DEFCON is over for the year. I hate Las Vegas but I enjoy the time with my son and the opportunity to rub elbows with a part of the world that is usually below my radar. Both keep me alert.
I wish that the public could attend some of these sessions. One lesson that we need to broadcast is that you are not secure, even in your home. The invasive nature of electronics and the nasty need of politicians and corporate executives to control others is a very real threat to liberty. It is a real threat to your privacy. It is a real threat to your financial security.
We hear about the loss of personal, private information that happened at the government level. If you have ever been used as a reference by anyone in that database the chances are that all of your personal information is now in the hands of someone who wants to do you harm. Don’t forget all the major businesses that have also had the same experience recently.
As I look at the screen on my laptop I notice one of the great gadgets I came across at DEFCON. It is a little sliding aperture that goes over the camera on my laptop. It slides open easily but more important it slides closed so that the camera is blocked. I am sure that you are aware than any good hacker can access your computer if you are connected to the internet and activate the camera and microphone without you knowing it. Oh, you didn’t know that? Now you do. At least at this point they cannot see me.
I watched the hackers show how to start a car that is not theirs. I watched them open doors in security areas without a key. You have reason to worry. Make sure that you are not an easy target. Make sure your computer has a firewall. Make sure you change passwords.
Be careful. DEFCON is over but the real world is still there.
homo unius libri
When are you setting up your classroom? I looked at it while working there over the summer and it's a total mess.
ReplyDeleteAt most schools the summer is a chance for the custodial staff to do a deep cleaning of the rooms since there are no students around to keep piling us the results of their bad habits and lack of discipline. I am sure that if they had known that a past president had been doing an inspection they would have spruced it up a bit, or covered the windows.
DeleteUnlike some students who need a life, some teachers have one so they don't spend all summer at school.
Grace and peace.