From the seed funding time bomb to manipulating Alexa and Siri, the secrets of the tech world are all here in this essential round-up of weekend reading.
US Congress releases treasure trove of Russian Facebook ads
The front of the US Capitol building in Washington DC. Image: Bill Chizek/Shutterstock
Russian ads posted on Facebook over a two-year period have been made available to the public.
Women in research, don’t be afraid of your own voice in media
Angie Mezzetti. Image: Dak Photography
Pitch up, explain clearly and have courage, says Angie Mezzetti, who will soon MC a workshop for researchers on being your best media self. She spoke to Dr Claire O’Connell.
Ireland’s start-ups are sitting on a seed funding time bomb
Image: Fer Gregory/Shutterstock
With seed capital plummeting and the funding market softening, the failure by policymakers to create tax reliefs equal to the UK’s EIS-SEIS is shameful, writes John Kennedy.
Hearing voices: Researchers show how Siri and Alexa could be manipulated
White Amazon Echo Plus device. Image: seewhatmitchsee/Shutterstock
UC Berkeley reveals that stealthy commands can be picked up by popular voice assistants.
What just happened with the H-1B visa?
Image: De Repente/Shutterstock
Since Donald Trump first took office, the US tech industry has watched White House developments concerning the controversial H-1B visa with bated breath. We took a look at the latest events to transpire in recent weeks and what they mean.
Flying IoT just took off following major deal with DJI and Microsoft
A DJI drone flying. Image: Valentin Valkov/Shutterstock
This week, Microsoft turns its eyes skyward to push out IoT with drones, while device owners find out how much the Mirai botnet incident cost them.
Scientists create cloaking material to make submarines ‘invisible’
Image: iurii/Shutterstock
Militaries are likely to be very interested in a new cloaking material capable of making submarines completely ‘invisible’ to detection.
Eir fibre passes 75pc of Irish premises, says new CEO Carolan Lennon
Carolan Lennon, CEO, Eir. Image: Connor McKenna
Eir to focus on being a leaner and more agile organisation, says new CEO.
€120m cash injection to bring Imagine’s fixed 5G to rural Europe
Wireless signal in rural Europe. Image: Cienpies Design/Shutterstock
Imagine secures €120m investment to support roll-out of high-speed broadband infrastructure in Ireland and across Europe.
Are you prepared for a cybersecurity emergency?
What should your organisation do in the event of a cyberattack? Image: Kittibowornphatnon/Shutterstock
Every business needs a cybersecurity strategy – how does yours measure up?