Weekend Edition 1: Facebook Ready For Midterms?

Tech Freedom News – Weekend Edition 1

Oktapus phishing campaign hits Twilio and Signal

Judge Smacks Elon’s Request for ALL the Twitter Account Data for the last 3 years…

Google Maps to Label Abortion Clinics in Post-Roe US

Fujitsu to Make Quantum Computers Available for Some in 2023

Meta is “ready” for Midterms

WE 1-1: Oktapus Hits over 130 Companies

Who was affected? Whose data was breached? About 10,000 individuals who use the Okta Single-Signon service, including nearly 2,000 accounts on Signal, according to Twilio, who handles the sms registration messages for new accounts. The Signal accounts were not directly breached, though some accounts were able to have new devices added through the Twilio breach.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/26/23323036/phishing-scam-campaign-twilio-hack-companies

WE 1-2: Judge Vastly Reduces Musk’s request for ALL Twitter Data from the last 3 years as discovery proceeds in his suit against Twitter.

Judge McCormick gave a flat “No” to Elon’s request yesterday, giving him only ~9000 twitter accounts were fair game, rather than the whole enchillada.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/25/23322234/twitter-v-elon-musk-discovery-mdau-bot-data

WE 1-3: Google Labels Confirmed Abortion Providers

Whoa, nelly… Not only are they labeling Crisis Pregnacy Centers, but now trying to direct “birthing people” (let me roll my eyes a little further back into my skull…) who search for “abortions near me” to providers who will do the dastardly deed (ok, a serach engine actually giving people the answers they’re looking for is a good thing, but can we start somewhere else) rather than giving a balanced results list with both baby killing centers and crisis pregnancy centers listed… because, oh no, ~37% of Maps searches related to abortion directed individuals to institutions who might not gleefully want to kill the child. Sorry, I can’t be neutral about this one, no matter how hard I try.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/25/23322025/abortion-providers-google-search-maps-label

WE 1-4: Fujitsu Looking to Offer Computational Space on its 64-Qubit Quantum Computer Next Year

Pretty cool stuff to see how quickly quantum tech is progressing, from Google’s first with 53 qubits in 2019, to IBM’s 127 qubit behemoth last year, to Fujitsu’s intent to produce a 1,000+ qubit piece of hardware in Q2 2027. Wow.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/fujitsu-to-start-selling-quantum-computers-in-2023

WE 1-5: Meta Claims that it is “Ready” to Work on Election Integrity for 2022 Midterms

Well, I feel better already. Oh wait, no I don’t… Facebook and its ilk have NO business meddling in anyone’s elections, as we know that Zuck did in 2020, sponsoring countless battleground state dropboxes and helping to push mail-in balloting. They need to be slapped with a massive reproof. One so big that even they wouldn’t dare to get involved with censorship, electioneering, and other nefarious bullshit ever again. That is treason. They aided and abetted felons who ought to be at least 6 feet underground already, and no longer breathing, if you follow my drift. This is no threat, just what real justice should have seen to already. This just makes my blood boil.

https://gizmodo.com/facebook-meta-2022-midterms-misinformation-1849420151

The wrap-up… All in all an interesting week at the intersection between public life and Tech, no? Massive Phishing attack to a massive reduction in the scope of discovery in the Musk v Twitter suit, to Google showing its massive bias once again, to something a bit lighter in relation to Quantum computing, and then we wound up in a discussion about elections and Big Tech… that last phrase has two concepts in it that never belonged together… Elections and Big Tech… oh HELL NO! Anyway, this has been our first weekend edition, with a bit more contrversial content and perhaps a bit more of an edge than my typical monday-wednesday stuff.

What did you think? Let me know in the comments below. Thank for Watching the Tech Freedom Weekend Edition.