Elon Musk #Fails Again As Twitter Posts Before December 2014 Have Their Links Or Images Deleted

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 21, 2023 by itnerd

Just when you think Elon Musk can’t find any new ways to make X/Twitter any worse than it already is, he surprises you and does just that. In this case according to The Verge, if you have a Twitter post before December 2014 apparently have had any links or Images in them deleted:

X, which was formerly known as Twitter until its recent rebranding, is having a problem displaying old posts that came with images attached or any hyperlinks converted through Twitter’s built-in URL shortener. It’s unclear when the problem started, but it was highlighted on Saturday afternoon in a post by Tom Coates, and a Brazilian vtuber, @DaniloTakagi, had pointed it out a couple of days earlier. 

As it is, it appears to affect tweets published prior to December 2014, judging by posts visible on my own account. No videos are affected (Twitter only added native image support in 2011 and built-in videos in 2016), but links to YouTube, for example, are now just text with a t.co URL that doesn’t work.

On Saturday afternoon, as Coates pointed out, the glitch claimed the picture from one of the most famous tweets ever (back when they were still called tweets), this selfie posted by 2014 Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres flanked by celebs like Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and others, taken during the show’s broadcast. It quickly became the “most retweeted ever,” with over 2 million shares on the platform. 

I haven’t seen any public comments from owner Elon Musk or X CEO Linda Yaccarino about the problem, but at some point on Saturday night / early Sunday morning, the picture in that post was restored. 

Despite speculation that it could be an intentional cost-cutting move by Musk, the fact that the actual media posted hasn’t been deleted suggests an error or bug of some kind, one of many that have arisen since last year’s takeover and mass layoffs.

First of all you’re not going to see any comment from Elon or Yaccarino on this or anything else that goes wrong with Twitter/X as that would force them to admit that Twitter is broken. Which they won’t ever do. I am going to assume that now that this is out in the public domain, this will get fixed somehow. But it illustrates how unstable the platform is. And if the rampant hate along with Elon’s “ready, fire, aim” mentality isn’t enough to make you run from Twitter, this is another reason to get off the platform.

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Meet The Cuba Ransomware Gang…. Yet Another Dangerous Threat Actor That You Need To Worry About

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 20, 2023 by itnerd

BlackBerry’s Threat Research and Intelligence team have details on a ransomware gang called Cuba that is using a number of new and old tools to go after US and Latin American targets:

Cuba ransomware is currently into the fourth year of its operation and shows no sign of slowing down. In the first half of 2023 alone, the operators behind Cuba ransomware were the perpetrators of several high-profile attacks across disparate industries.

The BlackBerry Threat Research and Intelligence team investigated a campaign by this threat group conducted in June that culminated in attacks on an organization within the critical infrastructure sector in the United States, and also on an IT integrator in Latin America. The Cuba threat group, believed to be of Russian origin, deployed a set of malicious tools that overlapped with previous campaigns associated with this attacker, as well as introducing new ones — including the first observed use of an exploit for the Veeam vulnerability CVE-2023-27532.Note that prior to the publication of this report, BlackBerry shared this information privately with the relevant authorities, to support security and resilience across organizations worldwide.

And who are they? BlackBerry can help you with that:

Cuba ransomware, also known as COLDDRAW ransomware, first appeared on the threat landscape in 2019 and has built up a relatively small but carefully selected list of victims in the years since. It is also known as Fidel ransomware, due to a characteristic marker placed at the beginning of all encrypted files. This file marker is used as an indicator to both the ransomware and its decoder that the file has been encrypted.

Despite its name and the Cuban nationalistic styling on its leak site, it unlikely has any connection or affiliation with the Republic of Cuba. It has previously been linked to a Russian-speaking threat actor by researchers at Profero due to some linguistic mistranslation details they uncovered, as well as the discovery of a 404 webpage containing Russian text on the threat actor’s own leak site.Based on the strings analysis of the code used in this campaign, we also found indications that the developer behind Cuba ransomware is Russian-speaking. That theory is further strengthened by the fact the ransomware automatically terminates its own execution on hosts that are set to the Russian language, or on those that have the Russian keyboard layout present.

Lovely. Another group of Russian threat actors to worry about. The BlackBerry report has a lot of detail about this group and how to not become one of their victims. It’s very much worth reading and implementing their recommendations.

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My Thoughts On The Linus Media Group Controversy

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 19, 2023 by itnerd

Over the last few days, Linus Media Group (LMG) which is known for the YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips and its star Linus Sebastian has been having, difficulties shall we say. Let me summarize it all for you:

This mess started with this Linus Tech Tips lab tour video:

In the video an LMG employee said “the difference between us and somebody like Gamers Nexus or Hardware Unboxed is we test new components, new tests every time.”

Cue the clap back. Which started with this tweet from YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed which was called out in the video:

YouTube channel Gamers Nexus put out a 44-minute response video that highlighted problems with Linus Media Group focusing on quantity over quality and rushing out videos, hardware review errors, and ethical concerns such as Sebastian’s investment in laptop company Framework. Here’s the video for your viewing pleasure:

That leads to the next step a review of a prototype watercooling block called the Monoblock from Billet Labs which was mentioned in the above video. The TL:DR is that it was not only tested on a graphic card that it wasn’t designed to cool, which lead to suboptimal performance unsurprisingly. But the prototype was auctioned off against the wishes of Monoblock who wanted the prototype back.

But we’re not done yet. Former employee Madison Reeve went public and accused LMG of fostering a toxic work environment, sexual harassment from employees, and ruining her mental health. Here’s some of the details:

“I never publicly made any statements regarding my time there because I feared even more backlash from a community that was already attacking, defaming, and sending me death threats,” Reeve stated on her Twitter / X account, before posting that they would not “have recommended anyone I knew to work there, especially with my experiences as a woman in the office.”

Reeve continues to allege that they were called “incompetent” and attempted to get help from managers, but was rebuffed and told to be “more assertive.” Following this, they claim to have been pulled into a meeting, where they were laughed at. 

Following their attempts to receive help, Reeve alleges that they were “inappropriately grabbed multiple times” in the office, and barred from appearing in Linus Tech Tips videos. 

“The opportunities LTT presented to me were nothing in comparison the day to day issues I faced,” Reeve continued, claiming she was met with multiple sexist remarks throughout the duration of their employment. 

All of that is pretty bad to say the least. I am guessing that LMG is in full panic mode as they have suspended all video production (prior to this, LMG put out dozens of YouTube videos a week) to address all of the stuff related to accuracy, testing and internal processes. But not before putting out this apology video:

What’s interesting is the issue with Madison Reeve wasn’t addressed in the video. Instead Linus Sebastian went to The Verge to respond to that:

I was in a state of shock reading through these allegations, plain and simple. They aren’t consistent with my recollections. They aren’t consistent with our internal processes. They aren’t consistent with our company values.

We pride ourselves on maintaining a safe and inclusive environment. In addition to our existing report systems (both anonymous and otherwise) we’ve proactively reached out internally today to encourage members of our team to report any workplace bullying or harassment they might be experiencing so we can take quick and decisive action.

Our HR team will be conducting a more thorough assessment of the allegations, and when we are ready, we will release a more complete statement. For now I would ask that we allow our team the time they need to be as thorough as possible.

That’s a complete mess to say the least. And I have to say, this was coming for a while.

LMG Group has pushed itself to make dozens of videos a week on multiple YouTube channels. And until very recently, it was run by a guy who started this company in his bedroom. More recently they brought on a full time CEO by the name of Terren Tong to run things. But I think it’s a safe bet that there were likely little if any guardrails and processes in place to ensure that a situation like this did not happen. While LMG has become hugely successful, there’s clearly been a cost to this success. In my mind, Linus Sebastian has played out the final ten minutes of the Chris Nolan Film, The Dark Knight. Specifically the quote “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to become the villain.” Sebastian has become the latter. And I honestly don’t see a way back for him or LMG. While I would like to be proven wrong on that front, I don’t think I will be. Even if they take time off to address all their issues, I don’t see a scenario where they can be trusted again. This very much could be the jumping the shark moment for them. Which is unfortunate as LMG is a Canadian success story. Or rather was. Because those days appear to be over.

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Elon Musk Says Twitter Will No Longer Let You Block People… But It’s Likely Not Going To Happen

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 18, 2023 by itnerd

I’m going to go out on a limb and says that efforts like Block The Blue have had a material effect on Twitter, X, or whatever it’s called. As in it’s likely costing him money. So given that there were rumours of this happening straight from Elon Musk, it now seems to actually be happening based on this:

Now there are no details about this, because Elon isn’t a details sort of guy. And he’s likely to get major pushback from users who rely on this feature to control the stupidity that sometimes appears on social media. But here’s why Elon’s latest brainwave may not go anywhere. Apple. Or more specifically the App Store guidelines which says this:

1.2 User-Generated Content

Apps with user-generated content present particular challenges, ranging from intellectual property infringement to anonymous bullying. To prevent abuse, apps with user-generated content or social networking services must include:

  • A method for filtering objectionable material from being posted to the app
  • A mechanism to report offensive content and timely responses to concerns
  • The ability to block abusive users from the service
  • Published contact information so users can easily reach you

Which means that Elon’s latest brainwave may get Twitter kicked off the App Store. That would be unfortunate for him. Thus this is likely Elon doing his “ready, fire, aim” thing again and he’ll either stop talking about it, or he’ll find some way to say that he’s being screwed over by Apple or something.

UPDATE: There’s similar verbiage on Google’s Play Store that keeps Elon from doing this: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9876937

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Car Thieves Appear To Be Looking For AirTags Hidden In Cars Before They Steal The Car…. Plus Some Suggestions As To How Not Be A Victim Of Car Theft

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 18, 2023 by itnerd

For while now, a suggestion that has gained a lot of traction in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond is to hide an AirTag in your car. That way if your car gets stolen, it can be tracked and recovered. Now this suggestion comes from the fact that where I live in the Greater Toronto Area, car theft has become an epidemic. But as is usually the case, the bad guys are one step ahead of the good guys. Here’s an example of this:

On Sunday morning, Becca Hislop was with her boyfriend, out and about in Vancouver near Science World, when her car was stolen.Fortunately, she had an active Apple AirTag in the car, which showed the car was moving through Vancouver and even caught in downtown traffic.

The next day, Hislop followed the tracker all the way to a winery in Kelowna. But when she arrived, it turned out the AirTag had been moved into an Evo Car Share vehicle.

So, I see four possibilities as to how this happened:

  • The thief had an iPhone and was able to use it to find the AirTag and place it in the car share vehicle.
  • The thief searched the car by hand to find the AirTag and place it in the car share vehicle.
  • The thief used the unwanted tracker feature that is rolling out to Android phones now to find the AirTag and place it in the car share vehicle.
  • The thief had the AirTag “chirp” which alerted them to its presence.

That basically means that car thieves are now on the lookout for AirTags and are actively getting rid of them so that they can carry out car thefts without getting caught. Thus making AirTags useless as a means to track and recover stolen cars.

What’s my advice? Well, using AirTags for this use case were likely never envisioned by Apple. Thus I would look for a more professional solution such as the GPS tracking system LoJack to protect your car. You can also consider installing an ignition kill switch to keep your vehicle from starting. A visible steering wheel lock to make your car harder to steal and create a visual deterrent for thieves. Finally, an onboard diagnostic port block, either physical or electronic, to keep thieves from reprogramming a car’s fob and disabling the security system.

Besides that, here are some free tips that may help:

  • When parking, turn your wheels toward the curb to make it harder to tow away. 
  • If you have a rear-wheel-drive car, back into your spot.
  • If you have a front-wheel-drive car, park facing forward.

If your vehicle has keyless ignition, there are some additional steps you can take to make it harder to steal. 

  • Don’t keep your fob key near your front door or near a window. Better yet, keep your fob in a signal-blocking pouch that’s lined with material to block your fob from emitting a signal to your vehicle. That will prevent it from being intercepted and potentially reprogrammed by would-be thieves.
  • Avoid the walk-away lock. You know the one. You’ve parked your vehicle, you’re walking away and you press the lock button from a distance. Because when you use that feature, the signal can be intercepted and used by thieves to steal your car.

Finally, park your car in a garage. Car theft is a crime of opportunity where a car parked outside is easier to steal versus one in a garage. That’s because now the thief has to break into the garage to get the car. And 99% of thieves aren’t going to do that and instead move on to an easier target.

Car theft isn’t going away. And AirTags are not the solution to this. But there are some options that are free or available that can help to protect what is likely your second most expensive possession.

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GEICO Becomes Another Victim Of MOVEit

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 17, 2023 by itnerd

It appears that US insurer GEICO has become the latest victim of the MOVEit Flaw and that this might be bad. WKBW has the details:

A Geico spokesperson confirmed with 7 News that MOVEit, an outside software program that Geico uses to transfer data to third-party vendors, was involved in a data breach. MOVEit told 7 News that the company disclosed the vulnerability on May 31, and deployed a patch the same day.

However, employees and former employees feel that they are under threat:

Heather Dudziak said she worked for Geico and left the job about a month ago. She claims her information was hacked because the company has put cyber security on the back burner.”My information, my daughter’s information, my husband’s information and my step-father’s information was leaked due to this data breach,” Dudziak said. 

She said her social security number and her family’s social security number were shared with the company for her health insurance which she believes was then obtained by hackers. She added that her former co-workers have told her others are experiencing the same thing.

“This is a violation of not only my security, my daughter, my husband, my stepdaughters and I just don’t feel safe,” she added. 

That’s extremely bad. Damir J. Brescic, CISO, Inversion6 had this to say:

I would like to know what steps GEICO has taken to bolster their cybersecurity posture due to this incident.

A few thoughts pop to mind of what they could have done; starting with ensuring that MOVEit was regularly updated with the latest security patches and fixes.  They should have implemented a robust access control and authentication mechanism within MOVEit to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data.  I am also a big fan of two-factor authentication, strong password policies, and role-based access control as effective ways to restrict access to authorized personnel only.

This incident serves as a reminder to customers to do their own due diligence, by considering several factors.  They should understand the potential risks involved and take steps to protect their own person information, such as using strong and unique passwords and enabling two-factor authentication whenever possible.  Regular monitoring of financial statements and credit reports can also help detect any suspicious activities that may result from a data breach.

MOVEit is going to continue to claim victims until companies who use MOVEit take whatever steps are required to ensure that their attack surface is as small as possible. Then they should go to every vendor, supplier, etc. and ensure that they are doing the same thing. Because as is the case here, these attacks don’t just affect companies, they affect people too.

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Three Canadian women-led startups join the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders class of 2023

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 17, 2023 by itnerd

Women in tech face disproportionate adversity compared to their male counterparts on the road to success that’s why providing high-quality mentorship opportunities and support for women in the tech startup ecosystem is integral. Today, Google announced the 11 North American startups joining the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders class of 2023. 

Google is thrilled to share that among the cohort are three Canadian women-led startups from Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary – NLPatent, BorderlessHRandMonark– have been selected to join the program this year. 

Recent studies highlight that women in tech across Canada and the US continue to face barriers to access and disproportionate adversity compared to their male counterparts;

  • Women account for nearly 50% of the workforce, but representation in the tech sector continues to lag behind.
  • In 2001, only 21% of Canadian tech workers were women, and now, over 20 years later, that number sits at 24%, a meager 3% increase.

Source: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS?end=2022&locations=CA&start=1990

Now in its fourth year, the 10-week intensive digital accelerator program leverages the best of Google’s people and technology to provide equity free technical support and mentorship opportunities to incredible women founders from across North America who are looking to scale their businesses. The Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders program is an extension of Google’s commitment to leveling the playing field for women founders in North America. In fact, since the program launched in 2020, it has supported 36 women-led startups across North America, who have collectively raised $73.46M USD since graduating from their cohorts. 

The full blog post can be found here along with additional details on the participating North American startups below.  

  • Aravenda (Fairfax, VA) is a comprehensive consignment shop software that is leading innovation in the fastest growing segment of retail through resales.
  • BorderlessHR (Ottawa, ON) offers global talent solutions for small businesses, providing instant matches to pre-vetted talent and AI-powered interviewers, saving SMBs the cost and time spent hiring the right talent on time and within budget. Borderless HR also offers a free suite of HR products to help manage talent.
  • Cobble (New York City, NY) is a platform that helps people reach collaborative agreement with others on ideas. Cobble offers a combination of decision-making tools, curated content and AI-driven social connections.
  • Craftmerce (Delaware City, DE) is a B2B technology platform that links African artisans to mainstream retail partners by providing tools for distributed production, enterprise management, and financing.
  • Dreami (Redwood City, Calif.) powers data-driven career development programs for the 36 million people in the US who face barriers to employment.
  • Medijobs (New York City, NY) offers virtual recruiting for the healthcare industry.
  • Monark (Calgary, AB) is a digital leadership development platform, preparing the next generation of leaders through on-demand personalized learning.
  • NLPatent (Toronto, ON) is an AI-patent search and analytics platform that uses a fine-tuned large language model, built from the ground up, to understand the language of innovation.
  • Rejoy Health (Mountain View, Calif.) is an AI-powered mobile application that uses computer vision technology to deliver at-home physical therapy, enabling individuals to effectively manage and alleviate chronic musculoskeletal conditions like back and joint pain.
  • Shimmer (San Francisco, Calif.) is an ADHD coaching platform that connects adults with ADHD and expert ADHD coaches for behavioral coaching.
  • Total Life (Jupiter, FL) reimagines aging for older adults through an easy, one-click platform that connects users with a Medicare covered healthcare provider.

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LinkedIn Introduces Free Verification Feature in Canada

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 17, 2023 by itnerd

Today LinkedIn launched the CLEAR identity verification feature for use on LinkedIn in Canada. As of Thursday August 18, Canadian LinkedIn members will have the opportunity to add an extra layer of trust and authenticity to their profiles and verify their identity using CLEAR, a cutting-edge verification platform. 

With CLEAR, LinkedIn members can now verify their identity by using their Canadian government ID and phone number. This verification process sets a new standard for reliability and credibility on the platform, reinforcing LinkedIn’s commitment to fostering a trusted community of professionals in Canada. 

Many Canadian LinkedIn members can also verify their workplace using their work email addresses, enhancing the credibility of their professional information.  

LinkedIn aims to provide trusted and verified information for professionals in Canada, fostering a reliable platform for their career journeys. These new verification tools aim to provide LinkedIn members in Canada increased confidence when learning, applying for jobs, and networking. They are designed to facilitate engagement with professionals who are likely to be credible and trustworthy. 

For more information about this announcement, you can read the details here.  

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Advertisers Pull Their Ads From Twitter After Their Ads Appear Next To Nazi Content

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 17, 2023 by itnerd

Twitter, X, or whatever it’s called today recently had its CEO Linda Yaccarino called for “hand to hand combat” to get advertisers back onto the platform. But according to CNN, that doesn’t seem to be working:

At least two brands have said they will suspend advertising on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after their ads and those of other companies were run on an account promoting fascism. The issue came less than a week after X CEO Linda Yaccarino publicly affirmed the company’s commitment to brand safety for advertisers. 

The nonprofit news watchdog Media Matters for America documented in a report published Wednesday that ads for a host of mainstream brands have been run on the account, which has shared content celebrating Hitler and the Nazi Party. 

Ads for brands including Adobe, Gilead Sciences, the University of Maryland’s football team, New York University Langone Hospital and NCTA-The Internet and Television Association were run alongside tweets from the account that had garnered hundreds of thousands of views, CNN observed.

Spokespeople for NCTA and pharmaceutical company Gilead said that they immediately paused their ad spending on X after CNN flagged their ads on the pro-Nazi account.

Here’s the problem for X/Twitter. You can’t expect advertisers to want to pay to put ads next to content like this. That’s common sense. Yet Elon seems to be fine with that, but at the same time can’t understand why advertisers are fleeing the platform. Until Elon wraps his head around the fact that he needs to create a safe platform that respects the rights of all people, and most importantly doesn’t contain the sorts of things that are outlined in this CNN story, then he’s not going to make X/Twitter a successful operation. Related to that, if I were Linda Yaccarino, I’d be looking for another job as working for Elon isn’t a winning strategy.

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Guest Post: Latvians and Finnish use the most mobile data

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 17, 2023 by itnerd

Mobile data has become an essential part of daily life for many people worldwide. With smartphones and other web-enabled devices, we now have constant access to information, entertainment, and communication at our fingertips.

According to the data presented by the Atlas VPN team, Latvians and Finnish people use up the most mobile data per month among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. In addition, each Estonian has about 2 mobile broadband subscriptions.

Latvians lead in mobile data usage, averaging nearly 42 gigabytes per month per mobile broadband subscription. Latvia’s high mobile data consumption may be driven by widespread access to high-speed mobile networks in urban areas and unlimited provider data plans.

Finland ranks second globally in monthly mobile data use, with citizens browsing away 41 gigabytes on average.

Austria has the third-highest rate of mobile data consumption, averaging around 30 gigabytes per month. Lithuanians also rank high in mobile data usage, browsing through 28 gigabytes monthly on average. Iceland demonstrates high mobile data consumption for its population as well, with citizens using 24 gigabytes per month on average.

The average mobile data usage among OECD countries is almost 9 gigabytes. Countries like the United States, UK, and Germany all fall below this average.

Cybersecurity writer at Atlas VPN, Vilius Kardelis, shares his thoughts on mobile data usage:

“Mobile connectivity is convenient, but it can lead to overuse and dependency. Moderation and balance are essential. As networks continue improving globally, average mobile usage rates will likely rise. The future will undoubtedly bring innovations integrating mobile technology even deeper into our lifestyles.”

Who is most connected?

Analyzing the volume of mobile data consumption reveals fascinating insights. However, looking at mobile broadband subscription rates per 100 inhabitants provides further knowledge on how much people browse.

Each Estonian has about 2 mobile broadband subscriptions. Estonia’s citizens extensively use mobile networks not just for smartphones but also for other internet-connected devices. 

Japan likewise has extremely high mobile broadband penetration, with citizens subscribed to nearly 2 mobile networks on average. The United States ranks third, with an average of 1.8 mobile broadband subscriptions per citizen.

Finland, which is second in mobile data consumption, has a broadband subscription rate of 1.6 per person. At the same time, Israel and Denmark demonstrate a rate of 1.4 mobile broadband subscriptions per citizen.

To read the full article, head over to: https://atlasvpn.com/blog/latvians-and-finnish-use-the-most-mobile-data

latvians-and-finnish-use-the-most-mobile-data

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