Thursday, September 03, 2020

What does this hacker group have against New Zealand? (They are small and therefore they must be vulnerable?)

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/new-zealand-enduring-wave-cyberattacks-rcna105?&web_view=true

New Zealand enduring wave of cyberattacks

The attacks stopped share trading for up to several hours at a time over four days last week.

the bank TSB, which was hit Tuesday.

Another bank, Westpac, said it successfully repelled an attack two weeks ago and hadn’t been hit again since. News organizations Stuff and RNZ reported they had repelled attacks over the weekend.

The weather organization MetService was also hit this week





Retaliation, not origination?

https://www.justsecurity.org/72181/iran-joins-discussions-of-sovereignty-and-non-intervention-in-cyberspace/

Iran Joins Discussions of Sovereignty and Non-Intervention in Cyberspace

On August 18, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces released a statement outlining its views on how international law applies in cyberspace. The detailed statement is the first of its kind issued from a major non-Western cyber power (with the possible exception of China’s International Strategy of Cooperation on Cyberspace ) and therefore merits particularly close attention and scrutiny.

[From the statement:

Armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran do not initiate any conflict in cyberspace as in the physical space. They regard the policy included in this instrument as a framework for their actions in confronting any threat in cyberspace,” the statement said.

It is clear that the Armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran reserve the right to react to any threat at any level in a firmed and decisive manner if any of the policies included in the present instrument may be violated by any state, group, or any other person or entity supported, controlled or directed by any state,” it added.





Another checklist for my Computer Security students.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ncsc-releases-cyberguidance/?&web_view=true

NCSC Releases Cyber-Guidance

The joint cybersecurity advisory "Technical Approaches to Uncovering and Remediating Malicious Activity" was published today in conjunction with the US’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre and CERT NZ, and the Canadian Communications Security Establishment.





Yes it was unconstitutional, but no big deal?

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/02/court-rules-nsa-phone-snooping-illegal-407727

Court rules NSA phone snooping illegal — after 7-year delay

The National Security Agency program that swept up details on billions of Americans' phone calls was illegal and possibly unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

However, the unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the role the so-called telephone metadata program played in a criminal terror-fundraising case against four Somali immigrants was so minor that it did not undermine their convictions.





Not surprising. If you choose to opt-out you should probably travel with a lawyer. I doubt your ‘lawyer app’ would be sufficient.

https://www.bespacific.com/cbp-does-not-make-it-clear-americans-can-opt-out-of-airport-face-scanning/

CBP does not make it clear Americans can opt out of airport face scanning

Tech Crunch: “A government watchdog has criticized U.S. border authorities for failing to properly disclose the agency’s use of facial recognition at airports, which included instructions on how Americans can opt out. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), tasked with protecting the border and screening immigrants, has deployed its face-scanning technology in 27 U.S. airports as part of its biometric entry-exit program. The program was set up to catch visitors who overstay their visas. Foreign nationals must complete a facial recognition check before they are allowed to enter and leave the United States, but U.S. citizens are allowed to opt out. But the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report out Wednesday that CBP did “not consistently” provide notices that informed Americans that they would be scanned as they depart the United States…”





Why Rolls Royce? Trying to sound trustworthy?

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/rolls-royce-announces-ai-ethics-framework-will-make-it-available-to-all-6580194/

Rolls-Royce announces AI ethics framework, will make it available to all

In what could increase the trust individuals and the society have on artificial intelligence which has started permeating many parts of daily life, Rolls-Royce has announced an AI ethics framework to ensure that decisions taken by the technology are ethical. The company has also announced a five-layer checking system focuses on ensuring the outcomes of the constantly-changing AI algorithms can be trusted.

The ethics framework and its trust process have been peer reviewed by subject matter experts in several big tech firms, as well as experts in the automotive, pharmaceutical, academic and government sectors, a Rolls-Royce release said, adding that the same will also be published in full under Creative Commons licence later this year on the Rolls-Royce.com website.





For stay-at-home campers?

https://www.bespacific.com/sounds-of-the-forest/

Sounds of the Forest

We are collecting the sounds of woodlands and forests from all around the world, creating a growing soundmap bringing together aural tones and textures from the world’s woodlands. The sounds form an open source library, to be used by anyone to listen to and create from. Selected artists will be responding to the sounds that are gathered, creating music, audio, artwork or something else incredible, to be presented at Timber Festival 2021. This second part of the project is gratefully supported by PRS for Music Foundation.





For my students.

https://www.bespacific.com/the-new-rules-for-landing-a-job-in-the-covid-era/

The New Rules for Landing a Job in the Covid Era

WSJ.com [paywall and alternate source no paywall ] – “It takes luck, creativity and a fresh look at your network of contacts to find a job in the worst labor market in more than a decade. Since the pandemic hit the U.S. hard in March, the economy has lost 13 million jobs, job seekers have seen offers yanked away, and many recent college graduates remain sidelined. But there is reason to be optimistic, albeit cautiously: Many employers are still hiring. More than half of small and midsize companies plan to hire full-time employees this year, according to an August survey of 600 human-resources and finance chiefs by Paycor, an HR software company. And while the percentage of LinkedIn members hired into new jobs fell 7.4% in July compared with the year before, it jumped 57.5% from June, according to LinkedIn’s August Workforce Report. But today’s jobs landscape is wildly different from the red-hot labor market of early 2020. An open position can yield hundreds of applications. Many job interviews are still happening over laptop screens, and companies’ hiring needs are changing as fast as the economic outlook…”



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