You might think someone would notice unauthorized access to such sensitive material.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/22/17716622/sec-business-wire-hack-stolen-press-release-fraud-ukraine

How an international hacker network turned stolen press releases into $100 million

… Newswires like Business Wire are clearinghouses for corporate information, holding press releases, regulatory announcements, and other market-moving information under strict embargo before sending it out to the world. Over a period of at least five years, three US newswires were hacked using a variety of methods from SQL injections and phishing emails to data-stealing malware and illicitly acquired login credentials. Traders who were active on US stock exchanges drew up shopping lists of company press releases and told the hackers when to expect them to hit the newswires. The hackers would then upload the stolen press releases to foreign servers for the traders to access in exchange for 40 percent of their profits, paid to various offshore bank accounts. Through interviews with sources involved with both the scheme and the investigation, chat logs, and court documents, The Verge has traced the evolution of what law enforcement would later call one of the largest securities fraud cases in US history.

Even the smartest Computer Security manager will have problems with “stupid.”

1,464 Western Australian government officials used ‘Password123’ as their password. But don’t smirk.

Taylor Telford reports:

Somewhere in Western Australia, a government IT employee is probably laughing or crying or pulling their hair out, or maybe all of the above. A security audit of the Western Australian government released this week by the state’s auditor general found that 26 percent of its officials had weak, common passwords — including more than 5,000 including the word “password” out of 234,000 in 17 government agencies.

The legions of lazy passwords were exactly what you — or a thrilled hacker — would expect: 1,464 people went for “Password123” and 813 used “password1.” Nearly 200 individuals simply used “password,” perhaps never changing it to begin with. Almost 13,000 used variations of the date and season, and almost 7,000 included versions of “123

Read more on TBO.

Is this as counter-intuitive as I think it is? Are we Balkanizing the Internet?

https://www.engadget.com/2018/08/25/instagram-college-students-communities/

Instagram is testing virtual communities for college students

Facebook's pledge to "spark conversations and meaningful interactions" apparently extends to Instagram. The photo-sharing app has started testing a feature designed to bring college students going to the same university together in a virtual community. According to CNBC, the Facebook-owned company is inviting select users to join groups for their schools based on the accounts they follow, their connections and their public posts. If someone who got invited chooses to try it out, they have to opt in by choosing their university and graduating year from a set of predetermined choices.

This is subtle, but most of Scott Adams’ Dilbert cartoons have reflected his opinion of President Trump. Just change the words ‘first draft’ to any current Trump topic…

http://dilbert.com/strip/2018-08-26