Update.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-policy/2015/12/24/irs-still-working-on-hack-year/?cmpid=edpick&google_editors_picks=true

IRS Still Working on the Hack of the Year

Ten months after a major hack into taxpayer information at the IRS, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration says the IRS is still working on bolstering its Internet sign-in procedures.

Initially the IRS had said last May that more than 100,000 taxpayer records had been stolen. But then in August it tripled that estimate to 334,000. The IRS says hackers had made an estimated 615,000 attempts to break in, for a success rate of more than 50%.

… The IRS moved to close the gaps in this application starting last spring, and is now trying to come up with more secure sign-on procedures for taxpayers so they can access their tax information, says the new watchdog report.

The watchdog’s findings come as more than eight out of ten taxpayers use websites to get information about their tax payments, the IRS says. [Sounds high to me. Bob]

An interesting question. (Helps me outline my next Computer Security class.)

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/82912.html?google_editors_picks=true

All Security Pros Want for Christmas: Smarter Users, Decoy Networks

People like to see gifts from their wish lists under the Christmas tree, and security pros are no exception. Here are things some cyberwarriors would like old St. Nick to deliver to them.

… smarter users who are less susceptible to social engineering

… more visibility into the threat landscape posed by social media.

… "I would love it if the vendors worked together more cooperatively.

… "I'd like the EU not to focus on data residency," he told TechNewsWorld. "Rather, I'd like them to focus on security and privacy of data."

… Parekh also would like vendors making goods and services for the Internet of Things to start thinking seriously about security.

… better intrusion-detection systems to nip threats before they can blossom

A Christmas present or hoping these get lost in the holiday?

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/264184-intel-agency-releases-al-awlaki-memo-benghazi-emails-on-christmas

Heavily redacted Benghazi emails released on Christmas Eve

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) released a handful of sensitive documents Thursday morning dealing with terrorism suspect Anwar al-Awlaki and the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

The Christmas Eve document dump includes 16 pages of heavily blacked-out emails about the events surrounding the 2012 terrorist attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi that killed four Americans.

… The documents were released as part of a “proactive disclosure” under the Freedom of Information Act. The government and public relations firms have been known to release unflattering information around major holidays or weekends to blunt the news effect.

Sometimes words in an article just jump out at me. I wonder what other hacks are possible?

http://www.automobilemag.com/bmw/7-series/2016/

2016 BMW 7-Series

… Among the new safety features for the 2016 BMW 7 Series is an update to the adaptive cruise control designed to help drivers stick to posted speed limits. Using data from the navigation system and cameras that read traffic signs, the car prompts the driver when the speed limit is about to change.

… Speedy drivers can preselect by how much they’d like the system to automatically exceed the speed limit, up to 15 km/h (9.3 mph) over.

In case they let me teach Math again.

10 Basic Computations You can Do with Wolfram Alpha

(Ditto)

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2015/12/10-good-youtube-channels-for-math.html

10 Good YouTube Channels for Math Lessons