Congress briefing on chip hacking urged
A House Intelligence Committee member called for server-maker Super Micro Computer Inc., doing business as Supermicro, and clients including Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. to provide information to lawmakers about a report that China hacked American computer networks using a microchip built by its spies.
"We can't understand the problem, at least in its entirety, without talking to the manufacturers," Rep. Chris Stewart, a Utah Republican, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday.
Stewart said the report, if true, would indicate China had accomplished "the holy grail of hacking."
Bloomberg Businessweek reported on Thursday that Chinese spies exploited vulnerabilities in the U.S. technology supply chain to infiltrate the computer networks of almost 30 U.S. companies, including Amazon, Apple, a major bank and government contractors. Among the targets was a contractor that made software to help funnel drone footage to the Central Intelligence Agency and communicate with the International Space Station.
Investigators found that tiny microchips had been inserted during manufacturing in China onto equipment made by subcontractors of Supermicro. The San Jose, Calif.-based company is one of the world's biggest suppliers of server motherboards.
Investigators determined that the chips allowed the attackers to create a stealth doorway into any network that included the altered machines, according to people familiar with the matter.
In emailed statements, Amazon, Apple and Supermicro, as well as the Chinese government, disputed Bloomberg Businessweek's reporting.
-- Bloomberg News
Demand outpaces Canadian pot supply
The supply of legal marijuana in Canada will only meet 30 percent to 60 percent of demand after legalization, keeping the black market very much alive and stunting the government's tax gains, according to a new study.
Cannabis supply will reach about 463,000 pounds in the first year after Canada legalizes marijuana this month, according to a study to be released next week by researchers at the University of Waterloo and the C.D. Howe Institute. Demand, meanwhile, will be about 1.3 million pounds.
"There will not be enough legal supply, especially during the first half of the year following legalization, primarily because of the slow rate of licensing producers," Anindya Sen at the University of Waterloo and Rosalie Wyonch at Toronto-based C.D. Howe said in their report.
Marijuana producers have been scrambling to ramp up supply amid a slow roll-out of regulations from the provincial governments that will coordinate retail sales when recreational pot is legalized on Oct. 17.
While warning that estimating supply was challenging, the researchers used data on the medical market from Canada's health agency, including production, inventory and sales along with estimates for growing times, licensing and capacity to project recreational supply.
-- Bloomberg News
Ireland Krispy Kreme sparks complaints
Noise complaints from neighbors forced Krispy Kreme to shut down the chain's new 24-hour drive-thru in Dublin, Ireland.
The location, Krispy Kreme's first in Ireland, opened Sept. 26 to wide acclaim, especially for its 24-hour drive-thru. At least 300 people lined up at the door at 7 a.m. that morning, the Irish Times reported. But the lines did not go away. Throughout the night and the week, customers seemed unable to get enough of the doughnuts.
Neighbors complained to local government and Krispy Kreme executives that the noise from the doughnut drive-thru had kept them awake for days, they told the Irish Times.
"We anticipated a warm welcome for Krispy Kreme in Ireland and have long wanted to open a store here, but the response has been way ahead of our most optimistic expectations," Krispy Kreme Ireland said in an Oct. 3 statement on Facebook, announcing the shutdown of the overnight drive-thru.
The doughnut chaos has perplexed much of Ireland.
After all, Irish people "had actually seen doughnuts in Ireland before all hell broke loose about #KrispyKreme's arrival," one Irish woman, Mim Donovan, confirmed on Twitter. "This is not like the first time that we have seen doughnuts," confirmed another Irish person, Carl Kinsella, writing for JOE, an online Irish men's lifestyle magazine.
The drive-thru will now remain open until 11:30 p.m. and will open back up at 6 a.m.
-- The Washington Post
Deals reached in Chicago hotel strikes
CHICAGO -- New contract agreements have been reached at four more downtown Chicago hotels, nearly a month after strikes began at about two dozen locations.
Workers union Unite Here Local 1 and Hyatt Hotels say the new deals reached Thursday include three of the company's hotels and meet the union's major demand of year-round health insurance for employees who are laid off during slower months. The fourth agreement was with the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza.
The strike by housekeepers, doormen, servers, cooks and others began Sept. 7 after contracts expired for about 6,000 hotel workers. At its peak, the strike involved 26 downtown hotels. Hilton and Marriott hotels were among those affected that previously reached new contract deals.
The union says the strikes are ongoing at four hotels. The new contracts cover some 5,500 workers.
-- The Associated Press
400 electric scooters impounded by city
NORFOLK, Va. -- With no agreement in sight, two Virginia cities are ramping up hostilities with a dockless electric scooter company.
News outlets report Norfolk city spokesman Lori Crouch said Wednesday the city has impounded 400 Bird scooters since they started appearing on city sidewalks, unsanctioned, in August.
And Virginia Beach issued a memorandum Tuesday directing police and city officials to begin confiscating unattended scooters and issuing citations to riders violating city code.
Virginia Beach councilman John Uhrin said Bird hasn't approached the city for an official business agreement, but he's not inherently opposed.
Crouch has said Norfolk officials have unsuccessfully attempted to schedule meetings with Bird. The company didn't respond to news outlets' requests for comment.
Both cities say Bird can have its scooters back if the company pays impound and storage fees.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 10/06/2018