I’m sure I’ve read book with a plot device about a similar scenario using a mobile phone for a single person assassination, but is this likely in a more widespread global conflict ? I doubt explosives would be used, but a zero day exploit on car navigation, or phone networks would be have consequences.
Is this type of attack going to be something we are going to see more of ?
As for the Lovesense line, that’s just clickbait.
I had never thought explosives could be deployed on such a large scale before.
Alot more people are questioning supply chains after this, both for physical goods and software. Hopefully supply chains will be secured before more attacks like this are used.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more attacks exactly like what happened last week though; pent is not readily detectible because it doesn’t aerosolize and is stabile enough to lay dormant for years.
I’ve personally been feeling this hardening of supply chains the past several years as most open source projects and code become prohibited to use.
I think once we see a serious largescale supply chain attack on Linux/GNU, there’s going to be a reckoning in the viability of it’s vetting process (or lack thereof). The XZ Utils incident apparently wasn’t eye opening enough for most and the irony is that it was discovered by a close-sourced Microsoft developer, not the open source community proper which is terrifying.
has been since the 60’s
Chill
This should have never been reported by the media as people are easily upset.
And WILL be done, hence why CISA exists and I have a job.
Depends, it got so much media attention, I am sure you’ll hear more about it but it’s been going on routinely for 6 decades already.
The secret sauce is the trigger, it uses short wave signals so you’d have to be a target in the trigger zone to be affected. Do not worry. If this could affect you, it would.
This generation’s lusitania will be an attack on the infrastructure.
Attribution will be the short list of allied Communist countries.
And with that, we will be officially involved in WWIII.
I’m retired and moving to Iceland, but will do my best to open source mitigations as soon as I can get my editor on the server securely (NIST 800-171R2 4dawin).
This is why I try to not use bluetooth on anything but trivial devices that aren’t important.
Also removing batteries from devices that can run without them is probably a good idea too. No battery to be hacked, short circuited and used against you.
Unless they made some kind of crazy advancements in the past 5 years, it’s always been done by replacing 1/4 of the NiMH battery with Lithium and the rest with Symtex and a receiver.
Shorted Lithium batteries will cause a burn, but not a pop.
Are you a terrorist? If not, you really don’t need to worry. This wasnt a random act.
I don’t want this to be taken as political, so I will not express my opinions on the attack itself, but will just say this:
There are very good reasons international laws on using harmless looking objects as weapons exist. No you should (probably) not be worried, you are more likely to get struck by lightning - unless you find yourself in a conflict zone one day. That is why you should care.
also if “good” guys can do something, what stops “bad” guys from doing it as well? Remember that Amazon.com allegedly(?) commingles inventory meaning if there are a hundred vendors selling a certain item and each has a quantity of a hundred in fulfilled by Amazon.com then if you buy from vendor A, you could easily get the item stocked by vendor B? Engagement challenge: please reply to me if I missed something 
You did miss something. This only worked because the Israelis knew where this shipment was going and they intercepted it in transit, added the explosives and trigger, and let the shipment continue on its way to its intended destination. They did not break into an Amazon warehouse and plant explosives in all the random pagers they could find… To assume that is stupid.
Could a terrorist cell do that? Maybe, but I doubt it.
there’s definitely an argument here regarding the unrecognized “state” of Palestine, regardless:
to be fair, this was always done to minimize collateral damage
a dozen walkie talkies versus a platoon of infantry coming after 6 HVT’s or a 500lb JDAM… you’re gonna wish for those walkie talkies…
This is pure spy shit that every first world nation is guilty of.
Difference is, Mossad isn’t even trying to hide it anymore.
Israel is officially entering a fight declared a Jihad by their opposition.
Israel will either end all Jihads in the region or perish in the next few years.
If you read the HAMAS charter, they in their own words that JIHAD is their only solution and the absolute destruction of israel is their only end game. I don’t know why anyone bothers trying to make peace deals with them as they steadfastly refuse to accept any of them and lay that out in their own words in their charter. You don’t even need to believe me, you can read it for yourself.
Of course, I also don’t understand why anyone in Palestine would listen to what Hamas leaders safe and sound in Qatar and living in luxury have to say about anything if they’re not willing to also live in Palestine.
The real truth is, Muslims and Jews have both lived in that part of the world for thousands of years and have been fighting about it for as long. Which makes even less sense when you realize that the Islam, Jewish, and Christian faiths all worship the same god.
Folks should be concerned considering how much electronics we buy from China. If your trusting the government to prevent this kind of attack vector your naive.
Everything from my wireless router to my home cameras are from China Mainland…
Not just that, but they all trace their roots back to a single man according to all of their books of faith. The argument originally boils down to who is the legitimate heir? The Muslim faith traces its roots back to the firstborn son of a guy named Abraham, but this son was born out of wedlock. The Jewish and Christian faiths trace their roots back to the secondborn son, but the first born in wedlock. Apparently Abraham lived in that area and both claim it as their “god given inheritance”. And honestly I would bet almost no one between the two groups even remembers why they started fighting thousands of yeares ago in the first place, now days they just know they hate each other and want the same piece of land.
But regardless of who was supposed to inherit the land, we still have a war that has been going off and on for literal thousands of years. I highly doubt anyone will be able to broker a true peace between them. At least no matter how bad you think your family is, you can know that it is nothing close to this family squabble 
Sadly as tech and military arms have gotten bigger and more advanced so has the damage and tools of destruction.
NDAA/TAA compliance is the only defense
There was proposed legislation to ban Chinese made network equipment, but there’s not enough from other nations to go around.
So NDAA/TAA compliance is required for anything involving the feds as of the 2019 NDAA.
The same cannot be said about EV’s which are being forced despite facing the same problems, as there’s not enough lithium in the world to supply even the U.S. market for a single model year.
Net result: those that can afford EV’s during the price surge as markets outstrip supply will be allowed to drive and those that cannot will be second class humans stripped of their driving privileges.
What’s the lifestyle over at CISA; Ive been thinking of making the jump but I don’t know anyone there and never see you guys. Are you considered part of the IC?
and yet, equally as terrifying, if not more terrifying than cell phones blowing up (literally) 
Ever been to DEFCON? Basically that.
Red, blue, and purple but the red teaming is defensive.
CAC card and all.
CISA has effectively replaced most of the stateside contractors after a certain ex-patriot fucked it up for everyone and .dod decided to internalize.
Money is good, but you’re not traveling abroad in the foreseeable future.
I should note:
I am no longer employed directly by any alphabet agencies.
CISA is new enough to not have entrenched politics, but too many guys are complacent that the same bullshit is taking hold at the higher levels there.
For now: it’s a party and the pay is good.
pressing X