Techmeme
December 13, 2021, 3:25 PM

Top News

Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Researchers spot waves of attacks hitting unpatched Apache servers with the Log4j bug, exfiltrating data, expanding botnets, deploying crypto miners, and more  —  Threat actors and researchers are scanning for and exploiting the Log4j Log4Shell vulnerability to deploy malware or find vulnerable servers.
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Cloudflare and Cisco Talos say Log4j zero-day attacks were first observed on December 1 and December 2, ahead of mass exploitation over the weekend  —  While a public proof-of-concept code was released last Thursday, attacks exploiting the Log4Shell vulnerability started two weeks ago.
Filippo Valsorda / Filippo.io:
How the role of open-source maintainers could be professionalized, as the maintainer who fixed the Log4j zero-day says he works on the project in his spare time  —  Open Source software runs the Internet, and by extension the economy.  This is an undisputed fact about reality in 2021.
Ian Sherr / CNET:
Apple debuts Tracker Detect, an Android app that scans for AirTags and other Find My items that may be traveling with them without their knowledge  —  Apple's following through on a promise to help Android users identify nearby AirTags and Find My trackers that aren't with their owners.
José Adorno / 9to5Mac:
Apple releases iOS 15.2 with App Privacy Report in Settings, Messages safety warnings for kids, Hide My Email, and more; watchOS 8.3 and tvOS 15.2 also released  —  Apple is releasing today iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, watchOS 8.3, tvOS 15.2, and HomePod Software version 15.2 to all users.
Daniel Van Boom / CNET:
A trader blames a “fat-finger error” for selling a Bored Ape NFT for 0.75 ETH (~$3,000) instead of 75 ETH (~$300K); the NFT was promptly relisted for 60 ETH  —  “Fat finger” errors occasionally happen in traditional finance, but they're usually stopped or reversed.  Not so with NFTs and cryptocurrency.
Spencer Soper / Bloomberg:
After a deadly warehouse collapse in Illinois, Amazon workers say banning phones at work denies access to emergency alerts and a way to contact first responders  —  - Online retailer is returning to a cell phone ban in warehouses  — Workers say they want access to weather alerts, communication
Maddison Connaughton / New York Times:
An Australian artist using @Metaverse on Instagram for a decade was blocked from using the handle after Facebook's Meta rebranding; the NYT helped restore it  —  Five days after Facebook changed its name to Meta, an Australian artist found herself blocked, with seemingly no recourse …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Adobe launches Creative Cloud Express, a mobile and web app for creating logos, videos, and social media posts, for free or $9.99/month with advanced templates  —  Adobe today launched Creative Cloud Express, a new mobile and web app that brings some of the best features …
Ina Fried / Axios:
In an interview, Meta's Andrew Bosworth says political and COVID-19 misinformation are societal problems rather than issues that social networks magnified  —  Longtime Facebook veteran Andrew Bosworth insists that political and COVID-19 misinformation are societal problems rather than issues that have been magnified by social networks.
Yadarisa Shabong / Reuters:
The UK's CMA opens an investigation into Microsoft's planned $16B acquisition of Nuance, announced in April, arguing that it could reduce competition  —  Britain's antitrust regulator said on Monday it will look into Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) $16 billion purchase of artificial intelligence …
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Biden to sign an executive order directing 17 US agencies to modernize services and bring more of them online, including passport photo uploads and taxes  —  The White House is hoping to spur a major technological overhaul of government services with a new executive order President Biden will sign Monday.

Sponsor Posts

Subquadratic:
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning  —  SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds.  Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Cloudflare:
Cloudflare Connect 2026: The Agentic Conference  —  Stop preparing for agents.  Start running them.  100+ sessions, workshops, and speakers from OpenAI, Arm, and Cloudflare across AI, security, and performance.
Zoho:
Automate your scheduling workflows with Zoho Calendar  —  Your calendar can do more than schedule meetings Creating a calendar event takes only a few seconds.  But scheduling is rarely just about creating the event.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
AI Doom Backlash Arrives, Anthropic & OpenAI IPO Outlook, Frontier Business Momentum Slows
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
AI Wants to Shop for You. What Could Go Wrong?
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Invest Like the Best:
Michael Moritz - Lessons From 40 Years of Investing and Writing
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Sources:
Baseten's CEO on why every company will want to own its AI
Candid conversations with the leaders shaping what's next in AI and the broader tech industry. Hosted by Alex Heath, who has covered Silicon Valley for more than a decade.
Subscribe to Sources.
Training Data:
Box's Aaron Levie: On Reinventing Yourself in the AI Age and Enterprise Diffusion
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
Subscribe to Training Data.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Andrew Feldman from Cerebras
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:25 PM ET, December 13, 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

Hassan Mujtaba / Wccftech:

Earlier Picks

Financial Times:
Sha Hua / Wall Street Journal:
Manish Singh / TechCrunch: