The Daily Valet. - 6/29/21, Tuesday

✔️ A Hacker's Market

Tuesday, June 29th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I may need to borrow around a million dollars to buy a car at an auction you’ll read about below ...

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

↦ Correction: The Tour de France is approximately 2,121 miles, not 122. Big thanks to reader Marty for being the first to catch that mistake in yesterday’s newsletter.

Today’s Big Story

A Hacker’s Market

Ransomware continues to grow more sophisticated and lucrative, as hackers invest in each other’s operations

Over the past few years, ransomware operations have become increasingly sophisticated as they shake down everyday internet users, giant corporations, and government agencies for ransoms that can sometimes total in the millions of dollars.

Last week, hackers breached a computer used by one of Microsoft’s customer service agents and stole account data they then used to launch “highly targeted” attacks on customers. The company identified the hacking group as Nobelium, the same one behind last year’s major SolarWinds breach.

And on Monday, antivirus company Avast reported a new malware named “Crackonosh” that is currently being hidden in free versions of popular PC games. The malware hijacks your computer so it can be used in crypto mining.

Now, according to the cybersecurity firm LIFARS, the underground world of ransomware is essentially developing its own venture capital ecosystem, with ransomware attackers pooling their funds to back new criminal operations in exchange for a cut of future earnings.

Fast Company says it’s a lot like Silicon Valley. Just like calls for investors are often accompanied by descriptions of founders and their prior achievements—hackers boast about notable previous hacks. The calls to invest take place through secure chat apps like Telegram (where certain groups are accessible only to people who can demonstrate they’re already involved in digital crime) usually by sending a token amount of cryptocurrency traceable to a ransomware incident or something similar to a certain address.

In general, experts have been saying cybercrime—ransomware in particular—is becoming increasingly big business. Cyberattacks increased by 150% in 2020, while the amount paid by victims has tripled. As one information security officer put it: “Everybody’s trying to innovate, even the criminals.”

↦ FYI: ATMs and point-of-sale terminals can be hacked with a wave of your phone, according to research released this week about vulnerabilities in near-field communication card readers.

Your Vaxx Lasts

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines could provide years of protection from COVID-19

The mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna set off a “persistent immune reaction in the body” that may protect against the coronavirus for years, scientists reported on Monday.

Researchers at Washington University found that the vaccinations provided a robust immune response that may not require boosters unless COVID mutates into variants that can evade the vaccine's protection. (Let's hope it does not.) So far, the vaccines appear to protect against all major variants.

If you actually had COVID and then were vaccinated after you recovered, the data suggests you have an even stronger immune response and may never need a booster.

According to the New York Times, the study did not consider the coronavirus vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson, but the scientists said they “expected the immune response to be less durable than that produced by mRNA vaccines.”

↦ Meanwhile: The crowd at Wimbledon gave a standing ovation for a woman who designed the Oxford COVID vaccine.

An Epic Car Collection for Sale

Some of the most sought-after Italian, British and American cars ever

Few drummers rank higher in the rock pantheon than the late Neil Peart, but music wasn't his only passion. The Rush member—who died last year following a long battle with brain cancer—was also a legendary car buff. And now some of the most prized rides are up for grabs.

According to Robb Report, Gooding & Company will auction off a collection of cars Peart lovingly called his “Silver Surfers”. The vehicles in the collection represent some of the most sought-after Italian, British and American cars of the last half century.

The cars include a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, a 1973 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 SS Coupe and a 1970 Lamborghini Miura P400 S. Peart's taste in cars is undeniably good—InsideHook calls this is a collection for the ages. And, as the name suggests, nearly all of the cars are gleaming silver. Except for a ‘64 Shelby Cobra, which by itself, is estimated to sell for about a million bucks.

Motor1 has more details on the auction, which is set to take place on August 13 and 14 in Pebble Beach, California.

Fans Recreate Dumb and Dumber Trip

The two rode a minibike for almost 400 miles

You know, just when I think the internet couldn’t possibly be any dumber, it goes and does something like this ... and totally redeems itself!

Zack Courts and Ari Henning of RevZilla’s Common Tread built a replica of the motorbike from Dumb and Dumber and documented the trials and tribulations that come with riding tandem on that mini-hog from the plains of Nebraska to Aspen, Colorado.

The two built a “street-legal” replica of the same tiny motor bike the duo rode in the movie. And as funny as it sounds, it was actually a pretty brutal trip. They could only go about 35 mph, so the cruising was pretty slow going, especially climbing the steep roads into the Rocky Mountains.

In the end, they logged 382 miles and burned seven gallons of gas (plus two and a half rear tires). And you can watch the whole thing on YouTube.

↦ FYI: According to Decider, one of Jim Carrey’s best line from the film wasn’t ever in the script.

In Other News

↦ Judge Dismisses FTC and State Antitrust Complaints Against Facebook

↦ Scientists Discover ‘Time Cells’ in the Brain That Enable ‘Mental Time Travel’

↦ ‘The Office’ Almost Had a Very Different Theme Song: A Legendary Pop Hit

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Nikea?

Driving the new Bronco

This model’s wild LA home

Going Grey?

Don’t worry. Do this instead.

There are some universal truths when it comes to those pesky grey hairs. They show up when you least expect it and they arrive much quicker than you were anticipating. Some Valet. staffers spotted their first greys in their mid-20s while others in their 40s have yet to sprout one. I'm not saying which group I fall in ...

Those damn grey hairs don't play fair. The first thing to remember is that this is not a sign of your youth fading. “There are two main factors that cause grey hair: the decrease in melanogenesis and the increase in oxidative stress in the hair bulb,” says celebrity hairstylist Jay Small, who's become something of an expert in fighting greys.

“We have found that beards are where most men identify their grey hair first—this is because the rate of growth in beards is so much faster than head hair.” If you've recently noticed more grey than you'd like to see, you have some options. We spoke with some experts to get a professional's advice on what to do.

↦ Read: A four-point plan for getting your color back.

Best White Sneakers

Samba vegan sneaker, $90 by adidas

Since time immemorial, there have stood a few menswear concepts considered so simple yet so sacred that even the most casual dresser is fully aware of them. Rule number one of that list? White sneakers go with everything, and are therefore a must have in any wardrobe. This season's shoes are no exception to the great rule: Easy to pair, easy to wear. However, that doesn't mean that there's not room for a little something more. Browse our top picks for the best white sneakers of the summer below.