Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Tech company holiday parties in a pandemic | Latest twist in SolarWinds attack

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TODAY'S TOP STORIES

How tech companies are handling their holiday gatherings: The pandemic has altered the social landscape in many ways, including when it comes to how we’re celebrating the season with co-workers. At Seattle-based Tableau Software, they called in restaurateur Ethan Stowell to organize a massive take-out order across 40 restaurants in order to feed 3,500 employees. The effort injected a much-needed stimulus into the struggling restaurant industry and Stowell is calling on other businesses to keep it going into the first quarter of 2021. Read more about Tableau’s to-go night, and check out how Smartsheet, Vulcan, Zillow, Convoy and others gathered online, raised money for charity, and more.

Latest in SolarWinds attacks: To understand where the SolarWinds attackers are going next, and how to defend against them, look to the clouds. The SolarWinds supply chain attacks are unprecedented in many ways. The attacks are sophisticated in execution, broad in scope, and incredibly potent in their effectiveness. But perhaps most notable is the unprecedented manner in which the SolarWinds attackers seem to be seeking access to cloud-based services as one of their key objectives. Read the analysis by contributing writer Christopher Budd

A key question on COVID-19 vaccines: The vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna can prevent an exposed individual from developing symptoms of COVID-19, but it’s still unclear whether vaccinated individuals can pass along the virus to others. The answer could significantly impact the pandemic’s path in 2021, according to researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Seattle philanthropists sign The Giving Pledge: Sarah and Rich Barton are joining more than 200 billionaires and ultra-wealthy people around the globe who have pledged to give away their massive fortunes. Rich Barton is the co-founder of Zillow Group and Expedia; Sarah Barton is an obstetrician and women’s health advocate who studied at the University of Washington, and now manages the Barton Family Foundation. Read more

MagniX lands electric aircraft deal: The company will provide the electric motors for a proposed fleet of 300 aircraft to be built in the United Kingdom by 2030. It’s a huge milestone for Redmond, Wash.-based MagniX, which is emerging as a player in the electric aviation niche. Read more

Junior Geek of the Month: Theo Monnin, a 17-year-old senior at Raisbeck Aviation High School in Seattle, doesn’t fly a plane. But early on in the pandemic he got into drone photography, and now he’s using his skills for “aerial activism,” helping to preserve threatened farmland in Washington state and enlisting others in the cause. Read more.

“So how did you get into the spy game?” We got a laugh out of this New Yorker cartoon featuring an Amazon Echo speaker and an elf.

Thanks for reading, wear a mask, and see all of our latest headlines below.  GeekWire managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, GeekWire editor Todd Bishop, editor@geekwire.com, and Geek Life reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com.

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