Google to relocate some US jobs to India, reportedly

ASIA IN BRIEF Google announced the layoff of 200 of its core team professionals last week while moving some roles to India and Mexico, according to reports.

Teams affected in the reorganization include IT technical units, a Python developer team, technical infrastructure, security foundation, app platforms, core developers and some roles in engineering. The cuts were also said to affect the governance and protected data group.

“We intend to maintain our current global footprint while also expanding in high-growth global workforce locations so that we can operate closer to our partners and developer communities,” wrote Asim Husain, vice president of Google Developer Ecosystem, in a reported email.

Last year Google issued a spate of layoffs – most notably 12,000 employees in January and more that followed.

Banned countries still access WhatsApp, reveals product head

Despite restrictions on the use of Meta’s messaging platform WhatsApp, tens of millions of people in countries like North Korea, China, and Iran are employing workarounds to use the app, product head Will Cathcart told the BBC last week. The app is banned in North Korea and Iran. In China, its download is banned from the App Store by Apple. Syria, Senegal and Guinea are known to intermittently block WhatsApp while Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates restrict its voice call feature.

Virtual private networks (VPNs) are among the tools used to circumvent bans, according to Cathcart.

Paytm says goodbye to its CEO

The CEO of Indian digital payments company Paytm, Varun Sridhar, has stepped down and been replaced by Rakesh Singh, according to local media. Sridhar is rumored to be transitioning to a new role internally.

Taiwan;s undersea cables need a security upgrade, says NSB

The director-general of Taiwan’s principal intelligence agency, the National Security Bureau (NSB), reportedly told lawmakers that Taiwan’s undersea cables need to be hardened.

Lines in the main belt of China’s “gray zone” were cut 20 times last year. While the director-general, Tsai Ming-yen, did not suggest Beijing sabotaged the lines, several think tanks have made that assumption.

Chinese citizen detained for drone use in Singapore

A Chinese tourist was detained for flying his drone over his nation’s embassy in Singapore, prompting the embassy to urge its citizens to be aware of local laws or face ruining their vacation. It is illegal to operate drones in restricted areas in Singapore without a flight permit.

APAC Dealbook

Recent alliances and deals spotted by The Register across the region last week include:

• A very busy Microsoft. The tech behemoth announced a $1.7 billion investment over four years in cloud and AI infrasturcture in Indonesia, promised to open a first regional datacenter in Thailand, and revealed its largest investment to date in Malaysia – $2.2 billion, largely toward cloud and AI infrastructure.
• Enterprise cloud developer ServiceNow has changed leadership in Australia and New Zealand and appointed Barry Deitrich to ANZ group vice president and managing director starting June 3. David Thodey AO has also come onboard as a strategic advisor.
• Cybersecurity consultancy S-RM announced an expansion of its Cyber Security Practice to Asia Pacific. “With offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, S-RM will support new and existing clients across the region with a full service offering, including cyber advisory, offensive security and incident response,” it announced. ®