Apple to invest €1.7bn in Europe

Apple is to invest €1.7bn (£1.3bn) into Europe, its biggest ever investment in the continent, as it looks to support a rapid growth in sales of products and apps that shows no sign of abating.

The company is to develop and open two new data centres in Europe, which will be built in County Galway, Ireland, and in Denmark. The data centres will power Apple's online services, such as iTunes and the App Store.

The investment is a boost to the European economy and will create hundreds of jobs. Apple already employs 18,300 people in Europe, including 5,800 in the UK.

Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, said: “We are grateful for Apple’s continued success in Europe and proud that our investment supports communities across the continent. This significant new investment represents Apple’s biggest project in Europe to date.

"We’re thrilled to be expanding our operations, creating hundreds of local jobs and introducing some of our most advanced green building designs yet."

Samsung takes on Apple Pay by snapping up LoopPay

Samsung is going head to head with Apple’s contactless payment system after buying start-up LoopPay.

The South Korean electronics company has paid an undisclosed sum for the Massachusetts-based firm, whose technology mimics the swipe of a credit cardwhen users tap a LoopPay device with one of its keyrings or smartphone cases located next to a retailer’s card reader.

Crucially, this means LoopPay should work with most retailers’ existing payment terminals, unlike its main rival, Apple Pay, which requires new terminals fitted with wireless microchips.

Samsung claimed LoopPay’s technology should work in 90pc of existing retailers.

"Our goal has always been to build the smartest, most secure, user-friendly mobile wallet experience, and we are delighted to welcome LoopPay to take us closer to this goal," said JK Shin, head of Samsung's mobile division.

David Eun, executive vice-president at Samsung's Global Innovation Center, said the deal will help Samsung "significantly accelerate our mobile commerce efforts".

The deal strengthens speculation that Samsung plans to include mobile payment technology in its next major smartphone, which is expected to be announced on March 1 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Apple has already launched Pay, which allows customers to buy goods and services by tapping their iPhone 6 against a payment terminal, in the US but has not yet rolled it out to the UK.

British and US spies hacked mobile SIM card keys

British and US intelligence services can tap into mobile voice and data communications of many devices after stealing encryption keys of a major SIM card maker, according to a new report.

The report, from investigative website The Intercept, said the US National Security Agency and its British counterpart GCHQ obtained encryption keys of the global SIM manufacturer Gemalto.

Citing a 2010 document leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the report said that with the encryption keys, the intelligence services can secretly monitor a large portion of global communications over mobile devices without using a warrant or wiretap.

The Intercept said a covert operation led by GCHQ with support from the NSA was able to mine private communications of unwitting engineers at Gemalto, which is based in the Netherlands.

The report suggests the intelligence services could have access to a wider range of communications than has been previously reported. Other documents have indicated NSA can monitor email and traditional phone communications.

The NSA did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

A Gemalto spokeswoman said in an email to AFP that the company "is especially vigilant against malicious hackers and of course has detected, logged and mitigated many types of attempts over the years."

Gemalto "at present can make no link between any of those past attempts and what was reported by The Intercept," the statement said.

"We take this publication very seriously and will devote all resources necessary to fully investigate and understand the scope of such highly sophisticated technique to try to obtain SIM card data."

It added that the intended target was "not Gemalto, per se - it was an attempt to try and cast the widest net possible to reach as many mobile phones as possible."

Gemalto, which produces billions of SIM cards and other digital identity products, describes itself as a provider of "trusted and convenient digital services to billions of individuals."

The company was formed in 2006 by a merger of Axalto Holding NV and French-based Gemplus International.

Lenovo rebuked for shipping laptops pre-loaded with adware

Chinese computer maker Lenovo has come under fire from security experts after it allegedly shipped laptops with adware that hijacks secure website connections and inserts ads into search results.

The adware, known as Superfish, was pre-loaded onto "a select number" of Lenovo's consumer Windows devices, the company confirmed. The issue only came to light last June, when users began complaining in Lenovo's forums in September.

Some users claimed that the adware used fake, self-signed root certificates (which are used to verify that you are connecting to who you think you are) to intercept data over secure web connections and inject advertisements into sessions.

This kind of adware is widely regarded in the industry as a form of malware because of the way it interacts with a user's laptop or PC.

"A blatant man-in-the-middle attack malware breaking privacy laws,"wrote one user on Lenovo's forum "I have requested return of the laptop and refund as I find it unbelievable that manufacturer as Lenovo would facilitate such applications pre-bundled with new laptops.

Apple Wants to Start Producing Cars as Soon as 2020

                                                  

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc., which has been working secretly on a car, is pushing its team to begin production of an electric vehicle as early as 2020, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The timeframe -- automakers typically spend five to seven years developing a car -- underscores the project’s aggressive goals and could set the stage for a battle for customers with Tesla Motors Inc. and General Motors Co., both of which are targeting a 2017 release of an electric vehicle that can go more than 200 miles on a single charge and cost less than $40,000.

“That’s the inflection point -- the proving ground -- that brings on the electric age,” Steve LeVine, author of “The Powerhouse,” a book about the automotive battery industry, said on Bloomberg TV Thursday. “Now you have Apple coming in and this is critical mass. Was GM really going to be able to match Tesla? Apple can.”

Apple, which posted record profit of $18 billion during the past quarter, has $178 billion in cash with few avenues to spend it. The Cupertino, California-based company’s research and development costs were $6.04 billion in the past year, and Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is facing increased pressure to return cash to shareholders. The CEO has been pushing the iPhone maker to enter new categories to further envelop users’ digital lives with Apple’s products and services.

Apple’s possible foray into cars follows a similar path it’s taken to break into other industries. The company wasn’t the first to make a digital-music player or smartphone, and only entered those markets once it had a product that redefined those categories.

Apple representatives declined to comment for this story.

Google's YouTube to launch kids' app

YouTube will launch a new app specifically for children on Monday in a bid to make using the service safer.

It is understood that YouTube Kids will have parental controls and restrictions on who can upload content.

The app will run separately to the main YouTube service and it will initially be available in the US only, but it is understood that it will be rolled-out in the UK later.

The move has been welcomed by the NSPCC child protection charity.

A spokesman for the charity said: "Keeping children safe online is the biggest child protection challenge of this generation. So it's good to hear about the launch of YouTube Kids.

"I'm sure it will be embraced by parents wanting increased reassurance that their younger children won't be exposed to inappropriate material."

Apple Smartwatch: Universities Ticked Off

                            

Universities are planning to ban students from wearing anything on their wrists during examinations, for fear they may use smartwatches to access the internet and cheat.

Schools say the clampdown is because invigilators are unable to tell traditional watches from their digital counterparts, and it would be impossible to inspect every student before a test begins.

Apple is preparing to launch its hotly-anticipated smartwatch in April, and one university has already had two incidents where students have been caught referring to other smart watches during an assessment.

The gadgets could be used to store revision notes, or for covert messaging between candidates.

When Apple announced its device last year, the University of London released a statement warning "Smartwatches may become a problem in the examination hall from 2015 and beyond".

Its students have been reminded that such timepieces fall into the same category as smartphones and tablets.

Exam halls are now being fitted out with larger clocks on the walls, and many universities have purchased desk clocks for anxious students who want to keep track of the time during a test.