Hillicon Valley: Massachusetts ferry operator hit by ransomware attack | Trump blog page is permanently shut down | Amazon takes big step in e-book deal with libraries, but activists seek more
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A ransomware attack hit the largest ferry service operator to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Meanwhile, former President Trump’s blog permanently shut down after its 29-day run, and Amazon agreed to a deal to license the books it publishes to libraries but activists say the deal doesn’t go far enough.
THE HACKING SPREE CONTINUES: The largest ferry service operator to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket was hit by a ransomware attack Wednesday that hampered some operations, the latest in a string of cyberattacks in recent weeks.
The Steamship Authority of Massachusetts announced the attack on Twitter, noting that delays to service were likely.
“The Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority has been the target of a ransomware attack that is affecting operations as of Wednesday morning,” the Steamship Authority tweeted. “As a result, customers traveling with us today may experience delays.”
“A team of IT professionals is currently assessing the impact of the attack,” the company added. “Additional information will be provided upon completion of the initial assessment.”
The attack comes amid a string of ransomware attacks on U.S. companies and organizations that have increasingly raised serious concerns about the impact of hacks on daily life.
Read more about the attack here.
29 DAYS LATER…: Former President Trump’s blog, where he shared statements with supporters after being banned from social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, has been shut down.
Trump launched the website, dubbed “From the Desk of Donald Trump,” last month to communicate with supporters. The site now only allows users to submit their email addresses and phone numbers to sign up for updates from the former president.
Trump senior aide Jason Miller confirmed to The Hill that the blog will not be returning, calling it “auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on.”
BIG BOOK DEAL: Amazon reached a deal to license its e-books to libraries nationwide shortly before a Maryland state bill became law that would force the e-commerce giant to make that material available to libraries in the state.
“The fact that Amazon is working with libraries at all is to be celebrated. They’ve been holding out, and now they are. Are there things that could be better, yes,” Michael Blackwell, director of St. Mary’s County Library in Maryland, told The Hill.
Although the deal is a big step, digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future said it does not go far enough and lawmakers and librarians in other states are considering similar proposals that would put additional pressure on Amazon to make its e-books and audiobooks accessible to libraries.
Maryland’s bill that would require any publisher that offers a license to an electronic literary product to also offer to license the product to public libraries in the state became law without Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) signature over the weekend. It passed both chambers unanimously earlier this year.
JOINING THE CALL: A group of Senate Democrats is urging Google and its parent company Alphabet to conduct a racial equity audit, citing concerns over the company’s algorithms, products and workplace environment.
“We can no longer rely on promises and need Alphabet to take affirmative steps to protect Black people and other people of color. A racial equity audit is long overdue,” the senators wrote in a letter Wednesday.
The letter led by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) comes more than a month after civil rights organization Color of Change launched a petition also urging the Silicon Valley giant to conduct a racial equity audit.
DOMESTIC VACCINE APP CRITICISM: A new report is warning that apps to track the coronavirus vaccination status of Americans are ineffective, amplify existing inequalities and pose thorny privacy issues.
“As the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)] guidance evolves and we start to see increasingly different recommendations for those of us who are and aren’t vaccinated it puts greater pressure on the public, businesses and governments to figure out who has got a shot,” said Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), which released the report. “It’s kind of alarming that so much faith is being put in such an unproven technology.”
With vaccination rates steadily climbing and businesses reopening their doors, some governments and companies have proposed digital credentials to make sure only inoculated Americans can enter. While documentation for international travel — like the World Health Organization’s “Yellow Card” — is commonplace, some of the methods in development domestically have alarmed the public and experts alike.
The watchdog’s report released Wednesday focuses on New York state’s Excelsior pass, the country’s first government issued vaccine passport. The tool, which can be downloaded on either phones or computers, generates a QR code that businesses and venues can scan to verify proof of vaccination or a negative test.
The Excelsior Pass, developed by IBM and Salesforce, has been downloaded over a million times since the voluntary program was launched in March.
The nonprofit’s report cautions that the passes can easily be forged, greatly diminishing their effectiveness. Cahn said he downloaded another New Yorker’s pass using only information available on social media in just 11 minutes.
Projects like the Vaccine Credential Initiative spearheaded by Microsoft and the Mayo Clinic and Walmart’s vaccine app developed in collaboration with Clear will likely have similar vulnerabilities, Cahn predicts.
REVIEW IT: A nonprofit created by Biden allies and campaign advisers on Wednesday called on Facebook to review whether its actions contributed to the spread of baseless election fraud claims that ultimately fueled the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol breach.
In a letter reviewed by Politico, the Building Back Together nonprofit called on Facebook to conduct an internal probe, echoing recommendations that were made by the company’s oversight board last month.
Bob Bauer, a former Obama administration staffer, Biden campaign adviser and Building Back Together senior voting rights adviser, urged Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to make “an unequivocal commitment to the complete and public review suggested by the Oversight Board.”
Lighter click: Leave them alone!
An op-ed to chew on: Protecting American data is the real crisis in national security
NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB:
Amazon’s Cost Saving Routing Algorithm Makes Drivers Walk Into Traffic (Motherboard / Lauren Kaori Gurley)
JBS will be back up and running Wednesday after its hack. But for some employees, that’s too late (CNN / Brian Fung)
Khaby Lame, the Everyman of the Internet (New York Times / Jason Horowitz and Taylor Lorenz)
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