San Diego, Nov 12 (AsiaNet/UNB) -Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated today announced it has shared its Device Identification, Registration, and Blocking System (DIRBS) platform as freely downloadable open-source software.

Qualcomm Technologies' DIRBS server-based software platform can be used to help identify counterfeit, illegal, and stolen mobile devices in a country. The DIRBS software platform will help regulatory agencies classify devices and generate IMEI-based lists for notification, amnesty, and blocking purposes.

DIRBS has been successfully deployed in Pakistan, and deployments are anticipated in several other markets in the coming months.

"Counterfeit devices are a significant problem worldwide and result in an estimated 45.3 billion EUR in lost sales to genuine manufacturers each year, according to a recent European Union Intellectual Property Office Study issued in February of 2017," said Mohammad Raheel Kamal, Senior Director, IPR Enforcement, Qualcomm Incorporated.

"Sharing the DIRBS solution as freely downloadable open-source software will allow the mobile industry to rapidly implement this powerful technology to help address counterfeiting and related issues around the globe."

"Qualcomm is committed to enriching the mobile ecosystem, including assisting regulatory agencies in addressing their needs for security with respect to cellular-enabled devices," said John Han, SVP, Qualcomm Incorporated and GM, Qualcomm Technology Licensing. "We are excited to share the DIRBS software platform to help enable regulatory agencies to further fight the proliferation of counterfeit, illegal and stolen devices."

The DIRBS server-based software platform will be hosted on the open-source software website Github [https://github.com/dirbs ], and may be freely downloaded and used by any interested parties.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm invents breakthrough technologies that transform how the world connects, computes and communicates. When we connected the phone to the

Internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, our inventions are the foundation for life-changing products, experiences, and industries. As we lead the world to 5G, we envision this next big change in cellular technology spurring a new era of intelligent, connected devices and enabling new opportunities in connected cars, remote delivery of health care services, and the IoT - including smart cities, smart homes, and wearable.

Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm

Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including, the QCT semiconductor business.

SOURCE: Qualcomm Technologies

Dhaka, Nov 11 (UNB) – Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has seized 42,000 SIM cards, used for illegally routing international calls through voice over internet protocol (VoIP), during separate raids in the capital and port city in October.

Of the SIMs, 16,812 were of Robi, 15,949 of Teletalk, 6,176 of Banglalink and 3,223 of Grameenphone, said Md Jahurul Haque, acting chairman of the telecom watchdog at a press conference at his office on Sunday.

The seizure will save the loss of revenue over Tk 867 crore annually, he said adding that a total of 24 people have been arrested along with the SIMs and equipment valued worth TK 1.23 crore. 

A joint team of BTRC and Rab conducted the drives in Dhanmondi, Tejgaon, Kadamtoli, Siddirganj, Pallabi and Mirpur from October 14-18 and Bayazid Bostami, Panchlaish, Baklia, Chawkbazar, Chandgaon, Sadarghat and Halishahar areas of the port city from October 21-31.

A total 28 cases were filed in connection with the seizure.

Dhaka, Nov 10 (UNB) -A man has been jailed for sending a "potentially lethal homemade bomb" to a Bitcoin firm in London - after it refused to reset his password for him.The Met Police, which investigated the case, said detectives could "only identify one possible reason" for the Swedish national's actions.

He had emailed the company, Cryptopay, in August 2017, to ask that he be sent a new password.Cryptopay, however, refused, saying this contravened its privacy policy.Jermu Michael Salonen, 43, has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison at Stockholm District Court.

He faced a number of charges, including some for sending a white powder to Swedish lawmakers - among them, the prime minister - in 2017.Salonen had addressed a padded envelope containing the device to two Cryptopay employees.It was delivered at some point in November 2017 to an office in Hackney, which had housed an accountancy firm previously used by Cryptopay.

Several months later, on 8 March 2018, a worker at the office began opening the package but did not continue when they became suspicious of what was inside."We are relieved that no one from The Accountancy Cloud team was hurt in this incident," a spokesman for Cryptopay told the BBC. "None of our employees have ever worked at that address."

"The vast majority of our employees work remotely across Europe, but we are implementing additional security measures to prevent any potential harm to our employees anyway."We are thankful for both British and Swedish police, who were able to investigate the case with outstanding professionalism."

"It was due to sheer luck that the recipient ripped opened the package in the middle rather than using the envelope flap which would have activated the device," said Commander Clarke Jarrett at the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command.DNA found in the package did not match information on UK databases, so it was analysed by Interpol.

"Through these inquiries, it was identified that the DNA matched those of Salonen, who was known to Swedish authorities," the Met says. A search of Salonen's home discovered "numerous bomb components".

Dhaka, Nov 10 (UNB): Facebook is dropping a requirement for mandatory arbitration of sexual misconduct allegations, acceding to a demand recently pressed by other Silicon Valley tech workers.

Google made a similar change on Thursday, a week after thousands of employees briefly walked off their jobs to protest how the company handled sexual-misconduct allegations against prominent executives.

The move at Facebook, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, means that employees no longer have to submit to private arbitration, which kept misconduct allegations secret and sometimes allowed abusers to continue their behavior. Employees can now press their claims in court instead. Other tech companies such as Microsoft and Uber have previously dropped mandatory arbitration.

Facebook will now also require executives at director level and above to disclose any dating relationships with company employees.

San Francisco, Nov 9 (AP/UNB) — Google is promising to be more forceful and open about its handling of sexual misconduct cases, a week after thousands of high-paid engineers and others walked out in protest over its male-dominated culture.

Google bowed to one of the protesters' main demands by dropping mandatory arbitration of all sexual misconduct cases. That will now be optional, so workers can choose to sue in court and present their case in front of a jury. It mirrors a change made by ride-hailing service Uber after complaints from its female employees prompted an internal investigation. The probe concluded that its rank had been poisoned by rampant sexual harassment.

"Google's leaders and I have heard your feedback and have been moved by the stories you've shared," CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email to Google employees. "We recognize that we have not always gotten everything right in the past and we are sincerely sorry for that. It's clear we need to make some changes." Thursday's email was obtained by The Associated Press.

Last week, the tech giant's workers left their cubicles in dozens of offices around the world to protest what they consider management's lax treatment of top executives and other male workers accused of sexual harassment and other misconduct. The protest's organizers estimated that about 20,000 workers participated.

The reforms are the latest fallout from a broader societal backlash against men's exploitation of their female subordinates in business, entertainment and politics — a movement that has spawned the "MeToo" hashtag as a sign of unity and a call for change.

Google will provide more details about sexual misconduct cases in internal reports available to all employees. The breakdowns will include the number of cases that were substantiated within various company departments and list the types of punishment imposed, including firings, pay cuts and mandated counseling.

The company is also stepping up its training aimed at preventing misconduct. It's requiring all employees to go through the process annually instead of every other year. Those who fall behind in their training, including top executives, will be dinged in annual performance reviews, leaving a blemish that could lower their pay and make it more difficult to get promoted.

But Google didn't address protesters' demand for a commitment to pay women the same as men doing similar work. When previously confronted with accusations that it shortchanges women — made by the U.S. Labor Department and in lawsuits filed by female employees —Google has maintained that its compensation system doesn't discriminate between men and women.

The changes didn't go far enough to satisfy Vicki Tardif Holland, a Google employee who helped organize and spoke at the protests near the company's Cambridge, Massachusetts, office last week.

"While Sundar's message was encouraging, important points around discrimination, inequity and representation were not addressed," Holland wrote in an email responding to an AP inquiry.

Nevertheless, employment experts predicted the generally positive outcome of Google's mass uprising is bound to have ripple effects across Silicon Valley and perhaps the rest of corporate America.

"These things can be contagious," said Thomas Kochan, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology management professor specializing in employment issues. "I would expect to see other professionals taking action when they see something wrong."

Some employers might even pre-emptively adopt some of Google's new policies, given its prestige, said Stephanie Creary, who specializes in workplace and diversity issues at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "When Google does something, other employers tend to copy it," she said.

Google got caught in the crosshairs two weeks ago after The New York Times detailed allegations of sexual misconduct against the creator of Google's Android software, Andy Rubin. The newspaper said Rubin received a $90 million severance package in 2014 after Google concluded the accusations were credible. Rubin has denied the allegations.

Like its Silicon Valley peers, Google has already acknowledged that its workforce is too heavily concentrated with white and Asian men, especially in the highest-paying executive and computer-programming jobs. Women account for 31 percent of Google's employees worldwide, and it's lower for leadership roles.

Critics believe that gender imbalance has created a "brogammer" culture akin to a college fraternity house that treats women as sex objects. As part of its ongoing efforts, Google will now require at least one woman or a non-Asian ethnic minority to be included on the list of candidates for executive jobs.