White House blames Russia for 'NotPetya' cyber attack

WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday blamed Russia for the devastating ‘NotPetya’ cyber attack last year, joining the British government in condemning Moscow for unleashing a virus that crippled parts of Ukraine’s infrastructure and damaged computers in countri...

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U.S. blames Russia for crippling 2017 'NotPetya' cyber attack

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday publicly blamed Russia for carrying out the so-called NotPetya cyber attack last year that crippled government and business computers in Ukraine before spreading around the world. The statement by the White House came hours after the British gover...

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Bitcoin rises above $10,000, strategist sees new high by July

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin rose above $10,000 on Thursday for the first time in more than two weeks, as investors bought back the digital currency after having fallen 70 percent from its all-time peak hit in mid-December. Bitcoin has been buffeted this year by a series of negative headlines center...

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U.S. regulator warns of cryptocurrency 'pump-and-dump' schemes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. derivatives regulator warned investors on Thursday about cryptocurrency “pump-and-dump” scams that aim to rip off investors by inflating the price of volatile virtual tokens through spreading bogus information. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission said...

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Amazon to pay $1.2 million in settlement over pesticide sales, U.S. says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc will pay a roughly $1.2 million penalty to settle nearly 4,000 alleged violations of U.S. law in a move to prevent harmful exposure to pesticides through illegal sales, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday. Amazon agreed to closely monitor a...

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U.S. says Amazon to pay $1.2 million to settle allegations over pesticide sales

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc will pay a roughly $1.2 million penalty to settle nearly 4,000 alleged violations of U.S. law in a move aimed at preventing harmful exposure to pesticides through illegal sales, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday. In a statement, the EPA s...

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Bitcoin gets back above $10,000 on Bitstamp, a more than two-week high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin rose above $10,000 on Thursday for the first time in more than two weeks, as investors bought back the digital currency after having fallen 70 percent from its all-time peak hit around mid-December. On the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp, bitcoin rose as high as $10,095.82 BTC...

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Thousands of FedEx customer records exposed by unsecured server

(Reuters) - Global package delivery company FedEx Corp said on Thursday it has secured some of the customer identification records that were visible earlier this month on an unsecured server, and so far has found no evidence that private data was “misappropriated.” The server stored more...

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New EU Privacy Law May Weaken Security

Companies around the globe are scrambling to comply with new European privacy regulations that take effect a little more than three months from now. But many security experts are worried that the changes being ushered in by the rush to adhere to the law may make it more difficult to track down cyber...

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New EU Privacy Law May Weaken Security

Companies around the globe are scrambling to comply with new European privacy regulations that take effect a little more than three months from now. But many security experts are worried that the changes being ushered in by the rush to adhere to the law may make it more difficult to track down cyber...

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BBVA-backed U.S. digital banking startup Azlo readies for launch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Azlo, a U.S. digital banking startup that is majority-owned by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., will open for business this week, marking the latest effort by the Spanish lender to attract a new generation of digital-savvy customers. The startup, which will offer online ban...

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VW looks at Apple for electric-car design guidance

BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is looking at Apple (AAPL.O) products for guidance on how to style its new generation of electric cars, its top designer said, as the automaker aims to turn profits on battery-powered vehicles when they launch in 2020. The U.S. tech giant has brought about a...

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Israeli startup CommonSense Robotics raises $20 million

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel’s CommonSense Robotics, whose technology enables retailers to offer quick and affordable grocery deliveries, said on Thursday it has raised $20 million in an early-stage investment round, bringing its total funding to $26 million. The round was led by Playground Glo...

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Hyperinflation meets tech: Cash-scarce Venezuela sees boom in payment apps

CARACAS (Reuters) - Widerven Villegas and his brother wash some 30 cars a day at a parking lot in Caracas. Despite charging less than 50 cents, nobody pays them in cash. In tech hubs from San Francisco to Tokyo, payment is conveniently made through software on phones and watches on a routine basis. ...

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EU tells Facebook, Google and Twitter to 'do more' for users

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe’s justice commissioner told Facebook (FB.O), Twitter (TWTR.N) and Google (GOOGL.O) on Thursday to do more to bring their user terms in line with EU law, saying proposals submitted by the tech giants were considered insufficient. Slideshow (2 Images) The European Uni...

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Number of crypto hedge funds doubles in four months: Autonomous NEXT data

LONDON (Reuters) - Hedge funds focused on trading cryptocurrencies more than doubled in the four months to Feb. 15, hitting a record high of 226, showed new data from fintech research house Autonomous NEXT on Thursday. The firm had recorded just 110 global hedge funds with a similar strategy as of O...

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UK blames Russia for cyber attack, says won't tolerate disruption

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain blamed Russia on Thursday for a cyber-attack last year, publicly pointing the finger at Moscow for spreading a virus which disrupted companies across Europe including UK-based Reckitt Benckiser. The so-called NotPetya attack in June started in Ukraine where it crippled gov...

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Coincheck hit by lawsuit as investors seek restart of cryptocurrency withdrawals

TOKYO (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency investors launched a lawsuit against Coincheck Inc on Thursday, seeking to force the Tokyo-based exchange to allow them to withdraw assets worth $183,000 frozen after last month’s $530 million heist of digital money. The group of seven investors filed a suit at...

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Google's app network quietly becomes huge growth engine

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google makes ads show up in more smartphone apps than any other technology company. That is the core of a resurgent business for parent Alphabet Inc. Google’s ad network unit has posted three straight quarters of year-over-year double-digit sales increases. The busine...

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China's ZTE says is trusted partner after U.S. concern

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese telecoms equipment group ZTE Corp hit back on Thursday against concerns from U.S. lawmakers that it is a vehicle for Chinese espionage, saying it was a trusted partner of its U.S. customers, state news agency Xinhua reported. China is trying to gain access to sensitive U....

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