How Soviet Russia Banished Their Version of Santa Claus, Then Brought Him Back to Spread Communist Cheer
MSN | March 24, 2020 | Madeline Roache

Around the world there are different versions of the jolly, bearded man who gives gifts to children in December or, in some countries, January.

Unlike the bloated, red-coated father Christmas of the West, Russia’s Santa Claus, known as Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost), is slender with a wizard-like flowing beard and he wears a long robe that comes in different colors, such as blue and white.

He is assisted not by elves, but by his beautiful granddaughter Snegurochka (Snow Maiden). His sleigh is powered not by reindeers, but three steely horses.

What really sets Russia’s Santa Claus apart from his Western counterpart is the turbulent century that he’s faced. He has survived a violent social and political revolution that saw him go from beloved to banned as a subversive element, then beloved again and hailed as a symbol of the true Russian spirit.

Casino Gets Hacked Through Its Internet-Connected Fish Tank Thermometer
The Hacker News | April 16, 2018 | Wang Wei

We have another great example that showcases how one innocent-looking insecure IoT device connected to your network can cause security nightmares.

Nicole Eagan, the CEO of cybersecurity company Darktrace, told attendees at an event in London on Thursday how cybercriminals hacked an unnamed casino through its Internet-connected thermometer in an aquarium in the lobby of the casino.

According to what Eagan claimed, the hackers exploited a vulnerability in the thermostat to get a foothold in the network. Once there, they managed to access the high-roller database of gamblers and “then pulled it back across the network, out the thermostat, and up to the cloud.”

Although Eagan did not disclose the identity of the casino, the incident she was sharing could be of last year, when Darktrace published a report, referencing to a thermometer hack of this sort on an unnamed casino based in North America.

CBS Frets Too Many “Thank You” Emails Contributing To Global Warming
National Pulse | 12/26/2020 | Natalie Winters

A recent CBS This Morning segment insisted that too many emails – “little” messages such as “thank you” and “got it” – would contribute to global warming.

Speaking on Wednesday, correspondent Mark Phillips attempted to downplay the fact that COVID-19 would lead to a decrease in global carbon emissions. He focuses on how emails could offset the saved carbon emissions from less flying, driving, and commuting as a result of COVID-19 and lockdowns.

Phillips, however, emphasizes that humans ought to “hold the smugness.” “Working from home is not cost-free, and the more of us who do it, the more environmentally expensive it becomes,” he adds.

Phillips even slams “little texts” such as “thank you” and “got it”:

“Every e-mail and text, especially the unnecessary little ones — every “thank you” and “got it,” — every time we hit send or download or stream or Zoom, they all require power. Somewhere massive banks of computers are storing and processing that data, sucking up enormous amounts of electrical energy to do it. The cloud doesn’t so much have a silver lining as a carbon one.”

Attacking emails once again, he continues to cite a study about how “if everyone in Britain sent one less “thank you” e-mail a day, the carbon saving would be like taking about three and a half thousand cars off the road”