Page 24 - AT

A24 technology
Tuesday 8 OcTOber 2019

This Feb 23, 2019, file photo shows the inside of a computer in
Jersey City, N.J.
Associated Press
Small businesses

increasingly a target The iTunes application is displayed on a computer on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019, in New York.

Associated Press
for cybercriminals Goodbye, iTunes: Once-revolutionary

NEW YORK (AP) — While have expensive, sophisti- app gone in Mac update
By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG
ogy staffs and many don’t
small and mid-sized busi- cated software designed
nesses are increasingly to monitor their systems AP Technology Writers music onto Apple's mar- West songs he can't find
targets for cybercriminals, and defend against at- SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — quee product, the iPod streaming. "At the time it
companies are struggling tacks. It's time to bid farewell to music player. Users con- seemed great," he said.
to devote enough resourc- Lack of personnel and not iTunes, the once-revolution- nected the iPod to a com- "But it kind of stayed that
es to protect their technol- enough money were the ary program that made on- puter, and songs automati- same speed forever."
ogy from attack. top two challenges keep- line music sales mainstream cally synced — simplicity The way people listen to
That’s one of the findings of ing companies from having and effectively blunted the unheard of at the time. music has changed, too.
an annual survey of com- a fully effective informa- impact of piracy. "I would just kind of mock The U.S. recording industry
panies released by the Po- tion technology program. That assumes, of course, my friends who were into now gets 80% of revenue
neman Institute, which re- Seventy-seven percent that you still use iTunes — anything other than iPods," from paid subscriptions
searches data protection, of companies said they and many people no lon- said Jacob Titus, a 26-year- and other streaming. In the
and Keeper Security, a didn’t have enough staff- ger do. On iPhones, the old graphic designer in first half of 2019, paid sub-
manufacturer of password ers, up from 72% a year functions have long been South Bend, Indiana. scriptions to Apple Music
protection software. ago. And 55% said money split into separate apps for Apple launched its iTunes and competing services
The survey found that 76% was a problem, down from music, video and books. Music Store in 2003, two rose 30% from a year earlier
of the 592 U.S. companies 58% a year ago, but still a Mac computers follow suit years after the iPod's de- to 61 million, or $2.8 billion,
surveyed had experienced reflection that a consider- Monday with a software but. With simple pricing at while revenue from digital
a cyberattack in the pre- able number of companies update called Catalina. launch — 99 cents a sin- downloads fell nearly 18%
vious 12 months. That was struggle to meet their cy- Music-subscription servic- gle, $9.99 for most albums to $462 million.
up from 70% in a survey in bersecurity needs. es like Spotify and Apple — many consumers were "The move away from
2018, and 63% in a 2017 sur- Companies are most con- Music have largely sup- content to buy music le- iTunes really does perfectly
vey. cerned about protecting planted both the iTunes gally rather than seek out mirror the general indus-
The most common attacks their customer records; 62% software and sales of indi- sketchy sites for pirated try move away from sales"
were phishing and social cited it as a priority. That vidual songs, which iTunes downloads. and toward subscriptions,
engineering scams, cited was followed by intellec- first made available for 99 But over time, iTunes soft- said Randy Nelson, head of
by 57% of companies. tual property, cited by 48%, cents apiece. Apple is now ware expanded to include insights at Sensor Tower.
These are invasions that tar- customer credit and debit giving iTunes its latest push podcasts, e-books, au- Rachel Shpringer, a
get unsuspecting comput- card information, cited by toward the grave. For any- diobooks, movies and TV 35-year-old patent agent
er, smartphone and tablet 43% and financial informa- one who has subscribed shows. In the iPhone era, in Los Angeles, spent years
users with realistic-looking tion, cited by 30%. to Apple Music, the music iTunes also made backups curating playlists on iTunes.
emails; if a user clicks on Small and mid-sized com- store will now be hidden on and synced voice memos. But over time, she realized
a link or attachment in the pany owners have em- the Mac. As the software got bloat- that was cutting her off
email, malicious software is braced mobile devices Sidelining the all-in-one ed to support additional from new music. She now
downloaded onto the de- as a way to run their busi- iTunes in favor of separate functions, iTunes lost the gets music through a Siri-
vice. Forty-four percent of nesses. But they recognize apps for music, video and ease and simplicity that usXM subscription.
companies reported an at- that the convenience and other services will let Apple gave it its charm. The Mac's new Music app,
tack that came via a web- efficiency these devices off build features for specific And with online cloud stor- which gets the old iTunes
site. come at a price; half said types of media and bet- age and wireless syncing, it icon, is the new home for
While businesses of all sizes the devices have dimin- ter promote its TV-stream- no longer became neces- — drum roll — music. That
are victims of cyberattacks, ished the cybersecurity of ing and music services to sary to connect iPhones to includes songs previously
the smaller the companies, their companies. help offset slowing sales of a computer — and iTunes bought from the iTunes
the more vulnerable they The survey was conduct- iPhones. — with a cable. store or ripped from CDs, as
can be. They don’t have ed during August and In the early days, iTunes Titus said he uses iTunes well as Apple's free online
large information technol- September.q was simply a way to get only to hear obscure Kanye radio stations.q