WEBVTT - Tech News: Good Apples and Bad Apples 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:12.039 --> 0:00:14.880 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:18.880 Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:22.119 and I love all things tech, and it is time 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:27.920 for the tech news for Tuesday, September twenty one. First 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:32.600 up today is when Apple holds its iPhone event. Now, 0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:36.400 as I record this, that event has not yet happened. 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:40.200 It is scheduled to happen at one pm Eastern, and 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:44.040 I'm recording this approximately ten am Eastern, so it's quite 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:47.400 possible that it has already happened by the time you 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:50.559 listen to this podcast. And in that case, if you 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:52.960 could do me a solid and send me an email 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.200 through some sort of subspace time warp to let me 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:58.360 know what's going to be talked about, I would really 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:02.280 appreciate it. And just check email. There's nothing there. You 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:04.840 have all failed me. But the rumor is that the 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:07.920 new iPhone is not going to look that much different 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:11.800 from the previous generation, and that it will probably have 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:15.920 a relatively modest set of upgrades. Now still undoubtedly going 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:19.200 to be more powerful and have more features than earlier iPhones, 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:22.120 but the general expectation is that it won't be a 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:27.080 guard ganguin leap forward or departure. Other rumors suggest that 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:30.160 we're gonna see an updated Apple Watch with perhaps a 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:34.400 bigger screen and maybe some updates to the air Pod earbuds. 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:38.520 Some real optimists out there are hoping that Apple will 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:42.440 finally talk about its VR and a our products and development. Now, 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.760 maybe that will happen. It would be one heck of 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:48.760 a of a one more thing. But I suspect we 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:51.280 are not going to get that at this event. I 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.640 would love to be proven wrong. However, speaking of Apple, 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:59.080 late last week, a federal judge granted an injunction against 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:02.640 Apple on alf of Epic Games. So, for those of 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:05.600 you not familiar with this story, here's the gist of it. 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:10.240 Epic Games makes a game called Fortnite, and one way 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:14.840 that Fortnite makes money is through in game purchases. Players 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:18.680 spend real world money to get in game currency, which 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:20.880 they can then use to purchase all sorts of stuff 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.800 inside the game, like you know, character skins and emotes 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:28.000 and that kind of thing. Both Apple and Google have 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:31.800 a policy that any app on their platform that has 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:36.120 in app purchases is supposed to use the official app 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:41.240 store transaction system that gives Apple or Google a cut, 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:46.520 and it's typically around the mark. Epic cheekily encouraged players 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:49.800 on iOS and Android devices to use a workaround to 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:55.160 purchase currency in game directly from Epic bypassing those app 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:59.360 transaction systems, and it would give Epic a share of 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:02.320 those trans actions, cutting out you know, Apple and Google 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:05.520 in the process. Apple and Epic have since been in 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:10.280 a series of fights, both legal and public relations fights 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:14.120 since that time. This recent injunction would allow developers to 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:18.560 use those outside payment solutions for iOS apps. Now, that's 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:22.440 obviously a big hit to Apple's revenue stream, although, as 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:26.040 I've mentioned on this show before, Apple does not get 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:28.960 so granular as to break out how much money the 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:32.000 app store brings into the company. It gets lumped in 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.240 with a bunch of other stuff. But that move in 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:38.680 turn prompted a bit of a sell off of Apple stock, 0:03:39.040 --> 0:03:43.680 which dropped three point three and value. Now, that's less 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:46.000 than five percent. It doesn't sound like very much, right, 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:48.440 but we're talking about a company that's worth more than 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:52.680 two trillion dollars, So that meant Apple lost about eighty 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:56.880 five billion dollars in value due to that slip in 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:02.720 stock price, and that blows my mind, like billion dollars 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:05.600 is an unimaginable amount of money all by itself, let 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:09.560 alone the fact that Apple is worth more than two trillion. Anyway, 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:12.400 the battles will likely not end here, although I have 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:15.280 been seeing more of a tendency for courts to push 0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:18.760 against companies like Google and Apple with the argument that 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:22.920 the in app transaction policies are anti competitive. If you've 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:25.520 been listening to my news episodes, you've also heard me 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:29.039 talk about the n s O Group and Israeli company 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:32.920 that makes iOS malware designed to infect the devices of 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:37.640 highly targeted individuals through a zero click message vector I 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:40.480 message vector. Now that means that the n s A 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:44.400 Group sells this product to various government agencies, at least 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:48.520 those that don't have an adversarial relationship with Israel, because 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:52.320 so group has to do this under Israel's you know, permission, 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:56.440 and those agencies can then send out an attack message 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.720 via I message to a specific target. Then if the 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:02.279 tar get does so much as open that message, it's 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.000 game over. There's no need to convince them to open 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:07.880 a file or click on a link. A flaw and 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:11.880 Apple security allowed for that kind of attack. The Citizen 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.719 Lab out of the University of Toronto has been keeping 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:19.000 tabs on these types of attacks and managed to isolate 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:22.880 the exploit in the malware to understand how this really works. 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:26.920 The lad passed this information onto Apple, and Apple subsequently 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:30.640 patched the vulnerability and pushed out the iOS fourteen point 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.160 eight and iPad OS fourteen point eight updates in order 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:39.280 to address this weakness. Now, generally speaking, most iOS users 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:43.359 should be fine because these attacks really are targeted attacks. 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:47.120 So unless there's a government that's out there that has 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:51.120 an AX to grind with you, you're probably okay. But 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:57.360 for diplomats, politicians, movement leaders like union leaders and and 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:01.920 UH activist leaders journalist for them, it's a different story. 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:04.880 It'll be interesting to see if Apple's update renders the 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:09.039 NSO group's main product less valuable or if the hackers 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:11.200 that the company are even more steps ahead and have 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:15.760 you know, contingencies in place in case Apple did address 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:22.640 this particular vulnerability. And in Apple adjacent news, Steve Wozniak, 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:25.880 the co founder of Apple, who hasn't been part of 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:30.720 the company for decades, is launching figuratively and hopefully one 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:36.000 day literally a private space company called Privateer. We do 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:38.920 not know much about it yet, though by the end 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:41.800 of today that might change because he plans to announce 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:46.160 further details at the AMOS that's a MS tech conference, 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.320 and that is going on this week in Hawaii. The 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:53.359 general rumor is that Privateer will focus on the problem 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.960 of space junk. That's stuff that's whizzing around in orbit 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.800 at super fast speeds. Usually it's stuff from you know, 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:03.880 man made satellites and things that or rockets, launch vehicles, 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:05.719 that kind of thing that have broken apart, and then 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.800 service of potential obstacle in space. You know, when it's 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:12.720 moving that fast, it can be catastrophic if that collides 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:16.760 with something, and it can threaten stuff like satellites, space stations, 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:19.760 and other spacecraft. Now, considering that lots of companies are 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:22.840 looking to launch thousands of satellites up into orbit in 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:26.880 the near future, it's probably a pretty decent motivation to 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:29.440 get a company like this going. But I don't know 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:32.080 enough details to give an opinion about whether or not 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:35.640 the approach makes sense. However, I will allow that Wosniak 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:39.560 is orders of magnitude smarter than I am. We'll just 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.360 have to, you know, make a call once we get 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:47.640 more details about this. Now, let us consider Google and 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:50.400 how South Korea has hit Google with a fine of 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:53.600 nearly a hundred seventy nine million dollars for what the 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:57.440 government says are anti competitive practices. According to the Korea 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:01.120 Fair Trade Commission, Google has used its dominant market position 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:04.600 to pressure certain handset companies to prevent them from allowing 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:08.880 anything other than the official Google Android operating system to 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:11.400 work on their devices. So at the heart of the 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:15.960 matter is that some companies would make Android derivatives, you know, 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:19.440 operating systems for handsets that had Android as the foundation, 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:23.640 but they had been tweaked so much as you effectively 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:26.320 create a new operating system, you create a fork. It's 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.920 kind of like the timeline stuff in the m c 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:33.439 U if you watched Loki uh. And these forks can 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:37.320 have proprietary features. They could even have, you know, different 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:42.880 user interface approaches and could be different enough from vanilla 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:47.400 Android to potentially cause issues. Now, according to the Fair 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:51.000 Trade Commission, Google was making companies sign agreement saying they 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:53.280 would knock that off and they would just go with 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:56.360 pure Android, or else they would lose access to early 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:59.360 builds of Android and such, or they might see their 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.720 own app get buried in the Google App Store. Now, 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.840 on the one hand, I definitely see how Google's approach 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:10.040 can be anti competitive. That's not cool. On the other hand, 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:13.600 as a consumer, I really hate having a ton of 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.600 confusion in the market. I mean, years ago, I made 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:19.600 sure that I would just buy Google flagship phones so 0:09:19.679 --> 0:09:21.679 that way I could be I could be certain that 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.240 I was having a pure form of the Android operating 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:26.959 system without all the stuff I saw as being superfluous 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:32.440 from various handset manufacturers and telecommunications providers. Still, I feel 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:35.079 like that choice should be left to the individual consumer, 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:38.440 and if companies want to muddy the waters, then they can. 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:41.280 I don't think they should, but they should be able to. 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:44.480 I don't think it's super cool for Google to just 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:47.920 muscle in and say, hey, don't do that or else. 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:52.600 Amazon continues to build out its enormous database of biometric 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:56.640 data with the Amazon One system. This is Amazon's palm 0:09:56.840 --> 0:10:00.000 scanning technology, which uses a scanner to look for unique 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:03.960 details in a palm, including the arrangement and pattern of 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.679 veins under your skin. This is all as a way 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:12.320 to authenticate a person's identity. Amazon has been using the 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:15.640 system in some of its physical storefronts, including a few 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:18.600 Whole Foods locations. So the way it works as you 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:21.560 establish an account and you scan your palm as part 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:25.760 of that, and it associates your palm scan with your account. 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:29.040 Then you can use your palm scan to act as 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:32.320 a way to authorize payments. For example, so in one 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:34.120 of these stores, you might be able to just walk in, 0:10:34.320 --> 0:10:37.160 pick up a product, you walk to a scanner, you 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:40.160 hold your palm over the scanner, and boom, you've bought 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:44.040 that whatever it is. Well, now Amazon has expanded this 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:49.320 technology beyond just those you know, owned and operated storefronts 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:51.800 and has offered it as a way to access the 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:57.600 Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. Presumably you would create a 0:10:57.679 --> 0:11:00.760 similar account with the Amphitheater and as a part of 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:03.200 that you would scan your palm. Then when you buy 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.800 a ticket to an event, you could have that ticket 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:09.480 associated with your identity. Then you just show up at 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:13.520 the Amphitheater, you scan your palm, validates your ticket, and 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:17.120 you're in your you can go into the the event. 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:20.520 Now that could be kind of cool and that it 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:23.319 could lead to stuff like a massive decrease in scalping, 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:25.840 and I'm all for that. I love the idea of 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:28.160 systems that allow people who really want to go to 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:31.200 something get the chance to do it, rather than you know, 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:33.640 some enterprising folks with a ton of money just buying 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.280 up all the tickets and then selling those tickets for 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:40.000 obscene markups. But then there are other things to think about. 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:42.640 One of those is that we could tie tickets to 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:46.320 specific mobile devices like our phones. We don't have to 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:48.760 make it tied to you know, a palm print or 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:52.800 other biometric data, and it's not really any less convenient 0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:56.160 because most of us never go anywhere without our phones. 0:11:57.080 --> 0:11:59.560 For another thing, you could argue that the whole scheme 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.720 is really geared toward giving Amazon access to even more 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.520 personal data, which could be used in ways that we 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:09.079 don't anticipate in the future, and that we would essentially 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:12.040 be signing that stuff over to a company for the 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.480 sake of some convenience without really understanding or appreciating what 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:19.520 might be done with that data in the future. That's 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:24.400 usually not the best idea for the individual consumer. We 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.319 have more news to cover, but before we get to that, 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:38.160 let's take a quick break, We're back and in news 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:41.160 that hits a little close to home. The company Into It, 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:45.520 best known for its tax preparation products, plans to acquire 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:50.320 mail Chimp for twelve billion dollars. Mail Chimp is a 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:55.160 local Atlanta startup that focuses on marketing primarily through email lists, 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:59.040 so companies that want to create, say, email newsletters or 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:02.319 marketing campaign can lean on mail Chip to put something 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:05.520 together for them and to maintain those email lists and 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:09.360 handle the distribution for the moment. Mail Chimp has an 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.400 office space that's close to our own here in Atlanta, 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:16.040 though it will soon relocate to a new office building 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:19.360 buildings that are currently under construction and are not too 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:22.200 far away from where we are right now. But anyway, 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.520 the announcement caused some folks to engage in some head scratching, 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.960 as it wasn't immediately apparent how mail Chump would factor 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:31.960 into into its strategy, like how would the two companies 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:37.280 meld together In a press release, Into It said together, 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.160 Into It and mail Chip will work to deliver on 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:43.600 the vision of an innovative end to end customer growth 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:47.280 platform for small and mid market businesses, allowing them to 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:52.040 get their business online market their business, manage customer relationships, 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:57.559 benefit from insights and analytics, get paid, access capital, pay employees, 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:01.800 optimize cash flow, be organized, and stay compliant with experts 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:07.199 at their fingertips. That's the end of that quote. And sure, 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:11.360 I guess like I'm sure that there are lots of 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:15.240 plans on how these companies are going to integrate. Uh. 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:17.480 But yeah, like a lot of other people, this was 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:21.040 one of those moves that surprised me and puzzled me 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:23.880 a little bit. But we'll just have to wait and 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:28.400 see how this all shakes out. Now it's cryptocurrency time, 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:31.560 So if you've listened to the show for any length 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:33.560 of time, you know that I tend to be a 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:38.080 little bit wary of cryptocurrency in general for lots of reasons. 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:41.680 There are tons of reasons to be a little skeptical 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:45.480 about cryptocurrencies, but one of those reasons is that people 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:49.280 sometimes go to great links to inflate a cryptocurrencies value 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:51.520 in order to make a ton of money in a 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:55.040 very short time before hitting the eject button and leaving 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:57.960 everyone else holding the bag. That appears to be what 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:01.880 happened with light coin. Someone went to a great deal 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:05.400 of trouble to fabricate a fake press release that announced 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:10.560 retail goliath Walmart would soon accept the cryptocurrency like coin 0:15:10.920 --> 0:15:15.080 as payment for online transactions. The scammers were able to 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:19.680 get this fake press release accepted by Globe Newswire. Globe 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:24.000 Newswire distributes press releases and sends them out to various 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:28.000 news outlets, but apparently doesn't do a whole lot of 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:32.360 quality control or fact checking before they do that. Then 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:35.320 the news outlets they get these press releases, and they 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:38.600 typically want to get the scoop on major news. A 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:41.280 lot of these news outlets will just run a press 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:45.520 release verbatim, so there's not even an article written about it. 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.680 They'll just push publish on the press release and boom, 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:52.040 they've got some content up on their sites. So some 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:54.640 of these news outlets ran with that story without actually 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:57.840 checking with Walmart first to verify that it was in 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:04.840 fact true. Well, that initial surge of information ended up 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:07.920 pushing the value of l coin. It jumped from around 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.400 a hundred seventy five dollars per coin, two more than 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:13.120 or right around two or and twenty dollars per coin, 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:18.080 so pretty significant increase in the cryptocurrency's value. But then 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.760 a Walmart spokesperson said the whole thing was a hoax, 0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:23.280 and the value came back down to the amount it 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:27.080 was around the time that the hoax was first you know, unveiled. 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.960 Presumably this was all a pump and dump scheme that 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:34.160 worked like Gangbusters for at least a short while. Such 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:37.520 schemes typically have a pretty short shelf life, but if 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:39.320 you're in the know, you can make a whole lot 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:42.200 of money. Of course, you are engaging in some seriously 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:45.360 shady practices, and this is the kind of stuff that 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:49.320 turns the heat up on all cryptocurrencies as regulatory agencies 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:52.960 start to look into them more closely. Well, from Walmart 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:58.000 to Walgreens, let's keep the bad news train going. So, 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:03.640 security experts criticize Walgreens for a lapse in data security. 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:06.159 At the heart of the matter is personal data related 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:09.280 to people who registered with Walgreens in order to get 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:12.960 a COVID nineteen test. So in this process, you would 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:18.080 register with Walgreens, you would create essentially an account, and 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:21.800 you would get a unique thirty two digit I D 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:26.480 number to associate with your account. Then a back end 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:31.119 system on Walgreens you know network would automatically create a 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:35.520 patient page, a web page specifically for you, with all 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:39.720 of your personal information included on that web page, and 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:43.560 the thirty two digit i D that you received would 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:46.600 be part of the u r L for this specific 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:48.840 web page. So as long as you have a link 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:51.479 to that u r L, you can visit the page. 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:54.439 And there was no authentication process. There was no like 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:57.040 password or anything you needed to use before you saw it, 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:03.040 You just needed the link. Well, that means someone could 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:06.959 potentially create a means to test out various thirty two 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:11.800 digit ideas just like generating them, you know, randomly or 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:15.240 in sequence in a brute force attack, and then look 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:17.240 to see which ones lead to valid u r l 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:20.240 s and use that to scrape some pretty valuable personal 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:25.119 information off the website. So you could, you know, essentially 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:29.240 make wild guesses and try and find people's personal information. Now, 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:32.320 thirty two digits is a big number, so the odds 0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:36.000 of you actually getting hits are pretty remote, but it's 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:38.840 not outside the realm of possibility. But in addition, just 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:41.800 having access to someone's browsing history would give you the 0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:45.240 link to their personal u r L and thus all 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:48.640 their personal information. Because again there was no protection on that. 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:53.680 Recode published an article about this titled how Walgreen's sloppy 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:58.919 COVID nineteen test registration system exposed patient data. According to 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:02.439 that piece, re Code alerted Walgreens of this problem. They 0:19:02.480 --> 0:19:05.280 also said that other security researchers had done the same, 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:08.480 and then Recode gave the company some time to address 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:11.760 the issue. When that didn't happen, they went ahead and 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:17.679 published the article. So there you go. You know, there 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:20.399 are certain things that we all know to be true, 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:22.879 and one of those is that the rules most of 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:27.639 us have to follow don't necessarily apply to everyone, particularly 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:31.119 people who have a lot of money and or status. 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:34.359 And that's true on Facebook at least. The Wall Street 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:36.800 Journal reports that Facebook has a system in place that 0:19:36.880 --> 0:19:40.240 essentially says people in this group are above the law. 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:45.640 The system apparently includes around five point eight million Facebook users, 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:50.200 and it includes people that Facebook deems as being influential, 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:54.000 or newsworthy, or just a pr risk. In other words, 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:58.240 if Facebook were to hold these people accountable, those people 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:01.159 would make such a stink about it and would be 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:04.280 able to get such publicity around it that it would 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:08.200 create an enormous headache for Facebook. So I guess it's 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:10.919 best to just let them do whatever they want and 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:13.640 not be subject to the rules. So when users get 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.399 added to this list, then moderators will find it more 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:19.639 difficult to take any kind of action against those accounts. 0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:22.840 So let's say that I got added to this list. 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:26.280 I'm sure I'm not on it. I'm not nearly important enough. 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:28.800 But let's say I was added to this list, and 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:33.600 then I started posting stuff that was explicitly against Facebook policies, 0:20:33.960 --> 0:20:39.320 and someone rightfully flags my post and gets the attention 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:42.320 of a moderator. Well, the moderator might find that their 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:46.960 normal options, which might include everything from sequestering a post 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:49.600 so that fewer people see it, or just blocking the 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:53.600 post entirely, or deleting it, maybe even deactivating my account 0:20:53.760 --> 0:20:56.720 temporarily or permanently, they might find that those are not 0:20:56.960 --> 0:21:00.800 valid options. Uh andy, that they can actually choose it. 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:03.960 That could be what happens in the case of someone 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:08.320 in this list getting flagged. Now, not everyone inside Facebook 0:21:08.400 --> 0:21:11.480 is really a big fan of this particular system, which, 0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:15.119 according to the article, is called x check, And it 0:21:15.160 --> 0:21:17.360 does sound a little bit like it was taken out 0:21:17.359 --> 0:21:20.040 of animal Farm, in which we learned that all animals 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:23.840 are equal, but some are more equal than others. I've 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:26.880 got a few more stories, including a couple more Facebook pieces, 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:30.440 but before we get to that, let's take another quick break. 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.320 We're back and uh, I lied. I only have one 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:43.280 other Facebook piece, but here it is. So Also in 0:21:43.359 --> 0:21:47.119 Facebook News, the New York Times investigated how Facebook was 0:21:47.160 --> 0:21:51.879 sharing data relating to misinformation campaigns on the platform. So 0:21:52.119 --> 0:21:56.320 Facebook has been working with various researchers on this matter, 0:21:56.920 --> 0:21:59.800 and as part of that, Facebook has been giving researchers 0:21:59.840 --> 0:22:05.000 access to data about misinformation campaigns and how they affect people, 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:08.760 like how do people interact with misinformation campaigns? How many 0:22:08.800 --> 0:22:11.840 people you know like it or share it or comment 0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:14.760 on it and such, and how does that affect the 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:18.320 spread of misinformation? However, the New York Times discovered that 0:22:18.320 --> 0:22:23.119 Facebook was omitting half of all the user activity of 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:25.879 Facebook in the United States in the data they shared, 0:22:25.960 --> 0:22:29.080 like fifty percent of the data that needed to go 0:22:29.119 --> 0:22:33.159 to researchers was just not there. And the belief was 0:22:33.160 --> 0:22:36.520 that Facebook was sharing all that data. So that meant 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:39.520 researchers were working under the assumption that they had the 0:22:39.600 --> 0:22:42.280 big picture, the full picture when in fact, they only 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:44.440 had half of it. Now, in the world of research, 0:22:45.280 --> 0:22:47.640 that's a pretty big problem because it means that any 0:22:47.720 --> 0:22:51.920 conclusions you have drawn are based off of incomplete data sets, 0:22:52.080 --> 0:22:56.400 and that those conclusions could be very much faulty. Uh. 0:22:56.440 --> 0:22:59.679 It appears as though this was an innocent oversight, at 0:22:59.760 --> 0:23:03.480 least that's the implication I get from reading about it, 0:23:03.600 --> 0:23:06.840 that this was not a deliberate attempt to create misinformation 0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:11.240 about misinformation. But you know, I can't say that for sure. 0:23:12.200 --> 0:23:15.320 It could be that this was at least partly deliberate 0:23:15.440 --> 0:23:18.520 the whole time. I don't think it was, but I 0:23:18.560 --> 0:23:22.240 can't I don't have evidence saying one versus the other. 0:23:23.320 --> 0:23:26.119 But when you do couple this problem with the issue 0:23:26.160 --> 0:23:29.879 that Facebook recently banned some security researcher accounts, you know, 0:23:30.200 --> 0:23:32.600 just a few months ago, and was saying that those 0:23:32.600 --> 0:23:35.840 accounts were effectively scraping data from Facebook and that's against 0:23:35.880 --> 0:23:39.560 the platforms policies. So as a result, the researchers found 0:23:39.600 --> 0:23:43.080 their accounts suspended. This all makes it seem as that 0:23:43.160 --> 0:23:47.120 the company is throwing roadblocks in the way of researchers 0:23:47.119 --> 0:23:51.639 who are looking into the platform's involvement with misinformation campaigns. 0:23:52.520 --> 0:23:57.600 Whether that's intentional or not, that isn't great. Uh, It 0:23:57.640 --> 0:24:02.680 at least seems like Facebook is protecting It's maybe not consciously, 0:24:03.080 --> 0:24:07.440 but that effectively that's what's happening. And I would say 0:24:07.480 --> 0:24:11.080 that the the stories point to a need for Facebook 0:24:11.119 --> 0:24:14.320 to get more proactive in making sure that people have 0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:16.800 access to the information they need in order to really 0:24:16.800 --> 0:24:21.640 get to the bottom of this particular subject matter. Now, 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:26.119 let's head on over to Pinterest. So Christina Martinez, a 0:24:26.160 --> 0:24:30.439 woman who claims to essentially be a co founder of 0:24:30.480 --> 0:24:35.040 the popular site pinterest, is suing co founders Ben Silberman 0:24:35.359 --> 0:24:41.080