daily plain-text briefing: security, markets, business, and pittsburgh
Seven unpatched FatFs flaws expose millions of embedded devices as extortionists skip encryption and cheap Telegram gigs harvest selfie videos for fraud.
Latest developments: Frank McKenna's Frank on Fraud flagged on July 5 a Telegram recruiting ad called the Face Motion Video Project that pays $7 for a few minutes of work uploading selfie videos, footage he suspects feeds fraud.
The advertisement offers recruits $7 to hand over short selfie videos of themselves, material that could feed deepfake creation or identity-verification fraud; job seekers should treat any selfie-for-pay gig as a warning sign.
Sources: Frank on Fraud · ↑ top
Latest developments: The Hacker News on July 4 published Rakesh Krishnan's Ransom-ISAC reconstruction, built from a leaked negotiation chat and the blockchain trail the payment left, showing Kairos took the money without locking a single file and may not be a ransomware gang at all.
Kairos ran pure data-theft extortion against an unnamed U.S. government entity, threatening to leak stolen files unless it paid; the case shows extortion crews increasingly drop encryption and rely on leak threats alone.
Sources: The Hacker News · ↑ top
Latest developments: The Hacker News on July 3 laid out runZero's seven still-unpatched FatFs flaws by device class, naming the security cameras, drones, industrial controllers, and hardware crypto wallets whose firmware reads FAT and exFAT USB drives and SD cards through the library.
FatFs is a small filesystem library embedded in the firmware of millions of devices, and runZero found seven vulnerabilities that carry no fix; device makers must watch for vendor patches and restrict untrusted removable media.
Sources: The Hacker News · ↑ top
Latest developments: NATO's heads of state opened a summit in Ankara on July 5 centered on whether members can turn pledged spending increases into actual weapons, with a signaled U.S. troop drawdown from Europe hanging over the talks.
Secretary-general Mark Rutte pressed the alliance to convert swelling defense budgets into munitions, warning that contractors are straining to keep pace with orders, as an American move to pull forces from the continent rattled allies watching Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Latest developments: Nominations opened July 5 in Labour's leadership contest, positioning Andy Burnham to succeed Keir Starmer as UK prime minister as soon as July 20.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is on course to enter Downing Street within weeks even as allies warn he has yet to form a cabinet, while the SNP and English regions press him over how far he will devolve power.
This Afternoon: Showers And Thunderstorms Likely, high 87F.
Tonight: Showers And Thunderstorms Likely then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, low 69F.
Monday: Patchy Fog, high 85F.
Latest developments: Binko's Pymatuning Lake Chili Co., a Pittsburgh hot-sauce maker, ran a tasting during last week's heat wave at the Giant Eagle Market District store at The Waterworks.
Shoppers sampled Binko's Coolhand Habanero Pepper Sauce at the Market District tasting, a small-batch western Pennsylvania company working its way onto the grocer's shelves.
Sources: Pittsburgh Magazine · ↑ top
Latest developments: A University of Pittsburgh study found that a video game a Pittsburgh physician built measurably improved emergency-room doctors' treatment decisions for older trauma patients.
The Pitt research reported that the game prompted peers to reconsider how they treat elderly trauma cases and produced better calls, an early validation of game-based clinical training.
Latest developments: The National Weather Service placed most of western Pennsylvania under a flood watch from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, July 5, as the multi-day heat wave broke and heavy rain returned.
After the region's fifth 90-degree day, storms dropped more rain on ground already soaked over the holiday weekend, making flash flooding the chief hazard across greater Pittsburgh even as Saturday's damaging winds eased.
Sources: WTAE · Pittsburgh Post-Gazette · ↑ top
Latest developments: WTAE's '4 The Record' sat down with a PennDOT executive this week to walk drivers through the 25-day Parkway East closure that begins at 9 p.m. July 10.
PennDOT will shut the Parkway East between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale exit to replace the aging Commercial Street Bridge near Frick Park, a detour the agency urges commuters to plan around now.
Latest developments: The Taste of Picklesburgh begins Thursday, July 9, with downtown Pittsburgh restaurants and businesses rolling out pickle-inspired specials ahead of the main festival.
Picklesburgh, the nationally recognized food festival celebrating all things briny and dill, returns to downtown Pittsburgh, and participating downtown eateries kick it off July 9 with pickle-themed dishes and drinks.
Pirates (45-45)
Sat Jul 4 · Pirates 7 · Nationals 1 · Final
Ashcraft wins 4th straight start as Pirates topple Nationals 7-1
Sun Jul 5 · Pirates 9 · Nationals 4 · Top 8th (in progress at last update)
Up Next · Braves @ Pirates · Tue Jul 7, 6:40 PM
Latest developments: In a July 2 live chat, Post-Gazette Steelers writer Christopher Carter took reader questions on quarterback Aaron Rodgers, receiver DK Metcalf, and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. ahead of training camp.
Carter's chat gauged Pittsburgh's 2026 outlook, weighing Rodgers's fit under center, Metcalf's role in the passing game, and the still-unresolved contract situation of Joey Porter Jr. as the team prepares to report to Saint Vincent College.
Sources: Post-Gazette Steelers · ↑ top
Latest developments: Post-Gazette columnist Noah Hiles published a July 3 deep dive parsing who bears responsibility for ace Paul Skenes's slump.
Hiles spread the fault across the Pirates' pitch-calling and coaching after Skenes surrendered a career-high eight runs to the Phillies, arguing the breakdown reaches past the pitcher to his catchers and staff.
Sources: Post-Gazette Pirates · ↑ top
Latest developments: FIFA's disciplinary committee suspended Folarin Balogun's red-card ban on July 5, clearing the U.S. striker to play Monday's round-of-16 match against Belgium after the White House lobbied FIFA to reverse it.
Balogun, the Americans' leading scorer with three goals, drew a red card for stepping on Bosnia and Herzegovina's Tarik Muharemović in a 2-0 last-32 win, and his reinstatement, which the Belgian federation called astonishing, restores the U.S. attack to full strength in Seattle.
Sources: ESPN · Guardian · ↑ top
Latest developments: Ahead of Monday's Belgium match, USMNT captain Tim Ream called the roster 'a true representation of what America is,' spotlighting its diverse backgrounds.
Defender Tim Ream, reflecting on the co-hosts' run to the round of 16, framed the team's mix of backgrounds as emblematic of the country as the United States readies for Belgium in Seattle.
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