Welcome to the December 20, 2024 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

HEADLINES AT A GLANCE

• U.S. Weighs Ban on Chinese-Made Routers
• The Cost of Anticompetitive Pricing Algorithms in Rental Housing
• U.S. Tells Officials, Politicians to Ditch Regular Calls, Texts
• Chip Team Taiwan Initiative Unveiled
• Physics Sim Trains Robots 430,000 Times Faster Than Reality
• First Israeli-Built Quantum Computer Goes Live
• EU Escalates Pressure on Apple to Open Features to Rivals
• U.S. National Labs to Establish Semiconductor Manufacturing Institute
• Crypto Hackers Steal $2.2bn, Led by North Korea
• Chinese Cybersecurity Center Accuses U.S. of Hacking, Stealing Tech Secrets
• Tech Makes an Economic Case for Skilled Immigrants
• China's Homebrew Bluetooth Alternative On the March

U.S. Weighs Ban on Chinese-Made Routers

The U.S. departments of Commerce, Defense, and Justice are investigating home Internet routers manufactured by China's TP-Link, which have been linked to recent cyberattacks. If the agencies determine there is a national security risk, they could ban the sale of TP-Link routers in the U.S. next year. The Department of Justice reportedly is investigating whether TP-Link violated a federal law prohibiting the sale of products for less than their manufacturing costs in an attempt to create a monopoly.
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The Cost of Anticompetitive Pricing Algorithms in Rental Housing

Research by the White House Council of Economic Advisers found that algorithmic pricing costs renters an average of $70 per month across the U.S., and more than $100 per month in six major metro areas. The researchers said the use of algorithms to facilitate price coordination hinders competition and decreases market efficiency. The U.S. Department of Justice has accused the primary provider of multifamily rental pricing algorithms of ensuring its software automatically accepts price recommendations and making it difficult to for users to reject them.
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U.S. Tells Officials, Politicians to Ditch Regular Calls, Texts

In written guidance released on Wednesday, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said "individuals who are in senior government or senior political positions" should "immediately review and apply" a series of best practices around the use of mobile devices, following intrusions at American telecom companies attributed to Chinese hackers. The guidance included a warning to avoid traditional phone calls and text messages and advocated the use of end-to-end encrypted communications.
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Chip Team Taiwan Initiative Unveiled

At the 12th quadrennial National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei, Taiwan National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen (pictured) unveiled the Chip Team Taiwan initiative, intended to reduce its reliance on China by establishing supply chains for robotics, drones, and the space industry. Wu said chipmakers would collaborate through the initiative to meet Taiwan's smart tech, innovative economy, social balance, and net zero carbon emission goals.
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Physics Sim Trains Robots 430,000 Times Faster Than Reality

A new open source computer simulation system that lets robots practice tasks in simulated reality 430,000 times faster than in the real world was unveiled Thursday by a team of university and private industry researchers led by Zhou Xian of Carnegie Mellon University. The Genesis system processes physics calculations up to 80 times faster than existing robot simulators. It uses graphics cards similar to those that power video games to run up to 100,000 copies of a simulation at once.
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First Israeli-Built Quantum Computer Goes Live

The Israel Innovation Authority, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Hebrew University and its Yissum technology transfer company unveiled Israel's first domestically built quantum computer. Now operational, the 20-qubit computer features a supercomputer-based quantum computer infrastructure and will be used for both defense and civilian applications.
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EU Escalates Pressure on Apple to Open Features to Rivals

The European Commission ordered Apple to change its iOS operating system to increase iPhone compatibility with devices from competitors. Regulators indicated Apple should open features to third-party developers including Wi-Fi connections, file-transfer features, and beaming of video from devices. Apple responded, "Companies should be able to compete with one another to make their own products work together in new ways that benefit users without giving their ideas away to competitors."
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U.S. National Labs to Establish Semiconductor Manufacturing Institute

The U.S. Department of Energy said 10 of its national labs will establish the Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins USA (SMART USA) Institute. SMART USA will leverage advanced digital twin technology to support domestic semiconductor production. It will collaborate with 17 existing institutes to bolster U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and research and development infrastructure.
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Crypto Hackers Steal $2.2bn, Led by North Korea

Hackers stole a total of $2.2 billion from cryptocurrency platforms this year, according to block analytics firm Chainalysis, with 61% of the activity attributed to hackers in North Korea. This year marks the fifth in the past decade that hackers have stolen over $1 billion from crypto firms. The total amount stolen this year represents a 21% year-on-year increase, with the number of individual incidents increasing from 282 in 2023 to 303 in 2024.
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Chinese Cybersecurity Center Accuses U.S. of Hacking, Stealing Tech Secrets

The National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China on Wednesday accused the U.S. of carrying out cyberattacks and stealing business secrets from a research center and a data company. An advanced material design research unit has been targeted by U.S. intelligence agencies since August, the center said, through a breach in an electronic document security management system. The center alleged another attack took place in May 2023, when a breach in Microsoft Exchange software was used to invade the email server of a large hi-tech enterprise specializing in smart energy and digital information.
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Tech Makes an Economic Case for Skilled Immigrants

Some tech insiders believe the addition of Tesla's Elon Musk and other tech leaders to President-elect Donald Trump's circle could improve the chances of skill-based legal immigration being expanded during his second term in office. The H-1B visa cap has been held at 85,000 since 2006, with 470,000 individuals applying for those visas for fiscal year 2025. At the same time, it has been difficult for H-1B visa holders to obtain green cards.
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China's Homebrew Bluetooth Alternative On the March

Under a standard for universal remote controls approved by China's Electronics Video Industry Association, remote controls will be required to enable voice control and connect wirelessly using either Bluetooth, infrared, or China's home-grown Bluetooth alternative, Star Flash. An upgrade to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi with features from 5G networks, Star Flash is said to support multiple simultaneous device connections and stream lossless stereo audio while consuming less power.
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