Techmeme
October 21, 2019, 6:15 PM

Top News

Facebook:
Facebook bans networks, three originating in Iran and one in Russia, running “inauthentic” accounts, Pages, and Groups misleading users in the US, Latin America  —  Today, we removed four separate networks of accounts, Pages and Groups for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook:
Facebook says it will more prominently label content that fact-checkers deem false on Facebook and Instagram, will ban ads suggesting voting is pointless  —  We have a responsibility to stop abuse and election interference on our platform.  That's why we've made significant investments since 2016 …
Washington Post:
Ionut Ilascu / BleepingComputer:
Hackers breached the internal network of Avast likely aiming for another supply chain attack on CCleaner; Avast says it didn't find malicious changes to the app  —  Hackers accessed the internal network of Czech cybersecurity company Avast, likely aiming for a supply chain attack targeting CCleaner.
CNBC:
Sources: SoftBank to take control of WeWork, spending $4B-$5B on new funding and existing shares in The We Company, valuing it between $7.5B and $8B  —  KEY POINTS  — Softbank to spend $4 billion to $5 billion on new equity, existing shares, sources say.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Microsoft acquires Edmonton-based Mover to bolster its cloud migration solutions, just weeks after acquiring Movere, another cloud migration company  —  Microsoft today announced that it's acquired Mover, an Edmonton-based provider of admin-led and self-service cloud file migration offerings.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Microsoft announces Secured-core PCs, which will come from many vendors like Dell and adhere to security best practices for better firmware attack protection  —  Microsoft today announced a new initiative to combat threats specifically targeted at the firmware level and data stored in memory: Secured-core PCs.
Financial Times:
Joint UK and US probe finds that a Russian cyber espionage unit hacked the tools of a hacker group linked to Iran's government to lead attacks in 35+ countries  —  A Russian cyber espionage unit has hacked Iranian hackers to lead attacks in more than 35 countries, a joint UK and US investigation has revealed.
Bloomberg:
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have privately recommended several potential hires to Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign, two of whom were hired  —  - Facebook CEO, wife privately recommended hires to Democrat  — Zuckerberg facing barrage of criticism in DC for bias, privacy
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL review: fast face unlock, smooth display, and great still camera, but average video recording and battery life, and no ultrawide camera  —  There's a baseline for “fast enough” on Android phones, and the Pixel 4 more than hits it.  It might not be the fastest Android phone …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
NordVPN confirms it found out a few months ago that one of its datacenters was hacked in March 2018, leaving it vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks  —  NordVPN, a virtual private network provider that promises to “protect your privacy online,” has confirmed it was hacked.
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Researchers show how malicious voice apps for Alexa or Google Home eavesdrop on users, as Amazon and Google take a lax approach to vetting the platforms  —  Exclusive: Amazon, Google fail to address security loopholes in Alexa and Home devices more than a year after first reports.
Ina Fried / Axios:
Google hires Javier Soltero, Acompli co-founder and former head of Microsoft Outlook, to run G Suite  —  In its bid to take on Microsoft Office, Google has hired someone who knows the product well: Former Outlook boss Javier Soltero.  —  Why it matters: Google and Microsoft are in a tough battle …
More: Thurrott
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
EU says preliminary results of its probe into software used by EU institutions raises “serious concerns” over Microsoft's compliance with data protection rules  —  Europe's chief data protection watchdog has raised concerns over contractual arrangements between Microsoft …
Nat Levy / GeekWire:
SAP has struck a three-year deal where Microsoft will sell a bundle of SAP cloud services directly to customers who run SAP on Azure  —  SAP and Microsoft struck a three-year partnership to help companies move their data to the cloud, a move that tightens the already close relationship between the two tech giants.
Wall Street Journal:
The Indian government is trying to tempt cellphone manufacturers with lower taxes, incentives, and less red tape, to make the country a major source of exports  —  Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is trying to tempt cellphone makers, manufacturers with lower taxes and less red tape as economy slows down

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Annie Palmer / CNBC: