• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'

2

'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down

3

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for

1

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'

2

'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down

3

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
NewslettersData Sheet

Fact check: Ransomware did not lead to a woman’s death in Germany

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 16, 2020, 9:41 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

This is the web version of Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the top tech news. To get it delivered daily to your in-box, sign up here.

It’s often said journalism is the first draft of history. If so, it’s time for a revision.

Recall about two months ago when a variety of news outlets reported the first death due to ransomware cyberattack, this newsletter included.

The story: In Düsseldorf, Germany, a 78-year-old woman suffering an aortic aneurism was rushed by ambulance to the nearest hospital, only to be turned away because the facility had been crippled by hackers. During the drive to another hospital, she died. Prosecutors said they were investigating charging the hackers with negligent manslaughter.

News reports quickly attributed the death to the hacking attack, which froze the servers at Düsseldorf’s University Hospital and reduced the hospital’s capacity. “The first known death from a cyberattack,” the New York Times reported. The Verge was a bit more careful, saying the incident “may be the first death directly linked to a cyberattack on a hospital.” Robert was even more careful here, saying the death might not even be that.

But it was freelance journalist William Ralston who did the unsexy work of sticking with the story. In a piece for Wired UK, Ralston has a major correction to the narrative. After investigating the situation, Cologne chief public prosecutor Markus Hartmann concluded that the hackers were not responsible for the death. “The delay was of no relevance to the final outcome,” Hartmann explained to Ralston. “The medical condition was the sole cause of the death, and this is entirely independent from the cyberattack.”

Still, the word has not gotten out. Microsoft cited the Düsseldorf death in a blog post on Friday about the dangers of cyberattacks. Rewriting the first draft of history is easy. Getting everyone to read it? Less so.

Aaron Pressman
@ampressman
aaron.pressman@fortune.com

***

MOOCs, the Massively Open Online Courses, have long promised to democratize education. In the latest episode of Fortune’s Reinvent podcast, Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda argues that MOOCs are an indispensable tool for retraining the workforce for the digital jobs of tomorrow. Listen here.

NEWSWORTHY

They marched in the astronauts two by two. Three months after successfully sending two astronauts to the International Space Station, Elon Musk's SpaceX doubled the feat. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida on Sunday with four astronauts aboard. They will rendezvous with the space station on Monday night. Musk meanwhile was busy muddying the waters about COVID testing. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO said he had taken four rapid tests and was found infected twice. “Something extremely bogus is going on,” Musk tweeted. Experts said the rapid tests may not have been administered properly but do have a higher false positive rate than polymerase chain reaction tests.

Mac phone home. A bit of weirdness cropped up in the rollout of Apple's new Big Sur operating system. Some users couldn't get apps to open on their computers after upgrading due to a glitch in Apple servers that check that apps are free of malware. That raised questions about why apps were checking in with Apple servers in the first place. And some owners of MacBook Pro laptops sold from 2013 to 2015 reported an even more serious problem: The update bricked their computers. In other news, Apple also faces new complaints about violating users' privacy in Europe. And in better news for Apple, early benchmark results for computers running the company's new M1 processor show the CPU is faster than any other chip used in Macs for single core performance.

This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it. Former Oracle executive Tom Siebel's artificial intelligence startup C3.ai filed to go public. Founded in 2009, the company helps customers like AstraZeneca and ConEdison harness A.I. applications in a corporate setting. Revenue totaled $157 million last year, up 71% from the prior year, while a net loss of $33 million was about half the prior year's loss. DoorDash also filed its registration statement, showing off revenue of $1.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2020, triple the prior year, and a loss of $149 million.

Flashing red. We've reported more than a little here on the rise of right-wing social network Parler as mainstream sites like Twitter and Facebook crack down on misinformation and hate groups. Now a report from the Anti-Defamation League warns that Parler is becoming a preferred platform for spreading Holocaust denial, antisemitism, and racism.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The outgoing Trump administration wants the Federal Communications Commission to cut back the legal protection for online sites that host user content. But in an essay in The Hill, Brandie Nonnecke, director of the CITRIS Policy Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, says the FCC lacks the authority to change the protections enacted by Congress.

Democrats and Republicans agree that social media platforms should be doing more to curb the spread of dangerous content and that clarifications to Section 230 immunities may be needed. But looking to the FCC to clarify Section 230 through rulemaking is inappropriate, illegitimate, and inconsistent with its actions to limit the agency’s regulation of information services.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The rise of the MOOCs: How Coursera is retraining the American workforce for a post-COVID economy By Beth Kowitt

Meditation app Calm boosted after sponsoring CNN’s election night coverage By Danielle Abril

Not everyone is feeling the recovery: The economy as told by 8 charts By Lance Lambert

Hackers are trying to disrupt and steal COVID-19 vaccine research By Aaron Pressman

Why so many valuable startups seem like the dumbest idea at first By Lucinda Shen

What you should consider before working remotely from a vacation destination By Rachel King

(Some of these stories require a subscription to access. Thank you for supporting our journalism.)

BEFORE YOU GO

Electric cars, electric pickup trucks, electric whatever. BMW last week let daredevil Peter Salzmann try out its new electric-powered wingsuit. Dropped from a helicopter at 10,000 feet somewhere over Austria, Salzmann jetted over mountain tops at 186 miles per hour. Watch the insane feat in this video as you get ready to jet ahead this week.

About the Author
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Newsletters

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Newsletters

Kim Ng broke barriers in baseball. Now she’s giving pro softball its biggest stage yet
NewslettersMPW Daily
Kim Ng broke barriers in baseball. Now she’s giving pro softball its biggest stage yet
By Emma HinchliffeJuly 24, 2026
1 day ago
Inside Larry Culp’s playbook for fixing GE
NewslettersCFO Daily
Inside Larry Culp’s playbook for fixing GE
By Sheryl EstradaJuly 24, 2026
1 day ago
Three people sitting on stairs
Startups & VentureTerm Sheet
Neo raises $100 million to hunt the zombie AI agents haunting your company
By Amanda GerutJuly 24, 2026
1 day ago
U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) during the Democratic National Convention on August 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
An ‘AI Kill Switch Act,’ engaged
By Andrew NuscaJuly 24, 2026
2 days ago
Photo: President Trump.
NewslettersMarkets
Trump weighs ‘massive attack’ on Iran as Tehran’s chokehold on oil gets tighter
By Jim EdwardsJuly 24, 2026
2 days ago
From near-collapse to $689 billion: Inside Larry Culp’s turnaround of GE
NewslettersCEO Daily
From near-collapse to $689 billion: Inside Larry Culp’s turnaround of GE
By Shawn TullyJuly 24, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
Real Estate
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 25, 2026
12 hours ago
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
Economy
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
By Eleanor PringleJuly 24, 2026
2 days ago
Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
Big Tech
Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
By Sydney LakeJuly 23, 2026
3 days ago
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
Success
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 25, 2026
14 hours ago
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
Economy
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 23, 2026
2 days ago
Jensen Huang just used his first ever X post to warn the AI industry not to make the mistake that software narrowly avoided in the 1980s
AI
Jensen Huang just used his first ever X post to warn the AI industry not to make the mistake that software narrowly avoided in the 1980s
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 24, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.