Category: Tech

The Current’s tech news keeps you upto date with news of new gadgets, tech updates, information about tech startups and technology reviews.

  • Significant drop in freelance work amid COVID-19, but rates remain stable

    Significant drop in freelance work amid COVID-19, but rates remain stable

    The global coronavirus pandemic has not only affected regular jobs but changed the landscape of freelance work as most Pakistani freelancers observe a decrease in demand amid COVID-19.

    Freelancers form more than 100 countries, including Pakistan, have shared insights with a digital payment platform called Payoneer, saying that freelance work has dropped drastically.

    The results of the survey show that businesses and companies have cut freelancing costs and halted new projects and contracts.

    Payoneer’s report titled ‘Freelancing during COVID-19’, showed 64 per cent of Pakistani freelancers, 33 per cent of whom are graphic designers, said that the demand for work had dropped significantly.

    15 per cent of freelancers said that the demand remained usual, while 18 per cent reported that demand for their services had increased.

    Regarding the strength of team , 24 per cent Pakistani freelancers said they would maintain the same team or grow it while 9 per cent said they would cut down on team members.

    In Pakistan, 82 per cent of freelancers said the demand will increase after COVID-19. However, they predict a more competitive landscape.

    According to the survey, freelancers who work with international clients based in North America and Europe saw the highest slowdown in demand. Those with clients in Asia and Australia, saw less of a decrease in demand for freelance projects.

    Globally, the report pointed out, freelancing rates, however, remained stable despite the slowdown.

  • Microsoft Solitaire turns 30, still has 35 million monthly players

    Microsoft Solitaire turns 30, still has 35 million monthly players

    Microsoft’s card game Solitaire is celebrating its 30th anniversary today.

    The card game, which was initially known as Windows Solitaire, is still one of the most played games in the world. According to reports, more than 35 million people around the world play it monthly.

    Microsoft Solitaire was originally included as part of Windows 3.0 back in 1990, designed specifically to teach users how to use a mouse. Grabbing virtual cards and dropping them in place taught the basics of drag-and-drop in Windows, which we still use today in many parts of the operating system.

    Solitaire was included in the world video game Hall of Fame in 2019 due to its huge popularity. It has also been translated into 65 languages.

    The new app of Microsoft Solitaire has five new game modes in it, daily challenges, competitive events, Xbox Live integration, and also gives the option to select the difficulty level.

    The game is now available for Windows, IOS, Android and web users.

  • Lahore police launch app to verify domestic workers

    Lahore police launch app to verify domestic workers

    The Lahore police have introduced the ‘Pehchaan App’ so that the public can access FIR and criminal records before hiring a domestic worker.  

    The Pehchaan App is easily available on the App Store and anyone can download it. Users have to register with CNIC number before accessing records.  

    An inaugural ceremony was held at the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Zulfiqar Hameed’s office. The smartphone application is developed with the help of Punjab Safe Cities Authorities (PSCA) by CCPO Hameed.

    DIG Investigation Dr Inam Waheed and SSP Investigation Zeeshan Asghar also attended the ceremony.

    In the initial phase, the App is being introduced in Lahore as a pilot project.  

  • Iranian hackers attack 3 major Pakistani telecom companies

    Iranian hackers attack 3 major Pakistani telecom companies

    A group of Iranian hackers has targeted three telecom firms in Pakistan and breached data servers, revealed a cyber security company, Symantec.

    While the report does not reveal the names of the companies that were targeted, it discloses that the group uses virtual “tunnels” to stay connected to the victims’ machines without a trace.

    Using virtual tunnel technique, they can also access other machines on the same network to extract valuable information.

    Jon DiMaggio, senior cyber threat analyst at Symantec explained, Iranian “Greenbug” is capable to breach telecom network repeatedly. “As we would close one door, they would attempt to come back from another.”

    Besides, this is not the first time a hacker group has been involved in cyberattacks against telecom companies. According to Symantec, 18 different groups linked to various governments around the globe targeted telecom firms in 2019.

    Telecom companies will always get these cyberattacks because they have valuable information in their databases, says Symantec. Big telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon have heavily invested in protection against cyberattacks, however, not all companies have the same resources.

    The reports recommended firms to keep their systems up to date with the latest security tools and features. There are tools that can automatically eliminate vulnerabilities from the databases of companies.

  • Apple devices secretly wiretap sounds in surrounding, whistleblower claims

    Apple devices secretly wiretap sounds in surrounding, whistleblower claims

    A former Apple contractor, Thomas le Bonniec, has sent a letter to all European data protection regulators, stating that “it is worrying that the tech giant and iPhone manufacturer keeps ignoring and violating fundamental rights and continues its massive collection of data”.

    “I am extremely concerned that big tech companies are wiretapping entire populations despite European citizens being told that the European Union (EU) has one of the strongest data protection laws in the world. Passing a law is not good enough: it needs to be enforced upon privacy offenders.”

    “The recordings are not limited to the users of Apple devices, but also involve relatives, children, friends, colleagues and whoever could be recorded by the device. The system recorded everything: names, addresses, messages, searches, arguments, background noises, films, and conversations. I heard people talking about their cancer, referring to dead relatives, religion, sexuality, pornography, politics, school, relationships, or drugs with no intention to activate Siri whatsoever,” he said.

    “These practices are clearly at odds with the company’s ‘privacy-driven’ policies and should be urgently investigated by data protection authorities and privacy watchdogs. With the current statement, I want to bring this issue to your attention, and also offer my cooperation to provide any element substantiating these facts. Although this case has already gone public, Apple has not been subjected to any kind of investigation to the best of my knowledge,” Bonniec maintained.

    Le Bonniec, 25, worked with Apple as a subcontractor and used to transcribe users’ requests in English and French. He quit the job in the summer of 2019 because he didn’t want to be part of the unethical practices. He argues that the “company operates on a moral and legal grey area and they have been doing this for years”.

  • Pakistan is now manufacturing oxygenators

    Pakistan is now manufacturing oxygenators

    In a first, Pakistan has started manufacturing oxygenators that are imperative for the treatment of 80 per cent of COVID-19 patients, Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has reportedly said.

    Oxygenators are a simple form of ventilators that help patients who have breathing difficulties.

    Furthermore, Pakistan is also making ventilators and N95 masks by using indigenous technology. For the manufacturing of ventilators, the Pakistan Engineering Council received 53 ventilator designs out of which 13 have been shortlisted. Seven have been approved and they are in the last stage of licensing following the European Union (EU) benchmarks.

    “In six to seven months, Pakistan will not just have sufficient ventilators to meet local demand but will be in a position to export these lifesaving machines,” the minister has said.  

    He said that the moment of crisis had made it clear that the role of scientific research and development was underrated in Pakistan during the last decade, adding that it was the only country in the world to cut funding for research and development after 2007 from 0.67 per cent of the GDP to 0.24p per cent.

    “Cities ran short of hand sanitiser, disinfectants and masks immediately after the first two cases of COVID-19 were detected in Pakistan, between Feb 26 and March 5″, the minister said.

    “Since Pakistan is a major exporter of raw ethanol, an important ingredient in sanitisers and sprays, the Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) was tasked to produce sanitisers and disinfectant sprays.

    “In two months, Pakistan is not just self-sufficient but is in a position to export these products. The PCSIR now has the capacity to produce 1,000 litres of sanitiser a day, which is available at Utility Stores.” Ziaur Rehman from the PCSIR said.

    The School of Biomedical and Engineering and Sciences and Attaur Rehman School of Applied Biosciences, both constituent colleges of the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), have also started working on eye-protection shields, personal protection equipment (PPE) and Covid-19 testing equipment according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

    In addition, NUST is in the final stages of introducing Covid-19 test kits and they will be available in the market within a week. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has run clinical trials of the kits and they’re in the last stage of approval.

  • France accuses Apple of not helping it with COVID-19 app

    France accuses Apple of not helping it with COVID-19 app

    Tech giant Apple Inc. allegedly refused to help France in its efforts to fight the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — by refusing to make iPhones compatible with a contact-tracing app called “StopCovid”.

    Countries are increasingly developing smartphone apps and taking technical measures to keep the global pandemic in check while reopening the hard-hit economy.

    These dedicated apps use Bluetooth to allow phones to interact with nearby devices and detect when users, who are potential carriers of the deadly virus, come into contact.

    Usually, Apple’s iPhone blocks access to Bluetooth in background running apps, unless the users allow it themselves.

    According to reports, French officials want Apple to change the settings to let their app access Bluetooth in the background, however, the company refused to make the said modifications.

    “Apple could have helped us make the application work even better on the iPhone. They have not wished to do so. I regret this, given that we are in a period where everyone is mobilised to fight against the epidemic, and given that a large company that is doing so well economically is not helping out the government in crisis,” said French minister for digital technology in an official statement.

    A spokesperson for Apple in France, on the other hand, declined to comment on the matter.

    Certain speculations are, however, being made.

    Companies like Apple and Google — who are responsible for managing the data of almost all smartphones — want the data of phones to stay in the device, rather placing it in central databases that are managed by governments around the world.

    However, France and other countries want to keep contact data in the central database, which can trigger security breaches and pose threats to users.

    The French minister thinks that “oversight of the healthcare system, fighting the coronavirus, is a matter for governments and not necessarily for big American companies.”

    “The app should be ready to be deployed by June 2 regardless of Apple’s stance, and would enter a testing phase by May 11, when the country starts to unwind its lockdown,” he reportedly said.

    It merits a mention that In France, Apple’s mobile operating system accounted for 21.1 per cent of the market in the first quarter, while Google’s Android accounted for 78.8%. Britain, which is using the same centralised approach as France to store data, will start testing its COVID-19 tracing app on the Isle of Wight from Tuesday (today).

  • Data of 115m Pakistani mobile users for sale on dark web

    Data of 115m Pakistani mobile users for sale on dark web

    A Pakistani cybersecurity company has come across data of 115 million Pakistani mobile phone users currently for sale on the dark web, a private media outlet reported.

    The asking price for this data is 300 Bitcoins (BTC), which is equivalent to 2.1 million USD. Cybercriminals is the company who is selling data, they’re also VIP members of the platform.

    Rewterz’s — Pakistani information security company — Threat Intelligence team has analyzed some of the samples from the telecom database up for sale on the notorious dark web. The data includes personal information of the users such as names, contact numbers, residential addresses, CNIC numbers, and NTN numbers.

    According to the report, these threat actors are financially motivated, who’re working in Pakistan. Moreover, organizations with outdated
    cyberinfrastructure are more vulnerable to these threats.

    The team further notes that it is unclear for now whether only single or more telecom companies have fallen victim to cybercriminals.

    According to the given sample’s visible results, the latest data is from 2014 and none of the latest number schemes (0317, 0308 etc) is mentioned.

    As yet, none of the telecom operators has notified their customers that their data has been compromised.

  • Twitter CEO Jack pledges $1 billion for coronavirus relief

    Twitter CEO Jack pledges $1 billion for coronavirus relief

    Jack Dorsey is devoting $1 billion of his stake in Square Inc., the payments firm he co-founded, to help fund coronavirus relief efforts.

    “After we disarm this pandemic, the focus will shift to girl’s health and education, and UBI,” Dorsey said Tuesday in a tweet, referring to universal basic income. The pledge represents about 28% of his wealth.

    At the end of his Twitter thread, Jack said: “Why now? The needs are increasingly urgent, and I want to see the impact in my lifetime. I hope this inspires others to do something similar. Life is too short, so let’s do everything we can today to help people now. ✌?”

    Dorsey, also co-founder of Twitter Inc., has a net worth of about $3.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

    Meanwhile, Malala thanked Jack for his generosity.

  • Jazz pledges Rs 1.2 billion for COVID-19 relief efforts

    Jazz pledges Rs 1.2 billion for COVID-19 relief efforts

    Pakistan’s largest digital service provider, Jazz, a VEON group company, has pledged PKR 1.2 billion support towards Covid19 relief. The support will include short to mid-term initiatives aimed to limit the negative impact of the pandemic, primarily for the most vulnerable communities.

    According to a press release, Jazz will provide support to leading welfare organisations across Pakistan. The initiatives include COVID-19 tests, life-saving ventilators, and food rations to be passed on to the ones most affected by the calamity. The relief response also facilitates Jazz customers to direct their charitable donations via SMS and JazzCash. Jazz employees will also be voluntarily contributing up to 3-days salary to the nationwide relief effort.

    A significant part of the announced support will be for continuing zero-rated and subsidized services for access to emergency care, medical helplines, and critical health applications, which have been either marked-down or made free for customers under this coronavirus relief effort. Additional support will come in through subsidized voice and data bundles and mobile payments. The company has also accelerated the sign-up process for JazzCash mobile wallets so that relief can be provided urgently by donors directly to local community members most impacted by this pandemic.

    Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim said, “We have been at the forefront of solving every crisis in Pakistan for the past 25 years. The COVID-19 is no exception in stepping up our national responsibility. As a digital company, we have a huge role to play in keeping the economy advancing through online connectivity. This global crisis is unprecedented in its scale, and our prayers are with those who are suffering.”

    Aamir added, “It has been our experience that reliance on scientific data, developing a robust, on-ground response, and an active collaboration will lead us out of this crisis. I’m glad that in this time of uncertainty, we are working together with the government, the armed forces, federal and provincial authorities, as they tirelessly contain the spread of Covid19.”

    Mobile communications, access to high-speed internet, and mobile payments are declared essential services during any crisis. The cellular company is working actively to ensure that its services remain unaffected so that Pakistan can stay connected to both work and family.