Bonum Certa Men Certa

Leftover Links 05/08/2023: Rust Holes and More Layoffs



  • Leftovers

    • Education

      • Parents accuse Bellevue School District of favoring rich kids in school closures

        When the Bellevue School District (BSD) opened its newest, state of the art elementary school on pristine wetlands and powered by geothermal energy in 2018, at a cost of $49 million, its principal did a welcoming dance in a video to show off the school.

        As she led the camera through the Microsoft Showcase school, showing classrooms that could be converted to learning pods for smaller or larger groups, she also pointed to teachers in a large group, waiting to teach kids.

        Today, however, issues of equity are dampening the shining reputation of the school—and raising questions about the district’s commitment to fairness.

    • Hardware

    • Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

      • Bruce SchneierPolitical Milestones for AI

        ChatGPT was released just nine months ago, and we are still learning how it will affect our daily lives, our careers, and even our systems of self-governance.

        But when it comes to how AI may threaten our democracy, much of the public conversation lacks imagination. People talk about the danger of campaigns that attack opponents with fake images (or fake audio or video) because we already have decades of experience dealing with doctored images.

    • Security

      • InfoSecurity MagazineThreat Actors Use AWS SSM Agent as a Remote Access Trojan

        Threat actors have been observed using Amazon Web Services ( AWS ) 's System Manager (SSM) agent as a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) on Linux and Windows machines.

      • Rust BlogThe Rust Programming Language Blog: Security advisory for Cargo (CVE-2023-38497)

        This is a cross-post of the official security advisory. The official advisory contains a signed version with our PGP key, as well.

        The Rust Security Response WG was notified that Cargo did not respect the umask when extracting crate archives on UNIX-like systems. If the user downloaded a crate containing files writeable by any local user, another local user could exploit this to change the source code compiled and executed by the current user.

      • SUSE's Corporate BlogSUSE and IBM: Enhancing Data Security (a Technical Reference Documentation Getting Started guide) [Ed: "confidential computing" is a sham that encourages companies and governments to outsource their operations and data based on false premises of confidentiality]

        The Essence of Confidential Computing At its core, confidential computing addresses the vital need of safeguarding data while it is in use. SUSE and IBM work together to deliver advanced technical capabilities, like confidential computing. IBM Z€® and LinuxONE systems provide key hardware capabilities for the trusted execution environment.

      • Bleeping ComputerHackers can abuse Microsoft Office executables to download malware

        The list of LOLBAS files – legitimate binaries and scripts present in Windows that can be abused for malicious purposes...

      • SANSFrom small LNK to large malicious BAT file with zero VT score, (Thu, Aug 3rd)

        Last week, my spam trap caught an e-mail with LNK attachment, which turned out to be quite interesting.

      • IT WireTenable chief says no way to verify Microsoft claims about fixing Azure flaw

        Microsoft claims it has completely fixed a critical security issue in its Azure cloud platform, found in March by researchers from security firm Tenable, who then told Microsoft about it. Tenable chief executive and chairman Amit Yoran had claimed in a blog post on Wednesday that it took more than 90 days for Microsoft to effect a partial fix.

      • SANSAre Leaked Credentials Dumps Used by Attackers, (Fri, Aug 4th)

        This is a classic problem: One day, you create an account on a website (ex: an online shop), and later, this website is compromised. All credentials are collected and shared by the attacker. To reduce this risk, a best practice is to avoid password re-use (as well as to not use your corporate email address for non-business-related stuff).

      • Security WeekExploitation of Ivanti EPMM Flaw Picking Up as New Vulnerability Is Disclosed

        Exploitation of the Ivanti EPMM flaw CVE-2023-35078 is picking up as a new critical vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-35082 is disclosed.

      • Security WeekFive Eyes Agencies Call Attention to Most Frequently Exploited Vulnerabilities

        Five Eyes government agencies have published a list of the software vulnerabilities that were most frequently exploited in malicious attacks in 2022.

      • Security Week670 ICS Vulnerabilities Disclosed by CISA in First Half of 2023: Analysis

        CISA disclosed 670 ICS vulnerabilities in the first half of 2023, but roughly one-third have no patches or mitigations from the vendor.

      • LWNSecurity updates for Friday

        Security updates have been issued by CentOS (bind and kernel), Debian (cjose, firefox-esr, ntpsec, and python-django), Fedora (chromium, firefox, librsvg2, and webkitgtk), Red Hat (firefox), Scientific Linux (firefox and openssh), SUSE (go1.20, ImageMagick, javapackages-tools, javassist, mysql-connector-java, protobuf, python-python-gflags, kernel, openssl-1_1, pipewire, python-pip, and xtrans), and Ubuntu (cargo, rust-cargo, cpio, poppler, and xmltooling).

      • USDOJNigerian National Pleads Guilty to $1.25 Million Business Email Compromise Scam Impacting U.S. Company

        Onwuchekwa Nnanna Kalu, 39, a Nigerian National from Rivers State, Nigeria, pleaded guilty today to stealing $1.25 million from an investment firm located in Boston, through a business email compromise (“BEC”) scam. The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist, of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Division.

        Nnanna Kalu pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss scheduled a sentencing hearing for November 29, 2023. Kalu was arrested in 2022 and has been detained by the Court as a risk of flight.

      • Gray Media GroupMassive data breach could impact many who attended or worked for public schools in Colorado

        A news release issued by the Colorado Department of Higher Education is notifying the public of a “data incident.”

        KKTV 11 News is working to learn more about the situation, but the release reads as follows:

        The Colorado Department of Higher Education (“CDHE”) is providing notice of a cybersecurity incident that may involve the personal information of certain individuals. CDHE is providing information about the measures it has taken in response to the incident, and steps impacted individuals may take to protect themselves against possible misuse of information.

    • Defence/Aggression

      • JURISTSingapore executes second prisoner in one week despite international outcry

        Singaporean authorities executed Mohamed Shalleh Bin Abdul Latiff, a 39-year-old former delivery driver, Thursday for trafficking 54.04 grams of diamorphine, a controlled drug, which is four times the amount required to trigger the mandatory death penalty under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act. Shalleh is the second person executed by the country in the last week.

      • Federal News NetworkUS military may put armed troops on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz to stop Iran seizures

        The U.S. military is considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be an unheard of action aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels. That's what five American officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. If implemented, it would be an extraordinary step by the Pentagon as it grapples with a renewed effort by Iran to harass and seize ships traveling in the strait, through which 20% of all the world’s crude oil passes. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP about the U.S. proposal.

      • War in Ukraine

    • Environment

    • Finance

      • AxiosHackerOne lays off 12% of workforce

        Popular bug bounty program HackerOne is laying off 12% of its workforce, CEO MÃ¥rten Mickos told employees earlier this week.

      • Daniel PocockDaniel Pocock: Conflicts of Interest: Extinction Rebellion & Rishi Sunak, Greenpeace & Donald Trump

        There have been many rumors about conflicts of interest in the Debian Google Summer of Code and Outreachy internships. The only case where evidence has appeared is the former leader himself, the very person who started rumors about other mentors and I included.

        Yet conflicts of interest can come in many forms. One of the most bizarre cases I've seen was a pensions industry meeting in the UK.

        Representatives of pension administrators and government officials gathered in the town of Swindon. Rishi Sunak, who has recently become Prime Minister, attended the meeting in his former role as local authorities minister.

      • AxiosThe lesson for the Fed in "early hiker" monetary policy

        One reason to be optimistic that U.S. inflation can fall without a recession: Many smaller nations that did move earlier than the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates have done exactly that.

        Why it matters: The unusual dynamics of a post-pandemic global economy appear to be making a so-called "immaculate disinflation" — one with minimal pain — more plausible than it once seemed based on the historical record.


        What they're saying: "There are other economies we can also look to to get some sense of what's likely to happen in the U.S. — other economies that were actually a lot faster in tightening monetary policy," Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, said on a call with reporters last month.

      • BloombergTech Giants Slash Marketing Budgets, Bruising Major Ad Firms

        After massive layoffs earlier this year, technology giants have found one more item to slash: marketing budgets.

        Several large advertising companies reported a sharp cutback in spending from US tech and telecom companies, which had recently become some of the largest marketers in the world.

      • Telus slashing 6,000 jobs in order to remain competitive

        According to news outlets, including CBC News, the company plans to cut approximately 6,000 jobs. 4,000 roles will be eliminated at Telus’ main business, with the remaining 2,000 affecting Telus International.

        President and CEO Darren Entwistle claimed that the reduction is being made with “a very heavy heart” and was prompted by the “evolving regulatory, competitive and macroeconomic environment.”

        “Against the backdrop of rapid transformation in our industry and the ways in which our customers want to engage with us, today we are announcing a significant investment in an extensive efficiency and effectiveness initiative across Telus,” Entwistle said in a news release obtained by CBC News.

      • Study after study shows that working from home leads to more efficiency and higher quality work — so why do companies want people back in the office? Here are 3 possible reasons

        Employees overwhelmingly love the option to work from home. More than nine in 10 prefer it exclusively or as a hybrid arrangement, a Gallup study shows.

        Employers, on the other hand, don't appear fully on board, as many are calling employees back into the office.

        In some ways, employers' resistance to remote work is a mystery. After all, eliminating commutes gives the average U.S. employee almost one extra hour to work each day, according to research from the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute. Plus, staff forced to work in-office are more likely to experience burnout and low engagement, per Gallup.

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

    • Censorship/Free Speech

    • Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

    • Monopolies



Recent Techrights' Posts

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Delusion - Part IV - Machos in Charge of the House (and System), Even If the Faces Are Female (Optics)
basically a Windows/Microsoft (US) shop
Brett Wilson LLP Seems to Have Done for Roberto Foa What It Did a Year Earlier for the Serial Strangler from Microsoft
Repeat abusers (of the legal system) will misuse it as long as regulators do nothing
Where We Stand With the Winter Series
We'll need to protect names and sources
Gemini Links 10/02/2026: "The Last Messiah", Discord for Adults
Links for the day
Mobbing at the European Patent Office (EPO) - Part V - Strongest Strike Under António Campinos
SUEPO Munich is also reminding people of the threat of PIPs
 
Kyndryl CFO Harsh Chugh Comes From IBM (17+ Years)
Who would want such a position?
IBM RAs (or PIPs) in London, England?
They try to keep the lid on it
International Buybacks Machines
Will the current US administration/regime look into IBM's accounting or only its mini me's?
IBM Could be the Next Kyndryl, a Dinosaur With Accounting Fraud
Many shareholders (or even pension funds) are taking a big hit today
Ian Murdock Died in San Francisco 10 Years Ago. Cops Led to His Death.
10 years ago Ian Murdock died after cops had messed him up
US/Europe divergence: health & safety, criminality & Debian harassment culture: Open Digital Ecosystems submission F33370170
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 10/02/2026: Splinternets and "Meta Goes to Trial in a New Mexico Child Safety Case"
Links for the day
Russia and China Best Off Without GAFAM
What if they abandoned GAFAM?
Will Finns Put Out the Online Cigarettes?
More people recognise that the child porn site formerly known as "Twitter" and Cheeto/Pooh-tin controlled TikTok are no longer trustworthy
As the US Economy Sags Microsoft Layoffs Carry on (Now in Larger Waves Like 15,000 Per Season or 30,000+ Per Year)
They try to avoid "negative" topics
GNU/Linux at 3.99% in Australia
now that Australians can no longer keep Vista 10
Microsoft Windows Falling
analytics.usa.gov Shows Rapid Erosion of Windows Market Share Since 'End of 10' (Vista 10)
Microsoft Windows Hits All-Time Low in The Netherlands in 2026
Europe needs to rid itself or wean itself off GAFAM
SRA: SLAPPs From Russian War Criminals and American Men Who Strangle Women Are Acceptable
The SRA, by inaction, is complicit in this
From Weber Shandwick (Microsoft PR) to Brett Wilson LLP (Hired Gun of the Serial Strangler of Microsoft)
they basically tried to charge me a lot of money for a PR project of someone who strangled women
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is Not a Regulator, It's Part of the Litigation "Industry" in the UK (They Overlap Each Other)
Does nothing except talk about SLAPPs
In Finland, Microsoft Falls Behind Yandex (Russia)
Bing has had many layoffs in recent years
Security More Advanced in Geminispace Than on the Web (Bloat)
For real security, use Geminispace capsules, not Web sites
Slop at Microsoft is a Miserable Failure, Now Microsoft Takes the "Vista Route" (Paying People to Say Good Things About It)
This is brainwash, it's meant to delay the implosion of the bubble
Rumours About February 2026 Microsoft Layoffs: Silent Layoffs or 30,000 Culled Tomorrow
Sooner or later (and soon) Microsoft will need to say something and file some WARN notifications
GNU/Linux at 12% in Guam, Based on statCounter (Compared to 2-3% a Year Ago)
Guam's "uptick" in GNU/Linux usage started weeks after "end of 10"
Fighting Slop With the Public Domain (and Why Slopfarms Perish Faster Than New Ones Appear)
We can combat the nonsense by producing more human-made works until the slop bubble implodes
After Employee Reviews at IBM Staff Expects Another Large Wave of PIPs and "RAs" (Layoffs)
From what we can see in the "public Web"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 09, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, February 09, 2026
Is Europe Abandoning Digital Opium?
GAFAM-controlled social control media
Microslop is Slop, Slop is Considered "Quality"
no wonder Microsoft's stuff breaks down so often
thelayoff.com Deletes On-Topic Discussions (Layoffs) While Leaving in Tact Pro-Corporate Trolling Made by LLMs (Slop)
Who at thelayoff.com deems spam made by LLMs (slop) to be on-topic and unworthy of zapping, whereas actually on-topic and authentic threads get routinely deleted?
Gemini Links 09/02/2026: Great Salt Lake Ecological Observatory and Offpunk 3.0 "A Community is Born" Release
Links for the day
Links 09/02/2026: Mass Plagiarism and Pollution/FakeCoin Company Nvidia Contacted Anna’s Archives, Narges Mohammadi Gets Second Prison Sentence
Links for the day
GNU/Linux May Have Grown to 7% in Equatorial Guinea
Has there been some kind of mass migration there or is this just noise in the data?
Links 09/02/2026: Russia Intentionally Killing Civilians, Jimmy Lai Effectively Sentenced for Life for Publishing News
Links for the day
Microsoft Competitions, Addictions, and Popularity Contests Are Not Going to Help Perl, They'll Waste Everybody's Time and Give Microsoft More Control Over Its Competition
Microsoft does not like Perl
A Can of WORMS - Part IV - They Would Even Attack RMS for Criticising Autocrats (Saying This is "Politics")
Conforming to society's perceived expectations isn't how effective activism can ever be done or was ever done in the recent past
Gemini Links 09/02/2026: The Exploration Myth and Making JavaScript Fun
Links for the day
EPO Outrage and Maintaining the Pressure
A vending machine does not fall over after a first push
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 08, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, February 08, 2026
"Low Performer" and "Underperformer" as Harmful Misnomers That Damage a Company's Reputation
Misnomers need to be avoided or called out
Expensive errors: Forbes Gold price, $44 billion Bitcoin given away by Bithumb, South Korea
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 08/02/2026: Microsoft OSI (Openwashing Lobby) in Europe, Raised Against Social Control Media Provocateurs in EU
Links for the day
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) Lobbies for Microsoft in the EU, Promoting Proprietary Lock-in
OSI pushing and selling Microsoft and GitHub. OSI is Microsoft front group.
Getting the European Court of Justice to Annul the Illegal and Unconstitutional Unified Patent Kangaroo Court (UPC)
We're still working on it
Finland's Dependence on GAFAM (US) Needs to be Lessened, EU Must Follow This Path
It's unwise to make one's entire national infrastructure (computer systems) dependent on a regime which compares its black citizens to monkeys and assassinates nonviolent dissenters
Links 08/02/2026: Microsoft GitHub as Burden on Developers and "The Chomsky Epstein Files"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/02/2026: "Doing Not Much Tweaking" and "Reclaiming Digital Agency"
Links for the day
Forbes: BitCoin, Cryptocurrency pages removed from investment database, links stop working
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Bitcoin warning followed immediately by network outage
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Money Funneled to Protection of Software Freedom, But Nothing Really Lost
Crossposted from personal site
They Tell Us Slop Replaces Workers, But the Reality Is, US Debt Has Surged 2,300 Billion Dollars in Six Months (the Economy is Collapsing)
Oligarchy already entertains the option of running away to (or colonising) some other planet without pitchforks and "unwashed masses"
Mozilla Firefox Sinks to Just 1.5% in the United States
According to analytics.usa.gov
We're Still Fast
The site is even faster than the BBC's despite being on shoestring budget with only a small technical team
Gemini Protocol is Not a Waste of Time of Effort
We see more and more GNU/Linux- or BSD-focused bloggers turning to Gemini
Our Gemini Protocol Support Turns 5 Today
today is a rare anniversary for us
In Today's World, One Must be Tough and Principled to Get Ahead Morally
But not financially (sellouts)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 07, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, February 07, 2026
The Right Wing in the United States Does Not Support Free Speech, It Supports Its Own Speech
Free speech is often opposed by those who also oppose Free software
IRC is a Lot Better Than Social Control Media (They're Not the Same at All)
A good social analogy for IRC is, there are many buildings with a party in each building
Microsoft 'Open' 'AI' is 'Dead Meat'
Or 0xDEADBEEF as some geeks might call it
When Identifying "Low Performers" and "PIPs" Aren't About Improving Performance But Reinforcing a Clique in Your Company/Organisation
It's very troubling to see once-respectable brands like IBM and institutions like the EPO resorting to this
Slop and Flop (IBM), Slopfarms and Hybrids (Linuxiac)
Did Bobby Borisov assume he would never get caught?
Crowdfunding vs Bitcoins: donations are better investment than digital tulip mania
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock