Today’s topics include an Alteryx cloud data leak exposing information on 123 million Americans; Intel focusing on the internet of things, artificial intelligence and 5G for future growth; Google soon requiring Android developers to build only 64-bit apps; and Microsoft previewing a Timeline feature in Windows.
Security firm UpGuard on Dec. 19 reported yet another Amazon S3 data leak—this one from data analytics firm Alteryx, which exposed information on 123 million American households.
“Exposed within the repository are massive data sets belonging to Alteryx partner Experian, the consumer credit reporting agency, as well as the US Census Bureau, providing data sets from both Experian and the 2010 US Census,” said Dan O’Sullivan, cyber resilience analyst at UpGuard.
The misconfigured Amazon S3 storage instance was discovered by UpGuard Director of Cyber Risk Research Chris Vickery. He and his team at UpGuard have reported a number of similar instances of improperly configured Amazon S3 storage instances over the course of 2017. In the Alteryx incident, the data wasn’t publicly accessible to anyone on the internet, but rather to anyone who was logged into Amazon Web Services.
In an internal memo Dec. 19 to employees, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said his company has been “radically” changing and expanding beyond its core PC chip markets into growth areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, the internet of things, 5G wireless technologies and autonomous vehicles.
Intel is “just inches away from being a 50/50 company, meaning that half [its] revenue comes from the PC and half from new growth markets,” Krzanich said. He told employees, “In many of these new markets we are definitely the underdog. That’s an exciting challenge—it requires that we develop and use new, different muscles.”
Krzanich’s memo emphasized that Intel won’t shy away from trying new things. “[The company will] embrace change and act as One Intel—a hungry, aggressive company not content to play defense but instead fired up to [go] after a $260 billion potential market,” he said.
Starting August 2019, Google will require Android developers to provide 64-bit versions of their applications. That move is part of a broader effort to improve the performance and safety of Android apps.
Android Product Manager Edward Cunningham announced that and two other impending changes to Android app developer requirements on Dec. 19. In the second half of 2018, Google will also require Android developers to ensure new applications are designed for the latest versions of the operating system in order to take advantage of the new security and performance-enhancing features.
Furthermore, beginning early 2018, Google will start adding a small amount of security metadata on top of Android application kits to verify application authenticity.
Microsoft has added in Windows 10 build 17063 a new feature called Timeline that allows users to resume previous tasks by scrolling to an earlier point in time through visual snapshots of their activities on a PC and compatible applications on an iPhone, iPad or Android device.
“Each activity links right back to a webpage, document, article, playlist, or task, saving you time when you want to resume that activity later,” explained Dona Sarkar, a software engineer at Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group and head of the Windows Insider program.
Timeline doesn’t work with all Windows applications, at least not yet. So far, it does work in Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint and the Edge browser, among other apps. Timeline is currently only available to members of the Windows Insider early-access program