infosec – Page 5 – Stilgherrian

03 April 2016

Weekly Wrap 304: The ill-managed stumble-crash of progress

Monday 28 March to Sunday 3 April 2016 was another short week, thanks to Easter. But it also seemed to be more productive than the previous week, which was drenched in fatigue.

I’m almost two months into the slow transition to a new medication regime. The fatigue, the “general feeling of tiredness or weakness”, is slowly fading. So too are the headaches, body aches, random muscle tics in my legs, nausea, constipation, and trouble with sleeping.

Also fading are the intense, vivid dreams that woke me towards the end of the night. That’s good, because the confused muddle of reality and dream-thoughts that continued into wakefulness was accompanied by dizziness and loss of coordination. Exiting the bed in an ill-managed stumble-crash into furniture and walls led to slightly more bruises than I’d planned for.

I’m frustrated that things aren’t magically better straight away. I’m embarrassed by having to constantly reschedule things because I’ve fallen asleep after breakfast, or whatever. But I can see gradual progress, or at least the illusion of progress, which is almost as good.

On to the visible achievements…

Articles

How Australia can cash in on the cyber boom, ZDNet Australia, 31 March 2016. This article was based on material from D61+ LIVE. I’m likely to turn more of this event into media objects in the coming weeks.

Podcasts

None, but I’ll be pondering the future of my podcasts over the next couple of weeks.

Media Appearances

On Tuesday, I spoke about Microsoft’s chatbot Tay on ABC 702 Sydney.
On Thursday, I spoke about Apple vs the FBI and a new selfie drone on ABC 774 Melbourne.
On Friday, the World Bank published a short video titled Future of Food: Think Beyond Your Own Plate, produced by Trinn (‘Pong) Suwannapha. It contains some of my Instagram photos of food.

Corporate Largesse

On Wednesday, there was plenty of free food and drink at D61+ LIVE.
On Wednesday night, PR princess Shuna Boyd paid for the drinks at her own retirement party.
On Thursday, law firm Gilbert+Tobin provided snacks and wine at the seminar by the International Association of Privacy Professionals Australia and New Zealand (iappANZ).

The Week Ahead

It’s going to be a busy one. No fixed appointments, but plenty to do on my current geek-for-hire projects, and on my tax compliance backlog. I’ll also write a column or two for ZDNet. Order of play TBA.

On Saturday, I’ll tidy up the Lilyfield house, before returning to Wentworth Falls on Sunday afternoon.

Further Ahead

On Tuesday 12 April, I’ll take a train from Sydney to Canberra — it should be an interesting change from the airlines — to cover the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. The event runs through to Thursday 14 April, and I’ll return to Sydney on the Friday, writing for ZDNet en route.

I’m going to the Amazon Web Services Summit Sydney on 27-28 April.

And on 24-27 May, I’m covering the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference on the Gold Coast.

[Photo: 1984 in 2016, with Wyatt Roy. A video message from Australia’s Assistant Minister for Innovation Wyatt Roy is played to attendees of Data61’s D61+ LIVE event at Australian Technology Park in Sydney on 30 March 2016.]

20 March 201623 March 2016

Weekly Wrap 302: Rain, rest, and the equinox

My week of Monday 14 to Sunday 20 March 2016 was pretty much as planned, though slightly more tiring than I’d hoped.

Right now I’m more in the mood to listen to the rain outside than write, so I’ll leave it there.

Articles

US government demands for vendors’ source code are nothing new, ZDNet Australia, 18 March 2016.

Podcasts

None. But scroll down for details of a new episode of The 9pm Edict in just a few days.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

On Monday morning, I dropped into Tech Leaders Forum, and had a coffee on their tab. Nothing newsworthy was said, however.

The Week Ahead

I’m spending the short work week before Easter in Lilyfield, in Sydney’s inner west, as well as Easter itself. I’ll be working steadily through three geek-for-hire projects, catching up a big chunk of that bookkeeping for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and writing a ZDNet column.

~~On Wednesday night, I’m finally recording and streaming that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast. That’s at 2100 AEDT on this website. Details will be posted on Monday.~~

That much-delayed episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be produced and posted over the weekend. The recording won’t be streamed live, for a number of reasons, though I might stream the finished podcast at a specific time so you can enjoy it together.

Further Ahead

The short week after Easter will be an extension of the plan just described. So will the following week, at least at this stage.

After that, I should be in Canberra on 12-14 April for the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. A plan is slowly evolving.

I’ll definitely be on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.

Update 23 March 2016: Edited to reflect changed plans.

[Photo: Old Target. Today I found one of the National Rifle Association regulation practice targets that I used when I went to American Shooters, a firearms range in Las Vegas, in 2011. I think I need some more practice.]

13 March 2016

Weekly Wrap 301: Canberra, with quite a few cybers

My week of Monday 7 to Sunday 13 March 2016 was another moderately steady improvement, in both productivity and mood. I am moderately pleased.

The Canberra trip went well, as you’ll see immediately below, but it was also exhausting. The rest of the week was therefore relatively quiet.

If you follow my Twitter stream, you already know all of this, and more.

Articles

Both of these articles are derived from material presented at the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA) Navigating Privacy and Security Summit on Tuesday.

Opt-out e-health a ‘fundamental breach of trust’: Victorian regulator, ZDNet Australia, 9 March 2016.
Australia needs a ‘national discussion’ on security and civil liberties, ZDNet Australia, 11 March 2016. The conference presentations by two of the people quoted in this article are now available on YouTube: Dr Tobias Feakin, director of the International Cyber Policy Centre, and a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI); and Mike Burgess, chief information security officer at Telstra.

Podcasts

None. I know you’ve heard this before, but I do want to wrap up that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast very soon. See below.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

I travelled to Canberra as a guest of the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA). They paid for my flights, plus one night of my stay at the Little National Hotel. And of course there was plenty of food at the Navigating Privacy and Security Summit.

The Week Ahead

On Monday, I’m heading a few kilometres up the Great Western Highway to Leura for part of Tech Leaders, namely a keynote by Labor’s communications spokesperson Jason Clare, and then reporting on same for ZDNet. I’ll probably have lunch in Katoomba after that.

I then plan to spend the rest of the week working on three geek-for-hire projects that have fallen behind schedule, and catching up a big chunk of that bookkeeping for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

That said, I hope to make the day trip to Sydney one day for a medical appointment and various errands. I’m also looking at doing that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast one evening. And I should probably write a ZDNet column in there somewhere too.

I can’t make final arrangements until Monday afternoon, however, and I need to keep the pace reasonable, so stay tuned for details.

Further Ahead

The following two weeks are the two short weeks either side of the Easter long weekend, and will mostly be an extension of the plan just described.

I then plan to be in Canberra on 12-14 April for the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. The trick will be organising travel and accommodation.

I’ll definitely be on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.

[Photo: The End of Summer. These are the colours of an Australian summer, as you can also see from last week’s photo â€” and we’ve had a long one this year. Photographed from VA654 on final approach to Canberra airport (CBR) on 7 March 2016.]

28 February 2016

Weekly Wrap 299: Ale and altitude, kind of

My week of Monday 22 to Sunday 28 February 2016 was another relative unproductive one, for reasons explained last time, but it was an improvement. Improvement is good.

A personal update will be posted in the next few days. For now, on with the show…

Podcasts

None, but I do want to wrap up that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast very soon. See below.

Articles

None, but I have a ZDNet column being published on Monday.

Media Appearances

I spoke about Apple’s Error 53 problem and (briefly) about the company’s battle with the FBI on this week’s Balls Radio. You can hear me 46 min 41 sec into the program.
On Wednesday, I spoke about smartphone data usage and battery life on ABC South West WA. I don’t have a recording, but it’s more or less the same information as last week’s chat on ABC Kimberley and in the ABC News story, Simple tricks to double your phone’s battery life and halve your data usage.
Also on Wednesday, I spoke about Li-Fi on ABC 666 Canberra. I don’t have a recording, but you can read the ABC News story, Li-fi ‘100 times faster than wi-fi’ at shine of a light presented at Mobile World Congress.

Corporate Largesse

None.

The Week Ahead

This will be the first is a series of quite structured weeks for me, which will be a challenge. I daresay I may have to change a few things as I go along. But with that said, here’s the plan…

On Monday, I’ll catch the 0734 train to Sydney, completing my ZDNet column en route. At 1100, I’ll catch VA834 SYD-MEL. Once I’ve checked in to my hotel, I’ll bring my various geek-for-hire projects up to date.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I’ll be covering the APIdays conference for ZDNet, and catching up with friends in the evenings. On Thursday, I’ll be writing for ZDNet, and having a couple of work-related meetings, before catching VA859 MEL-SYD at 1600. I’ll probably return to Wentworth Falls that night.

Friday through Saturday? Well, that depends on my energy levels. But I hope to get that podcast done somewhere in there.

Further Ahead

The following week, I’ll be in Canberra from Monday 7 March for the Australian Internet Industry Association (AIIA) Navigating Privacy and Security Summit on Tuesday. I’ll probably stay in Canberra on Wednesday. Then on Sunday, I’ll be back in the Blue Mountains for Tech Leaders.

I’ll be in Canberra again 12-14 April for the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. And I’ll be on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.

[Photo: Beer Bubbles, specifically the Katoomba Brewing Company Great Western Golden Ale, photographed on 22 February 2016.]

31 January 201601 February 2016

Weekly Wrap 295: Clearing the fog, another attempt

My week of Monday 25 to Sunday 31 January 2016 was very different from the one experienced by most Australians.

For most Australians, it was a short week, because they’d taken Monday, joined it up with the public holiday for Australia Day on Tuesday, and made themselves an unofficial four-day long weekend.

Whether they chose to do that by requesting annual leave, or through the rather more patriotic tradition of “chucking a sickie”, would have been a matter between them and those persistent little nagging voices in the back of their heads.

Mine was arranged a little differently, for reasons described in the immediately preceding post. It was busy, and here’s what emerged.

Articles

Australian businesses facing up to cyberwar need the right kinds of clouds, ZDNet Australia, 28 January 2016. This is the third of three columns based on a new report by Prof Greg Austin of the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) Australian Centre for Cyber Security (ACCS), Australia Rearmed: Future Capabilities for Cyber-enabled Warfare.

Podcasts

None, because the planned Sunday night recording of The 9pm Edict was abandoned due to repeated software crashes. It has been re-scheduled for Tuesday night.

At one point during the week, I also announced a bold plan to record a Corrupted Nerds podcast with Leslie Nassar as well. That plan was abandoned when sanity returned.

Both podcasts are now on an official one-month hiatus while I consider their future. I’ll post my thoughts in the coming week.

Media Appearances

On Thursday, I spoke about malware that can crash an iPhone and related matters on ABC Statewide Drive NSW.

5at5

None. But should 5at5 ever reappear, you’ll know about it if you subscribe.

Corporate Largesse

None, but it begins in earnest in the coming week.

The Week Ahead

It’s going to be a busy one, boys and girls…

On Monday, I’ll be up early to finalise some tax documentation, then at 1030 I’ll be phoning in to Deloitte for a cybersecurity briefing. The afternoon will see me negotiating certain timelines with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), updating the clients for my various geek-for-hire projects, and having an early night.

On Tuesday, I really must do that cleaning and shopping.

On Wednesday, I’ll be catching an early train to Sydney for an appointment at the Black Dog Institute. I’ll post more about that on Tuesday morning. I’ll then return to the Blue Mountains mid-afternoon, because at 2100 AEDT I’ll be recording The 9pm Edict and streaming it live.

On Thursday, I’m writing for ZDNet, then heading back to Sydney in the afternoo for a meeting at 1745 to kick off a new geek-for-hire project. I plan to stay in Sydney overnight, should Sydney’s nosebleed accommodation prices permit.

Worked on the aforementioned geek-for-for hire projects, and everything else, will be woven around those appointments as need be.

The weekend is as yet unplanned.

Further Ahead

On 10 to 13 February, I’ll be in Melbourne for the Pause Fest. Wednesday night I’m doing a radio spot on ABC 774 Melbourne, at 1930 AEDT. I’m then on a panel on Thursday 11 at 1730 AEDT, titled “The security paradox: individual privacy vs digital driftnets”. I plan to stay in Melbourne until Saturday afternoon. If you’d like to catch up, let me know.

I hope to return to Melbourne to cover the APIdays conference on 1-2 March, but that’ll depend on me finding someone to cover my flights and accommodation. Would you like to be my sponsor?

[Update 2145 AEDT: Edited to reflect the new podcast recording time. Update 1 February 2016: Minor edits to the schedule.]

[Photo: To boldly go…. There’s a story behind this photograph.]

28 January 201628 January 2016

Talking iPhone-crashing malware on ABC Statewide NSW

ABC logo Even though it’s a year old, the website that crashes an iPhone is back in the news this week — presumably because knowledge of the trick “went viral”, as they say.

This story piqued the interest of Fiona Willey, presenter of ABC Radio’s Statewide Drive in NSW, and we spoke on-air earlier this evening.

This is the full nine-minute interview, including a bit about the story from September 2015 when malware-infected apps made their way into the offical Apple App Store in China.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.5MB)