Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Ericsson admits it may have paid off ISIS terrorists
Share price down after word of 'unusual expense claims' emerges
Jude Karabus
"Unusual expense claims in Iraq, dating back to 2018" triggered a review that led Ericsson to suspect it paid the self-styled terrorist group Islamic State while doing business in the country, the Swedish giant said last night.
Ericsson's statement comes a day after CEO Börje Ekholm gave an interview to Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri revealing the existence of a "previously completely unknown internal investigation [where] Ericsson identified such serious shortcomings in Iraq that they suspect [intermediaries] of having paid IS terrorists to get through transports" (translated from the Swedish).
In other words, Ericsson may have indirectly paid off ISIS to get equipment shipped through the terrorists' roadblocks in Iraq.
According to Ericsson, it "uncovered compliance concerns," and "investigations of these concerns led to a subsequent and detailed internal investigation that was undertaken by Ericsson in 2019, supported by external legal counsel." The company's share price dropped 12 per cent on NASDAQ after the admission.
The investigation probed Ericsson employees, vendors, and suppliers in Iraq covering a period stretching from 2011 to 2019, and "identified evidence of corruption-related misconduct."
As listed by the vendor itself, this included: making a monetary donation without a clear beneficiary; paying a supplier for work without a defined scope and documentation; using suppliers to make cash payments; funding inappropriate travel and expenses; improper use of sales agents and consultants; violations of Ericsson’s internal financial controls; conflicts of interest; non-compliance with tax laws; and obstruction of the investigation.
Crucially, investigators also identified payments to intermediaries and the use of alternate transport routes in connection with circumventing Iraqi customs, during a period when various terrorist organisations – among them Islamic State aka Da'esh – "controlled some transport routes."
Ekholm told the paper the firm's investigators "could not determine the ultimate recipients of these payments."
The firm stressed that the probe had not identified any Ericsson employee as being "directly involved" in financing terrorist organizations, adding that as a result of the investigation, "several employees were exited from the company and multiple other disciplinary and other remedial actions were taken."
The cost of doing business
Ericsson is the second-biggest network gear maker in the world due to its dominance in 5G telecoms contracts. The Nordic biz said it planned to continue the Iraq country business, albeit with "enhanced training and awareness activities, policies and procedures, and third-party management processes."
It's not great timing for Ericsson, which has been undergoing a restructure, but beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations when it reported yearly revenues several weeks ago. According to industry research firm Dell'Oro, Huawei is the top global radio access network vendor by revenue year-to-date, followed by Ericsson, which is gaining ground outside of China, along with the third of the Big Three full-stack networking solutions sellers: Nokia.
This has been helped along by US sanctions restricting Huawei's access to chip supplies but probably more so by the rip and replace mandates for Huawei radios in national rollouts of 5G networks in the US (whose FCC has designated it a national security threat and excluded it from carrier rollouts) and allied countries.
Huawei has always denied any claims its kit is insecure or that it is beholden to the Chinese state.
Sweden was the second country in Europe (after the UK) to issue a ban and a rip-and-replace order on Huawei kit. The Chinese tech behemoth initiated arbitration proceedings against Sweden after it instituted a ban on Huawei hardware in its national 5G rollout in October 2020. At the time, a backlash in China saw Ericsson's revenues plunge 74 per cent in the Middle Kingdom.
Nonetheless, the firm reported networks sales grew organically by 3 per cent for its in Q4 ended 31 December 2021, "despite considerably lower volumes in Mainland China." It reported sales of 71.3 billion SEK ($7.69bn) for the quarter and net income of 10.1bn SEK ($1.09bn) up from 7.2bn SEK ($780m) in Q4 2020.
The Swedish firm talked up its November purchase of cloud firm Vonage for $6.2bn in its full-year results for 2021. Vonage will be run as a separate segment reporting directly to the CEO, and the Ericsson boss said at the time it would gain "1 million developers" by swallowing the cloud platform. ®
Share price down after word of 'unusual expense claims' emerges
Jude Karabus
Wed 16 Feb 2022
"Unusual expense claims in Iraq, dating back to 2018" triggered a review that led Ericsson to suspect it paid the self-styled terrorist group Islamic State while doing business in the country, the Swedish giant said last night.
Ericsson's statement comes a day after CEO Börje Ekholm gave an interview to Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri revealing the existence of a "previously completely unknown internal investigation [where] Ericsson identified such serious shortcomings in Iraq that they suspect [intermediaries] of having paid IS terrorists to get through transports" (translated from the Swedish).
In other words, Ericsson may have indirectly paid off ISIS to get equipment shipped through the terrorists' roadblocks in Iraq.
According to Ericsson, it "uncovered compliance concerns," and "investigations of these concerns led to a subsequent and detailed internal investigation that was undertaken by Ericsson in 2019, supported by external legal counsel." The company's share price dropped 12 per cent on NASDAQ after the admission.
The investigation probed Ericsson employees, vendors, and suppliers in Iraq covering a period stretching from 2011 to 2019, and "identified evidence of corruption-related misconduct."
As listed by the vendor itself, this included: making a monetary donation without a clear beneficiary; paying a supplier for work without a defined scope and documentation; using suppliers to make cash payments; funding inappropriate travel and expenses; improper use of sales agents and consultants; violations of Ericsson’s internal financial controls; conflicts of interest; non-compliance with tax laws; and obstruction of the investigation.
Crucially, investigators also identified payments to intermediaries and the use of alternate transport routes in connection with circumventing Iraqi customs, during a period when various terrorist organisations – among them Islamic State aka Da'esh – "controlled some transport routes."
Ekholm told the paper the firm's investigators "could not determine the ultimate recipients of these payments."
The firm stressed that the probe had not identified any Ericsson employee as being "directly involved" in financing terrorist organizations, adding that as a result of the investigation, "several employees were exited from the company and multiple other disciplinary and other remedial actions were taken."
The cost of doing business
Ericsson is the second-biggest network gear maker in the world due to its dominance in 5G telecoms contracts. The Nordic biz said it planned to continue the Iraq country business, albeit with "enhanced training and awareness activities, policies and procedures, and third-party management processes."
It's not great timing for Ericsson, which has been undergoing a restructure, but beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations when it reported yearly revenues several weeks ago. According to industry research firm Dell'Oro, Huawei is the top global radio access network vendor by revenue year-to-date, followed by Ericsson, which is gaining ground outside of China, along with the third of the Big Three full-stack networking solutions sellers: Nokia.
This has been helped along by US sanctions restricting Huawei's access to chip supplies but probably more so by the rip and replace mandates for Huawei radios in national rollouts of 5G networks in the US (whose FCC has designated it a national security threat and excluded it from carrier rollouts) and allied countries.
Huawei has always denied any claims its kit is insecure or that it is beholden to the Chinese state.
Sweden was the second country in Europe (after the UK) to issue a ban and a rip-and-replace order on Huawei kit. The Chinese tech behemoth initiated arbitration proceedings against Sweden after it instituted a ban on Huawei hardware in its national 5G rollout in October 2020. At the time, a backlash in China saw Ericsson's revenues plunge 74 per cent in the Middle Kingdom.
Nonetheless, the firm reported networks sales grew organically by 3 per cent for its in Q4 ended 31 December 2021, "despite considerably lower volumes in Mainland China." It reported sales of 71.3 billion SEK ($7.69bn) for the quarter and net income of 10.1bn SEK ($1.09bn) up from 7.2bn SEK ($780m) in Q4 2020.
The Swedish firm talked up its November purchase of cloud firm Vonage for $6.2bn in its full-year results for 2021. Vonage will be run as a separate segment reporting directly to the CEO, and the Ericsson boss said at the time it would gain "1 million developers" by swallowing the cloud platform. ®
Tax inspectors raid Huawei offices
Financial allegations could make nice change from accusations of being Beijing's eavesdropping machine
Simon Sharwood, APAC Editor
Financial allegations could make nice change from accusations of being Beijing's eavesdropping machine
Simon Sharwood, APAC Editor
Fri 18 Feb 2022
The Indian Government's Income Tax Department has raided the local offices of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei as part of an investigation into whether or not the controversial company has met its local taxation obligations.
Huawei's Indian outpost has acknowledged the visit from tax authorities and verified Indian media reports that stated several local staff were interviewed. It also asserted that it does its very best to comply with Indian laws.
In India, Huawei sells consumer electronics and Wi-Fi routers, and tries to sell telecoms gear – but was last year excluded from 5G rollouts.
In response to the raid, China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday expressed its displeasure at what it described as "suppression" of Chinese companies in India. Ministerial spokesperson Gao Feng said China has "serious concerns" about India's actions, and said foreign investment is already suffering as a result.
Perhaps Gao didn't read The Register's February 14th story about Foxconn sinking at least $100 million into a new chipmaking plant in India, or our coverage of Chinese company Wistron investing in India to take advantage of server manufacturing subsidies – a scheme that also lured Dell, Singapore's Flextronics, and Foxconn.
News of the Huawei raid came as India this week banned another 54 made-in-China apps from distribution in local app stores, again on grounds that the apps endanger users' privacy. That brings the total of banned apps to over 300. India has also explicitly set out its stall as an alternative destination for global manufacturers who have found reliance on China worrying. The two nations' militaries have also skirmished along mountainous and ill-defined borders in the Himalayas.
China's Gao said the Ministry he represents hopes India will improve its business environment and treat all foreign investors – including Chinese companies – in a fair, open, and non-discriminatory manner.
Western nations hope China does the same, noting that the Middle Kingdom requires joint ventures with local firms and limits foreign entities' investments in Chinese companies. ®
The Indian Government's Income Tax Department has raided the local offices of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei as part of an investigation into whether or not the controversial company has met its local taxation obligations.
Huawei's Indian outpost has acknowledged the visit from tax authorities and verified Indian media reports that stated several local staff were interviewed. It also asserted that it does its very best to comply with Indian laws.
In India, Huawei sells consumer electronics and Wi-Fi routers, and tries to sell telecoms gear – but was last year excluded from 5G rollouts.
In response to the raid, China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday expressed its displeasure at what it described as "suppression" of Chinese companies in India. Ministerial spokesperson Gao Feng said China has "serious concerns" about India's actions, and said foreign investment is already suffering as a result.
Perhaps Gao didn't read The Register's February 14th story about Foxconn sinking at least $100 million into a new chipmaking plant in India, or our coverage of Chinese company Wistron investing in India to take advantage of server manufacturing subsidies – a scheme that also lured Dell, Singapore's Flextronics, and Foxconn.
News of the Huawei raid came as India this week banned another 54 made-in-China apps from distribution in local app stores, again on grounds that the apps endanger users' privacy. That brings the total of banned apps to over 300. India has also explicitly set out its stall as an alternative destination for global manufacturers who have found reliance on China worrying. The two nations' militaries have also skirmished along mountainous and ill-defined borders in the Himalayas.
China's Gao said the Ministry he represents hopes India will improve its business environment and treat all foreign investors – including Chinese companies – in a fair, open, and non-discriminatory manner.
Western nations hope China does the same, noting that the Middle Kingdom requires joint ventures with local firms and limits foreign entities' investments in Chinese companies. ®
Alarm raised after Microsoft wins data-encoding patent
This is why we can't have nice things, potentially
Bradley Kuhn, policy fellow at Software Freedom Conservancy, told The Register in an email that the SFC opposes the patenting of software algorithms completely.
"We think it's risible that any company, and in particular Microsoft, can claim on one hand to support Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and on the other hand continue to build their giant patent portfolios that will ultimately have chilling effects on FOSS innovation," said Kuhn.
"Microsoft has a long history of patent aggression against FOSS; it was not too long ago that they were shaking down Linux users and Android distributors over patents, and we would expect more shakedowns to come on this and other patents."
Kuhn said attempts to extract patent rent tend to happen behind closed doors, to pressure smaller companies into an "acqui-hire" deal or secure huge licensing payments. The SFC, he said, would gladly work with any company to develop a clear, permanently binding FOSS-friendly patent license.
"What we have regarding software patents is a patchwork of inadequate 'patent promises' and other incomplete solutions," said Kuhn. "For example, despite Microsoft being a member and licensee in the Open Invention Network (OIN, a for-profit industry-controlled consortium), our initial analysis shows that OIN protection will not meaningfully extend to FOSS uses that could infringe this patent.
"Similarly, standards bodies have a very poor track record in protecting FOSS from patent problems. These situations show the real downsides of allowing Big Tech to police themselves on their bad patent policies." ®
This is why we can't have nice things, potentially
Thu 17 Feb 2022
Microsoft last month received a US patent covering modifications to a data-encoding technique called rANS, one of several variants in the Asymmetric Numeral System (ANS) family that support data compression schemes used by leading technology companies and open source projects.
The creator of ANS, Jarosław Duda, assistant professor at Institute of Computer Science at Jagiellonian University in Poland, has been trying for years to keep ANS patent-free and available for public use. Back in 2018, Duda's lobbying helped convince Google to abandon its ANS-related patent claim in the US and Europe. And he raised the alarm last year when he learned Microsoft had applied for an rANS (range asymmetric number system) patent.
Now that Microsoft's patent application has been granted, he fears the utility of ANS will be diminished, as software developers try to steer clear of a potential infringement claim.
"I don't know what to do with it – [Microsoft's patent] looks like just the description of the standard algorithm," he told The Register in an email. The algorithm is used in JPEG XL and CRAM, as well as open source projects run by Facebook (Meta), Nvidia, and others.
The Register asked Microsoft whether it intends to seek royalties for its patent but the company has not responded.
"This rANS variant is [for example] used in JPEG XL, which is practically finished (frozen bitstream) and [is] gaining support," Duda told The Register last year. "It provides ~3x better compression than JPEG at similar computational cost, compatibility with JPEG, progressive decoding, missing features like HDR, alpha, lossless, animations.
"There is a large team, mostly from Google, behind it. After nearly 30 years, it should finally replace the 1992 JPEG for photos and images, starting with Chrome, Android."
But now, he said, Microsoft's patent could make JPEG XL adoption more difficult.
The tangled web of patents
Others don't consider the situation to be that dire. Jon Sneyers, senior image researcher at Cloudinary and editor of the JPEG XL spec, told The Register in an email message, "As far as I know, this patent doesn't affect JPEG XL. At least Microsoft has not declared to ISO that it does, even though they have had plenty of time to do so if they thought it did, and Microsoft is participating in JPEG so they are aware of the technology used in JPEG XL. But of course I am not a lawyer."
In a phone interview, Timothy Lee, a reporter for Full Stack Economics who covered Google's attempt to secure an ANS-based patent three years ago, said that the proliferation of patent applications related to ANS illustrates the problem with the way software patents work.
"Companies try to make minor improvements on technologies and then patent those," he explained. "Then you end up with a patent thicket where there are only so many to implement, and if all of those ways are patented, it becomes difficult to figure out a way around it."
Another problem, he said, is that there's no standard terminology for software patents. Unlike drug patents, where chemical formulas can be specified, software patents may describe the same thing in different ways.
"It becomes quite a minefield when you are an open source developer who doesn't have the time or resources to hire a patent lawyer," he said.
Microsoft last month received a US patent covering modifications to a data-encoding technique called rANS, one of several variants in the Asymmetric Numeral System (ANS) family that support data compression schemes used by leading technology companies and open source projects.
The creator of ANS, Jarosław Duda, assistant professor at Institute of Computer Science at Jagiellonian University in Poland, has been trying for years to keep ANS patent-free and available for public use. Back in 2018, Duda's lobbying helped convince Google to abandon its ANS-related patent claim in the US and Europe. And he raised the alarm last year when he learned Microsoft had applied for an rANS (range asymmetric number system) patent.
Now that Microsoft's patent application has been granted, he fears the utility of ANS will be diminished, as software developers try to steer clear of a potential infringement claim.
"I don't know what to do with it – [Microsoft's patent] looks like just the description of the standard algorithm," he told The Register in an email. The algorithm is used in JPEG XL and CRAM, as well as open source projects run by Facebook (Meta), Nvidia, and others.
The Register asked Microsoft whether it intends to seek royalties for its patent but the company has not responded.
"This rANS variant is [for example] used in JPEG XL, which is practically finished (frozen bitstream) and [is] gaining support," Duda told The Register last year. "It provides ~3x better compression than JPEG at similar computational cost, compatibility with JPEG, progressive decoding, missing features like HDR, alpha, lossless, animations.
"There is a large team, mostly from Google, behind it. After nearly 30 years, it should finally replace the 1992 JPEG for photos and images, starting with Chrome, Android."
But now, he said, Microsoft's patent could make JPEG XL adoption more difficult.
The tangled web of patents
Others don't consider the situation to be that dire. Jon Sneyers, senior image researcher at Cloudinary and editor of the JPEG XL spec, told The Register in an email message, "As far as I know, this patent doesn't affect JPEG XL. At least Microsoft has not declared to ISO that it does, even though they have had plenty of time to do so if they thought it did, and Microsoft is participating in JPEG so they are aware of the technology used in JPEG XL. But of course I am not a lawyer."
In a phone interview, Timothy Lee, a reporter for Full Stack Economics who covered Google's attempt to secure an ANS-based patent three years ago, said that the proliferation of patent applications related to ANS illustrates the problem with the way software patents work.
"Companies try to make minor improvements on technologies and then patent those," he explained. "Then you end up with a patent thicket where there are only so many to implement, and if all of those ways are patented, it becomes difficult to figure out a way around it."
Another problem, he said, is that there's no standard terminology for software patents. Unlike drug patents, where chemical formulas can be specified, software patents may describe the same thing in different ways.
"It becomes quite a minefield when you are an open source developer who doesn't have the time or resources to hire a patent lawyer," he said.
Bradley Kuhn, policy fellow at Software Freedom Conservancy, told The Register in an email that the SFC opposes the patenting of software algorithms completely.
"We think it's risible that any company, and in particular Microsoft, can claim on one hand to support Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and on the other hand continue to build their giant patent portfolios that will ultimately have chilling effects on FOSS innovation," said Kuhn.
"Microsoft has a long history of patent aggression against FOSS; it was not too long ago that they were shaking down Linux users and Android distributors over patents, and we would expect more shakedowns to come on this and other patents."
Kuhn said attempts to extract patent rent tend to happen behind closed doors, to pressure smaller companies into an "acqui-hire" deal or secure huge licensing payments. The SFC, he said, would gladly work with any company to develop a clear, permanently binding FOSS-friendly patent license.
"What we have regarding software patents is a patchwork of inadequate 'patent promises' and other incomplete solutions," said Kuhn. "For example, despite Microsoft being a member and licensee in the Open Invention Network (OIN, a for-profit industry-controlled consortium), our initial analysis shows that OIN protection will not meaningfully extend to FOSS uses that could infringe this patent.
"Similarly, standards bodies have a very poor track record in protecting FOSS from patent problems. These situations show the real downsides of allowing Big Tech to police themselves on their bad patent policies." ®
WeChat, AliExpress added to US Notorious Markets list
Trade watchdog admits China is #1 ... at cranking out counterfeit products, sometimes with forced labor
Trade watchdog admits China is #1 ... at cranking out counterfeit products, sometimes with forced labor
Fri 18 Feb 2022
An updated US Trade Representative's Office register of online and physical markets that reportedly sell or facilitate fake goods has added AliExpress and WeChat to its already China-heavy list.
Released on Thursday, the 2021 Notorious Markets List names 42 online markets and 35 physical facilities accused of copyright infringement or facilitating substantial trademark counterfeiting. Of the markets included, around 20 per cent are based in China. Of the counterfeit kit seized by US authorities in 2020, 79 per cent of it came from China, and that haul accounted for 83 per cent of counterfeit goods by value.
Counterfeiting is not just about cheap knockoffs of designer handbags: fake routers are easy to find and The Register has often read about fake external hard disks that sometimes pack a low-capacity thumb drive and weights to give the device appropriate heft.
"China continues to be the number one source of counterfeit products in the world," according to the document [PDF] detailing the list.
For the first time since the yearly report began in 2011, the list names Alibaba's AliExpress and the Tencent-owned WeChat e-commerce platform.
Alibaba has experience of the list as its e-commerce platform Taobao has made it for the fifth year in succession. Other Chinese entities tied to the nation's big tech platforms include Baidu's cloud storage service Baidu Wangpan, B2B cross-border e-commerce platform DHGate, and social commerce app Pinduoduo.
Complaints from rights holders about the sites typically founder as responses to copyright claims are seldom swift and it is hard to have counterfeit products removed from sale. Many platforms are also accused of of not conducting due diligence to keep bad actors hawking fake goods off thier sites in the first place.
In addition to the six online platforms, nine brick-and-mortar Chinese markets were listed.
The Office reported that foot traffic had declined at many physical counterfeit Chinese markets due to growth in online sales. To avoid confiscation of goods in raids, sellers maintain less physical inventory and offer a larger range online. The physical shops then serve as points of contact for buyers and online sales fulfilment.
The Trade Rep was careful to note that the list is not exhaustive, nor does it reflect legal violations, government analysis of intellectual property, or enforcement-related matters.
However, it did note that enforcement has been somewhat ineffective – as shown by the number of repeat offenders appearing on the list.
In a canned statement, US Traade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai said the sale of counterfeit goods contributes to "exploitative labour practices" and "undermines critical US innovation."
The reminder feels necessary, as the document often reads like a tour guide book – with such nuggets as this one about a Shanghai market:
Described by online tourist directories as "an underground maze" connected to a metro station near Shanghai's popular sights, this market hosts numerous stalls openly offering counterfeit apparel and fashion accessories.
Rights holders report that authorities have not conducted any recent raids on the market and that the majority of the goods are counterfeit.
Beyond the counterfeit merchandise openly on display, some sellers of counterfeit merchandise allegedly also offer "high end" counterfeits on demand via delivery.
Those finding themselves tempted should know the 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy referred to China as "the country with the greatest number of products made with forced labour, including state-sponsored forced labour."
China has credibly and repeatedly been accused of operating forced labour camps – particularly in Xinjiang, a region whose inhabitants are mostly members of the Muslim Uyghur minority.®
An updated US Trade Representative's Office register of online and physical markets that reportedly sell or facilitate fake goods has added AliExpress and WeChat to its already China-heavy list.
Released on Thursday, the 2021 Notorious Markets List names 42 online markets and 35 physical facilities accused of copyright infringement or facilitating substantial trademark counterfeiting. Of the markets included, around 20 per cent are based in China. Of the counterfeit kit seized by US authorities in 2020, 79 per cent of it came from China, and that haul accounted for 83 per cent of counterfeit goods by value.
Counterfeiting is not just about cheap knockoffs of designer handbags: fake routers are easy to find and The Register has often read about fake external hard disks that sometimes pack a low-capacity thumb drive and weights to give the device appropriate heft.
"China continues to be the number one source of counterfeit products in the world," according to the document [PDF] detailing the list.
For the first time since the yearly report began in 2011, the list names Alibaba's AliExpress and the Tencent-owned WeChat e-commerce platform.
Alibaba has experience of the list as its e-commerce platform Taobao has made it for the fifth year in succession. Other Chinese entities tied to the nation's big tech platforms include Baidu's cloud storage service Baidu Wangpan, B2B cross-border e-commerce platform DHGate, and social commerce app Pinduoduo.
Complaints from rights holders about the sites typically founder as responses to copyright claims are seldom swift and it is hard to have counterfeit products removed from sale. Many platforms are also accused of of not conducting due diligence to keep bad actors hawking fake goods off thier sites in the first place.
In addition to the six online platforms, nine brick-and-mortar Chinese markets were listed.
The Office reported that foot traffic had declined at many physical counterfeit Chinese markets due to growth in online sales. To avoid confiscation of goods in raids, sellers maintain less physical inventory and offer a larger range online. The physical shops then serve as points of contact for buyers and online sales fulfilment.
The Trade Rep was careful to note that the list is not exhaustive, nor does it reflect legal violations, government analysis of intellectual property, or enforcement-related matters.
However, it did note that enforcement has been somewhat ineffective – as shown by the number of repeat offenders appearing on the list.
In a canned statement, US Traade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai said the sale of counterfeit goods contributes to "exploitative labour practices" and "undermines critical US innovation."
The reminder feels necessary, as the document often reads like a tour guide book – with such nuggets as this one about a Shanghai market:
Described by online tourist directories as "an underground maze" connected to a metro station near Shanghai's popular sights, this market hosts numerous stalls openly offering counterfeit apparel and fashion accessories.
Rights holders report that authorities have not conducted any recent raids on the market and that the majority of the goods are counterfeit.
Beyond the counterfeit merchandise openly on display, some sellers of counterfeit merchandise allegedly also offer "high end" counterfeits on demand via delivery.
Those finding themselves tempted should know the 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy referred to China as "the country with the greatest number of products made with forced labour, including state-sponsored forced labour."
China has credibly and repeatedly been accused of operating forced labour camps – particularly in Xinjiang, a region whose inhabitants are mostly members of the Muslim Uyghur minority.®
Construction starts on another Asia-Europe undersea cable
Redundancy may not be a bad idea after damage to sister links
Laura Dobberstein
Redundancy may not be a bad idea after damage to sister links
Laura Dobberstein
Mon 21 Feb 2022
Construction has begun on a 19,200km submarine cable running from Singapore to France, Singaporean telco Singtel said on Monday.
The company claimed the new optical-fibre cable system, called the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6), would offer one of the lowest latencies between these regions at a transfer rate of 100 terabytes – or 40,000 high-def videos – per second.
Its exact route goes from Singapore to Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, India, Pakistan, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
Click to enlarge
Singtel exec and cable consortium chairperson Yue Meng Fai said in a canned statement that the cable has been in the works for over two years as rising demand for connectivity amid global digitalization was predicted.
Construction has begun on a 19,200km submarine cable running from Singapore to France, Singaporean telco Singtel said on Monday.
The company claimed the new optical-fibre cable system, called the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6), would offer one of the lowest latencies between these regions at a transfer rate of 100 terabytes – or 40,000 high-def videos – per second.
Its exact route goes from Singapore to Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, India, Pakistan, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
Click to enlarge
Singtel exec and cable consortium chairperson Yue Meng Fai said in a canned statement that the cable has been in the works for over two years as rising demand for connectivity amid global digitalization was predicted.
Turns out that prediction was not wrong, as broadband needs have increased even more significantly thanks to pandemic consumption habits.
The cable won't be ready until around Q1 2025.
As the name suggests, there are a few iterations of the SEA-ME-WE cables. The SEA-ME-WE 3, 4, and 5 all connect Europe to Asia, with some extending beyond.
In 2013, three scuba divers were arrested trying to sever SEA-ME-WE 4. That same cable, along with SEA-ME-WE 3, was damaged in 2008 by a ship's anchor. The incident took out 75 per cent of Egypt's internet access and had a ripple effect in other regions.
Given both its history and that digitalization is not expected to slow down any time soon, redundancy doesn't seem like a bad idea here. ®
The cable won't be ready until around Q1 2025.
As the name suggests, there are a few iterations of the SEA-ME-WE cables. The SEA-ME-WE 3, 4, and 5 all connect Europe to Asia, with some extending beyond.
In 2013, three scuba divers were arrested trying to sever SEA-ME-WE 4. That same cable, along with SEA-ME-WE 3, was damaged in 2008 by a ship's anchor. The incident took out 75 per cent of Egypt's internet access and had a ripple effect in other regions.
Given both its history and that digitalization is not expected to slow down any time soon, redundancy doesn't seem like a bad idea here. ®
AI-created faces now look so real, humans can't spot the difference
The uncanny valley has become shallow and short
Laura Dobberstein
The technique starts with a random array of pixels and iteratively learns to create a face. A discriminator, meanwhile, learns to detect the synthesized face after each iteration. If it succeeds, it penalizes the generator. Eventually, the discriminator can't tell the difference between real and syenethesised faces and – voila! – apparently neither can a human.
The final images used in the study included a diverse set of 400 real and 400 synthesized faces representing Black, South Asian, East Asian and White faces. Male and female faces were included – unlike previous studies that primarily used White male faces.
White faces were the least accurately classified, and male White faces were even less accurately classified than female White ones.
"We hypothesize that White faces are more difficult to classify because they are overrepresented in the StyleGAN2 training dataset and are therefore more realistic," explained the researchers.
The scientists said that while creating realistic faces is a success, it also creates potential problems such as nonconsensual intimate imagery (often misnamed as "revenge porn"), fraud, and disinformation campaigns as nefarious use cases of fake images. Such activities, they wrote, have "serious implications for individuals, societies, and democracies."
The authors suggested those developing such technologies should consider whether the benefits outweigh the risks – and if they don't, just don't create the tech. Perhaps after recognizing that tech with big downsides is irresistible to some, they then recommended parallel development of safeguards – including established guidelines that mitigate potential harm caused by synthetic media technologies.
There are currently ongoing efforts to improve detection of deepfakes and similar media, such as building prototype software capable of detecting images made with neural networks. A Michigan State University (MSU) and Facebook AI Research (FAIR) collaboration last year even suggested the architecture of the neural network used to create the images.
But The Register recommends against taking any of Meta's deepfake debunking effort at … erm … face value. After all, its founder has been known to put out images himself that will never ever ever ever leave the uncanny valley, thereby proving that, as narrow as that valley has become as a result of this study, it's here to stay. ®
The uncanny valley has become shallow and short
Laura Dobberstein
Mon 21 Feb 2022
Humans can no longer reliably tell the difference between a real human face and an image of a face generated by artificial intelligence, according to a pair of researchers.
Two boffins – Sophie Nightingale from the Department of Psychology at the UK's Lancaster University and Hany Farid from Berkley's Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department in California – studied human evaluations of both real photographs and AI-synthesized images, leading them to conclude nobody can reliably tell the difference anymore.
In one part of the study – published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA – humans identified fake images on just 48.2 per cent of occasions.
In another part of the study, participants were given some training and feedback to help them spot the fakes. While that cohort did spot real humans 59 per cent of the time, their results plateaued at that point.
Faces used in the study. Click to enlarge
The third part of the study saw participants rate the faces as "trustworthy" on a scale of one to seven. Fake faces were rated as more trustworthy than the real ones.
"A smiling face is more likely to be rated as trustworthy, but 65.5 per cent of our real faces and 58.8 per cent of synthetic faces are smiling, so facial expression alone cannot explain why synthetic faces are rated as more trustworthy," wrote the researchers.
The fake images were formed using generative adversarial networks (GANs), a class of machine learning frameworks where two neural networks play a type of contest with one another until the network trains itself to create better content.
Humans can no longer reliably tell the difference between a real human face and an image of a face generated by artificial intelligence, according to a pair of researchers.
Two boffins – Sophie Nightingale from the Department of Psychology at the UK's Lancaster University and Hany Farid from Berkley's Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department in California – studied human evaluations of both real photographs and AI-synthesized images, leading them to conclude nobody can reliably tell the difference anymore.
In one part of the study – published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA – humans identified fake images on just 48.2 per cent of occasions.
In another part of the study, participants were given some training and feedback to help them spot the fakes. While that cohort did spot real humans 59 per cent of the time, their results plateaued at that point.
Faces used in the study. Click to enlarge
The third part of the study saw participants rate the faces as "trustworthy" on a scale of one to seven. Fake faces were rated as more trustworthy than the real ones.
"A smiling face is more likely to be rated as trustworthy, but 65.5 per cent of our real faces and 58.8 per cent of synthetic faces are smiling, so facial expression alone cannot explain why synthetic faces are rated as more trustworthy," wrote the researchers.
The fake images were formed using generative adversarial networks (GANs), a class of machine learning frameworks where two neural networks play a type of contest with one another until the network trains itself to create better content.
The technique starts with a random array of pixels and iteratively learns to create a face. A discriminator, meanwhile, learns to detect the synthesized face after each iteration. If it succeeds, it penalizes the generator. Eventually, the discriminator can't tell the difference between real and syenethesised faces and – voila! – apparently neither can a human.
The final images used in the study included a diverse set of 400 real and 400 synthesized faces representing Black, South Asian, East Asian and White faces. Male and female faces were included – unlike previous studies that primarily used White male faces.
White faces were the least accurately classified, and male White faces were even less accurately classified than female White ones.
"We hypothesize that White faces are more difficult to classify because they are overrepresented in the StyleGAN2 training dataset and are therefore more realistic," explained the researchers.
The scientists said that while creating realistic faces is a success, it also creates potential problems such as nonconsensual intimate imagery (often misnamed as "revenge porn"), fraud, and disinformation campaigns as nefarious use cases of fake images. Such activities, they wrote, have "serious implications for individuals, societies, and democracies."
The authors suggested those developing such technologies should consider whether the benefits outweigh the risks – and if they don't, just don't create the tech. Perhaps after recognizing that tech with big downsides is irresistible to some, they then recommended parallel development of safeguards – including established guidelines that mitigate potential harm caused by synthetic media technologies.
There are currently ongoing efforts to improve detection of deepfakes and similar media, such as building prototype software capable of detecting images made with neural networks. A Michigan State University (MSU) and Facebook AI Research (FAIR) collaboration last year even suggested the architecture of the neural network used to create the images.
But The Register recommends against taking any of Meta's deepfake debunking effort at … erm … face value. After all, its founder has been known to put out images himself that will never ever ever ever leave the uncanny valley, thereby proving that, as narrow as that valley has become as a result of this study, it's here to stay. ®
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg: Donetsk, Luhansk are part of Ukraine; Russia undermines Ukraine's territorial integrity
22.02.2022
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued a statement on Russia's recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk "People's Republics" condemning this decision, which undermines the territorial integrity of Ukraine and violates the Minsk agreements.
"I condemn Russia's decision to extend recognition to the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk People's Republic' and 'Luhansk People's Republic.' This further undermines Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, erodes efforts towards a resolution of the conflict, and violates the Minsk Agreements, to which Russia is a party," Stoltenberg said.
He said that in 2015 the UN Security Council, which includes Russia, confirmed its full respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
"Donetsk and Luhansk are part of Ukraine. Moscow continues to fuel the conflict in eastern Ukraine by providing financial and military support to the separatists. It is also trying to stage a pretext to invade Ukraine once again," the NATO Secretary General said.
At the same time, Stoltenberg said the alliance supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. "Allies urge Russia, in the strongest possible terms, to choose the path of diplomacy, and to immediately reverse its massive military build-up in and around Ukraine, and withdraw its forces from Ukraine in accordance with its international obligations and commitments.
Minsk agreements cease to exist — Putin
The Russian president recalled that Kiev authorities have publicly said they were not going to implement this document
MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. The Minsk agreements are non-existent after the recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics (DPR and LPR), Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
"In this sense, no, the Minsk agreements are non-existent now. Why should they be implemented if we recognize the independence of these republics?" he told a news conference.
The Russian president recalled that Kiev authorities have publicly said they were not going to implement the Minsk agreements and in those conditions Russia could not tolerate genocide of the Donbass people any longer. That was why Russia had to recognize the Donbass republics.
"They are not going to implement - what else can be said? And the top officials have already said it in public. What is to be expected then? Shall we wait for the continuation of sufferings of these people, this genocide of nearly four million people who are living on these territories? It is simply impossible to look at it. <…> It could not be tolerated any longer," he said.
Russia, in his words, has always been interested in the implementation of the Minsk agreements as they were a result of a compromise. "I would like to stress once again that we have been interested in the implementation of this Package of Measures because it was a result of a compromise," he said, adding that he was among the authors of this document on the part of Russia.
But, since the signing of the Minsk accords, Ukraine has been seeking to reduce all the efforts toward their implementation to zero. "The Minsk agreements were killed long before yesterday’s recognition of the Donbass republics. And not by us, not by these republics, but by Kiev’s current authorities," Putin stressed.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR). Treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance were signed with their leaders. Putin instructed the foreign ministry to establish diplomatic relations with the Donbass republics and the defense ministry to ensure peace on their territories.
Egypt: Protests outside Giza factory after worker commits suicide
Asem Afifi reported to have been unable to pay debts after his wages were not paid for months
The factory, which is owned by Egypt's Universal Group, is located in 6th of October city in the Giza Governorate, about 30km from Cairo (Screengrab)
By MEE staff
Published date: 22 February 2022
Fellow Egyptian workers held protests outside their factory in Giza on Tuesday after a colleague Asem Afifi committed suicide. The worker was reported to have been unable to pay his debts because his salary had not been paid for months.
The factory, which is owned by Egypt's Universal Group, is located in 6th of October city in the Giza Governorate, about 30km from Cairo.
The Egyptian Network for Human Rights told Middle East Eye that security workers fired tear gas at protesters outside the factory who were demonstrating over Afifi's death.
Workers said Afifi had killed himself by throwing himself in front of a car on Tuesday.
More than 2,500 workers at the factory originally held a strike in September after their wages had not been paid for three months.
The strikers also complained about poor working conditions, including the ending of payments for workers injured during their work.
Living conditions for workers and the poor have fallen significantly in recent times, in part due to "structural adjustment" policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund.
The Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services, an Egyptian non-governmental organisation, said it had monitored 8,041 violations of workers' rights over the past year.
It said delayed salary payment represented the highest number of violations of workers’ rights in 2021, amounting to 36 percent of the total.
Asem Afifi reported to have been unable to pay debts after his wages were not paid for months
The factory, which is owned by Egypt's Universal Group, is located in 6th of October city in the Giza Governorate, about 30km from Cairo (Screengrab)
By MEE staff
Published date: 22 February 2022
Fellow Egyptian workers held protests outside their factory in Giza on Tuesday after a colleague Asem Afifi committed suicide. The worker was reported to have been unable to pay his debts because his salary had not been paid for months.
The factory, which is owned by Egypt's Universal Group, is located in 6th of October city in the Giza Governorate, about 30km from Cairo.
The Egyptian Network for Human Rights told Middle East Eye that security workers fired tear gas at protesters outside the factory who were demonstrating over Afifi's death.
Workers said Afifi had killed himself by throwing himself in front of a car on Tuesday.
More than 2,500 workers at the factory originally held a strike in September after their wages had not been paid for three months.
The strikers also complained about poor working conditions, including the ending of payments for workers injured during their work.
Living conditions for workers and the poor have fallen significantly in recent times, in part due to "structural adjustment" policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund.
The Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services, an Egyptian non-governmental organisation, said it had monitored 8,041 violations of workers' rights over the past year.
It said delayed salary payment represented the highest number of violations of workers’ rights in 2021, amounting to 36 percent of the total.
Palestinian Authority asks US Congress to probe 'Israeli apartheid'
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh says 'real enemy of peace is settlements'
Shtayyeh called on US lawmakers to form a special committee to probe "practices of persecution and apartheid" committed by Israel (AFP/File photo)
By MEE staff
Published date: 22 February 2022
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has warned US members of Congress that the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories could explode if Israel is not pressured to return to the peace process.
During a meeting with a delegation of 30 US lawmakers in Ramallah on Monday, Shtayyeh called on the legislators to form a special committee "to investigate the practices of persecution and apartheid carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people".
"Israel does not want the two-state solution or the one-state solution," Shtayyeh told the congressional delegation, according to the Palestinian state-run news agency Wafa.
Pelosi calls Israel's creation the 20th century's 'greatest political achievement'
US Congress forms caucus to promote more normalisation with Israel
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh says 'real enemy of peace is settlements'
Shtayyeh called on US lawmakers to form a special committee to probe "practices of persecution and apartheid" committed by Israel (AFP/File photo)
By MEE staff
Published date: 22 February 2022
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has warned US members of Congress that the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories could explode if Israel is not pressured to return to the peace process.
During a meeting with a delegation of 30 US lawmakers in Ramallah on Monday, Shtayyeh called on the legislators to form a special committee "to investigate the practices of persecution and apartheid carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people".
"Israel does not want the two-state solution or the one-state solution," Shtayyeh told the congressional delegation, according to the Palestinian state-run news agency Wafa.
Pelosi calls Israel's creation the 20th century's 'greatest political achievement'
Read More »
"All it wants is the continuation of the fait accompli, which is a deteriorating reality that will lead to an explosion of the situation," he said.
A growing number of human rights organisations are reporting that Israel's treatment of Palestinians amounts to crimes of apartheid.
Shtayyeh added that the "real enemy of peace is settlements", referring to Israel's building of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Another congressional delegation of Republican lawmakers also met with Shtayyeh on Monday.
The meeting followed an earlier meeting last week between US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - the first high-ranking meeting between US and Palestinian officials since the Biden administration took office.
Pelosi, who led a delegation of Democratic House members to Israel last week, also met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Her visit, where she called Israel's creation the "greatest political achievement of the 20th century", was criticised by Palestinian activists and progressive groups who noted that it came after days of unrest in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where supporters gathered outside the home of the Salem family, who are facing imminent expulsion.
Unfulfilled promises
Palestinian-US relations soured under the Trump administration, which cut all funding to the Palestinian Authority and moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in a departure from years of US policy that avoided recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Since entering office last year, US President Biden has sought to reverse some of the damage done by the Trump administration by restoring hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Palestinians while also pledging to reopen the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's diplomatic mission in Washington and the American consulate in Jerusalem.
The US consulate, which served Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip, had been open for almost 175 years until it was shut down in March 2019 when former US President Donald Trump signalled support for Israel's claim on Jerusalem as its capital.
"All it wants is the continuation of the fait accompli, which is a deteriorating reality that will lead to an explosion of the situation," he said.
A growing number of human rights organisations are reporting that Israel's treatment of Palestinians amounts to crimes of apartheid.
Shtayyeh added that the "real enemy of peace is settlements", referring to Israel's building of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Another congressional delegation of Republican lawmakers also met with Shtayyeh on Monday.
The meeting followed an earlier meeting last week between US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - the first high-ranking meeting between US and Palestinian officials since the Biden administration took office.
Pelosi, who led a delegation of Democratic House members to Israel last week, also met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Her visit, where she called Israel's creation the "greatest political achievement of the 20th century", was criticised by Palestinian activists and progressive groups who noted that it came after days of unrest in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where supporters gathered outside the home of the Salem family, who are facing imminent expulsion.
Unfulfilled promises
Palestinian-US relations soured under the Trump administration, which cut all funding to the Palestinian Authority and moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in a departure from years of US policy that avoided recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Since entering office last year, US President Biden has sought to reverse some of the damage done by the Trump administration by restoring hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Palestinians while also pledging to reopen the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's diplomatic mission in Washington and the American consulate in Jerusalem.
The US consulate, which served Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip, had been open for almost 175 years until it was shut down in March 2019 when former US President Donald Trump signalled support for Israel's claim on Jerusalem as its capital.
US Congress forms caucus to promote more normalisation with Israel
Read More »
In May, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the US was planning to reopen the consulate, reiterating US President Joe Biden's position during his election campaign in 2020.
The plan, however, has hit a snag, as Israeli officials and Biden administration officials have been at odds over the issue, which Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid previously said could break up the fragile coalition government currently heading up the country's parliament.
Shtayyeh pointed out that many promises, including the reopening of the US consulate, have remained unfulfilled - while also bringing up the issue of Israel's retention of tax revenues.
Last year, Israel announced it would withhold $180m in tax revenue it collected last year on behalf of the PA, which amounts to roughly seven percent of its total revenue.
Earlier in February, Abbas held a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The US State Department said that during the call, Blinken had discussed with Abbas the necessity for reforms within the PA, while the PA said that Abbas stressed the importance of ending the Israeli occupation.
In May, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the US was planning to reopen the consulate, reiterating US President Joe Biden's position during his election campaign in 2020.
The plan, however, has hit a snag, as Israeli officials and Biden administration officials have been at odds over the issue, which Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid previously said could break up the fragile coalition government currently heading up the country's parliament.
Shtayyeh pointed out that many promises, including the reopening of the US consulate, have remained unfulfilled - while also bringing up the issue of Israel's retention of tax revenues.
Last year, Israel announced it would withhold $180m in tax revenue it collected last year on behalf of the PA, which amounts to roughly seven percent of its total revenue.
Earlier in February, Abbas held a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The US State Department said that during the call, Blinken had discussed with Abbas the necessity for reforms within the PA, while the PA said that Abbas stressed the importance of ending the Israeli occupation.
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