President Biden Signs Order to Improve U.S. Cybersecurity

After the attack on Colonial Pipeline, President Biden has signed an executive order to improve the nation’s cybersecurity.

The executive order requires IT service providers to share certain breach information with the government, modernizes and implements stronger cybersecurity standards in the federal government, establishes security standards for development of software sold to the government and will create an “energy star” label so that consumers can better determine whether software was developed securely.

Two Months After it Was discontinued, HomePod Models Remain Available to Purchase

The HomePod was meant to be discontinued on March 12. However, 9to5 Mac picked up on reports of the device’s ongoing availability.

Apple announced that the original HomePod would be discontinued on March 12, as it shifted its focus to the HomePod mini. Here’s what the company said back then: HomePod mini has been a hit since its debut last fall, offering customers amazing sound, an intelligent assistant, and smart home control all for just $99. We are focusing our efforts on the mini model. We are discontinuing the original HomePod, it will continue to be available while supplies last through the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers. Apple will provide customers with software updates and service and support through Apple Care. Over these past two months, evidence has emerged on just how poorly Apple’s smart speaker sold. The YouTuber Michael Kukielka, also known as DetroitBORG, bought at least two HomePods after Apple discontinued the product, and by his surprise, the models he bought were from the launch stock three years ago.

Security Researcher Hacks Apple’s ‘Find My’ Network

Researcher Fabian Bräunlein found that Apple’s Find My location network can be used to “upload arbitrary data to the internet.”

Being inherent to the privacy and security-focused design of the Find My Offline Finding system, it seems unlikely that this misuse can be prevented completely.

CIDA Warns of New Ransomware ‘FiveHands’

FiveHands has been around since January but was recently used in a successful attack against an unknown organization.

Attackers were targeting unpatched SonicWall Secure Mobile Access SMA 100 remote access products, for which patches were released in February. The publicly available tools the group users including the SoftPerfect Network Scanner for Discovery and Microsoft’s own remote administration program, PsExec.exe and its related ServeManager.exe.

SPADE Smart Ear Wax Remover: $86.99

Boom! We have a deal for you today on an earwax remover. I bet you weren’t expecting that, but it works with an app on your iPhone, making it smart. This device has a soft scoop for inside your ear, and a camera that streams to your iPhone so you can see exactly what you’re doing. It has a magnetic cap, too. This device is $99.99, but coupon code CLEAN13 brings it down to $86.99 on checkout.

Official Trailer for '1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything' on Apple TV+

Apple TV+ released the trailer for 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything on Tuesday. The docuseries, which outlines the way music contributed to political and cultural upheaval in that year, will premiere on May 21. The eight episodes include never-before-seen footage from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Joni Mitchell, and Lou Reed.

Amazon Data Breach Exposes 200,000 Fake Reviewers

Security researchers at SafetyDetectives found an insecure ElasticSearch database that potentially uncovers over 200,000 fake Amazon reviewers.

These Amazon vendors send to reviewers a list of items/products for which they would like a 5-star review. The people providing the ‘fake reviews’ will then buy the products, leaving a 5-star review on Amazon a few days after receiving their merchandise.

Upon completion, the provider of the fake review will send a message to the vendor containing a link to their Amazon profile, along with their PayPal details.