Category: Apple Insider

 

By Mikey Campbell
Monday, May 20, 2019, 06:29 pm PT (09:29 pm ET)

National Australia Bank (NAB) on Monday announced immediate support for Apple Pay, becoming the third of Australia’s “big four” banks to integrate with Apple’s payments platform after a failed boycott.

NAB announced the arrival of Apple Pay in a tweet posted to the bank’s official account.

“It’s here. NAB customers can now use Apple Pay. Just add your NAB Visa Card and start using Apple Pay wherever you can tap and pay. Apple Pay with NAB. Easy,” the tweet reads.

Along with the announcement, an accompanying link points to a comprehensive mini-site detailing the service. Customers are provided information regarding compatible devices, credit and debit cards and a quick setup guide for iPhone and Apple Watch.

Ironically, NAB touts Apple Pay’s security, a feature largely reliant on Apple’s tight control of the NFC hardware stack to which NAB and its collaborators sought to access through a collective boycott in 2016.

In a move designed to put banks in a better position to bargain with then-newcomer Apple, Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corp, along with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, filed a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission seeking to negotiate access to Apple’s NFC technology. The banks initially sought to force Apple into integrating third-party mobile payments software with iPhone hardware and later requested direct access to iPhone’s NFC controller.

The banking bloc argued its stipulations would foster increased competition and consumer choice, as well as accelerated innovation and investment in the digital wallet space.

In March 2017, the ACCC denied permission to collectively bargain and boycott Apple, putting an end to the banks’ gambit.

With NAB on board, Westpac becomes the last of Australia’s “big four” banks to resist Apple Pay.

Australia and New Zealand banking group, which was not involved in the attempted forced negotiations, was the first major lender to offer Apple Pay in 2016. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia’s largest bank, rolled out support for the mobile payments solution late last year.

 

By Roger Fingas
Sunday, May 19, 2019, 03:09 pm PT (06:09 pm ET)

Following newly-authorized rules by the Trump administration, Google has reportedly terminated Huawei’s Android license, forcing it to move to the Android Open Source Project.

The change won’t immediately affect owners of Huawei phones, since they’ll be able to update individual apps through the Google Play Store, Reuters noted. The company will however have to use its own system to push broader OS updates, and only once they’ve been published through AOSP.

It may cut Huawei off from key apps and services such as Gmail, YouTube, and even Chrome. Most Google mobile apps are already banned in Huawei’s Chinese homeland, but they are licensed for devices in markets like Europe.

The company has reportedly spent several years preparing for such a contingency, and is even using some of that fallback technology in Chinese versions of its phones. Westerners, though, are unlikely to be happy without access to services many consider cornerstones of the internet.

Last week the U.S. Commerce Department added Huawei and 70 affiliates to its “Entity List,” preventing it from buying from American businesses without a license demonstrating there’s no national security risk. Simultaneously, President Donald Trump signed an executive order blocking corporations from using telecoms equipment from firms deemed a national security risk — such as Huawei and ZTE.

The Trump administration has expressed worries that Huawei’s ties with the Chinese government could lead to backdoors, and indeed a report recently claimed the discovery of such activity in the Netherlands. Huawei has denied any such threat, and argued U.S. actions are really meant to thwart Chinese business.

Indeed the U.S. bans could kick a leg out from under Huawei, since until this month it was dependent on American suppliers like Qualcomm. That could give companies like Apple a better chance in China, even if it will still have to deal with price obstacles and local brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo.

 

By William Gallagher
Saturday, May 18, 2019, 01:43 pm PT (04:43 pm ET)

The flaw that may have been leaking data since 2014 reportedly exposes routers that haven’t had their default passwords changed, and it can even help lead hackers to physically locate devices and users in the real world.

Researcher Troy Mursch claims that in excess of 25,000 Linksys Smart Wi-Fi routers currently in use have a flaw that means significant data is accessible by hackers. Writing in Bad Packets Report, a “cyber threat intelligence” company, he says sensitive information is being leaked, although the manufacturer now denies this.

Linksys was bought in 2013 by Belkin —and that firm was then bought by Foxconn in 2018 —and that firm says that its staff haven’t been able to reproduce Mursch’s findings.

“We quickly tested the router models flagged by Bad Packets using the latest publicly available firmware (with default settings) and have not been able to reproduce [it],” said Linksys in an online security advisory, “meaning that it is not possible for a remote attacker to retrieve sensitive information via this technique.”

Linksys further says that this is because the flaw was fixed in 2014. However, Mursch disagrees.

“While [this flaw] was supposedly patched for this issue, our findings have indicated otherwise,” says Bad Packets. “Upon contacting the Linksys security team, we were advised to report the vulnerability… After submitting our findings, the reviewing analyst determined the issue was ‘not applicable/won’t fix’ and subsequently closed.”

If your router is one of those leaking information in this way, then the details that may be available to hackers include the MAC address of every device connected now —or ever.

It can also include device names like “William’s iPhone” plus whether the device is a Mac, PC, iOS or Android device. The combination of a MAC address and Linksys Smart Wi-Fi routers’ public IP address can mean that hackers could geo-locate or track “William,” claims Mursch.

More easily and immediately discovered, though, is whether a router’s default admin password has been changed or not.

This flaw and Linksys/Belkin’s response were first reported by Ars Technica which notes that the number of affected routers appears to be reducing. After the initial report of 25,617, a repeat of the test some days later revealed 21,401 vulnerable devices.

A complete list of the Linksys router models reported affected is on the Bad Packets site.

 

By AppleInsider Staff
Thursday, May 16, 2019, 02:51 pm PT (05:51 pm ET)

Apple on Thursday pushed out a redesign for its Investor Relations webpage that provides easy access to current and historical financial data, and integrates a live feed from the company’s Newsroom.

Sharing a general design theme with Apple’s product pages, the updated Investor Relations mini-site is dominated by a “News and Results” header, below which are — as described — the company’s most recent quarterly results and press releases. The banner was titled “Apple Investor News” in prior iterations of the site.

A section titled “Investor Updates” includes links to information covering the just ended fiscal quarter, specifically Apple’s official press release and Form 10-Q Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Previously, the same links were presented at the top of Apple’s Investor Relations webpage, but lacked the Investor Updates designation.

A second section presents a feed from Apple’s Newsroom, which collects the company’s latest press releases, photo galleries and corporate statements. More recently, editorial “features” penned by members of Apple’s PR team provide insight into corporate initiatives and new products. For example, a feature in April highlighted Apple’s efforts to mangrove forests, while a similarly labeled release in March promoted AirPods with the help of choreographer Hope Boykin.

Financial Data — previously a separate page accessed through a tab at the top of the Investor Relations homepage — is now included at the bottom of the front page. Past quarterly press releases, financial statements, data summaries and SEC filings are arranged by fiscal year, while a separate section breaks out annual 10-K filings dating back to 2015. Miscellaneous reports are also displayed and currently include a reclassification of net sales for fiscal 2018, capital return history, dividend history and an annual green bond impact report.

Also new is a revamped SEC Filings subsection, accessed through a dedicated tab on the Investor Relations homepage. Here, users can now subscribe to receive email alerts for Apple’s latest SEC filings, insider transactions and quarter and annual reports.

An Apple Values tab redirects visitors to the company’s various corporate initiatives: Accessibility, Education, Environment, Inclusion and Diversity, Privacy, and Supplier Responsibility. The mini-site’s Stock Price, Leadership and Governance, FAQ and Contact pages also feature minor graphical tweaks.

 

By Roger Fingas
Saturday, May 11, 2019, 03:40 pm PT (06:40 pm ET)

Apple drew special attention to the launch of its Carnegie Library store in D.C. on Saturday, bringing not just CEO Tim Cook but retail head Deirdre O’Brien, marketing chief Phil Schiller, and the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser.

The event was publicized on Twitter by Cook and Bowser, the latter of whom shared a video of some of the first shoppers entering the store. The pair were joined by a media pool and some of the store’s staff, who cheered and clapped to drum up excitement. Sizable crowds were in attendance.

Further photos were published on Instagram by O’Brien.

Development on Apple Carnegie Library began in 2016. Apple calls it its “most extensive historic restoration project to date,” requiring lengthy work on facades and details. Running with the theme of the building — and possibly trying to counter controversy over the relocation of the Library’s book collection — the store will be hosting a “StoryMakers Festival” series of events between May 18 and June 29, featuring 40 artists.