Remote Companies: No Office, No Physical Presence
June 16, 2016
I came across a database of companies with [a] no office and no physical presence or [b] jobs for people who don’t have to show up at a facility. The idea is that outsourcing and the gig economy make it possible for a firm to do provide products and services without folks hanging around the coffee machine or hunching over a laptop in an open work space. (Commutes are bummers. Years ago, I learned to read the Washington Post whilst creeping along the jammed expressway from Rockville to Bethesda. My really cheap Pinto was perfect for this type of slog.) You can access Remotebase and browse job listings and the names of the companies for free. It seems the service is free. Most of the companies whose links I explored were new to me; for example, the canine inspired Corgibytes and the Google killer DuckDuckGo. Think of it. Work from a public library, a Pinto or equivalent, a coffee shop, or (heaven forbid) an airport lounge.
Stephen E Arnold, June 16, 2016
Dark Web Drug Sales Go on Despite One Marketplace Down
June 16, 2016
Another Dark Web drug marketplace has gone offline, at least for now. Vice’s Motherboard published an article that reports on this incident and offers insight into its larger implications in their piece, Dark Web Market Disappears, Users Migrate in Panic, Circle of Life Continues. Nucleus market mostly sold illegal drugs such as cocaine and cannabis. Now, the site is unresponsive and has made no announcements regarding downtime or a return. The article hypothesizes about why Nucleus is down,
“At the moment, it’s not totally clear why Nucleus’s website is unresponsive. It could be an exit scam—a scam where site administrators stop allowing users to withdraw their funds and then disappear with the stockpile of bitcoins. This is what happened with Evolution, one of the most successful marketplaces, in March 2015. Other examples include Sheep Marketplace, from 2013, and more recently BlackBank Market. Perhaps the site was hacked by a third party. Indeed, Nucleus claimed to be the targetof a financially motivated attack last year. Or maybe the administrators were arrested, or the site is just suffering some downtime.”
The Dark Web poses an interesting case study around the concept of a business lifecycle. As the article suggests, this graph reveals the brief, and staggered, lifetimes of dark web marketplaces. Users know they will be able to find their favorite vendors selling through other channels. It appears the show, and the sales, must go on.
Megan Feil, June 16, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Behind the Google Search Algorithm
June 16, 2016
Trying to reveal the secrets behind Google’s search algorithm is almost harder than breaking into Fort Knox. Google keeps the 200 ranking factors a secret, what we do know is that keywords do not play the same role that they used to and social media does play some sort of undisclosed factor. Search Engine Journal shares that “Google Released The Top 3 ranking Factors” that offers a little information to help SEO.
Google Search Quality Senior Strategist Andrey Lipattsev shared that the three factors are links, content, and RankBrain-in no particular order. RankBrain is an artificial intelligence system that relies on machine learning to help Google process search results to push the more relevant search results to the top of the list. SEO experts are trying to figure out how this will affect their jobs, but the article shares that:
“We’ve known for a long time that content and links matter, though the importance of links has come into question in recent years. For most SEOs, this should not change anything about their day-to-day strategies. It does give us another piece of the ranking factor puzzle and provides content marketers with more ammo to defend their practice and push for growth.”
In reality, there is not much difference, except that few will be able to explain how artificial intelligence ranks particular sites. Nifty play, Google.
Whitney Grace, June 15, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Microsoft LinkedIn: A Social Clippy Ahead?
June 15, 2016
I don’t pay too much attention to Microsoft. Once one of my Windows 7 machines morphed into Windows 10 and killed my video editing system, I learned to love the Apple. I did read the story “Microsoft Buying LinkedIn For $26.2 Billion Cash In Its Biggest Acquisition To Date” in the capitalist tool.
Fresh from its success in mobile phones, Microsoft is embracing professional social networking. LinkedIn is a wonderful tool for those who are looking for work, people who want to create a billboard for themselves read by other LinkedIn users, and individuals who are LinkedIn thought leaders.
I assume that the story is indeed accurate. My thought is that lucky users of Microsoft Word will have a way to include LinkedIn information in a document. What could be better than slipping in one’s LinkedIn profile when one creates a memo to one’s boss?
The write up states:
LinkedIn’s shares jumped 48% to $194.55 in pre-market trading on Monday morning in New York, about a buck and a half under the offer price suggesting investors are confident a rival big won’t emerge. Microsoft’s shares declined by 4.2% to $51.48 in pre-market trading.
If the deal goes through, LinkedIn stakeholders may be the winners. No word about the payoff for the intrepid job seekers who make LinkedIn chug along. I hope I can have a live LinkedIn link each time I include a person’s name or a company in a PowerPoint. Would that be annoying? Never just an improvement upon Clippy.
Recode thinks the deal is the org chart “for the whole world.” Hmmm. Whole world? SillyconValley hyperbole maybe? Rio’s slum entrpreneurs? Innovators in Soweto? Nope. it’s a clippy thing.
Stephen E Arnold, June 15, 2016
Data: Lakes, Streams, Whatever
June 15, 2016
I read “Data Lakes vs Data Streams: Which Is Better?” The answer seems to me to be “both.” Streams are now. Lakes are “were.” Who wants to make decisions based on historical data. On the other hand, real time data may mislead the unwary data sailor. The write up states:
The availability of these new ways [lakes and streams] of storing and managing data has created a need for smarter, faster data storage and analytics tools to keep up with the scale and speed of the data. There is also a much broader set of users out there who want to be able to ask questions of their data themselves, perhaps to aid their decision making and drive their trading strategy in real-time rather than weekly or quarterly. And they don’t want to rely on or wait for someone else such as a dedicated business analyst or other limited resource to do the analysis for them. This increased ability and accessibility is creating whole new sets of users and completely new use cases, as well as transforming old ones.
Good news for self appointed lake and stream experts. Bad news for a company trying to figure out how to generate new revenues.
The first step may be to answer some basic questions about what data are available, their reliability, and what person “knows” about data wrangling. Worrying about lakes and streams before one knows if the water is polluted is a good idea before diving into the murky waters.
Stephen E Arnold, June 15, 2016
Banks as New Dark Web Educators
June 15, 2016
The Dark Web and deep web can often get misidentified and confused by readers. To take a step back, Trans Union’s blog offers a brief read called, The Dark Web & Your Data: Facts to Know, that helpfully addresses some basic information on these topics. First, a definition of the Dark Web: sites accessible only when a physical computer’s unique IP address is hidden on multiple levels. Specific software is needed to access the Dark Web because that software is needed to encrypt the machine’s IP address. The article continues,
“Certain software programs allow the IP address to be hidden, which provides anonymity as to where, or by whom, the site is hosted. The anonymous nature of the dark web makes it a haven for online criminals selling illegal products and services, as well as a marketplace for stolen data. The dark web is often confused with the “deep web,” the latter of which makes up about 90 percent of the Internet. The deep web consists of sites not reachable by standard search engines, including encrypted networks or password-protected sites like email accounts. The dark web also exists within this space and accounts for approximately less than 1 percent of web content.”
For those not reading news about the Dark Web every day, this seems like a fine piece to help brush up on cybersecurity concerns relevant at the individual user level. Trans Union is on the pulse in educating their clients as banks are an evergreen target for cybercrime and security breaches. It seems the message from this posting to clients can be interpreted as one of the “good luck” variety.
Megan Feil, June 15, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
The Job Duties of a Security Analyst
June 15, 2016
The Dark Web is a mysterious void that the average user will never venture into, much less understand than the nefarious reputation the media crafts for it. For certain individuals, however, not only do they make a lively hood by surfing the Dark Web, but they also monitor potential threats to our personal safety. The New York Times had the luck to interview one Dark Web security analyst and shared some insights into her job with the article, “Scouring The Dark Web To Keep Tabs On Terrorists.”
Flashpoint security analyst Alex Kassirer was interviewed and she described that she spent her days tracking jihadists, terrorist group propaganda, and specific individuals. Kassirer said that terrorists are engaging more in cybercrimes and hacking in lieu/addition of their usual physical aggressions. Her educational background is very impressive with a bachelor’s from George Washington University with a focus on conflict and security, a minor in religious studies, and she also learned some Arabic. She earned her master’s in global affairs at New York University and interned at Interpol, the Afghan Embassy, and Flashpoint.
She handles a lot of information, but she provides:
“I supply information about threats as they develop, new tactics terrorists are planning and targets they’re discussing. We’ve also uncovered people’s personal information that terrorists may have stolen. If I believe that the information might mean that someone is in physical danger, we notify the client. If the information points to financial fraud, I work with the cybercrime unit here.”
While Kassirer does experience anxiety over the information she collects, she knows that she is equipped with the tools and works with a team of people who are capable of disrupting terroristic plots.
Whitney Grace, June 15, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Weakly Watson: A Smart Hat
June 14, 2016
I am not making this up. Navigate to “A Dad Made a Real-Life ‘Harry Potter’ Sorting Hat Using IBM’s Watson — Here’s How It Works.” Lucky kids. I bet everyone in their school understands the importance of IBM Watson. And the fashion. Stellar. I would reproduce a photo of the IBM Watson hat, but I am fearful that [a] a legal eagle would swoop upon me and [b] my gentle readers would think I photoshopped the image.
According to the write up:
The hat works simply enough. You place it on your head (that part is actually for fun, you could just talk to it) and tell the sorting hat a few things about yourself so it can sort you appropriately.
And Watson:
But running on the Natural Language Classifyer [sic] language alone would have forced users to describe themselves over written text. And we all know that’s not how the real sorting hat works! So Anderson also used Watson’s Speech to Text feature so you can speak to the hat.
You will find more details at this link. I want to reiterate that I am quite impressed. The lucky children will be the talk of anyone who sees them wearing this gizmo.
IBM Watson. More than recipes.
Stephen E Arnold, June 14, 2016
Alphabet Google: Quantum Computing in View
June 14, 2016
I read “Google Hartmut Neven Predicts That within 10 Years There Will Only Be Quantum Machine Learning and No Machine Learning on Classical Computers.” That works out to 3,600 days, give or take a few days. Years ago I included the Big O issue in my lectures about the algorithms used by most search and content processing vendors. Without wandering through that field again, traditional computing devices are not too helpful when asked to perform certain types of calculations.
The Googler in the “will be only” write up is predicting that Von Neumann’s goodies will be replaced with quantum gear. Keep in mind the “will be only.” That confidence and the categorical affirmative strike me as a bit on the wild side. I agree that new methods will arrive, but in 3,600 days?
Here’s what the write up tells me:
Google says it can scale up to that point relatively quickly, and other researchers in the field say it’s credible. It would likely take scaling up a little further to do useful work with an analog quantum computer. If and when Google or some other company does that, the devices could be used to crack tough chemistry problems in health or energy by simulating atoms to a level of realism impossible today.
I think the Alphabet Google thing is pretty good at technology. The company apparently has solved death, worked out how to put a computing device in one’s eye, and modified the Overture/GoTo advertising system to generate oodles of money.
But the “will be only” thing is a fresh new approach. Buy Alphabet Google stock now.
Stephen E Arnold, June 14, 2016
Ransomware as a Service Deals in Bitcoins of Course
June 14, 2016
Countless “as-a-service” models exist online. A piece from SCMagazine, Dark web forums found offering Cerber ‘ransomware as a service’, reveals more information about one such service called ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), which we’ve heard about now for quite some time. Ransomware injects a virus onto a machine that encrypts the user’s files where they remain inaccessible until the victim pays for a key. Apparently, an Eastern European ransomware, Cerber, has been offering RaaS on Russian Dark Web forums. According to a cyber intelligence firm Sensecy, this ransomware was setup to include “blacklisted” countries so the malware does not execute on computers in certain locations. The article shares,
“Malwarebytes Labs senior security researcher Jerome Segura said the blacklisted geographies – most of which are Eastern European countries – provide “an indication of where the malware originated.” However, he said Malwarebytes Labs has not seen an indication that the ransomware is connected to the famed APT28 group, which is widely believed to be tied to the Russian government. The recent attacks demonstrate a proliferation of ransomware attacks targeting institutions in the U.S. and Western nations, as recent reports have warned. Last week, the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT) released a study that predicted previously exploited vulnerabilities will soon be utilized to extract ransom.”
Another interesting bit of information to note from this piece is the going ransom is one bitcoin. Segura mentions the value ransomers ask for may be changing as he has seen some cases where the ransomer works to identify whether the user may be able to pay more. Regardless of the location of a RaaS provider, these technological feats are nothing new. The interesting piece is the supposedly untraceable ransom medium supplanting cash.
Megan Feil, June 14, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
