Dose of Paranoia - 2025-01-12
It gets worse before it gets worse
Important Stuff
I always thought important news should come from Walter Cronkite - so imagine him reading this section…
LA Fires -I know that this is totally out of character for me, but I wanted to focus on some good news this week - while there is not much good news coming out of the LA wildfires, it is really nice to see tech people doing something which is actually helpful and does not seem to be profit driven - the Watch Duty app has become an important part of the preparedness toolkit for many Angelenos and it seems like (an increasingly rare) example of tech for good. Their story actually makes my cold, dark heart feel just a bit warmer. And this story, about the people who half the country wants to deport rallying to help their neighbors, should get more exposure.
Bird flu - The US has seen its first fatality from the H5N1 avian flu virus and other cases have been popping up, but it is important to note that the person involved had other underlying medical issues. I am still concerned about the possibility of this becoming the next pandemic, but there is still no evidence that the virus can be passed directly from human to human. Still on Yellow Alert here - making sure I have masks and sanitizer on hand as well as some non perishable food in the basement. No need to strip the store shelves of paper towels, folks, just keep a watchful eye on things.
And that’s the way it is…
Infosec/Scam Stuff
From the department of “not very surprising” - Pretty much every app you have downloaded is spying on your location and that data can make its way to bad actors as well as the government and law enforcement (with no warrants). Yet another reminder that if you ain’t paying for a service/app, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT. And by the way, that thing above is a real mission patch from the launch of a US National Reconnaissance Office spy satellite. Who needs satellites now that we all carry the surveillance devices in our pockets? Where did I put my tin foil hat…
Fake interviews lead to cryptomining malware - Apparently, hackers are now “scheduling” interviews with people using malicious links which lead victims to download “needed software” - except it is needed by the scammers to mine cryptocurrency. The campaign described in this article targets infosec people, which is a pretty sad reminder that many of us security folk think we are just too smart to get bamboozled…. I imagine that other types of folks are going to be targeted in this way, especially as more companies have layoffs or return to office mandates.
Anatomy of some drone disinformation - A fascinating story about how some of the disinformation about the drones spotted over NJ came to be. A preview of what we have in store for us, especially now that social media will be pretty much a total free for all when it comes to disinformation ops by amateurs and professionals alike.
Tech Stuff
AI Doomers, Steampunk style - Apparently, today’s AI doomers are waaaaaaaay behind the curve - this Kiwi sheep farmer had them beat by 161 years! I want to sign up for HIS newsletter! Although, I just can’t imagine what he was so worried about…
IT is going to become HR for AI - This makes me almost feel sorry for the AIs. I mean, no disrespect to IT folks, but you guys are not the first people I think of as being HR types. I mean didn’t you go into IT to avoid having to deal with people??
CES time again - It always amazes me how some of the things introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show every year attract enough investor dollars to make it to this point. I guess an electric salt spoon is just beyond my feeble imagination.
Fun Stuff
Take one catfish skull and call me in 4 days - OK, migraines are NOT fun stuff, but this story about how the ancient Egyptians dealt with them is. Note: Please DO NOT forward this to Robert F Kennedy Jr.
You can thank me later - If you were looking for the best easy listening tune about Satan, well here it is… a real banger! If Lounge Satan is not your thing, here is a 24 hour stream of what purports to be the most relaxing music in the world, which we could all use right now…
Mars Attacks! - Well, not really… but the red planet is closer to Earth than it will be all year, so go out and take a look! And Elon and friends, now might be a GREAT time for y’all to leave and set up your oligarchic dystopia there and leave us all alone.
Another great read! Thanks for it.