Techmeme
November 14, 2021, 2:30 PM

Top News

Ionut Ilascu / BleepingComputer:
FBI email servers were hacked to send spam warning of a “sophisticated chain attack”, with a likely goal to discredit security researcher Vinny Troia  —  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) email servers were hacked to distribute spam email impersonating FBI warnings …
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
The person claiming responsibility for the FBI email server hack says they were able to send spam messages by abusing insecure code in the FBI's LEEP portal  —  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed today that its fbi.gov domain name and Internet address were used to blast …
Taylor Locke / CNBC:
An overview of Bitcoin's Taproot upgrade, which makes transactions more private, less expensive, and will let bitcoin users execute more complex smart contracts  —  Taproot, a highly anticipated upgrade to bitcoin, is expected to go into effect in the coming days at block 709,632 — some sources say it'll go live as soon as Saturday.
Wolfie Zhao / The Block:
Taproot, the first major upgrade to Bitcoin's code since the introduction of Segregated Witness in 2017, has been activated  —  Taproot, Bitcoin's long-anticipated code upgrade with a focus on enhancing the network's privacy and security, has been activated.
CNBC:
Agreements between Apple and some states to offer digital IDs in Wallet show states covering the costs of issuing the IDs and Apple approving marketing efforts  —  - Apple requires states to maintain the systems needed to issue and service credentials at taxpayer expense, according to contracts signed by four states.
New York Times:
Apple, Spotify, and other companies that distribute podcasts have done little to rein in COVID-19 misinformation, escaping the scrutiny social media giants face  —  False statements about vaccines have spread on the “Wild West” of media, even as some hosts die of virus complications.
Ted Alcorn / Bloomberg:
How Togo, a country where few possess a driver's license or national ID card, built a digital platform to rapidly disburse relief payments to millions of people  —  In two weeks, Togo designed and launched an all-digital system for delivering monthly payments to millions of people—and made the U.S. program look like a “dinosaur.”
Will Oremus / Washington Post:
Internal documents show Facebook defends algorithmic ranking because its data suggests that its algorithm knows what users want better than they do themselves  —  In at least two experiments over the years, Facebook has explored what happens when it turns off its controversial news feed ranking system …

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:30 PM ET, November 14, 2021.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:

Earlier Picks

New York Times:
Chris Stokel-Walker / Wired UK:
Hartley Charlton / MacRumors: