WEBVTT - Tech News: Meta Cuts 13% of Workforce 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.520 Be there and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:17.520 Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:20.200 And how the tech are you? Sime for the Tech 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:24.640 News for Thursday, November two thousand twenty two, And on 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:27.920 Tuesday I mentioned that folks were expecting Meta to hold 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:32.960 a round of layoffs, and then yesterday that happened. All told, 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:36.880 the company handed walking papers over to of its staff. 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:42.440 That's more than eleven thousand people. CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:45.720 out a memo calling the layoffs a last resort, though 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.680 I'm not entirely sure he knows what last resort means, 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:52.360 because I suspect we haven't actually seen the last resort 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:57.200 from Meta. Zuckerberg also said he wanted to take accountability 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:00.160 for the decision and that he was a special lee. 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:03.959 Sorry to those impacted. So this is the same CEO 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:06.600 who back in June said there were people at Meta 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:09.240 who probably didn't need to be there, implying the company 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:12.399 had more staff than what was needed and that individual 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:16.840 productivity was down because of that. Zuckerberg further explained that 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:19.039 closer to the beginning of the pandemic, there was a 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:22.000 rush to spend more time online, and all of that 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:24.120 makes sense, but then he goes on to say that 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:26.120 he and his team all thought that that move to 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:30.520 be online more frequently would be a permanent thing that 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:33.839 people wouldn't ease off once local restrictions lifted and people 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:37.640 started feeling safe outside their homes. And who boy, were 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:41.959 they wrong about that one anyway, because the prediction was 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:44.160 that things were going to be all online all the time, 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:47.600 which honestly makes me think of the metaverse concept. Meadow 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:50.760 went on a hiring spree. According to the company's earnings 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:53.800 report in the third quarter, employee head count was almost 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:58.880 larger than it was this time last year. So when 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:01.600 you look at it that way, a thirteent reduction in 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:05.600 workforce still has met a significantly larger from a headcount 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:09.799 perspective than it was at the end of Now I'm 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:14.760 being pretty judge of Zuckerberg and his executive team, but 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:17.840 if I really want to be fair, Meta did need 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:21.000 to make some moves to correct course. I'm not entirely 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:24.680 convinced it has actually done that, because Zuckerberg still seems 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:27.440 determined to bring his vision of the Metaverse to realization. 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:30.440 That's gonna take a lot more time, a lot more money. 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:32.880 It's gonna be a really tough road to travel, and 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.400 even if the company gets there, I'm not yet convinced 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:39.480 that enough people actually want to use the metaverse to 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:42.240 make it all worthwhile. But then, Meta is a company 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:46.080 that is facing an existential crisis, has struggled to attract 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:49.920 younger users, and with its current user base steadily aging, 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:53.400 it's kind of like a ticking time bomb situation. So 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:55.760 I guess what I'm saying is I don't really believe 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:59.520 in Zuckerberg's mission. So with that in mind, I do 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:02.520 hold him accountable because it was the pursuit of that 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:06.080 mission that has really contributed heavily to Meta needing to 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:09.280 cut costs and scale down in the first place. All 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:11.839 that being said, you should keep in mind I am 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.720 by no means an expert in this stuff. This is 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.800 really just my opinion, and it's possible, I mean, it's 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:21.799 probably even likely that I'm totally off base. Maybe we'll 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.680 all be wearing headsets and spending countless hours working and 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:30.160 playing in the metaverse in a few years. The well, look, 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.960 I managed to put the Twitter stuff in the second 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:37.200 position for today's news episode instead of leading with it. 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:42.840 That's progress, I guess. Twitter launched its new blue check 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:47.080 mark verification strategy yesterday and after holding off because hey, 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:50.120 folks pointed out that having a verification system that doesn't 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:54.720 actually do any verification right before you hold an election 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:58.200 could be a bad idea. Of course, I live in 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:00.120 the state where we're going to have to have a 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:03.320 runoff election later on in December, so I look forward 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.320 to this broken approach having a massive impact on my 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.560 local politics in a month. And yes, it is my 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:13.960 opinion that the verification system as it now exists is 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:18.720 largely worthless, or, as tech crunches Lance Ulanov put it, 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:21.599 it's quote about to have as much value as a 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:24.960 sticker someone hands a child for behaving at the dentist 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:29.239 end quote. Okay, just in case you are not sure 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:33.359 what I'm even ranting about here, Previously, Twitter head a 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:36.719 system to check and make sure that the Twitter account 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:40.720 claiming to represent a known entity. You know, it might 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:43.200 be a celebrity, it might be a politician, it could 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:46.839 be the the Twitter feed for an official brand. That 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:50.120 kind of thing. They had to actually make sure that 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:54.200 those accounts belonged to those entities, that this wasn't a 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:59.520 case of someone impersonating a notable figure. If Twitter researchers 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:03.599 determine the YEP that account is legitimate, then they would 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:06.720 award a blue check mark to that account to show 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:11.000 everyone that this was the real deal. It gave users 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:14.000 the confidence to know that they were following an official 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:17.239 account that really represented who they thought they were following. 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:20.560 For reasons I still don't understand, I got one of 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:23.279 those blue check marks on my personal Twitter handle back 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:26.919 when I was still using Twitter. Technically I still have it, 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.800 but my accounts all protected now and I don't use 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:34.400 it anymore anyway. The news system is subscription based. If 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:36.800 you pay eight bucks a month, you have access to 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:41.800 Twitter Blue, and that includes the little blue checkmark. Twitter 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:46.120 briefly rolled out a gray badge that says official to 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:49.599 Twitter accounts. Uh. These were sort of like taking the 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:53.480 place of the old blue check marks for previously verified accounts, 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:57.160 at least for some of them originally. Ell It's reported 0:05:57.200 --> 0:06:00.000 that the new official verification was kind of rolling out gradually. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:02.240 I mean. Tech Crunch even pointed out that President Joe 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:06.800 Biden's personal account had the older blue check mark, but 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:11.159 not the official badge. But an hour after official badges 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:15.159 began to appear, they began to disappear. Meanwhile, we've already 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:18.320 seen folks exploit the new verification system to apparent sidate 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:22.120 high profile individuals and companies. For example, so In created 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:26.400 an account that was called Nintendo of Us you know 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:31.000 of us as a Nintendo America. That account has subsequently 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:33.480 been banned, but before it was banned and had the 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:38.039 verification check mark on there and uh it. The tweet 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.960 that they posted showed an image of Mario making a 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:46.920 famous rude hand gesture, not something Nintendo would be particularly 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:51.520 pleased to see. As Jason Schreier observed, quote, can't imagine 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:54.600 why all the advertisers are pulling out of Twitter L 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:58.560 m Ao end quote. Considering that Twitter took a huge 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:01.880 chunk out of its content ration team during the recent layoffs, 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:04.920 I imagine things have got to be really busy over 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.400 there as folks attempt to exploit the verification system. Behind 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:11.280 the scenes at Twitter, Elon Musk has made more changes 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:15.480 to the work environment, having now slashed headcount by around 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:19.640 Musk has eliminated Twitter's work from home policy and it's 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:23.600 days of rest policy, so the work from home policies 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:27.280 self explanatory. It's no surprise that Musk has shut that 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.800 down because he's had a similar stance in his other companies, 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:34.120 so stands the reason he would do the same at Twitter. 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:36.920 So in playce will have to come into the office. 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:40.520 They are no longer allowed to work remotely. The days 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:43.560 of rest policy was a benefit that would give employees 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:46.720 a little time off between major projects so that they 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:51.120 could recharge their batteries and avoid burnout. But now there 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:53.720 are half the people to do all the work. Not 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:56.160 to mention that Musk has added some projects with really 0:07:56.200 --> 0:07:59.840 aggressive deadlines, so time off really isn't something Musk is 0:07:59.880 --> 0:08:02.120 interested in. My guess is there are a lot of 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:05.520 folks over at Twitter we're dealing with a ton more 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:09.600 stress than they had to endure in recent years. So 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.920 my heart goes out to y'all. Things are looking grim 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:16.320 right now in the cryptocurrency world as numerous digital coins 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:21.000 take a tumble in value yet again. Bitcoin is currently 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:24.800 valued at around sixteen thousand, four hundred sixty bucks per coin, 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:28.120 and y'all, yeah, that's a lot of money. Sixteen grand, 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:33.600 almost sixteen and a half per bitcoin. That's expensive, but 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:35.880 when you think back a couple of years ago when 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:40.480 the currency hit around sixty thousand per coin, it is 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:45.080 a huge drop. Bitcoin had hit a low of fifteen thousand, 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:48.080 seven hundred fifty bucks yesterday, so it actually dip below 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:51.160 sixteen thousand for the first time in ages. That was 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:53.360 likely because of the next bit of news that we 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:56.760 have to cover, cryptocurrency exchange f t X is in 0:08:56.800 --> 0:09:00.280 the middle of a real crisis. This require is a 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:04.280 little bit of background. So an entrepreneur named Sam Bankman 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.280 Freed a k A s b F that's what he 0:09:07.360 --> 0:09:11.760 goes by. UH and Gary Wong co founded the f 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:16.120 t X exchange back in twenty nineteen, and an exchange 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:19.240 is a business that allows customers to trade cryptocurrencies for 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.640 other assets, which could include a different cryptocurrency or a 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:28.160 fiat currency. Similarly, you could buy into a cryptocurrency exchanging 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:31.000 fiat currency for a digital coin. That kind of thing. 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:36.680 That's what an exchange does. It handles that transaction well. Binance, 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:40.040 which is another cryptocurrency exchange and a huge competitor to 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:43.080 f t X, had a stake in f t X, 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:47.080 but last year Binance essentially converted its steak into f 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:51.120 t T, and f t T is the native cryptocurrency 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:54.000 on the f t X exchange, so you could buy 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:56.439 into f t T and then convert the f t 0:09:56.440 --> 0:10:00.000 T into other stuff like bitcoin or whatever. As cryptome 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:05.560 markets have encountered rough waters, SPF, through his trading firm, 0:10:05.600 --> 0:10:09.160 Alameda Research, began to save or at least attempt to 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:12.680 save struggling crypto firms that were on the verge of 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:17.240 collapse and that may have overextended SPF. Then you flash 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:21.280 forward to this week when Binance CEO and sometimes are 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:26.040 nemesis to SPF, Chong Peng Shao said that the company 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:29.200 was going to cash out of its stock of f 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:34.360 t T. Now, this would mean that the typically low 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:39.360 trading market for ft T would suddenly get flooded by 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:44.560 Binances vault of FTT currency once they unloaded their share, 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.560 that in turn would drive down the value of f 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:50.480 t T. Right, if you flood a market with currency, 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.800 then the currency becomes devalued. So then you had a 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:55.920 bunch of folks wanting to cash out of their FTT 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:58.840 because they don't want to see their currency lose tons 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:02.319 of value. That that's investment for them, and it essentially 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:05.000 became a run on the bank, and suddenly fd X 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:08.320 found itself in a liquidity crunch. Finance at one point 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:11.480 indicate it would actually acquire fd X, which would at 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:13.520 least help settle things down, but it would be a 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.880 real power move because SPF and Chong Peng had been 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:21.320 feuding extensively in the past. But then Binance backdown of 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:24.520 the agreement, which was, you know, never formalized, so no 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:28.160 problem there, and said that fd x is financial situation 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:32.319 was way worse than first suspected. Now SBF and f 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.240 d X are searching for another lifeline, and meanwhile the 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:38.679 crypto market in general is taking another hit. Seeing a 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:41.560 major exchange in trouble tends to have a ripple effect 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:45.360 on people's confidence in the overall market, so crypto continues 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:47.560 to have a rough time of it as it has 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:52.560 for a while now. Market Watch reports that TikTok has 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:57.080 secret scores assigned to influencers. These scores reflect how well 0:11:57.600 --> 0:12:02.760 content creators are at from products or showing enthusiasm for sponsors, 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:04.200 that kind of thing, So it's kind of like a 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:08.120 secret system to evaluate how likely a given content creator 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.600 is to play ball and to do it well. I 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:14.600 suppose presumably creators who have higher scores will get more opportunities, 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:18.040 perhaps with more prestigious brands. I'd like to think that 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:21.920 the score indicates just how influential are you, oh, influencer, 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:25.840 but it does look at things like diligence and cooperation, 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:28.360 which is just their way of saying how frequently will 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.640 they post and do they put up a fuss about it. 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:34.040 The scoring system apparently doesn't really apply here in the 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:38.080 United States because TikTok is really looking to leverage the 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:41.160 social network into a shopping experience, and those efforts have 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:44.040 not really taken off here in the US. It has 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.080 in other parts of the world, so in places like 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:49.880 Southeast Asia, the system appears to be fully deployed. According 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:52.680 to market Watch, TikTok has been holding discussions in the 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:55.560 UK about using the scores to partner with creators, and 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:57.960 I want to be clear, I don't necessarily think this 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:01.360 is a bad system. Uh. Some brands might have a 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:04.160 particular influencer in mind when they want to engage in 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:08.120 a in a TikTok campaign, but others might not have 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:11.040 any idea of who they would want to represent. Their brand, 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:13.560 and having a scoring system could be a quick way 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:17.600 to at least get eyeballs in front of particular influencers 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.880 to get an idea who's a good match. It is 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:24.320 a little creepy because TikTok's parent company, byte Dance, is 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:27.560 in China, and China has been developing a social credit 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:32.240 score policy that potentially could see citizens receive social scores 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:36.480 that could impact everything from job prospects to travel bands. Now, 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:40.439 so far, the social credit program has really applied to businesses, 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:43.360 not individuals, and various regions in China have rolled out 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.520 their own version of this, so it's not like there's 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:51.000 a unified national program in place. So I don't want 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:55.360 to pay a dystopian picture the way often we will 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:57.880 often hear when we talk about the social credit score. 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:02.240 But um, yeah, it's possible that that could change in 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:06.000 the future. Okay, we have more to talk about, but 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:18.640 before we get to that, let's take a quick break. Okay, 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:22.720 we're back. So Variety, which mentally is an outlet that 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:26.240 I do not reference often on this show, reported that, 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:30.400 according to a YouTube representative, eighty million people are now 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:35.080 subscribed to YouTube's music and premium services and that's up 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:39.600 from fifty million last year. Subscribers are able to watch 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:43.800 videos ad free, though obviously any baked in ads like 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:47.280 a host red sponsorship within a video will still be there. 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:49.800 They can also do stuff like play videos in the 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:54.280 background and download for offline viewing, so you know there's 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:57.520 some neat things there. The background video means that you 0:14:57.560 --> 0:14:59.960 could say, launch a video on your phone and then 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.200 set your phone screen to sleep mode and still be 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:04.160 able to listen to the video, which comes in handy 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:06.320 for me because I like listening to a S m 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:08.760 R as it go to sleep, and I would prefer 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:11.760 the screen not stay lit up so that way it's 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:15.840 not distracting me before I can not off. Anyway, While 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:19.000 a thirty million subscriber increases great the amount of revenue 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:22.040 those subscriptions generate, which is somewhere around eleven billion per 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:25.800 year according to Android Headlines, it's still less than half 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:29.720 of what the company's reported revenue is. It's understandable why 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.760 YouTube would push for folks to subscribe. A subscription is 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:38.120 reliable revenue month over month. The advertising market fluctuates, particularly 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:41.520 in times of economic uncertainty, as companies start to curb 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:45.200 spending Plus, YouTube doesn't have to worry so much about 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:47.880 pairing ads with a video that the advertiser would object 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:51.760 to if you're subscribed, right, so they don't have to 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:54.440 worry about the kinds of situations that have happened in 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:56.720 the past. You know, there's nothing like a brand getting 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:58.600 word that one of their ads has gone up on 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.720 a video that, for example, includes hate speech or some 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:06.280 other objectionable content that causes a big problem. So if 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:09.920 you can push people over to subscribe and then rely 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:15.880 less and less on ads, then you remove that impediment. Anyway, 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.200 It'll be interesting to see if YouTube can continue to 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:21.520 convince people to subscribe for a service when they can 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:25.240 watch the content for free otherwise. I mean, eighty million subscribers, 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:29.520 that's a lot, but YouTube has more than two billion 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:35.320 active users, so it's it's not even a blink of 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:38.600 the eye for the overall number. Also, I feel like, 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:40.680 in the interest of full disclosure, I should say, yeah, 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:44.120 I am a subscriber to YouTube stuff. I subscribed actually 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:48.840 to an earlier Google product that ultimately, surprise, surprise, got 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:52.840 shut down and Google kind of rolled my subscription over 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.400 to YouTube, and I liked it. So I just stuck 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:59.600 with it. Last month, Australian health insurance company Meta Bank 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.160 was hit with a cyber attack that included a massive 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.680 data breach. Now a hacker or a group of hackers 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:10.000 are demanding extortion payments or else they're going to release 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:14.200 private medical information belonging to Meta banks clients. The hacker 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:17.800 demands that Meta Bank handover a dollar for every customer affected, 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:22.000 and that would be nine point seven million dollars. And 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:26.000 the hacker has already released what it calls a naughty list, 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:30.520 which is beyond messed up. When you hear about the 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:33.680 kinds of folks that are on this list, it's a 0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:37.679 it's able list, to say the least. The list includes 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.320 names of customers who, according to the hacker, have sought 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:45.520 treatments that range from mental health sessions, to drug addiction services, 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:50.680 to HIV treatment to abortions. Meta Bank so far has 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:54.200 refused to pay the hacker, which I'm sure was a 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:59.919 really difficult decision based upon the nature of this information, 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:03.360 but in my opinion, it is also the right decision 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:08.520 to make. Paying cybercriminals simply reinforces that their activities are profitable, 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:11.680 and it also doesn't guarantee that you'll actually see an 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:15.440 end to the problems. You might pay and still be tormented. 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.160 But Meta Bank has had to reach out to customers 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:22.080 to apologize for the issue. And it is a difficult 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:25.880 fact that innocent people are facing the prospect of public 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:29.560 shaming for stuff that frankly is no one's business. I 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:32.920 agree with Australia's Home Affairs Minister Claire O'Neill, who is 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:38.159 called the hackers quote scummy criminals end quote sounds legit 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:41.960 to me. If you're on Cloud nine, you better get off. 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:45.800 In this context, Cloud nine refers to a malicious Google 0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:49.000 Chrome extension that does a lot of nasty stuff like 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:53.359 key logging. That's when a program that is on your 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:57.800 computer and it records or logs every key stroke you make. 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:02.200 Hackers use key loggers to get information like log in credentials, 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:06.400 credit card numbers, bank account information, etcetera. It's really really 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:09.600 bad news. Cloud nine can also access your copy and 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:12.480 paste data. So maybe you don't type in your password, 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:16.040 maybe you copy it over from like a password vault. Well, 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.600 this tool nullifies that approach as well, or at least 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.399 makes it just as risky. It can also direct your 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:25.520 computer to mine for cryptocurrencies, so an infected system could 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:28.280 join a larger bought net dedicated to mining for bitcoin 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:31.800 or whatever, or you know, more likely some lower value 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:36.200 crypto because bitcoin still requires some pretty hefty equipment and 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:40.520 it can allow hackers to remotely execute code on your machine. 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:43.680 So they could potentially use Cloud nine to run some 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:46.919 other form of malicious software on an infected machine. So 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:51.720 that's bad news. Now here is the good news. According 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:57.439 to zimperium z Labs, which published a report about this extension, 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:03.600 you cannot find Cloud nine in the official Chrome extension store. Instead, 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:07.240 folks who are trying to infect computers are using other means, 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:10.280 such as disguising Cloud nine as a supposed update to 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:13.320 Adobe Flash and then including the link to this quote 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.920 unquote update on sites that claim to have some form 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:19.480 of content on them that you might want to see. 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:23.040 So a person looking for this particular type of content, 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:29.359 which now is not exclusively the domain of adult video, 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:33.520 but frequently falls in that category, they end up seeing 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:35.520 a little window and says, hey, you can't view this 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:37.760 because you're Flash players out of date, So just to 0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:40.320 click here and download this update and we'll get you 0:20:40.359 --> 0:20:43.240 all set. Except it's not really an update to a 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:47.320 video player. It is this malicious browser extension, which, once installed, 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:50.280 starts logging all those key strokes. Now, this is a 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:52.560 big reason why folks need to be careful before they 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:56.879 install stuff outside of official stores. Like even in official 0:20:56.920 --> 0:21:01.040 stores can be tricky. Occasionally stuff will slip in without 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:04.600 the powers that be noticing, but definitely if you're going 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:08.320 outside official stores, which is something Chrome allows, it's called 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:12.880 sideloading Chrome. Essentially, what Google is saying is we we 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:16.359 expect you're an adult and you can make your own decisions, 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:19.159 so just make good ones or else you're gonna regret it, 0:21:19.320 --> 0:21:22.040 whereas Apple says, we don't think you're adults, so we 0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:26.560 don't let you make decisions. It's putting words into Apple's mouth, 0:21:26.640 --> 0:21:28.720 but it's kind of how it comes across to me. 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:31.840 Sometimes either way, you have to be really careful, and 0:21:31.880 --> 0:21:34.119 if you're not, then you can end up with something 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:37.560 like Cloud nine installed on your browser and then next 0:21:37.600 --> 0:21:41.360 thing you know, you've got this enormous headache on your 0:21:41.359 --> 0:21:44.000 hands or I guess not on your hands. It's in 0:21:44.040 --> 0:21:47.480 your head about the fact that you've got this um 0:21:47.680 --> 0:21:51.720 browser that's logging all your key strokes. So yeah, just 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:55.560 make sure you're being super careful when you're using your computer, 0:21:56.240 --> 0:21:58.400 make sure you know what you're getting into when you're 0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:01.520 side loading. And it's just good to be aware that 0:22:01.560 --> 0:22:03.680 these kind of tools are out there because it might 0:22:03.720 --> 0:22:07.080 make you think twice before you download something and install 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:11.320 it without really looking into it further. IBM s Asprey 0:22:11.480 --> 0:22:15.560 is ready to take Flight, which is a a pun 0:22:15.600 --> 0:22:18.320 that doesn't really work because it's not an aircraft. Asprey 0:22:18.400 --> 0:22:22.480 in this case is at one of IBMS quantum processors. 0:22:22.920 --> 0:22:25.679 The company has been using bird names for their quantum 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:27.560 processors for a while. I think the one that came 0:22:27.560 --> 0:22:31.399 out before this one was called Eagle and Osprey is 0:22:31.440 --> 0:22:35.879 a quantum processor that has four hundred thirty three cubits 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:40.159 q U b I T, so the cubit for quantum 0:22:40.200 --> 0:22:45.120 computers is the basic unit of information. With a traditional computer, 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:49.679 your basic unit of information is the bit, the binary digit, 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:52.600 which can by be either a zero or a one. 0:22:52.760 --> 0:22:54.960 It cannot be both. It's one or the other, so 0:22:55.000 --> 0:22:58.120 it's off or on that kind of thing. But a cubit, 0:22:59.119 --> 0:23:03.960 because of superposition, can essentially be both zero and one 0:23:04.000 --> 0:23:07.200 at the same time and technically all values in between. 0:23:07.960 --> 0:23:10.800 This is because of a quantum effect, and it's not 0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:13.960 something you you observe in classical systems, but it's possible 0:23:13.960 --> 0:23:17.119 in a quantum system. So if you have enough cubits 0:23:17.480 --> 0:23:20.199 and you have the right kind of algorithm designed to 0:23:20.320 --> 0:23:24.440 run on a quantum machine, you can potentially solve extremely 0:23:24.760 --> 0:23:29.600 difficult computational problems from a classical computing perspective. That is, 0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:33.880 and it's only a subset of very difficult computational problems. 0:23:33.920 --> 0:23:38.600 It's not every computational problem, but for a subset. For example, 0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:41.800 if you wanted to try and decrypt something and you 0:23:41.840 --> 0:23:46.520 didn't know the two extremely large prime numbers that were 0:23:46.600 --> 0:23:50.679 used to multiply together and get a certain product, well, 0:23:51.000 --> 0:23:55.680 a quantum computer could, in theory solve that problem much much, 0:23:55.800 --> 0:23:59.000 much more quickly than a classical computer for a really 0:23:59.080 --> 0:24:02.199 large number. Classical computer might take more time than the 0:24:02.320 --> 0:24:05.240 universe has been around, whereas with a quantum computer you 0:24:05.320 --> 0:24:07.600 might be talking about, I don't know, a few minutes, 0:24:07.640 --> 0:24:11.840 depending upon again how sophisticated that quantum computer is. We 0:24:11.920 --> 0:24:15.719