Tech review: FBI issues alert on ransomware gang
Mastercard has retrofitted a 19th-century building in Manhattan's Flatiron District for the hybrid office work. Credit: Bloomberg/Amir Hamja
The FBI has released a "flash alert" warning of the dangers posed by an aggressive ransomware gang known as OnePercent Group. After gaining access to corporate networks, encrypting files and stealing sensitive data, OnePercent contacts the company via phone calls, demanding a ransom to decrypt files. The FBI says OnePecent will "persistently demand to speak with a victim company’s designated negotiator," threatening to publish the stolen data. Like most ransomware attackers, OnePercent, which has been hitting U.S. companies since November, gains access to systems via emails with genuine-looking Word or Excel attachments. If the recipient opens the attachment, ransomware is unleashed on the network.
Amazon has been selling TVs for years, and now it’s also making them. The retail giant announced a line of the first-ever "Amazon-built" Fire TVs that come with hands-free voice control powered by Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. The 4K TVs are available in several sizes with the largest -- a 75-inch model -- priced at $1,099.99. The TVs will be available next month at Amazon and Best Buy.
Only 25¢ for 5 months
The FBI has released a "flash alert" warning of the dangers posed by an aggressive ransomware gang known as OnePercent Group. After gaining access to corporate networks, encrypting files and stealing sensitive data, OnePercent contacts the company via phone calls, demanding a ransom to decrypt files. The FBI says OnePecent will "persistently demand to speak with a victim company’s designated negotiator," threatening to publish the stolen data. Like most ransomware attackers, OnePercent, which has been hitting U.S. companies since November, gains access to systems via emails with genuine-looking Word or Excel attachments. If the recipient opens the attachment, ransomware is unleashed on the network.
Amazon making its own TVs
Amazon has been selling TVs for years, and now it’s also making them. The retail giant announced a line of the first-ever "Amazon-built" Fire TVs that come with hands-free voice control powered by Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. The 4K TVs are available in several sizes with the largest -- a 75-inch model -- priced at $1,099.99. The TVs will be available next month at Amazon and Best Buy.
Sweet reboot
Strawberry Shortcake, one of the most popular children's franchises of the 1980s, is making a comeback online. The reboot debuted as a YouTube show Saturday, with the Strawberry Shortcake character updated with a more modern look and a group of multiracial friends. Strawberry Shortcake was a retailing juggernaut in the 1980s, bringing in $500 million a year in toys, dolls and other licensed consumer products.
Historic NY building remade for hybrid work
Mastercard has retrofitted a 19th-century building in Manhattan's Flatiron District for the hybrid era of office work. The space, designed with social distancing and remote work in mind, has telephone booths that allow workers to take video calls privately and conference rooms for in-person and remote meetings. The payments giant is quadrupling the size of its New York workforce to about 1,000.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.