Crowdstrike says ‘significant number’ of devices now online, Ofcom fines BT £17.5 million
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike says “a significant number” of devices that were impacted by a global IT outage on Friday are now back online. In a social media post, the company – whose faulty security update caused Microsoft Windows computers to crash around the world – added it “continues to focus on restoring all systems”. Microsoft has estimated that the incident, which is being described as one of the worst IT outages in history, impacted 8.5m computers around the world. BBC
Microsoft has blamed EU rules for enabling a faulty security update to cause the world’s biggest IT outage. The software giant said a 2009 agreement with the European Commission meant it was unable to make security changes that would have blocked the CrowdStrike update that triggered widespread travel and healthcare chaos on Friday. CrowdStrike’s Falcon system, designed to prevent cyber attacks, has privileged access to a key part of a computer known as the kernel. Telegraph
Google is getting ready to unveil the Pixel 9 series at its next launch event on August 13 – and a new leak has given us more information about some of the specs of a third model that Google is apparently introducing this year. As well as the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, we think there’s going to be a Pro XL model this time around. It could be the most expensive phone of the trio, and photos supposedly showing the handset have been posted to the XDA forums (via 9to5Google). Tech Radar
Europe’s car buyers are retreating from the EV market, worried by high prices and a deteriorating financial background. As sales weaken, manufacturers, led by Volkswagen, may need to shut factories to maintain profitability. Sales of electric vehicles have plateaued, just at the time they should be accelerating to meet European Union carbon dioxide elimination rules. Next year, the rules tighten, and are likely to precipitate a crisis. Automakers will have to forgo sales of profitable internal combustion engine-powered vehicles in favor of electric vehicles. Forbes
There’s a new app for Macs called NotchNook that transforms the notch on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro into, basically, the iPhone’s Dynamic Island. And after using it for a day, I’m not sure I can do without it. Just like the Dynamic Island, NotchNook expands out from the notch, revealing a “Nook” with basic media controls (sort of like Live Activities in iOS) and other customizable widgets. The Verge
Just a few weeks ago, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Ring, the company’s new smart ring and the first true competitor to the Oura Ring. But it seems Oura is already planning to fight back with the Oura Ring 4, according to a new leak. As spotted by Android Authority, Oura has submitted two new smart rings for certification (OA11 and OA12), although we only have details on the OA11 so far. From the documentation, it looks like Oura is testing the ring in sizes 7-13 and in a gold design. Tom’s Guide
Ofcom has today fined BT £17.5 million for being ill-prepared to respond to a catastrophic failure of its emergency call-handling service last summer. BT connects 999 and 112 calls in the UK and provides relay services for deaf and speech-impaired people. On Sunday 25 June 2023, BT experienced a network fault that affected its ability to connect calls to emergency services between 06:24 and 16:56. Tech Digest
