Tag: infosec

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Weekly Wrap 148: Libertarian overload, with heraldry

Heraldry Overload, Union Theatre, Lithgow (detail): click to embiggenThe week of Monday 1 to Sunday 7 April 2013 was days ago, so once more I’ll just present the basic facts with a random photo.

Articles

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

None. But there’ll be plenty this week.

The Week Ahead

Well, Monday’s been done. I wrote a thing for Crikey previewing the Coalition’s broadband policy announcement. We’ll get the actual announcement tomorrow (Tuesday) or the day after (Wednesday, in case you need help working that out), so I’ll write more about it then.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I’m also taking the train to Sydney for a 1500 meeting in the CBD and subsequent drinks, and then staying overnight for a lunchtime briefing on Wednesday.

The rest of the week will be a mix of writing and geekery, as I choose to take it.

However at some time on the weekend I should be returning to Sydney, to stay there for two weeks while Bunjaree Cottages turns into school holiday mode. In theory. Nothing has been confirmed. And I am actually quite relaxed with this knowledge.

[Photo: Heraldry Overload, an architectural detail on the Union Theatre, Lithgow.]

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Talking about DDoS attacks on ABC TV’s “The Business”

Screenshot from ABC TV's The BusinessA strange thing happened yesterday. A distributed denial service (DDoS) attack, a big one, got reported in the mainstream media as having somehow all but crippled the internet — despite all the journalists presumably continuing to use the internet as usual.

“The internet around the world has been slowed down,” reported the BBC. Um, no.

Now I won’t go through all the details here, because eventually they were properly reported elsewhere and I’m writing it up for Technology Spectator in a piece to be published Tuesday morning. The short version is that a nuanced report on Kaspersky Lab’s Threatpost lost its nuance in the mainstream media, a process helped along by a data-plotting error in early reports. People like Gizmodo hosed down the bulldust.

However I was interviewed by ABC TV’s The Business yesterday, along with Patrick Gray of the Risky Business information security podcast and Ty Miller from penetration testing firm Pure Hacking.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (12.0MB)

If the embedded video doesn’t work, try the version at the ABC’s website. In both cases the video is ©2013 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

I’ll also be talking about this DDoS attack on ABC News24 tomorrow morning at 1010 AEDT — and after both of those I’ll ponder the way the media handled this whole thing.

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Weekly Wrap 145: Crimefighting and a currawong

Skulking currawong: click to embiggenThe week of Monday 11 to Sunday 17 March 2013 was nearly a week ago, so I’ll just list the media things and show you a photograph of a currawong.

Articles

  • Reserve Bank hacking raises questions — and false alarm, Crikey, 12 March 2013. Note that further information has emerged since this story was written, though I have yet to write a follow-up.
  • Backwards attitude to online identity erodes our power, ZDNet Australia, 15 March 2013. I argue that most internet companies have got it backwards. In the physical world, anonymity is the norm. We only identify ourselves by our so-called “real name” in certain circumstances. Yet many internet companies, notable Google and Facebook, are insisting on real names as the norm.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Tuesday morning, Trend Micro held a media briefing at the O Bar, formerly the Summit Restaurant, at the top of Australia Square. Refreshments were served, and the view was magnificent. We then went to Steerson’s Steakhouse for lunch, where I had a grain-fed rib-eye steak and a couple glasses of Wirra Wirra Church Block 2010 Cabernet Shiraz Merlot. Yes, of course they paid.
  • On Wednesday morning, I attended the Australian launch of LG’s Optimus G smartphone at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Refreshements were served, and I was given an evaluation unit of the phone itself, plus a Telstra Next G SIM card with a 20GB per month data pack — then I forgot the SIM unlock PIN, and now I’m waiting on a PUK code to unlock the damn thing.

[Photo: Skulking currawong, photographed on 11 March 2013 at Bunjaree Cottages.]

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Talking crimefighting smartphones on The Project

Screenshot of Stilgherrian on The Project, 14 March 2013The trial of the alleged murderer of Melbourne journalist Jill Meagher revealed (at least to those who were previously unaware) the importance of evidence gleaned from people’s smartphones.

Last Thursday 14 March I ended up talking about that on Channel TEN’s The Project, following a package that featured Gizmodo Australia editor Luke Hopewell.

Just like my previous appearance on The Project, which is produced in Melbourne, I was beamed in from Sydney while sitting in front of a green screen. This time I even managed to get a picture of what it looked like from my point of view.

The video of the four-minute segment is embedded over the jump — which is immediately below if you’ve come directly to this page.

Continue reading “Talking crimefighting smartphones on The Project”

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Weekly Wrap 144: In the forest, trolled by rosellas

Crimson rosellas at Bunjaree Cottages: click to embiggenIn retrospect, and posting one day late, the week of Monday 4 to Sunday 10 March 2013 was remarkably unproductive — mostly thanks to a continuing minor illness.

So the photograph of the crimson rosellas is apt. I spent much of my time hanging around Bunjaree Cottages. The rosellas figured that out very quickly — as they usually do — and were turning up each morning to demand food. I’m a soft touch.

Articles

Both of the articles I wrote this week were representatives of my column The Full Tilt for ZDNet. It’s scheduled to run every Thursday, but since I didn’t write one last week I had one on Monday as well.

  • Beware! Anonymous has become the Hello Kitty of hacktivism, ZDNet Australia, 4 March 2013. The reaction of some Anonymous fans was interesting, because they couldn’t see beyond “You said something bad about Anonymous” and responded with unfocused personal attacks rather than addressing the issues. I’m hoping to find time to write about that this week.
  • Will you stop with all your ‘cybering’ already?, ZDNet Australia, 7 March 2013. “When someone starts warning you of ‘cyberthreats’, check your wallet and keys. You’re probably about to be conned,” it begins.

Podcasts

Still none.

Media Appearances

None of these either.

Corporate Largesse

And none of these either. I told you it was an unproductive week.

The Week Ahead

Well this week is going to be somewhat more productive. He says boldly. Today, Monday, will be a gentle start to it all, but I hope to knock off some analysis for Technology Spectator and lock in some planning — because everything keeps damn well changing.

On Tuesday I’m heading to Sydney for a media briefing by Trend Micro, followed by lunch, and probably writing up same. I’ll stay overnight because LG is launching their new smartphone, the Optimus G, on Wednesday morning and I’m curious to see how they’re going to pitch it in the face of such stiff competition from Samsung.

I’m heading to Sydney on Thursday morning too, mostly to get the results of some blood tests taken on the weekend and deal with whatever medical matters may ensue, but I plan to stay in Sydney until Saturday for a variety of work-related reasons. Probably.

[Photo: Yesterday’s visitors, photographed on 4 March 2013. A pair of crimson rosellas at Bunjaree Cottages.]

[Update 23 March 2013: Edited photo description to correct the date.]

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Weekly Wrap 143: Rain, more rain and a few irritations

Dawn, with spitting rain: click to embiggenThe week of Monday 25 February to Sunday 3 March 2013 was full of rain and dark moods.

At the front end of the week, the rain provided a lovely backdrop to some writing. But Mistress Insomnia joined forces with some annoying personal news and an upset stomach to cause the end of the week to be a write-off. Oh well.

Articles

Podcasts

This podcast that I’m meant to be doing for TechRepublic is well and truly jinxed, it seems. Having obtained a replacement recorder, I was all set to record it on Friday morning. But my digestive tract decided otherwise.

Media Appearances

Corporate Largesse

  • On Tuesday I went to the media launch of Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business, held over lunch at Rockpool Bar & Grill in Sydney. Kaspersky Lab paid, of course. A magnificent sirloin was accompanied by a rather nice pinot noir, and followed by a cheese plate.

The Week Ahead

Nothing is locked into the schedule yet, though of course I have things to write as usual. I guess I’ll just make it up as I go along.

[Photo: Dawn, with spitting rain, a photograph taken at dawn on 26 February during light rain at Bunjaree Cottages.]