Government Files Unencrypted Medical Receipts.
Also Russian Submarine Drones and Accounting Failures

The New Patient Portal Is Just a Spreadsheet on a Public Drive

The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) released a warning about the German eHealth infrastructure; it is, apparently, suffering from what we will charitably call a catastrophic oversight. The entire e-prescription system is built on a foundation of unencrypted data transmission, meaning highly sensitive medical information like diagnoses and treatment plans is effectively being sent out on a postcard, or perhaps, a sticky note attached to an unmanaged firewall.

The benevolent incompetence here is staggering. Not only can the unencrypted data be intercepted, but the system allows for the manipulation of e-prescriptions. It appears the entire project team built a multi-billion dollar system that essentially trusts every computer between the doctor and the pharmacy. The CCC, acting as the tired systems administrator, noted that the agencies responsible for the system were simply not trained for the kind of security implications inherent in managing national medical records, which is a common problem when you let the intern who said they "know Python" manage the production database.

The Subsea Cable Team Building Exercise Went Off-Script

A Russian-linked bulk carrier, the Sevmorput tanker, was seized by Finnish border guards following damage to a gas pipeline and a telecom cable in the Baltic Sea. Initially, this looked like a simple maritime oopsie, perhaps a captain who missed a critical memo regarding where the internet lives. However, investigators soon found the vessel was loaded with sophisticated, military-grade spying equipment, including what is strongly suspected to be a deep-sea drone.

Apparently, someone in the 'Shipping and Logistics' department misfiled their manifest; the crate marked "Routine Nautical Survey Gear" was, in fact, full of espionage technology. It is always frustrating when interdepartmental communication breaks down, and you find that the maintenance crew's routine cable repair job is actually an advanced data acquisition mission requiring specialist submersible assets.

Automated Bookkeeping Realizes Humans Are Too Expensive, Shuts Down Human Side

Bench, the popular accounting service, announced it is shutting down its core human bookkeeping services to focus entirely on being a software company. The startup tried for years to offer a hybrid system where clients got both software and a real, live human bookkeeper. This is a classic tech industry pivot where the company discovers that having a human read a bank statement and apply context is actually much harder, and certainly more expensive, than running an algorithm that just flags everything for manual review anyway.

Thousands of small businesses are now scrambling for new vendors because their outsourced accounting team simply got an internal memo that they were being replaced by the very product they were hired to support. The lesson, as always, is that if your job description involves processing paper receipts, your employer is probably looking for a more "efficient" solution that just renames the service to "AI-Powered Receipt Parsing."

Volkswagen Gave 800,000 Cars The Same 'Find My Friends' Password

A major data breach at Volkswagen exposed the real-time location of 800,000 electric vehicles. The breach also includes a wealth of personal data for the car owners. It turns out when a car company decides its cloud implementation should be based on a "move fast and break things" philosophy, the things that break are often the privacy of its customers.

The company essentially left its telematics dashboard wide open, which is a significant oopsie when your product is a multi-ton vehicle capable of travel. This is likely just a side effect of trying to save one millisecond on server ping time by making all authentication an unnecessary step. Security by obscurity is the new German engineering.

Briefs

• Microchip Supply: TSMC is finally set to start making advanced chips at its Arizona plant. The promise of onshoring supply chains will eventually happen, assuming we can find enough qualified engineers who do not mind working in a hot desert environment.
• Model Building: A man built a scale model of a Boeing 777-300ER entirely from manila folders. This is what peak productivity looks like when an engineer is given nothing but office supplies and a deadline that was due six months ago.
• AI Structure: OpenAI announced its structure must evolve to advance its mission. This is the corporate equivalent of an email from HR explaining that the new seating chart is mandatory and does not make any sense.