Google blames Gmail, YouTube outage on error in User ID system
Google’s explanation comes amid heightened cybersecurity vigilance. A hack on software provider SolarWinds Corp. has exposed companies including Microsoft Corp. and multiple US government agencies.
By Bloomberg| Posted by Mallika Soni
PUBLISHED ON DEC 19, 2020 12:44 PM IST
Google diagnosed a widespread outage that knocked out major services earlier this week, such as Gmail and YouTube, as a mistake with its system for identifying people online.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google has several tools that enable it to verify and track logged-in users. In October, the company began moving those tools to a new file storage system, and in the process misreported portions of the data, according to a Friday post. That caused several of its services to go down for 47 minutes Monday morning, a rare technical misstep.
Google’s explanation comes amid heightened cybersecurity vigilance. A hack on software provider SolarWinds Corp. has exposed companies including Microsoft Corp. and multiple US government agencies. A Google spokeswoman said on Friday that the internet giant has found no evidence the SolarWinds hack affected Alphabet or Google’s systems.
About 15% of requests sent to Google’s cloud storage service were disrupted during the Monday outage, the company said. The cloud division offers an identification service similar to one from Okta Inc.
On Tuesday, Google’s Gmail service had another disruption. The company attributed this to an issue with data migration.
Pope leaves Iraq for Rome after historic whirlwind visit
AP
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 12:41 PM IST
As the pope's plane took off, Iraqi President Barham Salih was at hand on the tarmac, waving goodbye.
Malaysia to buy more Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 12:39 PM IST
- The Southeast Asian country last month embarked on a nationwide vaccination programme, targeting to inoculate 80% of its 32 million people by February 2022.
As US mulls Afghan exit, activist sees long fight for women
AP, Kabul
UPDATED ON MAR 08, 2021 12:46 PM IST
Under a 2020 deal between the Taliban and the Trump administration, all US troops are to leave Afghanistan by May 1. The Biden administration says it's reviewing the deal, suggesting it may not meet the deadline.
Jill Biden sees teachable moment in the depths of a pandemic
AP, Waterford
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 12:27 PM IST
A teacher herself, Biden praised the small circle of parents, teachers and administrators for working together to help reopen Fort LeBoeuf.
China tells Biden to reverse 'dangerous practice' on Taiwan
AP, Beijing
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 12:26 PM IST
The claim to Taiwan, which split with the mainland in 1949, is an “insurmountable red line,” Wang Yi said at a news conference during the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial legislature.
UKPNP Chairman says part of J-K illegally held by Pakistan since 1947
ANI, Geneva
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 12:14 PM IST
According to a UN resolution, Pakistan is obligated to ensure life, liberty, the dignity of the people of Pakistan-occupied and Gilgit Baltistan, the chairman said.
'Realised soon royal family wouldn't protect me,' says Meghan Markle
AP, Montecito
UPDATED ON MAR 08, 2021 09:56 AM IST
In their pre-taped interview on Sunday night, Meghan also said, when she was first pregnant with son Archie, there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born.”
It's a girl, Meghan Markle and Harry tell Oprah
AP, Montecito
UPDATED ON MAR 08, 2021 09:09 AM IST
Harry said "to have a boy and then a girl, what more can you ask for? But now we've got our family. We've got the four of us and our two dogs."
Women can be fired for pregnancy in 28 nations, says World Bank’s Reinhart
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:54 AM IST
The pandemic has contributed to an increase in violence against women and is reinforcing gender inequality in many countries, with women on average having roughly three-quarters of the legal rights of men, according to the World Bank.
Meghan Markle says British royals worried about her son's dark skin
Reuters, London
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:49 AM IST
Meghan and Prince Harry have stepped down from their royal duties and are starting a new life in the United States.
Meghan Markle says 'just didn't want to be alive anymore', alleges royal racism
AFP
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 08:41 AM IST
Ahead of the broadcast, revelations emerged Meghan was facing an internal palace investigation into claims that she bullied royal household staff after she and Harry married in a fairytale wedding in 2018.
UK aviation industry calls on Boris Johnson for more financial aid
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 07:13 AM IST
A June estimate by the New Economics Foundation said a further 124,000 jobs in the UK were at risk across aviation and the industries it supports on top of workers who’ve already lost their places.
Covid-19 vaccine 'disinformation' spread by Russia-backed outlets, says US
Reuters, Washington
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 06:33 AM IST
The State Department's Global Engagement Center, set up to counter propaganda and disinformation campaigns, identified the three outlets, a spokeswoman said.
Hire more police officers, improve intelligence capability: Capitol riot review
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 06:24 AM IST
The report acknowledges “institutional challenges unique to securing the Capitol,” including “the inherent tension between public access and physical security.”
Game of drones: Chinese giant DJI hit by US tensions, staff defections
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON MAR 08, 2021 06:17 AM IST
DJI, founded and run by billionaire Frank Wang, said it made the difficult decision to reduce staffing in Palo Alto to reflect the company's "evolving needs".