Tech Digest daily roundup: Twitter suspends Blue Tick verification
Twitter has suspended its newly relaunched blue tick verification system after the social media platform was flooded by a wave of imposter accounts. The premium “Twitter Blue” service is available to anyone for £6.99 a month in the UK ($8 a month in the US) – having previously been used to authenticate the accounts of public figures, including celebrities and journalists, which had been vetted and confirmed as genuine. But the revamped model has given credence to a host of fake accounts – with one parody purporting to be Jesus Christ getting verification. Sky News
Embattled cryptocurrency exchange FTX has filed for bankruptcy in the US, seeking court protection as it looks for a way to return money to users. Former boss Sam Bankman-Fried has also stepped down as chief executive, the company said. It is a massive turn of fortunes for the 30-year-old, who had headed the world’s second largest crypto exchange. In just over a week, his FTX empire has collapsed, shaking confidence in the already troubled crypto market. BBC
The Biden administration’s move to block exports of advanced computer chips to China is signaling a new phase in relations between the globe’s two largest economies — one in which trade matters less than an increasingly heated competition to be the world’s leading technological and military power. The aggressive move, announced last month, will help set the tone for President Joe Biden’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Asia. AP News
A Google security researcher says that some Samsung Android phones were attacked by a commercial surveillance vendor using three zero-day hacks chained together. In a blog post, Google Project Zero security researcher Maddie Stone said that the exploit chain targeted specific Samsung phones that used an Exynos chip, suggesting they were likely sold in Europe or the Middle East. The affected phones were also running a specific kernel version, with Google saying that three models were susceptible as a result – the Galaxy S10, A50, and A51. Pocket Lint
Last year, Leica, a company known for its cameras and lenses, debuted its first-ever smartphone with the Leitz Phone. While it had impressive specifications and an excellent camera, it turned out that it was just a rebranded handset previously released by Sharp. Now, it looks like the company is relying on the same formula for its release this year, with the debut of the Leitz Phone 2. Although “rebranded” is such a harsh term when it comes to smartphones, the Leitz Phone 2 has a lot to offer. The handset has a large 6.6-inch OLED display and with a frame constructed from aluminium that features a ribbed edge. XDA Developers
If Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter is little more than “a game played by billionaires”, as disgruntled employees have claimed, then it is one he seems closer to losing with every passing day. And the maverick inventor has only been at the social media platform for five minutes. With Musk, it is always hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t – where the line between genius and insanity starts and ends. It’s possible, of course, that the joke is on us mere mortals and self-destruction was the intention all along. Telegraph
