Articles
May 10, 2021
The Pipeline That Stopped: Colonial and the Anatomy of a Ransomware Attack
There is a pipeline that is shut down this week, and the pipeline is the lifeline: the largest fuel pipeline in the United States, the system that feeds the eastern seaboard, the target of a ransomware attack, the shutdown that triggered the panic at the pumps, the moment that cybercrime hit the physical world. The Colonial Pipeline is the May 2021 story: the attack that was discovered on the Friday, the systems that were taken offline, the fuel that stopped flowing, the states that declared the emergencies, the consumers who lined up for the gasoline. The attack is the subject of this article: what happened, how it worked, and what it means for the critical infrastructure.
Read →
April 21, 2021
The AI Act: Europe's First Attempt to Regulate the Machine
There is a proposal that was unveiled today, and the proposal is the first: the law that would regulate the artificial intelligence, that would set the rules for the machines that decide, that would be the most comprehensive attempt in the world, that would shape the industry for the years to come. The AI Act is the April 2021 story: the proposal from the European Commission, the risk-based framework that sorts the applications, the fines that would reach the billions, the standard that Europe hopes the world will follow. The proposal is the subject of this article: what it says, why it matters, and what it means for the companies that build and use the AI.
Read →
April 14, 2021
Coinbase Goes Public: The Crypto Economy's Coming-Out Party
There is a listing that happened today, and the listing is the milestone: the cryptocurrency exchange that debuted on the Nasdaq, that became the first major crypto company to go public, that opened at the valuation that rivaled the established giants, that marked the moment the crypto economy came of age. Coinbase is the April 2021 story: the direct listing that was watched by the whole industry, the ticker COIN that flashed across the screens, the bitcoin that was booming, the mainstream that was arriving. The listing is the subject of this article: what it means, how it happened, and what it says about the future of finance.
Read →
March 24, 2021
The Ship That Blocked the World: Suez and the Fragility of Supply Chains
There is a ship that is stuck in the canal this week, and the ship is the bottleneck: the giant container vessel that ran aground in the Suez Canal, that is blocking the waterway in both directions, that is holding up the billions of dollars of the trade, that is showing the world how fragile the supply chains have become. The Ever Given is the March 2021 story: the four hundred meter ship that wedged itself across the canal, the dredgers and the tugs that are trying to free it, the backlog that is growing by the hour, the global economy that is waiting. The blockage is the subject of this article: what happened, why it matters, and what it teaches about the way the world moves.
Read →
March 11, 2021
The NFT Moment: When Digital Art Sold for $69 Million
There is a sale that stunned the art world today, and the sale is the shift: the digital artwork that was auctioned by the auction house, that sold for the sixty-nine million dollars, that became the third most expensive work by a living artist, that changed the definition of the art market. The NFT moment is the March 2021 story: the collage by the digital artist known as Beeple, the certificate of ownership on the blockchain, the sale at Christie's that legitimized the new medium, the moment that the digital art went mainstream. The NFT is the subject of this article: what it is, why it happened, and what it means.
Read →
February 18, 2021
Perseverance: The Landing That Brought Mars Closer
There is a rover that landed on Mars today, and the rover is the triumph: the robot that survived the seven minutes of terror, that touched down in the ancient crater, that sent back the first images of the new home, that began the search for the signs of the past life. Perseverance is the February 2021 story: the landing that was the hardest ever attempted, the mission that is the most ambitious in the history of the Mars exploration, the step that brings the samples home a little closer. The landing is the subject of this article: how it happened, what the rover will do, and why it matters.
Read →
February 15, 2021
The Texas Freeze: When the Power Grid Couldn't Handle the Cold
There is a storm that is crippling the state this week, and the storm is the reveal: the cold that Texas was not built for, the grid that failed when it was needed most, the millions who lost the power in the freeze, the energy system that was exposed at the worst possible moment. Winter Storm Uri is the February 2021 story: the record cold that swept across the state, the demand that spiked, the generation that failed, the blackouts that followed, the crisis that is still unfolding. The freeze is the subject of this article: what happened, why the grid broke, and what the disaster teaches about energy and operations.
Read →
January 29, 2021
The GameStop Squeeze: How Retail Traders Shook Wall Street
There is a stock that exploded this week, and the stock was the symbol: the video game retailer that the market had written off, that the hedge funds had shorted into oblivion, that the crowd on the internet decided to save, that went from the bargain bin to the moon in the matter of the days. GameStop is the January 2021 story: the share price that rose by the hundreds of percent, the trading apps that blinked, the billionaires who lost and the amateurs who won, the market that was turned upside down. The squeeze is the subject of this article: what happened, how it worked, and what it means for the markets.
Read →
January 8, 2021
The Chip Shortage: When the World Ran Out of Semiconductors
There is a shortage that is spreading through the industry this week, and the shortage is the chip: the semiconductors that run the cars and the phones and the appliances, the supply that tightened in the autumn and broke in the winter, the crisis that forced the automakers to stop the lines. The announcements came in the first days of the year: General Motors cutting production at the plants, Ford idling the Louisville factory for the week, Toyota trimming the truck output, Honda and Nissan following, the names piling up, the industry bracing. The chip shortage is the January 2021 story, and the story is the lesson: the invisible component that became the most wanted resource in manufacturing.
Read →
December 15, 2020
The Hack That Hid in the Update: When Trust Became the Vulnerability
There is a hack that keeps spreading this week, and the hack is the update: the SolarWinds Orion platform that was backdoored through a software update, the malicious code that rode into the networks of thousands of customers, the eighteen thousand organizations that use the product and the campaign that went after the crown jewels. The story broke on December 8, when FireEye disclosed that its red team tools were stolen, and the trail led to the Orion update, to the Treasury and the Commerce Department, to the Russian state-sponsored actors that the researchers call APT29, the group known as Cozy Bear. The hack is the December story, and the story is the lesson: the trust that was exploited, the update that became the weapon, and the supply chain that no firewall can defend.
Read →