The T-Mobile Data Breach Is One You Can’t Ignore | WIRED

August 19, 2021August 16, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

NOT ALL DATA breaches are created equal. None of them are good, but they do come in varying degrees of bad. And given how regularly they happen, it’s understandable that you may have become inured to the news. Still, a T-Mobile breach that hackers claim involved the data of 100 million people deserves your attention, especially if you’re a customer of the “un-carrier.”

As first reported by Motherboard on Sunday, someone on the dark web claims to have obtained the data of 100 million from T-Mobile’s servers and is selling a portion of it on an underground forum for 6 bitcoin, about $280,000. The trove includes not only names, phone numbers, and physical addresses but also more sensitive data like social security numbers, driver’s license information, and IMEI numbers, unique identifiers tied to each mobile device. Motherboard confirmed that samples of the data “contained accurate information on T-Mobile customers.”

T-Mobile is investigating a reported data breach. It sounds real bad. | Mashable

August 17, 2021August 15, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

T-Mobile customers may want to brace for some bad news.

The mobile service provider is investigating a reported data breach that may have exposed the private info of more than 100 million people. The would-be perpetrator is apparently trying to sell off a portion of the data, Vice noted in a Sunday report.

The site spoke with the anonymous author of a forum post offering up roughly one-third of the T-Mobile USA customer data in exchange for 6 bitcoins (worth a bit less than $280,000 as of Aug. 15). While it could all be BS, Vice was able to look at samples of the data and confirm that the seller has “accurate information on T-Mobile customers.”

The new $2.6 million Lamborghini Countach is a hybrid – CNN

August 16, 2021August 15, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Lamborghini has unveiled a brand new $2.6 million supercar with a very familiar name: the Countach.

The original Lamborghini Countach, unveiled as a concept car at the Geneva Motor Show in 1971, made the Italian automaker world famous. The new Countach, unveiled at an event during Monterey Car Week in California Friday, celebrates the 50th anniversary of that debut.

In many regards, the new Countach is a direct descendent of the original. It has a V12 engine, directly behind the two seats. And, like every Lamborghini sports car since the Countach, it’s shaped like a low-profile wedge.

IRS tax refund update: Recovery rebate error notices sent | Fast Company

August 12, 2021August 9, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Remember what it felt like when your teacher marked something as “incorrect” on your homework, but then the correction itself turned out to be incorrect? Well, millions of American taxpayers may feel like they’re in that very situation right now.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued some 5 million “math error notices” that neglected to inform people of their full legal rights, according to an update from the Taxpayer Advocate Service this week. The letters, sent as a result of corrections the IRS made to people’s tax returns, made no mention of a key detail: that taxpayers only have 60 days to dispute the error in question.

Coming Soon For The Unvaccinated: A $50 Monthly Paycheck Deduction From Your Employer | Forbes

August 12, 2021August 9, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Employers are beginning to tack on a special surcharge of $20 to $50 a month to their unvaccinated workers, according to one of the nation’s largest health benefits consultancies.

To date, employers have offered gift cards, a day off from work, cash and other financial incentives to convince their workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

But the carrot approach is about to be joined by a stick that could cost employees up to $50 a month, according to Mercer, the large employee benefits consultancy that works with thousands of employers around the world.

NASA Wants You to Live In a Simulated Mars Environment | Digital Trends

August 10, 2021August 8, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to live on Mars, now is your chance to find out. NASA is recruiting crew members for a simulation mission who will live on a Mars-like environment on Earth for one year.

Simulated missions help agencies figure out what the psychological response to a year of isolation and potentially stressful tasks will be. This is particularly important for a future mission to Mars, which will be farther away from Earth than any human has traveled before.

Planted raises another $21M to expand its growing plant-based meat empire (and add schnitzel) | TechCrunch

August 5, 2021August 2, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Swiss alternative protein company Planted has raised its second round of the year, a CHF 19 million (about $21 million at present) “pre-B” fundraise that will help it continue its growth and debut new products. A U.S. launch is in the cards eventually, but for now Planted’s exclusively European customers will be able to give its new veggie schnitzel a shot.

Planted appeared in 2019 as a spinoff from Swiss research university ETH Zurich, where the founders developed the original technique of extruding plant proteins and water into fibrous structures similar to real meat’s. Since then the company has diversified its protein sources, adding oat and sunflower to the mix, and developed pulled pork and kebab alternative products as well.

Campbell’s soup cans get the first redesign in 50 years | CNN

August 2, 2021August 1, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The labels on Campbell’s soup cans are getting their first redesign in about 50 years.

Eagled-eyed customers will notice that the famed red and white design remains, but the Campbell’s logo is receiving a “modernized logo scripture,” which includes eliminating the shadow and a slightly changed font that is based on founder Joseph Campbell’s original signature.

Other changes include the word “soup” printed in a new font, along with a slanted “O” as a nod to the brand’s original label from 1898. Also, the “C” from the redesigned Campbell’s signature is used in the fleur de lis next to the word soup. Varieties receiving the redesigned labels include tomato, cream of chicken, cream of mushroom and chicken noodle. The redesigned cans are currently rolling out to store shelves.

Poll: Millennials are most likely to have unused gift cards | Fast Company

July 29, 2021July 27, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Millennials have been blamed for killing cereal, cable TV, and so many other things, but what if they’re really killing gift cards?

Bankrate.com has discovered that 51% of U.S. adults forget to use gift cards, vouchers, and store credits, to the tune of $15.3 billion. That’s an average per-person value of $116. Among gift-card delinquents, 56% are millennials with an average per-person value of $139, versus 52% of baby boomers ($113), 47% of Gen Xers ($112), and 46% of Gen Zers ($81).

But millennials aren’t the biggest cohort planning to spend those suckers. Baby boomers are No. 1 on that list, with 63% saying they planned to utilize their outstanding gift cards, vouchers, and store credits, followed by Gen Xers at 54%. Millennials come in at 42% and Gen Zers at 32%.