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World News

🦠 Digital Turbulence: Ransomware Grounds Indonesia’s Airports

By Tobias Bautista

What happens when tech falls into the wrong hands? A whole lotta trouble.

Indonesia's data center got hit by a cyber attack, disrupting immigration checks at airports and leaving travelers with a taste of the pre-digital era: long lines. The hacker demanded an $8 million ransom, according to the communications minister.

The culprit? A new variant of the notorious Lockbit 3.0 ransomware. Think of it as the Godzilla of cyber attacks, stomping through digital landscapes and causing chaos.

While automated passport machines are back in action, the government's scrambling to restore full services. Minister Budi Arie Setiadi didn't spill the beans on whether any ransom was paid, but he did confirm that they're focused on fixing the affected data center.

Ransomware is like a digital hijacker, locking up data and demanding cryptocurrency for the decryption key. If you don’t pay up, hackers threaten to leak or delete your data. Classic bad guy move.

This incident is just the latest in a string of cyber-attacks in Indonesia. Last year, details of 15 million customers from Bank Syariah Indonesia were leaked. In 2022, the central bank got hit, and in 2021, a COVID app flaw exposed the data of 1.3 million people.

This is why our country needs more cybersecurity specialists.

Tech

🌟 Shopify’s AI Glowup

By Tobias Bautista

If you are looking to get into e-commerce but don’t know how, we may just have the answer for you.

SM Appliances, Sunnies Studios, and RC Cola, are just three of roughly 9,000 e-commerce Shopify stores in the country.

Now, Shopify is hopping on that train by serving up some AI power-ups! They're giving more merchants access to their fancy new tools, like a sidekick chat bot that answers your burning e-commerce questions, and an image editor that turns you into a photo whiz (even on your phone!).

This is all to make selling online smoother and hopefully boost their own sales (gotta pay for those fancy gadgets somehow!). While growth has slowed down lately, some folks think Shopify's just getting warmed up, with a ton of potential to keep winning in the online shopping game.

Sports

🇵🇭 Gilas Pilipinas edges out the Taiwan Mustangs in their exhibition game before the 2024 Paris OQT

By Koby del Rosario

Last Monday, Gilas Pilipinas Men hosted the Taiwan Mustangs for their usual send-off friendly game before heading into an international tournament—in this case, their bid for one of the four remaining slots for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Our fellow countrymen came out on top, 74-64, as the Philsports Arena crowd in Pasig City were amazed and impressed with how Gilas showcased its might against a formidable Mustangs squad; despite the latter not yet having its former NBA players Dwight Howard, Demarcus Cousins, and Quinn Cook available to play. 

Swingman Dwight Ramos led the fray with 19 points as complementing his performance was Justin Brownlee who finished with 12 points. 

The Taiwanese-based squad also featured some Filipino standouts, such as ADMU Blue Eagles’ product, Geo Chiu, and 10-time PBA champion, Alex Cabagnot, with the 41-year old concluding the fixture on 13 points.

It was great showing for Gilas Pilipinas, as the team now focuses on its two tune-up battles in Latvia before the official Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

News Roundup

• Speaking of needing more cybersecurity specialists in the country, the NBI arrested Manila Bulletin personnel for alleged hacking

• To our kabayans in the US, GCash now allows US-Based Pinoys to cash-in from US Banks

• Chinese Coast Guard slowly making its way to the Philippines: spotted only 30 nautical miles from Zambales

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