Asian Tech Roundup: China cracks AirDrop

Plus, Nvidia tries to get around US sanctions

Food manufacturer Yakult Australia suffered a cyberattack in which 95 GB of data were stolen by a cybercrime group called DragonForce. Source
Security researcher Jeremiah Fowler has identified nearly 27GB of personal information exposed in a database belonging to Australian travel company Inspiring Vacations. Source

The Beijing Wangshendongjian Forensic Appraisal Institute, working with the Chinese government, claims to have cracked Apple’s AirDrop encryption, which protects the sender’s identity. Source
China fired an official overseeing the country’s press regulator after gaming stocks were hit by proposed rules to curb spending on video games. Source
The Dutch government has revoked an export licence for ASML, covering the shipment of some of its equipment to China. In response, Beijing has urged the government to “respect market principles.” Source
China’s Ant Group is reported to be looking to buy Dutch payments firm MultiSafepay as it seeks to move into payment markets in Europe and elsewhere. Source
Market research firm GfK says sales of Apple’s iPhone 15 are down in China compared to the iPhone 14 at this point in its launch cycle, as the company faces competition from local rival Huawei and a crackdown on government use. Source
Sources say Nvidia is to begin production of its H2O AI chip for the Chinese market in Q2. Source
TikTok owner Bytedance is allegedly in talks to sell its gaming assets to Tencent or other prospective buyers. Source
Security researchers have said hackers backed by China are exploiting vulnerabilities in two Ivanti products: VPN service Ivanti Connect Secure (ICS) and network access control toolkit Policy Secure. Source

The Indian Space Research Organisation has launched an X-ray polarimetry space observatory to research cosmic radiation. Source
Wipro is seeking damages of 251.5 million rupees ($3.02 million) plus interest from former CFO Jatin Dalal after he joined rival Cognizant. The case is being heard this week in a Bengaluru court. Source

The earthquake that hit Noto peninsula in Ishikawa province on 1st January has affected semiconductor manufacturing in the region. Several manufacturers have paused production, although analysts do not expect any significant fallout. Source
Honda and Mitsubishi are to test the possibility of running a datacentre using hydrogen fuel cells. The hydrogen will be supplied by Tokuyama Corporation. The trial will run for two years and begin on 31st March. Source

Samsung is reportedly planning to make all its fabs fully automated and human-free within six years using its Smart Sensing System technology to increase productivity. Source
Chipmaker SK Hynix is seeking $1 billion through a bond deal after suffering large losses during 2023. Source
YouTube is on track to surpass KakaoTalk as South Korea’s leading mobile platform. Source

The “world’s largest solar project” has been started in the Philippines, with more than 5 million panels to be installed on 3,500 hectares of land. Source
Autonomous vehicle company WeRide is to begin trialling robot buses in Singapore. Source
Vietnamese authorities fined a TikTok user after he posted that the Angkor Wat, temple was in Thailand, rather than Cambodia. Quoc Anh was charged with providing “false information” and “insulting the reputation of agencies organisations, honour and dignity of individuals.” Source