OT - NO POLITICS 2021 - Spring Fever Edition

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AngryMilkcrates

End of an Era
Jun 4, 2016
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26,021
So an update, the Irish government has refused to pay the ransom (which I think is the right call). The hackers gave up a decryption key last week so our health system is going to be able to retrieve all the data but the hackers have a copy of everything. They gave a deadline of last night (Sunday) to be paid or they were going to dump/sell all the data on the dark web come Monday. The deadline has come and gone so everyone is just waiting now to see what appears.

All Irish citizens have been warned about possible scams and/or blackmailing over the coming months and years as our data will most likely get sold and passed between different criminal groups. Main worries regarding blackmailing are for people who have phycological diagnosis or things like STI's etc... things that maybe they don't want other people in their lives to know about.

Supposedly the whole thing started when some poor innocent nurses computer started "acting funny" and when a help window suddenly appeared she clinked on the link giving them remote access to the system.

Sadly its not the nurses fault. She should not have to know about IT phishing like that for her job. The network IT people needed to protect against that. That means updated Operating Systems with full patching and Virus safeguards. Hard to blame IT nowadays as they mostly are not given the budget and time to protect these systems sufficiently.
 

Deleted

Registered User
Nov 11, 2017
1,044
2,900
Sadly its not the nurses fault. She should not have to know about IT phishing like that for her job. The network IT people needed to protect against that. That means updated Operating Systems with full patching and Virus safeguards. Hard to blame IT nowadays as they mostly are not given the budget and time to protect these systems sufficiently.

Couldn't agree more especially considering how hard nurses here and all over the world have been working over the past year, nobody is laying any blame at her door.

In terms of success rate when it comes to securing networks of this size and importance IT need to be on point 100% of the time, hackers only have to be successful .1% of the time and they are in the green. It is a tough gig and near impossible to stay ahead.

Many countries have sent IT specialists and law enforcement to try and help out including members of the FBI. If anything good comes out of this it is that other countries and organisations might learn about and fix any vulnerabilities they might spot in their own systems.
 

TD Charlie

Registered User
Sep 10, 2007
36,558
16,542
End of the month, the dealership still had the car I looked at two weeks ago...so I called today. Ya know, just to check in and whatnot.

Thought we had a deal, they asked for a card to take a deposit. I said woah woah, send me the particulars first. They sent me the contract and it's still their original offer. Holy miscommunication Batman! So I held my ground, even just for the $300 we were off by. 10 minutes pass and they call me back from a different number, and they pitch me a $500 discount if I finance at 2.24 rather than 1.9. In my head I'm thinking it works out in my favor, but I asked them to write it up and send it to me and I will call back. Sure enough, it's actually less money out the door and long term for me this way. So I call back and took the deal. They must be getting kickbacks not just for units moved, but for financed units as well. Everybody "wins"

I pick it up Saturday afternoon. I'm exhausted
 

Aussie Bruin

Registered User
Sponsor
Aug 3, 2019
9,935
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Victoria, Aus
Couldn't agree more especially considering how hard nurses here and all over the world have been working over the past year, nobody is laying any blame at her door.

In terms of success rate when it comes to securing networks of this size and importance IT need to be on point 100% of the time, hackers only have to be successful .1% of the time and they are in the green. It is a tough gig and near impossible to stay ahead.

Many countries have sent IT specialists and law enforcement to try and help out including members of the FBI. If anything good comes out of this it is that other countries and organisations might learn about and fix any vulnerabilities they might spot in their own systems.

That's the challenge, isn't it - it just takes one chink in the armour, one little error and these guys are in and able to access and do pretty much what they want. Very hard to keep things secure all the time.

I think you're right too - the more these groups go after high-profile targets with hacks that can impact thousands if not millions of people, the more the issue will hopefully gain global attention and we might see more concerted efforts to stamp out at least the worst of this activity. The politics is difficult thought with many such actors hiding within what are effectively rogue states.
 

AngryMilkcrates

End of an Era
Jun 4, 2016
16,345
26,021
That's the challenge, isn't it - it just takes one chink in the armour, one little error and these guys are in and able to access and do pretty much what they want. Very hard to keep things secure all the time.

I think you're right too - the more these groups go after high-profile targets with hacks that can impact thousands if not millions of people, the more the issue will hopefully gain global attention and we might see more concerted efforts to stamp out at least the worst of this activity. The politics is difficult thought with many such actors hiding within what are effectively rogue states.

...and bankrolled by said rogue states....
 

nazartp

Registered User
Apr 5, 2006
1,847
537
End of the month, the dealership still had the car I looked at two weeks ago...so I called today. Ya know, just to check in and whatnot.

Thought we had a deal, they asked for a card to take a deposit. I said woah woah, send me the particulars first. They sent me the contract and it's still their original offer. Holy miscommunication Batman! So I held my ground, even just for the $300 we were off by. 10 minutes pass and they call me back from a different number, and they pitch me a $500 discount if I finance at 2.24 rather than 1.9. In my head I'm thinking it works out in my favor, but I asked them to write it up and send it to me and I will call back. Sure enough, it's actually less money out the door and long term for me this way. So I call back and took the deal. They must be getting kickbacks not just for units moved, but for financed units as well. Everybody "wins"

I pick it up Saturday afternoon. I'm exhausted

Hate buying cars. Best experience - Volkswagen. By far the worst - Ford. We were leasing a car by now about 10 years ago. Go into the dealership, I sit down with the dealer, we discuss in detail what we want. One of the main items was in-dash navigation. I stressed it several times. We go in the system and look up inventory of the cars in the area, find several similarly equipped and I ask for a quote. They bring me the quote, we shake on it, I put the deposit down. They call us the next day and propose to come for a test drive. We come in, they show us the car without the in-dash navigation and explicitly state that this is not the one we are getting, because there will be in-dash navigation in the one they are delivering for us, but the drivetrain is the same, so we can get the feel for the car. My wife drives, likes it, we agree to come next day to pick up our car. Next day we come, look at the car, but when I go to sign the documents, the price is higher. The answer to my question "WTF" was, "But this one has in-dash navigation." I lost it, demanded to get my deposit back and picked up the phone to call the DA office. The manager showed up, apologized, and brought their own factory invoice. We got the car for the factory invoice price, plus three years of free regular maintenance. Then they tried to stiff us out of free maintenance. They also had the audacity to ask for "10" on their report card. I gave them a "1" and told the manager to eff himself when he called to check what was wrong with their service.
 

nazartp

Registered User
Apr 5, 2006
1,847
537
If it makes you feel any better the DarkSide group that had the ransomware on the US east coast Pipeline was paid the ransom. Then they were swiftly raided and lost all their servers and their finances were frozen. On one hand a lot of infrastructure in 1st world nations is 30-50 years behind on IT because no one wants to foot the bill to update it. These attacks will force that which is a good thing in the long run. In the short run these small business hackers are starting to hit targets too large that get them too much limelight which puts them in the cross hairs of not only Interpol but government militaries.

Do you have a link supporting this statement, by any chance? I heard a completely opposite story, that they went dark and stiffed out of payment some hackers who wrote the software for them.
 

AngryMilkcrates

End of an Era
Jun 4, 2016
16,345
26,021
Do you have a link supporting this statement, by any chance? I heard a completely opposite story, that they went dark and stiffed out of payment some hackers who wrote the software for them.

Last week I read some mainline news(in the US) that reported a raid and finance freeze. I cannot remember which main outlet I read that off of and recent articles seem to all point to DarkSide "disappearing".
So it could go either way. Either the media was wrong and has walked away from that claim or was told to do so. DarkSide initially told its creditors that they "did not have access to the funds anymore" immediately after their services shuttered. There is code within the locking malware that targets computers that do not have Russian as the main language defaulted so there was some finger-pointing at the Russian government that this was state sponsored. Add in their ties to data housing in Iran and this gets political very fast despite their apolitical statement. Its possible that a covert operation to shut them down was done by the US, Germany, or even Russia to cool any tensions from this. It just seems odd that it was reported, then all of it disappeared. Which is not uncommon for reporting on in-works covert operations with the US. On the other hand, there have been no reported arrests which would be a big win for any operation as a deterrent to further RAAS operations. I don't mind walking back my statement, but something smells fishy here.
 
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AngryMilkcrates

End of an Era
Jun 4, 2016
16,345
26,021
Do you have a link supporting this statement, by any chance? I heard a completely opposite story, that they went dark and stiffed out of payment some hackers who wrote the software for them.

Kept searching and found some articles:
DarkSide ransomware servers reportedly seized, operation shuts down

DarkSide Ransomware Gang Quits After Servers, Bitcoin Stash Seized – Krebs on Security

DarkSide Suffers ‘Oh, Crap!’ Server Shutdowns

"In the wee hours of Friday morning, DarkSide, following its own promise to “speak honestly and openly” about problems, ran through a laundry list of them. In a posting on an underground forum observed by Kaspersky researchers and shared with Threatpost, it said that it had lost access to the public part of its infrastructure: Specifically, the servers for its blog, payment processing and denial-of-service (DoS) operations had been seized.
DarkSide didn’t specify the country in which those servers operated or whose law enforcement seized them."
 
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nazartp

Registered User
Apr 5, 2006
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Last week I read some mainline news(in the US) that reported a raid and finance freeze. I cannot remember which main outlet I read that off of and recent articles seem to all point to DarkSide "disappearing".
So it could go either way. Either the media was wrong and has walked away from that claim or was told to do so. DarkSide initially told its creditors that they "did not have access to the funds anymore" immediately after their services shuttered. There is code within the locking malware that targets computers that do not have Russian as the main language defaulted so there was some finger-pointing at the Russian government that this was state sponsored. Add in their ties to data housing in Iran and this gets political very fast despite their apolitical statement. Its possible that a covert operation to shut them down was done by the US, Germany, or even Russia to cool any tensions from this. It just seems odd that it was reported, then all of it disappeared. Which is not uncommon for reporting on in-works covert operations with the US. On the other hand, there have been no reported arrests which would be a big win for any operation as a deterrent to further RAAS operations. I don't mind walking back my statement, but something smells fishy here.
Not about walking the statement. It was just completely opposite to what I heard :)
 
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DKH

The Bergeron of HF
Feb 27, 2002
74,225
51,999
Cleaning around house and put on Carpenters who were big when I was a kid and forgot how amazing they were and how special Karen Carpenter was - one of the few singers or groups I can hear and I can feel like I’m back in that time

so sad about her it’s enough to shed a tear all these years later
 

TD Charlie

Registered User
Sep 10, 2007
36,558
16,542
Hate buying cars. Best experience - Volkswagen. By far the worst - Ford. We were leasing a car by now about 10 years ago. Go into the dealership, I sit down with the dealer, we discuss in detail what we want. One of the main items was in-dash navigation. I stressed it several times. We go in the system and look up inventory of the cars in the area, find several similarly equipped and I ask for a quote. They bring me the quote, we shake on it, I put the deposit down. They call us the next day and propose to come for a test drive. We come in, they show us the car without the in-dash navigation and explicitly state that this is not the one we are getting, because there will be in-dash navigation in the one they are delivering for us, but the drivetrain is the same, so we can get the feel for the car. My wife drives, likes it, we agree to come next day to pick up our car. Next day we come, look at the car, but when I go to sign the documents, the price is higher. The answer to my question "WTF" was, "But this one has in-dash navigation." I lost it, demanded to get my deposit back and picked up the phone to call the DA office. The manager showed up, apologized, and brought their own factory invoice. We got the car for the factory invoice price, plus three years of free regular maintenance. Then they tried to stiff us out of free maintenance. They also had the audacity to ask for "10" on their report card. I gave them a "1" and told the manager to eff himself when he called to check what was wrong with their service.

yikes. I’d say it would be worth paying the normal profit margin just to avoid that nightmare, but at least you saved some scratch i suppose
 

LSCII

Cup driven
Mar 1, 2002
50,512
22,018
Central MA
Ransomware is so prevalent right now. Scary shit. The Mass DMV got hit with it which is why the inspection stickers stopped in March and just started back up recently.
 

nazartp

Registered User
Apr 5, 2006
1,847
537
yikes. I’d say it would be worth paying the normal profit margin just to avoid that nightmare, but at least you saved some scratch i suppose
Yep, I'm OK to pay a normal price, those guys need to earn their keep. I hate when they just try an explicitly lie to you. On the other side of the spectrum was the purchase of my son's first car - a used VW Rabbit. We agreed on the price, then the guy proposed extended warranty (as usual). I refused. He literally, told me how much profit he has in it and if I would be willing to get it if we split the difference. In the end I ended up getting my money's worth.
 
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TD Charlie

Registered User
Sep 10, 2007
36,558
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Floyd Mayweather is going to kill Logan Paul? Right ?

i have a feeling Mayweather carries the fight a few rounds, just for show. Then once Paul tires out, puts him down. Similar to the McGregor “fight”
 

Troublesome 85

Proud Girl Dad
Dec 28, 2017
9,748
7,408
Sarasota/Bradenton
One of the hardest things to do. You won't even be thinking about it one second or one minute but then you go to do something that you used to do and smoke while doing or after and it gets really tough to not cave.

I quit in 2017. Didnt need it had no stress now with getting married, being all a sudden dad and new financial stuff I needed em again. Told my girls after 5 packs im done.

I think its cuz their mom smokes like a chimney and they dont want 2 smoking parents.

just needed a stress relief that isnt weed cuz I cant be high all the time around my kids.
 

DKH

The Bergeron of HF
Feb 27, 2002
74,225
51,999
My youngest wont shut up about me stopping smoking. This my last pack tho
Best of luck

I know someone who figured out how much she spent on cigarettes a year was blown away

She wrote it down in big red letters and stuck in wallet and she never went back and it’s been 15 years

She had tried a bunch of things prior but always went back

She never thought about cigarettes either only being healthy and having more money - she saw her lungs healthy and clean/ she said focus on health and money

it worked
 

DarrenBanks56

Registered User
May 16, 2005
12,212
8,071
Best of luck

I know someone who figured out how much she spent on cigarettes a year was blown away

She wrote it down in big red letters and stuck in wallet and she never went back and it’s been 15 years

She had tried a bunch of things prior but always went back

She never thought about cigarettes either only being healthy and having more money - she saw her lungs healthy and clean/ she said focus on health and money

it worked
i should do that with beer and dunkin donuts. id prob save $200 a month.
 

DKH

The Bergeron of HF
Feb 27, 2002
74,225
51,999
i should do that with beer and dunkin donuts. id prob save $200 a month.
I like both ~ I do the DD K cups now at home - $60 cents or so now for coffee

beer - I don’t drink a lot but I like beer and cheaper to buy at package store

1 beer at Bruins or Red Sox about equal to 12 pack so I save there

coffee and beer is fine but I drink 1 cup and done at 9:30 and beer max 2 beers and maybe once or twice a week I’m 90% social drinker

losing weight and maintaining lot easier without beer also I don’t put sugar in my coffee anymore
 
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