1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,240 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech. And this is the 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: tech news for Tuesday, August twenty four, twenty twenty one. 6 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: Let's get to it, because there's a lot to cover. 7 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: The crisis in Afghanistan is devastating, but there are some 8 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: interesting ways that tech and tech related companies are trying 9 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,960 Speaker 1: to help the people of Afghanistan. For example, Airbnb, which 10 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: often gets lumped in with tech companies because of the 11 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,279 Speaker 1: software that handles bookings and such, has announced it will 12 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: supply temporary housing to up to twenty thousand Afghan refugees. 13 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: That's a lot of people, but that's less than half 14 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: of those the US says it has evacuated for Afghanistan 15 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: so far, with thousands more attempting to flee the country. 16 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: Airbnb says it will fund the stays for those refugees, 17 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:11,759 Speaker 1: giving them a safe place to live while they look 18 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: for more permanent housing. Airbnb CEO Brian Cheski called quote 19 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 1: the displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the US 20 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: and elsewhere one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our 21 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: time end quote, which I think is a pretty darn 22 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: good summary. He also said he hopes that other leaders 23 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: of business will step up to try and help as well, 24 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: and I hope the same thing. In related news and 25 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: Afghan app called at t Sab, and my apologies for 26 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: butchering the pronunciation of that is trying to help the 27 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: people of Kabul stay safe. The app publishes real time 28 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: reports of conflict, including you know, reports of gunfire or explosions. 29 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: It also reports on traffic congestion as well, clearly very 30 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: important if there's an incident going on in the area, 31 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: and it's all in service of keeping the people of 32 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: the city informed and hopefully safe from harm. A ground 33 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: team in Cabool actually supplies the reports, so this isn't 34 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: some sort of automated service. It's rather one that's powered 35 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: by real humans that are on the scene. The team 36 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: posts the reports to a private WhatsApp group, and then 37 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: there's another team of fact checkers who review the reports 38 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: for accuracy. They remove any that are you know, unsubstantiated 39 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: in an effort to cut down on misinformation or perhaps 40 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: even disinformation. The app includes the ability to use location 41 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: data to send relevant alerts to people who could be 42 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: affected that way. Let's say that there's an incident in 43 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: your area, you would learn through it. You know about 44 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: it through the app through a notification, but for stuff 45 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: that would be happening, say across the other side of 46 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: the city, you wouldn't necessarily get that alert. Sarah Wa Hindi, 47 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: who founded the app, actually escape Cable for a second time, 48 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: I should add, and has worked to raise money from 49 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: within Afghanistan to support her efforts. She also recently took 50 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: steps to protect her employees in Afghanistan. She went to 51 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: delete all information about the female employees of the company 52 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,679 Speaker 1: in order to protect them as the Taliban was advancing 53 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:23,959 Speaker 1: across Afghanistan. The Taliban has extremist beliefs regarding women, such 54 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 1: as they have to remain at home unless they are 55 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: accompanied by a male relative. That's one of many incredibly 56 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: extreme rules the Taliban seeks to impose upon the population. 57 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: I'm sure I'll be reporting on more stories from Afghanistan 58 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: in future episodes, but for now, let's switch our focus elsewhere. 59 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: So from Afghanistan to Malaysia, it's time to talk about 60 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: the semiconductor shortage and COVID nineteen again. Now, we've been 61 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: in a shortage of semiconductors for several months now, with 62 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: practically retext sector affected as a result of this, from 63 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: personal computers to video game consoles, to automobiles and beyond. 64 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,119 Speaker 1: We're seeing the shortage impact the supply chains of multiple 65 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:16,480 Speaker 1: industries and this has a ripple effect on stuff like pricing. 66 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: For example, the auto market has seen skyrocketing prices, which 67 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: is in part a consequence of this shortage. Though it 68 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: does get a bit more complicated than that. So what 69 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: does Malaysia have to do with all of this, Well, 70 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: the country has become an important part of the supply 71 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,839 Speaker 1: chain for semiconductors. UH. They are a large center in 72 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 1: semiconductor testing, so they do a lot of the testing 73 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: of the tech to make sure that it's actually working 74 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: so q a UH. They also are a big part 75 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: of packaging, so they're part of that process too. But 76 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,599 Speaker 1: COVID cases have been on the rise in Malaysia and 77 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: the seven day average of reported daily infections has gone 78 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:05,720 Speaker 1: above windy thousand cases, which is pretty astonishing. The Malaysian 79 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 1: government has already granted certain exemptions to the manufacturing industries 80 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: in the country in an effort to keep the economy going, 81 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: essentially saying, you know, we're supposed to lock down, but 82 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: we're dependent upon you for our economy, so you can 83 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:21,040 Speaker 1: continue to operate. But that has also meant that some 84 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 1: of these factories have had to shut down completely for 85 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: weeks at a time due to infected employees coming into work. 86 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,839 Speaker 1: There's a serious vaccination push within Malaysia at the moment, 87 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,919 Speaker 1: and according to the Health Ministry, fifty seven percent of 88 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: the country's population has received at least one dose of vaccine. 89 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: We're likely to see the effects of these disruptions for 90 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: months to come across multiple product lines, and businesses are 91 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: likely to struggle with keeping production going as they encounter 92 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: component shortages. While the semiconductor shortage is a huge headache 93 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,279 Speaker 1: for the automotive industry, one company in particular is dealing 94 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:02,040 Speaker 1: with a different technical problem, and that company is GM, 95 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: which has announced a recall of the Chevrolet Bolt as 96 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 1: in all of them. Every single Bolt vehicle that has 97 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: been manufactured and sold, including the newest ones on the market, 98 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: are all part of this recall. The issue is one 99 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: that folks in the text space have seen before, which 100 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: is battery problems, as in, you know, lithium batteries that 101 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: catch fire on their own. The batteries and Chevy bolts 102 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,919 Speaker 1: come from the company l G. It's LG KIM to 103 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: be specific, and GM says after an investigation, the company 104 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: discovered ten cases in which faulty batteries caught fire. GM 105 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:44,720 Speaker 1: traced the issue to two separate manufacturing problems that together 106 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,799 Speaker 1: created a short circuit. And just in case you've heard 107 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: that term but you don't actually know what it means, 108 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: I'll give you a quick explanation. So electricity flows through 109 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: conductors right like you have a conductive substance, electricity can 110 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,479 Speaker 1: flow to it. Well. Circuits are essentially a pathway made 111 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: out of conductive elements, and electricity will follow down this 112 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: pathway and somewhere along the way, the electricity does some work. 113 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: So like the classic example is it lights a lightbulb 114 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: or whatever before it continues on the rest of the 115 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: pathway and ends at the other terminal. But if you 116 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: were to create a shortcut that bypassed the lightbulb and 117 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: went from one terminal to the other directly, electricity would 118 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: take that path. It would be the easiest path for 119 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: it to get to where it quote unquote wants to go. 120 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: And when you're talking about batteries, if you create a 121 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: shortcut for electrons to go from the negative terminal to 122 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: the positive terminal really quickly, well, the battery tends to 123 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: heat up because the electrochemical process that generates the electrons 124 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: in the first place, it ramps up faster and faster, 125 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: and this can lead to a fire or even an explosion. 126 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: That was the case with Samsung's Galaxy phone a few 127 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: years ago, and it appears to be a similar issue 128 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: with a Chevy Bolt. GM says that the recalls, which 129 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: cover more than one thousand vehicles, are likely to cost 130 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,679 Speaker 1: the company nearly two billion dollars, and it also said 131 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: it plans to seek reimbursement from LG, which just makes 132 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: me think of a very advanced version of the joke 133 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: from Better Off Dead two billion dollars, I want my 134 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: two billion dollars. I don't know how many of you 135 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: out there have actually seen Better Off Dead and recognize 136 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 1: that reference, but never mind. Making dense batteries is a challenge, 137 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: like making batteries that can hold enough energy storage so 138 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: that they can do what we need them to do 139 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: that's already very hard to do, making them in mass quantities, 140 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:48,439 Speaker 1: while ruling out defects is even harder. But these are 141 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: challenges that will need to overcome as the world creeps 142 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:55,560 Speaker 1: towards electrification of vehicle fleets. Right if we start to 143 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: push more and more towards electric vehicles, which you know, 144 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:03,040 Speaker 1: we should in an effort to remove transportation as a 145 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: big source of carbon emissions, while we obviously have to 146 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: make sure that the batteries that were depending upon are 147 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: reliable and safe. US President Joe Biden is reportedly hosting 148 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: a cybersecurity meeting in the near future, and big names 149 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: like Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella 150 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 1: are among the guest list. The assumption is that this 151 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:30,079 Speaker 1: group will be called to discuss recent high profile cybersecurity 152 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: issues such as the rise of ransomware and the emergence 153 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 1: of supply chain cyber attacks. And just to define some terms, 154 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:42,839 Speaker 1: ransomware is a specific subset of malware that locks down 155 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:47,079 Speaker 1: systems or otherwise makes data inaccessible to users unless they 156 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,560 Speaker 1: pay a ransom to the hackers, typically in the form 157 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: of cryptocurrency. These attacks can center on individuals like you 158 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,840 Speaker 1: could get targeted by a ransomware attack, but it's more 159 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 1: common to see hacker take aim at really big organizations 160 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: where they can have a really big payday, particularly ones 161 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 1: that rely heavily on digital information, such as healthcare organizations 162 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: where that is critical to their operation, or you know, 163 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,080 Speaker 1: companies in the tech sector in general. A supply chain 164 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 1: attack is a an attack where hackers focus on the 165 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: company that supplies software to other companies. So imagine a 166 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 1: company that creates like administrative software that's used in corporate offices, 167 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,960 Speaker 1: and you've got a lot of organizations, like big companies 168 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: that rely on this particular administrative product. That's what they 169 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: use to keep their records or whatever. So these hackers 170 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,479 Speaker 1: in this case would go in and target that software company. 171 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: They would try to infiltrate that company systems and then 172 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: plant malware into the code of a software patch. And 173 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: then when the patch goes out to all the company's customers, 174 00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: the customers, because they trust the software patch because it's 175 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:02,680 Speaker 1: coming from a known source, it's coming from a vendor 176 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: they work with, they install that patch, and unknowingly they 177 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 1: introduced the malware into their own systems. This is the 178 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: sort of thing we suspected happened with solar winds, though 179 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,479 Speaker 1: later reports made that a little more muddy and complicated. 180 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: The Verge published an article about this. But the companies 181 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: I see listed, which include the Southern Company, IBM, Google, JP, 182 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,360 Speaker 1: Morgan Chase, and Amazon in addition to Google and Apple, 183 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: all these companies are are obviously big tech companies. They 184 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: or they are related to tech, or depend heavily on tech. Undoubtedly, 185 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: they all have departments that focus on cybersecurity, but none 186 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: of them are actual cyber security companies. And I'm curious 187 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 1: if the White House is also inviting security researchers from 188 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: one of or maybe more than one of the big 189 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: security research firms out there, in addition to these high 190 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: profile companies. I don't know. The White House hasn't really 191 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: commented on it. We have some more stories to cover, 192 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: but before we get to that, let's take a quick break. 193 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:18,439 Speaker 1: We're back turning to Apple. Apple turnomer. The company recently 194 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,199 Speaker 1: announced that employees will not be returning to the office 195 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 1: in October after all, and October was already delayed. The 196 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: original plan was to come back in September, but then 197 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,320 Speaker 1: the company pushed that back to October, and CEO Tim 198 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: Cook famously posted a memo that talked up the benefits 199 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: of being at work in an office environment with the 200 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: announcement that employees would be expected to go into the 201 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: office at least three days a week. While Apple employees 202 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,680 Speaker 1: objected to this, and an internal survey showed that the 203 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: majority of employees were not in favor of a return 204 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: to the office while the pandemic was still going on 205 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: well due to coronavirus numbers continuing to rise and the 206 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,360 Speaker 1: dangers of the delta variant as well as other ants. 207 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 1: Now Apple employees won't be expected to return to the 208 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:07,679 Speaker 1: office until January of next year. Now I'm thankful for that, 209 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 1: because I really think pushing to go back to the 210 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: office while the numbers are so bad is beyond irresponsible. 211 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: Other tech companies like Facebook and Amazon have made similar 212 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:21,199 Speaker 1: decisions for a corporate employees, and that brings me to 213 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: another point that I need to stress this really does 214 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: only apply to corporate employees. The people who work in 215 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 1: the corporate offices of these companies. Amazon and Apple both 216 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 1: still have employees who have to go to work in 217 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,280 Speaker 1: various like warehouses and stores and whatnot, so there is 218 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: a sharp divide here. Right. The corporate employees are allowed 219 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:46,960 Speaker 1: to continue to work remotely, but other employees they're required 220 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 1: to go in and that's a pretty tough issue to 221 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: get into. I'm gonna save that for a full episode 222 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: because I do think it's something that we need to 223 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: talk about. In other Apple News, employees are organizing at 224 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: the company to voice concerns about the company these policies, processes, 225 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 1: and culture. As part of that strategy, the employees have 226 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: launched a website. That website is Apple to dot us. 227 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 1: That's Apple t oo dot us. They have issued a 228 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: statement about their plans, which I'll read part of right now. Quote. 229 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: For too long, Apple has evaded public scrutiny. The truth 230 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 1: is that for many Apple workers are reality faced disproportionately 231 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: by our black, Indigenous, and other colleagues from minoritized, racial, gender, 232 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: and historically marginalized groups of people. The culture of secrecy 233 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: creates an opaque, intimidating fortress. When we press for accountability 234 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:46,479 Speaker 1: and redress to the persistent injustices we witness or experience 235 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 1: in our workplace, we are faced with a pattern of isolation, degradation, 236 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: and gas lighting. No more. We've exhausted all internal avenues 237 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: We've talked with our leadership, we've gone to the people team, 238 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 1: we've escalated through business conduct. Nothing has changed. It's time 239 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: to think different. A group of Apple workers have joined 240 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: together to organize and protect ourselves. We are asking fellow 241 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 1: Apple workers who want to see real change at Apple 242 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 1: to share their stories. End quote. This statement goes on 243 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: there's actually a lot more at the website, but you 244 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: can read the whole thing at Apple two dot us. 245 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:27,600 Speaker 1: According to the Verge, the group of employees consisted of 246 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: around fifteen current and former Apple employees, so not not 247 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: a huge group. However, they are already getting support among 248 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: other current and former Apple employees who are posting their 249 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 1: stories and the site is publishing them as well. As 250 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:45,040 Speaker 1: some of these stories are getting published in internal communications 251 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: channels like Slack channels and stuff at Apple. So we 252 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: will continue to follow this story as it develops. And 253 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: now for some stories about hacking and cryptocurrency. The Verge 254 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: reports that a hacker who stole around six hundred million 255 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: dollars worth a cryptocurrency from a company called the Polly 256 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:07,520 Speaker 1: Network has returned the assets. And you might be saying, what, 257 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: and I mean, I know I was, well it turns 258 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,680 Speaker 1: out that this particular hacker found an exploit and decided 259 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,600 Speaker 1: to take the assets and then store those assets, those 260 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: stolen cryptocurrencies into a trusted account while the hacker then 261 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: communicated with Polly Network and Polly Network worked to patch 262 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: the vulnerability. Apparently, the hacker decided to do this because 263 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: they felt it was just a matter of time before 264 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: someone else spotted this vulnerability and then stole crypto. But 265 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 1: for real zes, this hacker a a white hat hacker type, 266 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: was really making a big statement, and so once Polly 267 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: fixed the problem, the hacker returned all those assets, and 268 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 1: the Polly network then invited the hacker to serve as 269 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: the chief security adviser for the company, which was kind 270 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 1: of cute, and the hacker even asked that some of 271 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: the hacker's own money taken from a half million dollar 272 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 1: bounty that Polly Network paid for the reporting of the 273 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:06,679 Speaker 1: bug in the first place, that some of that might 274 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: should be distributed to the quote unquote survivors of the 275 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,399 Speaker 1: escapade to make up for the inconvenience and stress of 276 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: having money stolen, even though it was just a temporary thing. 277 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,479 Speaker 1: No word yet on whether Polly customers will stick with 278 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: the company in the wake of this experience, or if 279 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: they'll look to port their assets to some other organization. Meanwhile, 280 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:30,359 Speaker 1: in Sweden, authorities are legally required to return bitcoins to 281 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,200 Speaker 1: a convicted drug dealer because of the way things were 282 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:38,040 Speaker 1: worded during the dealer's sentencing. See after being convicted of 283 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:42,679 Speaker 1: the crime of dealing drugs, the court ruled that the 284 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 1: dealer should be stripped of his earnings as a drug dealer. 285 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 1: Those earnings were in bitcoin. He had earned thirty six 286 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 1: bitcoin as a drug dealer, and around the time when 287 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,440 Speaker 1: he was arrested, those bitcoin were worth around a hundred 288 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 1: thirty seven thousand dollars. Now, apparently the sentencing framed this 289 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:06,120 Speaker 1: in the form of standard Swedish currency rather than bitcoin, 290 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 1: saying all right, well, we need the the equivalent amount 291 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: in cash seized from this drug dealer. But by the 292 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:19,200 Speaker 1: time the Swedish enforcement authority was ready to actually auction 293 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: off the cryptocurrency to get the equivalent cash, the value 294 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: of bitcoin had increased dramatically and the whole one seven 295 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:33,359 Speaker 1: thousand dollars worth of fine only required three bitcoins to 296 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 1: cover it. And because the court didn't demand the bitcoin instead, 297 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: they demanded that cash equivalent of bitcoin at the time 298 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,159 Speaker 1: of sentencing, which was around a hundred thirty seven thousand dollars. 299 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: That meant that the other thirty three bitcoin could not 300 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:51,439 Speaker 1: be auctioned off because the court had already received the 301 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:54,480 Speaker 1: amount of money and had demanded and those thirty three 302 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: bitcoin had to be returned to the drug dealer and 303 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,800 Speaker 1: that is now worth around one point six million dollars. 304 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 1: Apparently crime does pay, and this is another example of 305 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:10,160 Speaker 1: how courts around the world are really struggling to keep 306 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: up with how things change in the text space. Uh 307 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:16,679 Speaker 1: and a lot of people have said, well, this just 308 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,600 Speaker 1: shows that the sentencing needs to be more specific about 309 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,719 Speaker 1: taking the bitcoin that was earned as opposed to the 310 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:30,359 Speaker 1: cash equivalent of whatever the bitcoins value was at that time. 311 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:35,720 Speaker 1: Lesson learned. Alright, that wraps up the big news stories 312 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,760 Speaker 1: for Tuesday, August one. Will be back later in the 313 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: week with some more. If you have suggestions for topics 314 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: I should cover on Tech Stuff, reach out to me. 315 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,199 Speaker 1: The easiest way to get in touch with me is 316 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,879 Speaker 1: over on Twitter. The handle for the show is text 317 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,800 Speaker 1: stuff H s W and I'll talk to you again 318 00:19:54,760 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: really soon. Text Stuff is an I heart radio production. 319 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,159 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i 320 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 321 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:10,479 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.