Hasta La Gadget!

One of the world’s most notorious ransomware gangs has issued a rare apology after claiming that one of its partners was responsible for a cyberattack on Canada’s largest pediatric hospital. On December 18th, the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto fell victim to a ransomware attack that left the institution unable to access many of its critical systems. The incident led to an increase in patient wait times. As of December 29th, SickKids said it had regained access to almost 50 percent of its priority systems, including those that had caused diagnostic and treatment delays.

Over the weekend, security researcher Dominic Alvieri spotted an apology from the LockBit gang for its involvement in the incident. The group said it would provide a free decryptor to SickKids and that it had blocked the “partner” who carried out the attack for violating the gang’s rules. As BleepingComputer notes, the LockBit group runs what’s known as a “ransomware-as-a-service” operation. The organization has affiliates that do the dirty work of finding targets to compromise and extract payment from, while the primary operation maintains the malware that partners use to lock systems. As part of that arrangement, the gang takes a 20 percent cut of all ransom payments. Additionally, the group claims to prohibit affiliates from targeting “medical institutions” where an attack could lead to someone’s death.

On Sunday, SickKids acknowledged the statement and said it was working with outside security experts to “validate and assess the use of the decryptor,” adding that it had not made any ransom payments. The hospital also said it recently restored access to about 60 percent of its priority system. It’s unclear why it took the LockBit gang nearly two weeks to offer help to SickKids if the attack was against its code. It’s also worth noting that the group has a history of targeting hospitals and not sending them a decryptor. Earlier this year, for instance, the group demanded a $1 million ransom from the Center Hospitalier Sud Francilien in France and eventually leaked patient data after the hospital refused to pay.

Wholesome actor Tom Hanks has enough money and awards to have an outrageous car collection. So does he? Check out what Mr. Hanks keeps in his driveway.

The employee of Piedmont Airlines, a regional carrier owned by American Airlines, died in an incident involving a parked aircraft at an Alabama airport.

Tesla delivered 405,278 electric vehicles over the final three months of 2022, the automaker announced on Monday. That number represents a new record for the company, but it also fell short of Wall Street estimates. As recently as December 30th, the consensus among most analysts was that Tesla would deliver about 418,000 vehicles in Q4. A year earlier, the company delivered 308,600 cars during the same period.

According to Tesla, the Model 3 and Model Y made up most of the company’s deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2022, with 388,131 of those vehicles making their way to consumers before the end of the year. Comparatively, Tesla’s more expensive Model S and Model X cars accounted for a modest 17,147 deliveries over the same time frame. Tesla produced 439,701 vehicles in the fourth quarter, setting another record.

It’s fair to say the end of 2022 could have gone better for Tesla. Even before considering how much Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has hurt the company, Tesla was faced with macroeconomic and logistical challenges threatening to slow growth. As they did earlier in the year, COVID-19 restrictions in China forced Tesla to suspend and reduce production at its Shanghai Gigafactory. Tesla also closed the facility during the last week of December, adding to concerns the company has been dealing with weakening demand in the world’s biggest automotive market. In Q4, Tesla also had trouble securing transportation for completed vehicles.

Separately, Elon Musk’s handling of Twitter and repeat Tesla stock selloffs saw the value of the company’s shares drop dramatically. In December, Tesla’s stock fell 33 percent (and 45 percent over the last six months) before rallying in anticipation of the company’s fourth-quarter numbers. Tesla will publish its full Q4 results on January 25th and hold its next annual Investor Day presentation on March 1st.

Fortunately, the Model Y’s actual performance out on the road isn’t too far off from what the fancy packaging suggests.