### Issue 1700 - Tuesday 27th September, 2022

## In Today's Issue

- Optus "hacker" changes mind, deletes data and apologises
- Australian Senate Standing Committees on Economics to investigate Big Tech
- TPG announces 3G network shutdown on 15th December 2023
- Lossless Bluetooth audio at last
- Cheap Razer gaming mouse, 70mai dashcam, Anker USB charger, Cygnett AirTag cases & USB power banks

## The News

### Optus "hacker" changes mind, deletes data and apologises

The "hacker" that snagged all the Optus customer data released an additional 10,000 customer records and threatened to release more unless the USD$1m ransom is paid. But not long after doing that, deleted the post and put up a new one saying "Too many eyes. We will not sale [sic] data to anyone. We can't if we even want to: personally deleted data from drive (Only copy)" and apologised to Optus, saying "they would have reported the exploit if Optus had made it possible to report". I have two theories as to what happened here - 1. the script kiddie didn't realise the world of pain they're in and are now scrambling to pretend it never happened, or 2. Optus did pay the ransom but told them to say they didn't pay. Some other news about Optus being shit at computers and exposing the personal details of almost half the country:

- The federal government has launched "Operation Hurricane", combining "hundreds" of public servants across "several agencies" to do "whatever we can to help protect Australians who are affected by this breach". Most of them are probably the AFP looking for this kid.
- ASX listed law firm Slater and Gordon smell blood in the water and are "investigating a potential class action case against Optus". They're thinking there's some legit damages to be claimed by people who inevitably have their personal info used maliciously.
- The Liberal party, wanting to appear like they're doing something, has "reintroduced the former government's ransomware bill without significant alterations", even though no ransomware was used against Optus. Serious jail time for people deploying it and cops get cryptocurrency seizure powers.
- The NSW government is "working with Optus to make the process of re-issuing of NSW identity documents as seamless as possible", including getting Optus to pay the re-issue fees for anyone doing this. It's the fucken least they could do.

### Australian Senate Standing Committees on Economics to investigate Big Tech

Nevermind the ACCC's long running Digital Platforms Inquiry, the Senate Standing Committees on Economics will do its own poking and prodding of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft's "market shares, vertical integration, algorithms, and protection of children’s data, as well as recent regulatory efforts for digital platforms, the broader impacts of market power concentration on consumers, competition and the economy". You can view the terms of reference and other details about the inquiry on the Australian Parliament's website. A report will be handed down by the end of 2023. The inquiry is very broad, so who knows what laws will percolate as a result.

### TPG announces 3G network shutdown on 15th December 2023

TPG/Vodafone has announced it'll shut down its 3G network on 15 December 2023. Apparently 3G makes up only 0.5% of connections and is hogging some quality spectrum that's more useful on 4G or 5G instead. Telstra previously announced it will turn off its 3G network (which is mostly running on the premium 850MHz spectrum) in June 2024. Optus hasn't made any announcements about the permanent closure of 3G yet, but turned off 2100MHz 3G a few months ago. I think they're a little busy at the moment, might be a while until they make a statement on further 3G network shut downs.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Lossless Bluetooth audio at last

The Verge has had some hands on (ears on?) time with Qualcomm's AptX Lossless Bluetooth audio codec via a pair of NuraTrue Pro wireless earbuds - the only earbuds on the market (as of mid-October) I'm aware of that support AptX Lossless, which isn't that widely supported on the phone side either. Bluetooth's shitty bandwidth means any audio going between your device to your cool wireless earbuds is compressed, which kinda sucks if you're listening to already compressed music. With AptX Lossless, the audio is still compressed, but losslessly, so technically should sound identical to the source. The verdict? "I'd struggle to call the improvements offered by AptX Lossless transformative. But it felt like it added that little extra bit of detail that I often didn't realize I was missing".

## Bargains

- Razer DeathAdder V2 Ergonomic Mouse Wired - $43.99 from Amazon
- 70mai 1S Smart Dash Cam - $57 from Aliexpress
- Anker PowerPort 6 USB charger - $33.99 from Amazon
- Cygnett clearance sale (AirTag cases & USB power banks the best deals) - free postage if spend is $50+

## The End

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