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Slack

Slack Faces an Outage With the Start of 2021, Disrupting Thousands of Users

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Ending 2020, after the holiday week, people in the United States went on to work again on Monday. But the Monday did not go very smoothly for the office messaging company Slack, as it faced an outage on the very day.

What is Slack and Why it is used

Slack is an office messaging and communication platform, developed by an American software company Slack Technologies. The app is used for sharing information, chatting, voice and video calls, transferring documents by thousands of users and companies. It has been providing its services since 2013 and has become the first choice of many companies for establishing a private network of communication for their office staff and clients. The company has also seen a hike in the number of users during the Pandemic.

The Full-Blown Outage

Slack went down at around 10 AM ET on Monday, and the users started reporting about the problem. There were issues with sending messages, loading the channel, making calls, transferring files, and many of the users even reported that they could not log in to their slack accounts. During the outage, the calendar on Slack as well as the notifications was also not working.

Slack
Image Source: slack.com

By 10:14 AM, the company also confirmed that the app was facing some issues, and later, it also acknowledged that an outage had occurred. “Customers may have trouble loading channels or connect to Slack at this time. Our team is investigating and we will follow up with more information as soon as we have it. We apologize for any disruption caused”, the company updated, “The problem remained for about more than two hours, and after that, the platform started working fine for some of the users at about 12:20 PM. But many of the users were still facing the interruption. The company also continued to update its official Twitter account with information regarding the problem. “

All hands are on deck on our end to further investigate,” one of its tweets said.”At 3:10 PM, the company tweeted, “We’re truly sorry for the disruption today. We’ll be back with a summary of this issue.”

Cause of the Problem

In the pandemic, the companies were heavily relying on the various messaging and video conferencing apps, including Slack, Zoom, Google, etc. This might also be a reason that those platforms were facing such issues. Last year, in the mid of December, Gmail from Google also faced a similar blackout for some time, where users were continuously getting some error messages. This outage encouraged users to shift from one platform to the other so that they could complete their work on time. But since these apps recovered in a few hours, users could use them again.

The Salesforce Deal

But those issues are not permanent, as these companies are continuously working towards improving their tools for the users. Recently, the American cloud-based software company Salesforce announced to buy Slack for an amount of $27.7 billion (roughly Rs. 2,03,400 crores) and adding more features and tools to the platform. The company also revealed that it will be merging the Slack messaging technology to its platform so that users can manage the marketing and sales teams from a single platform.

Back to Normal

After the big-blown outage, reportedly, Slack is working perfectly smooth now. “Seeing improvements with error rates on our site, and we believe affected customers should be able to access Slack,” said a spokesperson of Slack. Though thousands of people reported the issue with the platform, the company hasn’t given any figures or number of how many users faced the disruption. 

data leaked

Tension grows as over 100 million Credit, Debit Cardholders’ data leaked on the dark web

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Tension grows among civilians as a security researcher discovers that the personal data of millions of cardholders’ have been compromised. According to this recent discovery, personal information like full name, email address, phone numbers, and the first and last four digits of the card has been revealed on the dark web. Due to this glitch, the bank account and other sensitive data of 100 million debit and credit cardholders are at stake.

The leakage of sensitive information on the dark web seems to have been caused by the platform of Juspay. Just pay is a digital payment service that processes transactions for many Indian and global multinational companies like Swiggy, Amazon, etc. With India getting accustomed to the digital payment system, there is a huge potential for phishing attacks if proper security is not established.

Nature of data leaked

It was cybersecurity researcher, Rajshekhar Rajaharia, who discovered the data leak last week on the dark web. He informed Gadgets 360 about the leaked data and that it was up for sale on the dark web by some hacker. According to the files shared with Gadgets 360, the data of the cardholders’ that has been leaked is between the time frame of March 2017 to August 2020. The data surfaced on the dark web included personal details of Indian cardholders. From customer IDs to the expiry date of the cards were fully visible on the site.

Apparently, the transaction details have not been leaked on the dark web. But, the information leaked is enough to cause phishing attacks by the hackers after combining the personal details available in the dump. Since the hacker put the information on the sale, Rajaharia also informed that the hacker was contacting buyers in Telegram for negotiation. The payment was demanded in Bitcoin.

Research on the data leak

Rajaharia on further research found that the hacker was selling the information on the dark web in the name of Juspay. The company on being contacted confirmed that there was a data leak in the month of August but didn’t provide any further details. Rajaharia continued his investigation and further verified the direct link of leaked data with Juspay. He received some of the dump sample files from the hacker which he compared with a Juspay API Document file. He said, “both were exactly the same.”

data leak

Juspay’s founder acknowledges the data leak

Vima Kumar, the founder of Juspay, informed Gadgets 360 that the company detected an unauthorized attempt on 18th August of this year. He further mentioned that it was terminated in progress. Kumar, in an email, claims that no personal data like card number, financial credentials, or transaction data was compromised. But he also accepted that data “Data records containing non-anonymized email, phone numbers and masked cards used for display purposes (contains first four and last four digits of the card, which is not considered sensitive), were compromised.”

Kumar mentioned that the masked card data which is non-sensible data for display leaked has two crore records. And the card vault is connected to a different PCI compliant system and it was never accessed. In response to this comment, Rajaharia said that the masked card numbers can be decrypted if a hacker figures out the algorithm used for the card fingerprints. Kumar defended his statement saying that Juspay does hundreds of rounds of hashing with multiple algorithms. These algorithms are not possible to reverse engineer even if given enough computing assets.

To prevent such attacks again Juspay has identified the security gaps in the company and made two-factor authentication (2FA) compulsory for all the tools accessed by the team members. However, it is hard to predict the capabilities of hackers these days after the recent data breach in the American government system that shook the internet.

Not even cybersecurity

Rajaharia is convinced that the security system of Juspay is still not strong enough. He said that there still exists a configuration issue on the company’s site that redirects its users to malicious websites. A company as big as Juspay which has around 50 million daily users including major clients like Swiggy, Airtel, Flipkart, Uber, etc should be more vigilant. The company holds the highest level of compliance given by the PCI Security Standards Council to such payment merchants. So now it is their responsibility to ensure the safety of its users.

Amazon

Amazon plans to launch computer science program for Indian students in 2021

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India is the second-largest internet market in the world. Within the past few years, the number of citizens getting access to the internet has sky-rocketed. This opens up a huge opportunity for new business, creating new jobs, and developing new skills in the world of technology. We are witnessing how students from a young age are motivated to take up computer classes and most importantly learn to code. This gives the students immense opportunity to get used to any coding environment which is necessary for the 21st century. And, to help out the students learn and launch their careers the tech giants are very interested to invest in the Indian market. India is a pool of young talents where every year millions of computer science students are offered lucrative jobs in and outside the country.

Seizing this opportunity, Amazon has decided to extend its computer science program Future Engineer in India. Amazon, via a job recruitment post, has said that the primary aim for launching Amazon Future Engineer in India is to provide computer science education to the underprivileged and underrepresented youth of India. The news was first conveyed by TechCrunch that Amazon is planning to launch the computer science program sometime next year.

Amazon plan for the Indian students

In the job posting, Amazon mentioned that this childhood-to-career program of Amazon Future Engineer will launch in India in 2021. The post-announcement also mentioned that the candidate they are looking for has to work with local non-profit organizations and government officials to educate the children and young students. Currently, the childhood-to-career program is operational only in the United States connecting more than 5,000 schools and teaching computer science to 550,000 students. Amazon also mentioned that computer science education in India is “currently underway” and the company wants to invest in the development of such coursework and extend the learning hand.

The hype for coding is increasing among young students especially in this pandemic where everyone is finding opportunities to learn new skills. We have also seen that social media is crawling with the advertisements of White Hat Jr. helping students to learn and do coding. The increasing demand for coders proves that soon every individual needs to learn a bit of coding to secure a good job. So, isn’t it better to start learning from a young age?

Amazon
Image Source: amazon.com

Amazon has already invested $6.5billion in India and is currently exploring opportunities in the education field. Every young student has the right to proper education. So, this time Amazon is inclined towards reaching out to those who don’t get the opportunity to get a lavish education. The main target of this program launching in India is to equip the students of neglected communities with proper computer science education.

Last year, Amazon launched an app called JEE Ready to help JEE aspirants get ready to compete in one of the most participated entrance exams for engineering. Currently, the app has been rebranded as Amazon Academy which is like any other preparation app for engineering entrance exams.

Amazon Future Engineer Program

There was a time when getting a chance to study computer science was a dream come true. But, the advent of technology in every field has made us realize it has become a necessity rather than an extravaganza. So, Amazon decided to release a childhood-to-career program to educate and train students from economically backward communities.

Amazon Future Engineer Program provided lots of course materials to the students, abundant resources, partnerships with schools to educate the unprivileged youth. The program has released many scholarship and internship opportunities for students from elementary to high schools.

Other tech giants investing in education

You can find endless opportunities to learn if you genuinely want to develop new skills. It is not only Amazon that is striving to make a change in the lives of young students. Facebook, earlier this year partnered with CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) to launch a certified course on digital safety and online well-being and augmented reality for both students and teachers. Google and Microsoft have also partnered with many Indian governmental bodies and invested in ed-tech start-ups to train the educators. Training and educating the educators itself is helpful as educating one teacher means educating an entire class.

Alibaba

Alibaba Ant Group faces tough scrutiny from Chinese regulators over monopolistic behavior

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Allegations were raised against Alibaba Ant Group as the Chinese regulators found the company adhering to monopolistic behavior. According to the Chinese regulators, the company took benefit of its power market position to exclude its rival in a morally questionable perspective. The regulators further mentioned that the recent acts of the Ant Group towards monopolistic activities also hurt consumer rights and public interest. Thus, last Saturday, the People’s Bank of China and the country’s Central Bank held a meeting with the executives of the Ant Group. The meeting was called to make them comply with anti-monopolistic scrutiny and other regulatory requirements.

Chinese regulators have ordered the company to build a rectification plan which will also include a timetable to make proper implementations on its business. The Alibaba Ant Group should focus more on credit, insurance, and wealth management services as suggested by the regulators. The company is further accused of not having a sound governance mechanism acting against the anti-monopoly rules and, often engaging in regulatory arbitrage.  

Alibaba anti-monopoly investigation 

There is a reason why the Chinese regulators all of a sudden summoned the Ant Group executives last weekend. Last month these Chinese regulators halted an amount of $37 billion which belonged to Ant Group stock debut in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The halt was over the regulatory changes and just after a few days, China announced an investigation of the leading financial giant Alibaba Group. And Group is an affiliate company of the Alibaba Group and the latter owns a 33% stake of the Ant Group.

It was only two months ago that the global investors were waiting for the world’s largest Initial Public Offering. But now the million dollars investment in this lucrative finance business is in jeopardy. The investigation followed by the new regulations forced on the company will put the expansion of this business in question. Apart from the investigation, the Chinese regulators have asked the company to return to its root business as a payments service. The basis of the investigation was anti-monopoly scrutiny.

What are the Chinese regulators up to?                

Ant Group started as a payments service for Alibaba’s e-commerce platform Taobao. Since then the company has expanded into various financial sectors by offering insurance money and investment products. Currently, the company has hundreds of millions of active users from China who use the services of Ant Group.

Alibaba
Image Source: technologyshout.com

But the Chinese regulators have demanded the Ant Group to establish a financial holding company and hold sufficient capital. They have also demanded that the company should get back to its original business and increase transaction transparency. They are also asked to prohibit unfair competition and comply with the regulatory requirements to run the business. There was another meeting earlier last week where Chinese regulators sat with the executives of Alibaba Group and five other major Chinese internet companies. And all of them are warned not to use exclusive contracts to drive out competitors, predatory pricing, and use of other tactics.

After the meeting on Saturday, Ant Group has made a statement that it will take all the necessary steps to enhance risk management and control. It will also comply with the regulatory requirements and set up a new team to make necessary rectifications. The statement further said that this rectification is an opportunity for the Ant Group to strengthen the foundation of the company.

Why did China turn against Alibaba Group?

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group is one of the richest entrepreneurs in China. He is always appreciated by the Chinese and has followers from around the world. But recently people of China are calling him names leading to a huge loss of his stature. Last month, Jack Ma accused the Chinese banks of behaving like “pawnshops” as they are only lending to those who can put up with the collateral. It seems now that his one comment had huge repercussions and it will haunt his business for some time.

After a few days, Chinese authorities forced the Ant Group to pull off what could have become the world’s largest IPO. It didn’t only stop at this as later the Chinese regulators announced the Alibaba antitrust investigation. It seems like the Chinese government is turning against all the big entrepreneurs who helped in lifting the nation’s economy.

Samsung TV Plus

Samsung TV Plus free streaming in India from 2021 is confirmed by the company

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It is great news for the Indian citizens that Samsung is making its smart TV video service free in India. The company confirmed it in a press announcement earlier this week. The Indian users of Samsung smart TV are very lucky that this OTT streaming service is finally coming to India for free. The video streaming service called Samsung TV Plus was launched in 2015.

The company launched it with very limited access. Till now, only 12 countries, namely, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Brazil, Australia, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the US had access to the free content of Samsung TV Plus. But, with this big announcement, the free media content of Samsung TV Plus will be available in India, Mexico, Sweden, and other European countries from next year.

Samsung TV Plus Free streaming

Samsung TV Plus is a free media streaming service for both its smart TV users and galaxy phones. Yes, you heard it right; it is truly 100% free of cost. As the company declared free access to Samsung TV Plus in India, it might be a rough year for streaming services like Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, etc. The company already had a huge demand for its free video web content service summing up to 60 million Samsung smart TVs precisely.

Samsung TV Plus
Image Source: xda-developers.com

Amidst the pandemic, every streaming service has noticed the sudden demand for opening new accounts. People appreciate good web content for entertainment especially when they are confined in the home. As video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Meet gained millions of new users in a very short period, the market for video streaming service also accelerated. But, these services have a paid subscription package of a fixed amount depending on a monthly or yearly basis. But now that the South Korean tech giant is going for 100% free access, the consumers in India have a better choice.

The free service of Samsung TV Plus comes pre-installed in the Samsung smart TV models since 2016. So, if you are going for a new Samsung smart TV all work is done for you, and for the existing users, they have to get it via an OTA. And it is also available in a few Samsung smartphones which include Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Z Flip, and Galaxy 20 in the US. The company says many more devices will be added in the upcoming months. But, the company didn’t mention anything regarding the availability of Samsung TV Pus for the galaxy users in India.

Samsung Smart TV Plus 

With Samsung Smart TV Plus made available to many new countries, the company has partnered with 300 broadcast networks, content platforms, and, digital creators for a better user experience. For those, who until now didn’t know anything about the Samsung Smart TV Plus, it is a free ad-supported content service exclusive to Samsung smart TV users. The greatest thing about Samsung Smart TV Plus is that it is completely free for its users. It is more like if you are buying our device we will provide you free entertainment. Although many countries are now getting access to the Samsung Smart TV Plus the number of channels may vary for different regions.

Until now, the citizens of the US got maximum channels in their Smart TV Plus, that is, a total of 120 channels. But, no matter how many channels you have access to you get a mixture of sports, news, kid’s entertainment, etc. Some of the famous channels included in this free service are ET Live, People TV, Nick Pluto TV, CBSN, ABC News Live, Cheddar, US Today, Anime All Day, Comedy Dynamics, etc. You can find many music channels too. Maybe the content is no match that of Netflix or Disney+Hotstar, but one should remember that you are getting it for free.

A message to the audience 

During the press release, Seline Sangsook Han, Senior Vice President of the Visual Business at Samsung Electronics said, TV has now become the center of entertainment from just news carrying device. With the expansion in the new markets ad collaborating with many networks and content creators, it is hopeful that Samsung Smart TV Plus will become the premium at-home destination for all its users around the world.

Huawei Chinese Company

US Lawmakers to Back Bid to Replace Chinese Telecom Equipment as Huawei and ZTE Fear Bans

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Chinese companies have been having a hard time in recent months due to several geopolitical reasons. The swam of negativity doesn’t seem to be getting better any time soon. Recently, US lawmakers said they would support a bid to ban Chinese telecom providers and opt instead for local carriers. The deal, which will be worth around $1.9 billion, or INR 14,000 crore will enable America to remove telecom equipment created by Chinese companies. In this article, we will take a look at why the government is going ahead with this, and what it means to these companies.

Huawei Chinese Company
Image Source: irishtimes.com

Ban of Chinese Equipment

The primary aim of this program is to remove all the network equipment provided by Chinese companies. The American government believes that such telecom network equipment poses a threat to national security. Sources close to the government mentioned on Sunday that this bill would be a part of the COVID relief bill. Additionally, lawmakers will also back another program worth over $3.2 billion to provide broadband services for low-income Americans. This emergency network connectivity plan will help a large section of America’s population and was first reported by Reuters.

COVID Relief Bill

The relief bill planned to mitigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is worth around $7 billion. This INR 51,600 crore bill will offer several health and connectivity-related benefits to people. Nancy Pelosi, who serves as the House Speaker, confirmed that it would also help improve people’s access to broadband. This claim was also supported by Chuck Schumer, who serves as the Democratic Leader of the Senate. Through a joint statement, the pair noted that such a bill would help millions of families afford internet services during these trying times.

FCC to Halt Chinese Telecom Operations

The Federal Communications Commission noted in June that it was issuing threats to Chinese companies. Both ZTE and Huawei were treated as potential threats for national security. Hence, the FCC declaration bans American firms from buying equipment from these service providers. In early December, the FCC finalized the guidelines regarding how broadband carriers will treat such operators. They advised companies to rip and replace equipment bought from ZTE and Huawei. However, the companies are still awaiting funds from Congress to make the transition to local products. 

Reactions from Operators

Huawei released a statement shortly afterwards stating its disappointment with the FCC’s decision. Forcing the removal of their hardware from telecommunication networks will come as a big blow to the Chinese company. Additionally, the company said that such a move would put millions of Americans in underdeveloped rural areas at risk. The pandemic has increased the value of reliable communications, and Huawei believes that this decision by the FCC will endanger access to such communication.

However, the FCC has stressed on how it will enact a Bill that will provide better services to underprivileged Americans. The emergency broadband program will help millions of people who no longer have access to the internet due to the COVID-9 pandemic. Qualifying households will also receive a $50 monthly subsidy to help them set up and establish Internet connections.

Further Details About the Bill

As per the bill, the rip-and-replace order will apply to all service providers who have less than 10 million subscribers. However, the program will prioritise companies that have less than 2 million subscribers as per a draft fact sheet. It will also provide roughly $285 million to establish an office for minority initiatives with the National Telecommunication and Information Administration. This office will help with connecting minority communities and ensuring they remain connected to the internet.

The office will also support educational institutions and businesses that help minorities or are owned by them. The bill also includes an additional $250 million to support tele health and roughly $1 billion for a tribal connectivity program. Additionally, it features a $300 million grant program to promote rural broadband expansion programs and roughly $65 Million to help build better broadband maps.