This is likely the biggest password leak ever: nearly 10 billion credentials exposed.

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. 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, we look at a new cybersecuity threat.

Biggest Password Leak Ever: 10 Billion Credentials

SurvivalBlog reader C.B. sent the link to this article at Mashable: This is likely the biggest password leak ever: nearly 10 billion credentials exposed. The article begins:

“Cybersecurity researchers are calling it the largest password compilation leak of all time.

On July 4, a newly registered user on a popular hacking forum posted a file containing nearly 10 billion compromised passwords in plaintext. The post was first noticed by researchers at Cybernews.”

Revived Civil Defense Programs for NATO Nations

Reader 3 AD Scout suggested this article at the Foreign Policy website: NATO Wants Everyone to Help Deter Russia.

War Drums: Joint Statement on F16 Fighters for Ukraine

Reader Andre in Belgium flagged this: Joint Statement on F-16s for Ukraine from U.S. President Joseph R. Biden, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Europe Invaded: The Silence of the Bells

Lars Mailer, over at The American Thinker: The Silence of the Bells. JWR’s Comment: Coincidentally, that ties in with the Silent Minarets Agreement prediction that I made in my novel Land of Promise. A reminder: That book will no longer be orderable from Amazon after tomorrow (July 12, 2024), so get your copy on order, ASAP!

Softened Abortion Language in New GOP Platform

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Softened abortion language in Trump-approved GOP platform irks some social conservatives.

Microsoft Warns of Windows 11 Update Deadline

Reader C.B. suggested this article describing some planned obsolescence, over at Digital Trends: Microsoft warns of important Windows 11 update deadline. It begins:

“There’s been a lot of talk about the upcoming Windows 10 end-of-life date, and Microsoft’s attempts to encourage people to update to Windows 11. Now, the tech giant is announcing that an older version of Windows 11 will reach its end-of-service date too, as mentioned in a blog post on Monday.

If you’re still on Windows 11 22H2, which came out in October 2022, you will stop receiving security and preview updates as of October 8, 2024. However, you can continue to get those security updates if you update your Windows 11 computer to the 23H2 version you should now have as a pending update.

The warning applies to Windows Home, Pro, and Business (or education) users. However, Microsoft will also automatically update non-managed business computers, so they get the latest updates. You have 90 days to update to the latest Windows version…”

What If Texas and Florida Seceded?

Reader H.L. sent us this, from ZeroHedge: The “Sunbelt Republic”: What If Texas and Florida Seceded?

The FBI’s Right-Wing Terror Agent Provocateurs

H.L. suggested this article at Headline USA: The Hidden History of Robert Mueller’s Right-Wing Terror Factory—Part 1. Here is an excerpt:

“…the FBI’s Nazi rallies led to a much larger operation to target right-wing groups. Dubbed “Primitive Affliction,” the operation featured a motorcycle front group, rogue undercover agents, Outlaw bikers, Satanists, bomb-makers and a fugitive on the lam in Mexico.

To top it off, the FBI’s Nazi operation was briefed to the highest levels of the bureau, including to then-Director Robert Mueller, according to at least one record unearthed by this publication.

Little has been written about Primitive Affliction outside of the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center—biased groups that trained agents in the case, according to the newly revealed records.

But despite the lack of publicity, Primitive Affliction covers a crucial time in right-wing extremist history. It began where the FBI’s 1990s-era cases against the Aryan Nations trailed off, and it helped shape the neo-Nazi groups that would march at the 2017 deadly Charlottesville Unite the Right rally—an event that inspired Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential candidacy.

Along with big-picture history, the records from Primitive Affliction reveal malfeasance by FBI agents and officers who today hold higher positions at the bureau.”