passwords across multiple platforms. If one account is compromised, hackers can quickly try the same credentials elsewhere, potentially gaining broader access to a victim's digital life.

How to Protect Yourself

While no one is completely immune to data breaches, individuals can reduce their risk by:

Using strong, unique passwords for every account
Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible
Regularly updating passwords
Using tools like Google’s Password Checkup, which can alert users if their credentials have been leaked online
This breach serves as a stark reminder of the importance of digital hygiene, especially in a world where a single exposed password can lead to cascading consequences across personal, financial, and professional domains.

1 year ago | [YT] | 6