Is this biblical?
Google: Chinese state hackers target Ukraine’s government (bleepingcomputer.com)
Meanwhile elsewhere on the planet, China is expanding yet again.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/03/chinese-navy-growth-massive-expansion-of-important-shipyard
Lindsay Addario on Firing Line with Margaret Hoover. She covered her times as a war correspondent and the losses of fellow journalists and the decimation of civilians in local communities.
Photographing the Reality of War – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
I wanted to be a photojournalist for a bit, until things just happened. It’s not glamorous (just the idea of a Pulitzer maybe). You have to love what you do.
Just getting back to writing again, as I was on a birthday “getaway.”
I bought some extra water because of recent events. I know, cyberattacks may not hit infrastructure–though there are cyberattacks right now in Ukraine, reportedly Russian state actors have not yet attacked infrastructure–but that’s the extent of my prepping. Things over there have continuously escalated, with Russian attacks on civilians, so no one knows what’s going to happen.
Biden: we will “use every tool to deter, disrupt, and if necessary, respond to cyberattacks against critical infrastructure.”
Slightly comforting.
Biden: There is “evolving intelligence that the Russian government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks.”
The government claims to be ready, but your enterprises and SMBs may not be.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/22/politics/analysis-biden-warning-putin-cyberattack-us/index.html
There is something that you should be doing right now as an SMB or enterprise: MFA should no longer be optional. It’s a comparatively small measure considering what could be in way of an attack.
The government made these suggestions, which are a good summing up:
– Deploy modern security tools on your computers and devices to continuously look for and mitigate threats
– Make sure that your systems are patched and protected against all known vulnerabilities, and change passwords across your networks so that previously stolen credentials are useless to malicious actors
– Back up your data and ensure you have offline backups beyond the reach of malicious actors
– Run exercises and drill your emergency plans so that you are prepared to respond quickly to minimize the impact of any attack
– Encrypt your data so it cannot be used if it is stolen
– Educate your employees to common tactics that attackers will use over email or through websites
– Work with FBI and CISA to establish relationships in advance of any cyber incidents
So now these crooks are using a new ransomware called LokiLock, that wipes your device. This has already happened in Ukraine and “The US government fears destructive malware could target organizations in the West in retribution for sanctions against Russia.”
‘Everyone loses’: This new ransomware threatens to wipe Windows PCs if its victims don’t pay up | ZDNet
How can you negotiate when they destroy your machine in the process? It’s clearly like NotPetya, where Ukrainian systems were attacked by Russian actors. That’s what is currently
A colleague said that he prefers the U.S. having separate agencies in lieu of a centralized authority. He’s right about centralized authority in general, but I think we need a single federal agency in this case–in the name of readiness for a war perhaps coming soon to your local water company.
I’ve noticed that Trump supporters are paying to see speakers like Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk to the tune of $20 to $5000(!) I remember my relative saying “there’s no way [Trump] lost.” So 40-odd law suits later, they still think that. There is something akin to delusions of grandeur here–but with crowd size supposedly indicating where the nation is.
Two mental health articles.
A Dartmouth study found that major depressive, anxiety, and bipolar disorders can be recognized by the emotions of Reddit posts; the posts can reveal an “emotional fingerprint” for a user. They didn’t examine the content, just the emotion–so the study is an incomplete look at emotional disorders in my opinion. Also, what about the bomb throwers and trolls? Online mass movements?
https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2022/03/ai-model-detects-mental-disorders-based-web-posts
Just learning more about what Anonymous is doing. Can we cheer for them? MSNBC updated us on the events about attacks on Russian targets, but made note that this could lead to cyberwar. The NYT had the other side: there are attacks by Russian operators on Ukrainian targets. Opinion | I’ve Dealt With Foreign Cyberattacks. America Isn’t Ready for What’s Coming. – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Ukraine is fighting back with a volunteer cyber army. What will you do when the water and power are out? There is no central agency in the U.S. Frightening.
And the biggest realization from this event was:
I am not my sin.
I am too hard on myself on some things. I met so many guys who prayed for me and gave me advice. The event was such a blessing and eye-opening. I’ve made some numerous friends at Awaken Balboa, where I have been on the sidelines too long. Something was moving me to challenge myself and what a blessing it was. I won’t look back.
Going to the Emerge men’s retreat in Campo.
EMERGE Men’s Conference 2022 – Emerge
Haven’t been camping in years! Should be fun.
Interesting how many people are emoting about Ukraine. The question is, how long will this last?
This reminds me of something I learned from Ken Burn’s Civil War documentary. The series spoke of how when the war first started, people were not taking it seriously; some were watching the first battles like an amusement. Years later, the gravity of the conflict was evident.
Social media has that common emotional outpouring that gives some people meaning. But hopefully these pro-Ukraine memes will prove not weary, but genuine(and lasting for democracy).