Network | Eat It Or Wear It

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Secret Code For Kindergartners

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Killian Bundy

How dumb is this?

‘Pizza’ Party Codeword May Have Doomed CIA Spies

All the CIA’s Lebanon spies wanted was a slice. What they got, allegedly, was a big intelligence failure.

Hezbollah may have just rolled up the CIA’s network of spies devoted to cracking the secrets of the Lebanese Shiite extremist group. If so, it’s because of one of the stupidest, least secure code words in history.

According to ABC News, Hezbollah operatives figured out that CIA informants who had infiltrated the Iranian proxy group were meeting with their agency handlers at a Beirut Pizza Hut. How could Hezbollah deduce that location? “The CIA used the codeword ‘PIZZA’ when discussing where to meet with the agents,” ABC reports.

What were they thinking? It’s unfortunate that people working for us have or are about to lose their lives over something this stupid and easily avoidable. Not only is it extremely damaging to our intelligence gathering efforts, but it’s also going to have a chilling effect on future recruitment efforts. Seriously, who wants to work for amateurs, especially if your life depends on it?

/taking the intelligence out of Central Intelligence Agency

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: ABC, ABC News, Agency, Agency Handlers, Agents, Because, Beirut, Beirut Pizza Hut, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, CIA Informants, CIA Network, CIA Spies, Code, Code Words, Codeword, Cracking, Deduce, Devoted, Discussing, Doomed, Extremist, Extremist Group, Failure, Figured Out, Group, Handlers, Hezbollah, Hezbollah Operatives, History, Infiltrated, Informants, Intelligence, Intelligence Failure, Iran, Iranian, Iranian Proxy Group, Least, Least Secure, Least Secure Code Words, Lebanese, Lebanese Shiite Extremist Group, Lebanon, Lebanon Spies, Location, Meeting, Network, News, Operatives, Pizza, Pizza Hut, Proxy, Proxy Group, Rolled Up, Secret, Secret Code, Secrets, Secure, Shiite, Spies, Stupidest, Words | Leave a comment »

Don’t Get Caught In The Crossfire

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Killian Bundy

The Duqu virus is squarely aimed at Iran’s nuclear program. Unless you’re connected with Iran’s nuclear program, your chances of being directly targeted are extremely low. However, Microsoft was freaked out enough to issue a security bulletin for Windows users. So, better safe than sorry, protect yourself against the possibility of becoming collateral damage in an epic, upcoming attack.

Microsoft issues Duqu virus workaround for Windows

Microsoft has issued a temporary fix to the pernicious Duqu virus — also known as “Son of Stuxnet” — which could affect users of Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 as well as Windows Server 2008.

The company promised the security update earlier this week as it races to deal with the virus, which targets victims via email with a Microsoft Word attachment. The virus is not in the email, but in the attachment itself. A Symantec researcher said if a user opens the Word document, the attacker could take control of the PC, and nose around in an organization’s network to look for data, and the virus could propagate itself.

Is it just me or doesn’t it seem a bit more than odd that Microsoft, a company with close ties to and a past history of working with U.S. intelligence agencies, would publicly issue a workaround to defend against a specific piece of malware that, by many accounts, is being actively and currently used by U.S. intelligence agencies to set up and facilitate an upcoming attack, in cyberspace or otherwise, against Iran’s nuclear program? I mean, it’s not like the Iranians can’t read English, why help them defend against Duqu? Hmmm, something’s not quite right here.

/whatever’s going on, and something is going on, it’s way above my pay grade, but when the endgame comes, don’t forget to duck

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: 2639658, Advisory, Aimed, Attachment, Attack, Attacker, Bulletin, Collateral Damage, Company, Control, Crossfire, Cyberattack, Data, Document, Duqu, Duqu Virus, Email, Extremely Low, Fix, Freaked Out, Iran, Iranian Nuclear Program, Issued, Issues, Look For, Microsoft, Microsoft Security Advisory, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Word Attachment, Network, Nose Around, Nuclear, Nuclear Program, Opens, Organization, PC, Possibility, Program, Promised, Propagate, Protect, Protect Yourself, Researcher, Security, Security Advisory, Security Bulletin, Security Update, Son Of Stuxnet, Stuxnet, Symantec, Symantec Researcher, Take, Take Control, Targeted, Targets, Temporary, Temporary Fix, Update, Victims, Virus, Vista, Windows, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Users, Windows XP, Word Document, Workaround, Yourself | 2 Comments »

Calling A Spade A Spade

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Killian Bundy

Outgoing Joint Chiefs chairman Mike Mullen finally said, in public, what everybody already knows, Pakistan is the enemy, not our ally.

Mullen Blames Pakistan Intelligence for Attack

The top U.S. military officer on Thursday accused Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency of backing extremists in planning and executing the assault on the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan last week and a truck bomb attack that wounded 77 American soldiers days earlier.

In his last congressional testimony before he retires next week, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, insisted that the Haqqani insurgent network “acts as a veritable arm” of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, undermining the uneasy U.S.-Pakistan relationship forged in the terror fight and endangering American troops in the nearly 10-year-old war in Afghanistan.

Pakistan can deny, protest, and be outraged by the truth all they want. The evidence is overwhelming that the ISI aids and harbors terrorists that are constantly attacking, wounding, and killing U.S. forces in the region. There’s enough smoking guns to fill a National Guard armory. Need more proof that the ISI cooperates closely with terrorists? Just remember where and under what circumstances Osama bin Laden was found, ’nuff said. Pakistan is threatening to cease being our ally? Well, with allies like Pakistan, who needs enemies?

/by the way, the attack on the U.S. Embassy was a blatant act of war, the road to victory in Afghanistan clearly winds through Pakistan, do we want to win or tuck tail like the Soviets?

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: Accused, Acts As, Afghanistan, Ally, American, American Soldiers, American Troops, Arm, Assault, Attack, Backing, Backing Extremists, Blames, Chairman, Congressional, Congressional Testimony, Embassy, Endangering, Enemy, Executing, Extremists, Fight, Forged, Haqqani, Haqqani Insurgent Network, Haqqani Network, Insisted, Insurgent, Insurgent Network, Intelligence, Intelligence Agency, Inter-Services Intelligence Agency, ISI, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, Military, Military Officer, Network, Officer, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Pakistan Intelligence, Planning, Powerful, Relationship, Retires, Soldiers, Terror, Terror Fight, Terrorism, Terrorists, Testimony, Top U.S. Military Officer, Troops, Truck Bomb, Truck Bomb Attack, U.S., U.S. Embassy, U.S. Military Officer, U.S.-Pakistan, U.S.-Pakistan Relationship, Undermining, Uneasy, United States, Veritable, Veritable Arm, War, Wounded | Leave a comment »

Give It Up For Islam, Or Die

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Killian Bundy

In Iran, and most other Muslim countries, you can freely practice any religion you want without repercussions, as long as it’s Islam.

Iranian Pastor Could Face Death

The former pastor of a network of Christian house churches in Iran has been told to exchange his faith for his life, according to news reports and human rights groups.

“We are dismayed over reports that the Iranian courts are requiring Youcef Nadarkhani to recant his Christian faith or face the death penalty for apostasy,” wrote U.S. Department of State Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in a recent press statement.

Mr. Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht on October 13, 2009 while attempting to register his church after protesting compulsory Islamic religious instruction in Iranian public schools. Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a human rights group, reports that he was originally charged with protesting, however, the charges against the 32-year-old convert to Christianity were later changed to apostasy and evangelizing Muslims.

Hey, how about that religion of peace and tolerance? What a sick joke. Can you just imagine the international uproar if courts in Christian countries started sentencing converts to Islam to death?

/evil is as evil does and no religion does evil like Islam, just read the daily news

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: Apostasy, Arrested, Attempting, Changed, Charged, Christian, Christian Faith, Christian House Churches, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Christianity, Church, Churches, City, Compulsory, Compulsory Islamic Religious Instruction, Convert, Convert To Christianity, Courts, Death, Death Penalty, Department Of State, Department Of State Spokeswoman, Dismayed, Evangelizing, Evangelizing Muslims, Exchange, Face, Face Death, Faith, Former, Former Pastor, Home, Home City, House, House Churches, Human Rights, Human Rights Group, Human Rights Groups, Instruction, Iran, Iranian, Iranian Courts, Iranian Pastor, Iranian Public Schools, Islam, Islamic, Islamic Religious Instruction, Muslim, Muslim Countries, Muslims, Network, News Reports, Pastor, Practice, Protesting, Public Schools, Rasht, Recant, Register, Religion, Religious, Religious Instruction, Reports, Requiring, Spokeswoman, U.S. Department of State, Victoria Nuland, Youcef Nadarkhani | Leave a comment »

Is Our Back Door Open?

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Killian Bundy

Gee, I wonder which computer component manufacturing country might be responsible for this? Hmmm, let me think.

(you might want to skip to 51:47)

U.S. Suspects Contaminated Foreign-Made Components Threaten Cyber Security

Some foreign-made computer components are being manufactured to make it easier to launch cyber attacks on U.S. companies and consumers, a security official at the the Department of Homeland Security said.

“I am aware of instances where that has happened,” said Greg Schaffer, who is the Acting Deputy Undersecretary National Protection and Programs Director at the DHS.

Schaffer did not say where specifically these components are coming from or elaborate on how they could be manufactured in such a way as to facilitate a cyber attack.

But Schaffer’s comment confirms that the U.S. government believes some electronics manufacturers have included parts in products that could make U.S. consumers and corporations more vulnerable to targeted cyber attacks.

A device tampered with prior to distribution or sale could act as a “Trojan horse” in the opening wave of an international cyberwar. Contaminated products could be used to jeopardize the entire network.

So, Mr. Schaffer “did not say where specifically these components are coming from.” Well, here, let me help, it’s obviously China. There, how hard was that? The next question is, what are we doing about it?

Our national power grid, electronics infrastructure, you name it, very few of the critical components are manufactured in the U.S. anymore and if there exists a series of back doors, enabling a hostile country, like China, to preemptively take it all down at once, we’re in serious, catastrophic trouble territory, so far up the proverbial [expletive deleted] creek without a paddle we’re no longer visible. And we’d be down for the count too, because we don’t have the U.S. manufacturing capability to pick ourselves up off the canvas

/the end game scenario this revelation portends would make Pearl Harbor look like a sorority pillow fight

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: Act, Acting Deputy Undersecretary National Protection And Programs Director, Aware, Believes, China, Companies, Components, Confirms, Consumers, Contaminated, Contaminated Foreign-Made Components, Contaminated Products, Could Act, Cyber Attacks, Cyber Security, Cyberattacks, Cybersecurity, Cyberwar, Department Of Homeland Security, Device, DHS, Distribution, Easier, Elaborate, Electronics, Electronics Manufacturers, Entire Network, Facilitate, Foreign-Made, Foreign-Made Components, Greg Schaffer, Happened, Included, Included Parts, Instances, International, International Cyberwar, Jeopardize, Launch, Manufactured, Manufacturers, Neal Ungerleider, Network, Official, Opening Wave, Parts, Prior To, Prior To Distribution, Products, Sale, Security, Security Official, Suspects, Tampered, Tampered With, Targeted, Targeted Cyber Attacks, Threaten, Trojan Horse, U.S., U.S. Companies, U.S. Consumers, U.S. Government, United States, Vulnerable | Leave a comment »

Super Bot

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Killian Bundy

This sure looks like a nasty piece of work.

Massive botnet ‘indestructible,’ say researchers

A new and improved botnet that has infected more than four million PCs is “practically indestructible,” security researchers say.

“TDL-4,” the name for both the bot Trojan that infects machines and the ensuing collection of compromised computers, is “the most sophisticated threat today,” said Kaspersky Labs researcher Sergey Golovanov in a detailed analysis Monday.

“[TDL-4] is practically indestructible,” Golovanov said.

. . .

TDL-4 infects the MBR, or master boot record, of the PC with a rootkit — malware that hides by subverting the operating system. The master boot record is the first sector — sector 0 — of the hard drive, where code is stored to bootstrap the operating system after the computer’s BIOS does its start-up checks.

Because TDL-4 installs its rootkit on the MBR, it is invisible to both the operating system and more, importantly, security software designed to sniff out malicious code.

But that’s not TDL-4’s secret weapon.

What makes the botnet indestructible is the combination of its advanced encryption and the use of a public peer-to-peer (P2P) network for the instructions issued to the malware by command-and-control (C&C) servers.

If you ever needed a reason and reminder to keep your operating system, anti-virus, and anti-spywware software patched and up to date, this would be a good one.

/remember, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re potentially part of the problem

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: Advanced, Advanced Encryption, Analysis, BIOS, Bootstrap, Bot Trojan, Botnet, C&C, Code, Collection, Combination, Command And Control, Command-And-Control Servers, Compromised, Compromised Computers, Computer, Detailed, Detailed Analysis, Encryption, Ensuing Collection, First Sector, Four Million, Hard Drive, Improved, Indestructible, Infected, Infects, Infects Machines, Installs, Instructions, Invisible, Issued, Kaspersky Labs, Machines, Malicious Code, Malware, Massive, Massive Botnet, Master Boot Record, MBR, Most Sophisticated Threat Today, Name, Network, New, New And Improved, New And Improved Botnet, Operating System, P2P, PC, Peer-To-Peer, Practically Indestructible, Public, Public Peer-To-Peer Network, Researcher, Researchers, Rootkit, Secret Weapon, Sector, Sector 0, Security, Security Researchers, Security Software, Sergey Golovanov, Servers, Sniff Out, Software, Sophisticated, Sophisticated Threat, Start-Up Checks, Stored, Subverting, TDL-4, Threat, Trojan | 3 Comments »

Oops, They Did It Again!

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Killian Bundy

Despite having nearly an entire month to get their act together, Sony’s apparently still wearing their security pants down around their ankles.

Sony Hacked Yet Again

Hard as it may be to believe, Sony has been hacked yet again.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, So-net Entertainment Corp., a Japanese ISP owned by the technology giant, said that hackers accessed its customer rewards site earlier this week and stole customers’ redeemable gift points worth about $1,225.

The incident is the latest in a weeks-long string of hacks and breaches of security for Sony. The trouble began on April 19, when the company began investigating and ultimately discovered a massive breach of security on its PlayStation Network, a cyberscandal that compromised the personal information of more than 100 million users.

And if all this hacking wasn’t bad enough . . .

Sony Can’t Guarantee PlayStation Network Security

Sony CEO Howard Stringer says he cannot guarantee the security of his company’s videogame network. . . . maintaining security is a “never-ending process,” and he cannot say that anyone is “100 percent secure.”

/not exactly confidence inspiring, I’ll be taking a pass on Sony products for the foreseeable future

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: 100 Percent, 100 Percent Secure, Accessed, Again, Breaches, CEO, Company, Compromised, Customer Rewards Site, Cyberscandal, Discovered, Guarantee, Hacked, Hackers, Hacks, Howard Stringer, Incident, Investigating, Japanese ISP, Latest, Maintaining, Massive Breach, Network, Network Security, Never-Ending Process, Owned, Personal Information, PlayStation, PlayStation Network, PSN, Redeemable Gift Points, Report, Secure, Security, So-Net Entertainment Corp., Sony, Stole, Technology Giant, Trouble, Users, Videogame Network., Wall Street Journal, Weeks-Long String, Worth | Leave a comment »

Tuesdays With Microsoft

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Killian Bundy

Thankfully, it’s a relatively wee one.

Microsoft Unleashes Critical Update for Windows Server

Today is Patch Tuesday, and Microsoft is taking it easy on IT admins with a meager two security bulletins this month. But, don’t let the small number of updates lull you into a false sense of security. They may be few, but the patches this month are still crucial for network and computer security.

MS11-035 is rated as Critical and affects the WINS component of Windows Server 2003 and 2008, and MS11-036 is an Important security bulletins related to flaws in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Now get off your ass and do the Microsoft patch dance!

/so, until next time, stay updated, same patch day, same patch channel

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: Computer Security, Critical, Critical Update, Crucial, Flaws, Important, IT Admins, Meager, Microsoft, Microsoft Patch Tuesday, Microsoft PowerPoint, MS11-035, MS11-036, Network, Network Security, Patch, Patch Tuesday, Patches, PowerPoint, Rated, Security, Security Bulletin, Security Bulletins, Small Number, Unleashes, Updates, Windows Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, WINS Component | Leave a comment »

Do You Own A Sony HackStation?

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Killian Bundy

You’ve probably already noticed that your Sony PlayStation won’t connect to the online network, but do you know that hackers probably stole all your personal data, including your credit card number, too?

User data stolen in Sony PlayStation Network hack attack

Sony is warning its millions of PlayStation Network users to watch out for identity-theft scams after hackers breached its security and plundered the user names, passwords, addresses, birth dates, and other information used to register accounts.

The stolen information may also include payment-card data, purchase history, billing addresses, and security answers used to change passwords, Sony said on Tuesday. The company plans to keep the hacked system offline for the time being, and to restore services gradually. The advisory also applies to users of Sony’s related Qriocity network.

With 77 million potential victims, this could wind up being the largest data theft in history. If you own a PlaySyation, make sure you keep an eye on your credit card account for any unusual activity and change your passwords and probably as much other PlayStation Network account information as you can as soon as the system goes back online.

/and watch out for phishing attacks, if Sony contacts you, make damn sure it’s actually Sony

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: Accounts, Addresses, Advisory, Attack, Billing Addresses, Birth Dates, Breach, Change Passwords, Company, Hack, Hack Attack, Hacked System, Hackers, Hacking, Identity Theft, Identity-Theft Scams, Information, Network, Offline, Other Information, Passwords, Payment-Card, Payment-Card Data, Phishing, Plans, PlayStation, PlayStation Network, Plundered, PSN, Purchase History, Qriocity, Qriocity Network, Register, Register Accounts, Restore, Restore Services Gradually, Scams, Security, Security Advisory, Security Answers, Security Breach, Services, Sony, Sony PlayStation, Stolen, Stolen Information, User Data, User Names, Warning | 2 Comments »

When The Cloud Bursts

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Killian Bundy

This is why I keep my own local backups and don’t trust my important data storage to some remote server I can’t see, run by someone I don’t know.

Amazon’s trouble raises cloud computing doubts

The black out at Amazon’s EC2 (Elastic Cloud Computing) data centre has cast a shadow over cloud computing, which has been hailed as a sturdy, reliable and inexpensive storage and network solution, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that cannot afford their own large servers.

On the early morning of April 21 (Pacific Day Time), Amazon’s EC2 data centre in Virginia crashed, taking down with it several popular websites and small businesses that depend on it. These included favoured social networking destinations like Evite, Quora, Reddit and Foursquare, among others. Now, the question is being asked: if an Amazonian cloud giant can crash so badly, what about the rest? Is cloud computing as reliable as we thought?

Online banking and web file storage is all well and good until, of course, it crashes and the data disappears.

/I sleep better knowing I have paper records and physical backup drives

Filed under: Blog Entry | Tagged: Afford, Amazon, Black Out, Cloud Computing, Crashed, Data Center, Data Centre, Doubts, EC2, Elastic Cloud Computing, Enterprises, Evite, Foursquare, Inexpensive Storage, Large Servers, Network, Network Solution, Popular Websites, Quora, Reddit, Servers, Small And Medium Enterprises, Small Businesses, SMEs, Social Networking, Social Networking Destinations, Storage, Trouble, Virginia | Leave a comment »

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Give It Up For Islam, Or Die

Is Our Back Door Open?

Super Bot

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