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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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More News

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:

Earlier Picks

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