Ascension Healthcare hack: We now know how big the May cyberattack really was. Hackers grabbed medical records, payment info, insurance details, IDs and addresses of 5.6 million people. If this breach affects you, watch for a letter via USPS mail. Either way, freeze your credit and get yourself off the Dark Web.
The future is expensive
LG just dropped its brand-new transparent OLED TV. The price tag? A whopping $60,000. The small but see-through 55-inch screen looks pretty cool, and there’s an opaque mode when the novelty wears off. Check out this video to see it in action. Santa, I’d like this for Christmas.
2.5 billion Gmail users
Are at risk of hijacking. In the last half of the year, credential theft soared 700%, and phishing attempts to break into email accounts spiked 200%. Promise me you’re not using your email password for any other accounts!
🇨🇳 More ties to China: Yesterday, I told you about the possible TP-Link ban because of its ties to Communist China. Now, drone maker DJI has dodged a U.S. ban … if only temporarily. This Chinese giant has one year to prove its consumer drones aren’t a national security threat or it’ll be grounded. The main worry? Surveillance and data hacks. The U.S. military and several other organizations have already banned DJI drones.
‼️ 3 email scams spreading now: Look for these three big ones. First up, fake invoices for bills, gifts or whatever. Scammers hope you’re too busy to check and will just pay it. Second, bogus celebrity endorsements — go to their official social media profile or website instead of trusting a random email or ad. And finally, keep an eye out for extortion schemes in your inbox. More crooks are using your personal info and maybe a photo of your home to scare you into paying them. Stay sharp!
Steve Harvey is not dead: Communist China-owned NewsBreak (aka the most downloaded news app in America) ran an AI-generated article this week claiming Steve Harvey died. It went viral on social media, so you might’ve seen it. Spoiler: He’s alive. Now, imagine if that bogus article was about a nuke secretly planted in the USA. Talk about a family feud.
$5,495
Manufacturer’s suggested retail price for Kodak’s new Super 8 video camera. It’s a film and digital hybrid (cool!) and charges via micro-USB (lame). You can add your name to the waitlist if you love vintage-looking footage and have money to burn.
👓 Are smart glasses finally useful? Ray-Ban dropped a major update for its Meta smart glasses. The specs now include Shazam for identifying songs; real-time AI video that captures and describes what’s in front of you; and live translation for Spanish, French and Italian. If the translation alone works well, it’ll be a total travel game-changer. OK, this news was enough for me to buy the $317 glasses. I’ll let you know what I think about them in a month or so. If you have an “early adopter” on your gift list, this would be a great gift!
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$137 million market
For bomb and fallout shelters in the U.S. That figure’s expected to grow another $40 million by 2030 as fears of nuclear war continue to mount. One guy who builds and installs bunkers says his prices start at $20,000, with most averaging around $500,000. All the billionaires building bunkers are definitely inflating this, too.
Potty mouth: Viral sensation “Skibidi Toilet” is coming to Fortnite. You might know that as the phrase kids and tweens won’t stop saying. Other rumored Fortnite crossovers: Anime’s Demon Slayer and Hatsune Miku, plus the return of Spider-Man. Now you have something to talk to your 12-year-old about at Christmas!