Facebook just invented… Facebook

The Russian hackers who interfered in 2016 are back 

The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology 09.11.20 Good morning! Today: Facebook has invented...Facebook. Also, the Russian hackers who targeted the 2016 election have returned. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Facebook just invented… Facebook   The news: Facebook has unveiled a new product called Facebook Campus: “a college-only space designed to help students connect with fellow classmates over shared interests.” Sound familiar? Campus appears to be a throwback to the first days of Facebook, when a person had to have a college email address and attend a select group of universities to be able to join. It’s currently available only to students at 30 US universities and requires a college email address to register. How does it work? It’s a separate profile linked to a Facebook profile. Students can enjoy special-interest groups and check out events that are occurring around campus. (Yes, we’re having déjà vu too.) Is there anything original? Perhaps the most noteworthy departure from the original iteration of Facebook is the chat function. Campus Chats are real-time, which means anyone can join at any time and chime in. Read the full story. —Tanya Basu The Russian hackers who interfered in 2016 are back The news: Russian military hackers responsible for cyberattacks against Democratic targets during the 2016 American election are now targeting over 200 organizations in the United States, according to Microsoft, which is increasingly calling out Russian cyber espionage. What’s going on? In the final weeks before the November 3 election, the Russian hackers are employing new tactics, tools, and ways to disguise their role in the attacks. Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaign was specifically targeted by the Russian hackers. None of the attacks were successful. How they’re doing it: The hacking group has long relied on spearphishing, a hacking tactic that tricks a targeted individual into giving up key passwords. This time, the group is taking a different approach with brute-force and password-spraying attacks, a shift in tactics that allows for both larger-scale attacks and greater anonymity for the attackers. Read the full story. —Patrick Howell O’Neill We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + A transatlantic wedding that went ahead despite the odds.   + A lifestream of an orphaned baby sea otter, rescued by Vancouver’s Marine Mammal Rescue Center in July.    + A day in the life of Tiptoe, a 175-pound Tortoise.   + Did Missy Elliott invent the Gmail logo?!   + The highest resolution photo ever taken (and it’s of broccoli).  The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Western Europe is the global covid-19 epicenter again It’s surpassed the US in new daily infections. (Bloomberg)   + France recorded 10,000 new infections in a single day. (BBC)   + We’re becoming numb to the coronavirus. (Axios)   + Speaking quietly cuts the spread of covid-19. (Sky)  2 The California wildfires are just the start It’s only going to get hotter and drier in the foreseeable future. (Buzzfeed)   + Why wildfire smoke is so bad for your lungs. (The Conversation)   + It may not be worth replanting in some areas. (Axios)   + California natives are grappling with a terrifying new world. (Esquire)  3 How conspiracy theories are shaping US politics “They aren’t just infected with conspiracy; they appear to be inoculated against reality.” (Time)   + Women are at the forefront of QAnon. (NYT $)  4 How TikTok’s algorithm works It is incredibly addictive—and the ultimate filter bubble. (Axios)   + Trump’s still insisting it’ll be banned in the US if it hasn’t been bought in the next four days. (Ars Technica)  5 How the US war on Huawei will help Chinese tech It will spend about as much as Amazon on R&D this year. (The Economist $)   + The coming tech cold war with China looks like one where everyone loses. (Foreign Affairs)   + “Decoupling” would backfire. (WP $)  6 NASA will pay for moon rocks excavated by private companies There’s up to $25,000 in it, but it’s not about the money. (TR)   7 Voting machines shouldn’t impair a fair election 🗳️ Most problems with them are minor, and caused by old tech, not hackers. (The Markup)   + Twitter says it’s stepping up its fight against election misinformation. (WP $)   + Google has promised to block autocomplete for searches that suggest voting outcomes. (CNBC)   + Security experts share their worst fears. (NYT $)  8 Gender reveal parties are stupid 🥳 No one cares apart from the parents. And gender and sex aren’t the same thing anyway. (NYT $)   9 How to get everybody in the US online The downsides of having no internet connection have become radically worse during the pandemic. (Recode)   10 What makes a good “virtual” leader? Finally, being a doer is more important than being a talker. (BBC) Prepare to lead with innovation at EmTech MIT. Our annual flagship event on emerging technology and trends is going online. Join us as we examine the technology driving and the forces influencing our digital world: AI, biomedicine, cybersecurity, diversity, equality, global-scale technology, and more. Register now. Take a stand “People were planting them and have planted them.” —Jennifer Holton, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, tells Motherboard how some Americans responded to receiving mystery seeds from China in the post. Top image credit: Facebook Please send moon rocks to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free From prevention to response Join us online | December 2-3, 2020 View this in a browser You received this newsletter because you subscribed with your email address *Edit email preferences   |   *Unsubscribe from all emails Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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