Kalakshar US

Google just won a partial reprieve in one of the antitrust cases leveled against the company. Federal Judge Amit Mehta has ruled that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and key states can’t claim that Google is protecting a monopoly by promoting its own products in search results over alternatives. The plaintiffs haven’t proved there’s an “anticompetitive effect,” according to the decision. Judge Mehta also tossed antitrust allegations regarding Android’s compatibility and anti-fragmentation agreements, Google Assistant, internet of things devices and the Android Open Source Project.

The DOJ can still make its remaining arguments, Judge Mehta says. Notably, officials claim Google is abusing its power through deals that require Android manufacturers to both pre-load Google apps and make Google the default search engine in their mobile browsers. The DOJ and states are concerned this prevents rivals like Bing and DuckDuckGo from gaining significant adoption.

In a statement to Engadget, Google President of Global Affairs Kent Walker says the company welcomes the judge’s “careful consideration” when dismissing the search issues. He maintains that people choose Google only “because it’s helpful,” and that the firm would show at trial that its other practices are both competitive and lawful. We’ve asked the DOJ for comment and will let you know if we hear back.

The DOJ and partner states filed the lawsuit in 2020. They didn’t advocate for specific penalties at the time, but punishments could include fines, business restrictions and splitting divisions into separate companies. At the time, Google defended itself by arguing that it still had to negotiate partnerships and had competitions from services like Twitter (now X) and Expedia.

This isn’t the only antitrust case against Google, including in the US. An alliance of states sued Google in 2020 over allegedly anticompetitive ad pricing. However, the narrowed scope might make the case more difficult, not to mention limit the potential damages.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/federal-judge-narrows-scope-of-antitrust-case-against-google-ahead-of-trial-202837725.html?src=rss 

Global ransomware attacks are on the rise, according to a report issued by Malwarebytes. The study shows a massive surge from July 2022 to June 2023, with the United States bearing the brunt of these attacks. The organization noted that of the 1,900 reported ransomware attacks collected, over 43 percent originate in the U.S, an increase of 75 percent from last year’s findings.

Germany, France and the UK also experienced an uptick in deployed ransomware, but at a lower rate than the United States. The report details 48 separate ransomware groups that attacked American companies, governmental organizations and garden variety consumers during the aforementioned time period. Even worse? Healthcare and educational institutions were disproportionately impacted. For instance, dental insurer Managed Care of North America (MCNA) experienced a breach back in March and the New York City Department of Education was hit in June.

It’s worth noting that the study conducted by Malwarebytes shows only reported incidents, so the actual number of attacks could be much higher than 1,900. The whole point of a ransomware attack is to, well, exact a ransom, so some organizations make the payout and keep things quiet.

What exactly is a ransomware attack? It’s malware expressly designed to deny users and organizations access to files on a computer. The software locks everything up tight and when you pay the ransom, you receive a decryption key to regain access to the files. It’s a digital shakedown.

The biggest global offender is a ransomware gang called Clop, long-suspected to have ties to Russia. The criminal organization has evolved in the past year, capitalizing on zero-day software vulnerabilities to amp up the scope of its attacks. Back in June, the group took advantage of one of these vulnerabilities in enterprise file transfer software to breach the servers of hundreds of companies, including the largest US pension fund.

Malwarebytes says this transition to zero-day software exploits, instead of phishing emails and virus-laden downloads, could “signal a change in the game” and explain the increase in reported incidents.

As for the rest of the world, France’s numbers doubled in the past year, with a disproportionate number of attacks levied at governmental institutions. The UK experienced 200 attacks from 32 separate groups with an alarming uptick in frequency. Last year, the country reported a single ransomware attack per month. In this most recent year, it was eight per month.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/global-ransomware-attacks-at-an-all-time-high-and-the-us-is-the-primary-target-191550845.html?src=rss 

Google thinks it has a way to get more hybrid workers into the office: eliminate the commute when they do need to leave home. CNBC says it has learned of a summer promotion that lets full-time staff book stays at the Bay View campus’ hotel for $99 per night through September 30th. The offer is meant to help employees “transition to the hybrid workplace,” according to the offer. Workers can theoretically have the benefits of both the office and home while never having to travel far.

We’ve asked Google for comment. A spokesperson talking to CNBC says the firm routinely offers employee specials for its facilities.

The catch, as you might guess, is that employees have to pay for the hotel stays themselves. While the roughly $3,000 per month needed to take up the offer isn’t out of line with apartment rentals and includes full service, it still amounts to paying to live at work without a substantial discount. Google team members have to either forego a home of their own or effectively pay rent for two places. The hotel offer is also only truly useful for people working at Bay View, which primarily houses ad-related teams. Those who still have to work at the older campus can’t benefit.

The hotel special comes as Google steps up pressure on remote workers it wants to come back. The tech giant started returning some employees to its offices in 2022, when it mandated three days a week for affected people. Some balked at the prospect, though, arguing that in-person work led to high living costs and reduced productivity. Google wasn’t deterred, though, and this June started considering office presences in performance reviews.

The escalating tensions now come with the prospect of regulatory action. YouTube contractors who voted to unionize have accused Google and its contracting firm Cognizant of abusing return-to-office policies to stifle labor organization, and filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-latest-bid-to-push-hybrid-work-is-a-99-rate-at-its-on-campus-hotel-193058151.html?src=rss 

GameStop is pulling the plug on its crypto locker after only a year. An alert posted this week to the company’s website (viaGame Developer) says GameStop Wallet will be no more after November 1st. The retailer says its decision was “due to the regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space.”

The gaming retailer’s iOS and Chrome Extension lockers, billed as a “self-custodial Ethereum wallet,” will be removed on November 1st. The retailer recommends that customers have access to their Secret Passphrase to retrieve their NFTs by October 1st. “Any customer with access to their Secret Passphrase has the ability to recover their account in any compatible wallet,” the company wrote.

Like many companies in 2021 and 2022, GameStop invested heavily in NFTs in hopes of essentially printing money through digital collectible sales. Backed by a $100 million fund (in partnership with Immutable X) to provide developer incentives, the retailer aggressively pursued a Web3 future under then-CEO Matt Furlong.

But the effort sputtered as consumer backlash grew towards nonfungible tokens. The retailer forged an ill-fated partnership last September with the now-defunct FTX, only to be terminated two months later when the exchange collapsed. GameStop announced additional layoffs in December with Axiosreporting that its cryptocurrency division was hit hardest. The company simultaneously backpedaled from its NFT marketplace, with Furlong reassuring investors that it had “proactively minimized exposure to cryptocurrency.” However, he did leave some wiggle room by saying the retailer continued to see a long-term future for “digital assets in the gaming world.” Furlong was fired in June.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gamestops-nft-wallet-will-shut-down-in-november-164252057.html?src=rss