DOJ Suggestions for Threat Research and Cyber Intelligence Gathering
March 13, 2020
DarkCyber spotted “Legal Considerations when Gathering Online Cyber Threat Intelligence and Purchasing Data from Illicit Sources.” The Department of Justice has assembled what a mini best practices for those who are gathering certain types of cyber security information; for example, Dark Web fora.
The document states:
The application of federal criminal law to activities occurring online can be complicated.
That should be a yellow warning signal to those who embark on digital journeys into certain parts of the datasphere. The document provides some information about different ways to gather information from online discussion groups.
Online storefronts can appear to provide a way to purchase products or services which, in some jurisdictions, are problematic.
The document is informative and, in DarkCyber’s opinion, a useful contribution to the literature related to obtaining threat intelligence.
Net net: Don’t intentionally or unintentionally become what some authorities would consider a criminal. Plus, any spelunking in certain areas of the datasphere can change a curious eager beaver into a target for bad actors.
Stephen E Arnold, March 13, 2020
Phishing Faces a Tough Competitor
March 13, 2020
DarkCyber spotted a factoid which could be marketing dressed up in factual finery or a datum which is accurate. You will have to figure out which.
Navigate to “Adware Accounts for 72% of Mobile Malware: Avast.” The write up states:
Adware or software that hijacks a device in order to spam the user with unwanted ads now accounts for 72 per cent of all mobile malware, says a new report from cybersecurity firm Avast.
But what about the other 28 percent of digital legerdemain?
The remaining 28 per cent consist of banking Trojans, fake apps, lockers, and downloaders, according to statistics gathered by Avast’s Threat Lab experts.
The write up points out:
Adware often disguises itself in the form of gaming and entertainment apps, or other app types that are trending and therefore are interesting targets with a high potential to spread far. These apps may appear harmless, but once they have infected a device they will surreptitiously click on ads in the background. Sometimes, adware also serves ads with malicious content.
Phishing may lose its pride of place among bad actors.
By the way, the data in the write up, if on the money, does not explain how malware on a mobile phone can perform a number of other useful services for the developer. These services can be helpful to certain types of professionals working in field other than Madison Avenue pursuits.
Stephen E Arnold, March 13, 2020
Russia: Ever the Innovator for Internal Controls
March 12, 2020
DarkCyber tries to ignore Russia. The Fancy Bears, the hackers, and the secretive university research facilities—these give the team a headache. We spotted a headline which caused us to lift our gaze from more interesting innovations in Herliya and Tel Aviv to read “Russia Seeks to Block ‘Darknet’ Technologies, Including Telegram’s Blockchain.” According to the story:
A Russian government agency has requested contractor bids to find ways to block censorship-resistant internet technologies, like mesh networks. The list includes messaging app company Telegram’s yet-to-be-launched blockchain.
The technologies which Russia deems problematic include:
mesh networks, Internet of Things (IoT) protocols and protocols allowing anonymous browsing, including Invisible Internet Project (I2P), The Onion Router (TOR), Freenet, Zeronet, anoNet – and one blockchain, the Telegram Open Network (TON).
Other countries are likely to have similar concerns. Client states are likely to benefit from any Russian innovations which blunt these digital tools.
DarkCyber has a slightly different view:
- The technologies needed to deal with these systems will be developed. How quickly is anyone’s guess. But progress will be made.
- Turnover within research entities and Russia’s dynamic and quite interesting commercial sector is ongoing.
- Certain entrepreneurs apply innovations to what some people might describe as “extra legal” activities. If these individuals and their corporate constructs enjoy the benefit of positive support from some Russian officials, the innovations will find their way into a gray market.
Net net: Censorship is part of the government agenda. The new tools will have an impact outside of the Russian nation states. Censorship and monitoring go hand in hand in some countries.
Stephen E Arnold, March 12, 2020
Oracle: A Gentle, Dulcet Reminder of What It Takes to Survive in the Digital Jungle
March 12, 2020
“Before It Sued Google for Copying from Java, Oracle Got Rich Copying IBM’s SQL” is a deerskin moccasin stroll through a dark, dangerous thicket. A company with a penchant for oatmeal container architecture and renaming roadways should serve as a flashing yellow light.
The write up uses phrases like those favored by DarkCyber; for example:
Oracle’s history highlights a possible downside to its stance on API copyrights.
Yeah, but history is a consequence of bright individuals who seize on a particular molecule from the event stream. History does not highlight anything. Humans like lawyers, analysts, and writers do. The “possible downside” is a hedge against a former Marine who can be — ah, what is the word, — “frisky”.
The write-up says:
Oracle got its start in the 1970s selling a database product based on the then-new structured query language (SQL). SQL was invented by IBM. And Oracle doesn’t seem to have gotten a license to use it.
Yikes. What’s this mean? DarkCyber turns to the article for guidance:
Oracle got its start copying IBM’s software interface.
Yes, that’s clear.
Plus, there’s a molecule from the event stream; specifically:
Around 1977, Larry Ellison and his co-founders spotted an opportunity. They had recently started a software consulting company called Software Development Laboratories, but they wanted to transition to selling a software product. Ellison realized there was enough detail in IBM’s white papers to clone IBM’s database technology. He also realized that it would provide a credibility boost if he could say that their new Oracle database was fully compatible with IBM’s SQL standard. According to one of SQL’s designers, Donald Chamberlin, Ellison was so determined to achieve compatibility with IBM’s technology that he called Chamberlin in 1978 seeking more details about IBM’s implementation of SQL.
The digital equivalent of the two largest blocks in the former Soviet union sat down to talk turkey about Java. Oracle “owned” it; Google had some Sun Microsystems’ employees who had a bit of experience with the “write once, run anywhere” methods.
The write up states:
Google claims that “negotiations broke down over issues unrelated to money.” Google says Sun sought more control over the evolution of the Android platform than Google was willing to offer. So Google decided to build its own version of Java without a license from Sun.
The river flowed, and the rushing waters are behaving with the oddball physics of fluid dynamics. Oracle was thrashed; Google was cyclonic.
The roaring river of legal fees has reached the Supreme Court. Will the legal dam of the copyright crowd hold, or will the “let the digital water flow” of the Google crowd prevail?
The write up creeps quietly away, offering this statement:
…fair use is a notoriously complex and subjective legal standard. Any company wanting to make its software interoperable with a competitor’s product would have to worry that the competitor could sue, arguing that this use wasn’t as fair as Google’s use of Java. Most software companies don’t have Google’s legal resources or staying power, so the prospect of a lawsuit—even one they’re likely to win—could be a major deterrent to building interoperable software.
The shadow of no or reduced interoperability falls. On the other hand, consultants, integrators, resellers, and innovators see a new dawn rising.
Go with history. The sun comes up every day, at least so far.
Stephen E Arnold, March 12, 2020
Google Stadia: Google Wood or Just Recycled Cardboard?
March 12, 2020
DarkCyber does not play games. Sure, there are some young-at-heart DarkCyber games, but I ignore them. One of these hard-working individuals spotted “Google Stadia Hits an All-Time Low With This Embarrassing Tweet.” I am not much of a tweeter.
Apparently someone at Google does read tweets and noted one that contained this high school cheer / acrostic thing:
Note that there is no game for I.
A Googler replied, with a tweet, of course: “Why would you bring attention to this?”
I assume the answer is one of these choices:
a. It’s millennial or Gen X, Y, or Z humor
b. Stadia is not performing
c. Someone actually cares about Stadia to try to spell a word using the first letter of games on the service
d. There is a game on Stadia which uses the “what’s up” emoji instead of words.
The write up states:
Clearly, whoever is in charge of the Google Stadia Twitter account has stopped caring. It’s probably for the best since everyone else stopped caring about it months ago.
Google Stadia seemed doomed from the start, and things haven’t gotten much better. It lacks games, has a terrible monetization system, and generally isn’t all that convenient. It even pales in comparison to other similar systems like GeForce Now and Project xCloud. If the state of their social media is anything to go by, Google is already well on its way to just checking out and letting the system die. It’s hard to blame them. So far, Google Stadia seems like it was just a horrible idea.
DarkCyber has little insight to how things work at Google. I would surmise that whoever worked on Stadia has made an effort to catch on with a hot project team. No, not solving Death. Solving Stadia, however, may be a comparable challenge.
Stephen E Arnold, March 12, 2020
Eliminalia: Reputation Management and Content Removal
March 12, 2020
One of our readers called our attention to a company called Eliminalia. This firm provides what DarkCyber considers reputation management services. The unique selling proposition for the firm is that it says that it can achieve results quickly. DarkCyber does not have a firm position on the value of reputation management firms. The organizations or individuals who want content removed may feel a compelling need to modify history or take content corrective actions. Because removing content rests in the hands of a third party, often a large indexing company, getting attention and action can be a challenging job. Europa Press asserts that 24 percent of people and businesses want to have data about them removed from “the Internet.” We took a quick look at our files and located some information. Here’s a summary of points we found interesting.
Plus, the firm asserts:
We are the first to guarantee the results or we will refund your money. We will give an answer to your doubts and needs. We will help you and advise you on a global level.
The firm adds:
We delete internet data and information and guarantee your right to be forgotten. Eliminalia is the leading company in the field which guarantees that the information that bothers and harms you is completely deleted from Internet search engines (Google, Bing, etc.), web portals, blogs..
The firm offers three videos on Vimeo. The most recent video is at https://vimeo.com/222670049 and includes this commentary:
Eliminalia is a renowned company with several world headquarters that protects online privacy and reputation of its customers, finding and removing negative contents from the Web.
There are several YouTube videos as well. These may be located at this link.
The company has offices in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Eliminalia offers a mobile app for iPhones and Android devices.
The firm’s Web site asserts:
- 99% happy satisfied clients
- 8260+ success stories
- 3540 business clients.
The company states:
We delete your name from:
- Mass media
- State gazettes
- Social media
The president of Eliminalia is Dídac Sánchez. The company was founded in 2013. Crunchbase lists the date of the company’s founding as 2011.
There is an interesting, but difficult to verify, article about the Eliminalia process in “Why Is William Hill a Corporate Partner of Alzheimer’s Society?” The assertions about Eliminalia appear toward the end of the WordPress post. These can be located by searching for the term “Eliminalia.” One interesting item in the write up is that the Eliminalia business allegedly shares an address with World Intelligence Ltd. It is also not clear if Eliminalia is headquartered in Manchester at 53 Fountain Street. Note: the William Hill article includes other names allegedly associated with the company.
DarkCyber believes the company focuses on selling its services in countries with data protection regulations. The firm has a strong Spanish flavor.
If you are interested in having content removed from the Internet, consider speaking with Eliminalia. DarkCyber believes that some content can be difficult to remove. Requests for removal can be submitted. Some sites have a “removal request button” like www.accessify.com. However, there may be backlogs, bureaucracy, and indifference to requests which may be interpreted as trivial or nuisance. Some of our information revealed quite interesting information about the firm. DarkCyber can prepare a more robust summary of the company, including information about the methods used to remove content from the Internet.
Stephen E Arnold, March 12, 2020
Sintelix Adds Unstructured Text to IBM i2 Solutions
March 12, 2020
DarkCyber noted that IBM is promoting the Sintelix text and data analytics software. The tie up makes it easier for i2 users to make sense of unstructured text. Sintelix does not compete with IBM. Sintelix has filled a gap in IBM’s presentation of the i2 solutions. For more information, navigate to this IBM page. No pricing details. Sintelix’s headquarters are in Australia.
Stephen E Arnold, March 12, 2020
A Guide to Finding Cloudy Files
March 11, 2020
Justa brief honk to describe this handy reference we have found. Popular Science tells us how to “Find Any File in the Cloud.” Writer David Nield describes platform-specific search functionality at Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, and OneDrive. He observes:
“Keeping your files in an online cloud locker means you can free up some space on your computer and get at your files from anywhere, using any device. But if you haven’t taken the time to explore a platform in depth, or if you use several and often get confused, you might find it harder to track down particular files compared to having them on a local hard drive. It doesn’t have to be this way, though. All the big cloud storage providers have useful tools for searching through your files and folders, whether you’re using a web browser, a desktop computer, or your phone.”
For each option, Nield details us where to find a basic search box as well as all filtering options. He also notes each platform’s limitations, if any. Naturally, the descriptions are illustrated with screenshots. See the writeup if you use, or are considering using, any of these cloud storage options.
Cynthia Murrell, March 11, 2020
WhatsApp: Indexed by Google
March 11, 2020
The Orissa Post reports, “Google Indexes Private WhatsApp Group Chat Links.” As a result of the search indexing, assorted private chat groups were summarily forced open for anyone to join. Writer Ians reports,
“According to a report in Motherboard, invitations to WhatsApp group chats were being indexed by Google. The team found private groups using specific Google searches and even joined a group intended for NGOs accredited by the UN and had access to all the participants and their phone numbers. Journalist Jordan Wildon said on Twitter that he discovered that WhatsApp’s ‘Invite to Group Link’ feature lets Google index groups, making them available across the internet since the links are being shared outside of WhatsApp’s secure private messaging service. ‘Your WhatsApp groups may not be as secure as you think they are,’ Wildon tweeted Friday, adding that using particular Google searches, people can discover links to the chats. According to app reverse-engineer Jane Wong, Google has around 470,000 results for a simple search of ‘chat.whatsapp.com’, part of the URL that makes up invites to WhatsApp groups.”
A spokesperson for WhatsApp confirmed that publicly posted invite links would be available to other WhatsApp users, and insists folks should not have to worry their private invites may be made public in this way. On the other hand, Google’s public search liaison seemed to place the blame squarely on WhatsApp. He tweets:
“Search engines like Google & others list pages from the open web. That’s what’s happening here. It’s no different than any case where a site allows URLs to be publicly listed. We do offer tools allowing sites to block content being listed in our results.”
Perhaps both companies could have handled this issue with more consideration. We wonder whether WhatsApp has since taken advantage of those content-blocking tools.
Cynthia Murrell, March 11, 2020
Biased? You Betcha
March 11, 2020
Fact checkers probably have one of the hardest jobs, especially with today’s 24/7 access news stream. Determining what the facts are is difficult and requires proper research. Fact checkers, however, have a tougher nut to crack with confirmation bias a.k.a. this article from Nieman Lab: “The Fact-Checker’s Dilemma: Humans Are Hardwired To Dismiss Facts That Don’t Fit Their Worldview.”
The article opens with a poignant statement about polarized, insulated ideological communities ratified by their own beliefs. Some examples of these communities are autism is caused by vaccines, global warming is a hoax, and different political mish mash.
Refuting false information should be simple, especially with cold, hard facts, but that is not the case. Political, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and other factors influence how and what people believe. What is the cause behind this behavior?
“The interdisciplinary study of this phenomenon has exploded over just the past six or seven years. One thing has become clear: The failure of various groups to acknowledge the truth about, say, climate change, isn’t explained by a lack of information about the scientific consensus on the subject. Instead, what strongly predicts denial of expertise on many controversial topics is simply one’s political persuasion.”
What is astonishing is this:
“A 2015 metastudy showed that ideological polarization over the reality of climate change actually increases with respondents’ knowledge of politics, science, and/or energy policy. The chances that a conservative is a climate change denier is significantly higher if he or she is college-educated. Conservatives scoring highest on tests for cognitive sophistication or quantitative reasoning skills are most susceptible to motivated reasoning about climate science.”
While the above example is about conservatives, liberals also have their own confirmation bias dilemmas. This behavior is also linked to primal human behaviors, where, in order to join a social group, humans had to assimilate the group’s beliefs and habits. Personally held prejudices do affect factual beliefs and these can be anything from politics, religion, etc.
Unwelcome information also increases people to cling to wrong information. Anything that threatens an established system encourages close minded thinking. This also gives rise to deniers and conspiracy theories that can also be regarded as fact, when there is not any information to support it.
It is basic human behavior to reject anything that threatens strongly held interests, dogmas, or creeds giving way to denial. Politicians manipulate that behavior to their benefit and the average individual does not realize it. “Waking up “ or becoming aware how the human brain works in relation to confirmation bias is key to overcoming false facts.
Whitney Grace, March 11, 202
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