The Daily Valet. - 7/16/20, Thursday

✔️ Who Saw That Coming?

July 16, 2020

Thursday, July 16th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Hang onto your bitcoin!

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Highjacked Tweets

Bitcoin scam breaches some of world’s most prominent Twitter accounts

An unprecedented hacking spree rocked Twitter Wednesday in what NBC News is calling “one of the most visible cyberscams in the internet’s history.”

Twitter accounts belonging to Bill Gates, President Barack Obama, Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian, among other prominent handles, were compromised in what Twitter said it believes to be an attack on some of its employees with access to the company’s internal tools.

“We detected what we believe to be a coordinated social engineering attack by people who successfully targeted some of our employees with access to internal systems and tools,” Twitter’s support team told CNN late Wednesday.

According to WIRED, several high-profile, million-plus-follower accounts were compromised Wednesday afternoon, each in service of a bitcoin scam that has already earned the hackers behind it well over $100,000 in a few short hours. (And counting.) In response, Twitter blocked many, if not all, verified accounts from tweeting.

Twitter quickly removed many of the fraudulent messages, but in some cases similar tweets were still being sent again from the same accounts, suggesting that Twitter was powerless to regain control, reports the New York Times.

“Tough day for us at Twitter. We all feel terrible this happened,” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted. “We’re diagnosing and will share everything we can when we have a more complete understanding of exactly what happened.”

↦ FYI: This kind of bitcoin scam is classic, although usually it involves people impersonating celebrity accounts rather than actually hacking them.

A Pandemic of Plastic Pollution

COVID-19 has brought about a surge of single-use plastics and litter

Have you noticed all the masks and gloves littering the streets and sidewalks lately? Every time I see them, I get infuriated. It seems so reckless, so arrogant. But there's a bigger problem here.

As the world produces more protective equipment to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and gorges on takeout deliveries, there's a lot more plastic to deal with as a result. According to The Economist, consumption of single-use plastics has grown by nearly 300% in America since the coronavirus took hold.

Pre-pandemic, “Bring your own” tote bags, mugs and other foodware had become part of daily life for many of us. Now, single-serve disposable plastic cups and lids, wrapped straws and condiment packets are the default. And households are generating up to 50% more waste by volume than they did back in February.

What's more, lockdowns and social distancing has led to the closure of 146 recycling programs across 35 states, which disrupted the recycling of 88,000 tons of material by mid-June.

↦ FYI: According to WIRED, you should just be disinfecting your reusable bags—the real issue is an airborne virus, not infected shopping totes.

Notre-Dame’s Redesign Is Settled

And it will look exactly the same ...

More than a year since a devastating fire destroyed major parts of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, French president Emmanuel Marcon has confirmed that the church's iconic toppled spire will be rebuilt exactly as it was, reports Architectural Digest.

This is a change for Marcon, who previously said he imagined a new vision for the rebuilt Notre-Dame. “A contemporary architectural gesture,” Macron said at the time, could make Notre-Dame “even more beautiful.”

But the idea that the original spire—conceived by French architect Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century—would be replaced with a modern reimagining was met with raised eyebrows from some architects, academics and Parisians. According to a poll, 55% of French citizens favored the original.

There are still huge challenges to building a high-fidelity recreation of the 1800s spire, according to Popular Mechanics. Finding timbers that can meet and match the original design is hard in a world that has largely moved beyond heavy timber construction at this scale. The builders should find time and space to add fire suppression technology, and that will require extra work. They will also need to match stone and glass and other materials.

↦ FYI: Last month, workers began removing the 200 tons of metal scaffolding (melted by the flames) that had been in place around the cathedral due to an in-progress restoration project.

Apple’s Digital Car Keys Are Here

Lock and unlock your compatible car from your iPhone or Apple Watch

Here's a fun, futuristic little touch of good news. Apple rolled out its digital car key feature as part of today's watchOS 6.2.8 update, as well as iOS 13.6, which dropped earlier in July, reports Engadget.

CarKey was formally announced last month by Apple at their WWDC conference, and if you've missed it, it's pretty freaking cool. With select cars, you can unlock the vehicle by tapping your iPhone or Apple Watch on the vehicle's door handle. The feature will be available on most new BMWs, and Ford has also announced support for CarKey in its upcoming models.

According to Forbes, you can use the same mechanism to start the engine, too. Oh, and you can share the digital car keys with others via iMessage, and easily cancel the key, too.

What's more, once you've gained entry, simply place the device on the central Qi charger and hit the ignition button to turn the vehicle on. The system will work even if your phone is dead thanks to a small power reserve that lasts for up to five hours after your battery dies. Get in, start the car and then recharge your iPhone battery as you drive.

↦ FYI: Other iOS updates include a HealthKit modification so new symptoms such as fever tracking, headaches, chills and sore throats can be included.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Outfitting your outdoor space

Ice cream trucks

Cycling fashion

The Cost of Giving Up Our Commutes

The chain reaction of empty streets and WFH

If you've been feeling more tired lately, it could be a side effect of working from home.

According to CBS News, a new study found that over 60% of those working from home are becoming sleep deprived because they're staying up later. Why? Because they don't feel rushed to get to work. Almost half of those questioned admitted to getting out of bed within 10 minutes of starting work.

And since so few of us are leaving the house, a myriad of ancillary industries have been hit hard, from lattes and fragrances to podcasts.

The consulting company McKinsey estimates that revenue for the global grooming industry could be down by as much as 30% this year as primping and preening fall to a minimum and masks take the place of lipstick.

↦ FYI: Food trucks have also been hurt by the lack of commuters grabbing early morning snacks or lunch, although some carts were able to move to hospitals.