United States of America eSeries: iSpy📱

iSpy📱

Posted by :

View in Browser

Tonight: The new iPhone 13, plus the all-new, top-of-the-line iPhone-targeted spyware that'll scare the bejesus out of you. Let's get into it.

by Allison Morrow

📱 APPLE'S BIG DAY

Apple's dependably sleek September event was all about the iPhone 13, and we'll get to that in a minute. But no amount of swoopy drone footage over California redwoods should make us forget Apple's epic security fumble from last night.

First of all, go update your iPhone right now if you haven't already. Seriously, go. We'll wait. (Tap "Settings" ➡️ "General" ➡️ "Software Update")

Like other device makers, Apple issues software updates periodically, but the one it announced Monday night is more critical than most. In short, it patched a security flaw that allowed spyware to infect anyone's iPhone (or iPad, or Apple Watch, or Mac) without so much as a click.

That's right: You wouldn't even have to click a corrupted link and the spyware, called Pegasus, could allow someone to break into your phone and gain access to just about anything they want.

Apple tried to assure users that the spyware, almost certainly made by NSO Group, an Israeli security firm, was "not a threat to the overwhelming majority of our users." But independent researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab said the spyware was used on a Saudi activist's iPhone. And those researchers have previously found evidence of zero-click exploits being used to hack into the phones of journalists. So, yeah, that's bad news.

But hey, it's 2021 – I can't live without a smartphone, and what am I gonna do, switch to Android? Lololololol.

So what's up with this new iPhone 13? Nothing we didn't expect: The camera's better than previous iterations; the battery lasts longer; there are some fun new colors; there's a very expensive version, a medium expensive version, and a less-expensive version. CNN Business' tech crew has everything you want to know.

#️⃣ NUMBER OF THE DAY

125,000

A week after announcing a free-tuition program for employees, Amazon said it plans to hire 125,000 permanent warehouse and logistics workers in the US ahead of the holiday shopping season. The positions have an average starting wage of more than $18 an hour, and in some cases will come with a $3,000 signing bonus.

🌮 TACO-A-DAY

Longtime readers know we at Nightcap are – how to describe it — transfixed by the culinary oddity/evil genius that is Taco Bell.

When it comes to products that sound as if they were invented in the fog of bong rips, no other fast-food empire comes close. A Dorito taco shell? Epic. A bacon cheddar gordita? You don't even know what it means, you just know you need it. "Naked Chicken Chips"? Exactly what they sound like – little triangles of fried chicken, served with nacho cheese. (Those were short-lived on menus in 2017. Someone even made a Change.org petition to get them reinstated. Alas, it didn't work.)

Anyway, my point is, the Bell tries some wacky things, and we appreciate that.

Its latest effort is a subscription service in which you can pay between $5 and $10 per month for a "Taco Lover's Pass." That gets you one free taco a day, for 30 days. I'm not saying it's healthy to eat a Taco Bell taco every day, but, like, it's a pretty solid deal.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Every single day that Wells Fargo continues to maintain these depository accounts is a day that millions of customers remain at risk of additional negligence and willful fraud.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Federal Reserve to break up Wells Fargo following years of scandal at the bank. Warren urged the Fed to revoke Wells Fargo's status as a financial holding company and require it to separate its traditional banking activities from nonbanking activities. In effect, that would break up one of the nation's largest lenders.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

💸 Inflation took a breather in August, coming down from a 13-year high. But price increases remain uncomfortably high compared to before the pandemic.

🥙 The food and drink industry in the UK is warning that shortages caused by Brexit and the pandemic could become permanent.

📥 Intuit is buying Mailchimp, the email newsletter platform, for about $12 billion.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Norm MacDonald died at the age of 61 today, after a long battle with cancer. The tributes rolled in all afternoon. Everyone has their favorite Norm character or winding, acerbic joke. I'll leave you with one of mine: https://bit.ly/3hxGeKM