Jayson Massey @jaysonmassey@qoto.org

#introduction I’m Jay! I am a #cybersecurity #student in #Philadelphia, PA, USA. Currently studying #javascript, #intro to #cybersecurity, #networking and #environmental sciences. Previously worked in software quality assurance.

"The fact that nearly 40 million Americans live in poverty is a national embarrassment. But it’s also a choice. If poverty exists, it’s because we “wish and will it to.”"

--Matthew Desmond, Poverty, By America

#america #poverty

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/.../how-abolish-poverty

"A well-known ransomware group claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that wreaked havoc on operations at MGM Resorts, one of the world’s largest casino-hotel chains, according to a post from malware research group VX-Underground. ALPHV, also known as BlackCat, claimed it executed the attack by identifying an MGM employee on LinkedIn who worked in IT support, and simply calling the MGM help desk. Astonishingly, the attack took about 10 minutes to execute."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2023/09/13/ransomware-attack-mgm-resorts/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailydozen&cdlcid=61705045521306d489c64ec8&section=tech&sh=6ad0c3b05f38

This is a very provocative concept: Speaking Lies to Power

"In a world dominated by vested interests and half-truths, the act of deception takes on shades of gray. When does deception serve a noble cause, and when does it merely perpetuate a cycle of misinformation?"

https://www.friendsjournal.org/daryl-hannah-barbie-quaker-tricksters/

"Maria Montessori and her many disciples believed that children are, in their essence, methodical, self-directed beings with a strong work ethic. Her prophetic pedagogy was developed in the early 20th century with the least powerful in mind—she worked with children who were poor, or traumatized, or who lived in Rome’s ghastly asylums. And yet, today, there are only a few hundred public Montessori schools in the U.S. “The obvious irony of Montessori’s crusade on behalf of the poorest and least powerful in society is that its most visible legacy is selective private schools for the élite,” Jessica Winter writes. Read about why Maria Montessori’s approach still resonates today—and how it became so exclusive: "

https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/the-miseducation-of-maria-montessori?u

"the administrator of the .US registry must take certain steps to verify that their customers actually reside in the United States, or own organizations based in the U.S. But Interisle found that whatever GoDaddy was doing to manage that vetting process wasn’t working."

#phising #cybersecurity #vetting

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/09/why-is-us-being-used-to-phish-so-many-of-us/

"n an international operation announced today dubbed “Duck Hunt,” the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said they obtained court orders to remove Qakbot from infected devices, and to seize servers used to control the botnet."

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/08/u-s-hacks-qakbot-quietly-removes-botnet-infections/

"I’d want them to know that 295 million people in the world have moderate-to-severe visual impairment, and 43 million are blind. This total is roughly equivalent to the entire population of the United States."

https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-blind-braille-americans-disabilities-act-squirrel-hill/

"One difference between the network in your car and a typical computer network is that all devices in the car trust each other. Therefore, if an attacker can access one computer, they can easily access other computers in the car"

https://www.fastcompany.com/90938354/how-car-theft-went-high-tech

There is no such thing as a random shooting

https://jaysonmassey.wordpress.com/2023/08/14/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-random-shooting/

"According to HubSpot, WordPress accounts for 43.2% of all websites on the internet. This marks an increase from the over 455 million websites reportedly using WordPress in 2021 at 39.5%. In 2021, Wordfence blocked billions of password attacks and reported hundreds of weaknesses. These attacks and weaknesses don't mean WordPress is becoming less secure; it simply gave an insight into how some users are negligent and not security conscious in their usage."

#wordpress #websites #cybersecurity #password #vulnerabilities

https://hackernoon.com/tips-for-safeguarding-your-wordpress-website#vulnerabilities

This means the stronger your password, the lower the likelihood that people or AI systems can figure it out. Here's a list of factors that ensure your password strength is difficult to compromise.

- Use at least 15 characters.

- Have at least two letters (upper and lower-case), numbers, and symbols in the password.

- Avoid obvious password patterns, even if they have all the required character lengths and types.

https://www.homesecurityheroes.com/ai-password-cracking/?utm_source=www.joinsuperhuman.ai&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=how-to-protect-your-passwords-from-ai

"The report also found that ransomware groups increasingly target the exfiltration of files, the unauthorized extraction or transfer of sensitive information, which has become the primary source of extortion. This new tactic indicates file backup solutions are no longer a sufficient strategy to protect against ransomware."

#ransomware #exfiltration #extortion #data

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/08/09/ransomware-groups-extortion-source/

Is this company lacking on cybersecurity to save cash? Or is this just a random act?

"The ransomware attack has affected 13 other hospitals in three other states owned by Prospect Medical, a firm based in Los Angeles. A majority of their holdings are on the East Coast, notably Connecticut and Rhode Island."

https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/crozer-health-facilities-suffer-ransomware-attack/article_dfadc2e9-ad29-513c-bfbb-1d40891f98dd.html

Burger King forgets to put a password on their systems, again

https://cybernews.com/security/burger-king-data-leak/

I’m attending Black Voters Matter’s event, “My Mic Sounds Nice Postcard Party” – sign up now to join me! #BlackVotersMatter https://www.mobilize.us/blackvotersmatter/event/558087/?referring_vol=6031665&rname=Jayson&share_context=signup-form-modal&share_medium=twitter&timeslot=3928592

"there are two reasons that together help to explain the upward trend in crypto-ransomware:

(1) Targeting of large, deep-pocketed organizations by ransomware attackers and (2) the number of successful small attacks. Both of these trends are evident, which shows how the distribution of ransomware payment sizes has changed since the year 2020."

#ransomware #cybersecurity #cryptocurrency #scam

https://hackernoon.com/cryptocurrency-scams-are-down-but-crypto-ransomware-is-on-the-rise

"The Democrats’ report urges federal agencies to investigate and potentially go to court over the wealth of information that H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer shared with the social media giant."

https://apnews.com/article/irs-taxpayer-tax-preparation-meta-congress-9315cfca7a0942ab89f765d183fbf822

"The issue is that 31% of breaches are being identified later down the line, rather than preemptively using security and observability tools – either by data appearing on the dark web, files becoming inaccessible, or users experiencing slow application performance"

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/07/03/hybrid-cloud-security-breaches/