Technology - Google News

Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery - Financial Times
Rumour: Sony Targeting AAA Titles for Stunning Next-Gen PS5 VR Headset - Push Square
Google's latest mesh WiFi system hits an all-time low for a three-pack - Engadget

Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery - Financial Times

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 08:02 AM PDT

Apple intends to install software on American iPhones to scan for child abuse imagery, according to people briefed on its plans, raising alarm among security researchers who warn that it could open the door to surveillance of millions of people's personal devices.

Apple detailed its proposed system — known as "neuralMatch" — to some US academics earlier this week, according to two security researchers briefed on the virtual meeting. The plans could be publicised more widely as soon as this week, they said.

The automated system would proactively alert a team of human reviewers if it believes illegal imagery is detected, who would then contact law enforcement if the material can be verified. The scheme will initially roll out only in the US.

Apple declined to comment.

The proposals are Apple's attempt to find a compromise between its own promise to protect customers' privacy and ongoing demands from governments, law enforcement agencies and child safety campaigners for more assistance in criminal investigations, including terrorism and child pornography.

The tension between tech companies such as Apple and Facebook, which have defended their increasing use of encryption in their products and services, and law enforcement has only intensified since the iPhone maker went to court with the FBI in 2016 over access to a terror suspect's iPhone following a shooting in San Bernardino, California.

Security researchers, while supportive of efforts to combat child abuse, are concerned that Apple risks enabling governments around the world to seek access to their citizens' personal data, potentially far beyond its original intent.

"It is an absolutely appalling idea, because it is going to lead to distributed bulk surveillance of . . . our phones and laptops," said Ross Anderson, professor of security engineering at the University of Cambridge.

Although the system is currently trained to spot child sex abuse, it could be adapted to scan for any other targeted imagery and text, for instance, terror beheadings or anti-government signs at protests, say researchers. Apple's precedent could also increase pressure on other tech companies to use similar techniques.

"This will break the dam — governments will demand it from everyone," said Matthew Green, a security professor at Johns Hopkins University, who is believed to be the first researcher to post a tweet about the issue.

Alec Muffett, a security researcher and privacy campaigner who formerly worked at Facebook and Deliveroo, said Apple's move was "tectonic" and a "huge and regressive step for individual privacy".

"Apple are walking back privacy to enable 1984," he said.

Cloud-based photo storage systems and social networking sites already scan for child abuse imagery, but that process becomes more complex when trying to access data stored on a personal device.

Apple's system is less invasive in that the screening is done on the phone, and "only if there is a match is notification sent back to those searching", said Alan Woodward, a computer security professor at the University of Surrey. "This decentralised approach is about the best approach you could adopt if you do go down this route."

Apple's neuralMatch algorithm will continuously scan photos that are stored on a US user's iPhone and have also been uploaded to its iCloud back-up system. Users' photos, converted into a string of numbers through a process known as "hashing", will be compared with those on a database of known images of child sexual abuse.

The system has been trained on 200,000 sex abuse images collected by the US non-profit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

According to people briefed on the plans, every photo uploaded to iCloud in the US will be given a "safety voucher" saying whether it is suspect or not. Once a certain number of photos are marked as suspect, Apple will enable all the suspect photos to be decrypted and, if apparently illegal, passed on to the relevant authorities.

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Rumour: Sony Targeting AAA Titles for Stunning Next-Gen PS5 VR Headset - Push Square

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 05:00 AM PDT

Sony is eager to propel virtual reality into a new era, as it targets AAA content for its next-gen PSVR headset, which sounds both incredible and seriously expensive. As part of a developer presentation earlier in the week – which we can corroborate did take place – the Japanese giant introduced its new technology to major studios around the globe.

Many of the details coming out of the event have been reported before: the headset features Fresnel OLED screens (not Samsung) with 2000x2040 resolution per eye, although there is now talk of HDR, which should help with contrast and colour clarity. The field-of-view is 110-degrees – an increase of 10-degrees on the existing PSVR headset – and it has haptic feedback built in to help reduce motion sickness.

Research has proven that mapping a slight vibration to, for example, footsteps can "trick" the ear canal into thinking that you're walking, which in turn can help to reduce that lurching feeling that's common during virtual reality locomotion. Don't expect the headset to buzz like crazy – this should be a more subtle feature to help ground you in the experience.

Perhaps most exciting is the continued talk of foveated rendering. This technology uses eye-tracking to detect where you're looking and divert computational power to that part of the scene. The theory is that anything in your peripheral vision doesn't need to be rendered at full resolution, thus reducing the strain on the PlayStation 5 hardware and allowing developers to squeeze more out of it.

There's more, though: it looks like Sony is also using something called Flexible Scaling Resolution, which sounds a little bit like an upscaling solution – again, built with reducing resources while maintaining good image quality. Put all of this together – including the high-resolution, HDR screens – and in theory we should end up with much, much better looking games.

And here's where it gets really exciting: perhaps recognising that the standalone Oculus Quest is now its primary competition, Sony seems to be targeting AAA content. Apparently, it wants to move away from the proof-of-concept "experiences" that were common on the original PSVR, and focus on full-blown games.

Interestingly, there's chatter of it tasking its first-party developers with creating "hybrid" software – or, in other words, titles that can be played both traditionally on a television and in virtual reality, like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Whether this will pan out remains to be seen – it would take a lot of work to convert something like, say, The Last of Us: Part II to VR – but it's certainly exciting if it can pull this off.

As we already know, the controllers – which will be bundled with the headset – will feature haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, but will also be able to sense the position of your thumb and index finger, presumably allowing you to grab things more authentically. It's unclear whether the DualSense will be supported.

Perhaps the only downside is that, due to the enormous differences in technology, it sounds like there will be no backwards compatibility for existing PSVR games – although the company is pushing for remasters of some of the most popular releases. This isn't massively surprising really, considering the controllers are completely different and the tracking technology no longer requires a camera.

The other concern, of course, is the price. This sounds seriously cutting edge, and while Sony will obviously be saving money by opting for a wired solution, bundling in the controllers is not going to be cheap. Further details are allegedly set to be revealed in early 2022, with a release presumably planned for later that year.

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Google's latest mesh WiFi system hits an all-time low for a three-pack - Engadget

Posted: 05 Aug 2021 07:40 AM PDT

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Families who are still largely working and studying at home might find that their WiFi network is feeling the strain, especially if someone's setup is far away from the router. If you're on the lookout for an upgrade, it may be worth considering the Google WiFi mesh system. A three-pack of nodes currently costs $149 on Amazon. That's the lowest price we've seen to date on the most recent model, which debuted in October at a price of $199 for the three-pack.

Buy Google WiFi (three-pack) at Amazon - $149

The idea behind a mesh system is that, after you set up the nodes around your home, they can work together to provide a stronger WiFi network across a larger area than many single routers are capable of. Google WiFi supports speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps, the company says. It claims a single point can support multiple simultaneous 4K video streams, though the size of your home, building materials and layout can impact signal strength.

The system uses WPA3 encryption and dual-band connectivity, as well as security updates and parental controls. You can manage the network using the Google Home app.

It's worth noting Google WiFi isn't quite as fast as the Nest WiFi system. Each node can cover up to 1,500 square feet, compared with 2,200 square feet for the Nest WiFi router and 1,600 square feet for each additional point. The latter also has a built-in Google Assistant smart speaker. A Nest WiFi three-pack costs $350, though. If you're in the market for a solid mesh system that won't break the bank, Google WiFi might do the trick.

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