Make Senior Execs Use 2 Factor Authentication? Get Real

This is beyond stupid for an attack in 2023, but that sums up Microsoft. Microsoft network breached through password-spraying by Russian-state hackers | Ars Technica

Russia-state hackers exploited a weak password to compromise Microsoft’s corporate network and accessed emails and documents that belonged to senior executives and employees working in security and legal teams, Microsoft said late Friday.

Password spraying is an attack where a bad-guy tries a PW across a set of user IDs. Since most systems are set to lock out a user after a certain number of failed tries to log in, this attack bypasses that by trying numerous accounts.

It is only possible if you ignore some basic security protocols, or as the article says, security hygiene.

As Steve Bellovin, a computer science professor and affiliate law prof at Columbia University with decades of experience in cybersecurity, wrote on Mastodon:

A lot of fascinating implications here. A successful password spray attack suggests no 2FA and either reused or weak passwords. Access to email accounts belonging to “senior leadership… cybersecurity, and legal" teams using just the permissions of a "test tenant account” suggests that someone gave that test account amazing privileges. Why? Why wasn't it removed when the test was over? I also note that it took Microsoft about seven weeks to detect the attack.

I'll say it again. You can't get senior management to use 2 factor authentication. It is too complicated for their tiny, C-suite minds. Use a password manager to have complicated passwords? That is also too complicated.

Doctors. Lawyers. Executives. And while I've never worked directly with doctors, all three are impossible to have follow any kind of security protocol. "I'm a [fill in the blank]! I can't follow those directives, I don't have the time!" Or something. I wonder if MS execs will have the time for 2FA now. Somehow I doubt it.

Quote of the Day

Comes to us from Second City Cop: "Required"? Have Fun With It

No idea what Unit this may be:

OT: The boss just made us put preferred pronouns in our email signatures so instead of they/them. or he/him etc...I used She/It

What did that shitbird Alinsky say?

"Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules."

Okay "boss." Flip the script. Self identify as something offensive, something inappropriate, something bizarre.

So how long will this last? No telling...

No Nothing

When I was first introduced to The Defiant, it was via a political discussion of the way people in music (and the arts generally) were ostracized for not getting the jab. In the case of Pete Prada, he had a medical exemption due to an autoimmune condition. That didn't matter. He didn't get the jab. He was out. The other members of the band, some of them anyway, were treated in a similar fashion.

So the first song by them I featured was a bit protest song. I actually think today's song is a better song.

From Blabbermouth.net: THE DEFIANT Feat. Former Members Of MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES, THE OFFSPRING, SMASH MOUTH: Debut Album Details Revealed.

THE DEFIANT, the new band featuring MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES singer Dicky Barrett alongside with Pete Parada (THE OFFSPRING) on drums, Greg Camp (SMASH MOUTH) on guitar, Johnny Rioux (STREET DOGS) on bass, and Joey LaRocca (THE BRIGGS) on guitar and keyboards, has released its second single ... .

This song is "No Nothing" by the Defiant from their October 2023 album If We're Really Being Honest.

DOJ Finally Issues Report on the Failures at Uvalde

Uvalde, Texas, and the mass shooting that took place there nearly 2 years ago, should stand as a monument to the fact that expecting the police to save you is nothing more than wishful thinking. From KXAN: New DOJ report finds ‘cascading failures’ in law enforcement response to Uvalde school massacre

The number one problem at Uvalde, Texas was that law enforcement didn't learn the lesson of Columbine. They treated the situation as a barricaded suspect with hostages, when they should have treated it as an active shooter. That was why they waited more than an hour, refused to let other law enforcement personnel enter the building, and even arrested parents, because that was more important that saving children.

Communication and leadership failures amongst police officials who responded to the mass school shooting in Uvalde contributed to the crisis, a new report from the U.S. Justice Department finds.

The DOJ report, released Thursday, bluntly asserts that if the response had been different, more children’s lives could have been saved in one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.

The local prosecutor is looking into pressing charges, but I don't think felony stupidity is a crime in Texas, but then I'm not a lawyer. The Supreme Court has said that cops have no duty to protect you, so that when they fail to protect you, you cannot sue. I don't know if this will mean you cannot charge them with a crime, or not. I guess we will find out.

KXAN is a TV station affiliated with NBC located in Austin, Texas, and they have had fairly complete coverage of the insanity that took place that day. State of Texas: DOJ report finds law enforcement failures during and after Uvalde school shooting

They point out in that 2nd article that the roughly 600 pages released on Thursday by the feds, doesn't really say all that much more than the 77 pages released by the State of Texas in July of 2022.

The document released by the Dept. of Justice can be found at this link. Critical Incident Review: Active Shooter at Robb Elementary School. That link is to the stub header. The link to the PDF can be found just below the first/only paragraph. Since it is a 600 page (or so) PDF with some images, you might not want to try and open it on your phone. Just sayin.'

I've only started to glance at it. It is 600 pages, that includes the requisite amount of government doublespeak, so I'm not sure if I will actually try to read the whole thing.

The report from the Texas legislature is more like 80 pages. Interim Report of the Investigative Committee on the Robb Elementary Shooting of the Texas House of Representatives. That is the direct link to the 80 page PDF.

As several people have pointed out, the fact that you can't rely on the police won't stop the Left, or the gun-hating part of it anyway, from insisting that you MUST rely on police. Don't clutter the issue with facts.

Sweden's "Mafia Gunsmith"

From Impro Guns: “Mafia gunsmith” made 3D weapons in his kitchen (Sweden)

“Already 20 years ago, Raimo Huolman, 55, was singled out as “the mafia’s gunsmith”. – I am like Bofors, he said then. Now he has – once again – been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for, among other things, extremely serious weapons offences.

Click thru for several photos, including of his 3D printing set up, and some of the firearms.

Several identical firearms have been seized in recent months and appear to be mostly 3D printed double-action pepper box type revolvers using a Webley-Fosbery type tracked cylinder arrangement.

The chambers are lined with steel and chambered in .22 rimfire. They appear to be functional, but it is hard to say how effective.

Unending Probation Even If they Commit More Crime

Soft-on-crime doesn't begin to cover what is happening in the Windy City. Burglar held at gunpoint by concealed carry holder gets probation (He was on probation for something else at the time of the burglary) - CWB Chicago

He was probably one bad decision away from being shot and maybe killed in this incident. I doubt that will teach him anything.

Tyler Hamlin was charged with burglary last February after a concealed carry holder interrupted the break-in and held him at gunpoint until Chicago police arrived. This week, a judge sentenced Hamlin to probation.

He was already on probation for a criminal damage by fire case, which started as an aggravated arson charge, when the Wrigleyville gun owner detained him around 8:30 p.m. on February 6, 2023.

The Hat tip goes to two places. First, from The Truth About Guns: What Does a Gender Studies Degree From the University of IL Get You? Probation After Being Held At Gunpoint by CCW Holder During Hot Burglary.

Meet Tyler Hamlin. He graduated from the University of Illinois (my alma mater) with a Gender Studies degree. Where has that degree taken him? Well, the homeless (first clue) and unemployed (clue #2) Tyler Hamlin, 31, was confronted by a CCW homeowner while burglarizing the guy’s garage in Chicago a while back.

And then to Clayton Cramer: There is a Step Down From Barista for Victim Studies Graduates

As several people have noted, if you don't impose consequences, why do you expect to see a change in behavior? But then the Democrats running Chicago, and other places, don't want to control crime. If they did, they would.

I thought about adding this post to the Self-defense and Concealed Carry categories, and while those do play a role in this story, they don't form the lesson. The moral of the story is really about soft-on-crime begets more crime. The next time this guy meets a concealed carry license holder he may not end up being arrested.

Don't Connect Your Washing Machine to the Internet

Better yet, don't BUY a washing machine that wants to connect to your WiFi. Mystery surrounds the LG washing machine hogging 3.6GB of data per day

“WTF! Why is my LG Washing Machine using 3.6GB of data/day?” This was an X user’s reaction after discovering the obscure behavior of his appliance.

This behavior indicates that the machine is either broken, and it is in an endless "update to the current version" loop, or it has been compromised and is part of a Botnet doing God knows what. The guy who wrote the story suggested that it was mining Bitcoin. Who can say?

LG hasn't been much use, but then why would they? If they have a bunch of dumb appliances that are pretending to be smart appliances that can no longer update themselves, then they might have a bit of a problem. PR problem anyway.

The guy in question blocked it on his router, because changing the WiFi password, and no updating the washing machine was not an option. Or something. "Change my WiFi password? But it is cute and I like it." Or something.

Don't buy Internet of the Things crap. When the washing machines can put the load in the dryer, and then fold the clothes when they're dry, I MIGHT consider putting the washing machine on the internet, but probably not.

You Are More Likely to Be Murdered By Someone You Know

From the San Diego Reader we get an analysis of the 2021 FBI crime report. San Diego's 10% killed by strangers

The article mostly focuses on the infamous stranger-committed-murders in San Diego. That being what passes for sensational journalism, I guess. But I am interested in the first part of the article. Also, the FBI doesn't call it the Crime Report anymore. It is Crime in America, or something. And fewer and fewer police departments report crime stats to the FBI. In part that is because the FBI keeps changing the format police departments need to submit, and in part it is because if they don't report it, it never happened, at least not as far as the statistics are concerned.

You are more likely to be murdered by someone you know than by someone you don’t. The latest FBI statistics show that fewer than 10% of the 20,000 people who were murdered in the United States in 2021 were killed by strangers. And yet, getting attacked and killed by a complete stranger remains reliable fodder for nightmares, horror movies, and true crime podcasts.

And journalists also rely on that "Strager Danger" motif. "If it bleeds, it leads," was the mantra of newspapers and news broadcasters for a long time. It still is, if the Leftist narrative is served.

Why would they want to say that alter the statistics to say that "Crime is Down?" Because otherwise they might have to reevaluate all their soft-on-crime, open-borders policies, and they don't want to do that.

"Sh*t Just Got Real" - Walt Disney Company Edition

A corporate board is supposed to represent shareholders, and keep the CEO in line. And replace that CEO if needed. The Disney board is basically hand-picked by the current CEO, Bob Iger, and refuses to hold Iger responsible for the things going wrong. And there is a lot going wrong.

Nelson Peltz of the Trian Group has started (or restarted) his proxy fight to get some control of the Disney board, in an effort to turn the company around. The video does include a nice, brief recap of how we got here, and an explanation of some of the finance terms in use.

The biggest threat facing Bob Iger and his reign at Disney is one Nelson Peltz, and unfortunately for Iger, Nelson Peltz is done playing games, because shit just got real.

This is the Midnight's Edge video from Andre Einherjar - Bob Iger TERRIFIED, as Nelson Peltz and Ike Perlmutter are coming for him and Disney!

No Power for You

What would you do, on a really cold day, if you had no power? Brian Zinchuk: Alberta won the energy lottery, yet it had to beg its neighbours if they could spare a megawatt? | Pipeline Online

Despite having more oil, coal, and natural gas, than most places can dream about, Alberta, Canada is having a bit of a power problem.

Saturday January 13th all wind power shut itself down due to the extreme cold. (On the order of -20 degrees Fahrenheit, so not really that extreme.) This was at night, so there was also no solar power. The neighboring provinces had no extra power. This caused a bit of an emergency.

It got so desperate the night of Saturday, Jan. 13, that the neighbours did not have another megawatt to spare. The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) and the government of Alberta sent out an emergency alert to every cellphone and TV screen in the province, calling on people to shut off everything from stoves to bathroom fans, as well as unplug block heaters and electric vehicles.

Don't charge your electric vehicle, and don't heat your non-electric vehicle so it can start in the morning. It isn't like you have to go to work, or anything. And don't cook any food.

Some people blamed a small handful of natural gas plants being out of operation. Which is a greater concern – two of 87 gas fired units being down, or 88 of 88 wind and solar farms being down at the same time, as happened the morning of Jan. 14? Indeed, the vast majority of the 87 gas units and 2 coal units were indeed providing nearly all of Alberta’s power throughout the weekend.

They won't be happy until people freeze to death in the dark. It seems like Canada is nearly there.

Your Feel-Good Story of the Day

There are heroes, and heroines, in the world. Be thankful that there are. State trooper plunges into icy Vermont pond to save 8-year-old girl

Two young girls broke through the ice on a pond in Vermont. The elderly homeowner was able to pull one to shore, but could not reach the other and called 911.

Trooper Michelle Archer was nearby and arrived less than five minutes later, police said. She pulled a rope and flotation device from her cruiser, ran to the pond and swam to the girl, according to body camera video released by state police. She swam back to shore with the girl, and a second trooper who arrived as she was bringing her out of the water carried the child to a waiting ambulance.

The girl made a full recovery.

Vermont State Police leadership have commended Troopers Archer and Keith Cote and the homeowner "for their selfless, heroic conduct, and all three have been recommended to receive the agency’s Lifesaving Award,” state police said.

Not everything in the world is awful, even if it feels that way on some days.

Democrats and Philadelphia - 72 Years of Destroying a City

From The First Street Journal: After 72 uninterrupted years in power, Democrats have kept Philly our nation’s poorest big city

The city of Philadelphia has been governed by Democrats for decades: the last Republican mayor left office while Harry Truman was President of the United States.

Are we shocked?

British Weather Report - And Character Report

The original headline from the UK's Metro was The Met Office warns the UK will be double-fisted by deadly snow and ice. When they got roasted on The Social Media Platform Formerly Known as Twitter, they changed it to "After double-whammy of snow and ice comes blowy Storm Isha – as it happened." Sounds like Snow-pocalypse that NYC gets on a regular basis.

Aside from being funny as Hell, this story disappointed me. I thought the Brits were tough. Turns out they react to snow the way bureaucrats in Washington, DC do. With panic.

They were expecting 2 to 4 inches of snow, with some areas being heavier. Temperatures in London were supposed to hover around freezing, but be around 8° Celsius, or 45° Fahrenheit on Sunday. That was revised down, from warmer temps than that.

There were some photos of a snowball fight, scroll down at the link above. Supposedly about 300 people were taking advantage of the fact that London never gets snow. But they did this year. I blame Global Warming.

Scotland did get hit with more snow. Hard to tell how much from a few photos, but it's clear that the Scots don't know how to drive in those conditions.

As I type this, it is 3° Fahrenheit or -16° Celsius where I am. We got about 3 or 4 inches of snow the other day, and yet somehow it wasn't the end of the world.

Now the UK is set to be blasted by a storm on Sunday, which will bring warmer temperatures and winds in the 50-60 mph range, and higher in coastal areas.

Vivek Ramaswamy Crashes Friday Night Tights

With apparently a little help from Benny Johnson, who was the guest on #FNT, Vivek Ramaswamy crashed the live stream for about 8 minutes. It was actually both comedy gold, and fairly interesting.

This is the Nerdrotic Daily video "PEOPLE ARE SICK OF IT!" Vivek Ramaswamy Responds To The M-SHE-U! Featuring Benny Johnson.

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 20 January

Wombat-socho is first with In The Mailbox: 01.17.24 (Morning Edition)

Don Surber: Iowa Had No Choice But Trump
First Street Journal: I told you so!
Gates Of Vienna: Jew-Hater Thwarted in Belgium

The Right Way - Top of the News

Iowa Caucus Result Sends MSNBC Around the Bend - IOTW Report
An amazing hostage story- The New Neo

EBL - Sisu

Over the top, but a good film. A Finish ex-commando who wants to be left alone, should be left alone.
A Finn who likes killing Russian Communists and Nazis, what's not to like?

The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler - Thursday News and Stupid Commentary

Item 5: Assassination attempts are on the rise worldwide — is the US next?
I am actually surprised that we haven’t had an assassination lately

Again from Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 01.19.24 (Morning Edition)

Vox Popoli: Brutal, Sigma Game on Substack, and The Irrelevant Media
Upstream Reviews: The Tale Of Patrick Peyton
L’Ombre de L’Olivier: Elections Are Dangerous For “Our” Democracy

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Joe Biden Met Hunter's Dealer

Art, that is. Jonathan Turley is shocked, shocked that Art Dealer Testifies that Hunter Expressly Asked for Buyer Information. Capt. Ed, "Quelle surprise! A Biden turned out to lie to cover up financial shenanigans.

Animal Magnetism - Animal’s Hump Day News

Biden Admin fucks up again.
The correct answer is “Who gives a shit?”
The Great Aquatic Animal Tail Divide.

Vlad Tepes - Interpreting Kamala, more evil than stupid, Tucker on the unsolved bombs at teh RNC and DNC and more: Links 1 for January 19th 2024

3. Alex Berenson: URGENT: Giving mRNA Covid vaccines to pregnant rats caused brain changes and autism-like behavior in their young, a new study shows

Wombat-socho - again - In The Mailbox: 1.19.24 (Early Evening Edition)

CDR Salamander: The Costs Of War At Sea
Dana Loesch: Last Week In Legal – Homewrecker Edition, Big Government Republicans Are Having Their Moment

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 1/18/2024

Biden Group Hires Hillary Clinton Fixer to Shut Down Third-Party Challengers
A group aligned with Democrat President Joe Biden has just hired a former Hillary Clinton lawyer to help shut down third-party challengers.

Small Dead Animals - Thursday On Turtle Island

Woke Britain: The Rochdale horror. China Virus News: Here we go again.
Blackie’s Canada: Canada’s terror TV. Today Dear Leader takes his taxpayer funded election campaign to Nunavit.

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Biden Admin Seeks to Censor Conservatives

James Lynch at Da Caller, Feds Used J6 To Conduct Mass Surveillance On Bank Transactions Flagged With Terms Like ‘Trump,’ ‘MAGA’: Jim Jordan. Mark Tapscott at Insty, BIDEN FEDS SURVEILED BIBLE BUYERS:

Flopping Aces - Will 2024 Make 2020 Look Like 2016?

the DHS is treating us Normals as terrorists, and now the Feds are asking the banks to conduct warrantless searches through their customer records. What is the regime’s endgame? Damned if I know...

Wombat-socho again - In The Mailbox: 01.19.24 (Late Night Edition)

Adam Piggott: Substack was a Trap
American Conservative: Will Illegal Aliens Choose the 2024 Republican Nominee in Arizona?

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

“You are making a difference.”
Kevin Corcoran exposes a common error committed by opponents of school choice.

Maggie's Farm - Thursday morning links

The Most Ridiculous 75 Seconds Of Bullshit From Davos Yet On "Ecocide"
Elections Will Soon Be a Quaint Relic of the Past, Says Globalist Klaus Schwab

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 1/17/24

Scott McKay: "Every time the former president had an opportunity to speak the truth to America, he chose to do the opposite."
Obama Destroyed Martin Luther King’s Dream

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: Biden’s Secret Internet Surveillance Court – But Really, It Seems Like a Filtering System

• This Washington Post Opinion Piece is Rewriting the Recent History of Border Control - John Sexton
• Trying to Explain Biden’s Bumbling Policy on the Houthi Rebels and Iran - Fred Fleitz

I leave you with Wednesday's gifs from Wirecutter, Worst record album covers ever from The Bluebird of Bitterness, Thursdump Meme Load.... from The Feral Irishman, and Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #1561 from 90 Miles from Tyranny.

Another Failure of the Victim-Selection Process

You shouldn't break into homes, you might just find an armed homeowner. Man shot by homeowner during alleged attempted burglary dies, sheriff says

At around 3 a.m. on Saturday, January 13, Sheriff Mark Dobbs said deputies responded to a home on Strawberry Lane in Qulin for a report of someone shot.

Deputies were told at the scene that an intruder tried to break into the home and the homeowner shot him five times.

He was airlifted to a trauma center, but passed away.

[Sheriff Dobbs] said the homeowner has not been charged because he acted in self defense.

I'm sure the Left will have a problem with this, not that it will be a national story.

Post Office Ban on Guns Unconstitutional According to One Judge

Another case that will have to go to the SCOTUS, or that is my guess anyway. Judge Rules Banning Guns in Post Offices Unconstitutional

The judge argued, “A blanket restriction on firearms possession in post offices is incongruent with the American tradition of firearms regulation.”

Now, I’m quite sure that a lot of anti-gunners are going to take issue with this. After all, Bruen does say that sensitive places can be gun-free zones, so why can’t a post office be included.

However, the judge notes that post offices have been around since the nation’s founding, yet our Founding Fathers made no effort to ban guns there.

It is a win, but I expect it will be appealed because the "Gun Free Zones Are Sure to Work This Time!" crowd won't give up and go home.

The Court (Dark-Side Mix)

Still working my way through the new Peter Gabriel album. This song was released on the full moon of 5 February 2023, but I only stumbled across it at the beginning of December.

Songs were released on various days of the year, some on the days of full moons, others on the days of new moons.

This is "The Court (Dark-Side Mix)" by Peter Gabriel from his 2023 album i/o. It is his first album since 2002.

What Do You Get If You Cross a 12 Gauge Shotgun and a Battleaxe?

Impro Guns has the answer at 12 gauge chopper

Click thru for a couple of images, and a link to a video, though I can't recommend the video.