Starlink is in talks with commercial airlines to provide in-flight Wi-Fi service, Canon facing a class-action lawsuit over disabling printers, and ransomware attacks cause billions in damages.
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It’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Monday, October 18, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
Passengers may find more Wi-Fi options on their aircraft once air travelling returns to normalcy. That’s because SpaceX is apparently in talks with airlines to provide in-flight Wi-Fi service using its Starlink satellite internet. The SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted a call for action on Twitter last Friday, asking his followers to let their airliners know if they want the service. Musk said in his Tweet that users can expect “low latency and half a gigabit” speeds while flying, which could help to get some work done faster while in transit.
It’s well known that Ink cartridges are incredibly expensive, sometimes costing more than the printers themselves. It’s in the manufacturers’ interest that users buy ink more frequently to increase profits, but Canon has taken this to a whole new level. The company is currently facing a massive class-action lawsuit for disabling its multi-function printers when the ink runs out. The lawsuit alleges that the company disables printer functions unrelated to ink, such as scanning and faxing, when the ink cartridges dry up to pressure users into buying more. The filing describes the practice as deceptive and is asking Canon to cease the misleading advertising campaigns.
Ransomware attacks emerged as one of the most prevalent cybercrime in recent years. In lieu of actual money, the attackers often choose to collect the ransom in cryptocurrency. A recent investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department found that roughly $5.2 billion worth of Bitcoin transactions may have ties to ransomware. Additionally, publicly disclosed ransomware payments reached almost $500 million in the last two years. Due to ransomware’s potential for damage, 31 countries in the European Union have announced plans to tackle the abuse of cryptocurrency in ransomware.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire Newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. If you have a suggestion or tip, please drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thanks for listening, I’m Tom Li.