Vulnerability megathread

[Aimless]

All your phone are belong to us: https://motherboard.vice.com/amp/en_...company-hacked

[Aimless]

Reboot reboot reboot:

https://arstechnica.com/information-...-500k-devices/

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MASSIVE breach of Facebook's security:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/t...ta-breach.html

Tens of millions of users "potentially" affected. Attackers were able to use the "view as" feature to gain full access to individual accounts.

[GGT]

I had a moment of vulnerability earlier tonight. A group of canvassers (holding clipboards and wearing reflective vests) approached me as I got out of my car (alone) in a dark parking lot. I was startled and a bit frightened. But I wasn't too far from the store, and it was a strip mall I'm familiar with, so I brushed them off and walked into the store. When I came back out they were gathered around my car, approaching another (lone) woman who'd parked next to me...so I said something to them about improper and illegal solicitation. They called me some names and got aggressive until their 'supervisor' said no, no, don't do it this way. I was trying to help that other woman (from feeling the fright I'd felt), but she seemed surprised and mumbled something about minding my own business.

It left me wondering about fear and vulnerability in general, and assumptions about both.

[Aimless]

Twitter Link

[GGT]

T'was interesting to read this thread from the beginning....10 years ago! And what we think (or feel) about that which makes us vulnerable.

I liked Dread's comment about emotions, because when we don't fully understand something, we rely on our feelings for context and trust. Even tho I'm well educated in biology and science, I've never *really* understood computers, or algorithms, let alone the global internet. That means I have to trust the experts...but they haven't done a very good job at anticipating or preventing the problems even a novice (like me) could see.

It doesn't take a genius to see that if all our important systems (energy, water, food, transportation, information, finances, even military) rely on computers...then computer systems are also our greatest vulnerability. I'm rather surprised that anyone is surprised by this.