Today’s top tech news: Supreme Court’s YouTube channel hacked; Samsung sues Indian labour union; Qualcomm lays off hundreds of workers

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Supreme Court’s YouTube channel hacked

Indian Supreme Court’s YouTube channel was hacked on Friday as the URL re-directed users to a page that showed media promoting a cryptocurrency developed by the U.S. based company Ripple Labs. A blank video with the title “Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds To The SEC’s $2 Billion Fine! XRP PRICE PREDICTION” was live on the hacked channel. As of Friday, XRP was the seventh biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, per CoinMarketCap. The cryptocurrency that aims to facilitate cross-border transactions and cut out the additional fees was involved in a multi-year court case in the U.S. over whether it should be classified as unregistered securities, versus a commodity.

This is not the first time Ripple or XRP supporters have hacked a prominent handle, as Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX was similarly affected a few years ago. The apex court has been using YouTube to stream live hearings of cases listed before constitution benches, and matters involving public interest.

Samsung sues Indian labour union

Samsung India has sued members of a labour union that has led a strike for 11 days at its only India home appliances plant in Tamil Nadu, escalating tensions with its workers, legal papers show. Samsung’s lawsuit dated September 12, which Reuters is the first to report, asks a district court in the state for a temporary injunction to restrain the union and its members from agitating, sloganeering and making speeches in and around the factory located near Chennai.

Hundreds of Samsung workers since September 9 disrupted work and protested in a nearby makeshift tent, demanding higher wages and recognition of a union at the plant that contributes roughly a third of Samsung’s annual India revenue of $12 billion. Samsung’s 14-page court filing said the union’s actions “could disrupt the factory’s operations and prevent willing employees from fulfilling their duties”. Such activities “are likely to escalate, endangering the smooth functioning of the factory and the safety of its employees,” Samsung said.

Qualcomm lays off hundreds of workers

Chipmaker Qualcomm has said that it will lay off 226 workers in San Diego later in the year. A California WARN notice first published the news this week stated that the layoffs will take effect on November 12. While the company still hasn’t confirmed which teams will be impacted, the layoffs will be across 16 facilities in San Diego, which are also the headquarters.

“Our leading technology and product portfolio has positioned us to execute on our diversification strategy. As part of a normal course of business, we prioritize and align our investments, resources, and talent to ensure we are optimally positioned to take advantage of the unprecedented diversification opportunities in front of us,” Kristin Stiles, a spokesperson of the company stated. Last year, Qualcomm had fired 1,250 employees. For their previous quarterly results, the company reported strong earnings owing to increase in phone chip sales.

Published - September 20, 2024 03:12 pm IST