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FBI Names Hacking Group Behind the Shut Down of the Nation’s Largest Fuel Pipeline

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2 years ago

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  • The United States’ largest pipeline, which supplies 45% of the East Coast’s fuel, was forced to shut down Friday following a ransomware attack.
  • The company that owns it — Colonial Pipeline — said it hopes to restore service by the end of the week. Only some smaller lines are currently operational.
  • On Monday, the FBI officially linked the attack to criminal hackers known as Darkside, which operates along a “ransomware as a service” business scheme.
  • On Sunday, the Transportation Department issued emergency declarations in 17 states and D.C. in an attempt to keep supply lines open through the “immediate transportation” of fuel.

What Is Darkside?

The hackers who forced the Colonial Pipeline Company to shut down the country’s largest fuel pipeline on Friday are part of a criminal gang known as Darkside, according to the FBI.

Darkside is a relatively new group that operates along a “ransomware as a service” business model, according to CNBC. 

“We are apolitical, we do not participate in geopolitics, do not need to tie us with a defined government and look for our motives,” Darkside said on its website. “Our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society.” 

It added that targeting institutions like hospitals, schools, nonprofits, and government agencies violates its code of ethics. It also claimed it would donate some of the ransom money it’s demanding from Colonial to charity, though some charities have reportedly turned down these offers of dirty money.

Pipeline Shuts Down

When the Colonial Pipeline shut down Friday following the initial reports of a ransomware attack, it was unclear at the time if the hackers had directly crippled the line themselves or if Colonial had voluntarily taken it offline.

Colonial announced Saturday that its own executives had made the decision to take systems offline, with the company saying it did so as a precautionary measure out of fear that the hackers had gained enough information to attack vulnerable parts of the pipeline. 

As of Monday morning, that pipeline is still mostly shut down, and only some smaller lines are currently operational as of Sunday night.

“Segments of our pipeline are being brought back online in a stepwise fashion, in compliance with relevant federal regulations and in close consultation with the Department of Energy, which is leading and coordinating the Federal Government’s response,” the company said Monday, adding that it hopes to restore service by the end of the week.

What This Could Mean for Gas Prices

The continued closure of the pipeline could be detrimental if it extends several more days. Not only does it run from Texas to New York, but it also supplies 45% of the East Coast’s fuel. That’s 2.5 million barrels of refined gas, diesel, and jet fuel every day. 

“It’s the most significant, successful attack on energy infrastructure we know of in the United States,” energy analyst Amy Myers Jaffe told Politico.

As Wells Fargo analyst Roger Read told CNBC, there are main scenarios that could occur depending on how long Colonial remains dark. 

If there is a partial restart by Wednesday, Read beleives there will be “no significant or lasting impacts.”

If the outage lasts 6-10 days, “Refiners may need to reduce the amount of crude oil they process… Inventories will rise in the U.S. Gulf Coast, causing prices to fall, while prices in the East Coast would jump.”

Reede added that if the outage lasts more than 10 days, “Refiners in the Gulf Coast will almost definitely have to reduce their runs,” leading to potentially significant fuel shortages in the Southeast. 

In an attempt to avoid those last two outcomes, the Transportation Department issued emergency declarations in 17 states and D.C. on Sunday. Those declarations are meant to keep supply lines open through the “immediate transportation” of fuel; however, these increased supplies aren’t near enough to match the pipeline’s capacity, according to an expert cited in the BBC. 

See what others are saying: (CNBC) (Politico) (BBC)

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TikTok to Require Labels on Manipulated Media, Ban Deepfakes of Children

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March 22, 2023

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The social media platform says it wants to embrace the creativity AI can offer while being cautious of the “societal and individual risks” that come with it.

TikTok is rolling out a slew of limitations regarding synthetic deepfake videos, including a ban on deepfake content of children.

In an update on Tuesday, the social media platform said it wants welcome “the creativity that new artificial intelligence and other digital technologies may unlock” while also being careful of the “societal and individual risks” that come with it. To mitigate those risks, TikTok will require users to label manipulated media depicting “realistic scenes.” Users can do so in stickers, captions, or other means that make it clear the video is “synthetic,” “fake,” “not real,” or “altered.”

On top of that, there are new restrictions about who can be the subject of these manipulated videos. TikTok will not allow deepfake media that shows the likeness of a “young person” or any private person, including adults. It is also barring deepfakes that depict adult public figures giving political or commercial endorsements, as well as deepfakes that violate one of the platform’s other rules.

“While we provide more latitude for public figures, we do not want them to be the subject of abuse, or for people to be misled about political or financial issues,” the company’s updated guidelines say. 

As TikTok’s policies previously stated, synthetic media that has been edited to mislead audiences about real-world events is also not allowed on the platform. 

As far as what kind of deepfake media is allowed on TikTok, the company said videos showing adult public figures in “certain contexts, including artistic and educational content,” get the green light. This can include a video of a celebrity doing a TikTok dance, or a historical figure being depicted in a history lesson. 

The rules will be enforced starting April 21. Between now and then, TikTok says it will be training its moderators to better implement the guidelines.

See what others are saying: (The Verge) (The Associated Press) (TechCrunch)

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Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

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2 weeks ago

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March 8, 2023

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Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

Yeezy Surplus 

Adidas’ split with musician Kanye West has left the company with financial problems due to surplus Yeezy products, putting the sportswear giant in the position to potentially suffer its first annual loss in over 30 years. 

Adidas dropped West last year after he made a series of antisemitic remarks on social media and other broadcasts. His Yeezy line was a staple for Adidas, and the surplus product is due, in part, to the brand’s own decision to continue production during the split.

According to CEO Bjorn Gulden, Adidas continued production of only the items already in the pipeline to prevent thousands of people from losing their jobs. However, that has led to the unfortunate overabundance of Yeezy sneakers and clothes. 

On Wednesday, Gulden said that selling the shoes and donating the proceeds makes more sense than giving them away due to the Yeezy resale market — which has reportedly shot up 30% since October.

“If we sell it, I promise that the people who have been hurt by this will also get something good out of this,” Gulden said in a statement to the press. 

However, Gulden also said that West is entitled to a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Yeezys per his royalty agreement.

The Numbers 

Adidas announced in February that, following its divergence from West, it is facing potential sales losses totaling around $1.2 billion and profit losses of around $500 million. 

If it decides to not sell any more Yeezy products, Adidas is facing a projected annual loss of over $700 million.

Outside of West, Adidas has taken several heavy profit blows recently. Its operating profit reportedly fell by 66% last year, a total of more than $700 million. It also pulled out of Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which cost Adidas nearly $60 million dollars. Additionally, China’s “Zero Covid” lockdowns last year caused in part a 36% drop in revenue for Adidas compared to years prior.

As a step towards a solution, Gulden announced that the company is slashing its dividends from 3.30 euros to 0.70 euro cents per share pending shareholder approval. 

Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

“Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful. But we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” Gulden said. “I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time.”

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The New York Times) (CNN)

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Elon Musk Bashes Disabled Ex-Twitter Employee, Gets Blowback

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2 weeks ago

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March 7, 2023

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After Musk claimed the former employee “did no actual work,” the staffer calmly directed passive-aggressive insults right back at the billionaire.

Excuse Me, Do I Still Work Here?

Elon Musk brawled online with a former Twitter employee who didn’t know whether he was fired Tuesday, accusing the staffer of exploiting his disability.

Haraldur “Halli” Thorleifsson, who has muscular dystrophy, joined Twitter in 2021 after it acquired the creative agency he founded: Ueno.

He said on Twitter that he was unable to confirm whether he was still a Twitter employee nine days after being locked out of his work computer, despite reaching out to the head of HR and Musk himself through email.

At the time, Twitter had laid off at least 200 workers, or some 10% of its remaining workforce.

In search of an answer, Thorleifsson tweeted at Musk, who responded with the question: “What work have you been doing?”

After being given permission by Musk to break confidentiality, Thorleifsson listed several of his accomplishments, including leading “design crits to help level up design across the company.”

“Level up from what design to what? Pics or it didn’t happen,” Musk replied.

“We haven’t hired design roles in 4 months. What changes did you make to help with the youths?”

Thorleifsson reminded Musk that he couldn’t access any pictures because he was locked out of his work computer.

Musk stopped replying to the tweets, but hours later he returned to the platform to lob invective at his former employee.

Musk Vs. Halli

“The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm,” Musk tweeted, apparently referring to Thorleifsson. “Can’t say I have a lot of respect for that.”

“But was he fired? No, you can’t be fired if you weren’t working in the first place,” he added.

In a later Twitter thread, Thorleifsson said he could type for one or two hours at a time before his hands cramped, but that in pre-Musk Twitter, that wasn’t a problem because he was a senior director.

He added that despite his crippling disability, he worked hard for years to build Ueno.

“We grew fast and made money,” he said. “I think that’s what you are referring to when you say independently wealthy? That I independently made my money, as opposed to say, inherited an emerald mine.”

Thorleifsson made several more passive-aggressive jabs at Musk.

“I joined at a time when the company was growing fast,” he wrote. “You kind of did the opposite. The company had a fair amount of issues, but then again, most bigger companies do. Or even small companies, like Twitter today.”

Thorleifsson said that immediately following his back-and-forth with Musk, Twitter’s head of HR confirmed that he had indeed been fired from the company.

See what others are saying: (Business Insider) (CNN) (Yahoo)

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