Tag: us

Nation-State Malware

The Pentagon has suddenly started uploading malware samples from APTs and other nation-state sources to the website VirusTotal, which is essentially a malware zoo that’s used by security pros and antivirus/malware detection engines to gain a better understanding of the threat landscape. This feels like an example of the US’s new strategy of actively harassing foreign government actors. By making their malware public, the US is forcing them to continually find and use new vulnerabilities.

Anti Solar Campaigns

In Arizona, however, where a recent poll found that 75% of the electorate wanted more solar energy, A.P.S. has spent $22m campaigning against Prop 127. “You’d think we were proposing something truly harmful and dangerous”. He hasn’t been shy in returning the blows, spending $18m supporting Prop 127 through Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona. Their biggest expense was a paid force of petitioners who spread out across the state to collect 480k signatures to get the initiative on the ballot, 2x the amount required by law. “We’re on the side of the angels. This is a black-hat, white-hat fight.”

Crack pipe vending crackdown

3 vending machines dispensing crack pipes for $2 each were discovered roadside in Long Island. The machines were marked “PENS” and did indeed contain pens, well, ballpoint pens that had been turned into crack pipes. Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine tested the machine by inserting the required 8 quarters and later remarked, “We’re going to crack down on this.”

Owning elections

Last week at DEFCON 26 in Las Vegas, 11-year-old Emmett Brewer hacked into a replica of Florida’s state election site and changed the voting results. That’s scary enough. What’s even scarier is that it took him less than 10 minutes. An 11-year-old girl was able to hack into the same site in ~15 minutes. And more than 30 kids were able to hack into replicas of other states’ sites in less than 30 min.

Information warfare attack

As DHS, DNI, FBI, and the Pentagon come together before the public to say Russia is actively attacking our midterm elections, as we have long been warned they’d do, please remember that exactly 2.5 weeks ago Donald Trump stood next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, refused to confront him on the 2016 infowar campaign our intelligence officials all say happened, and called Putin’s denial of the 2016 infowar “strong and powerful.”

Seeing all the intel chiefs on stage say one thing, and knowing the President — who wasn’t there? — believes another was weird.

All of the directors seemed to be saying they believe the nature of the attacks was overwhelmingly psyops, or online campaigns intended to influence opinion and voting choices, rather than direct attacks on voting infrastructure.

Trump Lawyers

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had consulted with one of his divorce lawyers, Jay Goldberg, who is also a former prosecutor, about the question of whether Cohen, who seems to be facing a raft of charges for financial crimes, might flip, and become a witness against him. The idea that Trump would consult someone who was also his divorce lawyer on this point is another sign of how much his concept of the law centers on him and his personal needs. Goldberg had advised Trump not to trust Cohen, or almost anyone facing a long jail sentence. The “attorney-client dynamic, to use Comey’s phrase, between Trump and Cohen may, for the President, turn out to be explosive. And Cohen isn’t the President’s only lawyer, or his only problem.

Senior Cannabis

Taylor is now a commissioner on aging in Alameda County, and is 1 of 2 people in California certified to train physicians and nurses in medical cannabis. She speaks at churches and senior centers. “In the beginning, they’ll sit, frowning, with their arms folded across their chests. I tell them I’m not trying to convince anyone, I’m only here to educate you about the health benefits.” This summer, she plans to open iCANN Berkeley, a dispensary and wellness center, in a historically black neighborhood, which will cater to seniors. “Seniors are the most vulnerable population we have. People think they can give them a pill and not worry if it’s gonna kill them because they’re almost dead anyway.”

Retail Future

All the mockery of the idea of Apple Stores as “town squares” multiplies 10x—though malls, at least, must incorporate public bathrooms. No loitering policies, parental escort policies, and curfews explicitly exclude homeless people and teenagers from the mall. The economic mix of stores and the food options presents an implicit form of exclusion, as does the presence or absence of seating. The new urban malls must be responsible about the semi-public part of the equation.