Nora: They got access to customer data by sending a fake government request. And it worked.
Dex: This is Dex.
Nora: And this is Nora.
Dex: And you're listening to The S-Curve. It's Sunday, September 13th, and we've got a whole lot of tech chaos to get through.
Dex: Revolut got tricked into handing over customer data.
Nora: A wild boardroom drama where a founder-CEO gets fired... and then un-fired, all in a weekend.
Dex: And after almost a decade of waiting, Tesla says it's finally ready to unveil the new Roadster.
Dex: Alright, let's start with Revolut. Nora, you said in the cold open they got duped?
Nora: 'Duped' is putting it mildly. Attackers used 'social engineering'—a fancy term for lying—posed as a government agency, and just... asked for customer data.
Dex: Wait, so someone just emailed them and said 'Hi, we're the government, give us user info,' and Revolut said 'Sure thing'?
Nora: That's basically it. No sophisticated hack, no zero-day exploit. Someone just... asked. And lied.
Dex: That is... terrifying. How many customers were affected?
Nora: Revolut is being cagey with numbers, but sources say it's in the tens of thousands. So, not a small breach.
Dex: So what's the official line? They've alerted the real government agency, I hope?
Nora: [dry] Oh yes. They've notified the actual agency, plus law enforcement and regulators. And of course, they sent out the classic 'your data has been exposed' email.
Dex: But how does this even happen at a multi-billion dollar fintech? Don't they have, I don't know, a process for verifying these things?
Nora: Their process apparently involves taking people at their word. 'Are you a government agent?' 'Yes.' 'Okay, cool.' It's a security model based on the honor system.
Dex: Unbelievable. The takeaway for Revolut customers: watch out for phishing scams. The attackers have your contact info now, so you're a prime target.
Nora: Right. Your money is supposedly safe, but your personal data is out there. Again. This is why we can't have nice things.
Nora: Alright, next up: there was a coup at Automattic, the company behind WordPress... and it failed spectacularly.
Dex: This is wild. The board reportedly tried to oust founder-CEO Matt Mullenweg. And now, just a few days later, he's back?
Nora: He's back. The official line is he's returned as CEO with the 'full support of the board.' You know, the same board that tried to fire him five minutes ago.
Dex: The whiplash on that is incredible. 'We want you gone—wait, no, we fully support you!' What happened in that room?
Nora: Sounds like the board came at the king and missed. They made their move, but Mullenweg clearly had way more leverage than they thought.
Dex: It's the Silicon Valley version of a counter-coup. He basically pulled a Steve Jobs, but in a weekend.
Nora: [sarcastic] I'm sure the next board meeting will be super productive and not at all awkward.
Dex: So what does this mean for Automattic? They're one of the pillars of the open internet.
Nora: It means the founder is back in the driver's seat, for better or worse. But that kind of chaos at the top has to be confusing for the people working there.
Dex: And for other founders, it's a hell of a lesson in board management. Or mismanagement.
Dex: And finally... after years of memes and endless waiting, the second-gen Tesla Roadster has a date.
Nora: Does it? Or does it have a 'date' in the way my dad 'is going to' clean out the garage? We've been here before, Dex.
Dex: [excited] No, for real this time! Tesla announced they will unveil the car on October 1st. It's happening!
Nora: The car they announced in 2017. That was nine years ago. I've lived three lifetimes since then.
Dex: 'Extended' is one word for it. But come on, this is their halo car! The specs they promised were insane: 0-to-60 in 1.9 seconds, over 600 miles of range.
Nora: They also promised a 'SpaceX package' with cold gas thrusters for better cornering. Are we still pretending that's a real thing that will be on a production car?
Dex: [laughs] We'll find out on October 1st! But can you imagine the demand? People put down deposits of fifty grand for this thing nine years ago.
Nora: Fifty grand, all the way up to a quarter-million dollars for the 'Founder's Series.' That's not a deposit, that's an interest-free loan to a car company for a decade.
Dex: So, if you put down one of those deposits, your wait might finally be over. For the rest of us, just get ready for Tesla to dominate the news cycle again.
Nora: I'll believe it when I see it roll onto a stage without a panel gap you can fit your hand in.
Dex: Alright, quick recap. Revolut fell for a shockingly simple phishing scam...
Nora: ...Automattic's CEO won a boardroom battle and got himself un-fired...
Dex: ...and Tesla's Roadster, first promised in 2017, might actually become a real car next month.
Nora: Before we go, a little internet history lesson. This week back in 1999 was the height of what old-timers call the 'Eternal September'.
Dex: Ah, when AOL connected to Usenet and the floodgates of new users opened forever, overwhelming the old netiquette. The original social media scaling problem!
Nora: [dry] It's almost quaint to think about now, isn't it? When the biggest problem online was just too many newbies posting in the wrong forums. Simpler times.
Dex: That's our show. We'll be back with more tomorrow.
Nora: See you then. We'll be keeping an eye out for any other zombie CEOs returning to their posts.
This show is made with AI: the hosts’ voices are synthetic and the scripts are AI-assisted. Every story links to its original source.