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Apple Intelligence was unveiled during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino, California, on June 10, 2024.

Source: Apple Inc.

For years, cybersecurity experts have been predicting the death of the online password as more advanced log-in features, from facial recognition to multi-factor authentication, become more common. But it seems like Apple has accepted that the password isn’t going away anytime soon. Its new Passwords app, introduced at Apple’s WWDC 2024 earlier this week, is one more solution to help protect online accounts and manage multiple logins. It doesn’t change the fact that putting all your logins in one place continues to come with risks.

“Passwords are really hard to kind of get rid of,” said Andras Cser, Forrester vice president, principal analyst.

The new Passwords app for iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro, Mac and Windows, lets users store all of their passwords, including verification codes, app passwords, Wi-Fi passwords, Passkeys and more. The offering is similar to other password managers on the market, including 1Password and LastPass.

“You can’t underestimate the power of having a default solution like this and having password security built in,” said Gadjo Sevilla, eMarketer senior analyst .”That’s probably going to entice the majority of of Apple customers to use the feature. It’s convenient. It’s there. It’s free.”

Passwords are a risky online security method

But that doesn’t change the basic concern about users relying on passwords as a default online security method.

“That’s the move: Obliterate the need for any password manager and just move to one-time passwords based on push notification-based authentication, biometrics or passkeys,” Cser said. “Moving away from passwords is probably the right message, not using free or upgraded password managers.”

Password hacking is on the rise, with IBM reporting a 71% increase in the number of attacks using valid passwords in 2023 compared to 2022. Apple, Google, and Microsoft have made moves to migrate more users to passkeys, which requires another device owned by the user to verify the login through face scans, fingerprints or other codes. This helps get rid of the biggest cybersecurity risk: people tend to have very poor password hygiene, including using the same password across accounts, which means if that password is stolen the hacker would have access to all of them.

Apple’s passkey system, Keychain, is only for products under its iOS operating system. This new Passwords app includes more systems compatibility, including Windows and different types of login verifications. The company did not say it will include any Google or Android passwords, which encompass a lot of accounts. 

Apple WWDC: Privacy updates lock down on facial recognition

Password managers, like the Apple Password app, log different passwords, passcodes and logins securely under a safe account. And they do offer an added layer of protection: research from Security.org found those without password managers are three times more likely to be victims of identity theft. But whether free or paid versions of managers, none completely eliminates risk.

“They are a band-aid or wraparound,” Cser said. “Passwords are very vulnerable, and very much have run their course in protecting any kind of apps or resources and data. So then, it just puts all your eggs in one basket, regardless of who’s tool you pick, right?” 

Apple did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

There are some concerns that if Apple holds all the digital keys to everyone’s password, then it could make people more vulnerable if the company is hacked. It’s not outside the realm of possibility: Apple’s iCloud was hacked back in 2014, leading to many leaks of private celebrity photos. LastPass was hacked in 2022, though customer data was not stolen.

“The one security issue ever is that anyone who gets your Apple ID and your password would get access to your iCloud Keychain or your Password app, because that is really the key authentication needed to safely access those stored passwords,” Sevilla said.

Apple, personal data, and privacy

Still, protecting large amounts of personal data is nothing new for Apple, and it has developed a relatively good track record of building its brand around privacy. It also has a hardline stance against sharing information with unauthorized third-party apps. Earlier changes starting with iOS 14.5 have asked users to opt into data sharing and blocked tracking applications, to the detriment of digital advertising companies reliant on that information for ad targeting like Facebook.

“Apple is a services company,” Sevilla said. “They have billions of credit card numbers. You can’t underestimate the amount of effort they will put into making sure that is locked down, and those are all tied into Apple IDs, Apple passwords. So I guess if you follow that example, they could probably be seen as far more secure than the standalone apps.”

Broader data sharing issues were raised at WWDC about Apple’s partnership with OpenAI, which it is using to allow Siri to access ChatGPT. Some, including Elon Musk, have raised concern that allowing OpenAI access to Apple user data could be a potential security violation. OpenAI uses user data and behavior to train its AI models.

While it may be highly unlikely, with users sharing their passwords with Apple, and Apple sharing data with OpenAI, cybersecurity experts say it presents at least the theoretical risk that OpenAI could use logins to look at personal data for its learning purposes.

Apple reiterated its commitment to data privacy at WWDC 24. Apple Intelligence, its entry into AI, will leverage cloud-based models on special servers using Apple Silicon to ensure that user data is private and secure. If a request needs to go to a cloud server, Apple says it will only send a limited selection of data in a “cryptographically” secure way.

“We’re not going to take that data and go send it to some cloud somewhere,” Apple senior vice president of Machine Learning and AI Strategy John Giannandrea said at the event. “Because we want everything to be very private, whether it’s running locally or on a cloud computing service, and that’s the way we want it so we can use your most personal data.”

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Toyota raises yearly profit forecast despite an expected $9 billion hit from U.S. tariffs

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Toyota raises yearly profit forecast despite an expected  billion hit from U.S. tariffs

A sign with the Toyota logo in Surrey, England on August, 2023

Peter Dazeley | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Toyota Motor on Wednesday raised the operating profit forecast for its financial year ending in March, while flagging a 1.45 trillion yen hit from U.S. tariffs.

The company, which revised its operating profit outlook to 3.4 trillion yen from 3.2 trillion yen forecast earlier, missed profit estimates for the quarter ended September. 

“Despite the impact of U.S. tariffs, strong demand supported by the competitiveness of our products has led to increased sales volumes mainly in Japan and North America and has expanded value chain profits,” Toyota said in its earnings report.

Here are Toyota’s September quarter results compared with mean estimates from LSEG:

  • Revenue: 12.38 trillion yen (about $81 billion) vs. 12.18 trillion yen
  • Operating profit: 834 billion yen vs. 863.1 billion yen

The world’s largest carmaker by sales volume reported a nearly 28% quarterly drop in profit, year on year, while revenue increased over 8%. Net income reached 972.9 billion yen, up

Toyota released 6-month results — from April to September — and the quarterly numbers have been calculated by CNBC, based on company statement and LSEG data.

The decline in the September quarter’s operating profit represents the second straight drop since the U.S. introduced “reciprocal” tariffs in April. Tokyo in July clinched a trade deal with Washington, bringing down tariffs on its exports to the U.S. to 15% from the 25% initially proposed by President Donald Trump. The 15% duties took effect on Aug. 7.

The company flagged that tariffs remain the largest drag on Toyota’s profit in the U.S., while factors such exchange rate fluctuations and increased expenses hit earnings in Japan, .

A Toyota executive said in the earnings call that the company was “assessing challenges” and “making preparations” for a plan to ship made-in-U.S. vehicles to customers in Japan, as to align with a new investment framework between Tokyo and Washington.

They added that the plan may not be “economically rational,” but could make certain products more available to Japanese customers.

Tariffs bite

The impacts of U.S. tariffs have been sharply felt across Japan’s auto industry, with Japanese shipments of automobiles to the U.S. dropping 24.2% in September, though this was slightly less compared to the 28.4% drop in August.

While Toyota has extensive North American production, about one-fifth of its U.S. sales still depend on Japanese imports and tariff costs on those imports are being absorbed rather than passed through, according to Liz Lee, associate director at Counterpoint Research. 

“We’re expecting profitability to remain under pressure in [the current quarter] as tariff and currency headwinds persist, with gradual improvement likely from the [March quarter] onwards,” Lee told CNBC in a statement.  

“Profitability should recover modestly next fiscal year if trade costs stabilize and the yen weakens, though rising EV competition will continue to cap upside potential,” she added. 

Toyota has increasingly been leaning into electrified vehicles, which accounted for 46.9% of Toyota and Lexus vehicle sales in the first half of its fiscal year. These sales were primarily driven by hybrid electric vehicles in regions such as North America and China.

However, Toyota’s limited lineup of fully electric battery-powered vehicles could leave it more exposed to competition from Chinese EV players in Europe and Southeast Asia, Lee said.

Despite decreasing profits, Toyota has continued to show strong global demand. The company recently reported that vehicle sales, including its luxury brand Lexus, reached 5.3 million in the nine months to September, a 4.7% increase from a year earlier. In it’s earnings report, the company said it would continue to focus on increasing sales volume and cutting costs.

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Nvidia deepens India footprint with $2 billion deep tech alliance to mentor AI startups

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Nvidia deepens India footprint with  billion deep tech alliance to mentor AI startups

Co-founder and CEO of Nvidia Jensen Huang spoke to journalists during a trip to Beijing in July.

Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Nvidia will help train and mentor emerging deep tech startups in India as a founding member of a $2 billion investment alliance, deepening its presence in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.

The U.S. chipmaker has joined the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) — a group of private equity and venture capital investors pledging $2 billion for deep tech investments — as a founding member. Deep tech startups are an umbrella term for emerging companies in semiconductors, space, AI, biotech, robotics, and energy.

The world’s most valuable company will offer technical talks and training through its Nvidia Deep Learning Institute to emerging startups in India.

Nvidia wants to “provide guidance on AI systems, developer enablement, and responsible deployment, and to collaborate with policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs,” Vishal Dhupar, Nvidia’s managing director of South Asia, said.

Nvidia did not disclose any financial investment, timeline, or training targets, and did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

“Nvidia’s depth of expertise in AI systems, software, and ecosystem-building will benefit our network of investors and entrepreneurs,” said Sriram Viswanathan, founding executive council member of the IDTA.

He told CNBC that the pace of innovation is accelerating in India and there could be a “significant number of Indian deep tech companies of global repute” in the next five years.

The Indian government is also actively encouraging research and innovation in the deep tech space through major initiatives, including over 100 billion rupees ($1.1 billion USD) under its AI Mission and a separate 1 trillion rupees ($11.2 billion) Research, Development and Innovation Scheme Fund targeting deep tech companies.

On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the country will host the AI Impact Summit in February next year.

The event is likely to see the participation of heads of state and top policymakers, along with business leaders such as Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of NVIDIA, and Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind.

Nvidia’s commitment in India coincides with rising global interest in India’s AI market, where OpenAI counts the country as its second-largest user base. U.S. rivals are also deepening ties: Google recently pledged $15 billion to build an AI hub in the southern city of Visakhapatnam.

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Wall Street is too fixated on the high valuations of tech and speculative stocks, Cramer says

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Wall Street is too fixated on the high valuations of tech and speculative stocks, Cramer says

Some stocks deserve a higher premium, says Jim Cramer

CNBC’s Jim Cramer suggested Wall Street is too fixated the on large valuations of certain tech and speculative stocks, chalking up Tuesday’s market-wide decline in part to Palantir‘s nearly 8% loss despite strong earnings results.

“The larger issue is that we’re at the moment where money managers, when asked if the market’s too expensive, immediately think of the high-flying speculative stocks or those in the high-growth artificial intelligence column, and so they warn you away from the entire asset class,” he said. “These guys don’t think of the other 334 stocks in the S&P 500 that sell for less than 23 times earnings — those aren’t outrageous.”

Declines in Palantir and other artificial intelligence companies helped bring stocks down on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 losing 1.17%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 0.53% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sinking 2.04%. Palantir managed to beat the estimates and offer solid guidance, citing growth in the artificial intelligence business. But investors worried broadly about the huge valuations of tech giants that have been leading the market to new heights.

Investors who saw Palantir as their “north star” were alarmed by its big pullback after a great quarter, according to Cramer. The fears triggered “a raft of selling” as these investors questioned the market as a whole, he continued.

Palantir can be a tough stock to classify, Cramer suggested, saying it straddles two different market segments — one centered around tech and artificial intelligence, and another focused on speculative stocks. He noted that the data-driven software company is very lucrative and fast growing, and it “defies easy description.” He listed off a number of its business arms — including its work as a defense contractor and as a consultant for companies looking to modernize and improve profitability.

To Cramer, it’s reasonable to consider that there’s nothing wrong with Palantir, and it just needs “to cool off in order to grow into its market capitalization.”

“Sure, there are indeed some stocks that are visibly overvalued, and when you pull them apart, many of these valuations can be justified, some can’t,” he said. “I think the Magnificent Seven can be justified on the pace of the growth that’s ahead of them. Same, ultimately, with Palantir.”

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