Tag: largest

US busts $530 million Infraud cybercrime ring

The US just took down one of the larger online crime organizations in recent memory — certainly one of the largest prosecuted by the feds. Department of Justice officials have filed charges against 36 people allegedly involved with Infraud Organization (no really, that’s the name), a global cybercrime ring with roots in the US as well as numerous other countries. Combined, the group is believed to have trafficked in stolen financial data (including up to 4 million cards), identities and contraband worth over $530 million in losses. And that’s what they actually managed to accomplish. Reportedly, they hoped to inflict a total of $2.2 billion in damage. Law enforcement has only arrested 13 of the members so far, five of which are from the US and only one of which (Sergei Medvedev) is considered top brass. Ukraine resident Svyatoslav Bondarenko, who’s believed to have founded Infraud back in 2010, isn’t one of them. And while there are just five suspects still at large, the actual membership is considerably deeper with 10, 901 registered members as of March 2017. The Americans involved with Infraud have already appeared in court, and they could face more than 30 years in prison if they’re found guilty. This is unlikely to dissuade other groups — Infraud wasn’t the first big cybercrime ring, and probably won’t be the last. Nonetheless, the scale suggests this should put at least a temporary dent in digital fraud. Via: CNET Source: Department of Justice

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US busts $530 million Infraud cybercrime ring

LA orders 25 of Proterra’s electric buses

Los Angeles wants to field a completely electric fleet of buses by 2030, and it just took a large step toward making that a reality. The city’s Department of Transportation (which runs the largest municipal transit in the county) has acquired 25 of Proterra’s smaller 35-foot Catalyst buses, all of which should arrive in 2019. That may not sound like much, but it’s a significant chunk of the DOT’s 359-bus fleet. The deal promises real savings, too — it should eliminate 7.8 million lbs. of greenhouse gas emissions per year and save $11.2 million in energy and maintenance over 12 years. This isn’t the first step toward electrifying mass transit in the LA area, but is one of the larger examples. The DOT unveiled just four buses at the start of 2017, for example, so this is certainly a much larger commitment. And notably, it’s not just from an American company — it’s from a company whose manufacturing is even located in the county. The region’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority bought 95 buses in July, but they were split between Chinese transportation giant BYD and the American division of Canada’s New Flyer. It’d represent a big order for Proterra as well. At the start of 2017, it had received 375 bus orders. This is a big deal for a firm that’s still hitting its stride, and shows that it’s earning the trust of some major cities. Don’t be surprised if its buses become more of a mainstay going forward. Source: Proterra

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LA orders 25 of Proterra’s electric buses

Samsung topples Intel as world’s largest chipmaker

Samsung registered a record profit of $12.6 billion in its second quarter earnings report, but hidden in those numbers lies another milestone. Of its $54 billion in revenue, $15 billion came solely from Samsung Semiconductors — pushing it above the $14.8 billion that all of Intel brought in. In short: Samsung just ended Intel’s 24-year-reign and became the largest chipmaker in the world. But Samsung didn’t get there by outselling processors — it’s been diversifying its chip offerings for years. While Intel has focused on CPUs for computers and servers after burying its wearables division last November, Samsung has broadened into making chips for mobile devices, as well as connected chips for IoT and smart vehicles. But the company also got ahead of Intel on the strength of its flash memory with more popular SSD products. Intel isn’t giving up on the rivalry, and claimed its next generation of long-delayed Cannon Lake 10nm chips will feature twice as many transistors as Samsung’s or TMSC’s, putting them “light years” ahead. Via: Sam Mobile Source: Samsung Second Quarter 201 Earnings , Intel Second Quarter Earnings (PDF)

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Samsung topples Intel as world’s largest chipmaker

Intel buys self-driving tech firm Mobileye for $15.3 billion

Intel’s recent work with MobilEye on self-driving cars must have gone well, because the chip giant is buying its Jerusalem-based partner for $15.3 billion. The deal was first reported by Israeli business site The Marker but has now been confirmed by the two companies. MobilEye is one of the largest players in autonomous vehicle tech and was in the news recently over a spat with Tesla following a fatal Model S crash in Florida. However, it recently teamed with Intel on BMW’s iNext self-driving platform, which the automaker aims to put into service by 2021. The technology they’re working on isn’t just for BMW vehicles, though. The idea is to build a “scalable architecture” that can be used by any automaker, especially if they don’t want to build their own tech from scratch. As such, it could become a huge business for MobilEye, which may help explain the huge acquisition price. The deal is one of the largest acquisitions of an Israeli-based tech company ever. Despite a recent PC renaissance thanks to Microsoft’s Surface and other devices, desktops are still losing ground to mobile devices. That has affected Intel’s bottom line while benefiting companies like Qualcomm, which makes the chips used in many smartphones and tablets. The situation has forced Intel into other areas like wearables, connected homes and “internet of things” devices, none of which has exactly taken off yet. BREAKING: Intel to acquire Mobileye for $63.54 per share in cash, or about $15.3 billion. $INTC $MBLY — CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) March 13, 2017 Autonomous cars, on the other hand, are one of the hottest things in tech, with virtually every automaker, tech company and even peripheral firms like Uber and Lyft working on (and fighting about ) them. Even if fully autonomous cars don’t work out as planned (some critics think it’s a distant pipe dream ), autopilot tech that aids drivers and prevents accidents is available now on Tesla EVs and other cars. Ironically, MobilEye’s early success was due in large part to Tesla, and that partnership dissolved in a not-very-friendly way. Via: The Marker Source: Intel / Mobileye (.PDF)

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Intel buys self-driving tech firm Mobileye for $15.3 billion

Mandalay Bay installs America’s biggest solar roof

The Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV is now home to the largest roof-top solar array in America. The array consists of 26, 000 individual panels and produces enough power to meet roughly 25 percent of the convention center’s energy requirements. The two other largest casinos along the strip, presumably The Venetian and the Wynn, have also reportedly installed solar panels in efforts to reduce their electricity bills. The state of Nevada as a whole has set an ambitious goal of producing a quarter of its electricity from clean sources by 2025. That’s no small feat given that the Bellagio and Mandalay Bay alone consume more electricity annually than all of Key West, FL, a city of 2.5 million. Source: Fortune

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Mandalay Bay installs America’s biggest solar roof

Here are all of the world’s biggest ships at sea

If you take the Empire State building, flipped it over to the side, and then put it in the ocean, it would be smaller than some of the world’s largest ships. That’s how big these behemoths of the sea are, more gigantic than skyscrapers. Oil tankers, container ships, pipe-laying vessels, yachts, sailing boats, cruise ships and more, we’ve got all the world’s largest ships still in service today. At times, the scale is just unfathomable. Read more…

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Here are all of the world’s biggest ships at sea

OPM Director Steps Down After Admitting 22 Million Hacked on Her Watch 

After confirming that over 22 million people had their personal information stolen in the largest government digital data breach, Office of Personnel Management director Katherine Archuleta has resigned . Read more…

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OPM Director Steps Down After Admitting 22 Million Hacked on Her Watch 

The World’s Largest Vertical Farm Is Being Built In an Old Steel Mill 

Across the Hudson and over Newark Bay, about 15 miles from Manhattan, a group of investors led by Goldman Sachs is financing the construction of what will become the largest vertical farm in the world inside a former steel mill. Read more…

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The World’s Largest Vertical Farm Is Being Built In an Old Steel Mill 

Mad guys ride the largest and most insane urban zip-line in the world

This is the largest urban zip-line ride in the world—and it must b e the most insane too. Watch these guys zip down a 10, 000-foot line placed on top of a 700-foot building in Panama City. Then—half way through it and as if this weren’t scary enough on its own—they let go and dive with their parachutes. Madness. Read more…

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Mad guys ride the largest and most insane urban zip-line in the world