It’s hard to believe that Christmas is less than three weeks away, and we don’t even have our decorations (at home) up yet. That’s how we’ll be spending the weekend, after spending last weekend in NYC. Our son now lives just off the Macy’s parade route, so he thought it would be fun to watch that in person. We stuck it out through cold and rain for a good 40 minutes before realizing we’d have a better (and drier) view on tv and in his apartment. But at least we can check the box for that event (never would’ve guessed I’d have Ronald McDonald as my header image, two weeks out of the past three).
Lots to catch up on this week after the short week of Thanksgiving. Scroll down for phone hackers, ash spreaders, goat burners, bug smugglers, and more!
Something about ...
Worst Hack Ever
Some are calling it ” the largest telecom hack in US history“, and as the article states, “The breach has no clear resolution timeline, and while efforts to secure affected networks continue, individuals must take immediate action to protect themselves.” I even received a marketing piece in my inbox from a competitor suggesting that people stop messaging between different phone systems (Apple to Android and vice versa). I don’t think I’ll go that far, but I will consider what I’m sending via text.
Cyber Insurance
Because the bad guys will always figure a way to beat the system, there’s now question as to whether the presence of cyberliability coverage increases the risk of being hit by ransomware. Considering the number of people out there perpetrating auto insurance fraud, it only makes sense that they’d find a way to take advantage of cyber insurance.
Weather Forecasts
The average batting average for all those hitters in the Baseball Hall of Fame is .303. I think the “batting average” for weather forecasters is significantly lower than that. Living in Cleveland, they’d all probably be much more successful if they just took Chicago’s weather and said we’d have that two days later. Anyway, Google has now come up with an AI-based weather forecasting tool that shows significant improvement upon the standard models that forecasters traditionally use.
What would we rather have? Better forecasts, or having one more thing for which we rely upon Google?
Phish Testing
Over recent years, we’ve had many people ask us about phish testing solutions, and while we’ve tested many, we’ve never come across one that was overly impressive. Earlier this year, however, we decided to start offering the solution from KnowBe4 as the best of a marginal bunch (uptake has been slow at best). Now, however, some technology leaders are questioning (as we always have) how productive phish testing really is. If nothing else, it’s a good reminder for end users as to the type of scams that are out in the wild, and that they need to be diligent in their daily work. Does your company provide phish testing? Do you find it productive?
More Insurance
If you’re a CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) or your company has one, you might want to look into new insurance available for that role. Where directors and officers have always been eligible for D&O insurance, CISOs have often been left out in the cold. And with the risk that they face due to cybercrime, it seems only fair that they can now get their own coverage.
Bug Smuggling
I don’t like spiders. They’re better than snakes, but I don’t have any desire to be around them. So, I can’t fathom strapping 300 of them to my person for the purpose of smuggling them. IT gives me the creeps just reading this article again.
Ashes
This article about spreading ashes at college football stadiums appeared before Thanksgiving, and I’m just now getting caught up. When I read it, I had to do the math… over the years, I’ve been to probably 250 Browns games (season tix since 1980) and 120 Buckeyes games (primarily between 1987-2009), and if I could have my ashes spread at one of the two, it would definitely be at Ohio Stadium (even after their embarrasing display of “football” last weekend). That said, I don’t need my head buried at midfield like the Florida State Seminoles fan requested.
Swedish Goats
Caleb from our engineering team isn’t Swedish (at least, not that I know of), but he did take the time to share with me the story of The Gavle Goat, a Christmas tradition in a town north of Stockholm. Every year since 1966, residents have built a straw goat in the town center, only to have it (usually) burnt down, torn down, or otherwise destroyed. I guess that’s part of the fun.
Two weeks back, in response to a piece I posted about tomato wine, a reader was kind enough to send me a piece about KFC-flavored Christmas wrapping paper. You don’t eat it… you just lick it. Somebody please try it and tell me how awful it is.
And on the topic of food, if any of you are still looking for a Christmas gift for me, this guy has a cookbook of nothing but sandwiches. I’m all onboard for that!
Have a great weekend, and Go Browns (or would we rather a higher draft pick to waste)?
Abbey