Author Archives: pete_dushenski

LSE Report Reveals Dismal Performance of VCs in Bitcoin

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A new report by Dr. Garrick Hileman and Danqing Ying of the London School of Economics reveals some interesting and noteworthy facts and figures about the state of the fiat-facing Bitcoin economy – that Tacoma Narrows bridge of finance that exists largely in the minds of government regulators and social media "experts" – from which, some highlights: Continue reading →

Xiaoxing Xi isn't a Chinese spy after all

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Reports are coming in that the former1 Chairman of the Physics Department at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA – one Mr. Xiaoxing Xi – has had his U.S. Justice Department-drafted indictment2 for "wrecking"3 dismissed without prejudice to the refiling of charges4. Continue reading →

  1. Xiaoxing Xi was regrettably relieved of his leadership post at Temple in May 2015 following this indictment. ↩

  2. Full indictment document here. The observant reader will note that this indictment obliges Mr. Xi to forfeit any real or personal property "derived from the proceeds traceable to the commision" of the alleged offenses to the Federal Government of the United States of America, and that this property be obtained by any and all means necessary. Just like that. Just because Peter F. Schenck, on behalf of United States Justice Department Attorney Zane David Memeger, said so. ↩

  3. "Wrecking" became a term of art in the former Soviet Union, wherein a political undesirable could be branded as a "wrecker" for, say, using too much concrete and trying to bankrupt the glorious state of the USSR, or even using too little concrete and jeopardising the security of the glorious state of the USSR. Basically, it like every socialist term in all times and in all places : a term devoid of specific meaning and therefore used as a catch-all for the vague and whimsical ends of the soi-dissant powers-that-were. The funny/sad part of recalling this fragment of all-too-recent history is that the United States of America, the current soi-dissant power-that-be, is reimplementing the exact same strategy right before our very eyes. We see this with everything from "racist" to "cyberterrorist" and we'll continue to see it for some time to come. ↩

  4. Full dismissal document here. ↩

Ashley Madison and Established Men Experience Data Liberation

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In a PGP-signed statement,1 a group of freedom fighters2 known only as "The Impact Team" followed up on their promise to release the database of user information that they rightfully obtained from Avid Life Media's Ashley Madison, a popular dating website dedicated to fostering extramarital relations, and Established Men, a website dedicated to pairing up beautiful young women with successful older men. Continue reading →

  1. Full text :

    Avid Life Media has failed to take down Ashley Madison and Established Men. We have explained the fraud, deceit, and stupidity of ALM and their members. Now everyone gets to see their data.

    Find someone you know in here? Keep in mind the site is a scam with thousands of fake female profiles. See ashley madison fake profile lawsuit; 90-95% of actual users are male. Chances are your man signed up on the world's biggest affair site, but never had one. He just tried to. If that distinction matters.

    Find yourself in here? It was ALM that failed you and lied to you. Prosecute them and claim damages. Then move on with your life. Learn your lesson and make amends. Embarrassing now, but you'll get over it.

    Any data not signed with key 6E50 3F39 BA6A EAAD D81D ECFF 2437 3CD5 74AB AA38 is fake.

     ↩

  2. Naturally, the woefully incompetent Avid Life Media Chief Executive Officer Noel Biderman called the group "cyber-terrorists," very much in the same vein as Darkode or The Pirate Bay Four, but this is no more genuine than the marketplace thief who bumps into you, steals your wallet out of your pocket in broad daylight, and then screams "THIEF!" at you before he ducks into the shadows with your ID and money. ↩

Brief Offers Insight into USG Theory of Internet Security

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The most recent Audit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Implementation of Its Next Generation Cyber Initiative by Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice, dated July 2015, (archived) features several thought-provoking insights into the inner workings of the USG and the headwinds faced by the bureaucratic beast. In no particular order :

1. The protection of the United States against "cyber-based attacks" and "high-technology crimes" is ranked as the third-highest priority behind counterterrorism and counterintelligence. Continue reading →

Darkode Goes Dark: Members Charged as "Cybercriminals"

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Reports are coming in that an investigation led by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh, and supported by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), has resulted in the shut down of online forum Darkode.com and the arrest of 12 people in connection with the invitation-only web portal.1

Continue reading →

US Missiles Carry Out "unexplained" Commands in the Field

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Reports are coming in that Patriot missile systems located in Turkey and operated by the German Bundeswehr have been the target of computer hackers.

Though details are scarce, the German media outlet Behörden Spiegel is indicating that "unexplained" commands were remotely issued to the US-produced weapons systems by an unknown individual or group of hackers. Though as yet unconfirmed, there remains some cause for concern that the Patriot (MIM-104) missile systems deployed in the field, which consist of six launchers, each with four missiles designed for either anti-air or long-range tactical ballistic missile interception, and several radar systems, could fall into enemy hands without a battle ever taking place.1 Unlike the US HUMVEEs now in the hands of ISIS, this attack demonstrates the possibility that no physical interaction would have to take place for NATO technology to turn on its creators2 and deployers.3 Continue reading →

  1. The Patriot missile system is also highly mobile as it's carried on M860 semi-trailers, which are then towed by large M983 HEMTT trucks. ↩

  2. The Patriot missile systems are produced by Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Fire Control on US soil. ↩

  3. Current operators of this system include Bahrain, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Jordan, Japan, Israel, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, and of course the United States of America. ↩