Bloomberg and TF International have info on Apple’s mixed reality headset. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts joins Ken to discuss that. Plus the Sunbird messaging app, Eufy video storage, and Elon Musk are in for Mailbag Monday.
Bloomberg
One Year Later: Bloomberg Hasn't Retracted its iCloud Spy Chip Story
This story doesn’t need me piling on, but I think it’s astounding that a media organization with integrity, gravitas, etc. etc. still hasn’t retracted its debunked theory one year later. And the journalists who wrote the story are now in charge of Bloomberg‘s cybersecurity division. If by some miracle we learn that there really are spy chips I will most certainly apologize. But with zero evidence, I think that probability is low.
There’s been a lot of smoke, but no firings. Quite the opposite. It’s been a year since Bloomberg Businessweek published an extensively debunked story claiming that companies including Apple and Amazon had been hacked. Yet since then, all of Bloomberg‘s few responses and actions have only doubled down on how this publication lacks credibility on the topic.
Vodafone Denies Huawei Italy ‘Backdoor’
A report from Bloomberg says software flaws found in Vodafone’s Huawei equipment back in 2011-2012 were backdoors. Vodafone, while admitting that the equipment did have security flaws, denies that Huawei could have used them as such.
The issues in Italy identified in the Bloomberg story were all resolved and date back to 2011 and 2012. The ‘backdoor’ that Bloomberg refers to is Telnet, which is a protocol that is commonly used by many vendors in the industry for performing diagnostic functions. It would not have been accessible from the internet. Bloomberg is incorrect in saying that this ‘could have given Huawei unauthorised access to the carrier’s fixed-line network in Italy’.
The BBC article is worth the read. Also keep in mind that this isn’t the first time Bloomberg has reported on alleged backdoors by a Chinese company. They provided no evidence the first time and so far have refused to issue a retraction.
Apple vs Bloomberg, Package Tracking Tips – TMO Daily Observations 2018-12-11
Today Kelly Guimont has Andrew Orr and Charlotte Henry on to talk about the latest in the Bloomberg v Apple story, and package tracking tips.
Cool Stuff Found
Super Micro Audit Finds No Evidence of Spy Chips
Software and design files for the motherboards were also examined, and no unauthorized components or signals were found.
Bloomberg Not Giving Up on Hardware Hack Story
Bloomberg‘s Ben Elgin has been asking companies for further comments.
What else at the iPad event, Apple vs Bloomberg – TMO Daily Observations 2018-10-22
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Kelly Guimont to speculate on what else we’ll see at the iPad event (besides iPads), and Apple going toe-to-toe against Bloomberg.
Deconstructing Bloomberg's Spy Chip Report, 7 Years of Siri - TMO Daily Observations 2018-10-08
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at the responses to Bloomberg’s China spy chip report, and what could account for the strong denials from Apple and Amazon. They also look at the state of Siri on the voice assistant’s 7th anniversary.
Key Takeaways from Apple's Lengthy Rebuttal of Bloomberg's 'Chinese Spy Chip' Story
Apple published a lengthy and detailed rebuttal of Bloomberg reporting claiming that China had successfully snuck tiny “spy chips” onto servers bought by Apple and other Silicon Valley tech giants.
You'll Never Look at a U.S. Map the Same
Bloomberg has one of the most interesting articles I’ve read in a long time. They called it, “Here’s How America Uses Its Land,” but it’s much more than that. They took data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and broke it up into a series of different views that gave me, at least, radically better perspective on how this country’s land is used. The screenshot I included in this Cool Stuff Found is just one of those views, BTW. They also did a great job of using modern CSS to let you scroll through all the info. Here are some spoilers: cows use more land than people; forest land has been growing since 2007; and a little factoid I find disturbing: “since 2008 the amount of land owned by the 100 largest private landowners has grown from 28 million acres to 40 million, an area larger than the state of Florida.” Check it out!