Feds Can’t Force You To Unlock Your iPhone With Finger Or Face, Judge Rules

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A California judge has ruled that American cops can’t force people to unlock a mobile phone with their face or finger. The ruling goes further to protect people’s private lives from government searches than any before and is being hailed as a potentially landmark decision.

Previously, U.S. judges had ruled that police were allowed to force unlock devices like Apple’s iPhone with biometrics, such as fingerprints, faces or irises. That was despite the fact feds weren’t permitted to force a suspect to divulge a passcode. But according to a ruling uncovered by Forbes, all logins are equal.

The order came from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in the denial of a search warrant for an unspecified property in Oakland. The warrant was filed as part of an investigation into a Facebook extortion crime, in which a victim was asked to pay up or have an “embarassing” video of them publicly released. The cops had some suspects in mind and wanted to raid their property. In doing so, the feds also wanted to open up any phone on the premises via facial recognition, a fingerprint or an iris.

Read more from Forbes HERE

T-Mobile Taps Ericsson’s Ewaldsson to Lead 5G Evolution Strategy

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T-Mobile has hired former Ericsson executive Ulf Ewaldsson to head up its 5G evolution strategy as the operator’s new SVP of Technology Transformation. He will report to T-Mobile CTO and EVP Neville Ray.

Ewaldsson spent nearly three decades at the Swedish telecom equipment giant, most recently as a senior advisor to Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm. Ewaldsson previously held leadership roles including SVP and Head of Business Area Digital Services, Chief Strategy & Technology Officer, Head of Group Function Strategy & Technology, and Head of Product Area Radio.

“We are thrilled to share the great news that Ulf is joining our team of amazing leaders at T-Mobile who continue to show the other guys what it takes to win in wireless. Just look at what we’ve done with 4G wireless! We’ve been the fastest for 19 straight quarters – nearly 5 straight years… and we’re just getting started. Adding Ulf’s passion and track record for driving innovation to the Un-carrier mix is going to take us to the next level,” said Ray in statement.

Read More From Wireless Week HERE

AT&T’s Mobile 5G Network Goes Live, Service to Launch Dec. 21

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AT&T promised mobile 5G before the end of 2018 and is set to deliver, though cutting it close to the self-imposed deadline.

AT&T lit up the first mobile 5G network in the U.S. today, with service launching in select parts of 12 cities on Friday.

This is not a full-blown launch, and AT&T acknowledged initial reach will be limited to dense urban areas. Still, Dec. 21 will be the first day certain consumers can get their hands on a commercial 5G mobile device  – the Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotpot― and connect to a live standards-based 5G network.

Read More from ECN Here

Man found guilty in 2014 murder after case was reopened by Austin Police’s Cold Case Unit

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On Thursday, a Travis County jury found David Diaz guilty in the murder of Robert Morales, a case stretching back to 2014. The jury later sentenced Diaz to life in prison for the crime.

On January 19, 2014, the body of Morales was found on a dirt road with obvious signs of trauma, and it was revealed that he had been stabbed multiple times. The investigation behind the murder, led to the arrest of Diaz and two others who were present at the time of the murder.

Charges against all three men were dismissed before being presented to the grand jury pending further investigation, according to Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore.

In 2017, the case regarding the murder of Morales was reopened by Austin Police Department’s Cold Case Unit and after multiple interviews, cell phone mapping, and DNA testing, a grand jury indicted David Diaz for the murder of Morales.

In the trial, it was found there had been a conflict between Diaz and Morales, regarding Morales possibly joining the Texas Syndicate gang. During an argument between the two, Diaz allegedly stabbed Morales multiple times and left the scene with two individuals. DNA evidence later showed Morales’ blood in close proximity to where Diaz sat in one of the individuals cars.

n behind the murder, led to the arrest of Diaz and two others who were present at the time of the murder.

Read More from KVUE ABC Here

Google Renames MVNO Service Google Fi, Expands Device Support

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Google’s three-year-old MVNO service Project Fi has been renamed Google Fi and now works with more smartphones including iPhones and most Android devices.

Google announced its Project Fi MVNO service in 2015, promising a seamless experience, automatically connecting users to the strongest available signal by switching between WiFi and LTE using Sprint and T-Mobile’s respective LTE networks. In 2016, Google added U.S. Cellular as a network partner.

Notably, seamless switching between multiple cellular networks isn’t supported on most BYOD phones, according to a blog post by Simon Arscott, director of Project Fi.

Read More from Wireless Week Here