Computer Security Theater

 Article:   P. H. O'Neill, “Google's unusual move to shut down an active counterterrorism operation being conducted by a Western democracy,” MIT Technology Review , 26-Mar-2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/03/26/1021318/google-security-shut-down-counter-terrorist-us-ally/. [Accessed: 29-Mar-2021]. This article details the fallout and debates the ethics of Google's Project Zero Team and Threat Analysis Group circumventing and announcing the circumvention of a hacking ring operated by an ally of the United States.  According to the article, these two teams already devote a lot of resources to the circumvention of hackings by state sponsors actors associated with North Korea, Russia, and China, but that there is some concern within the company about whether they should interfere with the efforts of governments friendly to the USA. Some people in the industry believe that it's important to publicize information about the exploits so others ...

Article:  A presentation I did on the subject located at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMvcYxKnvm0 For my Computer Security class individual project, I used the famous Equifax hack as a way to examine data breach notification laws.  I used this specific event due to the size of the hack and the amount of media coverage.  I chose this subject because my information has been subject to many different data breaches and I wasn't notified in many of them.  I wanted to know why. I first looked at the notification requirements in the United States and found that there is no one requirement for notification.  It varies by state and sometimes by economic sector.  Additionally, it can vary based on what type of information was involved.  I found that Minnesota, where I live, has one of the least restrictive notification statutes and doesn't actually have a time limit.  Louisiana, with a 60 day time limit, is middle of the road.  Colorado,...

Article: Greenberg, Joshua C, Mahmoud R Altawil, and Gurjit Singh. “Letter to the Editor—Lifesaving Therapy Inhibition by Phones Containing Magnets.” Hearth Rhythm Journal, January 7, 2021. https://www.heartrhythmjournal.com/article/S1547-5271(20)31227-3/fulltext On February 25, 2021, Apple released a service bulletin stating that there was a risk of the Mag Safe adapter on the iPhone 12 interfering with the magnetic fields of implanted pacemakers and defibrillators.(1)   The bulletin came after medical professionals at various medical organizations tested whether the Magsafe Adapter on the phone interfered with pacemakers and defibrillators.  Much to the concern of the medical professionals, it did.   Greenberg, Altawil, and Singh described the test thusly: The first author (JG) raised concerns regarding possible device–device interaction due to the presence of a strong magnetic array in the iPhone and MagSafe compatible cases. We thus tested this interact...