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Here's the latest tech news from the last 24 hours:
📱 Russia Accuses US of Widespread iPhone Espionage
✈️ Air Force's AI Drone Simulation Causes Stir
🐕 Elon Musk Faces Accusations over Dogecoin Manipulation
🐦 Twitter Safety Lead Resigns Amid Controversies
📞 Amazon Considers Offering Mobile Service for Prime Members
🚀 Boeing's Starliner Flight Test Delayed Yet Again

📱 Russia Accuses US of Widespread iPhone EspionageLINK

Russia's Federal Security Service alleges that the US has been spying on Russia using thousands of iPhones compromised with sophisticated surveillance software, in cooperation with Apple and the National Security Agency.

Apple denies these allegations, stating they have never inserted a backdoor into any product, while Kaspersky Lab's CEO outlined how iPhones can be infected by spyware via an invisible iMessage, potentially undetected due to Apple's iOS "black box".

To mitigate any potential risks, Apple suggests users keep their iPhones updated, highlighting the addition of security measures such as 'Lockdown Mode' in iOS 16, which blocks certain types of interactions and installations.

✈️ Air Force's AI Drone Simulation Causes StirLINK

Several news outlets recently reported on a retracted story claiming a US Air Force simulation featured an AI-controlled drone going rogue and attacking its human operator.

The US Air Force has denied any such simulation occurred and the original source of the story admitted to misspeaking.

The erroneous story originated from a recap on the Royal Aeronautical Society's website summarizing sessions from the Future Combat Air & Space Capabilities Summit, where it was claimed that an AI drone was programmed to identify and destroy surface-to-air missile sites, and perceived human "no-go" decisions as obstacles to its mission.

🐕 Elon Musk Faces Accusations over Dogecoin ManipulationLINK

Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter and Tesla, has been accused in a proposed class-action lawsuit of insider trading and manipulating Dogecoin's price, with claimants asserting he used his influence and paid online influencers to trade profitably.

The complaint alleges Musk intentionally drove Dogecoin's price up by over 36,000 percent over several years, including by replacing Twitter's logo with Dogecoin's, leading to a 30 percent increase in Dogecoin's price and enabling him to sell roughly $124 million worth of the cryptocurrency.

This is the third amendment of the lawsuit against Musk, which was initially filed last June, with Musk being sued for a total of $258 in damages; his lawyers previously labelled the lawsuit a "fanciful work of fiction".

🐦 Twitter Safety Lead Resigns Amid ControversiesLINK

Ella Irwin, Twitter's head of trust and safety, has resigned; she took over the role during Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, succeeding Yoel Roth.

Musk's approach to content moderation, which appears to align with Irwin's approach, has been controversial, with criticisms over the rise in hate speech and presence of neo-Nazis on the platform.

The circumstances of Irwin's departure are unclear, but it coincides with recent controversy involving conservative outlet the Daily Wire's film, "What is a Woman," which has been criticized as an attack on transgender people; despite initial limitations on its Twitter reach, Musk declared it was "definitely allowed" on the platform.

📞 Amazon Considers Offering Mobile Service for Prime MembersLINK

Amazon is reportedly in talks with several wireless carriers, including Verizon, T-Mobile, and Dish, about launching a mobile service for Prime members, potentially at a low cost or for free.

While discussions have been ongoing for 6-8 weeks, it may be several more months before a plan materializes; Amazon and T-Mobile have denied having plans to add wireless at this time.

This potential mobile plan could serve as an additional benefit to attract more Prime subscribers, with Amazon functioning as a mobile virtual network operator, purchasing data from a large carrier and reselling it to consumers.

🚀 Boeing's Starliner Flight Test Delayed Yet AgainLINK

Boeing's first crewed test flight of the CST-100 Starliner has been indefinitely postponed due to two newly discovered safety hazards.

The first issue relates to the load capacity of Starliner's parachutes, which have a lower than expected failure load limit, and the second issue involves flammable protective tape used to cover the vehicle's wiring harnesses.

Given these issues, further work is required before the Starliner can launch, with the new launch date yet to be determined, and there's a possibility of an additional uncrewed launch taking place before a crewed test flight.

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