### Issue 1319 - Tuesday 9th March, 2021

## In Today's Issue

- Exchange servers getting popped left right and centre by Chinese hackers
- HealthEngine to run COVID vaccination booking platform for federal government
- No more iMac Pro, John McAfee heading to the slammer, Jack Dorsey sells first tweet, buys Tidal, Vocus to be acquired by Macquarie and a super fund
- Soro adds a bunch of quick actions and workflows for Sonos & iOS devices
- Cheap iPhone SE, Logitech ergo keyboard, Dell 27" monitor, Nintendo Switch, refurb Lenovo micro PC, Tenda Nova mesh wi-fi, Seagate 4TB external & 8TB internal HDDs, Samsung 1TB portable SSD, M1 MacBook Air, AirPods Pro

## The News

### Exchange servers getting popped left right and centre by Chinese hackers

Anyone even lightly connected to administering an Exchange server hopefully already knows this, but there's a huge organised attack on Microsoft Exchange Servers (2010, 2013, 2016, or 2019) by an "unusually aggressive Chinese cyber espionage unit that's focused on stealing email from victim organizations". There's patches for the flaw being exploited but over 60,000 organisations have already been hit and the White House calling it "an active threat". Email is a particularly juicy pie to stick your fingers into as there's so many secrets someone could uncover. I'd feel more violated if someone broke into my email accounts than my actual home!

### HealthEngine to run COVID vaccination booking platform for federal government

Who remembers HealthEngine? They were the Australian company fined $2.9m only a few months ago by the ACCC for "engaging in misleading conduct in relation to the sharing of patient personal information to private health insurance brokers and publishing misleading patient reviews and ratings". I'm sure it's not a problem that the Department of Health has given the same HealthEngine a chunky deal to build a booking platform for GPs and other health services to use for COVID vaccination bookings and information. HealthEngine's CEO said he is "honoured to be selected by the Department of Health for the job".

### No more iMac Pro, John McAfee heading to the slammer, Jack Dorsey sells first tweet, buys Tidal, Vocus to be acquired by Macquarie and a super fund

- Apple has confirmed it is discontinuing the iMac Pro. Once current stock is sold out, it ain't coming back. Why would anyone buy the iMac Pro now? The mind boggles.
- John McAfee has been indicted in the US for flogging cryptocurrency scams, fraud and money laundering. Bloke still hasn't eaten his own dick as promised either.
- Jack Dorsey is selling the first tweet on Twitter as a non-fungible token. Bidding is at US$2.5m and led by Bridge Oracle CEO, Sina Estavi. US$2.5m buys a lot of food for hungry people.
- Jack Dorsey convinced the board of Square to drop US$297m for Tidal, Jay-Z's pissweak music streaming service. Something about "entirely new listening experiences" and "new complementary revenue streams"".
- Vocus has received a formal $3.5b offer from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and Aware Super to acquire it. Don't yet know what their plans are with Australia's 4th biggest telco.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Soro adds a bunch of quick actions and workflows for Sonos & iOS devices

Heads up Sonos fans with iOS devices - you might like an app called Soro that according to its developer, "extends Siri and the Shortcuts app with 24 new actions to control your Sonos speakers. Create quick actions and workflows to control your speakers with the Shortcuts app using widgets, Siri voice commands, or automations". I don't have any Sonos stuff but this looks damn handy. Soro is $9.99 on the Apple App Store.

## Bargains

- iPhone SE 64GB with $40 Vodafone SIM (locked to Voda, $50 to unlock) - $497 at Officeworks
- Logitech K860 wireless ergonomic keyboard - $183.20 from JB Hi-Fi
- Dell 27" S2719DC USB-C 1440p monitor - $422.54 from Dell

Following deals need eBay Plus:

- Nintendo Switch console - $381.65
- Refurbished Lenovo M900 micro PC (i5-6400T, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) - $263.50
- Tenda Nova MW3 3-pack mesh wi-fi - $89.08
- Seagate 4TB external HDD - $84.15
- Samsung T5 1TB portable SSD - $118.15
- Apple M1 MacBook Air 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD - $1359.15
- Apple AirPods Pro - $296.65
- 8TB Seagate Ironwolf SATA 3.5" HDD - $249.90

## The End

📻 Evil Eye - Fu Manchu

😎 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon.

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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.​