Security

I’ve mentioned before that multifcator authentication (MFA) is very powerful. Microsoft shares data that it can block 99% of attacks.

However, like Facebook before, Twitter has has used those secondary security factors as marketing tools. On advertising platforms (like Twitter, Google, and Facebook), advertising will always take top priority, so other factors like security may suffer.

In related news: advertising companies are also unlikely to support end-to-end encryption (as with Google), and thus your data and systems are vulnerable to government interventions & pressures.

Speaking of those pressures, Coercion-Resistant Design refers the idea of building things such that it’s harder for outside parties to force you to subvert the security of your system, whether due to “rubber hose-cryptanalysis”, nation-state impositions, extortion, or any other type of coercion. In the linked article, Elanor Saitta considers many angles on how to build in coercion-resistance.

In Continuous Compliance, Dave Farley talks about how teams might build in compliance verification into their CI/CD processes. As IT auditors frequently lag behind technology trends, this is one way to build in compliance requirements and demonstrate them in a way that is understandable.

The FBI’s warrantless searches have been declared illegal. This is good news, as searches need to be:

  • Based on cause

  • More targeted

  • Given strong oversight

As stated in the news article, though, this is not the end of the struggle to make this program safer.

Sustainability

More research and planning is needed, but it looks like adding a small amount of a certain type of seaweed to cattle feed will have a major impact on methane emisssions, and thus greenhouse gases.

The practically, morally, and financially responsible thing to do is to use your current phone for as long as possible. This is an important reminder when new devices come out. Similar for cars, continuing to service whatever you have is better for sustainability than the making of a new one, even if that new one is zero emissions once it gets on the road.

I was totally unaware of the role that horseshoe crabs play in our medical system. Hopefully we can find another way to meet these needs.

Society

Over at Waging Nonviolence, they demonstrate how pundits and politicians fabricate narratives, by examining the news cycle of how antifascists got scapegoated as the “real danger”, instead of the fascists that they organize against.

No wonder we’re all so skeptical and cynical these days. Because we have a million good A/B-optimized reasons to be.

A quote from “let’s stop shaking people down for their email addresses”, where the folks at Basecamp once again bring some much-needed simplicity and intentionality to business.

Self

Leading Above the Line is another great interview of Jim Dethmer.

A personal reflection on minimalism and loss: “what if minimalism is the best tribute to a memory or person?”

A short video from Aeon: on time-perception and aging. (Short version: it has to do with habits and novelty. So we should seek out new things and experiences if we want to slow the passing of time.)

Summary

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