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The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

Posted By James Wesley Rawles On In Odds 'n Sods | Comments Disabled

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR [1]. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, some more technological risks.

Sleepwalking Into World War III?

Are we sleepwalking into World War III? [2]

Riots are Spreading Across Western Europe

Reader D.S.V. suggested this New York Post article: Europe falls under siege as demonstrators battle police, set fires in cities across continent [3]. JWR’s Comment: This is what uncontrolled immigration will earn any western nation.

Black October: A Serious New Hacker Threat

SurvivalBlog staffer  Michael Z. Williamson sent this:

“See this, at  X/Twitter:  Black October [4].  This was not only predictable, but few steps have been taken to prevent it.

My wife Jessica was previously head of both IT Security Operations and IT Forensics for a major defense contractor. Even there, they were massively undermanned.

The CEO perspective is that they’re required to have an IT security department, so it’s put on the table and budget, and they hire as few people as possible (hence her heading two departments) as cheaply as possible, usually under contract, frequently with underqualified and underpaid H1Bs, and declare that they’ve taken care of the IT security requirement.

It’s the equivalent of being told you need a company motor pool, so renting a used Toyota Camry and contracting some guy whose qualification is his license hasn’t been suspended yet.

Everyone needs to ensure they have ISOLATED backups of important data–a memory stick that only connects to a computer (laptop will do) that is not connected to the local router or server. Bank account info including current statement, social security account, etc.  Where possible and convenient, keep paper copies, too. (Some data is too large to print.
A shameless plug: If you need data recovered/tracked, or an outside investigation of stolen data/files, etc, Jessica is still current and available for short term, reasonably priced contracts [5].”

AI-Enabled Devices are Always Listening

I found this CNBC article inked over at the Whatfinger.com  [6]news aggregation site: Always on, always listening: New AI devices are pushing legal limits and could put users in jeopardy [7].

More Flock Camera Creeps

Georgia Deputies Allegedly Tracked a Man for 197 Days With Flock Cameras After He Sued Them Over a Taser Arrest [8].

MapQuest’s New “Surveillance” Mapping Feature

MapQuest just added an update to their service called “surveillance” and it’s horrifying [9].

Banks Prepping For AI-pocalypse

At Futurism: Banks Preparing for Aftermath of Unprecedented Catastrophe Caused by AI [10].

Government Websites Go Dark: Security Vulnerabilities Noted

MSN reported this: Government websites go dark as software flaw sparks security scramble [11].

And from NBC: Critical vulnerabilities in commonly used web code spark rush to update systems [12].

The EU Wants To Punish People for Their Speech—Without a Trial

Over at Reason: The European Union Wants To Punish People for Their Speech—Without Even a Trial [13].

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You can send your news tips to JWR [1]. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact [14] form.) Thanks!