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But the use of satellite services can be dangerous in war, as evidenced by the history of countries using satellite signals to geolocate and target enemies, cybersecurity experts told CNN Business.

“If the enemy has a specialized aircraft in the air, he can detect [a satellite] signal and get involved in it, “said Nicholas Weaver, a security researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, by e-mail. Starlink may work right now, but anyone who asks a [Starlink] plate in Ukraine should see it as a potential giant target. “

In short: “It may be useful, but for safety reasons you don’t want to put it (or really any distinctive emitter) in Ukraine anywhere near where you wouldn’t want a Russian bomb to fall,” Weaver said.

Shortly after this story was first published, Musk also got involved Twittersaying “Important note: Starlink is the only non-Russian communication system still operating in some parts of Ukraine, so you are likely to be targeted. Please use with caution. ”He continued to I advise consumers in Ukraine to “turn on Starlink only when necessary and place the antenna as far away from people as possible”, and to “put light camouflage on the antenna to avoid visual detection.”

It is not clear how many Starlink terminals have sent SpaceX to Ukraine, nor is it clear how the Ukrainian government plans to use or distribute them.

SpaceX’s raid to help Ukraine began when the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Fedorov made a public request to Musk on Twitter last weekend, saying: “While you are trying to colonize Mars, Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine!” While your missiles successfully land from space – Russian missiles attack civilians of Ukraine! Please provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and ask sensible Russians to stay. “This was one of a series of tweets that Fedorov directed at various US-based technical figures, begging them to take action on behalf of Ukraine.

Musk responded with offers of help, announcing that the Starlink network has already been activated in Ukraine, and this week a whole truckload of consumer terminals arrived, which are needed to provide users with access to satellite Internet service.

Fedorov shared a photo online.

And on Wednesday, he shared a photo of what appears to be an active Starlink antenna at work.

Most of the country still has access to its normal, Earth-based Internet connections, despite attacks on other communications infrastructure, such as a TV tower in Kyiv’s capital, by Russian invaders, according to Alp Toker, who heads Internet monitoring company NetBlocks. .

But some areas have had interruptions, Toker said.

“The worst disturbances are observed in the east, Melitopol, Mariupol, Kharkiv and along the Luhansk and Donetsk districts to the regions controlled by Ukraine and Severodonetsk,” Toker said by email. “Kyiv did better, as did the western part of the country.”

Tocker added that according to NetBlocks Starlink “will not return Ukraine online in the event of an eclipse nationwide” – but the service can provide hotspots for important services such as support for journalists, resistance groups and public officials “with enough luck to have access to the equipment “.

But Toker also acknowledged that using the service could be dangerous: “There is always a risk associated with new technologies in war zones where detection with unfamiliar equipment can highlight journalists or activists for closer scrutiny. There is also a specific risk of tracking and triangulation through [radiofrequency] emissions when it comes to telecommunications equipment. “

These risks, Tocker said, “must be weighed on a case-by-case basis.”

John Scott-Reylton, a senior fellow at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab who has spent a decade studying hacking and surveillance in conflict zones, turned to Twitter over the weekend in an attempt to raise awareness of the potential risks. He praised the scope of SpaceX, but warned that Starlink terminals could become the equivalent of drawing a giant target on its back.

“It’s great to see how the technology sector is committed to Ukraine. “This could not be a stronger signal of global solidarity,” Scott Reilton told CNN Business. “But we have to keep the risks in mind. People in conflict zones are limited in time and resources. And we want to make sure that they don’t get a false impression of the safety of the technology we provide them. “

The risks have nothing to do with whether communications are encrypted, Scott-Railton added, as devices don’t have to be eavesdropped on by the enemy – they just have to emit enough unique signals to be tracked and eventually localized. He also noted that Starlink is still a very new technology, so it is not required has been tested in military zones to identify and assess risks.

A U.S. military spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. The US military is aware of the risks of using satellite technology in military areas. In 2003, during the Iraq war, for example, both countries banned satellite phones due to security and intelligence risks.

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment on Starlink, nor did it respond to routine email inquiries from reporters for years. Ukrainian officials and the country’s military did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Scott-Reylton pointed out that the use of satellite technology in conflict zones was – again and again – an underestimated risk. In 1996, the Russians reportedly used satellite signals to direct and assassinate Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudayev. Russia has “decades of experience” in carrying out such attacks, he said on Twitter. Scott-Reylton is also exploring the role that satellite technology plays in Libyan revolution since 2011

It is not always clear when the enemy has caught the use of enemy satellite technology, Scott-Reylton added, until it is too late.

Josh Lospinoso, CEO of Shift5, a US-based computer security company, added in an email: “Ultimately, the deployment of a SpaceX Starlink terminal in Ukraine could raise serious concerns for Ukrainian employees who use them … Russia may use this geolocation information for everything from intelligence gathering and tracking to air strikes. ”

Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, has indicated that Russia is aware of Musk’s donation – and Rogozin sees it as a hostile act. In comments to CNN Business on Wednesday, Rogozin said SpaceX’s claims that Starlink was for civilian use and aimed at connecting the world were “fairy tales.”

“Muscophiles say it’s amazing, it’s the light of our world space exploration,” Rogozin said. “Okay, [Musk] took a side. I have no problems with it. It is obvious that this is the West, which we should never trust, because it has always felt chronic jealousy among political elites, jealousy of our country. See how right now they are competing with each other to empty our relationship, and who will clear up the whole mess later? What is happening right now is very dangerous. “

Musk tweeted.

“The civil Internet in Ukraine was experiencing strange interruptions – maybe bad weather. “So SpaceX is helping to fix it,” he said wrote.

Artistic depiction of the future marine terminal in South Brooklyn, turned into a major center for the construction of wind turbines.

The artist presents with the kind assistance of Equinor

Map showing the location of future wind turbines, the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects.

The map is provided by Equinor

Artistic depiction of the future marine terminal in South Brooklyn, equipped to process large components for offshore wind turbines.

To do the job, New York City Economic Development Corporation and Equinor will train local community members.

“This site will be the launch of an entirely new industry for New York that will support 13,000 local jobs over time, generate $ 1.3 billion in average annual investment across the city and significantly reduce our carbon footprint.” so that we can achieve our climate goals of 100 percent clean electricity by 2040, “Adams said in a statement announcing the deal.

“This is a transformative moment for New York and our future for clean energy – a future of sustainable energy, well-paid jobs and climate justice,” Adams said.

The new port aims to provide 30% employment to its subcontractors from minority and women-owned subcontractors based and registered in New York or New York State, according to a statement issued for the plan.

The state of New York and New York have committed to receiving 70% of their electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, by 2030.

During a recent briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby denied that the U.S. military had a hand in assisting Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in his efforts to send Starlink satellite kits to Ukraine, which is currently at war with Russia. Kirby’s comments were in response to a question about whether Musk had had help from the Pentagon when he successfully sent Starlink kits to the besieged country.

“There is no help from us that I know of,” Kirby said. Asked if Starlink’s internet connection had had any effect on helping Ukrainians gain a tactical advantage in the war, the Pentagon spokesman simply said that such topics “are really for Ukrainians to talk about.” However, Kirby stressed that “the US military and I know we have no part in this.”

Kirby’s comments for Starlink are around 30:00.

Despite comments from the Pentagon spokesman, Elon Musk’s Starlink shipment to Ukraine was widely praised by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov. In a recent Twitter update, the official said the satellite Internet system was helping to keep the country’s cities connected amid pressure from the Russian invasion.

Fedorov even asked Musk if he had any ideas how to keep starlink functional even if the Russians attack Ukraine’s infrastructure. Musk suggested that solar panels and batteries would be the perfect solution, even if there is an eclipse. The Ukrainian welcomed the proposal before announcing it Starlink “will save many lives”.

Musk Starlink’s delivery to Ukraine was originally requested by Fedorov last weekend, with the official saying satellite Internet kits would be invaluable in the ongoing conflict. It took Musk about ten hours to respond, although he later said the terminals were on their way to the country. The Ukrainian official later shared a photo of the Starlink truck kits just about 48 hours after Musk’s initial response on Twitter. Later tests in the country showed that the satellite Internet system delivers speeds of up to 200 Mbps.

Although the supply of Musk Starlink to Ukraine was widely praised by many, it was met with extreme criticism from the head of the Russian space agency Dmitry Rogozin. Through Russia today, the head of Roscosmos said that “When Russia realizes its highest national interests in Ukraine, Elon Musk appears with his Starlink, which was previously declared purely civilian … Look, he chose the country. I don’t even blame him personally. This is the West, which we should never trust, “Rogozin said said.

Musk, in response on Twitter, brazenly said he had sent Starlink kits to Ukraine as the country experienced strange Internet outages. And because SpaceX could help, his private space company did. “The civil Internet in Ukraine was experiencing strange interruptions – maybe bad weather. “So SpaceX is helping to fix it,” Musk said wrote.

Do not hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to [email protected] to warn us.

The Pentagon denies involvement in the delivery of Elon Musk Starlink to Ukraine

Verizon announced on Thursday that it is launching a new platform in partnership with Netflix, Peloton, Disney Plus and other streamers as a hub for customers to “discover, buy and manage some of their favorite subscriptions.” Called Plus Play, the platform will launch with a select group of customers and brands later this month, with a broader launch later this year, the company said in a press release.

Plus Play will centralize streaming subscriptions at no extra cost to Verizon subscribers. Plus Play will allow Verizon customers to manage subscriptions on a variety of devices and provide information on content service deals, such as the Disney Plus / Hulu / ESPN Plus discount and other promotional offers. However, with Verizon and other service providers, you’ll want to keep an eye on the fine print. Sometimes signing up for a discount automatically involves data collectors, such as Custom Experience Plus, which tracks location data, who you’re calling, and what websites you’re visiting.

The company said in a news release that as more streaming platforms launch in different areas of content – such as games, music and news – it is becoming difficult for customers to know what they have, what may be available to them and whether they receive the best value of your subscriptions.

Also during its Investor’s Day event on Thursday, Verizon announced a partnership with the parent company of Facebook Meta, which will explore how companies can collaborate in a future metaverse. The partnership will look at ways to use Verizon’s 5G network with Meta technology “to understand the basic requirements for meta-universal applications.”

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has built the key universe initiative for the company, formerly known as Facebook.

President Biden’s chief surgeon on Thursday formally asked major technology platforms to provide information on the scale of Covid-19 misinformation on social media, search engines, crowdsourcing platforms, e-commerce platforms and instant messaging systems.

A request for information from the Chief Surgeon’s Office requires technology platforms to send data and analysis on the spread of disinformation about Covid-19 to their sites, starting with common examples of disinformation about vaccines documented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

The communication requires companies to provide “exactly how many users have seen or may have been exposed to disinformation about Covid-19”, as well as aggregated demographic data that may have been disproportionately exposed or affected by the misinformation.

Chief Surgeon Dr. Vivek Murtie also requested information from the platforms on the main sources of disinformation about Covid-19, including those involved in the sale of unproven Covid-19 products, services and treatments.

“Technology companies now have the opportunity to be open and transparent with the American people about misinformation on their platforms,” ​​Dr. Murty said in an email statement. He added: “It’s about protecting the nation’s health.”

Companies have until May 2 to submit data. Denial of information requests is not sanctioned, but the notice is the first official request from the Biden administration to technology companies to provide disinformation about Covid-19, according to the chief surgeon’s office.

Six months ago, Dr. Murty used his first official advice to the United States to uncover technology and social media companies he accused of not doing enough to stop the spread of dangerous health misinformation – especially about Covid-19. He called the misinformation “an urgent threat to public health”.

The request for information is part of President Biden’s National Preparedness Plan for Covid, which the White House clarified on Wednesday and is a roadmap for a new phase of the pandemic, where Covid-19 is causing “minimal disruption”, according to the White House. Mr Biden first revealed details of the plan during his speech on the state of the Union on Tuesday night.

In addition to requiring disinformation data from technology platforms, the chief surgeon called on healthcare providers and the public to provide information on how disinformation Covid-19 has negatively affected patients and communities.

“We ask anyone with relevant insights – from original research and data sets to personal stories that talk about the role of misinformation in public health – to share it with us,” said Dr. Murty.

An employee carries a TV next to a customer’s car at the Best Buy store in Orlando, Florida.

Paul Hennessy SOPA images LightRocket | Getty Images

See the companies leading titles in the lunch trade.

Best buy – Retail stocks jumped 8% after the company announced a 26% increase in its quarterly dividend. This move comes despite Best Buy reporting adjusted profits that are exactly in line with Refinitiv’s consensus assessment.

Kroger – The grocery chain said its shares jumped 11.1% after exceeding Wall Street’s earnings expectations. The company reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of 91 cents a share on revenue of $ 33.05 billion. Analysts were looking for a profit of 74 cents per share on revenue of $ 32.86 billion, according to Refinitiv.

BJ’s Wholesale – Shares fell 13.3% after the wholesaler missed Wall Street’s expectations for quarterly earnings. BJ’s reported revenue of $ 4.36 billion, compared to analysts’ expected $ 4.4 billion, according to StreetAccount.

Large lots – Shares fell 2.4% in lunch trading after a report of bad profits. The company reported earnings of $ 1.75 per share compared to Refinitiv’s consensus estimate of $ 1.89 per share.

Burlington – Shares fell 10.9% in lunch trading after a lack of consensus estimates in the holiday income statement. Burlington reported a quarterly adjusted earnings of $ 2.53 per share on revenue of $ 2.6 billion, which is less than Refinitiv’s consensus estimates of $ 3.25 per share on $ 2.78 billion in sales.

Snowflake – Shares fell 17.2% at noon after the software company reported gains showing the slowest sales growth since at least 2019. Revenue for the fourth quarter was above analysts’ forecasts and rose 101% year-over-year. The company reported an adjusted loss of 43 cents per share.

Box Inc. – Shares rose 3.2% at noon after the company reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. The company earned 24 cents a share, excluding revenue of $ 233 million. Analysts had expected earnings of 23 cents per share on $ 229 million in revenue.

American Eagle Outfitters – Shares fell 10.3% after the retailer reported quarterly results. American Eagle has warned that higher transportation costs will affect profits in the first half of 2022.

Intel – Shares fell 1.7% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock rating from equal weight to less. “Reducing the value of stocks … will allow us to focus on more effective situations that offer relatively more attractive risks and rewards in the future,” said Ethan Puritz of Morgan Stanley.

Southwest – Shares rose 1.2% after Evercore ISI improved the airline’s shares to outperform built-in. “Greater relative financial strength + margin-focused planning is driving us to raise our rating in the Southwest,” the company said.

Citigroup – The bank’s shares fell 3.7% after falling by two companies. Analysts were unhappy with Citi’s medium-term return on tangible total equity, a key indicator for the industry.

– Samantha Subin and Sarah Min of CNBC contributed to the report.

The company’s logo is visible on a Rivian R1T pickup truck maintained by Amazon, an electric vehicle manufacturer (EV), as it was parked off the Nasdaq Market site during the Times Square IPO in New York, USA, November 10, 2021. REUTERS / Brendan McDermid /

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March 3 – Rivian Automotive Inc (RIVN.O) canceled price increases for electric vehicles booked before March 1 after facing a backlash from customers after a 20% price increase.

Pre-orders from March 1 will not be subject to the new prices and customers who have canceled orders can refund them with the original price, CEO RJ Scaringe said in a letter to customers on Thursday.

On March 1, the Amazon-backed company increased the base price of the Rivian R1T electric pickup to about $ 79,500 from $ 67,500, while the R1S SUV went up to $ 84,500 from $ 70,000. Read more

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Rising prices have prompted some customers to cancel orders and express disappointment, accusing the company of “betraying” its early supporters, according to social media posts.

“It was wrong and we broke your trust in Rivian,” Scaringe wrote.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes since I started Rivian more than 12 years ago, but this one was the most painful.”

Shares of Rivian, which fell more than 13% on Wednesday, extended losses on Thursday, down 4%.

Scaringe reiterated that the rise in prices was caused by inflationary pressures and higher component costs.

Average prices for new vehicles in the United States have risen by more than 30% since 2018, when they began receiving pre-orders for RIT, he said.

Holders of reservations at Rivian welcomed the move.

“I’m back with Rivian. Super sincere apology from RJ and they’re doing well,” said Zach Jump-Start Marino, who canceled his pre-order after the price increase.

“100% trust and confidence have been restored. This is the right move,” tweeted Zach Nelson, who made a reservation for R1T in 2018.

The new prices will remain in force for orders placed after the announcement.

“We believe the damage has been done and instead many customers will be buying electric cars from competitors,” said Gareth Nelson, an analyst at CFRA Research.

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Report by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Edited by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Shinjini Ganguli, Devika Syamnath and Cynthia Osterman

Our standards: ‘ principles of trust.

He would bristle at the term, but you can describe Dylan Schultz as a crypto brother. He manages Lavender.Five, a cryptocurrency validation service that certifies blockchain transactions (imagine a deregulated branch of the Securities and Exchange Commission).

On February 25, he issued a appeal to his 1,700 Twitter followers: “We will compare any donation made to a charity in support of Ukraine to a total of $ 1,000.” The next day, Schultz publishes the fruits of its initiative; 0.028 bitcoin, equivalent to a total donation of about $ 1,100, sent to a crypto wallet run by a Ukrainian military NGO called Come Back Alive. He is a small part of a chorus of countless other cryptocurrency holders around the world who are vying to support Ukrainians in the face of invading power. Reports say more than $ 30 million in cryptocurrency has been sent to the country since the start of the war. So charity has finally become decentralized?

“I decided early on that Lavender.Five would use its platform to make a positive difference, no matter how small,” Schultz said. “Crypto is inherent in the whole world. Intermediaries are often needed to donate traditional currency. You cannot donate USD directly, you must first convert them in some way or find an intermediary. … Cryptocurrency solves this by simplifying the process. If you have the address of the charity, you can simply enter the address, enter the amount to donate and click “Submit”.

Ukraine, like many former Soviet states, is battling corruption and a severe shortage of international funding since independence in 1991. So perhaps that’s why the Ukrainian government has taken the unusual step of publishing cryptocurrency portfolios for global funding through bitcoin and Ethereum. – The two most popular digital tokens – from official accounts. “Stand with the people of Ukraine, now accepting donations of cryptocurrency,” he wrote Mikhail Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, on February 26. Non-profit organizations and local businesses in the besieged country responded to the government’s request. Kyiv Independent, an English-language newspaper in the capital, accepts patronage through bitcoin.

Come Back Alive, the NGO Schultz contributed to, was previously active in Patreon – processing donations in traditional currency – before being suspended from the platform because it violated an existing moratorium on military fundraising. Naturally, the company found a second life thanks to a “crypto team” called UkraineDAO, which collects decentralized aid for various Ukrainian organizations. As the state gradually gets involved in a brutal city war, it may make sense for residents to petition for untraceable currency – especially since donations can be anonymous and therefore avoid any retaliation from the Russian state.

“Blockchain allows us to scale our efforts in a way that was not possible for us before,” said Nadia Tolokonnikova, a DAO spokeswoman in Ukraine, in an interview with The New York Times. “The old ways of raising money are sometimes really slow and just cumbersome.”

For the most ardent supporters of cryptocurrency, the crisis in Ukraine is an ideal encapsulation of the reasons why they believe that global economic hegemony must be broken. The Ukrainian people need help, and they argue that Bitcoin’s ability to avoid bureaucratic bureaucracy is the best way to provide immediate services to vulnerable populations. “It’s just the cheapest, fastest and safest way to make financial transactions,” said Artemis, who declined to give his real name but said he was from Canada and donated $ 280 in Bitcoins to Come Back Alive. “They can safely store it without fear of invading forces stealing it or the banking system collapsing due to war.

However, donors still need to take due care to avoid potential fraud, especially in a chaotic war zone. No one should trust a homeless crypto wallet floating through social media without confirming the details. Especially when there are organizations like The Giving Block, a charitable curator who paves the way for blockchain to non-profit organizations, which requires a verification process to be presented on the platform. Even in the wild west of cryptocurrency, patrons may know that their alms are going to the right place – although not all Ukrainian groups that currently accept cryptocurrencies have opened up to this kind of transparency.

There is also much evidence that the crypto-revolution could threaten the Ukrainian title. Foreign policy experts warn that Russia’s economy could become increasingly dependent on the blockchain as crippling sanctions wreak havoc on Moscow. The roll costs less than a cent after a 30% drop after the United States and Europe cut off Russian banks from Swift. Crypto is much more resilient to criminal financial assault, and this provides an escape route for a country that is completely isolated from civilian banking.

“It simply came to our notice then. We know that Russia is already developing its own digital currency, the digital ruble, which it will use for global trade. Sanctions aimed at hurting Putin will only harm the Russian people. “What is certain is that Putin has already thought about this before the conflict with Ukraine and has a plan that probably includes crypto,” said Mark Boza, global brand and business manager at HOKK Finance.

Military efforts on both sides can be funded in the ink black of the blockchain. Crypto is often both a force for good and a force for evil, but the stakes of this dichotomy have never been so high. For his part, Schultz intends to continue to support Ukrainians with his symbols. “Ukraine did not want that and is fighting the battle alone,” she said. “I wanted to help as much as I could, reaching as far as I could.