Phone

• India's IT secretary announced on Thursday that the government is investigating a data breach at Tata Electronics. • The leak exposed sensitive documents related to Apple's unreleased iPhone 18 Pro, compromising proprietary hardware or software secrets. • This incident is significant as it marks the government's first public acknowledgment of the breach involving a major domestic electronics manufacturer and a global tech giant.

• Shares of Apple's Asian suppliers surged following reports that the company plans to increase iPhone production. • The rally reflects investor optimism regarding higher demand and increased order volumes for components. • This shift is significant as it suggests a potential boost in global smartphone shipments and revenue for the supply chain.

• The FIFA World Cup 2026 can be streamed live on mobile phones through various apps. • DirecTV app is a recommended option, offering stable coverage without equipment or contracts, starting at $89.99/month. • The entry-level Entertainment tier of DirecTV covers local network FOX affiliates and FS1.

Outright bans may have unintended negative consequences for young people, University College London report warnsSchool smartphone bans are “overly simplistic” and are not supported by young people who regard them as “punitive” rather than helpful, according to research by University College London.The UCL report was published on Tuesday, the day after a statutory ban on smartphones in schools in England came into force, making individual schools and trusts legally responsible for being phone-free throughout the day. Continue reading...

Case of Andrei Pivovarov raises questions about how much control Cellebrite has over its own softwareRussian authorities used tools from the Israeli company Cellebrite to break into the phone of a political prisoner, months after the company said it cancelled its contracts with Russia, an investigation by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab research unit has found.The case raises questions about how much control Cellebrite has over its own software, which allows users to easily break into phones and examine their contents. The tools are sold worldwide and widely used by police forces in the UK and the US. Continue reading...

Coroner tells freebirth inquest new material ‘of such significance’ any findings must be postponed so information can be analysedThe closing submissions in an inquest into the death of a woman who gave birth at home with no support from medically trained health workers has been delayed, after new evidence came to light following a forensic analysis of her mobile phone.Stacey Warnecke, a 30 year-old nutritionist, died on 29 September in Frankston hospital in Melbourne. Continue reading...

Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibitionThe Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions.In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the Guardian, the ban was to take effect this week and prohibits “high rank, low rank, general mujahideen, or service staff” from using mobile phones. Continue reading...