Reading List

The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.

Apple Pay Express Transit Mode, When Used With a Visa Card, Is Vulnerable to Scam Tap-to-Pay Readers

Daring Fireball

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

The process requires the victim to have Express Transit Mode enabled for payments, and a Visa card linked for those payments, among other steps. As it turns out, it’s a Visa-related security loophole rather than an iPhone issue, and it doesn’t work with a Mastercard or an American Express card because other cards use different security methods. It also doesn’t work with Samsung Pay on Samsung devices, and it requires the specific combination of a Visa card and an iPhone. Apple told Veritasium that it’s an issue with the Visa system, but something unlikely to occur in the real world.

The video, hosted by the Veritasium YouTube channel, but starring Marques Brownlee as the victim, takes over 15 minutes before clarifying that the exploit only works with Visa cards, and only when a Visa card is set as your card for Express Transit Mode. Until then, the video implies that the exploit can work against any iPhone that has Apple Pay configured, with any sort of credit card. The technical explanation of how the hack works is pretty good though.

As I wrote a year ago (when Apple was looking for a new partner to replace Goldman Sachs as the bank for Apple Card), Visa is the most popular credit and debit card in the U.S., by a significant margin. If you don’t use Express Transit Mode, you’re safe. If you do use Express Transit Mode, I suggest any card other than a Visa.

Casely has reannounced a power bank recall from 2025 following a fatality

The Verge - All Posts
Casely first recalled over 429,000 of its 5,000mAh Power Pods wireless power banks in April 2025 following 51 reports of their lithium-ion batteries "overheating, expanding or catching fire," resulting in six minor burn injuries. Both the company and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC) are reannouncing the same recall today following 28 additional reports […]

Expedition 33 star Charlie Cox has finally played the RPG

Polygon - All
Daredevil actor and voice of Gustave Charlie Cox says he has gone through some of the early portions of the venerated RPG

OpenAI's global policy chief, Chris Lehane, calls out AI "doomers" and says "when you put some of those thoughts and ideas out there, they do have consequences" (Caroline O'Donovan/The San Francisco ...)

Techmeme

Caroline O'Donovan / The San Francisco Standard:
OpenAI's global policy chief, Chris Lehane, calls out AI “doomers” and says “when you put some of those thoughts and ideas out there, they do have consequences”  —  OpenAI's Chris Lehane thinks the discussion around AI has gotten out of hand.

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