United States Cyber Command issued a warning Tuesday about hackers using a security flaw in Microsoft's Outlook email program, while also uploading new malware to an archive used by cybersecurity researchers that one expert believes is connected to an infamous Iranian attack.
The big picture: The malware appears to be connected to Shamoon 2, a disk-wiping attack used against Saudi entities in 2016, said Brandon Levene, head of applied intelligence at Chronicle. Shamoon 2 is widely believed to be the work of Iran.
Facebook announced Tuesday that it is changing its algorithm to weed out news that is misleading about causes and cures around health conditions. The announcement was made following a Wall Street Journal report detailing examples of posts that promote spammy or misleading health care cures.
Why it matters: Experts cite online misinformation on Facebook and other platforms for creating real-world health problems. Most recently, platforms like Facebook have been blamed for harboring anti-vaccination content, which many argue helped lead to an outbreak of measles cases in the U.S.
Dan and Axios' Sara Fischer discuss why so many political candidates, like Mayor Pete Buttigieg, are letting themselves become the subjects of documentary films.
Facebook hasn't yet said whether it makes more from users on Instagram versus users on its core service, but a new report suggests that Instagram isn't providing the company with more revenue per person, at least not in the U.S., according to data from eMarketer.
Why it matters: The data shows that despite reports of slowed Facebook app usage and in the U.S., Facebook’s flagship app still monetizes users better than Instagram.
Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos told several senior executives last month that spending on film and TV projects, particularly big budget movies, needed to be more cost-effective, The Information reports.
Why it matters: Netflix's heavy spending has set the bar for all of the other streamers looking to challenge it. But Sarandos reportedly said that big-budget projects need to bring in lots of viewers, not just drive buzz.
President Trump, as part of a broader pause in tensions with China, said Sunday that U.S. companies can continue to sell parts to embattled telecom firm Huawei, provided there are no national security concerns specific to those products.
Why it matters: While many of the concerns were around Huawei's networking business, U.S. sanctions were also threatening the viability of the company's smartphone business too, given its reliance on chips and software from the U.S.
A wave of recent scandals has focused on things that tech companies did that were legal, but nonetheless icky.
Why it matters: Companies are under constant business pressures to grow at all costs and squeeze revenue and profits wherever they can, but what seem like clever legal loopholes can backfire when customers find out.
Facebook issued a civil rights report on Sunday, touting its recent progress and pledging to remain vigilant on efforts to manipulate either the 2020 election or census.
Details: Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg wrote in a blog post announcing the report the social media giant is introducing a new policy in the fall that protects against misinformation related to the census. "We'll also partner with non-partisan groups to help promote proactive participation in the census," she said.
