It's Funny Until ...

Subversionhack:

http://subversionhack.livejournal.com/

https://tagmeme.com/subhack/a/index.html

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1135787&cid=26950187

I never get any credit - so insightful, I CAN tell the future!
Really, a no brainer, there HAD to be ONE pack-rat SysAdmin like me.

Trying To Find White House Missing E-mails

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1092423&cid=26461257

She now realizes that Ken Thompson's paper:

"Reflections on Trusting Trust"

http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~ganger/712.fall02/papers/p761-thompson.pdf

- is the basis of ANY hardware firmware or re-flashing of hardware.

I can't wait for next month and hopefully the bombshell we've been waiting for.
Brilliant Joanna indeed.

SSpade (above) is correct.

http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1238131&cid=28012601

(AND)
You have to be prepared for anything and that usually means the Production Coordinator's computer being hijacked by the DP (Director of Photography) and the Director for an informal "slice and dice" to see how something fades / cuts into another (QuickTime Pro) saving 45 minutes of stuff such as this.

As a former Motion Picture Tech (KeyGrip, DollyGrip) for over 25 years, I'm telling you, you better be prepared - anticipate their next need (hot spares) and make it look easy.

This ain't the "old days".

The Mac Hacker's Handbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Mac-Hackers-Handbook-Charles-Miller/dp/0470395362

- which should be bought, read and placed on the self next to:

Mac OS X Internals: A Systems Approach:

http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Internals-Systems-Approach/dp/0321278542/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242357309&sr=1-1

Apple's security wasn't an accident, but then neither was Microsoft's - a real go-er.

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT3_UCm1A5I

Yes.

Is this really a surprise?
Poor Dead Horse (MS) ... twack!

Sun ODF Plugin for Microsoft Office:

http://www.sun.com/software/star/odf_plugin/index.jsp

http://www.sun.com/software/star/odf_plugin/get.jsp

I'm sure you meant to use this link for the best price - the comments here will fill you in on the AWESOMENESS of these cables.

Denon AKDL1 Dedicated Link Cable:

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Link-Cable/dp/B000I1X6PM/

It was one thing to make a mix tape, back in the day, and share it with a couple of friends (2) verses what's happening now.

How things have changed:

1970 vs. 2008 - or 2009

Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.

1970 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.

2008 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1970 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.

2008 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.

1970 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2008 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin; Becomes a zombie; Tested for ADD; School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1970 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

2008 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1970 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.

2008 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.

1970 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, and goes to college.

2008 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway, but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, and blows up a red ant bed.

1970 - Ants die.

2008 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list; not allowed to fly again.

Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1970 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2008 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of psycho-therapy.

Scenario: Jack Buys the last Beatles album and records it to cassette, loans it to Trish to listen to.

1970 - Trish likes the music, returns the cassette then later that week buys the album.

2008 - Trish likes the MP3, adds it to her 128GB collection of music she has downloaded from Jacks site, Trish then puts a GB of music on a flash drive and takes it to Sally's house where they download it to Sally's Dell, where then Sally puts the music in her LimeWire share folder to share with her 750,000 closest friends.
Sally knows all the Beatles are rich and don't mind it if she gives away their music, it's OLD music anyway.

Someone online calls Sally a thief, Sally is outraged.
750,000 of Sally's closest friends come to her defense.

It's all one liners until someone puts an eye out.

This seems to relate quite similarly.

The quest for ring 0:

http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/402

http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/402/33600#33600

(^replaces a broken link^)

http://www.mackido.com/EasterEggs/CD-System70.html

Researchers: Rootkits headed for BIOS:
(comments especially)

http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11372

http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/11372/33017/threaded#33017

http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/11372/34206/threaded#34206

http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/11372/33500/threaded#33500

http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/11372/34207/threaded#34207

http://www.securityfocus.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?c=articlecomments&op=display_comments&ArticleID=11372&expand_all=true&mode=threaded

http://www.spywareinfoforum.com/index.php?s=3a3ce02c4055e269a0220c239560f3f9&showtopic=6056

Nancy:

https://tagmeme.com/exmachina/a/002450.html

This possible variant is out of "beta" (12 years old) it seems and truly roams "at will", those with the coding chops will understand what even a partial AI engine is capable of (SOAR).

On Macintoshes it leaves strings:

http://www.google.com/search?q=NuNV+N%5ENuNV&btnG=Search&hl=en&sa=2

PCs become junk as well:

http://www.derkeiler.com/Newsgroups/microsoft.public.security.virus/2005-09/0230.html

This Gal has a handle on it:

Joanna Rutkowska, Invisible Things Lab:

http://invisiblethingslab.com/itl/About.html

Review IT architecture of (the late) Mike Connell for the GOP:
Read the links, Videos with Spoonamore, another GOP IT Guru.

http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08%2F12%2F23%2F2128209

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJi7ViN35O8

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Foul_play_not_suspected_in_GOP_0113.html

http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosecute_rove/

You telling me Systems people don't do backups?
Thought not.

mzs:

"... the new discussion system. That makes a bunch of rants and trolls intersperse with the real discussion. I think a bunch of the insightful posters of the past simply stopped posting due to the signal to noise ratio falling."

Amen Brother.

On Slashdot Becoming Digg:

http://slashdot.org/~not_hylas(+)/journal/216371

Catch-22

Catch-22 is a sort of senseless, cruel, and idiotic unspoken rule.... that you have to be insane to fly a bombing mission, which means that you should be grounded (not allowed to fly a mission), but if you don't want to fly, that clearly proves that you are sane and must fly the missions.

Describing the meaning of the phrase "Catch-22".

Yeah, this is going to be long ...

I find myself (and a very few others) in a position similar to Cliff Stoll in his book:

"The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Stoll

Certified anomalies permeating the net of a hardware based logic bomb / trojan.
This is cross-platform simply because "hardware trumps root".

I have dealt with this since 1997 and have contacted through a Lawyer all the channels one would contact.
This is not your "normal" beast.

I don't require an answer here, from Representative Jim Langevin, in this forum, a contact below is provided.
This requires attention.

Required reading:
Reflections on Trusting Trust
Ken Thompson

http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=358198.358210&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=14389570&CFTOKEN=96928429

Companion:

http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=777313.777347&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=14389570&CFTOKEN=96928429

This is a good a place to start as any.
Nancy has named it:

Subversion:

Nancy's Story: (expired site certificate)
(2005-present)

https://tagmeme.com/exmachina/a/002450.html

Same situation:

http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/11372/33017/threaded#33017

http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/11372/34206/threaded#34206

http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/11372/33500/threaded#33500

http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/articles/11372/34207/threaded#34207

It took me years to find anyone that was aware as some of these folks.
This is highly sophisticated, prevalent and dangerous.

I am a Systems Administrator working in the western United States.

hylas [AT] operamail {DOT} com