 Japan’s Fair Trade Commission is investigating Apple Inc (AAPL.O) over its pressure on Japanese parts makers and whether it abused its power in violation of anti-monopoly rules, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Tuesday. The investigation is the latest by the country’s regulators against the tech giant after they found last year that the company may have breached antitrust rules on the way it sold its iPhones in Japan. It also comes as Apple may face more regulatory scrutiny in the United States. Reuters reported in June that the U.S. Justice Department has jurisdiction for a potential probe of Apple as part of a broader review of whether technology giants are using their size to act in an anti-competitive manner. Japan’s FTC survey of companies showed that Apple had signed contracts forcing firms to provide free technology and know-how to its affiliates for parts manufacturing, the Mainichi said. It also pressured some suppliers to lower components prices and prohibited them from selling parts and technology to other companies, while requiring them to shoulder the costs of any unforeseen issues, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources. When a company called it an infringement of intellectual property rights and demanded a revision, Apple threatened to end their business relationship, the report said. The FTC had no immediate comment. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last year, the FTC investigated Apple over allegations that it unfairly pressured Yahoo Japan Corp (4689.T) to slow the expansion of its online games platform, which competes with Apple’s App Store. The tech firm is also facing a potential U.S. investigation over allegations that App Store policies give the company too much clout over app sales and in-app purchases. Follow this and more on Our Forum.  China's tech company Huawei has been actively developing a new operating system, 'Hongmeng,' after Google confirmed it would stop supporting Android updates for its devices due to US government restrictions on business between Huawei and US companies. Huawei could release a phone with its own operating system later in the year after Google deprived the Chinese tech giant access to Android updates after the US blacklisted the company. Currently, Android is the operating system (OS) installed on Huawei smartphones. According to the Global Times, the OS, built for use with smart TVs and watches rather than mobile phones – is set to be released on 9 August. According to a source speaking to the Global Times, the new OS has cryptographic functions for protecting users' personal data. Read more: Huawei Could Release Smartphone with Its New Hongmeng OS Instead of Android.  A new malware strain targeting Windows systems is rearing its ugly head. Named SystemBC, this malware installs a proxy on infected computers. The bad news is that SystemBC never comes alone, and usually, the presence of this malware indicates that a computer was also infected by a second threat. Proofpoint researchers, who recently analyzed the malware, say its creators are advertising it on underground cybercrime forums to other malware authors. The SystemBC malware is effectively an on-demand proxy component that other malware operators can integrate and deploy on compromised computers alongside their primary strain. SystemBC's main role is to create a SOCKS5 proxy server through which the other malware can create a tunnel to bypass local firewalls, skirt internet content filters, or connect to its command-and-control server without revealing its real IP address. Proofpoint researchers said they identified an ad on a hacking forum for an unnamed malware strain that appears to be SystemBC, dated in early April, about a month before the malware was first seen online, in May. The ad includes images of the SystemBC backend, through which other malware operators can list active installs, update the malware on users' computers, or configure the final IP to which the malware relays traffic from infected hosts. While initially the malware has been seen in some isolated campaigns, Proofpoint researchers say they've now seen it in the past two months being distributed via exploit kits, such as RIG and Fallout. Follow this thread on OUR FORUM. |
Latest Articles
|