Computer & Technology
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US prosecutors fine German software company for violating sanctions against Iran

John A. Ratliff

Federal prosecutors have imposed a fine on a German software company for violating suctions against Iran.

Software giant SAP SE agreed to pay over $8 million as part of the resolution with the Department of Justice, Commerce Department and Treasury Department, authorities said Thursday.

The company admitted to “thousands” of violations of the Export Administration Regulations and Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.

Between 2010 and 2017, SAP and its overseas partners released U.S.-origin software, including upgrades and software patches, over 20,000 times to users in Iran. 

The majority of the Iranian downloads went to 14 companies that SAP’s international partners knew were Iranian-controlled, and several went to multinational companies with operations in Iran.

During that time, companies in SAP’s Cloud Business Group (CBG) allowed over 2,300 Iranian users to access U.S.-based cloud services from Iran.

According to a non-prosecution agreement, the company received multiple whistleblower complaints as early

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Computer & Technology
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Basecamp tire fire grows as employees tweet they’re leaving the company

John A. Ratliff
Basecamp tire fire grows as employees tweet they're leaving the company

Basecamp tire fire grows as employees tweet they’re leaving the company

As they have many times before, tech workers are once again taking a stand against controversial company policies and wishy-washy managerial strategies. This time, employees of decades-old software company Basecamp are quitting in protest of what one employee called a “tantrum” by management.

After a week of controversy that exposed racially insensitive actions that had carried on for years, and what staffers perceived as management’s discomfort with addressing them, multiple employees announced on Twitter that they were leaving Basecamp for good.

On a company chat forum over the past year, employees had reportedly wanted to reckon with a legacy message board, started in 2009, in which sales reps kept track of customers’ “funny names.” You know, ridiculing an important part of a person’s identity. For the lulz.

Long-time tech journalist Casey Newton, who writes the substack Platformer, first

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Computer & Technology
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Basecamp Software Company Bans Political Talk, Committees at Work

John A. Ratliff

Chicago-based software company Basecamp is banning political talk from company accounts and committees at work as part of a new rollout of changes.

“Today’s social and political waters are especially choppy. Sensitivities are at 11, and every discussion remotely related to politics, advocacy, or society at large quickly spins away from pleasant. You shouldn’t have to wonder if staying out of it means you’re complicit, or wading into it means you’re a target. These are difficult enough waters to navigate in life, but significantly more so at work,” Basecamp CEO and co-founder Jason Fried wrote Monday in a company blog post.

“It’s become too much. It’s a major distraction. It saps our energy, and redirects our dialog towards dark places. It’s not healthy, it hasn’t served us well,” he added.

Effective immediately, employees will be banned from societal and political discussions on the company account, as well as from participating

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Computer & Technology
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German company to bring tech jobs to Atlanta

John A. Ratliff

Apr. 18—ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp has announced that TeamViewer, a global provider of secure remote connectivity solutions and workplace digitalization technology, will invest significantly in opening a sales and business development office in Atlanta, creating more than 100 jobs in the metro area over the next four years. The new office will be used to support customer growth in Georgia and across North America.

“Our first-class education and training programs have helped the state create a pipeline of tech talent that receives international attention and investment,” Kemp said in a news release. “Georgia has quickly become the East Coast’s software and technology hub, and I am grateful to TeamViewer for creating jobs for hard-working Georgians in the metro area.”

Headquartered in Goppingen, Germany, TeamViewer is a global cloud-based technology solutions provider focused on supporting customers’ digital transformation initiatives with software to improve processes and workflows along the entire value

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