Most of you know about the terror attack in London last week. A man plows his car into a group of people on Westminster Bridge. Then, he stabbed people when he got out of the car. Four people died. Also, the attack injured dozens more. Police had to shoot and kill the suspect. But now, authorities say he used Whats App right before he killed. And lawmakers are not happy. What’s App used in London Terrorist attacks.
They’re not happy because Whats App uses end-to-end encryption. This prevents law agencies from reading messages without the user’s approval or knowledge. British Home Secretary Amber Rudd condemned What’s App. She said this kind of encryption is ‘completely unacceptable’. Secretary Rudd also hinted these apps could be a hiding place for terrorists. Furthermore, Rudd called on tech companies to prevent and fight social media publicity that inspires extremism. She says this because some believe the suspect eventually became radical. Other terrorist may have inspired him. But this isn’t the first beef between law enforcement and IT service companies. Remember the fight between Apple and the FBI? Apple didn’t help the FBI unlock a terrorist suspect’s phone. The fighting between them continues to this day.
Okay some terrorist used Whats App. But think of the billions who use Whats App for more positive things. They use it to plan work and meetings. Some also use it to tell family members, “I love you”. While others use Whats App to plan community events, charities, and youth activities to keep them off the streets. But I guess we should scrutinize that too, huh? It almost seems that some British lawmakers are using this tragedy as an excuse. They use this as an excuse to trample on all our privacy rights. And if we allowed governments to do this, then wouldn’t the terrorists win?
p.s. Please remind me to move George Orwell’s 1984 to the non-fiction part of my bookshelf.
Are you traveling to the Middle East or North Africa in the future? Be careful. Because on some flights, they will ban any electronic device bigger than a cell phone. This mean they will have to check your laptop or tablet under the plane. You can’t carry it on with you. Travel alert: Electronics banned from certain flights.
So, according to the Dept. of Homeland Security, this law 10 foreign airlines, 10 airports, and 8 countries. All come from the Middle East and North Africa. Government officials learned of a threat weeks ago. So now, they believe this is the best action. We do know the ban includes Jordan and Saudi Arabia. But we don’t yet know the other nations by name. Also, I want to make clear what they’re banning: tablets, laptops, etc. The ban doesn’t include smartphones.
Also, this ban won’t effect American passengers, so long as they have the proper documents proving their American citizenship. However, some reports say the ban comes in the wake of foiled bombing plots on Western airlines. Authorities believe these plots came from al Queda. Hence, Royal Jordanian Airlines confirmed the ban. But other carriers drag their feet. For example, Emirates and Egypt Air claim nobody advised them about any ban.
So why do I talk about? Why issue this travel alert? At our Boston computer repair firm, we believe in keeping our readers informed of all that’s going on.If you’re traveling overseas, and certain travel restrictions come up, you need to know about it. Do you know how many people, particularly in IT support, travel to North Africa and the Middle East? Many do. And guess how many use laptops in flight (we do wonderful work in laptops fixed)? Many do. So if you’re heading that way, please take heed to this travel alert. Will this alert spread any further or wider?
Now we know who hacked Yahoo in 2014. The hackers compromised over 500 million emails. It’s the biggest cyber attack in IT service history. ?So the company has never been the same. But it isn’t a stoner geek living in mom’s basement. Consequently, it has international ties. Yahoo breach: From Russia, without love.
The US Justice Department charged two Russian intelligence agents with the cyber attack. They also charged one Canadian. The Russian suspects are?Dmitry Dokuchaev and Igor Sushchin. The Canadian suspect is?Karim Baratov. The two Russian defendants also paid off two others to get personal information. That’s why they hacked in the Yahoo accounts. They especially targeted journalists and judges. The third paid defendant,?Alexsey Belan, has a history of cyber crime. In fact, he’s on the FBI’s ‘Cyber Most Wanted’ list.
But wait. There’s more. We hear nothing from?the Russian embassy in the US. We also hear nothing Moscow. Yahoo councilman Chris Masden issued a statement about the Yahoo breach. Masden believes the Russian government sponsored the cyber attacks. The Yahoo hack is allegedly the largest in history. In fact, Yahoo leaders couldn’t even grasp how big the attack was. Attorney General Jess Sessions himself made the announcement. The Yahoo breach even hit their deal with Verizon. It drove the price down by $350 million.
So I will say this. Nothing about cyber crime surprises me anymore. ?For instance, it wouldn’t surprise me if this cyber attack reaches all the way to the Kremlin. In fact, it looks like the indicted men are just fall guys for a bigger cover-up. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for these arrests. Often time, cyber criminals don’t even get caught. So they just keep on and on. But here is what worries me. If the Russian government is behind this, then they can just replace these for suspects like that. And many cyber crooks would be eager to take their place. That’s the real fear. So what can the good guys do about that?
Some time ago, I wrote an article about how Samsung TV spies on it’s users. But apparently, I was just scratching the surface. According to WkiLeaks documents, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) can turn most electronics into spying devices. Hence, the CIA listens: big brother era arrives!
So, these phones and other devices have microphones. WikiLeaks reports the CIA exploits these microphones. Also, they seem to have documents to prove it. But wait. There’s more. There’s a program the CIA calls ‘Weeping Angel’. Their hackers get access to Samsung TVs. Furthermore, while the TV is off, the microphone remains on. But that’s not all.
Wikileaks obtained over 8,000 documents. None paint the CIA in a good light. In fact, documents show this kind of hacking done to iPhones, Androids and Windows Phones. Nobody ever reports these cyber attacks to parent companies, like Apple, Google, or Microsoft. And let’s call them what they are: cyber attacks. They’re not even trying to hide it anymore. In fact, one article from The Guardian gave a disturbing report. They said one intelligence leader bragged how it was spies’ priority to breach smart devices. He said they’ll use the ‘internet of things’ for monitoring and surveillance. When they said the ‘internet of things’, that means all things internet, from desktops to smartphones.
Yesterday, I had an interesting conversation with a tech at our Boston computer service shop. He won’t even buy a Google Home system. There is a story out that they can record everything in your home, and take it over, too. When I read this article, his concerns, and the story, ate not that far-fetched. Maybe this is what Edward Snowden has been warning about for years. Remember that song by Rockwell, called “Somebody’s Watching Me” back in the 1980s? It’s almost like he predicted the future. Because in 2017, they are watching, and they’re using our technology to do it. And what can we do about it?
It’s no secret the tech industry depends highly on international labor. Silicon Valley leaders will tell you that. But Friday, they passed a law that could hurt the IT service labor force. It’s about the H-1B visas: The affect on international tech workers. So, what will it be?
The government stops rushed processing of ?H-1B visas. So, why are H-1B visas important? They let international workers with high skills work in the US. Furthermore, US companies sponsor these workers. Also, the workers can stay for up to six years. The stop of expedited visas will last at least six months, but it will affect 2017-18 academic year applicants.
So what does this have to do with tech? A lot. Many companies in the tech industry depend on international workers with high skills. Many Boston IT support companies do. And rushed H-1B visas help get these workers over here quicker. There’s an annual 85,000 maximum for profit companies. But they get several times as many applications in just a few weeks. Furthermore, it takes several months to process these applications. Can you imagine what a suspension will do? Some visas depend on a lottery. Do you know what that means?
So here is an example. Five skilled engineers apply for an H-1B visa. The applicant pool is full. So luck determines who comes over here and who stays behind. This suspension will make it worse. Hence, I know I sound like a contradiction. A couple of days ago, I wrote a blog criticizing U-San Francisco about giving American jobs to foreign workers. But it’s not. Maybe tech companies will hire more American workers in place of this potential loss. I hope so. But I don’t see that happening. How quick can you train them, when you have thousands of already trained workers. But they can’t cross the border because of red tape. Look, I know many are concerned about immigration these days. But is blocking H-1B visas going to solve anything?
An American can make a good living in the IT service and IT support industry. But some worry it won’t be for long. In San Francisco, a news story may be confirming our worries. IT workers: Is our industry at risk?
So here’s what’s happening. At the University of San Francisco, 79 IT workers lost their jobs. Furthermore, those jobs are going to an farm owned by India. The IT workers found out Tuesday, Feb. 28. Also, they’re not being quiet about it. Their spokesperson, Bob Zhang, complained companies and universities do this to replace high paying jobs. They also use the H-1B visa program to send jobs to foreign workers, according to Zhang.
Here’s another reason these layoffs make news. It’s rare for a university to outsource jobs. The now unemployed IT workers picket and try to retain their jobs. However, they are unsuccessful. Consequently, the U-San Francisco discussed Zhang’s complaints. They said the layoffs will save the university over $33 million. They also said the school needs to save as much money as they can to fight rising costs. But that’s little comfort or excuse to these workers. Kurt Ho, a former IT employee, said he made $110,000 a year with U-San Francisco. He said the workers on this farm will make a fraction of that.
But it’s not just the universities that worry. It workers seem to be struck on both sides. Not only are IT workers losing their jobs to robots, and overseas, but to those who will take them for far less. Keep in mind some of these former employees are in their 50s and 60s. Do you know how hard it is for someone of that age to get a new job? And you’re not going to convince me they’re not enough tech based jobs for everyone. No university should be snatching jobs from one group ?and give it to others. You have 79 people whose lives are now on the line. And for what? So the university can save a little bit of money? That’s not right. Will this be a national trend?
