Our main topic for this episode is the SolarWinds hack. This is the worst digital hacking incident to date and will have repercussions for many years. As many as 18,000 SolarWinds’ customers may have downloaded the hacked update and opened themselves up to digital mayhem and thievery. This includes many government accounts, some of the biggest enterprises in the world, plus many technology companies. *Download the MP3
We lay out what we know so far about how it happened, who was responsible, possible motivations, and the treasure trove of access and information the hackers might have gleaned. We also discuss some potential solutions to this type of hacking. Henry lays out the most draconian solution to the problem and the rest of us try to talk him out of it.
Catch of the Week
Jessi: Empty net this time
Henry: Brings up a Krebs on Security article discussing the web connections between QAnon, Hamas, and 8Chan. Very strange bedfellows, eh?
Dan: Airs a Register story about how Linus Torvalds has fired shots at Intel for supposedly hindering (or killing) ECC memory features for PCs and laptops. He wasn’t restrained in his comments.
Has there been any report of the U.S. Postal Service being infiltrated as a result of the Solar Winds hack? If you look at the Twitter hashtag #USPSdelays you will find stories from all over the country of packages not received, ending up in weird parts of the country (that are not anywhere near the Points A to Points B) and the usual USPS Tracking page not updating AT ALL after it has been accepted at the originating Post Orifice. (I just put 2 and 2 together and thought there was a high liklihood of a link).