Apple issues update after security flaws

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple has issued a security update to fix vulnerabilities found after fierce spyware created by an Israeli firm was used to target an Emirati dissident, US media reported.

The company released its latest iOS version, 9.3.5, on Thursday, which the New York Times said was meant to fix three security vulnerabilities in Apple products.

Those vulnerabilities had been targeted by the NSO Group, an Israeli spyware company, which has created a product that can rifle through a phone to read texts, track calls and record sounds, among other capabilities, the New York Times reported.

Apple told various US media outlets that it fixed the vulnerabilities as soon it learned about them.—AFP

Tata Motors profits fall

MUMBAI: India’s largest carmaker Tata Motors reported a 57 per cent fall in quarterly profits on Friday, slowed by weak sales of its luxury British unit Jaguar Land Rover and foreign exchange losses.

Consolidated net profit for the three months to the end of August 2016 fell to 22.36 billion rupees ($337.11 million) compared with 52.31bn rupees a year ago, the Mumbai-based company said in a report.

A Bloomberg poll of 23 analysts had predicted that the manufacturer would report net profits of 25.33 billion rupees for the first quarter ended August.—AFP

EU may require sites to seek deals with artists

BRUSSELS: Websites such as Google’s YouTube, DailyMotion and Pinterest could be required by the European Union to seek licences or revenue-sharing deals with artists for content that is uploaded by their users.

The music industry has long complained that services such as YouTube do not pay artists enough for their music and has urged regulators to close what it calls the “value gap”. They say that Alphabet Inc’s Google makes vast sums from ad-supported services such as YouTube, but only a small share of the money goes to the music industry.

The European Commission, the EU executive, is looking at imposing an obligation on platforms hosting user-uploaded content – such as YouTube, Vimeo and DailyMotion – to seek agreements with rights holders “reflecting the economic value of the use made of the protected content”, according to a draft paper, seen by Reuters, listing the preferred options for the EU’s copyright reform.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2016