The past week on GeekWire was filled with stories of technology and startup news, including a widespread outage of the checkout system on Amazon.com, cautioning customers about using Seattle-based bill payment company Doxo to pay Good to Go!, a suspected cyberattack on the Port of Seattle causing an outage at Sea-Tac Airport, a cyberattack at the Port of Seattle and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Amazon hiring three founders from Covariant, Shopify hiring one of Microsoft’s top engineering leaders as its new chief technology officer, and Supio, a Seattle startup, raising a $25 million Series A investment.
The outage of the checkout system on Amazon.com was reported by users starting on Friday afternoon, causing disruptions for customers trying to make purchases. The Washington State Department of Transportation warned customers about using Doxo to pay Good to Go! tolls, highlighting potential issues with the bill payment company. A suspected cyberattack on the Port of Seattle led to an outage at Sea-Tac Airport, prompting resorting to pen and paper for operations.
In the aftermath of the suspected cyberattack, the Port of Seattle outage continued for two days, with hackers targeting critical infrastructure. Amazon hired three founders from Covariant, a Bay Area startup that develops AI for warehouse robotics systems, indicating a focus on advancing technology in the field. Shopify appointed one of Microsoft’s top engineering leaders as its new chief technology officer, bringing in new talent to lead the company in technological advancements.
Supio, a Seattle startup founded by former Microsoft engineers, raised a $25 million Series A investment to enhance its software platform designed to help lawyers manage case-related data. Additionally, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture provided a spaceflight to six people, including the first researcher to conduct his experiment on a suborbital space trip with NASA support. Other stories from the past week included construction along Seattle’s waterfront to bring people closer to the water and natural beauty of Puget Sound, and a family making do with a 2003 Mazda hatchback they received from a neighbor.
