Find out the week’s top mobile stories from around the world.
This week.. Google confirms backdoor came preinstalled on Android devices, China gives green light for local 5G rollout, time spent with mobile in US now exceeds TV and much more…
Google confirms that advanced backdoor came preinstalled on Android devices
Ars Technica
Criminals in 2017 managed to get an advanced backdoor preinstalled on Android devices before they left the factories of manufacturers, Google researchers confirmed on Thursday.
Triada first came to light in 2016 in articles published by Kaspersky here and here, the first of which said the malware was “one of the most advanced mobile Trojans” the security firm’s analysts had ever encountered. Once installed, Triada’s chief purpose was to install apps that could be used to send spam and display ads.
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China gives green light for local 5G rollout amid tech tensions with US
CNBC
China has given the go ahead for its major state-owned mobile carries to start rolling out next generation networks known as 5G, a move experts said was partly a response to the ongoing trade war with the U.S.
The country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Thursday issued 5G commercial licenses to China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Radio and Television. It means those carriers can start rolling out commercial 5G applications. They were given a license for testing at the end of last year.
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Time spent with mobile now exceeds TV
Marketing Land
Americans will spend more time on their smartphones (and tablets) than watching traditional TV, which is broadly defined to include video downloaded from the internet, according to a new forecast from eMarketer. The forecast estimates adults will spend an average of 3 hours, 43 minutes daily on mobile devices, not counting calls, and 3 hours, 35 minutes watching TV.
Audio, social are top mobile activities. Smartphones, specifically, will capture 2 hours and 33 minutes of mobile media time this year. This represents a 9 minute increase over last year according to eMarketer. Video is the “third-biggest driver of growth in mobile app engagement.” Digital audio and social networking are number one and two respectively.
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The Mobile Workforce Of Tomorrow Is On The Way
Forbes
The next generation of mobile is on the way—and sooner than we think. With lightning-fast mobile speeds, improved reliability, seamless connectivity and more, consumers and businesses alike can expect a dramatic transformation in the way people work.
As mobile networks of the future take shape, tomorrow’s workforce will increasingly leverage cutting-edge technologies to simplify and accelerate work—from meetings via hologram or virtual reality to AI-enabled tools that boost efficiency across a variety of tasks.
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Cell phone carriers now have the power to stop robocalls. When will they use it?
Digital Trends
The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to allow cell phone companies to block robocalls by default, but the nation’s major carriers would not give specifics on if or when they would use the newfound power to protect their customers from what’s become a daily annoyance.
After Thursday’s vote, carriers can now block non-pre-approved numbers by default in order to protect elderly and other vulnerable individuals and to preserve the sanity of the rest of us. Calls from foreign countries in the middle of the night, deceptive caller IDs, and spoofing, where callers falsify area code information are not only disruptive, they encourage online telemarketing and scamming and are generally considered a dangerous waste of time.
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A backdoor in Optergy tech could remotely shut down a smart building ‘with one click’
TechCrunch
Homeland Security has given the maximum severity score for a vulnerability in a popular smart building automation system.
Optergy’s Proton allows building owners and managers to remotely monitor energy consumption and manage who can access the premises. The box is web-connected, and connects to other devices — like air conditioning and heating — in the building for real-time monitoring through a web interface.
CISA, the government’s dedicated cybersecurity unit, said the device had serious vulnerabilities.
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How China’s Boomplay beat Spotify and Apple to corner Africa’s streaming market
CNN
When Chinese music streaming company Transsnet wanted to break into the lucrative African market, they partnered with parent company, Transsion holdings, the makers of popular phone brands such as Infinix and TECNO to pre-install their Boomplay app on their handsets.
By leveraging the popularity of these phones among African users, the company was able to market Boomplay directly to the consumer.
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View from India: IoT is the key to creating Smart Cities
E&T
The Government of India aims to develop a connected and smart Internet of Things (IoT) system for the country’s economy, society, environment and global needs. Implementation of IoT in India has gained impetus through initiatives such as Digital India and the Smart Cities.
These are some insights shared in the report, ‘Internet of Things in Smart Cities’.
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You probably haven’t heard of Nubank. But it could be a $10 billion company, so you should.
Vox
Not many people in the US are familiar with Nubank, a digital bank that has become the most valuable startup in Latin America by extending credit cards to the unbanked and challenging the financial system of one of the world’s biggest markets, Brazil.
But Nubank is trying to become one of the most valuable financial technology startups in the world — aiming for a valuation of between $8 billion and $10 billion as it prepares to expand beyond Brazil to all of Latin America, Recode has learned.
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