How Telegram Became the Anti-Facebook

Plus: DoJ seized $3.6 Billion in Stolen Cryptocurrency, Donation site for Ottawa trucker's exposed donors' data, and more ...

Today’s Picks

How Telegram Became the Anti-Facebook

(Darren Loucaides via WIRED) Hundreds of millions of users. No algorithm. No ads. Courage in the face of autocracy. Sound like a dream? Careful what you wish for. Read more.

Darren Loucaides @DarrenLoucaides

Telegram is determined to topple Zuckerberg. It's also loved by the global far-right and Trump movement. And its founder Pavel Durov runs it in complete opacity. Better the devil you know? I spent a year on this giant dive into Telegram for @WIRED

wired.comHow Telegram Became the Anti-FacebookHundreds of millions of users. No algorithm. No ads. Courage in the face of autocracy. Sound like a dream? Careful what you wish for.

Justice Department Says It Seized $3.6 Billion Stolen in Cryptocurrency Exchange Hack

(Dustin Volz via Wall Street Journal) The value of the bitcoin at the time it was seized last week marks the department’s largest-ever financial seizure. Read more.

Dustin Volz @dnvolz

New: The Justice Department said it seized over $3.6 billion worth of digital currency stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex hack and arrested two suspects for allegedly trying to launder the proceeds. Officials said it is the largest financial seizure ever by DoJ.

wsj.comJustice Department Says It Seized $3.6 Billion Worth of Bitcoin Stolen in 2016 HackThe value of the bitcoin at the time it was seized last week marks the department’s largest-ever financial seizure, officials said.

Donation site for Ottawa trucker's 'Freedom Convoy' protest exposed donors' data

(Zack Whittaker via TechCrunch) The donation site used by truckers in Ottawa who are currently protesting against national vaccine mandates has fixed a security lapse that exposed passports and driver's licenses of donors. Read more.

Zack Whittaker @zackwhittaker

New: GiveSendGo, the donation site used by the Ottawa trucker's "Freedom Convoy" protest after its GoFundMe campaign was frozen last month, left an S3 bucket open that exposed donors' passports and driver's licenses.

techcrunch.comDonation site for Ottawa truckers’ ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest exposed donors’ data – TechCrunchGiveSendGo exposed passports and driver’s licenses used to validate the payments of donors.

The metaverse is a new word for an old idea

(Genevieve Bell via MIT Technology Review) To understand what we are—and should be—building, we need to look beyond Snow Crash. Read more.

Genevieve Bell @feraldata

A little bit of me talking the prehistories of the metaverse ... In @techreview

technologyreview.comThe metaverse is a new word for an old ideaTo understand what we are—and should be—building, we need to look beyond Snow Crash.

Microsoft Considers Pursuing a Deal for Cybersecurity Firm Mandiant

(William Turton via Bloomberg) Microsoft Corp. is considering making a bid for cybersecurity-research and incident response company Mandiant Inc., according to a person familiar with the discussions, a deal that would bolster efforts to protect customers from hacks and breaches. Read more.

Dina Bass @dinabass

Microsoft is in talks to acquire cybersecurity firm Mandiant, sources tell us. bloomberg.com/news/articles/… By @WilliamTurton @LianaBaker and me

bloomberg.comBloomberg - Are you a robot?

Silicon Valley's workforce is fleeing for crypto, Web3, recruiters say

(Katie Canales via Business Insider) Recruiters say workers are leaving Silicon Valley giants for crypto and Web3 endeavors. They're making the leap in part to cash in early on what they view as the future of the industry. Read more.

Katie Canales @KatieCanales1

Recruiters told me Big Tech execs + devs are jumping ship to Web3 to cash in early on what they view as the future of the industry. "We are unquestionably seeing some of the best and brightest of Silicon Valley, or tech, move over to crypto," one said.

businessinsider.comSilicon Valley is no longer the edgy tech frontier as workers flee Google and Amazon for crypto and Web3 startups, recruiters say“I’ve never seen a change happen this quickly,” one recruiter said as many make the jump from Meta and Google to join crypto and Web3 endeavors.

A geomagnetic storm may have effectively destroyed 40 SpaceX Starlink satellites

(Sean Hollister via The Verge) Elon Musk's satellite internet service Starlink just got dealt an expensive blow — the company's currently estimating that 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites it launched on February 3rd will be destroyed because of a geomagnetic storm. Read more.

The Verge @verge

A geomagnetic storm may have effectively destroyed 40 SpaceX Starlink satellites theverge.com/2022/2/8/22924…

That’s all for today! Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care,

— Jose Montes de Oca

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