Vice got their hands on a leaked memo from Facebook that sheds light on some troubling privacy issues on the platform. Per the memo, Facebook is worried about the growing number of user privacy regulations around the world because the company cannot say where the user data they collect goes exactly or what the companies that collect it are doing with it. Facebook admits the problem is that the systems have open borders and very little regulation. It’s like pouring ink into a lake and trying to get the ink back into the bottle. The memo comes from the Facebook Ad and Business Product team privacy group. They say they don’t have adequate control and can’t say that they can’t confidently say that no one can use specific data for specific purposes, which runs counter to explicit regulations like GDPR and CCPA. This sounds like a nightmare scenario for privacy advocates. All this and more on this week’s Rundown.
0:47 – Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Released
You can’t get more stable than a long term support release and now Ubuntu has you covered with the latest version of their rock-solid distro. In this release, Canonical is touting the adoption rate of Ubuntu in the public cloud and the fact that they are the only Linux distribution to support Azure Confidential VMs. Stephen, should we get excited about the Honda Civic of Linux?
Read More: Canonical Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is released
3:07 – Istio Applies to Become CNCF Project
Google has finally submitted Istio to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) for consideration as an incubation project. Google had initially submitted the project to the Open Usage Commons group even though Kubernetes and Envoy are a part of CNCF. This had created some issue in the community but Google appears to have listened and asked OUC to donate the trademarks to the Linux Foundation to manage the project.The community has been supportive of this move overall. The vote on the acceptance of the project will come after consideration of the application and due dilligence investigations. Tom, why did Google wait so long?
Read More: Istio has applied to become a CNCF project
5:39 – Toshiba Looking for a Buyer
Toshiba is shopping for some investment. The company is reportedly looking to ease pressure from investors regarding the future of the business. Even after creating the joint-venture Kioxia with Western Digital back in 2019 the calls for the company to reorganize have not ceased. Effessimo and 3D Investment Partners are the largest shareholders of Toshiba and they have indicated they are willing to sell their stock to Bain Capital should the latter initiate a takeover bid for the compnay. Toshiba has been through three CEOs in the last year and has offered to split the company mulitple times to no success. Stephen, how should Toshiba proceed from here?
Read More: For sale: Toshiba considering a buyout
9:37 – Intuit Sued over Mailchimp Intrusion
We covered the Mailchimp breach a few weeks ago on the Rundown but it’s back in the news again. A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed by cryptocurrency investors against Intuit and Rocket Science Group, the owner and operator of Mailchimp. The suit alleges that poor security practices at Intuit allowed attackers to send phishing emails to empty the Trezor cryptocurrency wallets.Tom, do you think this lawsuit will succeed?
Read More: Intuit sued over alleged cryptocurrency thefts via Mailchimp intrusion
12:10 – Ayar Labs Nabs Series C from Intel and NVIDIA
Both NVIDIA and Intel are looking to the future of photonics this week with the announcement that they will be investing in the Series C funding round for Ayar Labs. The company is focused on silicon photonics, which connects chips with light pulses instead of electrical signals. The result is a chip capable of much higher speeds and greatly reduced power consumption. Intel has been doing major research on silicon photonics for a number of years and has invested in Ayar before but this is the first foray into the technology for NVIDIA. Stephen, could this startup succeed in bringing this new technology into the light?
Read More: Nvidia, Intel, others pour $130m into optical chip startup Ayar Labs
15:35 – Facebook Doesn’t Know Where Your Data Goes
Vice got their hands on a leaked memo from Facebook that sheds light on some troubling privacy issues on the platform. Per the memo, Facebook is worried about the growing number of user privacy regulations around the world because the company cannot say where the user data they collect goes exactly or what the companies that collect it are doing with it. Facebook admits the problem is that the systems have open borders and very little regulation. It’s like pouring ink into a lake and trying to get the ink back into the bottle. The memo comes from the Facebook Ad and Business Product team privacy group. They say they don’t have adequate control and can’t say that they can’t confidently say that no one can use specific data for specific purposes, which runs counter to explicit regulations like GDPR and CCPA. Stephen, this sounds like a nightmare scenario for privacy advocates.
Read More: Facebook Doesn’t Know What It Does With Your Data, Or Where It Goes: Leaked Document
23:09 – The Week Ahead
Dell Technologies World is taking Place May 2 through May 5, 2022
Networking Field Day is taking place May 4 through May 6, 2022
AI Field Day is taking place May 18 through May 20, 2022
Cisco Live US is taking place June 12 through June 16, 2022
The Gestalt IT Rundown is a live weekly look at the IT news of the week. It broadcasts live on Facebook every Wednesday at 12:30pm ET. To watch along, “Like” our Facebook page. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.
