Can I ask for a quick favour? I'm after a few testimonials from Sizzle subscribers, so randos who discover it via some promotional stuff I've got planned don't think it's dodgy. If you've got a spare minute or two, post on Twitter or Facebook with a short sentence or two about why you subscribe to The Sizzle, with a link to https://thesizzle.com.au so I can find it. It would be a huge help - thanks!
Amazon's VP of Web Services sent out a memo to staff titled "Be safe. Be vigilant" and Facebook sent a similar memo "encouraging everyone to avoid wearing or carrying Facebook-branded items at this time", as both companies are slightly worried about ex-Parler and banned-Facebook users seeking revenge. Australian politicians also didn't like what they saw tech companies do to Trump, starting a "Parliamentary Friends of Making Social Media Safe" group yesterday that's gained 50 MPs as members already. The aim of the group is to "start the conversation" around potential regulation of online discussions. I can't wait for there to be a new government body to deal specifically with how platforms moderate users. Banned from Whirlpool? Straight to the ombudsman!
DarkMarket is one of the more popular darkweb sites selling drugs, counterfeit money, stolen or counterfeit credit card details, anonymous SIM cards, malware and other interesting goodies, with over 500,000 users. Like most darkweb sites that get popular, cops infiltrate it then tear it down - which is exactly what happened to DarkMarket this week. German police arrested a 34 year old Australian man on the Germany-Denmark border, seizing 20 servers in Moldoa and Ukraine. DarkMarket apparently processed over 32,000 sales worth over A$220m. Sounds to me like an Aussie entrepreneur doing well on the global stage! Gotta go overseas if you want to hit the big time.
Most nerds have a sad Bitcoin story (like me, who sold his 13 BTC years ago for fuck all when they'd be worth over $650k now, fuck), but Stefan Thomas' tale is next level. Old mate has 7,002 BTC, worth roughly A$300m, sitting on an IronKey encrypted flash drive that he forgot the passcode to. It'll "seizes up and encrypts its contents forever" after 10 incorrect tries - Stefan has tried 8 times. Alex Stamos jokes he could crack this $50 consumer device's security it for "only" 10% of the Bitcoin. That should be a job, Bitcoin Bounty Hunter.
📻 Dead in a Ditch - Cosmic Psychos
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