Category Archives: Security

Apple Alert: SSD Data Loss in 13-inch Macbook Pro

In an awkwardly worded statement, the laptop manufacturer has alerted owners of its 13-inch Macbook Pro that SSD firmware flaws are causing serious data corruption and even complete failure.

Apple has determined that a limited number of 128GB and 256GB solid-state drives (SSD) used in 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) units have an issue that may result in data loss and failure of the drive. 13-inch MacBook Pro units with affected drives were sold between June 2017 and June 2018.

Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) will service affected drives, free of charge. Apple recommends having your drive serviced as soon as possible.

A few things stand out here:

  1. The firmware update means an Apple “technician will run a utility”
  2. The repair process is to backup your data, update the SSD firmware in a destructive manner, and then restore all your data from backup. And this begs the question why someone can’t do the update themselves if it means restoring a backup to a fresh OS install. Apple ought not be worried about data loss or failure in the process as that’s a guaranteed outcome. Are they concerned the firmware update would brick the laptop, or that the utility would grant too much authority to the end user?
  3. Data already destroyed by the faulty SSD can not be recovered
  4. Anyone who already paid for this service can get a refund. Although at the same time, it only “covers affected MacBook Pro models for 3 years after the first retail sale of the unit”. The repair will not be free if your SSD has faults beyond 3 years…

2018 Ebola Crisis Worsens as US Regime Denies Aid

Here’s a pithy comment by Peter Salama, head of the new Health Emergencies Program at the World Health Organization, about factors leading to Ebola crisis unfolding this year in DRC:

These viruses manage to exploit social vulnerabilities and fault lines. That’s what we’re seeing in this Ebola outbreak starkly.

And even more to the point:

In the last two years since I have been here, 80 percent of our major outbreaks have been in conflict-affected areas. This is the issue of the future.

The issue of urban outbreaks of high-threat pathogens is really an issue of our generation. I don’t think we’ve fully grappled with that. Now with yellow fever, plague, with Ebola, we are starting to see these patterns. All bets are off [in terms of] thinking we know about the transmission of diseases because of what happened in rural outbreaks in the past. It’s completely different now.

Ok, so you have this data showing conflict-affected areas are where the major outbreaks occur, and that is “the issue of the future”. Consider this in terms of infected drones easily deployed over/under/around barriers into urban areas, and then rapid lateral transmission.

I’m not trying to think out of the box here. This is an ancient security worry, for those familiar with the history of siege weaponry.

Who (pun not intended) can guess the current US regime’s response to the outbreak of a high-threat pathogen in the place most expected? Perhaps the title of this post gave away the answer.

Vox reporter Julia Belluz asks Salama the following:

The US pulled its Centers of Disease Control and Prevention workers out of Beni, the outbreak epicenter. They decided it was too dangerous for America’s best Ebola experts to be there — and it sounds like they are not coming back anytime soon. […] But I understand Canada, the UK, even nonprofits with US personnel, are sending people, and you have hundreds of WHO officials deployed. Is the US government an outlier?

This makes the American leadership appear weak and feckless; and Salama replies very diplomatically:

The US government is the main country that has had constraints.

Insecurity of US Regime Impacts Trade

China has downgraded the rating of US ability to partner or deliver goods, and is distancing itself from the instability of a white nationalist White House.

…the economic relationship between the U.S. and China has been permanently altered.

[…]

The president’s abrupt return to brinkmanship…underscored U.S. unpredictability.

[…]

…imposition of tariffs on more than $250 billion in Chinese goods already has prompted China to [buy] soybeans from Brazil rather than Indiana or Iowa.

[…]

Xi has personally directed a campaign to promote “self-reliance,” with public tours of China’s modern industries in the south and its traditional Rust Belt region in the northeast.

“The turn away from reliance on the U.S. for agricultural and industrial inputs will accelerate,” Charles W. Freeman Jr., a former U.S. diplomat said in an email.

This really isn’t about China or America, though. Anyone familiar with the erratic performance and quick failure of a certain steakhouse, casino, airline…probably wouldn’t want to hitch their wagon to a horse unwilling to pull its own weight let alone help anyone else.

Top Australian Soldier Accused of War Crimes

You may have noticed a post the other day about a decorated SEAL charged with war crimes.

Some have decried this investigation as political maneuvering by those serving with the accused, while others have said they simply do not believe in challenging the accuracy of decorated war veteran records.

Meanwhile I noticed a similar story brewing in Australia about special forces with some interesting commentary on both political maneuvering and motives among those involved.

In a statement to Fairfax Media sent on Wednesday evening, an AFP spokesperson said: “The Australian Federal Police (AFP) received a referral to investigate allegations of war crimes committed by Australian soldiers during the Afghanistan conflict.”

[…]

Fairfax Media has confirmed through multiple military sources that both the AFP inquiry and the Brereton inquiry have gathered extensive information from decorated serving and former special forces veterans who served alongside Mr Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan. The Brereton inquiry has interviewed more than 200 witnesses on oath since 2016.

[…]

Dr Nelson, a former defence minister, has repeatedly attacked the media reporting and Inspector-General’s inquiry into Mr Roberts-Smith on the basis that it is taking too long and because, “We want to believe in our heroes”.

But Fairfax Media has confirmed from special forces insiders that over a dozen SAS soldiers are assisting the Brereton inquiry. Many believe that scrutiny of allegedly unlawful acts is needed to preserve the integrity of the regiment and are scathing of Dr Nelson’s advocacy, believing it amounts to an attack on soldiers willing to raise concerns about alleged battlefield combat.

Another high-profile supporter of the Brereton inquiry is former SAS officer and Afghanistan veteran Andrew Hastie, who is now a Coalition MP.

200 witnesses, a dozen soldiers assisting and a former officer/veteran who entered politics supporting the inquiry. It seems to me those most dedicated to the professionalism of their craft will welcome inquiry into their actions, as it validates what they already know or uncovers things they would want to hear.

And on that note, I have concerns with the response to an inquiry in this case

…Mr Roberts-Smith, he has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in Afghanistan, insisted he has a “spotless record” and insisted those making claims about him are disgruntled or jealous liars

Any auditor will tell you that angry claims of a “spotless record” can be a tell. Continuous improvement is what people aim for, not spotless records (indicates methods of intimidation and coverup). Also accusing messengers of jealousy can be a tell, which doubles-down on the risk that the accused believes spotless records are a function of destroying critics.

We definitely saw this behavior in the unraveling of Theranos, for example.

Q: The Theranos story has many remarkable aspects. What was the most striking thing you found during your reporting?

A: Two things. One, the egregiousness of the lies, the serial lies, of Elizabeth’s serial lies. Sunny’s, too.

The second thing is the unbelievable campaign of intimidation against me and my sources. I’ve been a journalist for more than 20 years and I’ve never encountered anything close to that. Still, I’m a big boy and the Wall Street Journal has been around for a long time. But Theranos went after my confidential sources. They threatened doctors in Arizona who had spoken to me on the record. It was beyond the pale.

And also with Lance “Live Wrong” Armstrong, as extensively documented

The original whistleblower who helped bring down Lance Armstrong has revealed how she was tormented and intimidated for more than a decade by the cyclist and his allies as they stopped at nothing in their bid to silence her.

Mr Roberts-Smith does himself a disservice by insisting he has a spotless record, and perhaps you can see why that’s not even an objective goal. Even if it doesn’t alarm you on its own, though, attacking critics makes the spotless record seem even less believable.