Today was the deadline for Google to reveal how it’s complying with Judge James Donato’s order to crack open Android for third-party app stores, stop illegally tying its Google Play Billing system to its app store, and let developers link to ways to download their apps outside the Play Store in the US.
Technology
Air Force secretary plans to ride in AI-operated F-16 fighter aircraft this spring
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told members of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday that he plans to ride in the cockpit of an aircraft operated by artificial intelligence to experience the technology of the military branch’s future fleet.
Kendall spoke before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense panel on Tuesday, where he spoke about the future of air warfare being dependent on autonomously operated drones.
In fact, the Air Force secretary is pushing to get over 1,000 of the AI-operated drones and plans to let one of them take him into the air later this spring.
The aircraft he plans to board will be an F-16 which was converted for drone flight.
PENTAGON SEEKS LOW-COST AI DRONES TO BOLSTER AIR FORCE: HERE ARE THE COMPANIES COMPETING FOR THE OPPORTUNITY
U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told the Senate Appropriations Committee he plans to ride in an autonomously driven aircraft during the spring. (Senate Appropriations)
“There will be a pilot with me who will just be watching, as I will be, as the autonomous technology works,” Kendall said. “Hopefully neither he nor I will be needed to fly the airplane.”
Last month, the Pentagon said it was looking to develop new artificial intelligence-guided planes, offering two contracts for several private companies to compete against each other to obtain.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) project is part of a $6 billion program that will add at least 1,000 new drones to the Air Force. The drones will be designed to deploy alongside human-piloted jets and provide cover for them, acting as escorts with full weapons capabilities. The drones could also act as scouts or communications hubs, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
EUROPE SEEKS TO BECOME ‘GLOBAL REFERENCE POINT’ WITH AI OFFICE
A Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat fighter-like drone is kept on display at the Australian International Airshow, in Avalon, Australia February 28, 2023. (Reuters/Jamie Freed)
The companies bidding for the contract include Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics and Anduril Industries.
Cost-cutting is one of the elements of AI that appeals to the Pentagon for pursuing the project.
In August 2023, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said deployed AI-enabled autonomous vehicles would provide “small, smart, cheap and many” expendable units to the U.S. military, helping overhaul the “too-slow shift of U.S. military innovation.”
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
A model of a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial drone vehicle is displayed during the Farnborough International Airshow 2022 on July 19, 2022, in Farnborough, England. Farnborough International Airshow 2022 will host leading innovators from the aerospace, aviation and defense industries. (John Keeble/Getty Images)
Military officials have been mum on what the drones will actually look like in terms of size – full-sized planes or smaller.
But the idea is to not fall too far behind China, which has modernized its air defense systems, which are much more sophisticated and put manned planes at risk when they get too close.
Drones have the potential of interrupting such defense systems and could be used to jam them or provide surveillance for crews.
“The initial role for the aircraft was going to be counter-air, but it will have the potential to do other things,” Kendall said during the hearing.
He also said the new drone fleet will likely be cheaper than having new manned jets created. The goal is to have the drones cost about a third or less than the $20 million it costs to build an F-35 fighter.
Peter Aitken of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
But Google isn’t just letting app developers do things however and whenever they’d like. The company’s quietly updated its support pages with a January 28th deadline to enroll in specific Google programs for “alternative billing” and “external content links” — and these programs will come with large alternative fees of their own, assuming Judge Donato doesn’t opt for Epic and Google’s proposed settlement instead.
While it isn’t collecting fees yet, Google says it will charge developers $2.85 for every app and $3.65 for every game a user installs within 24 hours of clicking a link that takes you outside Google’s app store to download them outside the Google ecosystem.
Plus, it’ll take a 20 percent cut of any in-app purchases and 10 percent of any auto-renewing subscriptions. Apps still need to be submitted to Google for review, use a Google API to track them, and developers have to report all transactions (including $0 free trials) if they want to participate.
Meanwhile, developers who want to offer their own billing solutions will only get a 5 percent discount compared to Google’s current fees, likely making it not worth the effort to try alternative billing at all. Google will charge 25 percent for in-app purchases and 10 percent for auto-renewing subscriptions there; devs will need to integrate a Google API to track those, and report all transactions within 24 hours.
The company will cap some of these fees at 10 percent of a developer’s first $1 million of earnings, making it a bit easier for small developers, but perhaps no easier than it is currently. Google already offers a similar cap at 15 percent, so this too is a 5 percent discount.
How will Judge James Donato react? When Apple told Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers it would require a 27 percent fee for external payments in the parallel Epic v. Apple case, she found Apple in contempt of court, and an appeals court backed up that decision just days ago. However, the appeals court did suggest that Apple may be able to collect some fee, writing that:
Apple should be able to charge a commission on linked-out purchases based on the costs that are genuinely and reasonably necessary for its coordination of external links for linked-out purchases, but no more.
Google currently claims that “the fees associated with the external content links program reflect the value provided by Android and Play and support our continued investments across Android and Play.”
But Google also says it won’t collect any fees quite yet, writing:
In the future, Google intends to apply a service fee on successful transactions and downloads completed via external content links. At this time, however, Google is not assessing these fees and is therefore not requiring developers in this program to report these transactions or downloads to Google.
In their joint progress report today, Epic and Google’s lawyers write that while Epic agrees with the January 28th deadline and other requirements, “Epic has indicated that it opposes the service fees that Google announced it may implement in the future and that Epic will challenge these fees if they come into effect.”
Of course, none of this will come to pass if Judge Donato accepts Google and Epic’s proposed settlement instead, which would generally apply worldwide (instead of just in the US) and comes with lower standard transaction fees.
But Google signaled that settlement, too, would come with fees on alternative billing and external app downloads, and Judge Donato seemed skeptical of the settlement in November. He’s ordered an evidentiary hearing on January 22nd before he makes a decision.
Since Google’s support pages seem to be fluid as Epic v. Google continues, we’ve archived copies of their current text below.
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As we head into the last stretch of December (and last-minute gift shopping), your doorstep is probably busier than ever. And if you’re anything like me, you’re probably also juggling shipping updates, tracking numbers, and “out for delivery” alerts from half a dozen retailers.
Unfortunately, scammers know this too, and they’ve likely been preparing for it all year. Like clockwork, I’ve already started seeing the usual wave of fake tracking texts hitting people’s phones. They look legit, they show up right when you’re expecting a package, and they rely on one inescapable truth: during the holiday rush, most of us are too overwhelmed to notice when something feels off.
No need to panic, though. You can still come out ahead of the scammers. I’ll show you what to look out for and how you can prevent being targeted in the first place.
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THE FAKE REFUND SCAM: WHY SCAMMERS LOVE HOLIDAY SHOPPERS
Holiday shoppers are being hit with a surge of fake delivery texts designed to steal personal information and account logins. (Photo by Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images)
What fake delivery text messages look like
Most of these fake shipping texts include a “tracking link” that looks close enough to the real thing that you might tap without thinking twice about it. In some cases, like one Maryland woman found out, you may even receive fake deliveries with a QR code that works in a similar way.
These links usually lead to a spoofed tracking page that looks almost identical to the real thing. It’ll ask you to “confirm” your login or enter your delivery details. The moment you type anything in, scammers capture it and use it to access your real accounts.
Even worse, the “tracking link” may contain malware or spyware, triggering silent installs that can steal passwords, monitor keystrokes, or give scammers remote access to your device.
Red flags that reveal fake shipping and tracking messages
So how can you distinguish between a legitimate message for a delivery you’re actually waiting for and one of these scams? Here are the red flags I look for:
- Weird or slightly altered URLs. Scammers use domains that look almost right. Except there’s usually one extra letter, a swapped character, or a completely unfamiliar extension.
- Requests for additional payment. Real carriers don’t ask you to pay a “small fee” to release a package. That’s an instant giveaway.
- A package you’re not expecting. If the text is vague or you can’t match it to a recent order, pause before you tap anything.
- Delivery attempts at odd hours. “Missed delivery at 6:12 AM” or “late-night attempt” messages are usually fake. Carriers don’t normally operate like that.
- Updates that don’t match what you see in the retailer’s app or email. If Amazon says your package is arriving tomorrow, but a random text says it’s delayed or stuck, trust Amazon, not the text.
- Language that is designed to rush you. Anything screaming “immediate action required!” is designed to make you stop thinking and start tapping.
If a text triggers any one of these, I delete it on the spot. When in doubt, always check directly with the delivery service provider first before opening any links.
WHY YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING DATA NEEDS A CLEANUP NOW
Scammers are sending deceptive tracking links that mimic real carriers, hoping rushed shoppers won’t notice red flags. (Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
How scammers know your address, phone number, and shopping habits
Scammers don’t magically know where you live or what you’ve ordered — they buy that information. There’s actually an entire industry of data brokers built on collecting and selling personal data. This can include your:
- Phone number
- Home address
- Purchase history
- Browsing patterns
- Retailers accounts and apps
- Loyalty programs
- Even preferred delivery times.
These data brokers can sell profiles containing hundreds of data points on you. And they aren’t always discerning about who they sell to. In fact, some of them have been caught intentionally selling data to scammers.
Once scammers have those details, creating a convincing delivery scam is no problem.
But scammers can’t target what they can’t find
I’ve been very vocal about the importance of keeping personal information under lock and key. And this is just one of the reasons why.
Criminals rely on your personal information to target you with these types of scams. They also need at least a phone number or email address to reach you in the first place.
So your best bet to avoid delivery scams (and, honestly, most other scams year-round) is removing your info from data brokers and people search sites. Doing this will keep your details out of circulation online and out of the wrong hands.
FBI WARNS EMAIL USERS AS HOLIDAY SCAMS SURGE
Fraudsters use spoofed shipping pages and malware to capture passwords and gain access to victims’ devices. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)
How to remove your personal information from scammers’ reach
You can start by looking yourself up online. Searching for different combinations of your name, address, email, and phone number should bring up a bunch of people search sites. Just visit the “opt-out” page on each site to request removal of your data.
Private-database data brokers are a bit trickier. They sell data in bulk, usually to marketers and other third parties. So you won’t be able to check if they have your information. But if you look into which data brokers operate in your area, you can just send opt-out requests to them all. There’s a good chance they’ll have your information.
You can also turn to a data removal service. They completely remove the headache from this process and just automatically keep your personal info off data broker sites. If, like me, you don’t have the time to keep manually checking data broker sites and sending removal requests every few months (because your data will keep reappearing), a personal data removal service is the way to go.
While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.
Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.
Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.
Kurt’s key takeaways
Holiday delivery scams work because they blend perfectly into the chaos of December shopping. A well-timed text and a familiar tracking link are often all it takes to lower your guard. By slowing down, checking messages directly with retailers, and reducing how much of your personal data is circulating online, you can take away the advantage scammers rely on. A little caution now can save you a major headache later.
Have you received a suspicious delivery text or tracking message this holiday season? If so, tell us what it looked like and how you handled it by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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All year on The Vergecast, we’ve been tracking the many bizarre and problematic actions of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. There has been a lot to discuss! Then, this week, ahead of one of our last episodes of the year, Carr appeared in front of the Senate Commerce Committee and spent three hours explaining how he thinks about his job, the FCC, and the state of online communication and entertainment. It was a lot.
On this episode of The Vergecast, we begin with a dissection of Carr’s testimony, his threats against broadcasters, and the ways in which he’s using old ideas about content delivery to get his political way. Nilay and David walk through some of Carr’s most important quotes, explain the history of broadband regulation, and look ahead to how Carr might bring these same tactics to internet regulation next year.
Also, an important housekeeping note: The Vergecast will be live at CES! We’ll be at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, at 3:30PM on Wednesday, January 7th. There will be podcasting, and hanging out, and bowling. It’s going to be great, and if you’re going to be in Vegas we’d love to see you there.
Until then, if you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, first on Brendan Carr:
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