Thursday, August 03, 2017

It’s always worse than the initial estimates.  Why is that?
HBO Security Contractor: Hackers Stole ‘Thousands of Internal Documents’ (EXCLUSIVE)
The HBO hack may have been worse than the initial leaks of a few unaired TV show episodes suggested.  A security company hired by HBO to scrub search results for the hacked files from search engines has told Google that the hackers stole “thousands of Home Box Office (HBO) internal company documents.”
The disclosure came as part of a DMCA take-down notice sent to Google Tuesday to force the search engine to take down links to the leaked files.  The take-down notice also detailed that the hackers did away with “masses of copyrighted items including documents, images, videos and sound.”
   The perpetrators of the hack have claimed that they were able to access some of HBO’s key network infrastructure, and steal a total of 1.5 terabyte of data, and have suggested that they will release additional information in the near future.  An image file published as part of the leaks seems to corroborate at least the first part of that claim, as it appears to show screenshots of HBO’s internal administration tools, listing employee names and email addresses and their functions within the organization. 


A system my Architects could fix. 
Air Canada disappeared off SFO air traffic radar equipment for 12 seconds before near-disaster, NTSB says
The wayward Air Canada plane that nearly caused an aviation disaster at San Francisco International Airport last month dropped off radar displays for 12 seconds in the moments before it approached four fully loaded passenger jets on the taxiway, according to new information released Wednesday from federal aviation officials investigating the incident.
   The Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) system monitors incoming aircraft to ensure they are safely landing at SFO and 34 other airports across the country.  The system, which provides a computerized visual to air traffic controllers, is designed to sound a warning from a loudspeaker in the tower if an airplane on final approach is heading for an occupied runway.  But it does not warn for planes that may be incorrectly aligned to land on a taxiway, as was the case for the Air Canada plane.
Since last year, the Federal Aviation Administration has worked to upgrade the system to also alert towers to planes lined up to taxiways, where planes awaiting takeoff queue up.
“The agency expects to begin testing some modified systems in a few months,” a FAA spokesman said.
   Federal officials were not able to gather information from the airplane’s cockpit voice recorder because it had been overwritten.  [Horsefeathers!  Bob] 


It’s not the money laundering that should concern shareholders, it’s the inability to detect or fix the problem!
Commonwealth Bank Sued for Alleged Money Laundering Breaches
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s largest lender, has been sued by the government’s financial crime agency over 53,700 alleged breaches of money laundering and terrorism financing laws.
   The automated machines were introduced in May 2012, and the amount of cash flowing though them grew exponentially, the court documents say.  In the six months to November 2012 about A$89.1 million was deposited.  By May and June 2016 this had risen to more than A$1 billion per month.  About A$8.9 billion in cash was put through the system before the bank conducted any assessment of the money laundering risk, Austrac said.
Austrac alleges the lender failed to report suspicious matters either on time or at all involving transactions totaling more than A$77 million.  It says the lender didn’t monitor its customers to mitigate the risk even after being made aware by law enforcement agencies of suspected money laundering.


Cool!  My Ethical Hacking students should make their own App to do this!
'Dumbo' Tool Helps CIA Agents Disable Security Cameras
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has developed a tool that disables security cameras and corrupts recordings in an effort to prevent its agents from getting compromised, according to documents published on Thursday by WikiLeaks.
The tool, dubbed “Dumbo,” is executed directly from a USB thumb drive by an operative who has physical access to the targeted device.  Once executed, the program can mute microphones, disable network adapters, and suspend processes associated with video recording devices.
Dumbo also informs its user of where those video recording processes store footage so that the files can be corrupted or deleted.


A prank or a prelude to something else?  Certainly uncommon. 
Navy Clears All 6 Bomb Threats Called In To Hampton Roads Bases Wednesday
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating a series of bomb threats called in against Norfolk and Virginia Beach bases throughout Wednesday that forced several evacuations and lockdowns and affected ships and pier operations while emergency crews fanned out in response, the Navy said.
The calls were deemed not credible and normal operations had resumed by mid-to-late afternoon at both bases, Naval Station Norfolk and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, said Beth Baker, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman.
   Wednesday’s threat also came just two days after the Norfolk base locked down its piers for several hours after watch standers reported seeing someone wearing scuba gear and goggles in the water near Pier 7.  No diver was found and all ships were later cleared.
   While area bases handle threats on occasion, neither Baker nor Mohr could recall recent cases in which so many were made in quick succession.
“This is outside the norm,” Mohr said.


Even though it sounds like a noble idea, there are other consequences.
Tech groups rally against online sex trafficking bill
Internet companies are stepping up their opposition to a Senate sex trafficking bill they believe could make websites liable for what their users publish online.
   “Rather than target criminals, including traffickers and buyers of victims, the proposed legislation would have a devastating impact on legitimate online services without having a meaningful impact on ending trafficking crimes,” the letter reads.
   Portman and Blumenthal are sponsors of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, which would make websites liable for publishing information that facilitates sex trafficking.


An article for President Trump?  (From his alma mater)
You Are What You Tweet: Using Social Media to Assess Well-being
New research from the University of Pennsylvania attempts to understand the personality traits of Americans and the well-being of the communities they live in, by studying what they tweet.  In studying a mind-boggling volume of 37 billion tweets, the researchers at the World Well-Being Project have created an interactive map of U.S. counties with scores for each on select well-being indicators.  The project has been busy: A year ago, it tracked heart disease trends based on a billion tweets, and is now working on projects in Spain, Mexico and the U.K., and is in the early stages of a project in China.


An interesting challenge.
The Coming Consumer Data Wars
When companies come looking for permission to use their European customers’ data after the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect on May 25, 2018, the answer may well be “no.” In a recent OliverWyman survey of 1,500 British consumers, our company discovered that as many as half said they were already leaning toward reclaiming their information.
That gives companies less than 12 months to figure out what it will take to get customers to say “yes” — as well as to figure out procedures and safeguards to assist consumers with accessing, editing, exporting, and deleting any or all of their personal data. And neither job will be easy.


Repeat!  Mark is not running for President in 2020!  Maybe the charity will run? 
Mark Zuckerberg hires former Hillary Clinton pollster
The charitable initiative of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, has reportedly taken on Democratic pollster Joel Benenson as a consultant, further fuelling speculation about his possible political ambitions. 
   The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative also took on Obama campaign manager David Plouffe earlier this year to head up policy and advocacy, as well as Amy Dudley, a former adviser to Clinton running mate Tim Kaine who is now the charity’s spokesperson.


PowerPoint.  Enough said.

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