Monday, October 10, 2011


This one is rather unique (if we can believe the article)
MI: Hackers hit Troy schools
October 9, 2011 by admin
Mike Martindale reports:
Police and Troy school officials are investigating a widespread hacking of the school district’s computer system.
In a letter to parents obtained by The Detroit News, schools Superintendent Barbara Fowler said she told students and staff with accounts on the system to change their passwords so whoever’s responsible can’t access personal information.
The hacking has been stopped, police said, but there are concerns data gleaned by hackers could lead to identity theft and fraud.
“No one is in custody yet, but when it all comes out, I expect it to be significant,” police Officer Andy Breidenich said Friday.
Read more on The Detroit News.
[From the article:
According to Fowler's letter to parents, dated Sept. 30, the hacking involved the decryption of passwords and user names in a district database. [Decrypting on the school's computer system? (How else would they know?) I've never seen that before. Bob]
In the letter, Fowler wrote that police had asked the school district to delay notifying parents to avoid compromising the investigation. [Why? The only reason I can see is to keep the hacker accessing the system in hopes of tracing him. (And in this case, the cops had NOT asked them to hold off...) Bob]


Managers assume that anyone with a smattering of technical skill knows everything they need to know to get a job done correctly.
"The UK Ministry of Defence has been left with egg on its face, after a supposedly redacted PDF detailing secrets related to air defence radar systems was published on a parliamentary website. The problem? Whoever did the redacting simply changed the sensitive text to black on a black background, making it possible for anyone to access the information simply by cutting-and-pasting. The incident is particularly embarrassing for the Ministry, as six months ago precisely the same security screw-up occurred — that time related to sensitive information about nuclear submarines."


For my Ethical Hackers: Tools like this are readily available and free. What free tools detect/block/remove these tools.
German ’Trojan’ Spyware May Violate Constitution
October 10, 2011 by Dissent
Cornelius Rahn and Brian Parkin report:
The German government is using spying software that violates the country’s constitutional law because it contains functions beyond the interception of Internet-based communication, a hacker organization said.
The malware, once installed on a target computer, can receive software and remotely execute it, the Chaos Computer Club said. It can also be used to control hardware such as microphones and cameras for room surveillance as well as upload falsified evidence to the target hard drive, said Hamburg-based CCC, which called itselfEurope’s largest hacker group.
Read more on Bloomberg.


Sooner or later, one of the people who communicate with one of the people who communicated with Appelbaum will communicate with Kevin Bacon.
Justice Department ramps up WikiLeaks e-mail probe
The U.S. Department of Justice has expanded its investigation of WikiLeaks-related accounts to encompass Google and Internet provider Sonic.net.
Both companies received [Not so secret Bob] secret court orders directing them to turn over information from the e-mail account of Jacob Appelbaum, a hacker and human rights activist who has been affiliated with WikiLeaks, the Wall Street Journal reported this evening.
… Appelbaum has not been charged with a crime.
… Ever since appearing at The Next HOPE hacker conference in July 2010 on behalf of WikiLeaks' Assange, who's currently out on bail in England while fighting extradition charges, Appelbaum has been the subject of strict police scrutiny. The Tor Project programmer has been repeatedly targeted when he crosses the border, with his electronics seized, and he no longer travels with any sensitive data. Even his friends have had their laptops and cell phones temporarily seized.
… In this case, it appears that the Justice Department is not asking for the contents of Appelbaum's communications--instead, they want to know the identities of his correspondents, which can be even more useful.


What (beside 'remedial grammar school') do they teach these “educators?” Perhaps they need to add Forrest Gump to the school board, because he knows that “Stupid is as stupid does.”
"Anaheim Union High School District has killed a controversial incentive program that assigned students color-coded ID cards and planners based on state test scores, required those who performed poorly to stand in a separate lunch line and awarded the others with discounts. The program was designed to urge students to raise scores on the California Standards Tests, but it also raised concern among parents and students who said it illegally revealed test scores and embarrassed those who didn't do well."
[From the article:
The program, in place at Cypress and Kennedy high schools, [Attention Class Action lawyers! Bob] was designed to urge students to raise scores on the California Standards Tests, but it also raised concern among parents and students who said it illegally revealed test scores and embarrassed those who didn't do well.
… "Because we believe having incentives can appropriately motivate students, we will develop another system for them to access the incentives. This is similar to acknowledging students for their participation in athletics, performing arts, extra-curricular activities, and community involvement," the statement reads. [Actually, it is similar to announcing that you failed your teacher certification test, again. Bob]
The California Department of Education characterized the practice as "inappropriate" and a violation of student privacy laws, and urged school administrators to curtail the practice.
A UC Irvine educational psychologist, AnneMarie Conley, who has extensively studied student motivation strategies in Orange County schools, called the system "one of the worst ideas ever" to promote learning.
Cypress High Principal Ben Carpenter said Wednesday that he believed the program did not violate student privacy laws because administrators intentionally designed it to obscure students' exam performance.


Someday, CEO's will ask their customers BEFORE they make a huge change to their services...
Netflix cancels Qwikster spinoff
… Critics said Netflix was doing the unthinkable: making a successful, simple service more complicated. Michael Pachter, an analyst who has covered Netflix for years, called the move the "dumbest" he's seen any company make in a long time.


Perhaps we should add Facebook etiquette to our student Career Services?
7 Reasons Why Recruiters Like Facebook More Than LinkedIn
… While employers continue to use professional networking site LinkedIn for recruiting, especially when hand-picking for executive positions, they prefer interacting with students and graduates via Facebook rather than LinkedIn, according to a study by online recruiting research lab Potentialpark.
… Potentialpark interviewed HR professionals about their motivation to be active on Facebook and found that they had multiple reasons for involvement. Here’s an overview of reasons why recruiters cited a preference for Facebook when dealing with young talent:
  • 1. It’s more engaging. With Facebook, employers can follow a “let them come to us” strategy by setting up a business page for recruitment and career purposes. Recruiters noted that the interesting content on pages leads to comments, discussions and more personal interactions. With LinkedIn, the communication is very much one-way in the recruiting world, as employers proactively search for candidates and message them.
  • 2. Facebook is where the action is. Recruiters perceive that few students and recent graduates actively update their LinkedIn profiles, whereas they are quite active on Facebook. Therefore, it just makes sense to connect with them where they already hang out online.
  • 3. It’s free. Employers like that Facebook enables them to upload advanced recruitment content, such as testimonials, videos, pictures or a job search — and it’s all free of charge. This broad range of tools enables a company to showcase itself as an attractive employer.
  • 4. It’s a bigger network. Facebook offers a larger audience, with more than 800 million active users worldwide, compared with LinkedIn’s user base of around 120 million members.
  • 5. It’s more open. Facebook is free for all members and requires no premium accounts to use certain features. As a result, it’s a more open network than LinkedIn.
  • 6. The Like button. When it comes to career website integration, Facebook takes the cake — Facebook feeds and the Like button are easier to integrate.
  • 7. It’s better for branding. Recruiters report they tend toward LinkedIn and other business networks for networking, screening and recruiting. However, when it comes to employer branding activities and talent communication — especially with students, graduates and early career professionals — many prefer Facebook.

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