Category: Uncategorized

Coding Camp – Day 45

Today I was on the ball. At least I knew what was going on! Just a bit about recursion and then we did a mock interview session with classmates. Tried to act as interviewers to the other classmates. Eleanor is a smart cookie. She has some interviewing skills and it came through.

That’s where I am. Trying to learn how to respond in coding interviews. These kinds of questions about sorting algorithms are common.

Coding Camp – Days 43 – 44

The second project is behind us and we’re on to computer science for javascript. It reminds me of the CS50 class I took at Harvard online. We heard briefly about sorting algorithms last night and tonight we learn a bit about functional programming. This camp is giving us a great span of computer science and coding knowledge that we can build on later throughout life. It’s a neverending process this learning in our field.

P.S. Have to learn functional programming better as React is based on it.

Bermuda Citizen Number One

Larger than life.

At the Royal Bermuda Yacht club, Charles lifted his whisky again and let loose some blue language. Then with that twinkle in his eye flirted with my mother. He had just returned from the Arctic sailing trip with Warren “War Baby” Brown and was once again the center of attention in Hamilton.
Continue reading “Bermuda Citizen Number One”

Raking it in

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.

Cyber war through Anonymous

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.

NotPetya2 – Cont.

So significant ransomware attacks on Ukraine right now. Dark Reading notes that 77% of organizations have poor segmentation, 70% have exposed Industrial Control System connections and 44% shared credentials:
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/ransomware-trained-on-manufacturing-firms-led-cyberattacks-in-industrial-sector

Most of last year also saw scans of TCP Port 502, which is used by a protocol called Modbus, the transportation systems of Ukraine. (That is SCADA devices as well.)

Significant was the use of a new data wiper called “HermeticWiper” (aka KillDisk.NCV) with evolving attacks over the past two months. Over 121 unsuccessful cyber attacks took place last month, one which was called “WhisperGate.”

The prep for the main event was overwhelming distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Ukrainian government offices and banks. The Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) was fingered by U.S. and U.K. officials, with subsequent denial of course by the Kremlin.

The propaganda war is trying to sow panic and spread miss information.

“President Joe Biden said last month the US could respond with cyberoperations of its own if Russia conducts additional cyberattacks in Ukraine.”

This is not about websites. This is about basic economic processes and transportation.  ICS and SCADA systems are being compromised.
The attacks began Feb12. The second version of NotPetya? I have a feeling that we will know the damages more than anything ever before. Alarming is the data wiping that happened before the kinetic events.

Key Ukrainian government websites hit by series of cyberattacks – CNN

Will Someone Please Stop the Oversaturated Vendor Problem in Balboa Park?

UPDATE: Well, according to sources at the Balboa Park visitor’s center, someone put in a new rule that vendors there have to be 100 feet apart. Doesn’t mean a lot imho; street vendors have been a problem for business owners throughout the city, who have some of the same products, just without the overhead. But now the city council said they will vote on March 1 to rule on placing restrictions on vendors and prohibit them in certain parks, beaches, and places like Old Town: “The ordinance requires vendors to obtain a business license and vendor permit. It would define specific distance parameters around statues, art displays and other vendors.”

Though the park website says “The City of San Diego must issue a permit for any commercial filming for exterior areas in Balboa Park,” vendors, with hygiene requirements, don’t need a permit? I don’t see why this took so long to address.

—-

Ah, to get back to normal life. At Balboa Park, the museums are starting to open, the Spanish Village artists are back at work, and the rose garden is in full bloom.

But now someone needs to do something about the high number of what appears to be unapproved vendors who are in Balboa Park. They seem to have little food safety and basic hygiene, and poor trash management. The U-T interviewed Alexis Villanueva, senior program manager of economic development with City Heights CDC, who maintains that “micro-enterprise” vendors contribute to the economy. Yes, but they can also contribute other, unwanted things. There has to be a balance here between rules, regulations and freedoms.

 

Continue reading “Will Someone Please Stop the Oversaturated Vendor Problem in Balboa Park?”

Do you have a dark web presence?

Heard this radio interview yesterday with BorderLAN. Among the notes:
1. Don’t be lazy in getting your cyber. Don’t say “we’re just a small company and hackers are not after us.”
2. In order to get cyber insurance, you are first going to have to:
   A. Perform on/offsite backups
   B. Get effective anti-malware
   C. Have you even blocked certain IPs, like from North Korea?
“Do what you do as a small business and leave us to do our job, what we do to protect you,” said the company rep.
The dark web is filled with data. There are supercomputers out there doing continual scans for vulns. We can search for your data out there. It’s like Amazon/auction for hackers. Free hacking tools for script kiddies (no experience needed).
The government just spent $2-3 trillion but $5-6 trillion is already out there on the dark web (ransomware and other data hostage, things like free videos of porn, human trafficking, software serial numbers, free stuff!)

Gadgets 01/15/2022: CES tech, DJI Mavic drone, Best Buy TVs, Galaxy entry level phone

Late stuff from CES:

This is a slick projector, but looks like currently out of stock at both Amazon and Samsung. 180 degrees, speaker sound waves in all directions, streaming apps, playlist, voice assistants. “The projector optimizes screen size, auto-focuses, and levels the image even when pointed on an angle.” Also adjusts the color temperature of the projector to accommodate non-white walls, and has built-in Samsung Smart TV.
https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Freestyle-Projector-Built-SP-LSP3BLAXZA/dp/B09NDXB72V

New Garmin smartwatch with phone call and voice assistant support, and AMOLED display.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/730659

This is crazy cool stuff. Is foldable tech maturing?

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ces-2022-asus-launches-17-inch-folding-oled-laptop-and-space-themed-zenbook

More CES tech
Best of CES 2022: Gaming Gear, PCs, Home Entertainment, Transportation | WIRED

Other stuff:

I’m not a drone guy, but ZDNet raving about this for 2022.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/dji-mavic-3-the-very-best-drone-for-2022

These deals are wow. Want to upgrade one of my TVs.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/snag-these-65-inch-flat-screens-at-best-buy-for-less-than-500

Got one of these entry level phones for my mom. Simple and does all she wants. I really don’t know why you would need anything else.
https://www.samsung.com/us/smartphones/galaxy-s21-5g/buy/galaxy-s21-5g-128gb-unlocked-sm-g991uzaaxaa

 

Cyber Risk Assessment, Pt. II

Cyber Risk Assessment, Pt. I

3. Vulnerability Assessment (also known as “security posture assessment”) – An in-depth examination of the assets from the inventory to gauge their weaknesses or vulnerabilities. [Our] vulnerability assessments uncover gaps in your security and drive our overall risk management. While threats can come from both inside and outside your organization, vulnerabilities are internal factors. We look for your organization’s structural flaws and weaknesses, how effective your current safeguards are (vulnerability appraisal), and the weaknesses that remain in spite of them. We captures a picture of your network’s and data’s security. Every possible contingency will be gauged for multiple vulnerabilities. Our team’s diverse backgrounds and experience enables us to consider all the weaknesses specific to your organization. Testing cyber infrastructure is an indispensable part of what we do. We use industry-standard tools like Nessus, Nmap, and Metasploit to test for vulnerabilities, examining every available host, services, OS, ports, firewalls, software and firmware vulnerabilities, unencrypted and sensitive data, and permissions. We may also conduct penetration testing and red team-blue team exercises, and examine your data that is online right now that may aid in a threat actor’s social engineering tactics. Continue reading “Cyber Risk Assessment, Pt. II”

Makes sure to keep MalwareBytes NY resolutions

Per MalwareBytes (and me):

Say “yes” to updates
Installing updates promptly is one of the best ways to be more cybersecure. Next time an app offers you an update, click “yes” instead of “no”, “cancel” or “remind me later”. (Do you know where it came from?)

Say “no” to feeble passwords
Strong passwords keep your data safe, so don’t let yourself choose feeble passwords in 2022, and if somebody shares a password with you, or asks for yours, just say “no.” (My passwords are generally very strong with financial, job or security sites.)

Say “woah” to unexpected messages
Scams come in all shapes and sizes, but no matter how they’re dressed up, they always want something valuable, URGENTLY. So don’t be rushed—take your time in 2022.
(Remember: if it sounds too good to be true…)