Top tech news stories today: July 22, 2024

Top tech news stories today: July 22, 2024 is profiled by BTW Media because public-source evidence links it to internet infrastructure, governance, operational dependencies, or market visibility.

Internet governance

1. Key findings on the state of global AI governance

At ITU’s AI for Good Global Summit, government leaders, policymakers, researchers, and technologists from developed and developing countries came together at the first-ever “AI Governance Day – From Principles to Implementation” on 29 May 2024. (ITU)

2. IETF Administration LLC 2023 annual financial audit

The unqualified audit opinion in the IETF LLC 2023 audited financial statement presented to the board indicates that the IETF LLC financial statements were fairly and appropriately presented, without any identified exceptions, and in compliance with the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This is an excellent result and reflects the significant operational effort put into managing our finances and the strong board oversight of that work. A sound financial operation provides a solid foundation for the work of the IETF. (IETF)

IT infrastructure

3. Tesla halted some production lines due to global IT outage, Business Insider reports

Tesla halted some production lines in Texas and Nevada due to the global IT outage, Business Insider reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. (Business Insider)

4. Japan’s MUFG cuts CEO, five other executives’ pay after ‘firewall’ breaches

Japan’s largest banking group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) will cut the pay of its CEO and five other executives following the breaching of “firewall” regulations at its banking and securities arms, it said on Friday. (Economic Times)

5. Microsoft releases recovery tool to help repair Windows machines hit by CrowdStrike issue

Microsoft has released a recovery tool that’s designed to help IT admins repair Windows machines that were impacted by CrowdStrike’s faulty update that crashed 8.5 million Windows devices on Friday. The tool creates a bootable USB drive that IT admins can use to help quickly recover impacted machines. (The Verge)

6. Intel data-centre executive to take CEO job at Spinoff Cornelis

Intel Corp. veteran Lisa Spelman will become chief executive officer of Cornelis Networks, a startup spun off from the chipmaker in 2020 that aims to capitalize on the AI boom. (Bloomberg)

Tech trends

7. Microsoft says about 8.5 million of its devices were affected by CrowdStrike-related outage

A global tech outage that led to a software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike affected nearly 8.5 million Microsoft devices, Microsoft said in a blog on Saturday. (CNBC)

8. Australia warns of malicious websites after cyber outage

Australia’s cyber intelligence agency said on Saturday that “malicious websites and unofficial code” were being released online claiming to aid recovery from Friday’s global digital outage, which hit media, retailers, banks and airlines. (Yahoo! Finance)

9. Three ‘pro-Russian’ hackers arrested in Spain over cyberattacks

Three pro-Russian hackers have been arrested for alleged cyberattacks against Spain and other NATO countries for terrorist purposes, Spanish police said on Saturday. (Reuters)

10. Nigeria fines Meta $220 million over data violations

Nigeria’s consumer protection watchdog accused US tech giant Meta of abusing market dominance and sharing personal data without permission. Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. (DW)

11. CrowdStrike and Microsoft break the silence on the Windows outage disrupting the world

Numerous Windows PCs and computer systems worldwide are down, affecting businesses like airlines, supermarkets, broadcasters, software providers, and more. The issue stems from a faulty update in the Falcon Sensor software from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, and it’s causing BSOD – the “blue screen of death” – for a lot of people. (Mashable)

12. Meta chief Zuckerberg won’t endorse Trump or Biden in elections, Bloomberg reports

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has declined to endorse either Donald Trump or Joe Biden and said he does not plan to be involved in the upcoming U.S. presidential election in any way, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. (US News)

13. Google is trying to steal the Ray-Ban partnership from Meta

Meta is planning to spend billions to buy roughly 5% of EssilorLuxottica, the €88 billion European eyewear giant it has collaborated with on two generations of Ray-Ban smart glasses. The Financial Times and other outlets earlier reported news of the talks, which I’ve also confirmed. I’m told the negotiations are advanced and it’s likely Meta will invest. (The Verge)

AI

14. OpenAI’s latest model will block the ‘ignore all previous instructions’ loophole

Its latest model, GPT-4o Mini, applies a new safety method to prevent tricking chatbots. In a conversation with Olivier Godement, who leads the API platform product at OpenAI, he explained that instruction hierarchy will prevent the meme’d prompt injections (aka tricking the AI with sneaky commands) we see all over the internet. (The Verge)

IoT

15. Teradata integrates DataRobot AI platform with VantageCloud

Teradata has announced the new integration of the DataRobot AI Platform with Teradata VantageCloud and ClearScape Analytics. This integration is aimed at helping enterprises maximise their AI potential by providing optionality and flexibility for building and scaling safe and effective AI models. (IoT NOW)