At a glance…
A Crowdstrike outage took down millions of Windows computers
The biggest story of July (and perhaps all of 2024) was the massive IT outage that took down millions of Windows devices thanks to a fudged update by security vendor Crowdstrike.
The outage, caused by an update to Crowdstrike’s Falcon sensor, affected dozens of banks, supermarkets, broadcasters, stock exchanges, airports, and train lines worldwide — leaving Windows users stuck on the so-called ‘blue screen of death’.
More than 8.5 million Microsoft Windows computers crashed, resulting in Microsoft and CrowdStrike issuing grovelling apologies.
Google introduced rules to fight election deepfakes
In a year of elections, including the UK general election (more on that shortly) and the US presidential election, Google introduced new rules in an effort to combat deepfaked election ads.
The Labour party was elected in the UK
July saw the UK elect a new government for the first time. Keir Starmer’s Labour Party won a landslide victory, promising numerous tech developments.
The party’s election manifesto promised a 10-year digital infrastructure plan, national 5G coverage by 2030, a tax overhaul to encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and investment in and regulation of AI.
The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation was hit with a cyber-attack
There was also a cyber-attack on the Republican Party thinktank The Heritage Foundation, reportedly carried out by hacktivist group SiegedSec, which immediately disbanded after its actions drew the attention of the FBI.
Alphabet axed a planned $23bn Wiz acquisition
In M&A news, Google-parent Alphabet bit and agreed to buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for around $23 billion in what would have been the tech giant’s biggest acquisition of all time.
Within days of the announcement of the negotiations, the proposed deal collapsed as internal opposition at Wiz reportedly grew stronger. Reports claimed the boards at both firms had concerns about the deal, including whether it would clear potential regulatory hurdles.
Moments that Mattered: The 2024 Olympic Games
Paris became the centre of the world’s attention as millions flocked to the French capital for the 2024 Olympic Games. More than 15 million people were expected to visit the city for the showstopper event, including athletes, broadcasters, politicians, celebrities, and spectators from across the globe.
The Olympics marked a vital moment of unity after the previous games were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was also a huge technological and logistical challenge for any host city.
For the 2024 Games, organisers turned to Orange as the primary connectivity partner, tasking the French telco incumbent with setting up a network that could support all visitors, live streams, and communications at venues across Paris.
Orange wanted to deliver “the most connected competition in Olympic Games history”. Explaining the scale of the task, Orange’s project lead for the Paris Games, Alexis Berger, added: “If you’re a fan, at home, a referee, organiser, journalist, you cannot live your passion and do your job without Orange. A referee cannot start a game if Orange is not ready. All of this is through our network.”
Orange ran a private standalone 5G network across the city to power this. They chose 5G over Wi-Fi because, as they told journalists before the opening ceremony, “in France, we don’t do Wi-Fi.”
“For the public, this is why we have enhanced all our mobile coverage: to enable mobile connectivity to all spectators, including in big stadiums, who are all using our mobile network.”
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was arrested in France
In perhaps the most shocking development in August, the authorities arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov as he entered France concerning an investigation into online child sexual abuse, drug sales, fraud, and other criminal activity carried out on the platform.
The prosecutors stated that Durov was being held in custody as part of a cyber-crime investigation assessing twelve offences linked to organised crime.
Telegram said, “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform.” However, Durov has remained in France ever since, unable to travel.
A “DDoS” attack delayed Musk’s X-clusive Trump interview
Elon Musk made headlines again. The Tesla boss had openly announced his support of Donald Trump in his race to regain the US Presidency. Still, the two men sat down for an exclusive interview to be broadcast on Musk’s X platform (formerly Twitter).
The stream was delayed due to technical issues, and thousands of users complained they could not access the interview. Musk later blamed a DDoS attack for the glitch.
After 40 minutes, the interview went live again on Spaces, and according to Musk’s figures, more than 16.4 million people listened to the conversation within the first 12 hours.
The CAA created a flightpath for drone deliveries
The UK Civil Aviation Authority approved Amazon’s drone delivery service, paving the way for the future of autonomous logistics.
Amazon had already operated drone deliveries in several US states, and the bots do not require human control.
The retail giant was one of six firms the CAA greenlit. The project aims to gather critical data on drone safety and performance, which will inform the development of comprehensive regulations for wider drone operations.
The EU AI Act came into effect
The European Union’s AI Act came into effect in August, enforcing the world’s first comprehensive AI rulebook after four years of deliberation.
The legislation, approved in March, influences businesses within the European Union and has substantial ramifications for technology giants in the US and UK.
Like the GDPR, the AIA’s extraterritorial reach mandates compliance for any AI systems marketed or intended for use within the EU, regardless of origin.
As companies worldwide adjust to the new regulatory landscape, understanding the challenges and opportunities presented by the AIA will be crucial for future-proofing operations and maintaining competitive advantage.
James’s Top Story of 2024: McDonald’s Ditched its AI Ordering System
At TechInformed, we write about many subjects, so defining a “favourite” is often difficult. However, many stand out over the course of a year for different reasons.
Sometimes, we cover extremely important stories, such as the major hack on an NHS Hospital that prevented vital surgeries. Given that healthcare was a major target for cybercrime in 2024, we dug deep into what happened.
Then there are the interviews that pop to mind, such as when I interviewed Everton Football Club’s IT director to learn about the Premier League club’s plans for connectivity when it moves into its new stadium next year.
Sometimes, it is just the funny ones that stand out. For example, the report claimed Amazon was closing its autonomous shopping experience after it was revealed that the service was allegedly not powered by AI but by workers in India.
Or, my favourite: a simple, tiny story also about AI going wrong.
McDonald’s previously announced a major AI trial to improve its drive-thru order system. The system, developed by IBM, used voice recognition to process orders and was trialled at 100 restaurants across the US.
Of course, the problem came when users noticed some strange results and posted them on social media. These included one order that resulted in a dessert topped with bacon and another in which a woman struggled to order ice cream, ending up with ketchup and two portions of butter.
Sometimes, amid all the bad news, the smallest things bring us joy.
Exploding pagers left dozens dead in Lebanon
One of the most shocking stories in September was when news broke about a spate of pagers, walkie-talkies, and other electronic devices exploding across Lebanon, killing dozens and injuring thousands of people.
The ensuing panic reportedly caused local residents to tear batteries from their smartphones, afraid that any electronic device could be affected.
Details emerged that the explosions were part of a coordinated attack allegedly carried out by Israel’s IDF, who were targeting leaders of the terrorist group Hezbollah.
The attacks came in two waves and raised questions about whether we were about to see a new form of warfare involving electronic devices.
The California governor blocked the AI Safety Bill
California Governor Gavin Newsom intervened to veto the controversial AI Safety Bill, claiming the legislation could stifle innovation.
The proposed bill, the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (SB 1047), would have targeted companies developing generative AI. This type of AI can respond to prompts with fully formed text, images, or audio and perform repetitive tasks with minimal intervention.
As one of the first pieces of law focusing on AI safety in the US, it would have required the most advanced AI models to undergo safety testing.
Without the legislation, Senator Scott Wiener, who wrote the bill, said companies could continue developing an “extremely powerful technology” without government oversight.
He claimed Newsom’s block was “a setback for everyone who believes in oversight of massive corporations,” adding that “we are all less safe as a result.”
The EU issued landmark rulings against Big Tech
The European Court of Justice announced dual landmark rulings against Apple and Google in cases around corporate tax avoidance and market dominance abuse.
The rulings, led by European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, saw Apple ordered to pay Ireland €13bn ($14.4bn) in back taxes, while Google was fined €2.4bn ($2.7bn) for antitrust violations.
The cases were undoubtedly closely observed across the EU as a significant moment for Big Tech’s European tax affairs — especially as the EU’s investigations between companies and member states have faced setbacks.
Just last year, Amazon successfully defended its tax arrangements in Luxembourg in a court battle, and the Commission similarly lost a case involving the Netherlands’ tax treatment of Starbucks, though it chose not to appeal.
AI went Agentic with the Salesforce “Agentforce” launch
As AI continued to develop, Salesforce showed us where the technology is headed as it unwrapped its Agentic AI solution, Agentforce, at a packed Dreamforce 2024 in San Francisco.
Marc Benioff, CEO of the world’s second-largest software vendor, attacked rivals focused on developing copilot and co-owned AI solutions with enterprises. He said businesses wanted out-of-the-box AI tools, and this, he added, was where Agentic AI would play a key role.
Agentforce is a suite of autonomous AI agents that Salesforce claims will “augment employees” by handling service, sales, marketing, and commerce tasks.
Continue reading — Q4 Wrapped Up: The Top Tech Stories of October to December
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