Cybersecurity

Quantum Again?

The Quantum Leap, via Wikipedia.org When I write, I often try to come up with two topics that are linked in some interesting way, and find it fun when the link is unexpected or particularly tenuous. The more unexpected the connection, the more fun it can be, particularly when I learn about something new. So, the first time I wrote about quantum computers and encryption, I discovered the band Mammút, through finding their song “Shore” while searching for more information about

Apr 223 min read

Phrack!

Phrack, via https://phrack.org/ Language is constantly evolving, not only by time and location, but also because of usage and changing cultural associations. When I think of the word “ manifesto ”, the example which leaps to mind is the Communist Manifesto , obviously due to the title, but also because it is short and clearly laid out. Manifesto is defined as “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer”, and such statements are gen

Apr 15 min read

AI Minions!

Minion Sculpture – Brisbane 2024, via Wikimedia Commons Minions have a wonderful combination of traits which make them both dangerous and sweet. They want to help, but usually end up creating more problems than they solve. It seems as if their purpose in life is to be the henchmen of a villain, but they’re comically bad at it – incompetent and easily distracted, though not evil. At times, they seem almost like old stereotypes of interns – eager, but inexperienced and a bit c

Mar 114 min read

Tweety in a Coal Mine!

Tweety from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, via Wikipedia Though certainly an iconic figure, I’ve never been a particular fan of Tweety . I find earlier versions of the character cruel and malicious, while later versions (possibly, I’ll admit, because of those earlier versions) seem faux-innocent and cruelly manipulative. Sylvester , on the other hand, is often a more relatable character, especially when he recognizes that cats eat birds and struggles to control his baser i

Mar 44 min read

The Abyss!

Boötes Void , aslo known as the “Great Nothing”, via Wikipedia.org “He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.” Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Ch IV, Section 146, Via Project Gutenberg Nietzsche is a very interesting figure, whose work is often admired and/or criticized, but seldom understood. It does not help that he suffered bouts of ill health throughou

Feb 184 min read

Redacted!

This is my honest opinion of Donald Trump. It’s been redacted, in order to avoid offending anyone due to language or, um... physical impossibility. I just hope I did better than the US Department of Justice (DOJ), when they released the tiny, first-drip of files related to Jeffrey Epstein . Interestingly, the Wikipedia article on Epstein is pretty concise. “Jeffrey Edward Epstein (January 20, 1953 – August 10, 2019) was an American financier, child sex offender, serial rapist

Feb 45 min read

Power Hacker!

“Martha Root”, dressed as Pink Ranger, Chaos Computer Club, 2025 I feel conflicted. On the one hand, it was illegal. On the other hand, they were bad people and it was very cool. I once attempted to describe the “ hacker mindset ”, which is less about technology, and more about trying to find innovative ways to do things – for many “old-school” hackers, it was far more about solving puzzles. Over the years, the word “hacker” has become more and more difficult to define. Depen

Jan 286 min read

Password Managers!

Linus and Sally in class, from Peanuts, via YouTube.com Far too often, if you ask an InfoSec professional how to be more secure, your answer will be similar to that of Charlie Brown’s teacher, as you hear a bunch of technical jargon and details of specific vulnerabilities or attacks. This is not really specific to InfoSec, but more a general issue with experts - an occupational hazard, where people understand their field of expertise, but don’t yet understand it well enough t

Jan 214 min read

Acme Corp!

Wile E Coyote and Roadrunner, via Wikipedia.org Wile E Coyote is one of my favourite Looney Tunes characters. I love the wonderfully absurd plans he comes up with in order to catch the Roadrunner. These range from such simple things as pulling the pin from a hand grenade, then throwing the pin, to ridiculously complicated, Rube Goldberg-like plans (often with blueprints) that fail spectacularly. A common element of many of these plans is some product from Acme Corporation .

Jan 144 min read

Happy Feet!

Mumble, from Happy Feet, via YouTube.com It seems obvious in retrospect. Look at the way penguins walk, then watch Happy Feet , and tap seems like the inevitable style for a dancing penguin. But maybe that’s just because of the masterful dancing (via motion capture) by the amazingly talented Savion Glover (who was also co-choreographer). For any not familiar with him, Glover got his start on Broadway at age 11, appeared on Sesame Street in his teens, and was called “possibly

Dec 17, 20255 min read

The Escalator Principle!

Escalator, via Wikimedia Commons Whew! So, I CAN spell. I was worried. On the 1-Nov-2025 October Recap of Cybersecurity Today, I heard something I found very interesting, and decided to look for more information. On investigation, I discovered that the panel consisted of host Jim Love, David Shipley of “Boer on Securities”, and Laura Payne of “White TOK”. Uh, no. Obviously AI-generated, so I dug a bit deeper. David Shipley is actually the CEO (or “head of the pack”) at Beauc

Nov 19, 20254 min read

Eine Kleine Alptraummusik!

Nachtmahr (“The Nightmare”), by Johann Heinrich Füssli TIL that the German translation of the word “nightmare” is “alptraum”, which led me to the wonderful painting above. While “ alp ” is the German cognate of the English word “elf”, the creature in question bears little resemblance to the Tolkienian Elves most of us are familiar with. Instead, they appear to be more closely associated with the vampire, or incubus, and attack sleeping people, either by giving them “elf dream

Nov 12, 20254 min read