Satellite communications giant Viasat said a cyberattack was causing network outages impacting internet service for fixed broadband customers in Ukraine and elsewhere on its European KA-SAT network.The California-based company, which provides high-speed satellite broadband services, told ZDNet the outages were caused by a cyberattack.”Our investigation into the outage continues, but so far we believe it was caused by a cyber event. We are investigating and analyzing our European network and systems to identify the root cause and are taking additional network precautions to prevent further impacts while we attempt to recover service to affected customers,” said Christina Phillips, vice president of public relations at Viasat.”Law enforcement and government partners have been notified and are assisting in the ongoing investigation, along with a third-party cybersecurity firm. The investigation is ongoing, but to date, we have no indication that customer data is involved.”Netblocks shared information and graphs showing that the incident began on February 24 and has continued since then. 
Netblocks
Many have pointed out that the incident began on the same day that Russia invaded Ukraine. News outlet PaxEx.Aero said intv.cz, one of the ISPs impacted by the outage, claimed there was an “attack” on the ground infrastructure for KA-SAT in Ukraine that managed to spread. Another ISP, Germany-based EUSANET, also said it was experiencing outages in a statement to PaxEx.Aero. British news outlet Sky News reported that an insider told them the outages were caused by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.  More

Chromebook users can sign in to websites with a PIN or fingerprint.
Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Google has finally brought Web Authentication (WebAuthn) passwordless authentication to Chrome OS to allow users to sign in to websites with a PIN or fingerprint used to unlock a Chromebook.
WebAuthn allows people to register and authenticate on websites or apps using an “authenticator” – such as a fingerprint or PIN – instead of a password. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) made WebAuthn an official web standard in 2019.

Of course, to take advantage of the Chrome OS version 88 update, people need to have a Chromebook with a fingerprint reader. But the feature also supports a device PIN, which is still easier to remember than passwords for every website. 
SEE: Managing and troubleshooting Android devices checklist (TechRepublic Premium)
“Websites that support WebAuthn will let you use your Chromebook PIN or fingerprint ID – if your Chromebook has a fingerprint reader – instead of the password you’ve set for the website,” says Alexander Kuscher, director of Chrome OS.
Additionally, people who use Google’s two-step verification to sign in to a Google account don’t need to use a security key or phone to authenticate since the Chromebook PIN or fingerprint ID can be used as the second factor. 
Sites that support WebAuthn include Google, Dropbox, GitHub, Okta, Twitter and Microsoft. Google last year rolled out an update so people with iPhones could use WebAuthn with more types of security keys as the second factor to sign into a Google account.

As an added bonus, Google has rolled out a feature with Chrome OS 88 that lets students and workers personalize the lockscreen with photos from Google Photos or art gallery images. Chrome OS also lets users check the weather and music playing, as well as control pause, skip and play in a locked state.  
WebAuthn on Chrome OS devices is likely to be a welcome addition for students who use Chromebooks for remote learning as the COVID-19 pandemic rolls on. These days, the demand for laptops around the clock has forced many parents to buy a cheap laptop, and Chromebooks are a popular option compared to more expensive Windows laptops and macOS laptops. 
SEE: Cybersecurity: This ‘costly and destructive’ malware is the biggest threat to your network
Acer in January unveiled the Chromebook Spin 514 convertible laptop with a 14-inch full HD touchscreen, protected by Gorilla Glass, and powered by AMD’s new Ryzen 3000 C-Series mobile processors. 
At the higher end, Samsung trimmed some features to bring down the cost of its 2-in-1 Galaxy Chromebook. The Galaxy Chromebook 2 features a 13.3-inch QLED display with 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution and comes with an Intel 10th-gen Core i3-10110U or Celeron 5205U processors. The previous model featured a 4K AMOLED display and an Intel Core i5 processor.  More

Google’s latest flagship phone line, the Pixel 10, has arrived: On Wednesday at its Made by Google event, the company unveiled the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold More

Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has reversed course on its planned delisting of a trio of Chinese telcos.
On New Year’s Eve, it was announced NYSE intended to delist China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom Hong Kong in order to comply with a 12 November 2020 executive order from outgoing US president Donald Trump.
The order sought to forbid trading and investing in any of the companies previously deemed to be Communist Chinese military companies by the US Department of Defense. It also looked to ban trading in any new companies that are given such a label.
By Monday though, the NYSE had reversed course.
“In light of further consultation with relevant regulatory authorities in connection with Office of Foreign Assets Control FAQ 857 … the New York Stock Exchange LLC announced today that NYSE Regulation no longer intends to move forward with the delisting action in relation to the three issuers … which was announced on December 31, 2020,” it said in a statement.
“At this time, the issuers will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE. NYSE Regulation will continue to evaluate the applicability of Executive Order 13959 to these issuers and their continued listing status.”
In the executive order, Trump said the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was “exploiting United States capital” to boost and update its military, which he claimed would allow Beijing to threaten the US and its overseas forces, as well as develop “advanced conventional weapons and malicious cyber-enabled actions against the United States and its people”.

“Through the national strategy of Military-Civil Fusion, the PRC increases the size of the country’s military-industrial complex by compelling civilian Chinese companies to support its military and intelligence activities,” Trump said.
“Those companies, though remaining ostensibly private and civilian, directly support the PRC’s military, intelligence, and security apparatuses and aid in their development and modernisation.”
Trump also said the PRC “exploits United States investors” to finance its military.
For its part, the China Securities Regulatory Commission hit back on Sunday and said the ban was politically motivated and ignored the rights of investors while severely damaging the market.
It added that the size of the listings on American markets was under 2.2% of the total shares on offer, so the direct impact of the delisting was “rather limited”.
“The role of the US as an international financial centre, is built on the trust of the global enterprises and investors in the inclusiveness and certainty of its rules and institutions,” the Commission said.
“The recent move by some political forces in the US to continuously and groundlessly suppress foreign companies listed on the US markets, even at the cost of undermining its own position in the global capital markets, has demonstrated that US rules and institutions can become arbitrary, reckless, and unpredictable. It is certainly not a wise move.”
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