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December 20, 2020, 7:55 PM
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Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| The Citizen Lab: |
Citizen Lab: NSO's zero-day, zero-click exploit chain, active in at least iOS 13.5.1, was used to hack ~36 Al Jazeera reporters via iMessage in summer of 2020 — Summary & Key Findings — In July and August 2020, government operatives used NSO Group's Pegasus spyware …
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The Guardian, Associated Press, ZDNet, Forbes, TechCrunch, and Engadget
| Microsoft Security: |
Microsoft details the Solorigate DLL file that was used to install a backdoor in SolarWinds Orion and reveals it discovered additional malware affecting Orion — - Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team — Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) — We, along with the security industry …
More:
BleepingComputer, NPR, and Microsoft Partner Network
Tweets: @luispatino92, @ericgeller, @ryanaraine, @algotrdr, @brento, @file411, @gossithedog, @file411, @file411, @file411, and @msftsecintel
| Lily Hay Newman / Wired: |
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Input, Politico, Forbes, The Dispatch, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg
Tweets: @dnvolz, @bing_chris, @atlanticcouncil, @andrewsweiss, @jacklgoldsmith, @chrislhayes, @jerylbier, @datadrivenmd, @detachedaz, @rgoodlaw, @hatr, @jerylbier, @michaeldweiss, @stephenwalt, @unit42_intel, @andrew__roth, @andrewbusey, @buttpraxis, @columbiasipa, @ramalhoorg, @iethics, @iethics, @avast_antivirus, @authentic8, @jcovididdy, @caitlin__kelly, @kaspersky, @lululemew, @bambenek, and @profwoodward
| Wall Street Journal: |
More:
Wired, Business Insider, CRN, and Yahoo News
Tweets: @nashrafeeg, @blackorbird, @zen4ever2us, @waronprivacy, @michaeldweiss, @nycsouthpaw, @dancrenshawtx, @adryenn, @sub8u, @business, @crimealytics, @dnvolz, @dnvolz, @e_kaspersky, and @carter_pe
| Michael Steeber / 9to5Mac: |
Apple has closed nearly 100 stores globally since December 14, including in London, California, and Tennessee, as COVID-19 cases surge — New COVID-19 restrictions and worsening outbreaks have compelled Apple to temporarily close nearly one fifth of its retail stores during one of the busiest shopping weeks of the holiday season.
More:
The Verge, Gizmodo, USA Today, Bloomberg, MacRumors, Newser, Pocketnow, Reuters, Apple Terminal, Los Angeles Times, and BBC
Tweets: @gartenberg, @rickydlaw, @xeni, @jeffmacke, and @markgurman
| Jacob Knutson / Axios: |
Trump downplayed the massive cyberattack on the US government, claiming that China may be responsible and the “Fake News Media” is exaggerating its extent — President Trump downplayed a massive cyberattack on U.S. government departments and agencies and private companies on Twitter Saturday …
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Bloomberg, New York Times, NPR, CNN, Krebs on Security, Politico, The Guardian, Gizmodo, The Verge, Newser, CRN, CNBC, Business Insider, The Guardian, U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner, and The Hill
Tweets: @realdonaldtrump, @realdonaldtrump, @kyledcheney, @c_c_krebs, @normative, @jimsciutto, @john_sipher, @nicoleperlroth, @httech, @nytpolitics, @ellenychang, @debramessing, @brianstelter, @jimsciutto, @carlquintanilla, @caseyjohnellis, @levie, @jonathanvswan, @andrewsolender, @briankrebs, @jonathanvswan, @homelanddems, @repadamschiff, @tedlieu, @wesball, @jonathanvswan, @alivelshi, @asemota, @rubengallego, @margbrennan, @gregpmiller, @oliverdarcy, @pwnallthethings, @jimsciutto, @b_fung, and @nicoleperlroth
| Associated Press: |
More:
United States Department …, SecurityWeek, Fortune, and Slate
Tweets: @politicalshort, @brianbeutler, @tackettdc, @geoffrbennett, and @arstechnica
| Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post: |
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Forbes, New York Times, NBC News, Associated Press, The Hill, Business Insider, BBC, UPI, Engadget, Slate, TIME, NBC News, Axios, and New York Post
Tweets: @senwarren, @ophirgottlieb, @ap, @stengel, @peterbakernyt, @peterbakernyt, @wylienewmark, @atrupar, @kaitlancollins, @laurenwern, @aghamilton29, @mikeelgan, @acosta, and @davmicrot
| Andrés Arrieta / Electronic Frontier Foundation: |
Facebook is attacking privacy with its anti-Apple campaign and has locked SMBs into a surveillance-powered advertising model that's invasive of customers — Facebook has recently launched a campaign touting itself as the protector of small businesses. This is a laughable attempt from Facebook …
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Business Insider, 9to5Mac, Daring Fireball, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, MacRumors, AppleInsider, Daring Fireball, HotHardware.com News, MacDailyNews, iPhone in Canada Blog, Daring Fireball, and BNet
Tweets: @eric_seufert, @tapbot_paul, @eric_seufert, @hypervisible, @eff, @eff, @counternotions, @counternotions, @eff, @johnpaczkowski, @benedictevans, @willoremus, @random_walker, @moonalice, @alexhern, @hillbrad, @pt, @hillbrad, @hillbrad, @pt, @seldo, @dakami, @ampyourgrowth, @karaswisher, @jason_kint, @benedictevans, @ronwyden, and @can
| Matt Stoller / BIG: |
Google and Facebook may continue predatory behavior for years as antitrust cases play out, which can be deterred by filing criminal charges against their execs — Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai need to be indicted. — 1 hr ago — Welcome to BIG, a newsletter about the politics of monopoly and finance.
More:
New York Times. Tweets: @halsinger, @benedictevans, @gretchenspeters, @billyez2, @iwelsh, @moonalice, @ektrit, @matthewstoller, @daiwaka, @matthewstoller, @matthewstoller, and @jason_kint
| Katie Bo Williams / Defense One: |
WH officials propose ending the “dual-hat” leadership arrangement of NSA and Cyber Command, renewing debate over splitting up the agencies amid recent attacks — An end to the “dual hat” arrangement has been debated for years — but the timing raises questions.| Lingling Wei / Wall Street Journal: |
Sources: in an early November meeting, Jack Ma offered concessions to Chinese regulators, including handing over parts of Ant Group if “the country needs it” — Trying to salvage his relationship with regulators in a Nov. 2 meeting, the Chinese billionaire said he was ready to do what the country needed
More:
PYMNTS.com. Tweets: @kate_okeeffe, @stevelevine, @ajitpaifcc, @chadbown, @bobdavis187, @chorzempamartin, @ruima, and @jmulvenon
| New York Times: |
How a years-long effort to create Cyberpunk 2077, marred by infighting, incompetence, and poor planning, brought the Polish studio CD Projekt RED to its knees — Nearly a decade of hype led to a troubled release riddled with glitches, a livid fan base, refunds for potentially millions of players and a possible class-action lawsuit.
More:
Defector, Eurogamer.net, HotHardware.com News, MSPoweruser, Yahoo Finance, IGN, GamingBolt, Forbes, Game Rant, PC Gamer, Slate, Bloomberg, Input, and Blue's News
Tweets: @mattsaincome, @swanyplaysgames, @mikeisaac, @skinkenby, @stinson, @quicktake, @forbes, @benjanun_s, @aslinnafterdark, @skillupyt, @bryfitz, @samuel_mcqueen, @notesfrompoland, @tritonejones, @tauriqmoosa, @stuartathompson, @tiagodf, @baepsaenana, @akosma, @_zeets, @basisspace, @olteddo, @gregbensinger, @mikeisaac, and @laura_hudson
| Dan Primack / Axios: |
Sources: SoftBank will file on Monday to raise between $500M and $600M via an IPO of its first SPAC and is preparing at least two additional SPACs — SoftBank on Monday will file to raise between $500 million and $600 million via an IPO of its first SPAC, Axios has learned from multiple sources.| Owen Thomas / San Francisco Chronicle: |
Profile of Bret Taylor, Salesforce's new COO and the architect of its $27.7B acquisition of Slack, who might one day succeed Marc Benioff as CEO of the company — Everyone in Silicon Valley seems to know Bret Taylor. — Few outside do. — That's going to change, as the software engineer …
Tweets: @owenthomas, @louisgray, @hbrucejohnson, and @demianbulwa
| ProPublica: |
Leaked docs show how China stage-managed what appeared on its domestic internet to make coronavirus look less severe in the early days of the outbreak — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.
Tweets: @paulmozur, @justinhendrix, @camillefrancois, @shenlulushen, @sophia_yan, @minhazmerchant, @hillelneuer, @suilee, @mattschrader_dc, @ryan_chua, @elmihiro, @stefan_laurell, @gypsy_heart6, @propublica, @nytimes, @tim_canova, @ajitpaifcc, @alfonslopeztena, @rmack, @reneexiachrd, @chayesmatthew, @cezary, @gadyepstein, @klillington, @dicktofel, @digiphile, @sheenagreitens, and @zhonggg
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Tweets: @stevesi, @marshacollier, @dsilverman, @karlbode, and @0xmatt