Next week, the National Republican Convention will take place in Cleveland, OH. Already, there’s talk of hackers targeting this election process. Will hackers target the Republican Convention?
Cyber security is a top concern. According to CIO (chief information officer) Max Everett, they’re already a number of ‘phishing’ incidents and hackers looking for weak spots. Everett assures there hasn’t been many specific threats, yet. It’s not just opposing threats that worry Everett. Hackers associated with the Russian government attacked the Democratic National Committee. Trump’s campaign has been target. It’s Russian and Chinese hackers that concern Everett and other cyber security experts. Of course, as contentious as this election has been, even an amateur could cause chaos at the Quicken Loans Arena. Cyber-threats for political conventions are different from cyber-threats for business. Employees are new. Employees are temporary. Each staffer has at least one mobile device connected to the convention’s online network. Many will have two or more. Managers are on alert as well. They’re reminding employees of common sense cyber security. Everett is testing ‘dark cube’. This dark cube will analysis where Internet data is coming from. It captures the IP address. It determines if that IP addresses means to do harm. Smart tactic. But will it work?
Some security needs to be in order. Like I said, this is the most contentious election I ever lived through (I wasn’t around in the 1960s.) Add tensions with Russia. Add tensions with China. This could be a perfect storm of a major hack fest. Yes, there were security preparations in previous elections. Yes, those conventions came out generally unscathed. But these are not the previous election. Some hater dreams of making a name for himself. Fellow haters will cheer him on. Hacking will give him that opportunity. The hater could be in China or Russia. The hater could be literally next door. Should cyber security be a concern?
Over the years, Apple gave generously to Republican and Democratic National Conventions. But this year isn’t going to be a normal convention. This year, Donald Trump will be crowned Republican nominee. Apple wants no part of the Trump campaign.
Apple doesn’t like Trump’s controversial comments about women, minorities, immigrants, Muslims and the disabled. Apple shared their concerns with Republican leaders. Then add pressure from liberal leaning groups and civil rights activists. All this equals no Apple support for the 2016 Republican convention. In 2008, Apple donated $140,000 in computer supplies to both parties. They gave computer supplies to both parties in 2012. But in Cleveland this summer, Donald Trump should expect no help from Apple. This isn’t just a political move. It’s a personal one. Trump condemned Apple. Apple refused to give certain information pertaining to the San Bernadino shooting case. Trump slammed CEO Tim Cook. Trump even called for a boycott against Apple. No Apple representative is talking about this one. Nobody knows how Apple will contribute to the Democrat National Convention in Philadelphia. But this has to be good news for the Hilary Clinton campaign.
The majority of Silicon Valley leaders and executives lean left. But in other elections, tech companies split their support for both parties. They know they have customers in both parties. They don’t want to upset their customer base by blatantly leaning toward one party. Apple is breaking that trend. During the Apple/San Bernadino controversy, many tech companies sided with Apple. Could this have a ripple effect? Apple depends of skilled foreign labor. Trump wants to build a wall on the US/Mexico border. Trump wants to bring jobs from China back to the US. Think about how many Apple jobs are in China. Nonetheless, I’m sure many Trump supporters use Apple products daily. I’m sure many Republicans use Apple daily. So is Apple risking customers in the name of political principal? And if they are, is the risk worth it?
A man named Sanford Wallace gave himself the cutest nicknames: The Spam King and Spamford. Since the Internet’s infancy in 1995, he made millions bombarding people with useless websites. It’s not so cute now. This spammer goes to prison.
In August 2015, Sanford ‘Spam King’ or ‘Spamford’ ?Wallace plead guilty to ?e-mail fraud and contempt of court. This week, Wallace was sentenced to 30 months in prison. What was the comtempt of court charge about? In a previous court case, Wallace was legally forbidden to access Facebook. Wallace broke that ruling. Wallace is ordered to pay well over $100,000 to the Facebook users he bombarded and potentially ripped off. After his prison sentence, King will be on probation for five years. He’ll be banned from all computer activity, except for activity supervised by a probation officer. Wallace will be ordered to undergo mental health treatment. In 1995, Wallace launched Cyber Promotions. He flooded emails and faxes with junk. Tech corporations from America Online to Facebook filed civil lawsuits against him, and won. ?According to court documents, Wallace bombarded 550,000 Facebook users with over 27 million pieces of spam in the late 2000s. In 2009, he was told to not log on Facebook…ever. After this, according to court documents, he created aliases and fake domain names. He’d get Facebook accounts, then lure people to click a link. That link would download their friends name and send them to other websites.
This is a warning to anyone in the spam business. Don’t do it! And if you’re in the spam business, get out! Obviously, there’s cracking down harder than ever. I have a concern about Sanford Wallace. The man has spammed for over 20 years, and didn’t stop. Not even when threatened with lawsuits and prison did he stop. So I wonder, can he stop spamming? Is this an addiction that’s beyond his control? If so, then shouldn’t he be evaluated in prison? Why wait until he gets out? Was 30 months too harsh of a sentence for the crime? Furthermore, how will the Spam King do in prison?
The war between ?Gawker Media and ?Peter Theil/Hulk Hogan is far from over. Gawker was order to pay Hogan $140 million in a civil lawsuit. Hogan got Theil’s help in this victory. But instead of paying, Gawker files for bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy was announced yesterday. Gawker Media’s owner Nick Denton has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That’s not all. Denton assures Gawker Media employees they’re going to fight the Theil/Hogan alliance. Gawker vows to fight while staying in business. Gawker’s bank leader Mark Patricof expects high bids while under chapter 11 protection. During the Hogan trial, Denton tried to estimate Gawker Media’s worth. He valued it at between $250-$300 million. That makes me wonder: Did Denton calculate a bankruptcy move regardless of the trial’s outcome? Publisher Ziff Davis put in an offer at $100 million. Ziff Davis owns tech based magazines like PC Mag. This mess all started in 2012. Gawker Media published pieces of a sex tape starring former WWE Champion Hulk Hogan and another man’s wife. Paypal founder Peter Theil financially backed Hogan’s case, paying for his lawyers. Theil believed Hogan’s privacy was violated. Theil also wanted retribution for years of what he called, “…bullying people even when there was no connection with the public interest.”
Denton refuses to apologize or back down. He vows to fight the case and stay in business. This shows me what a dark soul Denton has. I’m not giving Hogan any moral medals here. But to promote a secret tape of a human being’s most intimate moments for profits is inexcusable. If regular people did that, they’d be in jail for sextortion, and rightfully so. But just because he’s running a media company, does that give Gawker Media the right to do it? I’m proud of Peter Theil for taking the side of right, no matter what the motives are. Gawker Media lost the case. Now they’re crying bankrupt. Are they really out of money? Or are they using bankruptcy to get out of paying Hogan his just due?
When CEO Brian Chesky created Airbnb in 2014, he wanted to create a space for all to belong. Airbnb is a network where people open their homes to travelers for a moderate nightly fee. But not everyone is feeling the love.
Airbnb came under scrutiny last week. An ugly incident of racial discrimination surfaced in North Carolina. A black guest had booked to stay at a white person’s home through Airbnb. When the homeowner discovered the guest was African-American, not only did the homeowner cancel the booking, but cyber bullied and taunted the guest with racist tweets. These tweets were so vile I won’t even quote them here. The guest reported the ugly incident to Airbnb. This particular homeowner lost his Airbnb hosting privileges. Chesky tweeted about the matter: “The incident in NC was disturbing and unacceptable. Racism and discrimination have no place on Airbnb. We have permanently banned this host.” Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated episode. According to a Harvard study, Airbnb guest with black sounding names were 16% less likely to have their booking accepted. One African-American guest tweeted, “Funny how the dates I request are always booked even when they say available.”
A woman named Khadijah planned a trip to California. She couldn’t find a home through Airbnb. Then, she used one of her white friend’s photo. Khadijah got a room very quick. I believe Chesky and other Airbmb leaders are genuine in their war against discrimination. Airbnb isn’t the problem. The problem is the human heart and soul of the host. That’s something no law or regulation can cure. If hotels and hostels discriminate on the basis of color, they can be sued or shut down real quick. That’s why I prefer hotels and hostels over Airbnb. As a black traveler, I don’t have to play guessing games with hotels and hostels. And it’s a shame when Khadijah has to pretend to be white just for someone to open their home to her. Should Airbnb be boycotted? Would a boycott even work?
What were you doing at age 16? At that age, most were getting their drivers licence, getting their first job, going to dances and house parties, dreaming of and preparing for their future. For one Fayetteville, NC teenager, the future might be a very bleak one.
Sixteen-year-old William Buie is facing 45 charges of sextortion, including 13 counts of first-degree sexual exploitation. The investigation took months. The Fayetteville/Cumberland County Sheriff’s office got an anonymous tip in February 2016. The tip claimed someone was coaxing juveniles into sexual acts through Instagram. According to local authorities and prosecutors, Buie had an Instagram account pretending to be a teenage female. They say he used that account to trick male students, mostly from his school. They say he would ask males for pictures. The teen males, thinking they were conversing with a female, would send such pictures. Allegedly, Buie got the pictures and demanded passwords. If he didn’t get them, he’d threaten to release the pictures to the community. According to WRAL news, a Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville area NBC affiliate, Buie would exchange the photos on gay websites. He was arrested Wed., June 1, after the police found overwhelming evidence on his computer and smart device. Buie is expected to be tried as an adult. If convicted, Buie could face a maximum of 20 years in prison. The victims will not be charged. This won’t go on their record as long as they stay out of legal trouble.
Let this be a cautionary tale, for potential victims and especially for plotting perpetrators. Don’t send nude or nearly nude photos online for any reason! I don’t care who is telling you to do it! How do you really know that person is who he/she says he is? Authorities say sextortion crimes are happening too often. That means they’re going to look harder for perpetrators. And ?when you’re caught, it won’t be a speeding ticket. You will be looking at many years in prison. I don’t know if William Buie is guilty or not. The courts will have to decide that. But look at the court of public opinion. Is this the kind of guy you’d want for an employee? Is this the kind of guy you’d want for a tenant? Is this the kind of guy you’d want in your social organization or at your church? Is this the kind of guy you want to patron your restaurant? Is this the kind of guy you’d want for a boyfriend or future husband? So is it worth it?
