From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
A group of 100 student activists at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville have covered the statue of its founder Thomas Jefferson with a black tarp, calling him a racist and a rapist and sending a list of demands to the administration.
Chanting “F*** White Supremacy” and “Black Lives Matter,” the activists covered up the statue of one of America’s founding fathers on Tuesday evening. Continue reading “Charlottesville activists target founder Jefferson”
In case you don’t have enough to worry about with hackers getting into our power grids, cyber attacks taking down entire countries, and epic natural disasters, a newly discovered Bluetooth flaw makes nearly all devices that are connected subject to hackers.
Tech Republic reports: Continue reading “A “Contagious” Bluetooth Flaw Makes ALL Your Connected Devices Hackable”
Three years after we first identified the former head of UBS’s gold desk in Zurich as someone directly implicated in the rigging of precious metals prices, Bloomberg reports that Andre Flotron, a Swiss resident, was arrested while visiting the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.
Having been “on leave” since 2014, it appears Andre’s hope that he was gone but “keen to return in due time” are now up in smoke. Continue reading “Former UBS Trader Arrested, Charged With Rigging Gold Prices”
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Archive: TWFTT 9-13-17
The number of electronic devices seized and searched at customs sharply increased in 2016 and has continued to rise this year. A number of groups and politicians have spoken out against the growing practice and now the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of 11 individuals who had their devices searched without a warrant.
The plaintiffs include ten US citizens and a lawful permanent resident whose smartphones and laptops were searched while they were reentering the country. The group includes students, filmmakers, a professor, journalists, business owners, a NASA engineer and a former Air Force captain. Some of them had their devices confiscated for months and the phone taken from the NASA engineer actually belonged to NASA, which could mean that sensitive agency information was accessible through it. One plaintiff was even allegedly choked and held down by officers when he declined to hand over his phone. Continue reading “DHS faces lawsuit over phone and laptop border searches”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ordering federal agencies and departments to stop using software produced by Russian firm Kaspersky Lab, citing potential risks to U.S. national security.
The department says it’s concerned about ties between certain Kaspersky employees and the Russian government. Continue reading “DHS bans Kaspersky software in federal agencies”
Krebson Security – by Brian Krebs
It remains unclear whether those responsible for stealing Social Security numbers and other data on as many as 143 million Americans from big-three credit bureau Equifax intend to sell this data to identity thieves. But if ever there was a reminder that you — the consumer — are ultimately responsible for protecting your financial future, this is it. Here’s what you need to know and what you should do in response to this unprecedented breach.
Some of the Q&As below were originally published in a 2015 story, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Security Freeze. It has been updated to include new information specific to the Equifax intrusion. Continue reading “The Equifax Breach: What You Should Know”
WASHINGTON — Apple’s new security features will make it harder for local police to retrieve digital evidence they need to solve crimes.
While great for consumers, without the ability to bypass enhanced security such as facial recognition, investigators said it will delay justice.
“Face ID is the future of how we unlock our smartphones and protect our sensitive information,” said Apple senior Vice President of Marketing Phil Schiller during the tech giant’s announcement Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Continue reading “Police: New Apple technology will delay justice in DC area”
I’d like to be on this jury, so sad.
26-year-old Tennessee woman has been arrested after she shot a homeless man who asked her to move her Porsche, Nashville metro detectives allege.
The Tennessean reports that 54-year-old homeless man Gerald Melton was critically injured this week when he was shot twice by Katie Quackenbush, who was driving a Porsche SUV near the area where he was trying to sleep. Continue reading “Nashville woman shot homeless man who asked her to move her Porsche — then left him to die: police”
Six people are dead after Hurricane Irma knocked out air conditioning at a nursing home in Hollywood, Florida, according to ABC affiliate WPLG.
While the causes of their deaths were not immediately clear, the facility, Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, was evacuated due to the cooling issues.
Dr. Randy Katz, director of emergency services at Memorial Regional Hospital, which is next to the nursing home, said there were extremely hot temperatures on the nursing home’s second floor. Continue reading “6 dead after Irma knocks out air conditioning at Florida nursing home”
Fellowship of the Minds – by DCG
Why is following the law so hard for folks to understand? I hope this series bombs.
From LA Times: By all appearances, Rafael Agustin had been the all-American high school student: he was class president, prom king and an honor roll student. But there was one hitch: he was also in the country illegally.
It was a discovery Agustin learned while applying for college in 1998 — before there was a program like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Continue reading “Hollyweird is stuck on stupid: Gina Rodriguez’s “Dreamers” series hopes to rid America of the term “illegal””
College Fix – by Andrew Johnson
As colleges across the country struggle with questions related to free speech on campuses, some schools have implemented policies that appear to give administrators significant latitude to discipline students for speaking in unpopular ways.
Most recently, the dean’s office of Utah Valley University, a public institution located in the north-central part of Utah, distributed a guidance letter to all faculty encouraging them to report to the school’s Behavior Assessment Team any students who use “inappropriate language,” are “argumentative,” or who speak “loudly.” Continue reading “Professors told to report students who make campus ‘less inclusive’ to Behavior Assessment Team”
A video showing a UC Berkeley bicycle officer citing a bacon hot dog vendor on campus and removing cash from his wallet for operating without a permit has gone viral.
In the video, taken by alumnus Martin Flores on Saturday afternoon, a UCPD officer is seen pulling cash out of the vendor’s wallet and folding it into his hand.
The vendor objects and stands by as the officer puts the money away and begins to write a citation. Continue reading “UC Berkeley Police ticket and seize hot dog vendor’s money”
Campus Reform – by Toni Airaksinen
Duke University is recruiting male students for a nine-week program that pledges to “destabilize masculine privilege” and “interrogate masculinity.”
The program, known as the Duke University Men’s Project, seeks to help men examine how their masculinities exist “often in toxic ways” while beginning “the work of unlearning violence.” Continue reading “Duke recruits men for program to fight ‘toxic’ masculinity”
