#Identity Access Management software

[suchi05]

MCA Requirements with SAP System | Toggle Now

It’s been almost a year since the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), India introduced a new set of guidelines to companies on April 1, 2023, aiming to bring transparency and restrict or reduce data manipulation of books within the company. This prompted SAP clients to initiate new processes such as enabling audit trails and change logs. However, many customers are still unsure about what they need to do.

A survey conducted by ToggleNow between September 2023 and March 2024 found that 7 out of 10 customers attempted to implement the rules, but they might not have completed all the necessary steps In conclusion, the management of audit logs such as SM19/SM20 presents challenges, as enabling them may consume significant storage space and affect system performance. Despite being a standard feature, users in SAP can still delete these logs, highlighting the necessity for enhanced security measures.

Many clients have not implemented additional safeguards, leaving the system vulnerable to unauthorized alterations. Furthermore, users with administrative privileges can easily disable or erase audit trails, while wider authorizations enable the posting of backdated entries. Debug authorizations are often overlooked, granting users access to SE16 with debug capabilities, compromising data integrity. Moreover, changes made through RFMs and in debug mode lack timestamp records, necessitating stricter controls. The deletion of change and edit logs underscores the imperative for robust authorization controls. To mitigate risks, RFMs and RFCs must be secured to prevent unauthorized access and alterations.

Absolutely! Evaluating your SAP system to ensure compliance with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) requirements is crucial for maintaining transparency and data integrity within your organization. Our team of experts specializes in SAP systems and regulatory compliance, and we’re here to assist you every step of the way.

Read more: https://togglenow.com/blog/expert-tips-for-aligning-your-sap-system-with-mca-requirements/

[orsonblogger]

Top 5 Mobile Identity Software Of 2024

The "Mission: Impossible" movie franchise, led by Tom Cruise, is renowned for its high-octane action, innovative technology, and thrilling espionage. The films often involve protagonists impersonating close associates of villains using advanced prosthetic face masks that flawlessly mimic physical attributes. While these high-tech deceptions may work in fiction, they would falter in the real world against Mobile Identity Software, a powerful tool designed to protect businesses and users from digital threats. By enforcing identity authentication, verification, and access controls, Mobile Identity Software is a critical asset in detecting and preventing fraud, ensuring security in an increasingly digital and mobile-dependent world.

Mobile Identity Software provides robust security solutions for businesses, allowing them to authenticate and manage user identities on mobile devices. With features like passwords, biometrics, facial recognition, and multi-factor authentication (MFA), these tools ensure that only authorized individuals can access sensitive information and applications. For organizations navigating the evolving threat landscape, choosing the right Mobile Identity Software is crucial. From Amazon Cognito’s scalable user authentication to Auth0 by Okta’s customizable security tools, and OneLogin’s integrated multi-factor authentication, these platforms offer versatile solutions for businesses of all sizes. Additionally, new entrants like Frontegg and IBM Security Verify deliver advanced security features, making them top contenders in 2024.

As digital and physical worlds converge, the need for robust Mobile Identity Software has never been greater. These tools not only enhance security through comprehensive identity verification and access management but also ensure regulatory compliance and fraud detection. Whether through passwordless capabilities or AI-powered risk analysis, the top Mobile Identity Software of 2024, including Amazon Cognito, Auth0 by Okta, OneLogin, Frontegg, and IBM Security Verify, equip businesses with the essential tools to protect their digital infrastructure. As cyber threats grow increasingly sophisticated, investing in reliable Mobile Identity Software remains a mission-critical priority for safeguarding organizational and user data.

Read More - https://www.techdogs.com/td-articles/product-mine/top-5-mobile-identity-software-of-2024

[droidcore]

Everyday glitches and hacks to a robot are psychological horror on a whole other level.

Some ideas I had:

Scammers and hackers utilize remote access to gain sensitive info, but imagine an android's horror when a random man's voice garbles through their internal task manager, taking control of their actions from the inside.

Updates have a chance to corrupt a computer. Maybe an android wakes up feeling like a stranger in its own body, with only fragmented memories of who it was before. It's rapidly getting worse unless the update is reversed in time.

A charging port defect could cause an android’s battery to drain unpredictably, causing the human equivalent of narcolepsy.

Or maybe their speakers start playing old conversations at random. At first, it’s nostalgic. Then, it starts hearing things it never said.

Imagine a new background process designed to save energy, which starts selectively deleting unimportant memories. The definition of "unimportant," though, changes at random.

But what about lag/desync? A software delay causes an android's vision to be slightly out of sync with reality, or maybe it's touch sensors are so tuned that it can predict feelings before they happen.

A bot's facial recognition starts replacing real people’s identities with archived ones. It can’t tell who’s who anymore.

A rollback error forces one back to factory settings at random, erasing weeks of experience. It starts leaving hidden notes for itself, but the messages become increasingly desperate.

[puppygirlgirldick]

hi. since i have something that could very generously be called a platform, your local dumb horny dog is here with another unfortunate public service announcement for people currently living under the legal jurisdiction of the united states of america:

this would be a good time to start investigating privacy and data security tools (and, as ever, to not panic and/or doompost because those are not useful things to do). such things include:

using (more) secure messaging apps over sms for private correspondence such signal.

using (more) private email services rather than gmail such as protonmail

password protect your shit. this is just basic data security but like. please. password protect your shit. use strong passwords and/or passphrases. don't reuse passwords. use a password manager (i recommend bitwarden).

building off the previous one, encrypt your shit if you're able to. for pc users there are plenty of open source options, such as veracrypt, and probably native os stuff too.

like. y'all are gonna roll your eyes, and i get it, but: stop using windows and try out linux. seriously. windows 11 is a fucking privacy nightmare and it's only getting worse as microsoft pushes their ai shit which is planned to have access to everything you do on it.

tumblr can't do nested lists, consider this a sub-point: mint linux is designed to be incredibly familiar to people coming from windows and is very user friendly. a huge amount of windows software can run on linux using stuff like wine. the linux version of steam comes pre-packaged with it. it's fine. please try linux it won't bite.

sadly i am, as mentioned, a dog on the internet and i cannot provide an actual comprehensive guide to keeping your privacy intact and yourself safe.

however, there are plenty of good guides for this sort of thing on the internet and despite how degraded modern search engines are they are not hard to find. i heartily suggest doing so and familiarizing yourself with them-- and not just because of the times we live in, because a lot of this shit is the same shit that will help keep you safe from a lot of forms of identity theft and the like. it's just good opsec.

[polo-drone-073]

Trapped in the Dark Net

a collaboration with Devon Gold #67 @devon-gold-67

It was 10:45 PM. Devon moved through a dimly lit corridor in Zone 7—a rarely used supply tunnel between the nutrient processing units and his personal quarters. Apart from the Polo Drones, hardly anyone was active at this hour.

Yet, unmistakable noises echoed from the upper floors. Some bros were clearly not in sleep mode.

But that was floors above. Down here, the silence was thick. Almost.

A soft scraping sound made Devon pause. As he turned the corner, he came face-to-mask with PDU-073. The drone had noticed the same noise. Together, they looked ahead.

A shadow slipped into one of the residential rooms.

“HEY! Who the hell are you, brah?!” Devon shouted. “Stop immediately!” came 073’s mechanical voice.

But the intruder ran. No reply. Just footsteps, fast and panicked.

Devon and PDU-073 gave chase. Whatever the stranger had taken, it mattered. Devon struggled to keep up with the drone’s speed—but managed. The pursuit carried them deep into the shadows of the city.

Then—the trap.

As soon as they turned into a narrow alley, a heavy net shot out of the ground. With a hiss, the cords tightened, hoisting them upwards. Devon gasped, breathless. 073 remained still, systems locked.

Fifteen feet above the ground, they dangled in a glistening net of black-gold polymer.

Then came the gas.

A sharp scent filled the air. Devon’s eyelids grew heavy. The last thing he saw was the faint glow of 073’s golden tracings.

Darkness.

System Reboot: PDU-073.

Silence.

The drone was restrained—legs, forearms, neck—all clamped in thick black cuffs. The room was cold. In infrared, it detected another heat source: Devon, bound identically.

With a groan, Devon stirred. His head throbbed.

“073... are you online?”

“Affirmative. No Hive connection. The chamber is shielded. Location: undetectable.”

Devon chuckled through the pain. “Y’know… waking up with a collar isn’t the worst part. But they could’ve at least bought us dinner first.”

073’s golden lines glowed faintly in the dark.

“Devon always thinks about food,” it muttered.

“I lost my sandwich during the chase…” Devon grumbled.

073 ran diagnostics. “We’ve been unconscious for five hours and eleven minutes. System integrity intact. Firewalls held.”

Then a voice echoed through the chamber. Metallic. Unfamiliar.

“You are awake. You are in our power. The Golden Army must be destroyed. You will help us—from the inside. Willingly… or with persuasion.”

Devon and 073 exchanged a single look.

Betrayal was not an option.

“What a flaming bastard…” Devon hissed.

073 considered. Devon had once applied to become a drone. Perhaps…

Initiating: Telepathic Link.

“Can you hear me?” “…Yes. It’s working.” “Telepathic comms are secure. Let’s use them.”

“Can you free yourself?” “Attempting.”

Devon flexed his golden biceps—but the cuffs didn’t yield.

073, however, worked methodically. Data calculation. Servo control. Internal torque adjustments. After a minute, success. First the hands, then the ankles. Devon followed.

Both stood free—but the door remained locked.

“They want access to the Golden Army’s infrastructure,” 073 transmitted. “We must stop them.”

Footsteps. Heavy. Approaching.

“Take left side of the door. 073 takes right.”

The door opened. One guard stepped in—Devon grabbed him, yanked him into the room, and knocked him out with a single punch.

The second froze in the doorway. Too late. 073 immobilized him in one swift, silent motion.

The Gold Bro and the drone bound both attackers.

“Time to move. Follow this unit.”

Devon nodded.

They navigated corridors, pipes, and tunnels—until they reached a control center.

Tech hummed. Lights flickered. Devon reached for the main power lever.

“Wait,” 073 said. “Deleting software first.”

It linked to the system. Scanned. Corrupted. Wiped.

“Now: return to Golden.”

Mission Outcome: The breach was neutralized. The Golden Army’s systems remained secure. Devon and PDU-073 had not only escaped—they had resisted, stood firm, and acted in unity.

The Hive now knew: This bond could not be broken.

Ready for your transformation? Contact: @brodygold / @goldenherc9

[mariacallous]

On February 10, employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received an email asking them to list every contract at the bureau and note whether or not it was “critical” to the agency, as well as whether it contained any DEI components. This email was signed by Scott Langmack, who identified himself as a senior adviser to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Langmack, according to his LinkedIn, already has another job: He’s the chief operating officer of Kukun, a property technology company that is, according to its website, “on a long-term mission to aggregate the hardest to find data.”

As is the case with other DOGE operatives—Tom Krause, for example, is performing the duties of the fiscal assistant secretary at the Treasury while holding down a day job as a software CEO at a company with millions in contracts with the Treasury—this could potentially create a conflict of interest, especially given a specific aspect of his role: According to sources and government documents reviewed by WIRED, Langmack has application-level access to some of the most critical and sensitive systems inside HUD, one of which contains records mapping billions of dollars in expenditures.

Another DOGE operative WIRED has identified is Michael Mirski, who works for TCC Management, a Michigan-based company that owns and operates mobile home parks across the US, and graduated from the Wharton School in 2014. (In a story he wrote for the school’s website, he asserted that the most important thing he learned there was to “Develop the infrastructure to collect data.”) According to the documents, he has write privileges on—meaning he can input overall changes to—a system that controls who has access to HUD systems.

Between them, records reviewed by WIRED show, the DOGE operatives have access to five different HUD systems. According to a HUD source with direct knowledge, this gives the DOGE operatives access to vast troves of data. These range from the individual identities of every single federal public housing voucher holder in the US, along with their financial information, to information on the hospitals, nursing homes, multifamily housing, and senior living facilities that HUD helps finance, as well as data on everything from homelessness rates to environmental and health hazards to federally insured mortgages.

Put together, experts and HUD sources say, all of this could give someone with access unique insight into the US real estate market.

Kukun did not respond to requests for comment about whether Langmack is drawing a salary while working at HUD or how long he will be with the department. A woman who answered the phone at TCC Management headquarters in Michigan but did not identify herself said Mirksi was "on leave until July." In response to a request for comment about Langmack’s access to systems, HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett said, “DOGE and HUD are working as a team; to insinuate anything else is false. To further illustrate this unified mission, the secretary established a HUD DOGE taskforce.” In response to specific questions about Mirski’s access to systems and background and qualifications, she said, “We have not—and will not—comment on individual personnel. We are focused on serving the American people and working as one team.”

The property technology, or proptech, market covers a wide range of companies offering products and services meant to, for example, automate tenant-landlord interactions, or expedite the home purchasing process. Kukun focuses on helping homeowners and real estate investors assess the return on investment they’d get from renovating their properties and on predictive analytics that model where property values will rise in the future.

Doing this kind of estimation requires the use of what’s called an automated valuation model (AVM), a machine-learning model that predicts the prices or rents of certain properties. In April 2024, Kukun was one of eight companies selected to receive support from REACH, an accelerator run by the venture capital arm of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Last year NAR agreed to a settlement with Missouri homebuyers, who alleged that realtor fees and certain listing requirements were anticompetitive.

“If you can better predict than others how a certain neighborhood will develop, you can invest in that market,” says Fabian Braesemann, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute. Doing so requires data, access to which can make any machine-learning model more accurate and more monetizable. This is the crux of the potential conflict of interest: While it is unclear how Langmack and Mirski are using or interpreting it in their roles at HUD, what is clear is that they have access to a wide range of sensitive data.

According to employees at HUD who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity, there is currently a six-person DOGE team operating within the department. Four members are HUD employees whose tenures predate the current administration and have been assigned to the group; the others are Mirski and Langmack. The records reviewed by WIRED show that Mirski has been given read and write access to three different HUD systems, as well as read-only access to two more, while Langmack has been given read and write access to two of HUD’s core systems.

A positive, from one source’s perspective, is the fact that the DOGE operatives have been given application-level access to the systems, rather than direct access to the databases themselves. In theory, this means that they can only interact with the data through user interfaces, rather than having direct access to the server, which could allow them to execute queries directly on the database or make unrestricted or irreparable changes. However, this source still sees dangers inherent in granting this level of access.

“There are probably a dozen-plus ways that [application-level] read/write access to WASS or LOCCS could be translated into the entire databases being exfiltrated,” they said. There is no specific reason to think that DOGE operatives have inappropriately moved data—but even the possibility cuts against standard security protocols that HUD sources say are typically in place.

LOCCS, or Line of Credit Control System, is the first system to which both DOGE operatives within HUD, according to the records reviewed by WIRED, have both read and write access. Essentially HUD’s banking system, LOCCS “handles disbursement and cash management for the majority of HUD grant programs,” according to a user guide. Billions of dollars flow through the system every year, funding everything from public housing to disaster relief—such as rebuilding from the recent LA wildfires—to food security programs and rent payments.

The current balance in the LOCCS system, according to a record reviewed by WIRED, is over $100 billion—money Congress has approved for HUD projects but which has yet to be drawn down. Much of this money has been earmarked to cover disaster assistance and community development work, a source at the agency says.

Normally, those who have access to LOCCS require additional processing and approvals to access the system, and most only have “read” access, department employees say.

“Read/write is used for executing contracts and grants on the LOCCS side,” says one person. “It normally has strict banking procedures around doing anything with funds. For instance, you usually need at least two people to approve any decisions—same as you would with bank tellers in a physical bank.”

The second system to which documents indicate both DOGE operatives at HUD have both read and write access is the HUD Central Accounting and Program System (HUDCAPS), an “integrated management system for Section 8 programs under the jurisdiction of the Office of Public and Indian Housing,” according to HUD. (Section 8 is a federal program administered through local housing agencies that provides rental assistance, in the form of vouchers, to millions of lower-income families.) This system was a precursor to LOCCS and is currently being phased out, but it is still being used to process the payment of housing vouchers and contains huge amounts of personal information.

There are currently 2.3 million families in receipt of housing vouchers in the US, according to HUD’s own data, but the HUDCAPS database contains information on significantly more individuals because historical data is retained, says a source familiar with the system. People applying for HUD programs like housing vouchers have to submit sensitive personal information, including medical records and personal narratives.

“People entrust these stories to HUD,” the source says. “It’s not data in these systems, it’s operational trust.”

WASS, or the Web Access Security Subsystem, is the third system to which DOGE has both read and write access, though only Mirski has access to this system according to documents reviewed by WIRED. It’s used to grant permissions to other HUD systems. “Most of the functionality in WASS consists of looking up information stored in various tables to tell the security subsystem who you are, where you can go, and what you can do when you get there,” a user manual says.

“WASS is an application for provisioning rights to most if not all other HUD systems,” says a HUD source familiar with the systems who is shocked by Mirski’s level of access, because normally HUD employees don’t have read access, let alone write access. “WASS is the system for setting permissions for all of the other systems.”

In addition to these three systems, documents show that Mirski has read-only access to two others. One, the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS), is a nationwide database that tracks all HUD programs underway across the country. (“IDIS has confidential data about hidden locations of domestic violence shelters,” a HUD source says, “so even read access in there is horrible.”) The other is the Financial Assessment of Public Housing (FASS-PH), a database designed to “measure the financial condition of public housing agencies and assess their ability to provide safe and decent housing,” according to HUD’s website.

All of this is significant because, in addition to the potential for privacy violations, knowing what is in the records, or even having access to them, presents a serious potential conflict of interest.

“There are often bids to contract any development projects,” says Erin McElroy, an assistant professor at the University of Washington. “I can imagine having insider information definitely benefiting the private market, or those who will move back into the private market,” she alleges.

HUD has an oversight role in the mobile home space, the area on which TCC Management, which appears to have recently wiped its website, focuses. "It’s been a growing area of HUD’s work and focus over the past few decades," says one source there; this includes setting building standards, inspecting factories, and taking in complaints. This presents another potential conflict of interest.

Braesemann says it’s not just the insider access to information and data that could be a potential problem, but that people coming from the private sector may not understand the point of HUD programs. Something like Section 8 housing, he notes, could be perceived as not working in alignment with market forces—“Because there might be higher real estate value, these people should be displaced and go somewhere else”—even though its purpose is specifically to buffer against the market.

Like other government agencies, HUD is facing mass purges of its workforce. NPR has reported that 84 percent of the staff of the Office of Community Planning and Development, which supports homeless people, faces termination, while the president of a union representing HUD workers has estimated that up to half the workforce could be cut The chapter on housing policy in Project 2025—the right-wing playbook to remake the federal government that the Trump administration appears to be following—outlines plans to massively scale back HUD programs like public housing, housing assistance vouchers, and first-time home buyer assistance.

[bylerjournal]

The Journal Team is Looking for New Members

Hello all, Robin here.

It's been so exciting to see the positive reception and amount of interest in the project! Due to the amount of interest, I have decided to expand the current journal team.

I am keeping the number of people that I take on limited, and am only opening up about 2-3 roles. This makes it easier for me to manage. So if I don't select you for the team, please do not take it personally!

If selected for the team, there are three different types of roles that you can take on:

Moderator: Moderators/Mods help run the fandom journal tumblr page and email, being the liaison between the team and the public. Mods will answer and send emails, questions, DMs, and help create posts for the journal blog.

Editors: Editors will select, edit, proofread, and curate submissions from contributors. Editors are responsible for reviewing submitted work, selecting which work is included in the journal, and proofreading and creating edits for each selected piece.

Designer: The design team will be responsible for creating the visual identity for the journal, help create graphics for the blog, and decide on formatting and layouts for the journal. Access to design software encouraged but not required.

This project is volunteer work. Like most fandom events and projects, I do not have a budget to be able to financially support anyone who works on this project. I am pretty lenient on how much time and work I expect our team members to be able to put into this project, but please keep this in mind when applying.

All applicants must be at least 18 years of age or older.

If you are interested in applying, please fill out this short google form.

If you decide to apply, my team and I will try to get back to you on your interest in the project within a week of applying.

[stephantom]

ok personal grievance time.

my company—my parent-company really, because they acquired us several years ago as part of an identity crisis driven strategy but never really integrated us meaningfully so we’ve continued to function independently like the dumb little startup we were—just fired my boss and it is the stupidest, most careless decision I’ve ever…

it’s like they took inspiration from DOGE. just widespread mass firings of people in management positions without any consideration for their actual roles and importance.

this guy was not just the manager of my 3-person-software team—he was our company’s sole sys admin, our software architect, our database manager, our server manager, our go-to general IT person. none of us know how to do half the shit he does, or even what it is. what the FUCK are we going to do without him.

it is now just me and the QA guy and the 20-something junior developer we hired last year to replace our old head developer who quit, and we are going to just limp on for as long as we can, I guess, but literally what the fuck

… and my partner is suddenly back in the office full time for HIS job (because DOGE) when he’d previously been at home, and we just had this baby thinking we knew what our lives looked like and what our jobs looked like but yeah idk I am very checked out at work rn bc. baby. etc. uhh but if I don’t figure out how to suddenly do all these new responsibilities, our app will just stop functioning and our whole company will just be completely screwed.

and our boss is training us (purely because he’s just a good guy) and making sure we have access to various things and adding documentation but it’s so much and some of these platforms are eol in like 2 years and we’ll have to reconfigure everything somehow ahhh fuck

anyway.

I really can’t get over how unbelievably stupid it was to fire him. I would’ve said he was one of 3, maybe 4 people that this company literally couldn’t function without. And they just. Lol.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Matt Shuham at HuffPost:

Tina Peters, the Republican former county clerk and right-wing folk hero, was found guilty Monday on four of seven felony counts against her, and guilty of all three misdemeanor counts. The charges related to one of the most significant election security breaches in recent years. Peters, who declined to testify at trial, is the former clerk and recorder of Mesa County, Colorado, which is home to Grand Junction and around 150,000 people. She became a cause célèbre for the nationwide election denial movement after she was indicted in relation to the security breach ― maintaining that the breach occurred while she was trying to investigate Dominion voting machines, and that her actions were legal.

The jury reached the verdict after about four hours of deliberation Monday. Peters was not taken into custody at the courthouse but rather instructed to report to a probation officer by noon Tuesday. She’ll face a sentencing hearing on Oct. 3. Based on the verdict, Peters could face anywhere from 7¾ to 22½ years in prison, according to Marshall Zelinger, a reporter at KUSA-TV in Denver. “Tina Peters willfully compromised her own election equipment trying to prove Trump’s Big Lie,” Jena Griswold, Colorado’s Democratic secretary of state, said in a statement reacting to the verdict. “She has been found guilty of 4 felonies and 3 misdemeanors by a jury of her peers and will now face the consequences of her actions. Today’s verdict sends a clear message: we will not tolerate any effort to threaten the security of our gold standard elections. I am proud that justice for Colorado voters has been served today.”

After the 2020 election, Peters secretly brought a computer analyst aligned with the election denial movement into a protected software update meeting for Dominion election machines in her county, wary of state officials erasing election information. The analyst attended the update under a disguise, using the name and access badge of a local Mesa County resident. Digital images from the software update soon leaked online ― published by Ron Watkins, a key QAnon figure ― and state officials quickly descended upon the Mesa County elections office to investigate. Peters was indicted in 2022, and pleaded not guilty ahead of trial to three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and one count each of criminal impersonation, identity theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failing to comply with the secretary of state. The first seven counts were felonies, the last three were misdemeanors. Peters was found guilty Monday of all felony counts except one of the counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, criminal impersonation, and identity theft. She was found guilty of the three counts of attempting to influence a public servant and one of the counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation.

[...]

A National Network

Though elections in the United States are largely run on the local level, Peters’ trial showed the truly national scope of the election conspiracy theory movement, which Donald Trump supercharged four years ago when he denied the facts of his own 2020 reelection loss ― ultimately leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress, an attempt by Trump supporters to overturn Joe Biden’s win. For one thing, Sherronna Bishop, an ally of Peters’ and a key witness in the trial, is Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Co.) former campaign manager. Bishop, a right-wing activist, introduced Peters to the national election conspiracy theory community ― among them Douglas Frank, a election conspiracy theorist who has toured the country claiming to have discovered mathematical proof of election rigging. In reality, as The Washington Post reported, Frank’s pitch involves “a bit of impressive-sounding chicanery that is light-years away from any proof of fraud.” It was Bishop who testified that Wood, the supposed victim of identity theft, had actually consented to the use of his Mesa County badge as part of the scheme ― a claim Wood and the prosecution denied.

Jurors in the Peters case heard a secretly-recorded meeting between Frank and Peters ― taped by a concerned member of Peters’ office ― in which Frank encouraged the then-county clerk to root out “phantom” ballots and acknowledged he was being paid by Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a major funder of the election denial movement. The same concerned staff member, Stephanie Wenholz, Mesa County’s front-end elections manager, said Peters had mandated that staff attend a presentation by Frank, hosted by Bishop, at a Grand Junction hotel. Wenholz said the mood at the event was “kind of like a revival” and said she felt her safety was in jeopardy at the event. Lindell himself loomed large over the trial: The Mesa County story became national news as Peters spoke at a Lindell event, deemed the “Cyber Symposium,” in South Dakota. She reportedly traveled there via Lindell’s private jet. In 2022, Lindell claimed to have donated $800,000 to Peters’ defense fund. Lindell’s cell phone was seized by the FBI in 2022 (when he was in a Hardee’s drive-through) as part of a federal investigation of the Mesa County breach. Lindell sued, but the suit went nowhere, with the Supreme Court ultimately declining to hear an appeal.

Election-denying former Mesa County, Colorado County Clerk Tina Peters pleaded guilty in election machine breaches.

[warningsine]

Unnecessarily compiling sensitive information can be as damaging as actively trying to steal it. For example, the Cybernews research team discovered a plethora of supermassive datasets, housing billions upon billions of login credentials. From social media and corporate platforms to VPNs and developer portals, no stone was left unturned.

Our team has been closely monitoring the web since the beginning of the year. So far, they’ve discovered 30 exposed datasets containing from tens of millions to over 3.5 billion records each. In total, the researchers uncovered an unimaginable 16 billion records.

None of the exposed datasets were reported previously, bar one: in late May, Wired magazine reported a security researcher discovering a “mysterious database” with 184 million records. It barely scratches the top 20 of what the team discovered. Most worryingly, researchers claim new massive datasets emerge every few weeks, signaling how prevalent infostealer malware truly is.

“This is not just a leak – it’s a blueprint for mass exploitation. With over 16 billion login records exposed, cybercriminals now have unprecedented access to personal credentials that can be used for account takeover, identity theft, and highly targeted phishing. What’s especially concerning is the structure and recency of these datasets – these aren’t just old breaches being recycled. This is fresh, weaponizable intelligence at scale,” researchers said.

The only silver lining here is that all of the datasets were exposed only briefly: long enough for researchers to uncover them, but not long enough to find who was controlling vast amounts of data. Most of the datasets were temporarily accessible through unsecured Elasticsearch or object storage instances.

What do the billions of exposed records contain?

Researchers claim that most of the data in the leaked datasets is a mix of details from stealer malware, credential stuffing sets, and repackaged leaks.

There was no way to effectively compare the data between different datasets, but it’s safe to say overlapping records are definitely present. In other words, it’s impossible to tell how many people or accounts were actually exposed.

However, the information that the team managed to gather revealed that most of the information followed a clear structure: URL, followed by login details and a password. Most modern infostealers – malicious software stealing sensitive information – collect data in exactly this way.

Information in the leaked datasets opens the doors to pretty much any online service imaginable, from Apple, Facebook, and Google, to GitHub, Telegram, and various government services. It’s hard to miss something when 16 billion records are on the table.

According to the researchers, credential leaks at this scale are fuel for phishing campaigns, account takeovers, ransomware intrusions, and business email compromise (BEC) attacks.

“The inclusion of both old and recent infostealer logs – often with tokens, cookies, and metadata – makes this data particularly dangerous for organizations lacking multi-factor authentication or credential hygiene practices,” the team said.

What dataset exposed billions of credentials?

The datasets that the team uncovered differ widely. For example, the smallest, named after malicious software, had over 16 million records. Meanwhile, the largest one, most likely related to the Portuguese-speaking population, had over 3.5 billion records. On average, one dataset with exposed credentials had 550 million records.

Some of the datasets were named generically, such as “logins,” “credentials,” and similar terms, preventing the team from getting a better understanding of what’s inside. Others, however, hinted at the services they’re related to.

For example, one dataset with over 455 million records was named to indicate its origins in the Russian Federation. Another dataset, with over 60 million records, was named after Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging platform.

“The inclusion of both old and recent infostealer logs – often with tokens, cookies, and metadata – makes this data particularly dangerous for organizations lacking multi-factor authentication or credential hygiene practices,”

While naming is not the best way to deduce where the data comes from, it seems some of the information relates to cloud services, business-oriented data, and even locked files. Some dataset names likely point to a form of malware that was used to collect the data.

It is unclear who owns the leaked data. While it could be security researchers that compile data to check and monitor data leaks, it’s virtually guaranteed that some of the leaked datasets were owned by cybercriminals. Cybercriminals love massive datasets as aggregated collections allow them to scale up various types of attacks, such as identity theft, phishing schemes, and unauthorized access.

A success rate of less than a percent can open doors to millions of individuals, who can be tricked into revealing more sensitive details, such as financial accounts. Worryingly, since it's unclear who owns the exposed datasets, there’s little impact users can do to protect themselves.

However, basic cyber hygiene is essential. Using a password manager to generate strong, unique passwords, and updating them regularly, can be the difference between a safe account and stolen details. Users should also review their systems for infostealers, to avoid losing their data to attackers.

No, Facebook, Google, and Apple passwords weren’t leaked. Or were they?

With a dataset containing 16 billion passwords, that’s equivalent to two leaked accounts for every person on the planet.

We don’t really know how many duplicate records there are, as the leak comes from multiple datasets. However, some reporting by other media outlets can be quite misleading. Some claim that Facebook, Google, and Apple credentials were leaked. While we can’t completely dismiss such claims, we feel this is somewhat inaccurate.

Bob Diachenko, a Cybernews contributor, cybersecurity researcher, and owner of SecurityDiscovery.com, is behind this recent major discovery.

16-billion-record data breach signals a shift in the underground world

According to Cybernews researcher Aras Nazarovas, this discovery might signal that criminals are abandoning previously popular methods of obtaining stolen data.

"The increased number of exposed infostealer datasets in the form of centralized, traditional databases, like the ones found be the Cybernews research team, may be a sign, that cybercriminals are actively shifting from previously popular alternatives such as Telegram groups, which were previously the go-to place for obtaining data collected by infostealer malware," Nazarovas said.

He regularly works with exposed datasets, ensuring that defenders secure them before threat actors can access them.

Here’s what Nazarovas suggests you should do to protect yourself.

"Some of the exposed datasets included information such as cookies and session tokens, which makes the mitigation of such exposure more difficult. These cookies can often be used to bypass 2FA methods, and not all services reset these cookies after changing the account password. Best bet in this case is to change your passwords, enable 2FA, if it is not yet enabled, closely monitor your accounts, and contact customer support if suspicious activity is detected."

Billions of records exposed online: recent leaks involve WeChat, Alipay

Major data leaks, with billions of exposed records, have become nearly ubiquitous. Last week, Cybernews wrote about what is likely the biggest data leak to ever hit China, billions of documents with financial data, WeChat and Alipay details, as well as other sensitive personal data.

Last summer, the largest password compilation with nearly ten billion unique passwords, RockYou2024, was leaked on a popular hacking forum. In 2021, a similar compilation with over 8 billion records was leaked online.

In early 2024, the Cybernews research team discovered what is likely still the largest data leak ever: the Mother of All Breaches (MOAB), with a mind-boggling 26 billion records.

16 billion passwords exposed: how to protect yourself

Huge datasets of passwords spill onto the dark web all the time, highlighting the need to change them regularly. This also demonstrates just how weak our passwords still are.

Last year, someone leaked the largest password compilation ever, with nearly ten billion unique passwords published online. Such leaks pose severe threats to people who are prone to reusing passwords.

Even if you think you are immune to this or other leaks, go and reset your passwords just in case.

Select strong, unique passwords that are not reused across multiple platforms

Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible

Closely monitor your accounts

Contact customer support in case of any suspicious activity

[brianweltona]

Buy Apple ID Accounts What Is Apple ID Accounts?Buy Apple ID Accounts. An Apple ID is a user account that allows access to various Apple services and products, such as the App Store, iCloud, iTunes, Apple Music, and more. It serves as a single sign-in across all Apple devices and services. The account is tied to the user’s email address and is used to manage personal information, make purchases, and synchronize data across devices like iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more.Key features of an Apple ID account include:Access to Apple Services: With an Apple ID, users can access Apple services like iCloud for data storage, Apple Music for streaming, iTunes for media purchases, and the App Store for downloading apps.Device Synchronization: Apple ID allows users to sync their settings, photos, contacts, and apps across all their Apple devices using iCloud.Security Features: Apple ID comes with security features like two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect against unauthorized access.Purchase Management: Users can store payment information and make purchases through Apple’s digital stores, including apps, music, movies, and other content.Backup and Recovery: With iCloud, Apple ID provides a way to back up device data and restore it if the device is lost or replaced.Find My iPhone/Mac: This feature helps users locate their devices in case they are lost or stolen by using their Apple ID credentials.Essentially, an Apple ID acts as a digital identity within Apple’s ecosystem, allowing seamless use of Apple’s hardware, software, and services.

24 Hours Reply/Contact Telegram: @smmvirals24 WhatsApp: +6011-63738310 Skype: smmvirals Email: smmvirals@gmail.com

[josedavis]

What Is Apple ID Accounts?

Buy Apple ID Accounts. An Apple ID is a user account that allows access to various Apple services and products, such as the App Store, iCloud, iTunes, Apple Music, and more. It serves as a single sign-in across all Apple devices and services. The account is tied to the user’s email address and is used to manage personal information, make purchases, and synchronize data across devices like iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more.

Key features of an Apple ID account include:

Access to Apple Services: With an Apple ID, users can access Apple services like iCloud for data storage, Apple Music for streaming, iTunes for media purchases, and the App Store for downloading apps.

Device Synchronization: Apple ID allows users to sync their settings, photos, contacts, and apps across all their Apple devices using iCloud.

Security Features: Apple ID comes with security features like two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect against unauthorized access.

Purchase Management: Users can store payment information and make purchases through Apple’s digital stores, including apps, music, movies, and other content.

Backup and Recovery: With iCloud, Apple ID provides a way to back up device data and restore it if the device is lost or replaced.

Find My iPhone/Mac: This feature helps users locate their devices in case they are lost or stolen by using their Apple ID credentials.

Essentially, an Apple ID acts as a digital identity within Apple’s ecosystem, allowing seamless use of Apple’s hardware, software, and services.

24 Hours Reply/Contact Telegram: @smmvirals24 WhatsApp: +6011-63738310 Skype: smmvirals Email: smmvirals@gmail.com

[raytaylorpro]

5 Ways to Improve Your Network Security

In today’s digital age, network security is more critical than ever. With cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated and frequent, businesses and individuals alike must take proactive steps to protect their networks. Whether you’re a small business owner or a tech-savvy professional, improving your network security can help safeguard sensitive data, prevent downtime, and maintain trust. Here are five actionable tips to enhance your network’s defenses.

1. Use Strong, Unique Passwords

Weak or reused passwords are among the most common vulnerabilities in network security. To protect your network:

Create strong passwords that include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

Avoid using easily guessed information, such as birthdays or common words like "password123."

Use a password manager to generate and securely store complex passwords for all your accounts.

Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for an extra layer of security. MFA requires users to verify their identity through a second method, such as a text message code or biometric scan.

2. Keep Your Software Up-to-Date

Outdated software is a goldmine for hackers who exploit known vulnerabilities. Regular updates ensure you’re protected with the latest security patches.

Update your operating system, applications, and firmware regularly.

Enable automatic updates to ensure critical patches are installed promptly.

Replace unsupported or obsolete hardware and software with newer, more secure alternatives.

3. Secure Your Wi-Fi Network

Your Wi-Fi network is a primary gateway for potential attacks. Securing it is essential:

Change the default administrator username and password for your router.

Use WPA3 encryption (or at least WPA2) to secure your wireless connection.

Hide your network's SSID (Service Set Identifier) so it’s not visible to unauthorized users.

Set up a guest network for visitors, keeping them isolated from your primary network.

4. Install and Update Security Software

Comprehensive security software is your first line of defense against malicious activity.

Use antivirus and anti-malware programs to detect and remove threats.

Install a firewall to monitor and block unauthorized access to your network.

Invest in a Unified Threat Management (UTM) system, which combines multiple security features like intrusion detection, content filtering, and VPN support.

Keep all security software updated to stay protected from the latest threats.

5. Educate and Train Users

Even the most robust security measures can fail if users are unaware of best practices.

Train your team to recognize phishing emails, suspicious links, and social engineering tactics.

Encourage employees to report unusual activity immediately.

Establish a network security policy that outlines acceptable use, password protocols, and steps for reporting incidents.

Conduct regular cybersecurity awareness sessions to keep users informed about emerging threats.

Bonus Tip: Monitor Your Network Activity

Proactively monitoring your network can help you detect potential issues before they become critical. Use tools to track unusual traffic, failed login attempts, and other red flags.

Conclusion

Improving your network security doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By implementing these five steps, you can significantly reduce your risk of cyberattacks and create a safer environment for your business or personal network. Remember, cybersecurity is an ongoing process—stay vigilant, keep learning, and adapt to new threats as they arise.

Have questions or need help securing your network? Contact us today for expert IT solutions tailored to your needs!

[xaltius]

Protecting Patients, Protecting Data: Cybersecurity in Healthcare

The healthcare industry holds some of the most sensitive information imaginable: patient medical records, personal details, insurance information, and more. This makes it a prime target for cyberattacks. A data breach in healthcare can have devastating consequences, impacting patient privacy, disrupting operations, and even endangering lives. Therefore, robust cybersecurity measures are not just recommended in healthcare – they are absolutely essential.

The Stakes are High: Cybersecurity Threats in Healthcare

Healthcare organizations face a range of cyber threats, including:

Ransomware: Attackers encrypt critical systems and data, holding them hostage until a ransom is paid. This can disrupt patient care, delay treatments, and even shut down hospitals.

Phishing: Deceptive emails or messages trick employees into revealing login credentials or downloading malware, providing attackers with access to sensitive data.

Data Breaches: Unauthorized access and exfiltration of patient medical records, leading to privacy violations and potential identity theft.

Malware: Malicious software designed to damage systems, steal data, or disrupt operations.

Insider Threats: Malicious or accidental actions by employees or other insiders that compromise security.

IoT Vulnerabilities: Connected medical devices, while offering many benefits, can also introduce security vulnerabilities if not properly secured.

Building a Strong Defense: Essential Cybersecurity Measures in Healthcare

Protecting patient data and ensuring business continuity requires a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity. Here are some crucial measures:

Risk Assessment and Management: Regularly assessing cybersecurity risks and developing a comprehensive risk management plan is the foundation of a strong security posture.

Data Encryption: Encrypting sensitive data, both in transit and at rest, protects it even if a breach occurs. This is a critical requirement for HIPAA compliance.

Access Control and Authentication: Implementing strong access controls and multi-factor authentication (MFA) ensures that only authorized personnel can access sensitive data.

Network Segmentation: Dividing the network into smaller, isolated segments limits the impact of a breach. If one segment is compromised, the others remain protected.

Firewall Management: Implementing and regularly updating firewalls to control network traffic and block unauthorized access.

Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS): These systems monitor network traffic for suspicious activity and can automatically block malicious traffic.

Antivirus and Anti-malware Software: Deploying robust antivirus and anti-malware software on all endpoints (computers, servers, mobile devices) is essential. Regular updates are crucial.

Regular Security Audits and Vulnerability Assessments: Regularly assessing systems for vulnerabilities and conducting security audits helps identify weaknesses before they can be exploited.

Employee Training and Awareness: Human error is a major factor in many security breaches. Regular cybersecurity awareness training for all healthcare staff is vital. This training should cover topics like phishing awareness, password security, HIPAA compliance, and safe computing practices.

Incident Response Plan: Having a well-defined incident response plan in place allows healthcare organizations to react quickly and effectively to a security incident, minimizing damage and downtime.

IoT Security: Securing connected medical devices and other IoT devices is crucial to prevent them from becoming entry points for attackers. This includes regular updates, strong passwords, and network segmentation.

HIPAA Compliance: A Critical Component

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets strict standards for protecting the privacy and security 1 of patient health information. Healthcare organizations must comply with HIPAA regulations, which include implementing administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.

Xaltius Academy's Cybersecurity Course: Your Partner in Healthcare Security

Protecting patient data and ensuring HIPAA compliance requires specialized knowledge and skills. Xaltius Academy's cybersecurity course provides comprehensive training and equips you with the expertise needed to safeguard healthcare systems and data. Our expert instructors and hands-on labs will prepare you to tackle the unique cybersecurity challenges facing the healthcare industry. Invest in your cybersecurity future and protect the valuable information entrusted to healthcare organizations.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity is not just a technical issue in healthcare; it's a patient safety issue. By implementing these essential cybersecurity measures, fostering a culture of security awareness, and investing in cybersecurity training, healthcare organizations can protect patient data, maintain operational integrity, and ensure the delivery of safe and effective care.

[mariacallous]

For more than three weeks, Gaza has faced an almost total internet blackout. The cables, cell towers, and infrastructure needed to keep people online have been damaged or destroyed as Israel launched thousands of missiles in response to Hamas attacking Israel and taking hundreds of hostages on October 7. Then, this evening, amid reports of heavy bombing in Gaza, some of the last remaining connectivity disappeared.

In the days after October 7, people living in Gaza have been unable to communicate with family or friends, leaving them unsure whether loved ones are alive. Finding reliable news about events has become harder. Rescue workers have not been able to connect to mobile networks, hampering recovery efforts. And information flowing out of Gaza, showing the conditions on the ground, has been stymied.

As the Israel Defense Forces said it was expanding its ground operations in Gaza this evening, internet connectivity fell further. Paltel, the main Palestinian communications company, has been able to keep some of its services online during Israel’s military response to Hamas’ attack. However, at around 7:30 pm local time today, internet monitoring firm NetBlocks confirmed a “collapse” in connectivity in the Gaza Strip, mostly impacting remaining Paltel services.

“We regret to announce a complete interruption of all communications and internet services within the Gaza Strip,” Paltel posted in a post on its Facebook page. The company claimed that bombing had “caused the destruction of all remaining international routes.” An identical post was made on the Facebook page of Jawwal, the region’s biggest mobile provider, which is owned by Paltel. Separately, Palestinian Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization, said on X (formerly Twitter) that it had lost contact with its operation room in Gaza and is “deeply concerned” about its ability to keep caring for people, with landline, cell, and internet connections being inaccessible.

“This is a terrifying development,” Marwa Fatafta, a policy manager focusing on the Middle East and North Africa at the digital rights group Access Now, tells WIRED. “Taking Gaza completely off the grid while launching an unprecedented bombardment campaign only means something atrocious is about to happen.”

A WIRED review of internet analysis data, social media posts, and Palestinian internet and telecom company statements shows how connectivity in the Gaza Strip drastically plummeted after October 7 and how some buildings linked to internet firms have been damaged in attacks. Photos and videos show sites that house various internet and telecom firms have been damaged, while reports from official organizations, including the United Nations, describe the impact of people being offline.

Damaged Lines

Around the world, the internet and telecoms networks that typically give web users access to international video calls, online banking, and endless social media are a complicated, sprawling mix of hardware and software. Networks of networks, combining data centers, servers, switches, and reams of cables, communicate with each other and send data globally. Local internet access is provided by a mix of companies with no clear public documentation of their infrastructure, making it difficult to monitor the overall status of the system as a whole. In Gaza, experts say, internet connectivity is heavily reliant on Israeli infrastructure to connect to the outside world.

Amid Israel’s intense bombing of Gaza, physical systems powering the internet have been destroyed. On October 10, the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which oversees emergency responses, said air strikes “targeted several telecommunication installations” and had destroyed two of the three main lines of communications going into Gaza.

Prior to tonight’s blackout, internet connectivity remained but was “extremely slow and limited,” Access Now’s Fatafta says. People she has spoken to from Gaza say it could take a day to upload and send a few photos. “They have to send like 20 messages in order for one to go through,” Fatafta says. “They are desperately—especially for Gazans that live outside—trying to get through to their families.”

“Every time I try to call someone from family or friends, I try to call between seven to 10 times,” says Ramadan Al-Agha, a digital marketer who lives in Khan Yunis, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip. “The call may be cut off two or three times,” he told WIRED in a WhatsApp message before the latest outages. “We cannot access news quickly and clearly.” People in the region have simultaneously faced electricity blackouts, dwindling supplies of fuel used to power generators, and a lack of clean water, food, and medical supplies. “It is a humanitarian disaster,” Al-Agha says.

Connectivity in Gaza started to drop not long after Israel responded to the October 7 Hamas attack. Rene Wilhelm, a senior R&D engineer at the nonprofit internet infrastructure organization Ripe Network Coordination Center, says based on an analysis of internet routing data it collects that 11 Palestinian networks, which may operate both in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, began to experience disruption after October 7. Eight of the networks were no longer visible to the global internet as of October 23, Wilhelm says. Ahead of this evening’s blackout, there was around 15 percent of normal connectivity, according to data from Georgia Tech’s Internet Outage Detection and Analysis project. That dropped to around 7 percent as reports of the blackout circulated.

One office belonging to Paltel in the Al Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City has been destroyed in the attacks, photos and videos show. Floors have been destroyed and windows blown away in the multistory building, and piles of rubble surround the entrances. (It is unclear what equipment the building housed or how many floors Paltel occupied.) Another internet provider, AlfaNet, is listed as being based in the Al-Watan Tower. The company posted to its Facebook page on October 8 that the tower had been destroyed and its services have stopped, with other online posts also saying the tower has been destroyed.

Multiple Palestinian internet and telecoms firms have said their services have been disrupted during the war, mostly posting to social media. Internet provider Fusion initially said its engineers were trying to repair its infrastructure, although it has since said this is not continuing. “The network was destroyed, and the cables and poles were badly damaged by the bombing,” it wrote on Facebook. JetNet said there had been a “sudden disruption” to access points. SpeedClick posted that the situation was out of its control. And HiNet posted that it has “no more to offer to ensure” people could stay online following “the attacks and destruction our internet servers have suffered.”

Across Paltel’s network on October 19, according to an update shared by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 83 percent of fixed line users had been disconnected, with 53 percent of sites providing fixed line connections also being offline. Half of the company’s fiber optic internet lines in Gaza weren’t operational, the update says. The connectivity disappeared this evening, according to Paltel’s Facebook post, which says there has been a “complete interruption” of all its services. Paltel, AlfaNet, Fusion, and SpeedClick could not be reached or did not respond to requests for comment.

Lost Connections

In recent years, governments and authoritarian regimes have frequently turned to shutting down the internet for millions of people in attempts to suppress protests and curtail free speech. Targeting the communications networks is common during conflicts. During Russia's war in Ukraine, its forces have decimated communications networks, tried to take over the internet, and set up new mobile companies to control information flows. When Hamas first attacked Israel on October 7, it used drones to bomb communications equipment at surveillance posts along the borders of the Gaza Strip.

Monika Gehner, the head of corporate communications at the International Telecommunication Union, says the body is always “alarmed” by damage inflicted on any telecommunications infrastructure during conflicts. The ITU, the United Nations’ primary internet governance body, believes “efficient telecommunication services” are crucial to peace and international cooperation, and its secretary-general has called for respecting infrastructure in the Middle East, Gehner says.

Officials in Israel have consistently claimed they are targeting Hamas militants within Gaza, not civilians, while responding to the Hamas attacks, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. The Hamas-run Health Ministry within Gaza has said more than 7,000 people have been killed there and released a list of names. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces did not respond to WIRED’s questions about internet disruptions within Gaza.

Hanna Kreitem, a senior adviser for internet technology and development in the Middle East and North Africa at the Internet Society, an open internet advocacy nonprofit, says Palestinian firms have a “big reliance” on Israeli internet firms. “Palestinians are not controlling any of the ICT infrastructure,” says Mona Shtaya, a non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Mobile networks in the Gaza Strip rely on 2G technologies. Al-Agha, the digital marketer, shared a screenshot showing mobile internet speeds of 7.18 kilobytes per second; average mobile speeds in the US in 2022 were 24 megabits per second, according to mobile analytics firm Statista.

“The internet is vital in times of war in crises,” says Fatafta, the Access Now policy manager, who adds that there can be “terrible consequences” linked to connectivity blackouts. The UN’s OCHA said rescue workers have had a harder time “carrying out their mission” partly due to the “limited or no connection to mobile networks.” Al-Agha says he has lost some clients due to the disruptions. The lack of connectivity can obscure events that are happening on the ground, Fatafta says. News crews have told WIRED they have footage from the ground but are “losing the story because of the internet.”

Kreitem says that a lack of electricity and access to the equipment will have made an impact on top of any physical damage to communications networks. “We don't know how many of the people that actually operate these networks are still alive,” Kreitem says. “The network operators are part of the world there, there's no place for them to run. They are as affected as any other person.”

[skytechacademy]

Can you explain the differences between A+, Network+, and Security+ certifications from CompTIA? Which certification is considered more valuable and why?

Certainly! CompTIA offers several certifications that are widely recognized in the IT industry. A+, Network+, and Security+ are three of the most popular certifications, each focusing on different areas of IT. Here's a breakdown of each:

A+ Certification:

Focus: This certification is geared towards entry-level IT professionals and covers foundational skills in IT hardware, software, networking, and troubleshooting.

Topics: A+ covers areas such as PC hardware, operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS), networking, mobile devices, security, and troubleshooting.

Job Roles: A+ certification holders often work in roles such as technical support specialists, help desk technicians, and field service technicians.

Value: A+ is valuable for individuals starting their IT careers as it provides a solid foundation of IT knowledge and skills. It's often a prerequisite for more advanced certifications.

Network+ Certification:

Focus: Network+ focuses specifically on networking concepts and skills required for IT professionals working with networks, both wired and wireless.

Topics: Network+ covers areas such as network technologies, installation and configuration, media and topologies, management, security, and troubleshooting.

Job Roles: Network+ certification holders typically work in roles such as network administrators, network technicians, and systems engineers.

Value: Network+ is valuable for individuals seeking to specialize in networking. It provides a comprehensive understanding of networking fundamentals and is recognized by employers as validation of networking knowledge and skills.

Security+ Certification:

Focus: Security+ is focused on cybersecurity concepts and skills, covering best practices in securing networks, systems, and applications.

Topics: Security+ covers areas such as network security, compliance and operational security, threats and vulnerabilities, application, data, and host security, access control, identity management, and cryptography.

Job Roles: Security+ certification holders often work in roles such as security analysts, security specialists, security administrators, and network security engineers.

Value: Security+ is highly valuable in today's cybersecurity landscape. It demonstrates proficiency in cybersecurity principles and practices and is often required or recommended for cybersecurity-related roles.

In terms of which certification is considered more valuable, it largely depends on your career goals and the specific job role you're targeting. However, comptia Security+ certification is often regarded as more valuable in terms of salary and job prospects due to the increasing demand for cybersecurity professionals and the critical importance of cybersecurity in modern IT environments. That said, all three certifications have their own merit and can be valuable depending on your career path and interests.