Welcome to issue #17 of the Dithering Digest Weekly Tech Roundup of geeky news and links.
Big chunk of cyber security news this week and a lot going on for Apple with the release of the DMA complaint iOS 17.4 update with third party app marketplaces. And the beef with Epic Games continues.
Have a lovely weekend, and enjoy the links.
AI Voice cloner scams - beware
AI is the gift that keeps on giving. Fake images that are hard to debunk, new video generation abilities and now scammers using voice cloning techniques to relieve you of your hard earned cash.
This latest scam clones the voice of a family member to pull at your heartstrings as if they are in danger, dropping your guard and sending money. Read this article to stay savvy and avoid getting scammed.
🔗 https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-ai-voice-clone-family-scam/
Change Healthcare ransomware extortion tops 22 Million USD
One of America’s largest healthcare and pharmacy groups was recently hit with a ransomware attack. The US Government has sent teams of experts to help speed up the recovery but it looks like they have paid out 22 million to the scammers to get decryption keys. Who says crime doesn’t pay?
🔗 https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/04/alphv_ransom_payment/
Ransomware stops beer production
The healthcare disruption is one thing, but Duval is a particular favourite beer of mine! The Dutch brewer was hit with ransomware and have ceased production whilst the IT teams clean up the damage.
Have these hackers no decency?
🔗 https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/07/no_piss_up_in_duvels/
How to set static IP on Raspberry Pi OS 12 Bookworm
Setting a static IP address on Linux is something I always have to look up. Sometimes it’s set in a file, sometimes a utility, and varies by distribution and version.
If you are running a Pi-based server, this article from Jeff Geerling will help with that.
🔗 https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2024/set-static-ip-address-nmtui-on-raspberry-pi-os-12-bookworm
EU fines Apple almost $2 billion
Long running investigations about Apple’s “anti-steering” rules have ended up with the EU siding with Spotify and ruling that Apple’s practices were illegal, even before the new DMA rules are introduced. The result is a whopping $1.8 billion fine for Apple, which of course they claim is wrong and will fight.
The EU is taking no crap from Apple and perhaps making them a scapegoat to put the fear into other tech firms.
🔗 https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/04/eu_apple_fine/
Apple released iOS 17.4 - the big EU update
Apple has released iOS 17.4 which contains all of the changes required to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act which came into effect this month.
Read about all the changes in this article from MacStories.net
The Apple vs Epic saga continues
Apple would do well to stay out of the headlines and the regulators’ sight for a while, but they just can’t help themselves. After giving Epic Games a developer account in Sweden to allow building of a third party app marketplace (as now allowed by the EU DMA) Apple then banned the account.
There was a fiery blast on Twitter / X from Tim Sweeney CEO of Epic and a fairly icy statement from Apple PR in response backing up their decision to ban Epic.
However just today, Apple appears to have reversed the decision perhaps fearing further fines and action from the EU.
Something tells me we haven’t heard the end of this.
🔗 https://sixcolors.com/post/2024/03/epics-app-store-developer-account-restored-in-europe-once-again/
Computer Joke of the Week
Where do computers go to dance?
The disk-O.
If you have any cool projects or tinkering you are doing, let us know and we will feature it in future issues of the digest. I would love to hear what you are all dithering on!
Until next week, happy dithering!
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