Uploaded October 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
With the Bloomberg report on hardware hacking looking more in doubt, more and more politics are coming into play. Anytime you evaluate news, it's important to look at things objectively. Here are a few tips around evaluating cybersecurity news.
// MWM no. 120
With the Bloomberg report on hardware hacking looking more in doubt, more and more politics are coming into play. Anytime you evaluate news, it's important to look at things objectively. Here are a few tips around evaluating cybersecurity news.
// MWM no. 120
![Why is Facebook, Snap, Unity & everyone else mad at Apple? #shorts
Facebook has been in a media war with Apple for the past few weeks over user privacy (yes, you read that correctly). Now, Snap and Unity are saying that a change by Apple is going to impact their Q2/2021 revenue.
Whats going on?
In this short, we look at tracking users for ads, the IDFA, and how a simple prompt might cause millions of dollars of lost revenue but move user privacy forward more than anything else in the last few years.
Index:
- The question [0:00]
- Facebook, Snap, Unity, et als complaint [0:07]
- The new tracking prompt [0:13]
- What is the IDFA? [0:27]
- The result [0:40]
#shorts Why is Facebook, Snap, Unity & everyone else mad at Apple? #shorts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S7ZUu-Qbn6k/mqdefault.jpg)
![AWS re:Invent 2020 - Event Platform Intro & Walk-through
AWS re:Invent 2020 kicked off and the event platform is now open. This video provides a walk through and shows off some key features.
!!! Jam & GameDay registration is now open. Simply find the one youre interested in in the catalog and then click Learn More. In that description, click, Join this Jam by clicking here.
AWS re:Invent 2020 is free and entirely virtual. Sign up today at https://virtual.awsevents.com
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marknca
Visit my website: https://markn.ca
Btw, the AWS Hero Guides are up at https://reinvent.awsevents.com/aws-hero-guides/?trk=direct and my guide to the show is available at https://acloudguru.com/blog/engineering/the-ultimate-guide-to-reinvent-2020
Index:
- Intro [00:00]
- First look at the platform [00:32]
- Example of the talk UI [01:24]
- Chicken wings? [02:12]
- Tips for attending [03:13]
- Search [03:52]
- Jams & GameDays [05:00]
- Hero guides [05:56]
- Community lounges & Builders Fair [06:52]
- theCUBE & AWS on Air [07:21]
- Chat [07:59]
- Outro [09:11] AWS re:Invent 2020 - Event Platform Intro & Walk-through](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S7yip29ILmM/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to watch what you want & other tips for AWS re:Invent 2020
AWS re:Invent 2020 has kicked off and here are my day two tips for you. This includes how to watch the sessions you want, interact with the speakers, and where to get some great re:Invent 2020 analysis.
Key links:
- my takeaways from Andy Jassys keynote, https://markn.ca/2020/andy-jassy-keynote-aws-reinvent/
- all of my AWS re:Invent 2020 content, https://markn.ca/2020/reinvent/
- Forrest Brazeals Andy Jassy keynote analysis, https://acloudguru.com/blog/engineering/5-takeaways-from-andy-jassys-big-reinvent-keynote
- Corey Quinns re:Invent content, https://requinnvent.com
Day two sessions Im interested in:
- session: Emotional resilience: How to thrive in stressful times, https://virtual.awsevents.com/media/1_ul4p2ylb
- session: Building event-driven applications with Amazon EventBridge, https://virtual.awsevents.com/media/1_ynykxz80
- session: [NEW LAUNCH!] AWS Proton: Automating infrastructure provisioning & code deployments, https://virtual.awsevents.com/media/1_4y7w5alh
My session for Trend Micro:
- Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned, https://virtual.awsevents.com/media/1_jr57vrvy How to watch what you want & other tips for AWS re:Invent 2020](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SX8MQURjsTg/mqdefault.jpg)

![Passwords suck. Can you do anything about it? A cybersecurity expert weighs in
Passwords are the worst. Trying to pick a secure one makes the whole thing worse. Every site and service has its own variation on the rules for making a strong password and its hard to remember what youve set your password to.
Are those rules really making our passwords stronger? Do we need so many different passwords? Is it even possible to keep track of all of these passwords?
How to cybercriminals attack your passwords? What do hackers do with the passwords they gain access to? What are cybersecurity defenders doing to help?
In this episode, well try to tackle these questions and more. At the end, youll get some straight forward actionable advice that can help you make handling passwords a little bit easier while actually increasing your security.
Index:
- Intro [00:00]
- Authentication & Authorization [00:21]
- NordPass report [00:59]
- Old school thinking [02:47]
- How cybercriminals attack [04:57]
- New password recommendations [07:46]
- Biometrics? [10:45]
- Password managers [11:25]
- One thing for 2021 [13:01]
References;
- Standardized guidelines on passwords from NIST via Security Boulevard, https://securityboulevard.com/2019/03/nist-800-63-password-guidelines/
- An example of rainbow tables, https://project-rainbowcrack.com/table.htm
- A discussion of the show password UX by LukeW, https://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1941
- XKCDs famous passphrase comic, https://xkcd.com/936/
- Wired on the 5 best password managers, https://www.wired.com/story/best-password-managers/ Passwords suck. Can you do anything about it? A cybersecurity expert weighs in](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SznETaoVXoM/mqdefault.jpg)

![Can Robinhood stop people from buying or selling specific stocks? #shorts
Huh? Why is a cybersecurity expert weighing in on the whole Robinhood/GME thing? Well its a great example of technology risk.
The Robinhood platform is guided by its terms of service...like every other platform. Understanding that document is key to knowing your rights as a user and what to expect from the service.
This short takes a quick look at this situation.
Index
- The question [0:00]
- Terms of service [0:10]
- Sample term [0:25]
- The end result [0:40]
#shorts Can Robinhood stop people from buying or selling specific stocks? #shorts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UaghG7_4rTg/mqdefault.jpg)


![Can CD Projekt Red Recover From a Cyberattack? #shorts
CD Projekt Red continues to struggle in the wake of a large cyberattack. Theyve delayed a much needed patch for the epic failure that is Cyberpunk 2077.
We dont often talk about how hard it is to recovery after the hackers are done with your organization.
In this short, we start that discussion...
Index:
- The question [0:00]
- Patch delayed [0:03]
- Hidden recovery [0:20]
- Two reasons [0:26]
#shorts Can CD Projekt Red Recover From a Cyberattack? #shorts](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UspjPRNmdyw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Is Apple tracking every app you use? A cybersecurity expert weighs in
Apple recently launched macOS Big Sur and a cybersecurity researchers post vent viral highlighting a steady stream of communications that phone home detailing what apps youre using on your system. Whats going on here?
Is privacy promoting Apple actually spying on every app running on every macOS system around the world? Or is something much less sinister going on...something that might even help us?
In this episode, we dive in to see whats really going on.
Index:
- Intro [00:00]
- Big Sur launches [00:11]
- Is Apple spying on you? [01:32]
- macOS Gatekeeper [02:19]
- Apples control [04:22]
- Privacy impacts [04:53]
- iCloud risks [06:49]
- Blocking Gatekeep [07:46]
- The impact [08:32]
References:
- macOS Big Sur is compatible with these computers from Apple Support, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211238
- macOS Big Sur launch appears to cause temporary slowdown in even non-Big Sur Macs by Ars Technica, https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/macos-big-sur-launch-appears-to-cause-temporary-slowdown-in-even-non-big-sur-macs/
- Your Computer Isnt Yours, a security research post by Jeffrey Paul, https://sneak.berlin/20201112/your-computer-isnt-yours/
- OCSP or Online Certificate Status Protocol via Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Certificate_Status_Protocol
- Apple service endpoints, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210060
- Safely open apps on your Mac, more on Gatekeeper from Apple Support, https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT202491
- Gatekeeper and its history via Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatekeeper_(macOS)
- Apple Developer Program, https://developer.apple.com/programs/
- Notarization via the Apple Developer Documentation, https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution
- iCloud Security Overview from Apple Support, https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT202303 Is Apple tracking every app you use? A cybersecurity expert weighs in](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VUhhZEzdXME/mqdefault.jpg)