MSG's phishing simulation drew backlash...
October 24, 2026
Morning, folks. What’s the deal with everybody watching Seinfeld? The show ended in 1998 after nine seasons about nothing. But according to Nielsen, 72 million people—that’s about one-fifth of the US population—watched at least one episode in the first eight months of this year. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
—Dave Lozo, Brendan Cosgrove, Matty Merritt, Sam Klebanov, Holly Van Leuven, Abby Rubenstein
In today’s newsletter, we’ll get into:
- MSG’s unfortunate phishing test
- A legal challenge to Alaska’s Senate vote
- The startup planning to genetically engineer dogs for war
Markets
- Markets: Like a kid at a playground, stocks slid yesterday as oil prices rose and a sell-off that began with AI earlier this week spread to the rest of the market. The trouble for stocks meant that bonds started looking like a safe haven again, so they ended the week with the yield on 10-year bonds below 5%.
- Stock spotlight: Cybersecurity companies, like CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, rose amid worries about a vulnerability in the coding language that underlies most websites.
WHY WOULD I DECEIVE YOU?
MSG sent workers a cruel phishing test
Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Adobe Stock
Madison Square Garden became the final boss of phishing email tests.
The venue that’s home to basketball, hockey, and Taylor Swift’s wedding sent an email to employees in September, telling them they were getting Knicks NBA championship rings. But anyone who clicked the phony link not only didn’t get jewelry, but was also required to take a cybersecurity class, The Athletic reported yesterday.
Believable bait: Sports teams usually only give championship rings to players, coaches, and front office staff. But occasionally, they go the extra mile and distribute rings to more employees, making team owner and surveillance aficionado James Dolan’s generosity seem plausible.
After the news broke yesterday, an MSG spokesperson told the New York Post: “The company is gifting more than 275 championship rings and jewelry to players, coaches, employees, and other members of the Knicks family.” The spokesperson said that was always the plan (probably just a coincidence that it was revealed a day after the embarrassing story by The Athletic). The spokesperson also called using the rings in the faux phishing email “an unfortunate mistake.”
Why are companies still going phishing?
While many companies embrace phishing simulations as a cybersecurity measure, their efficacy is up for debate.
For example, Google security manager Matt Linton made a high-profile case in 2024 for why tricking employees in the mission of improving security doesn’t work and can even have harmful side effects.
Critics note…that these exercises don’t simulate what a real phishing attack would look like in an inbox. The feeling of management trying to trick workers into believing, for example, they can have a piece of New York sports history, can lead to resentment. Repeated tests can also erode the trust needed to make systemic improvements and lead to inaction when a real threat arrives.
The research isn’t on fake phishing’s side: An eight-month study involving nearly 20,000 healthcare workers last year found that “there was no significant relationship between whether users had recently completed an annual, mandated cybersecurity training and the likelihood of falling for phishing emails.”—DL
World
Tour de headlines
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
⚖️ DOJ sues to block Alaska vote if GOP incumbent loses. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday, which President Trump says he ordered, challenging the certification of the US Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. The suit argues that the vote will be “tainted” by voter confusion, because the ballot includes not just the sitting Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and his Democratic challenger, Mary Peltola, but also the independent candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. The DOJ alleges that the “sole purpose” of the second Dan Sullivan’s candidacy is “to benefit the Peltola campaign.” The unusual lawsuit comes after Republicans failed to get the second Dan Sullivan off of primary ballots via a lawsuit that went to the state’s supreme court.—AR
🇨🇦 Trump exempts some Canadian imports from 50% tariffs, but implements some new ones, too. In an attempt to help Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in her reelection bid, President Trump removed tariffs from “nine categories of products crucial for Maine’s agricultural industries,” according to Collins’s office. Shortly after Trump announced the removal of tariffs on some machinery, plywood sheets, and packing crates, among other items, the White House announced new 50% tariffs on other categories of Canadian goods, including “certain valves, carpets, waste products.” The changes will take effect on Oct. 30. When all is said and done, $20 billion worth of Canadian products will still be subjected to tariffs.—HVL
💳 AmEx cuts jobs “to prepare for AI.” The high-end credit card company said yesterday it’s trimming 5% of its global workforce, or about 3,500 jobs, to cut costs as AI automates some of its internal processes. The company also reported that Q3 sales were up 9% and boosted its profit outlook for the year since its customers are spending big. “We have got good momentum, but to accelerate innovation and win over the next few years, we needed to become a more agile and efficient organization,” its CEO told analysts. The layoffs reflect a trend in financial services—Barclays said Thursday it’s laying off 5,000 people to reduce costs.—AR
EVEN GOODER BOYS
Startup aims to genetically engineer military dogs
Warhound
In what feels like the beginning of a werewolf movie, two billionaires are teaming up to genetically engineer a better breed of military dog. Texas-based startup Warhound was publicly revealed on Thursday and has already secured $200 million in seed funding.
Who’s behind it? The startup was launched by Anduril co-founder (and Hawaiian shirt-wearer) Palmer Luckey and Ben Lamm, the co-founder of Colossal Biosciences—the company best known for trying to bring back extinct species like the woolly mammoth. Per TechCrunch:
- Lamm’s company will help engineer and clone healthier, hardier dogs, free of performance-hindering problems like poor eyesight and hip dysplasia.
- The dogs will also be optimized for useful traits, like bomb-sniffing.
- Like Ryder in PAW Patrol, Luckey will outfit the pups with cutting-edge tech (goggles, bulletproof vests, etc.).
Is this really necessary? According to Warhound, working dogs are actually kind of hard to come by, noting the US military has to acquire ~80% of its dogs from Europe, and fewer than half of the pooches actually end up being deemed fit for service, often due to health issues. Warhound said it has partnered with the American Humane Society to ensure “the care and well-being of every dog.”
Investors’ best friend. Warhound is backed by Sequoia, ARK Invest, CIA-backed In-Q-Tel, and more, giving it a valuation of about $1.2 billion. Lamm told TechCrunch he expects the first souped-up pups to be born early next year.—BC
ICYMI
Have you heard...
Here’s everything that didn’t make it into this week’s newsletters but we immediately sent to the group chat.
➡️ Ahead of GTA 6’s release, Rockstar Games is creating a real-life Burger Shot location. It’s unclear if the IRL restaurant will serve some of the game’s menu items, like a sandwich with seven patties called “The Heartstopper,” but there’s nothing stopping you from creating that monstrosity yourself.
➡️ You’ve heard of Double Income No Kids (DINKs), but what if millennials who don’t have children kept their finances separate? Meet SPLITs: DINKs with no joint bank account. Also, maybe there’s another type who live in separate homes and don’t talk and just meet up once a year for holidays…oh no, we reinvented cousins.
➡️ A shark trapped in South Korea’s Busan canal gained a huge following before it was finally returned to the sea on the third rescue attempt. The shark was likely waiting until its newfound fame could be leveraged for a Neutrogena brand deal.
➡️ Pet care app Rover released its annual list of the top 10 trending pet names in the US, with Chicken Nugget being the number one name for cats. But it’s possible those numbers are skewed, because any owner willing to name their cat after a child’s lunch is also more likely to leave them with a stranger for a long weekend.
➡️ A new paranormal investigation show starring Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi will premiere next month. This is great news for 55-year-old men whose arsenal of Real Housewives jokes is running low and are desperate for a new famous woman to make fun of.—MM
News
What else is brewing
- Israel ordered a full lockdown in the West Bank yesterday after an attack killed two Israeli soldiers, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying soldiers would go house by house and “all the terror infrastructure will be dealt with and destroyed.” Netanyahu faces an election Tuesday.
- Ukrainian officials say Starlink internet remains restricted, despite President Trump saying it had been restored. Meanwhile, first lady Melania Trump helped broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky.
- SK Hynix scrapped plans to raise $10 billion to $15 billion through a US listing of its Solidigm memory chip unit as other AI-linked IPOs also pull back.
- Meghan Markle said she was “deeply distressed” by allegations that her father possessed explicit images of children.
- The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have formed a union, so now they can do collective jump-splits and bargaining.
- The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3–2 at home in Game 1 of the World Series.
Community
Crowd work
Last week, we asked, “Who’s a public figure you’ve had a healthy parasocial relationship with?” Here are some of our favorite responses:
- “Lupita Nyong’o. I feel like she’s my very famous and beautiful cousin because I am Kenyan, we have at least one mutual friend, I am exactly 19 days older than her, and she was a couple years behind me at Yale. I’m always cheering her on!”—Bee from Dallas, TX
- “Stephen King writes all of his books for me. He doesn’t know it. Each one has made me think more about the mind of the man behind the typewriter than the characters that paint his pages. ‘What would make you think like that?’ I ask him. He has yet to respond.”—Danielle from Colorful Colorado
- “The first time I watched Steve Carell in The Office I was mortified; it was too realistic. I was the exceptionally awkward boss who loved everyone but managed to do and say something ridiculous on a regular basis.”—Clearly anonymous
- “Martha Stewart. Despite her bad rap, I respect her no-nonsense, comeback-queen style. Obviously, she’s an innovator with the most impeccable style. I have a high tolerance for challenging people and can often win over the tough ones. I think we could bond! I recently saw she was staying near me and prayed for a bestie meet-cute!”—Brook from Scottsdale, AZ
- “Bill Murray. Years ago, I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC observing a painting alongside Bill. We stood in silence, side-by-side. I’ve always felt a bond with him from that afternoon at the museum.”—Maryann from Meriden, CT
This week’s question
What’s a commuting route you have an emotional connection to?
Sam’s answer to get the juices flowing: “I grew up taking Boston’s C train, a streetcar line dating back to 1889 that runs along the leafy main drag of the nearest suburb into downtown. The signature green trains with their ear-piercing screeching at specific segments and crawling pace never fail to make me nostalgic.”
Submit your response here.
recs
Play
Brew Crossword: Your sample clue from our biggest puzzle of the week is, “Boleyn who married Henry VIII.” Play the Crossword here.
Open House
Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that is brave enough to rock light wood cabinets. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.
Zillow
Today’s home is in Prairie Village, KS, a city squished between Overland Park and the Missouri border. The house was built in 1984, but has fully updated appliances that barely look a day over 20. Amenities include:
- 4 beds, 6 baths
- Finished basement
- Glass shelves for your glass bowls
How much for a piece of Midwestern charm?
Answer
$1.9 million
Word of the Day
Today’s Word of the Day is: efficacy, meaning “the ability of something to produce a desired result or intended effect.” Thanks to Luther Hoy from Richmond, VA, for the effective suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.
