This time on a national scale (pdf).
Abstract—We’re about to acquire a significant new cyber-vulnerability. The world’s energy utilities are starting to install hundreds of millions of ‘smart meters’ which contain a remote off switch. Its main purpose is to ensure that customers who default on their payments can be switched remotely to a prepay tariff; [...]
Archive for the ‘computers’ Category
Darwin Award
Windows into Russia
Still using Windows? Hmmm?
Microsoft has signed a deal to open its Windows 7 source code up to the Russian intelligence services.
Russian publication Vedomosti reported on Wednesday that Microsoft had also given the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) access to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft SQL Server source [...]
Open web analytics
I’ve been trying this out – it’s excellent and works as a WordPress plugin as well as stand alone for integration into new sites.
This isn’t a commercial plug, just an excellent piece of software.
Worst case scenarios
This, from Bruce Schneier, has relevance beyond cybersecurity:
At a security conference recently, the moderator asked the panel of distinguished cybersecurity leaders what their nightmare scenario was. The answers were the predictable array of large-scale attacks: against our communications infrastructure, against the power grid, against the financial system, in combination with a [...]
Escher’s steps
Here’s a fun thing I just stumbled across while rummaging through some old files – a 3D animated model of Escher’s steps. It was produced, years ago, by The Circle Squared – but can you figure out how? It is a true 3D model – it could be, and was, built in real life as [...]
419 variation
Here’s an imaginative spin on the old Nigerian 419 scam, received over the weekend:
Fraud Investigation Committee
Attention: Sir/ Madam,
We recently arrested a group of West African / Ghana, Benin and Nigerian Internet scam Artists in London and we have reasons to believe you have been one of their numerous victims. A thorough search of the computers [...]
Computer security
Here’s an interesting look at malware hosting in the USA. Twenty of the world’s worst fifty ISPs for malware hosting are based in the US, most of the operators responsible for the malware are based in different countries, over 50% in Russia and Ukraine. The conclusion:
In short, aside from the potentially negative effect of appearing [...]
Which browser?
Javascript performance and compliance are increasingly important in the modern web, and this importance is likely to increase. Google Chrome developers have released a tool called Sputnik, designed to measure and compare browser performance:
For example, below is an experimental plot that compares five popular browsers and which we hope to update as new stable versions [...]
My grandfather’s axe
It’s an ontological paradox: this is my grandfather’s axe. My father replaced the haft, and I put a new head on it. It’s my grandfather’s axe. It’s supposed to make you think about what the essential quality of an object is. Designing a new business system for a company about three years ago made me [...]