Big Tech’s dominance is highlighted by some recent earnings calls, another Amazon fulfillment centre in Peel Region closes due to COVID-19 outbreaks, and ransomware cases spike, causing experts to sound the alarm.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Monday, May 3 and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
The past week’s quarterly results show Big Tech’s dominance during the pandemic. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft all set records in sales and profits and “recorded revenue growth near or above [the] fastest pace in years.” The New York Times calls the growth “bonkers.” In its recent reporting, the publication says 4 big tech giant’s combined revenue of $1.2 trillion for the quarter, a spike of more than 25% since the pandemic took hold. It is worth noting as tech giants’ profits grow, so do the number of lawsuits lodged at them. The number of antitrust probes and lawsuits aimed at reining in their power have also increased over the past year.
On Saturday, Peel Public Health directed the partial closure of an Amazon facility in Brampton on Friday. Two other Amazon fulfillment centres in Ontario’s Peel Region were told last week to shut down partially under a new workplace order. CTV News says Peel Region’s medical officer of health issued a section 22 order last month that would require the closure of workplaces with five or more recent cases of COVID-19 for 10 days in a bid to stem the spread of the virus. Ever since the order came into effect, 16 workplaces have been ordered to close. Most of them are partial closures meaning the dismissal of a shift or a work area.
And lastly, global researchers and law enforcement agencies are calling for aggressive action to prevent and fight ransomware attacks. Multiple media reports over the past week cited Microsoft Amazon, the FBI and the UK’s National Crime Agency as among those in a coalition making dozens of recommendations to governments, businesses, schools and hospitals. This comes as a cybersecurity firm’s new report that shows ransomware caused “hundreds of billions of dollars of economic damage in 2020” worldwide. Not only that, the average ransom demand is growing by more than 80 per cent.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire Newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. I’m Baneet Braich, thanks for listening!