Somehow, it is June. That boggles my mind a bit. A quiet holiday weekend in the US was saved by big PC news on Tuesday, and a new Ransomware attack that could have significant implications in North America.
Ransomware Attack Halts Production at World’s Largest Meat Producer
A couple weeks after a ransomware attack took the largest oil pipeline in the United States offline, another attack has hit the largest single meat producer in the world. JBS SA has halted meat production in several plants in the United States, Australia, and one in Canada after suffering what is being called an organized ransomware attack from an entity in Russia. As a result, shortages of meat are expected throughout the US and Canada, as the Canadian plant specifically produces about 1/3 of the country’s meat.
We’re going to be seeing and hearing a lot more of these kinds of attacks. As a reminder a randomware attack is when a person or entity breaches another person or entity and encrypts the data on their computer systems. The attacker then demands a ransom in exchange for unlocking the data. While a properly prepared company does not have to pay the ransom with proper backups, those can take time to restore and a ransomware attack can be very disruptive.
Before the attack on the oil pipeline, most ransomware attacks occurred on smaller, lower profile targets. Ransomware attackers usually do not attack high profile targets, in an attempt to keep flying under the radar of law enforcement. These more significant attacks could signify these groups may want to attack higher profile targets, but it could come at the cost of increased resources to find and stop them.
Tesla Starts Using Cabin Camera for Autopilot
There have been several high profile incidents involving crashes of Tesla vehicles where the operators were not using autopilot correctly. While the autopilot system does require drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel, and can sense that using sensors in the wheel, some people have found ways around that, with terrible consequences. After years of Elon Musk saying the company would not do this, Tesla is updating the software in its vehicles to use the camera in the cabin to detect whether or not there is someone sitting in the driver’s seat. This won’t solve all of the issues with autopilot (the first thing would be to rename it to something more appropriate), but it is another tool to help ensure that the system is being used safely.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/27/22457430/tesla-in-car-camera-driver-monitoring-system
Telus’ “Tech For Good” Initiative Goes Nationwide
Telus launched the Tech For Good program in 2018 in British Columbia and Alberta as a program to support Canadians with disabilities. The goal was to help those Canadians access assistive technologies that would make it easier for them to interact with the “digital world.” Three years later, that program is being expanded to cover all of Canada.
Computex Brings Slew of PC News
Computex is one of the bigger PC hardware events in the world each year. After being cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic, it is back in 2021, albeit in a virtual form. There was a lot in there, so a quick mini roundup within a roundup is in order.
Nvidia Announces RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti
The newest gaming graphics cards from Nvidia are monsters, and designed to combat cryptocurrency mining. The 3080 Ti is a $1200USD card that is essentially identical to the $1500 RTX 3090, just with less video memory. The $600USD 3070 Ti aims to be a better value for dollar card than the $700USD RTX 3080 from earlier this year, featuring faster memory. They both feature hardware limiters to reduce their effectiveness in cryptocurrency mining, an attempt to help with the chronic shortages the industry is facing. They’re good cards, but continue the trend of very expensive video cards, and will likely be even more expensive as demand is still far outstripping supply
AMD announces Ryzen 5600G and 5700G
These desktop processors from AMD feature built in Vega graphics, allowing these processors to be used in computers without dedicated video cards. This fills out a product niche of users who do need the power of the Ryzen processors but do not need dedicated graphics cards for gaming.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3620278/amd-ryzen-5000g-apus-prices-specs-and-availability.html
The AMD RX 6000 Laptop Video Cards Are Here
Nvidia has long held a near monopoly on gaming laptop video cards, as AMD has not had a competitive product in a very long time. AMD is attemping to change that with the RX 6600M, RX 6700M, and RX 6800M laptop graphics cards. The cards are competitive with their Nvidia equivalents, which is good for everyone. I look forward to seeing products with these cards in them.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3620415/amd-announces-three-radeon-rx-6000m-gpus.html
Intel Updates 11th Gen Mobile Lineup
Not to be left out, Intel has some new ultrabook and performance laptop processors. These are new products within the 11th gen lineup, and offer slightly faster performance. These aren’t world changing by any means, but newer, faster products are always good.