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How Russia Used SolarWinds To Hack Microsoft, Intel, Pentagon, Other Networks : NPR

The routine software update may be one of the most familiar and least understood parts of our digital lives. A pop-up window announces its arrival and all that is required of us is to plug everything in before bed. The next morning, rather like the shoemaker and the elves, our software is magically transformed.

Last spring, a Texas-based company called SolarWinds made one such software update available to its customers. It was supposed to provide the regular fare — bug fixes, performance enhancements — to the company's popular network management system, a software program called Orion that keeps a watchful eye on all the various components in a company's network. Customers simply had to log into the company's software development website, type a password and then wait for the update to land seamlessly onto their servers.

The routine update, it turns out, is no longer so routine.

Hackers believed to be directed by the Russian intelligence service, the SVR, used that routine software update to slip malicious code into Orion's software and then used it as a vehicle for a massive cyberattack against America.

NPR

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Falun Gong, Steve Bannon, And The Battle Over Internet Freedom Under Trump : NPR

Of all the disruptions unleashed by the Trump White House on how the federal government typically works, the saga of one small project, called the Open Technology Fund, stands out.

The fantastical tale incorporates the spiritual movement Falun Gong, former White House strategist Steve Bannon, the daughter of a late liberal Congressman, and a zealous appointee of former President Donald Trump.

And specifically, it involves a fierce, months-long battle over whether the U.S. Agency for Global Media and the U.S. State Department should subsidize software developed by adherents of Falun Gong. The decision to prioritize this software stripped money intended for critical apps from a federal fund designed to bolster technology vital to dissidents overseas, officials say. On top of that, once approved for funding, over a six-month period the software served a grand total of four people. That's right, four.

NPR

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Alan Turing Honored As The Face Of The U.K.’s New 50-Pound Bank Note : NPR

The Bank of England has unveiled the new ?50 note featuring mathematician and computer science pioneer Alan Turing, who helped the Allies win World War II with his code-breaking prowess but died an outcast after facing government persecution over his homosexuality.

The bank revealed the note's design and features — which include a number of clever visual references to Turing's work — on Thursday, nearly two years after first announcing that it would honor Turing. The banknote will officially enter circulation on June 23, Turing's birthday.

Google fixes issue causing Android apps to crash with updates to Chrome and WebView – The Verge

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Google fixes issue causing Android apps to crash with updates to Chrome and WebView – The Verge

Some apps were crashing for Android users, but Google has fixed it. The issue was due to a system component called Android System WebView that lets Android apps display web content. Google now has a fix that requires users to update Android System WebView to version 89.0.4389.105 and Google Chrome to the latest version. Both are available on Google Play.

The issues began on Monday afternoon and lasted about seven hours, according to the Google Workspace dashboard for Gmail. The company recommended using the desktop interface until issues were resolved.