Archive for December 30, 2022

Good News! Canada’s Competition Bureau Will Appeal Today’s Rogers – Shaw Decision

Posted in Commentary with tags , on December 30, 2022 by itnerd

This morning I was not hopeful about the chances of Canadians getting a positive outcome in terms of the Rogers – Shaw merger decision from last night. But there’s hope as news is out that the Competition Bureau is appealing the decision:

The Competition Bureau is appealing the Competition Tribunal’s dismissal of its case against Rogers Communications Inc.’s $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc., the companies said as they expressed their disappointment in the move.

The telecommunications companies said Friday that they were informed of the bureau’s intent to appeal the tribunal’s decision, released late Thursday. They said they were alsot told that the bureau will apply for an injunction to block the deal from closing until an appeal is heard.

“We are deeply disappointed that the Commissioner continues to attempt to deny Canada and Canadians the advantages that will come from these proposed transactions,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The Competition Bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell said in a statement late Thursday that he was very disappointed by the tribunal’s dismissal and was carefully considering next steps.

It’s bad news for Rogers and Shaw. But it’s good news for Canadians as this is a bad deal for Canada and must be stopped. Thus I am hopeful that this deal will be stopped so that Canadians don’t end up getting shafted as a result.

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Apple Has Released Advanced Data Protection…. Here’s Why Most Of Us Don’t Need To Switch It On

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 30, 2022 by itnerd

Long time readers of my blog will know that I have always argued that you should have the right to encrypt everything if you should choose to do so. But the title of this post may make you think that I have flipped to the other side of that argument. In fact, it hasn’t. Let me explain.

With the release of iOS 16.2 and related macOS, iPadOS and watchOS releases, Apple has released Advanced Data Protection. This is meant to do the following:

Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is an optional setting that offers Apple’s highest level of cloud data security. When a user turns on Advanced Data Protection, their trusted devices retain sole access to the encryption keys for the majority of their iCloud data, thereby protecting it with end-to-end encryption. For users who turn on Advanced Data Protection, the total number of data categories protected using end-to-end encryption rises from 14 to 23 and includes iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes and more.

Now your first thought is going to be “my iCloud data wasn’t end to end encrypted?” And the fact is that not all of your iCloud data was end to end encrypted. Without Advanced Data Protection turned on, iCloud end to end encrypts 14 sensitive data types such as passwords in keychain, health data, payment information, messages in iCloud, Apple card transactions, Home data, and much more. But that list goes up to 23 data types if you turn on Advanced Data Protection. You can find a list of what is and isn’t end to end encrypted here. The key thing is to look for the words “end-to-end” in the list.

So at this point, you might be thinking that more of your data is going to be end to end encrypted, this is a feature that you should turn on. Right.

Not so fast.

Here’s the thing about Advanced Data Protection that you need to know before you flip that switch. Apple makes you solely responsible for your encryption. Or put another way, because Apple will not have the keys required to recover your data, you need to set up an alternate recovery method, such as a recovery contact or recovery key in case you ever lose access to your account. And if you lose access to that alternate recovery method, you’re screwed because Apple cannot help you to get your data back. Nor can anyone else.

So with that in mind, should you turn on Advanced Data Protection? My answer would be no for the vast majority of you. And I include myself on that list. Why? Simply put, I am currently not a high value target for hackers or nation states who would see the data on my devices as being of significant value for them to acquire. And on top of the fact that Apple’s default security model works fine for me, encryption can make it harder for you to recover data should you need to as you would have to hop through extra hoops with little assistance from your local Apple Store or Apple’s phone support to help you. Thus I would argue that for the vast majority of you, Advanced Data Protection should remain turned off.

Having said that, you might want to consider Advanced Data Protection if you fall into one of these categories:

  • Politician
  • Journalist
  • Activist (human rights activist for example)
  • High probability of being a target of law enforcement

I am sure there are more categories, but I think you get the point. The fact is that these are the types of people that Advanced Data Protection was intended for because they are at high risk of getting pwned by hackers, nation states and other threat actors among other types who would want access to the data that’s in iCloud or on their iPhones or MacBooks. The other 95% of us should not touch this feature. But if you feel that you need to enable this feature, Apple has this support document that describes how to do it. But honestly, I would think long and hard before you go down that path. Because while I am glad that Advanced Data Protection is there, most of us don’t need to use it. And it may create more problems for you than it solves.

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Rogers – Shaw Merger Approved By Competition Tribunal… Which Means That Canadian Consumers Are One Step Closer To Being Screwed

Posted in Commentary with tags , on December 30, 2022 by itnerd

Canadian telco consumers should prepare to have less competition in the telco space because late last night the merger of Rogers and Shaw which has been fought by Canada’s competition watchdog have been approved. CBC has the details:

In a summary of its decision released Thursday, the tribunal says the merger of the two telecommunications companies would not result in materially higher prices.

The decision says the deal, which includes the sale of Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile to Quebecor-owned Videotron, would not likely prevent or lessen competition substantially.

Quebecor agreed to buy Freedom Mobile in a $2.85-billion deal earlier this year.

Concerns that Bell and Telus — the closest competitors to Rogers in Canada’s telecom market — would be unable to compete with the combined company were also dismissed.

“The tribunal has also determined that the strengthening of Rogers’ position in Alberta and British Columbia, combined with the very significant competitive initiatives that Telus and Bell have been pursuing since the merger was announced, will also likely contribute to an increased intensity of competition in those markets,” the decision reads.

It says a more detailed decision will be released in the next two days.

I’m sorry, but this decision is horrible for Canadians because the exact opposite is going to happen as there’s going to be one less player in the marketplace. While this still has to be approved by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, I expect that to be a rubber stamp as the current federal government in Canada pays lip service to having an affordable and competitive telco space. Canadian consumers might want to remember that when the next election comes and vote accordingly.

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How Bad Is Elon Musk’s Cost Cutting At Twitter?… The New York Times Has That Answer And It Doesn’t Look Good

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 30, 2022 by itnerd

The New York Times has a mind blowing article about what Elon Musk’s cost cutting at Twitter looks like. And I do mean mind blowing. Let’s start with Elon cutting data centres. Something that I reported on last week:

Early on Christmas Eve, members of the billionaire’s staff flew to Sacramento — the site of one of Twitter’s three main computing storage facilities — to disconnect servers that had kept the social network running smoothly. Some employees were worried that losing those servers could cause problems, but saving money was the priority, according to two people who were familiar with the move but not authorized to talk about it.

The data center shutdown was one of many drastic steps Mr. Musk has undertaken to stabilize Twitter’s finances. Over the past few weeks, Twitter had stopped paying millions of dollars in rent and services, and Mr. Musk had told his subordinates to renegotiate those agreements or simply end them. The company has stopped paying rent at its Seattle office, leading it to face eviction, two people familiar with the matter said. Janitorial and security services have been cut, and in some cases employees have resorted to bringing their own toilet paper to the office.

And:

Those cuts may be yielding consequences. On Wednesday, users around the world reported service interruptions with Twitter. Some were logged out, while others encountered error messages while visiting the website. Twitter has not explained what caused the temporary outage. Three people familiar with the company’s infrastructure said that if the Sacramento facility had still been operating, it could have helped alleviate the problem by providing backup computing capacity when other data centers failed.

But it doesn’t stop there. Here’s where we get to the mind blowing part of this:

Last week, Twitter got rid of the cleaning staff at its New York offices and 10 people from corporate security, signaling that it may close one of its two buildings there, said two people familiar with the move.

At Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, where the company has missed rent payments, Mr. Musk has done the same, consolidating workers onto two floors and closing four. He also canceled janitorial services this month, after those workers went on strike for better wages.

That has left the office in disarray. With people packed into more confined spaces, the smell of leftover takeout food and body odor has lingered on the floors, according to four current and former employees. Bathrooms have grown dirty, these people said. And because janitorial services have largely been ended, some workers have resorted to bringing their own rolls of toilet paper from home.

That last paragraph blows my mind because it makes working at Twitter akin to working in a sweatshop in a third world country. It also makes Elon look like a Grade A scumbag because nobody in a leadership position should want their employees working in such conditions. But as it’s become clear over that last few weeks, that’s not who Elon is. Elon does whatever he wants and he clearly doesn’t care anything about the people who work for him. Thus why I consider him to be a Grade A scumbag. Though I suspect at some level he does care because….:

He has also asked some leaders to snuff out the sources of leaks to the press and anonymous posts on social media sites, three people said, and is focused on eliminating people inside the company he believes are opposed to him.

Well good luck with that Elon. When you get people upset, screw them over, and act like a dictator, you’re going to have some people lining up to take shots at you by going to the press and telling them things that you don’t want out in public. Which by the way I hope people continue to do because Elon needs to be exposed for everything that he is.

Good thing that I’m off of Twitter in a couple of days. This place sounds like a horrible place to work.

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