#cyberpoint

[aitoolswhitehattoolbox]

Android CNO Developer

OverviewWhat We’re Looking For As a CNO Analyst/Programmer at CyberPoint, you will play a vital role in supporting the custom software design and development of CNO tools and techniques. The ideal candidate will have MIPS router experience.This position is 100% onsiteWhen you become a part of CyberPoint you are joining a dynamic, diverse, fast-growing company that welcomes creative thought and…

[techrise]

New Report Highlights Aglaya’s Connection with Dark Matter

Web-based technologies have become crucial in spreading disinformation. A month after the EU DisinfoLab brought into light the wide-scale pro-India disinformation campaign that harmed Pakistan’s integrity, another similar report has been published.

While the DisinfoLab’s report – Indian Chronicles – dove deep into the vast 15-year global operation, and named several individuals and registered-website domains with several untraceable and unidentifiable links throughout the investigation, the newest report successfully established the relations between the listed cyber firms.

The report stated how India’s Srivastava Group and its less-known company, ‘Aglaya’, marketed itself as a vendor of hacking/espionage tools and simultaneously managed to continue with the pro-India disinformation campaign. Since it remained undetectable and unidentifiable throughout the investigation, it was partly concluded that they were fake identities meant to conduct aggressive targeted attacks against Pakistan’s integrity.

Over time, Aglaya, run by Ankur Srivastava, made headlines for having active links with the world of consumer malware and innovative technology. Some of the leaked emails suggested that Aglaya was also involved with the UAE-headquartered cybersecurity firm, Dark Matter, which was assembling an army of hackers from around the world to help the UAE government accomplish its vested interests.

To achieve the top offensive talents, Dark Matter also illegally approached employees of an American firm, a Baltimore start-up called the ���CyberPoint’, while offering opportunities to work with UAE’s Ministry of Interior. Altogether, such opportunities allowed the Srivastava Group to carry out its activities more subtly.

Not only did the group later target the European Union and the United Nations, but also resurrected the dead media, dead individuals, think-tanks, and NGOs. Moreover, the open-source findings suggested that the company has been involved in projects for the Indian Armed Forces. Its continuity in operations indicates its independence from any political regime’s patronage.

As a non-state actor, the group constantly built and operated a network of physical and digital assets, providing services to its clients, while maintaining its continued existence. Since the report by the EU DisinfoLab was not dissected in detail, the government of Pakistan urged the international community to “investigate” into and take “full cognisance” of the report.

[filimonovmagic-blog]

Repost from @porsche_kazan @TopRankRepost #TopRankRepost Порше Квест: большая игра, где пр­авят адреналин и дух настоящих гонок! II этап «Tribute to Le Mans» – это прохождение трека на виртуальном симуляторе. Все по-н­астоящему: участникам придется испытать все те же нагрузки, что и гонщикам знаме­нитого марафона. #PorscheKazan #PorscheQuest2017 #cyberpoint #oculusrift #eventkazan #event #porsche #imgevent #imgmafia #ведущийижевск #ведущийчебоксары #ведущийнижнийновгород #ведущийульяновск #ведущиййошкарола #ведущийсамара #ведущийнасвадьбу #ведущийказань #автосимулятор #казань #аттракцион #vr #виртуальнаяреальность #asettocorsa (at Порше Центр Казань)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Ex-NSA whistleblower says she and other US ex-spooks targeted Americans on behalf of UAE

Lori Stroud is an ex-NSA spy who also contracted with the NSA through Booz Allen, who says that after she left the NSA, she was recruited to work on Project Raven, a secret, offensive surveillance and digital attack squad working for the autocratic United Arab Emirates regime alongside other ex-US intelligence operatives, working with the knowledge and approval of the NSA.

Stroud says that while she originally believed she was only targeting non-US persons for surveillance and electronic attacks -- primarily journalists and dissidents, including children who had spoken out against the UAE's rulers -- she eventually realized that Project Raven was also targeting US people, including journalists and activists.

Stroud was responsible for hiring Edward Snowden, and after he blew the whistle on wrongdoing in the NSA, she says she and her colleagues were in such bad odor with the NSA that she left. She was recruited by Cyberpoint, a Maryland-based cybersecurity company founded by Karl Gumtow, and relocated to a converted mansion in Abu Dhabi codenamed "the Villa."

Reuters has obtained documents from Cyberpoint that say that while Project Raven was publicly tasked with defensive targeting of terrorists, that a secret "Black Briefing" described a second "offensive, operational division," called  Project Dread, that " will never be acknowledged to the general public."

Stroud worked at the Villa for years, and some of the dissidents she helped target have since been arrested and tortured by the UAE. But what really made the situation untenable was eventual attempts by the UAE to force Cyberpoint to sell out to a UAE-based company, and the subsequent power-struggle that saw the US Project Dread staffers isolated from their UAE counterparts, who had their own target lists, including -- as Stroud eventually discovered -- Americans.

This was a bright line for Stroud, as a former US intelligence operative: she did not feel that she could work to help foreign governments spy on Americans.

Stroud's story was corroborated for Reuters by eight other Project Raven alumni who declined to be named for the story. Reuters say the FBI is investigating whether any of the ex-NSA employees -- who earned several multiples of their government salaries while contracting for the UAE -- revealed US state secrets in the course of their duties.

Stroud's story provides some vital, missing puzzle-pieces for recent high-profile news stories, like the 2016 Citizen Lab investigation of cyberattacks on UK journalist and human rights activist Rori Donaghy, who is now revealed to have been of the targets of Project Raven.

Cyberpoint founder Karl Gumtow denied that his company participated in offensive operations, sticking to the cover story spelled out in the leaked Project DREAD briefing documents.

https://boingboing.net/2019/02/14/literal-american-exceptionalis.html

[jhavelikes]

In addition to recruiting via conventional routes such as personal referrals and stalls at trade shows (e.g. Black Hat),[1] DarkMatter headhunts staff from the U.S. National Security Agency and has "poached" competitors' staff after they were contracted to the UAE government, as happened with some CyberPoint employees.[1][2] The company has reportedly hired graduates of the Israel Defense Force technology units and is paying them up to $1 million annually.

DarkMatter Group - Wikipedia

[technuter]

Dell Technologies Delivers Zero Trust, Cybersecurity Solutions to Protect Multicloud and Edge Environments

Dell Technologies will open a Zero Trust Center of Excellence in collaboration with CyberPoint International and the Maryland Innovation Security Institute (MISI) in Spring 2023 at DreamPort, the U.S. Cyber Command’s premier cybersecurity innovation facility. Dell also unveils new cybersecurity services that allow organizations to assess their Zero Trust and cyber resilience maturity, endpoint security solutions to support hybrid work, and ransomware protection for object storage data. Zero Trust is a cybersecurity model that shifts how organizations approach security from relying solely on perimeter defenses to a proactive strategy that only allows known good activity across ecosystems and data pipelines. It allows organizations to better align their cybersecurity strategy across the data center, clouds and at the edge. Dell aims to serve as a catalyst for customers to achieve Zero Trust outcomes by making the design and integration of this architecture easier. John Roese, global chief technology officer, Dell Technologies, said, “In a multicloud world, an organization’s cybersecurity strategy must transcend its infrastructure and extend to its applications and data. We believe a Zero Trust strategy is the best path forward. Dell has the proven IT and security foundation, technology integration experience, and extensive global partner ecosystem to help simplify customers’ cybersecurity transformations.” Amit Midha, president, Asia Pacific & Japan, and Global Digital Cities, Dell Technologies, said, “Zero Trust is a fundamental paradigm shift emphasizing the need to protect applications and data pipelines – beyond networks – across a multicloud topology. The launch of our Zero Trust Center of Excellence, as well as new cybersecurity services and solutions, will enable our customers in Asia Pacific and Japan to stress test their security architecture and enhance their cyber resilience. This is especially critical in this ever-changing cyber landscape that we’re navigating.” Ripu Bajwa, Director and General Manager, Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies India, said, "Indian businesses should trust their employees, partners, customers, extended communities and companies in order to protect their digital identity. Digital trust must be an executive-level, IT imperative especially as the volume of data and the points of exchange increase exponentially with hybrid work. Cloud services, hybrid workloads and DevOps have led to a convergence of traditional IT operations and technology development. With the endless increase in new devices, systems and connections, the traditional corporate boundary no longer exists. Remote and hybrid workforces make securing a sprawling corporate infrastructure even more complex. Zero Trust offers a blueprint for ensuring everything that connects to an enterprise is known and trusted. Companies should thus consider Zero Trust as a strategic imperative to prevent and protect against cybersecurity threats. It is a necessary component of digital transformation, which enables companies to transfer critical processes online and create new forms of inter-organizational connection." Center of Excellence to speed Zero Trust adoption Together with MISI, CyberPoint International and a team of industry small, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses, Dell will power the Zero Trust Center of Excellence at DreamPort to provide organizations with a secure data center to validate Zero Trust use cases. The Center of Excellence will use the Department of Defense Zero Trust Reference Architecture as its foundation for organizations to test configurations before deployment in their own environments. By orchestrating across an extensive ecosystem, Dell will deliver a repeatable blueprint of the architecture, providing a quicker path to adoption, and easing the integration and orchestration burden for customers. “We believe our critical collaboration with Dell Technologies at the DreamPort Center of Excellence will drive rapid innovation and integration of Zero Trust solutions to help the U.S. government and commercial enterprises defend increasingly complex and ongoing cyber threats,” said Horace Jones, president, CyberPoint International. Cybersecurity services to align with Zero Trust and reduce risk To help organizations align to Zero Trust principles and achieve cyber resiliency, Dell Cybersecurity Advisory Services provide organizations a roadmap to Zero Trust that builds on their existing cybersecurity assets. These services find and address security gaps, determine advanced technologies customers should implement, and help them learn how to enable continuous vigilance and governance for long-term cyber resiliency. By working with Dell, organizations have the tools and actionable insights they need to better secure their data and IT environments. To minimize attack surfaces and better protect organizations, Dell offers a new Vulnerability Management service with Dell experts who regularly scan customer environments for vulnerabilities, provide a full picture of exposures and help prioritize patching efforts.  Commercial PC cybersecurity offerings support hybrid work With breaches happening above and below the operating system, secure devices are foundational to a Zero Trust-ready organization. Dell continues to enhance its portfolio with new offerings that help customers prevent, detect and respond to threats wherever they occur, and allow greater control of the IT environment: - Hardware protections for the industry’s most secure commercial PCs: To address growing supply chain threats, customers can now opt for Dell to disable PC ports prior to shipment, which helps prevent BIOS settings tampering. Dell is also expanding availability of tamper-evident seals to Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa to offer more physical security measures during shipment. - Firmware protections to detect growing threats: Organizations can detect potential tampering of a PC’s BIOS with the new integration of telemetry between Microsoft Intune, as part of Microsoft Endpoint Manager, and Splunk consoles. Within the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, IT administrators can secure, control and configure Dell PCs, including BIOS configuration and password management. These capabilities, which Dell is first to market with, will be available in a future release of Intune, helping ensure user productivity while reducing IT complexity. - Advanced software protections: New capabilities from Dell speed threat detection and remediation. Additionally, a new data loss prevention offering helps protect sensitive data from unauthorized downloads onto external USB storage devices, providing greater visibility and policy control on this behavior.   Enhanced cyber protection and recovery for object storage To address the growth of object storage data, such as videos and photographs, it is critical to take advantage of the latest cyber protection solutions to isolate data, intelligently detect threats and enable fast data recovery. The Dell ECS Enterprise Object Storage platform expands cyber protection capabilities to help secure object data to an isolated cyber vault residing locally or in a remote environment. Accessible through the AWS S3 protocol, critical applications and backup servers can continue to access the isolated copy while supporting legal compliance in the event of a cyberattack compromising the primary and secondary data copy. Together with AI-powered threat detection and immutability, the new solution provides organizations a rapid path to data recovery from ransomware and other malicious attacks. Read the full article

[shirlleycoyle]

ExpressVPN Employees Question Company About Exec Working for UAE Spy Unit

Last week, newly unsealed court records showed that Daniel Gericke, an executive at VPN company ExpressVPN, worked on a United Arab Emirates (UAE) spying and hacking operation called Project Raven. Gericke and two other defendants reached a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the U.S. Department of Justice, meaning prosecutors would drop charges against them, but the group would have to pay a financial sum, agree to a list of restrictions on their employment, and cooperate with U.S. authorities.

In the wake of that news, ExpressVPN employees asked management a wave of questions about Gericke, what ExpressVPN knew about his employment, and how this will affect the company's perception in the cybersecurity industry, according to a copy of the messages submitted through an online form and obtained by Motherboard.

"To find out such news of the people we work closely with everyday through an online article was absolutely distasteful. Why weren't we given a headsup? Isn't transparency and respect our core values?" one question asked.

Do you have information on VPN companies misleading their customers, or anything else? We'd love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, or email joseph.cox@vice.com.

The questions were submitted as part of an ExpressVPN meeting last week.

"ExpressVPN offered all employees an opportunity to openly ask questions about any subject of interest, including last week’s DPA announcement. These were answered by the leadership team at an all-staff meeting on Friday afternoon," ExpressVPN told Motherboard in a statement. "Every month, we hold an open Q&A where the team can ask any question about our business, performance, or leadership decisions. Last Friday’s event was an in-depth instance of an existing channel for staff to question top leadership. As a company, we value openness, dialogue, and transparency—which includes robust debate and incisive questioning."

With Project Raven, UAE-linked companies hired Americans, including former U.S. intelligence hackers, to work on behalf of the UAE government. The project involved building a hacking system called Karma that contained zero-click exploits which could take over target phones with no user interaction. The scale and scope of Project Raven was first reported in 2019 by Reuters. Targets included activists, heads of state, and Americans.

In a statement to Motherboard last week, ExpressVPN said Gericke "has a deep understanding of the tools and techniques used by the adversaries we aim to protect users against, and as such is a uniquely qualified expert to advise on defense against such threats."

Some employees still seemed to sense a potential conflict there, at least from that of an outsider looking in to the company.

"How would you convince a prospective candidate that we're still an ethical company who believes in internet privacy [sic] when there are stories on top news sites saying 'ExpressVPN CIO Helped United Arab Emirates Hack into Phones, Computers'?" one person added.

"What impact do we think this will have on recruiting/candidates perception of joining us?" another question read.

ExpressVPN previously told Motherboard it was aware of the "key facts" of his previous employment. In an email on Thursday, ExpressVPN added that that when the company hired Gericke in December 2019, it was aware Gericke had worked for Cyberpoint and DarkMatter, two companies involved in the Project Raven episode. "However, as with all classified work, ExpressVPN could not be made privy to the details of what role Gericke may or may not have played in Project Raven," ExpressVPN told Motherboard. The company added it learned of the existence of the DPA when the Department of Justice finalized the DPA with Gericke and the other two defendants.

"However we handle this episode with DanG, people will still ask 'Why didn't you explain this before (e.g., when Dan was hired) and not until after you've been 'exposed'?' Are there any other employees whose histories should now be proactively clarified?" another of the questions from employees said. In its new statement, ExpressVPN said "Due to outside legal restrictions related to the timing of the announcement, many team members heard the news about the DPA from an external source, rather than directly from the company. This was regrettable and in a perfect world, would have been handled differently." 

Other questions more directly addressed the business side of ExpressVPN's operations, or related to issues around cybersecurity firm Kape acquiring ExpressVPN this month.

"Can you provide us with information of the total number of canceled xv [ExpressVPN] subscriptions/products uninstallation since the announcement of the acquisition and DPA?" one added, referring to the Deferred Prosecution Agreement which Gericke received.

One of the questions submitted was supportive of Gericke.

"DanG! We stand behind you!" it read.

Subscribe to our cybersecurity podcast, CYBER.

ExpressVPN Employees Question Company About Exec Working for UAE Spy Unit syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[dontletmeontheinternet]

How the NSA's Hubris Left America Vulnerable

A new book promises "the untold story of the cyberweapons market — the most secretive, invisible, government-backed market on earth — and a terrifying first look at a new kind of global warfare." Its author — a New York Times cybersecurity reporter — shares the book's story about David Evenden, a former National Security Agency analyst who later worked in Abu Dhabi: He, like two dozen other N.S.A. analysts and contractors, had been lured to the United Arab Emirates by a boutique Beltway contractor with offers to double, even quadruple, their salaries and promises of a tax-free lifestyle in the Gulf's luxury playground. The work would be the same as it had been at the agency, they were told, just on behalf of a close ally. It was all a natural extension of America's War on Terror. Mr. Evenden started tracking terror cells in the Gulf. This was 2014, ISIS had just laid siege to Mosul and Tikrit and Mr. Evenden tracked its members as they switched out burner phones and messaging apps... Soon, though, he was assigned to a new project: proving the Emiratis' neighbor, Qatar, was funding the Muslim Brotherhood. The only way to do that, Mr. Evenden told his bosses, would be to hack Qatar. "Go for it," they told him. No matter that Qatar was also an American ally or that, once inside its networks, his bosses showed no interest in ever getting out. Before long his team at the contractor, CyberPoint, was hacking Emirati enemies, real and perceived, all over the world: Soccer officials at FIFA, the monarchy's Twitter critics, and especially Qatari royals. They wanted to know where they were flying, who they were meeting, what they were saying. This too was part of the mission, Mr. Evenden was told; it had all been cleared up high. In the War on Terror and the cyber arms market, you could rationalize just about anything. All the rationalizations were stripped away the day emails from the first lady of the United States popped up on his screen. In late 2015, Michelle Obama's team was putting the finishing touches on a trip to the Middle East. Qatar's Sheikha Moza bint Nasser had invited Mrs. Obama to speak... And every last email between the first lady, her royal highness, and their staff — every personal reflection, reservation, itinerary change and security detail — was beaming back to former N.S.A. analysts' computers in Abu Dhabi. "That was the moment I said, 'We shouldn't be doing this,' he told me. "We should not be targeting these people." Mr. Evenden and his family were soon on a flight home. He and the few colleagues who joined him tipped off the F.B.I. (The agency does not comment on investigations, but interviews suggest its review of CyberPoint is ongoing.) To pre-empt any fallout, some employees came clean to Reuters. The hack of Sheika Moza's emails with Mrs. Obama has never been reported. It wasn't long after Mr. Evenden settled back in the states that he started fielding calls and LinkedIn messages from his old buddies at the N.S.A., still in the service, who had gotten a "really cool job offer" from Abu Dhabi and wanted his advice. By 2020, the calls had become a drumbeat. "Don't go," he pleaded. "This is not the work you think you will be doing." You might think you're a patriot now, he wanted to warn them, but one day soon you too could wake up and find you're just another mercenary in a cyber arms race gone horribly wrong... The author criticizes America's security establishment. "When we discovered openings in the systems that govern the digital universe, we didn't automatically turn them over to manufacturers for patching. We kept them vulnerable in the event the F.B.I. needed to access a terrorist's iPhone or Cyber Command had reason to drop a cyberweapon on Iran's grid one day..." But the author also warns that "the potential for a calamitous attack — a deadly explosion at a chemical plant set in motion by vulnerable software, for example — is a distraction from the predicament we are already in. Everything worth taking has already been intercepted: Our personal data, intellectual property, voter rolls, medical records, even our own cyberweaponry..." The book's title? This is How They Tell Me the World Ends.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

from Slashdot https://ift.tt/3ryV8TR

[ebisss-my]

Cyberjaya kini menjadi rumah bagi laluan ujian kenderaan autonomi pertama di Malaysia

Cyberjaya kini menjadi rumah bagi laluan ujian kenderaan autonomi pertama di Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia akan mula menguji kenderaan autonomi (AV) di dua laluan sepanjang 7km di Cyberjaya. Laluan yang lebih pendek bergerak di sekitar bangunan Futurise dan MaGIC, dan yang lebih panjang merangkumi Persiaran Apec, Persiaran Cyberpoint dan Persiaran Rimba. Dijuluki sebagai Laluan Pengujian Kenderaan Autonomi Malaysia (MyAV) Cyberjaya, ia dikembangkan oleh Futurise, anak syarikat…

[teddycerra]

Innovating for Good: Teddy Cerra's Impactful Initiatives in Corporate Social Responsibility

In the realm of corporate social responsibility (CSR), Teddy Cerra, the esteemed Founder and CEO of Cyberpoint IT, stands out as a beacon of innovation and positive change. Through his visionary leadership, Teddy has spearheaded numerous initiatives aimed at making a meaningful impact in the community and beyond. At the core of Teddy's approach to CSR is a commitment to leveraging technology for good. Recognizing the transformative potential of technology to address societal challenges, Teddy has championed initiatives that harness the power of innovation to create positive change. "Technology has the power to drive meaningful social impact," says Teddy. "At Cyberpoint IT, we are committed to using our expertise and resources to make a difference in the world." One of the most impactful initiatives led by Teddy Cerra is Cyberpoint IT's partnership with local nonprofit organizations. Through strategic partnerships and collaborations, Cyberpoint IT has provided pro bono IT services and support to nonprofits working to address pressing social issues, such as education, healthcare, and environmental conservation. By leveraging their technical expertise to help nonprofits streamline operations, improve efficiency, and expand their reach, Cyberpoint IT has played a crucial role in empowering organizations to achieve their missions and make a positive impact in their communities. In addition to supporting nonprofit organizations, Teddy has also prioritized environmental sustainability as part of Cyberpoint IT's CSR efforts. Recognizing the importance of reducing their environmental footprint, Cyberpoint IT has implemented initiatives to promote energy efficiency, reduce waste, and minimize their carbon emissions. From implementing green IT practices to participating in tree planting initiatives, Cyberpoint IT is committed to doing their part to protect the planet and preserve natural resources for future generations. Furthermore, Teddy has championed initiatives to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within Cyberpoint IT and the broader tech industry. Recognizing the importance of diversity in driving innovation and fostering a culture of creativity and collaboration, Teddy has implemented programs to support underrepresented groups in STEM fields and create opportunities for diverse talent to thrive. By prioritizing diversity and inclusion in hiring practices, mentorship programs, and leadership development initiatives, Cyberpoint IT is working to build a more equitable and inclusive tech industry for all. In conclusion, Teddy Cerra's impactful initiatives in corporate social responsibility exemplify the transformative power of innovation and leadership in driving positive change. Through his commitment to leveraging technology for good, supporting nonprofit organizations, promoting environmental sustainability, and championing diversity and inclusion, Teddy is making a meaningful impact in the community and setting a powerful example for others in the tech industry to follow.

[filimonovmagic-blog]

Совершенство в мелочах💎🙌🏻Бомбезный квест🔥🚀 минувшей субботы от салона @porsche_kazan http://www.porsche-kazan.ru/news/news/154720.shtml❗️Спасибо за доверие и сотрудничество нашим постоянным партнерам @imgevent и в отдельности @eevgenika,приятно быть частью таких крутых проектов❗️❗️❗️👌😎 📲2405812 #cyberpoint #oculusrift #eventkazan #event #porsche #PorscheKazan #PorscheQuest2017 #ведущийижевск #ведущийчебоксары #ведущийнижнийновгород #ведущийульяновск #ведущиййошкарола #ведущийсамара #ведущийнасвадьбу #ведущийказань #автосимулятор #казань #казаньсвадьба #свадьбаказань #аттракцион #vr #виртуальнаяреальность #asettocorsa (at Порше Центр Казань)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This is bad: the UAE's favorite sleazeball cybermercenaries have applied for permission to break Mozilla's web encryption

Remember Darkmatter, the UAE-based cybermercenaries who worked with the beltway bandit firm Cyberpoint to recruit ex-NSA spies to infiltrate and expose dissidents, journalists, even children who opposed the despotic regime in the Emirates? (Darkmatter is also one of the least-discriminating cybermercenary bands in the world, available to help torturers, murderers and thugs hang onto power by attacking opposition movements and letting the secret police know who to arrest, torture and kill).

Now Darkmatter has applied to Mozilla to become a "Certificate Authority," which means they'd get the ability to produce cryptographically signed certificates that were trusted by default by Firefox and its derivatives, giving them the power to produce cyberweapons that could break virtually any encrypted web session (though Certificate Transparency might expose them if they're careless about it).

And since Moz's root of trust is used to secure Linux updates, this could affect literally billions of operating systems.

Without being too hyperbolic about this: HOLY FUCKING SHIT IS THIS A BAD IDEA.

Actually, it's bad already: Digicert division Quovadis has already issued an "intermediate" certificate to Darkmatter, which could allow the company to undertake all kinds of genuinely horrible shenanigans with your web-session. Yes, you.

As Cooper Quintin writes on EFF Deeplinks, this is a terrible idea and Mozilla should tell them to go pound sand. Moreover, Moz should revoke Darkmatter's intermediate cert. The root of trust is for entities committed to helping improve encryption and privacy: Darkmatter's mission is to subvert encryption and destroy its targets' privacy.

https://boingboing.net/2019/02/22/my-voice-is-my-passport-2.html

[purrtlepuff]

Welcome to Cybertube

Chapter 1

[Alternate Ao3 Link]

I know a whole bunch of you have anticipated this moment. This is the day that the CyberTube Universe comes to light!

However, first you need to sit through Pewdiepie, Cryaotic, CinnamonToastKen, and TheRPGMinx figuring out this world and how it came about. I promise I will get to the others in the Sequel~

For now, sit back, and enjoy the world building of CyberTube. :D

You know the feeling when you sit on your legs too long and your feet go numb? That’s exactly what Felix’s whole body felt like right now.

The hype for Cybertube started from the moment it was announced. Who wouldn’t want to jump into a game and get the chance to play face to face with other players around the world? Of course, the creator contacted Felix to test the game. The technology was fairly new, and he wanted to make sure there were no bugs surrounding the program before he released it to the masses. And who better to playtest it than Pewdiepie himself.

Felix remembered struggling through reading the instructions, but if anything Ikea furniture taught him, it’s how to read vague instructions. The helmet was pretty lightweight, and it fit on his head like a motorcycle helmet. Long gloves connected onto his hands. It felt like an extensive VR game.

The logo popped up on the screen, and Felix felt a slight pinch in the back of his head. Then, he was floating through this dark mass.

And that’s exactly how he ended up where he was right now.

Felix’s hands felt heavy. He looked down and noticed two gloves pixelating on his fists. He flexed his fingers inside the glove and noticed a white “P” on the inside of the gloves. Huh, customized equipment. That was pretty cool. Felix remembered the programmer saying that a character’s weapon was given at the start of the game based on a short quiz. Of course, Felix’s character came completely customized for him, so no annoying quiz needed thankfully. He took enough of those in his past.

The darkness surrounding Felix melted away as blue cubic lines formed on the walls and ceiling.

“Welcome to Cybertube,” a computer voice spoke. “Before we begin, it’s important to go through orientation to make sure all equipment is in sync. Please, walk forward five steps.”

Felix rolled his eyes. Piece of cake. He took five steps forward, and the panel underneath him lit up. Felix nearly lost his balance as the cube flew up into the air. Cubes like it sprung up around him, forming a pathway.

“Jump forward.”

Felix looked over the edge of the cube. “Are you kidding me? I have to be at least three meters away and two stories up!”

He grumbled to himself as the computer voice repeated the objective. Felix backed up to the edge of the cube and took in a deep breath. He squeezed his eyes shut as he jumped forward.

Felix’s shoes caught on the side of the cube, and he fell forward. His body slid across the cube. His head reached the edge. Felix dug his hands and feet into the cube’s surface. He stared down at the ground below him and jumped backward. The cube shifted underneath his weight, and Felix’s heart leapt into his throat.

“Good. Continue forward until you reach the end.”  A golden door appeared at the last cube, almost 10 cubes away.

“No fucking way. I almost died!” Felix yelled back. He knew it was just a game, but that was the most real thing he ever felt in his life. Would he be hurt in real life if he got hurt here? He almost didn’t want to find out.

The computer repeated itself, and Felix stood up. He groaned. Either he went forward and did what it said or he sat on the cube for an eternity.

Felix ran forward again, but this time, he kept his eyes open. His feet landed on the cube and slid forward a bit. He held up his hands to help balance himself. As Felix looked down, he realized he landed square in the middle.

Huh, that wasn’t so bad.

Jump by jump, Felix made his way across the cubic bridge. He wondered if gaming physics applied here, where the character could jump three times the normal length they should be able to. The shockwaves of his feet hitting the block felt real. He could feel the wind passing through his hair and the gravity pulling him onto the next block.

Felix finally reached the last block. The golden door glowed onto his hand as he reached out for it. He grabbed the round doorknob and twisted. As he opened the door, a blinding light hit his face. He squinted through the pain and opened the door as far as it would go.

The chattering of people reached through the light. Felix blinked his eyes open and saw he was in a small town of some sort. People bustled about and chatted to one another. He could smell pies and bread baking. The sun warmed his skin, and he heard birds tweet as their wings flapped overhead.

Felix walked into the town and closed the door behind him. He stood in the middle of a square covered in dirt roads and fenced in by pasty brick houses. As he turned to get a 360 view of the game, he noticed the door disappeared.

Wait, were his pants vibrating?

Felix dug into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a blue cell phone looking device. It had the CyberTube logo with a blue circle orbiting around it written on the screen.

A face appeared on the screen; their red lips curled up into a smile. Felix noted how fierce their bright blue eyes looked against their brown skin.

“Welcome to Cybertube,” the avatar spoke. “Before you begin playing, I’d like to run you through how to use your TubePad.”

Felix raised an eyebrow, but continued listening. A menu appeared on the screen with several words highlighted blue against black boxes.  The first word, “Map,” lit up in bright pink letters.

He heard the avatar’s voice through the speakers. “Click here if you wish to locate yourself within the world of CyberTube.” The screen faded to a map. Felix noted a yellow star in the middle of the map. It was right underneath the word “CyberTown.” There were a few other areas on the screen, but before Felix could get a good look at them, the map faded away.

The second word, “Team,” lit up in pink. The voice continued, “Here is where you can see all the statistics of your teammates. As you can see, you are the only current member. To add a player, click the “add member” button in the bottom right of the screen and type in their username.”

A white bar highlighted his personal information on the screen. Felix noted his avatar was in a square box beside the information.

A green HP bar, followed by 100/100 stretched across the screen. “When your HP depletes to 0, you will be asked if you wish to log out or continue the game. Those who choose “Continue” will be transported back to your team’s base for healing.”

Below was a blue bar, labeled PP and followed by another 100/100. “The blue bar is your Power Points. When your Power Points reach 0, your weapon will no longer work. Each weapon will be recharged at the end of one Cyber Day. If your weapon runs out before the end of the day, charging stations are located in several areas throughout the game.”

Felix wanted to absorb all the information that was handed to him, but the screen changed again. The third word, labeled “Nearby Viruses” lit up.

“This option allows you to see Viruses surrounding your area. Viruses differ between areas and are ranked from a 1-4 star difficulty.”  Felix wanted to know more, but again, the screen shifted.

The fourth word, “Objectives,” turned pink. “Every Cyber Week, a new objective will appear. This can range from liberating a player’s camp from a virus infestation to defeating a new boss terrorizing an area. No one is forced to complete the objective, but you will be awarded CyberPoints for participating.”

‘The hell are Cyber Points?’ Felix thought, and the screen moved on.

The fifth word, “Help,” lit up. “Click here if you need a refresher on basic rules or wish to ask the creator a question.”

Then finally, the last word lit up. “Click here if you wish to leave CyberTube and return to the real world.” The screen faded back to the avatar, and Felix felt a lump form in his stomach. “This completes your orientation on your TubePad. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and welcome to CyberTube.” The device played a little melody before turning off.

“Yeah, I have a lot of important fucking questions,” Felix yelled. A few people turned to look at him but went back about their business. He grumbled under his breath and tried to process what… whoever that was spouted off to him.

Why didn’t it tell him something useful, like how to use his weapon?  What did the Virus characters look like? He saw a few through the game trailer, but if there really was an abundance of Virus characters, shouldn’t there be a database where you could look up information on a certain Virus.

“Maybe it’s like a Poke’dex,” he mumbled. Felix looked around for any sort of familiar faces. No one acknowledged he was there. So, he started walking.

The town had a few trees lining the streets, and every once and awhile, he’d hear a stock dog bark sound. The sky looked like a clear summer day.

Felix pulled out his TubePad and clicked on the “Objective” tab. Nothing came up on the screen. He gripped the device in his palm and looked around.

“What am I supposed to be doing here?” he groaned through his teeth.  

“You could look for someone to talk to.”

Felix jumped as a familiar deep voice spoke behind him. He turned and saw a white masked man with a hand on his hip.

“Cry! Thank god, a familiar face,” Felix ran over to his friend. “I finally get to meet you in person… well sort of.”

Cry laughed. “Probably the only time you ever will.” Cry looked around and whistled. “Hard to believe this is all a game, right?”

“I know. It all feels so real.”

Cry looked down and lifted up one of Felix’s gloves. “These are cool. Are these your weapons?”

“I guess so. No one told me anything about how to fight in this game!” Felix yelled up at the sky.

Cry laughed. “Dude, didn’t it tell you there’s a training ground in the town?”

Felix blinked. When did he miss that part? Cry motioned for Felix to follow him, and Felix complied. The two walked side by side through the square.

“You know, you’re the last one to show up here. We’ve been waiting for you.”

“We?”

“Yeah. Me, Minx, and Ken. Did you have problems setting up the game or something? I thought you were good at that kind of vague directions shit.”

Felix gave a dry laugh. “We only just talked about this 10 minutes ago… or at least 10 minutes since I logged in.” How long was he in this game anyway?

“Well, whatever man. We’re here anyway.”

Felix looked up at a tall building with tan bricks. It must’ve been about four stories high. Cry walked over to the large metal doors, and they slid apart. Felix followed close behind.

A mechanical bee looking machine soared toward his face. Felix cried out and braced himself for impact. The bee burst into a cluster of blue pixels.

“Sorry!” He heard Ken yell out. Felix caught his breath and then smiled. How did he know Ken’s avatar would have his faithful bear hat on?

“Too bad your aim isn’t that good when playing normal games,” a British voice replied. Felix looked up as a girl with brown hair and a purple streak jumped down from the boxes.

“You’re hilarious,” Ken responded with a neutral expression.

“Minx?” Felix watched the girl turn to look at him and smile.

“The one and only,” she responded and crossed her arms. “I guess this is the only time I’ll ever get to meet you, even if we live in the same country.”

Felix opened his mouth to speak, but a swarm of bees formed behind them. Ken and Minx turned.

“Guess we’ll have to introduce ourselves later,” Cry spoke. “I’m running low on PP, so you guys can handle this stuff.” He pushed Felix toward the center of the training arena.  With a quick “later” and a salute, he disappeared out the double doors.

Felix ducked as a bee flew right at his head. He looked over toward Minx. Her body started to wobble before disappearing completely.

It seemed like Minx’s assassin skills just got deadlier.

“Behind you!” Ken yelled out. He ran at Felix and retracted his fist. Felix ducked as Ken’s hand crashed into the bee. It flew across the room and smacked against the wall.

Felix looked at Ken, his mouth wide open. Ken smirked and flexed his arm muscles. “I got enhanced strength from the game. Pretty cool, right?”

Two bees that flew at them crashed to the ground. The area in front of them wobbled as Minx reappeared.

“I should've let them kill you.”

“But you love me.”

Minx quirked an eyebrow at Ken, and she looked over at Felix. “Well don’t just stand there with your mouth open. Go let loose.”

Felix looked down at his hands. He clenched them into fists and watched the bees swarm around them. “Only, I don’t know what the fuck my power is.”

“You think we did?” Ken chuckled. “This game is bad at telling you about your abilities.”

“Well you better figure it out quick,” Minx said as she stood up. Felix turned as a swarm of angry bees flew at them. He looked down at his fists and waited until one got up close. Mimicking Ken, he pulled his hand back and smacked into one of the robotic bees. The bee staggered backward a bit, but didn’t seem too affected by it.

Another bee flew towards him, and Felix barely missed it’s stinger. He punched forward again, but it still had little effect on them. As he turned, he saw a whole swarm flying toward him. Felix screamed and started running in the opposite direction.

Minx laughed as Ken called out, “You got this, Felix. Be the bee.”

“I could use some help here!” Felix yelled. The swarm continued after him. He slid to a halt as he reached the other side of the wall.  Ken took a step forward to help, but Minx put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her, and she winked.

Felix turned to see the buzzing cloud of death closing in on him. He swore his heart stopped. The cloud dove toward him. Felix used all his strength to duck down.

His fists connected with the ground. There was a loud boom, and Felix watched a blue wave of sound fly from his gloves. The wave spread out in all directions, knocking over nearby boxes, popping a few light bulbs, and pixelating the whole swarm of bees in front of him. Felix watched the blue wave disappear, and the whole room grew silent.

What… did he just do?

“You alright?” Ken asked as he and Minx ran up to him. Felix stood up on shaky legs.

“Thanks for the help,” he spoke, though his cracking voice hardly conveyed his sarcasm.

“That was probably the second coolest thing I’ve seen yet,” Minx said. She patted Felix on the back.

Felix looked over at her, then back to his gloves. The blue rings between his knuckles were glowing, and he felt a slight tingle in his hands.

“Arena damage detected. All players are to evacuate until further repairs can be completed.”

Ken laughed. “Way to break the game.”

“I’m sorry, okay! I panicked.” Felix watched Ken smile then mimicked it.

“Come on. We should probably meet up with Cry. He’ll want to know about this.”  Minx began to walk out of the room, followed by Ken. Felix followed behind. He turned his gloves over and over, examining every detail. His eyes rested on the white “P” in the middle, well now a mostly white “P” since the top had a black line through it now. He pulled out his TubePad and pulled up his player stats. The PP bar read 90/100. Well, at least he wouldn’t have to keep pulling out his TubePad if he wanted to know how much power he had left.

The doors to the training arena opened, and Felix squinted at the swift change of strong light.

“Are you guys done already?” Cry asked as he came over to the doors. “I was just about to join you.”

Ken answered, “Thunder fists over here broke the game.”

“Not on purpose!” Felix barked back.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Minx spoke. She turned to Cry and continued, “though you did miss an interesting battle.”

“What a shame,” Cry said as he clicked his tongue. “I guess I’ll just have to wait until next time to show off.”

“Well, our abilities should work even if there aren't Viruses around, right?” Ken asked. He turned to face Minx, but she was gone. Ken felt a tap on his shoulder and turned, but no one was there.

“I’m going to say that's a yes,” Cry said as Minx reappeared beside him. She flashed Ken a smile. “So, thunder fists huh?”

Felix felt his cheeks warm. “Well, I don't really know what happened. One minute I was standing, the next my hand slammed on the ground and all those things were gone.”

“You mean the trackers?” Cry asked and raised a brow.

“Trackers?” Felix repeated. Ken brought out his TubePad, which Felix noted was red, and showed him the Virus index. There were two pictures that appeared, the bee looking things from the training ground and another one which looked like a cat of some sort. Ken pushed the bee’s picture, and Felix read the text beneath it.

Trackers Level: 1 star Area: CyberTown Attacks: Poison Stingers Description: An aerodynamic Virus with a poison stinger. Harmless in singles. Deadly in numbers. Number Killed: 52

Felix looked up at Ken after reading, and Ken turned off his TubePad. Felix pulled out his own TubePad, and sure enough, there was an entry for Trackers in his Virus inventory. Only, his number killed read “15.”

Cry peeked over his shoulder. “Was that all from one blow?”  Felix nodded, and Cry whistled. “Well, I know who I’m not messing with.”

Felix raised a brow. “So, what’s your power?” He saw Ken and Minx look at each other and smile, and Cry chuckled.

Cry flung the palm of his hand in front of Felix’s face. Felix watched Cry’s hand carefully, noting how Cry flexed his fingers and how concentrated he looked. The wind blew his hair a bit, and Felix looked up at Cry’s mask and back to Cry’s hand.

Cry’s shoulders started to shake, and he soon burst out laughing. Felix looked up at Cry’s mask, and Minx and Ken started to laugh too.

Felix’s cheeks burned and he folded his arms. “What was that about?”  A heavy weight pressed down on his shoulder, and Felix looked to his left. Two hollow eyes looked at him, and a creepy smile spread across a white face.

Felix cursed in Swedish as he pushed the armless being off him. The little marshmallow rolled down his arm and squeaked as it hit the ground on its back. It sat up, shook its head from side to side, and blinked a bit. It then looked up at Felix again, its smile spreading back on his face.

“It’s just a Sup Guy,” Cry spoke.  The little Sup Guy ran over to Felix’s side and rubbed up against his leg. “And it likes you.”

“How did you figure out you could do that?” Felix asked.

“I didn’t. I asked the ‘help’ section, because it said I was supposed to get a weapon. Well, I didn’t. And it told me some people get summoning abilities.”

“I had to do the same,” Minx added. “It said some might also get physical abilities to aid them in battle.” She flashed one of the knives on her belt. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t get a weapon though.”

“As if I wasn’t terrified of you enough already,” Felix mumbled.

Ken stretched his arms up toward the sky. “So, now that the training ground is kinda broke-” he heard Felix mutter under his breath, “what should we do now?”

Cry shrugged. “We could go exploring.”

Minx looked up at the sky. “Actually, I do believe it’s getting dark.”

“Is there an inn around here we can stay at?” Felix asked.

Ken scratched his beard. “I’m not sure, but I don’t want to waste any CyberPoints on an Inn the first night.”

“Yeah, what are those?” Felix asked.

“Didn’t you listen to anything your TubePad explained?” Minx asked.

Felix was about to reply, but Cry interrupted, “When you beat a Virus, you get CyberPoints, which is like the currency around here. You can upgrade your weapons, stay at the inn at night, or buy health potions and whatnot. You know, kind of like an RPG game.”

“Thank you, Cry, for actually being helpful,” Felix said. “We can all meet back here some other time.”

Ken nodded and looked down at his TubePad. “Mary is expecting me home for dinner anyway, and since time is all screwy here, I don’t know how long we’ve been in game.”

“Go, and say hello to her for me, would you?” Minx added. She pulled out her own TubePad and scrolled down to the “logout” option. “See you all on Skype.”

“Later,” Cry spoke.

Felix watched his friends pixelate before disappearing one by one. He looked down at his own TubePad, the blue letters glaring back at him. He pushed the button.

The tingling feeling from before spread across his whole body. He watched his limbs start to pixelate before the whole world around him faded away.

When he opened his eyes back up, he lifted the helmet off his face, now awake in the real world.  Felix heard the Skype conversation between his friends chirping.

Cryaotic: that was epic! ToastyKen: you’re telling me. Everyone make it bak ok? ToastyKen: *back RPGMinx: I did~

Felix typed in a quick message to let them know he was home safe as well.

Cryaotic: So, tomorrow around 9ish? RPG Minx: You mean 2 right? Cryaotic: Timezones man ToastyKen: I’m all for it Peeeewdiepie: Sounds good. Later bros