Bootstrappin' Boogie: Why Your Secure Boot Might Not Be So Secure

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Toegevoegd drie jaar geleden

Inhoud geleverd door Chaos Lever, Ned Bellavance, and Chris Hayner. Alle podcastinhoud, inclusief afleveringen, afbeeldingen en podcastbeschrijvingen, wordt rechtstreeks geüpload en geleverd door Chaos Lever, Ned Bellavance, and Chris Hayner of hun podcastplatformpartner. Als u denkt dat iemand uw auteursrechtelijk beschermde werk zonder uw toestemming gebruikt, kunt u het hier beschreven proces https://nl.player.fm/legal volgen.

Species Unite

1
Andrew Stein: Living with Lions 46:39

11 dagen geleden46:39

Later Afspelen

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Vind ik leuk

Leuk

46:39

“If we march into that village and we start trying to persecute people for using poison, something that's very illegal, nobody's going to talk to us. We're not going to find out where the poison came from. We're not going to be able to shut anything down. We should take the approach that people are using poison because they're desperate, because they see no other alternative.” – Andrew Stein Andrew Stein is a wildlife ecologist who spent the past 25 years studying human carnivore conflict from African wild dogs and lions in Kenya and Botswana to leopards and hyenas in Namibia. His work has long focused on finding ways for people and predators to coexist. He is the founder of CLAWS , an organization based in Botswana that's working at the intersection of cutting-edge wildlife research and community driven conservation. Since its start in 2014 and official launch as an NGO in 2020, CLAWS has been pioneering science-based, tech-forward strategies to reduce conflict between people and carnivores. By collaborating closely with local communities, especially traditional cattle herders, CLAWS supports both species conservation and rural livelihoods—making coexistence not just possible, but sustainable.…

ongeveer een jaar geleden 30:36

MP3•Thuis aflevering

Ned and Chris explore a newly discovered flaw in UEFI Secure Boot that’s led to a critical OEM blunder that allows rootkit attacks, and the only fix is a potentially daunting firmware update.

Secure Boot’s Achilles’ Heel

Ned and Chris dive into a freshly uncovered flaw in the Secure Boot process of PCs using UEFI firmware. They trace the evolution of boot processes from ENIAC’s manual grind to today’s automated systems, highlighting the crucial role of cryptographic keys in blocking unauthorized code. Along the way, they expose a serious blunder where some OEMs carelessly included untrusted platform keys in their UEFI firmware, opening the door to rootkit attacks. The fix? A firmware update—if you’re brave enough to handle it.

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234 afleveringen

#Tech News #Chaos Lever #Chris Hayner #Ned Bellavance #News #News Weekly

Chaos Lever Podcast

Bootstrappin' Boogie: Why Your Secure Boot Might Not Be So Secure

Chaos Lever Podcast

published ongeveer een jaar geleden

MP3•Thuis aflevering

Ned and Chris explore a newly discovered flaw in UEFI Secure Boot that’s led to a critical OEM blunder that allows rootkit attacks, and the only fix is a potentially daunting firmware update.

Secure Boot’s Achilles’ Heel

Links

234 afleveringen

#Tech News #Chaos Lever #Chris Hayner #Ned Bellavance #News #News Weekly

Alle afleveringen

Chaos Lever Podcast

1
Avoiding FAANG's Poison | Chaos Lever 42:46

4 dagen geleden42:46

42:46

Are your bones creaking? Is your back mysteriously acquiring new joints just to ache in fresh and exciting ways? Welcome to adulthood—and welcome back to Chaos Lever. In this episode, Ned and Chris dive into the literal pain of aging and the metaphorical pain of living under the digital thumbs of FAANG companies. We’re talking Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google—and how to maybe, just maybe, live without feeding their bottomless data maws. We’re not just here to complain (though we are very, very good at that). This week, we explore the subtle art of escaping the FAANG ecosystem. Think Signal instead of WhatsApp, Linux instead of Windows, Discord instead of Facebook. You know—radical stuff like using a local bookstore or not accidentally setting your house on fire with a food dehydrator. It’s part one of a two-parter, because wow, turns out there’s a *lot* of tech giants behaving badly. If you’ve ever wondered what your privacy is worth (spoiler: $20 if you’re lucky), or just need an excuse to finally ditch Instagram, this episode is for you. And hey, we even managed to get through it without a single lawsuit. So far. 📌 LINKS 🔗 FAANG data munching: https://human-id.org/blog/faangs-out-what-big-tech-wants-with-your-data/ 🔗 Pixel Fed: https://www.androidheadlines.com/2025/01/pixelfed-decentralized-instagram-competitor.html 🔗 Windows 11 will require an account: https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-just-blocked-this-popular-windows-11-local-account-trick-but-workarounds-remain/ 🔗 Framework laptops are pretty neat: https://frame.work 🔗 System76 is too: https://system76.com 🔗 Check out BookShop: http://bookshop.com…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Oracle Breach Cover-Up and Git Turns 20 | Tech News of the Week 11:05

7 dagen geleden11:05

11:05

In this week’s episode of *Tech News of the Week*, we’re talking about source control history, cyber cover-ups, licensing shenanigans, and encryption for the quantum future. It’s a spicy lineup, and we’re here for all of it. 🧑‍💻 Git just turned 20! That’s right, the tool most developers have a love-hate relationship with hit the big two-oh. Originally built by Linus Torvalds after he got fed up with BitKeeper, Git has completely transformed how software is developed. Linus wrote the first version in just 10 days—because of course he did. From obscure CLI commands to full-blown GitHub empires, it’s been a wild ride. https://github.blog/open-source/git/git-turns-20-a-qa-with-linus-torvalds/ 🕵️ Oracle got breached… allegedly. Then they claimed everything was fine. Then they kind of admitted something tiny might have happened. All while trying to erase history from the internet and quietly whispering confessions to their biggest clients. It’s shady. Real shady. Also, the vulnerability? In their own software, patched since 2021, but never applied. Neat. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/oracle-customers-confirm-data-stolen-in-alleged-cloud-breach-is-valid 💸 Microsoft is once again locking horns with the EU, this time over cloud licensing practices. Surprise! Azure gets the discount, and everyone else gets the bill. It’s all about that “hybrid benefit” Windows Server licensing scheme. And while Microsoft says they’ll fix it, deadlines are slipping and complaints are piling up. The EU is not amused. https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/07/legal_clock_ticking_for_microsoft/ 🔐 OpenSSH 10 is here with some serious post-quantum energy. This latest release brings in PQ algorithms to help us stay secure even when quantum computers start flexing. Plus, it drops legacy cryptographic support and plugs a few critical holes. It’s one of those unsexy but *massively* important upgrades. https://www.phoronix.com/news/OpenSSH-10.0-Released Thanks for listening! Now go away.…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Why Your AI Assistant Still Sucks (And How MCP Might Help) | Chaos Lever 35:54

11 dagen geleden35:54

35:54

This week’s main dish? Agentic AI and the Model Context Protocol (MCP). What the heck do those mean? Why are they being compared to USB-C? And why should you care unless you’re an executive with a robot butler? Ned breaks it all down while Chris offers the occasional therapy check-in. Spoiler alert: MCP is the plumbing behind smarter AI assistants, but whether we trust them with our calendar (or our lives) is still up for debate. Oh, and yes, there’s a “Silver Spoons” reference, some Carlton love, and a side quest into RESTful APIs because this is Chaos Lever and we can’t stay on the rails. Literally. We try to unpack whether MCP could be the REST of the AI world or just another shiny-but-useless indoor train. Buckle up. 🔗 LINKS Model Context Protocol: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction The Train: https://external-preview.redd.it/T4x6zmXqtoaJQxw8uhtcNdquSLFHualiTg1Gnac_ihA.jpg?auto=webp&s=6b728fb53bfab7cbb77d1bc54714f9362d33c4b5…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Fast Flux DNS Threats, TikTok Faces EU Fury, NGINX Exposed | Tech News of the Week 9:41

14 dagen geleden9:41

9:41

This week we talk lawsuits, leaks, and legacy code—all wrapped in Kubernetes vulnerabilities and good ol' DNS doom. It's everything you didn't know you needed to hear, and more. Let's dive in: 🧠 TikTok is getting slammed with a €500 million fine from the Irish Data Protection Commission for casually throwing GDPR into the sea. The Tok (yes, we're calling it that now) has been caught red-handed shuffling EU user data straight outta the continent. Meanwhile, April 5th was the US deadline for a sale-or-ban situation. You're in the future. You know what happened. We don’t. https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/tiktok-reportedly-faces-a-%25e2%2582%25ac500-million-fine-for-sending-private-user-data-to-china-162214079.html 🐙 NGINX Ingress controller vulnerability alert! Whizz disclosed a cluster of five issues that basically throw open the doors to your entire Kubernetes environment—if, and only if, the attacker is already inside. Still, maybe stop listening to this podcast and go patch your stuff. https://thehackernews.com/2025/03/critical-ingress-nginx-controller.html 💾 Bill Gates just released original Microsoft source code from 1975, and yeah, it’s both nostalgia bait and promo for his new autobiography. The code's printed. As a PDF. It's massive. And full of 1970s programming hacks that might hit a little too close to home for modern devs. https://www.gatesnotes.com/home/home-page-topic/reader/microsoft-original-source-code 🌐 DNS is always the problem. The latest? Fast Flux DNS attacks. CISA is waving red flags about a technique that helps malware stay stealthy by constantly changing IP addresses linked to C2 servers. It's a real “blink and you missed it” kind of threat. Patch your filters, folks. https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/03/cisa_and_annexable_allies_warn/ Don’t forget to patch your stuff and like, subscribe, or just go yell at a router. See you next week!…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Women Who Built the Future (and Got None of the Credit) | Chaos Lever 27:35

18 dagen geleden27:35

27:35

This week on Chaos Lever, we take a detour through a moldy book, moldy cheese, and somehow land at a celebration of women in tech history. Because that’s how this show works. We kick things off with a hot take on Who Moved My Cheese? and an uncomfortably enthusiastic ode to Gorgonzola, then accidentally spiral into a cinematic sadness spiral featuring Robin Williams. You’re welcome? From there, it’s a genuine salute to some lesser-known (but no less badass) women who shaped the technology landscape. We’re talking Bletchley Park, US Navy Code Girls, early human computers, and the pioneers who helped birth the GUI and the Internet as we know it. There are historical facts, dubious metaphors, and a surprise cameo by the first-generation Prius. I'd say blink and you'll miss it, but this is a Prius we're talking about. So if you’re into awkward transitions, wildly underrated tech heroes, and a sprinkle of righteous rage, then buddy, have we got the episode for you. 📎 LINKS Chaos Lever Website → https://chaoslever.com Code Girls of the US Navy → https://usncva.org/history/women-in-cryptology/world-war-ii-code-girls.html The Rose Code → https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53914938-the-rose-code Behind the Bastards - Steve Jobs → https://youtu.be/aEv08Zzunfc That good government tech book Ned forgot → https://www.recodingamerica.us Mashable article → https://mashable.com/article/unsung-women-in-tech Women of Bletchley Park → https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-27898997 Hedy Lamarr → https://www.history.com/articles/hedy-lamarr-inventor-frequency-hopping-wifi Annie Easley → https://www.nasa.gov/history/history-publications-and-resources/oral-histories/annie-easley-oral-history/ Dr. Adele Goldberg → https://www.extremenetworks.com/resources/blogs/women-who-changed-tech-dr-adele-goldberg Steve Jobs is a nutbar → https://www.uniladtech.com/apple/why-steve-jobs-soaked-feet-in-toilet-water-926274-20240628 Megan Smith on Net Neutrality → https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/11/14/u-s-cto-on-net-neutrality-critics-are-you-supposed-to-argue-with-physics/…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Microsoft Azure Is Retiring Your Admin Access | Tech News of the Week 11:43

21 dagen geleden11:43

11:43

It's a wild week in tech and we're taking you on a ride through the most ridiculous and revealing stories from the digital frontier. Buckle up. 🎵 Remember Napster? Of course you do. It was the soundtrack to many of our teenage years, sneaking MP3s over college Ethernet networks and dodging Metallica-shaped lawsuits. Well, guess what? It's back... again. Sort of. Another Web3 company has paid *$207 million* for the name and logo of a brand that hasn’t made a dime since Bush was in office. We break down the hilariously tragic life and times of Napster and why, in 2025, someone still thinks it's worth salvaging. https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/27/napster_gets_new_owner/ ☁️ Microsoft Azure is quietly retiring legacy services, and one of them could break your whole environment. Classic Subscription Administrators are officially on the chopping block, and if you don’t migrate to RBAC by April 30, 2025, you’re out of luck—and out of your own account. Chris takes you through the Azure Service Retirement Workbook (yes, that’s a real thing) and how not to get nuked by an expired admin setting. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/advisor/advisor-workbook-service-retirement?tabs=impacted-services 🚀 Fermyon and Akamai just teamed up to drop *Wasm Functions*, a WebAssembly-based service with lightning-fast cold starts and a whole lot of polyglot potential. Think apps spinning up in half a millisecond, edge deployment, and basically a glimpse at the future of serverless. Ned explains why this might be WASM’s breakout moment—and why Azure should probably start taking notes. https://cloudnativenow.com/features/akamai-allies-with-fermyon-to-advance-wasm-adoption/ 📨 And finally, Troy Hunt—yes, *that* Troy Hunt from HaveIBeenPwned—got pwned himself. A very convincing phishing attack stole his Mailchimp credentials and leaked 16,000 email addresses. While the fallout isn’t catastrophic, it’s a humbling reminder that no one is immune. Chris breaks down what went wrong, what to do better, and throws a little shade in the name of cybersecurity hygiene. https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/security-expert-troy-hunt-lured-mailchimp-phish…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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OpenAI’s Freedom Salad and the Two-Page Apocalypse | Chaos Lever 33:25

25 dagen geleden33:25

33:25

Biden’s executive order on AI safety was 111 pages of not-terrible ideas like protecting privacy and creating AI guidelines. Naturally, big tech was *not* a fan. Because when you ask Meta and Google to behave responsibly, they act like you just insulted their mom. Meanwhile in Europe: The EU held its AI Action Summit in Paris, making it clear they’re not messing around with AI governance. Public interest, worker protection, and global cooperation were on the table. Investors dangled €150B like a carrot—if only the EU would be a little less…protective of its citizens. 🙄 🧠 Then came Trump's executive order, aka the “let’s delete all the thoughtful stuff” memo. A whole two pages long, it replaced nuance with “make America #1 in AI because democracy and stuff.” Or, more accurately: “drill, baby, drill” but for GPUs. 📄 Enter OpenAI’s response to that call for action. On the surface, it’s just another document—but wow, the vibes are chaotic. There’s flag-waving, fear-mongering about China, and a healthy dose of “we want your data and your blessings.” Also, violently incoherent sentences that barely represent English. 📉 What *wasn’t* in OpenAI’s proposal? Anything about ethics, safety, upskilling displaced workers, or protecting vulnerable communities. But don’t worry—they did include buzzwords, bad logic, and more patriotic tech posturing than a Fourth of July parade. LINKS: 🔗 Executive order 14110: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/01/2023-24283/safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence 🔗 OpenAI’s Response to the RFI: https://cdn.openai.com/global-affairs/ostp-rfi/ec680b75-d539-4653-b297-8bcf6e5f7686/openai-response-ostp-nsf-rfi-notice-request-for-information-on-the-development-of-an-artificial-intelligence-ai-action-plan.pdf 🔗 The original RFI: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/06/2025-02305/request-for-information-on-the-development-of-an-artificial-intelligence-ai-action-plan 🔗 Trumps AI EO: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/31/2025-02172/removing-barriers-to-american-leadership-in-artificial-intelligence 🔗 Forbes Article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianaspehar/2025/02/10/paris-ai-summit-2025-5-critical-themes-shaping-global-ai-policy/…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Facebook’s Legal Meltdown & Google’s $32B Power Move | Tech News of the Week 10:03

28 dagen geleden10:03

10:03

This week we get into Facebook's ongoing saga of being the actual worst, a massive Google acquisition, some shady AI data scraping, and why the FCC is basically handing over rural America’s internet to the wolves. Buckle up. 📘 Facebook is Literally the Worst, Part One: Leadership Edition Mark Zuckerberg tries to suppress a former Facebook exec’s memoir, *Careless People*, and accidentally Streisand-effects the entire thing. From board game tantrums to predatory ad targeting of teens, this segment is a greatest hits of dysfunction. LINK: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/careless-people-facebook-memoir-1235299645/ 💰 Google Buys Wiz for $32 Billion Remember when Wiz said no to $23 billion and wanted to IPO instead? Well, turns out $32 billion can change a lot of minds. What does this mean for multi-cloud security? Spoiler: nothing good. LINK: https://blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/google-agreement-acquire-wiz/ 🤖 Facebook is Literally the Worst, Part Two: AI Shenanigans LLaMA, Facebook's open-source AI darling, was apparently trained on a treasure trove of pirated books and papers from LibGen—with exec sign-off. Internal emails show employees questioning the legality while still hitting "Download." Classic. LINK: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/libgen-meta-openai/682093 📞 Say Goodbye to Your Copper Lines FCC’s new head Brendan Carr wants to let ISPs rip out copper lines without proving they’re replacing them with better service. It’s deregulation theater at its finest. Rural internet users, prepare to get fleeced. LINK: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/03/fcc-chairman-brendan-carr-starts-granting-telecom-lobbys-wish-list/…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Thor, Thumb Drives, and Terrible Tech: Blackhat 2015 | Chaos Lever 41:14

4 weeks geleden41:14

41:14

We’ve got bruised shins, sketchy USB drives, and a surprisingly judgmental cat—so you know it’s a classic Chaos Lever episode. This week, Chris walks us through the wonderfully terrible 2015 movie *Blackhat*, a film that tried really hard to be tech-savvy and instead gave us Thor doing cybercrimes. Ned’s never seen it, which is great, because now he gets to be appalled in real time. Join us as we unravel: 🎬 A plot powered entirely by bad computer graphics 🖥️ Ankle bracelet hacking and thumb drive nonsense 🧠 A hacker who’s apparently too jacked to fail 🐱 A feline who's both off-camera and always judging There’s also a deep dive into why a nuclear plant *doesn’t* explode in 12 seconds (you're welcome), some shouty FBI negotiating, and one very suspicious biometric thumb drive.…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Apple AI Fail, Quantum Hype & SUSE’s Bold Move | Tech News of the Week 9:35

5 weeks geleden9:35

9:35

🚀 Welcome back to Tech News of the Week, where Chris and I break down the biggest, weirdest, and occasionally most questionable tech stories from the past week. 🧪 **D-Wave’s Dubious Quantum Supremacy Claim** D-Wave is back at it again, this time claiming "quantum supremacy" (insert dramatic echo here). They say their quantum chip solved a complex magnetic field simulation in 20 minutes—something they claim would take a classical supercomputer 200 years. But some researchers aren't buying it. Teams at NYU and EPFL Switzerland have already shown that a laptop or a few GPUs can solve parts of the problem much faster than D-Wave suggests. So, is this true supremacy or just more quantum marketing hype? 🤔 https://siliconangle.com/2025/03/12/d-wave-claims-achieved-quantum-supremacy-last-others-disagree/ 🐧 **SUSE Wants to Support Red Hat (Yes, Really)** In a move that has everyone doing a double take, SUSE announced at SUSECon that they’re launching the "SUSE Multi My Linux" support program—meaning they’ll support older Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems, even after Red Hat stops maintaining them. It's a bold strategy, Cotton. The program covers proactive and reactive support for different Linux versions, and, oh yeah, SUSE Enterprise Linux 16 is dropping soon with support through *2047*. Optimistic much? 🌍 https://thenewstack.io/suse-displays-enhanced-enterprise-linux-at-susecon/ 🚗 **Hacking Infotainment Systems: A New Cybersecurity Nightmare** If your car has a Pioneer DMH infotainment system, you might want to pay attention. Researchers at NCC Group exploited multiple zero-day vulnerabilities to inject spyware, track locations, and gain access to system data—all through a flaw in the Gracenote music database. While the proof-of-concept required physical access, they say it could be adapted for remote attacks. Pioneer has issued patches, so update your system… or just rip it out and go back to that 5-disc CD changer. 🎶 https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/car-exploit-spy-drivers-real-time 🍏 **Apple Delays AI-Powered Siri Updates—Blames Marketing** Apple’s much-hyped "Apple Intelligence" features for Siri have been shelved, possibly for up to a year, after internal testing revealed they don’t actually work. Success rates hovered between 66–80%, which is, uh, *not great*. Apple’s decision to pull back has led to some well-deserved mockery, but let’s be real—shipping half-baked AI features would’ve been way worse. Still waiting on that flying car, though. 🚁 https://9to5mac.com/2025/03/14/siri-delays-hurt-but-apple-averted-disaster-by-not-shipping-half-baked-product/…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Quantum Computing, Sandwiches, and Superconductors | Chaos Lever 40:05

5 weeks geleden40:05

40:05

This week on Chaos Lever, we explore a heartwarming yet launch into an in-depth (and completely correct, don’t question us) discussion about quantum computing and the hardware solutions behind a qubit. 🧠⚛️ Google, IBM, Amazon, and even Microsoft have been making big moves in quantum tech, each promising advancements that may or may not totally destroy encryption as we know it. Superconducting qubits, quantum tunneling, and the mysterious Majorana zero modes—it’s all here, and it’s all *probably* real. Stick around for deep dives into how different qubit architectures compare, what quantum error correction means for scalability, and why tech companies are obsessed with giving their chips weird animal names. If you make it to the end, congratulations—you've earned yourself a snack from the fridge, preferably one that doesn’t require quantum coherence to stay intact. 🍕 --- 📌 **LINKS** 🔗 Superconducting Qubit Physics: https://web.physics.ucsb.edu/~martinisgroup/classnotes/finland/LesHouchesJunctionPhysics.pdf 🔗 Google's Willow chip: https://blog.google/technology/research/google-willow-quantum-chip/ 🔗 Microsoft's Majorana chip: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/quantum/2025/02/19/microsoft-unveils-majorana-1-the-worlds-first-quantum-processor-powered-by-topological-qubits/ 🔗 Amazon's Ocelot chip: https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/27/1112560/amazon-quantum-computing-chip-makes-its-debut/ 🔗 IBM's Heron chip: https://newsroom.ibm.com/2024-11-13-ibm-launches-its-most-advanced-quantum-computers,-fueling-new-scientific-value-and-progress-towards-quantum-advantage 🔗Topological state of matter paper: https://journals.aps.org/prb/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevB.107.245423 🌀 Thanks for listening! Follow Chaos Lever for more questionable but entertaining tech discussions. See you next week! 🚀…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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VMware Under Attack Again—Three New Zero Days! | Tech News of the Week 9:40

6 weeks geleden9:40

9:40

Welcome to another round of tech news! This week, we're diving into the resurrection of a once-popular social media site, the EU's big bet on RISC-V, fresh zero days for VMware, and Broadcom's bold money-making moves. 🎯 **Reddit's Co-Founder Wants to Fix Social Media... With More Social Media?** Alexis Ohanian, one of Reddit’s original creators (the one who *doesn’t* suck), is teaming up with the founder of Digg to bring it back from the dead. Digg was a big deal in the mid-2000s before it collapsed under bad management, but now it’s making a comeback with AI in tow. Will it be the next big thing or another failed revival? Only time will tell. Want to get in early? They’re taking email sign-ups now. 🔗 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/technology/digg-alexis-ohanian-kevin-rose.html 💾 **The EU Goes All-In on RISC-V for Supercomputing** Europe is pushing hard for digital independence with a $260 million investment in RISC-V-based supercomputing chips. The project, named DAR (Digital Autonomy with RISC-V for Europe), aims to develop three chiplets for high-performance computing. It’s a bold move to move away from x86 and ARM dominance, but can they deliver on their aggressive timeline? 🔗 https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/07/dare_europe_risc_v_project/ ⚠️ **Three New VMware Zero Days—Because One Isn't Enough!** VMware ESX is under attack again, with three fresh zero-day vulnerabilities actively exploited in the wild. The worst of the bunch (CVE-2025-22224) lets attackers execute code on an ESXi host. Microsoft actually reported these to Broadcom, which is a fun little twist. If you haven't patched your VMware hosts yet, now would be a *really* good time. 🔗 https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/25390 💰 **Broadcom's VMware Cash Grab is Working... For Now** Broadcom is cashing in on its $69 billion VMware acquisition by slashing products, jacking up prices, and locking in big customers. The strategy seems to be working—at least in the short term—as revenue soars. But with frustrated customers looking for alternatives, could VMware's long-term future be in jeopardy? Competitors like Nutanix are already gaining ground. 🔗 https://investors.broadcom.com/news-releases/news-release-details/broadcom-inc-announces-first-quarter-fiscal-year-2025-financial That’s it for this week! Like, subscribe, and maybe, just maybe, we'll see you again next time. 🚀…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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How the Internet Became a Glorious Mess | Chaos Lever 32:25

7 weeks geleden32:25

32:25

The Internet: it was never supposed to work this well, and yet, here we are. This week, we’re diving into how we went from isolated, room-sized computers to a global, decentralized network that somehow (mostly) functions. We break down the early days of networking, when computers had to physically dial each other up, and how we eventually arrived at the distributed, self-healing, packet-switching magic that powers everything today. Along the way, we cover the different network models—centralized, decentralized, and fully distributed—and why only one of them could survive a nuclear attack (always an important design consideration). We also touch on ARPANET, the first real Internet, and how a bunch of researchers, military contractors, and a few weirdly named computers set the stage for what we have now. Spoiler: it involves a lot of improvised problem-solving and some very lonely PDP-10s. So if you’ve ever wondered how routing actually works, why the Internet doesn’t just collapse under its own weight, or what an “IMP” is, we’ve got you covered. Just don’t blame us if you leave this episode with a sudden urge to dig through RFCs. 🚀 LINKS 🔗 RFC 1206: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1206 🔗BGP episode: https://pod.chaoslever.com/break-the-glass-and-walk-away-a-very-brief-overview-of-bgp/ 🔗Supercomputing episode: https://pod.chaoslever.com/from-cray-1-to-el-capitan-the-evolution-of-supercomputers-chaos-lever/ 🔗Classical computing: https://pod.chaoslever.com/turing-to-transistors-classical-computing-101/ 🔗Brief history of the internet: https://www.internetsociety.org/internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet/…

Chaos Lever Podcast

1
GPT-4.5 Drops & The Biggest Crypto Heist Ever | Tech News of the Week 9:37

7 weeks geleden9:37

9:37

📢 Welcome to another episode of Tech News of the Week, where Chris and I break down the biggest stories in tech—sometimes with insight, sometimes with sarcasm, but always with desks. Maybe? This week, we're talking about IBM finally sealing the deal with HashiCorp, Microsoft's continued Notepad nonsense, OpenAI's latest attempt to justify its existence, and the biggest crypto heist of all time. Buckle up! 🟡 **HashiCorp Joins IBM** After 10 long months of regulatory limbo, IBM’s $6.4 billion acquisition of HashiCorp is finally official. Now that the deal has closed, IBM is set to integrate Terraform with Ansible, strengthen HashiCorp Vault with OpenShift, and generally try to make their aging product lineup more cloud-native. As a HashiCorp fan, I wasn’t exactly thrilled, but hey—at least IBM is dumping money into R&D. Cautiously optimistic? Maybe. Full breakdown here: https://www.hashicorp.com/en/blog/hashicorp-officially-joins-the-ibm-family and convo with Armon Dadgar here: https://www.youtube.com/live/p9VZMDRJ6m0 🟡 **Microsoft Notepad Gets AI Because… Reasons?** Notepad was perfect. It was simple. It was beautiful. And now, Microsoft is stuffing it with AI features nobody asked for—just like they’re doing with Paint. Oh, and they killed off WordPad, pushing people toward paid Microsoft Word instead. At least the AI-infested versions of Notepad and Paint are optional (for now), but this is a slippery slope, folks. More details: https://www.pcworld.com/article/2614943/microsoft-is-paywalling-these-features-in-notepad-and-paint.html 🟡 **GPT-4.5: Bigger, Better, and Full of Lies** OpenAI just dropped GPT-4.5, and it’s… well, it’s a thing. It’s bigger, more power-hungry, and claims to be "friendlier" and "more truthful"—which means it only lies to you **37%** of the time instead of **59%**. Progress? Maybe. Desperation? Definitely. Sam Altman’s money-burning machine continues, and SoftBank is still writing checks, so here we are. The full scoop: https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/27/1112619/openai-just-released-gpt-4-5-and-says-it-is-its-biggest-and-best-chat-model-yet/ 🟡 **Bybit Suffers the Largest Crypto Heist Ever** Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit just lost **$1.5 billion** to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, making it the biggest crypto theft in history. Hackers exploited Bybit’s Ethereum wallet system, faked transactions, and walked away with an absolute fortune. The good news? Bybit says it’ll reimburse customers. The bad news? This whole mess proves, once again, that "faster" and "secure" are rarely friends. More on this wild story: https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/cryptos-biggest-hacks-heists-after-15-billion-theft-bybit-2025-02-24/ Now, go away. Bye. 🚀…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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The Rise of NAT: A Necessary Evil in Networking | Chaos Lever 49:25

8 weeks geleden49:25

49:25

Fifth-generation programming languages? Generations don’t even matter anymore. We’re basically at iPhone generation 16-and-a-half, and at some point, people are just making stuff up. Speaking of making things up, today’s episode of Chaos Lever is all about NAT (Network Address Translation), a necessary evil—or maybe just evil—that helped shape the internet as we know it. To break it all down, we’re joined by the legendary Ivan Pepelnjak, a CCIE Emeritus, BGP wizard, and all-around networking guru. He’s here to walk us through the chaotic history of NAT, why it happened, and why, despite all efforts, it’s never really going away. We dive into the days when IP was just one of many competing protocols, when grabbing an IP block was as easy as sending an email, and when the first NAT implementations were only meant to be a temporary fix. Spoiler alert: that temporary fix became the foundation of modern networking. Ivan shares his firsthand experience from decades in the field, discussing why IPv6 adoption has been slow, how carrier-grade NAT is making things even messier, and why the dream of a fully end-to-end connected internet never really stood a chance. Plus, we touch on some truly wild networking trivia—like how stock exchanges measure fiber cable lengths to the nanosecond. If you’ve ever wondered why your home Wi-Fi setup still relies on NAT, why cloud providers and ISPs are desperate to push IPv6, or what networking challenges we’ll still be complaining about in another 20 years, this episode is for you. Stick around for some networking history, a bit of good-natured industry snark, and of course, a little chaos. And if you make it all the way to the end? Congrats, you’ve earned the right to set up your own double-NAT configuration at home—for "fun". --- LINKS 🔗 Chaos Lever Website: https://chaoslever.com 🔗 Chaos Lever LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chaoslever 🔗 Ivan Pepelnjak’s Blog & Networking Resources: https://blog.ipspace.net 🔗 NetLab Open Source Project: https://netlab.tools…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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ARM Making Chips for Meta – Big Industry Shift? | Tech News of the Week 8:44

8 weeks geleden8:44

8:44

Welcome back to Tech News of the Week, where Chris and I break down the biggest and weirdest stories in tech. We're a week behind because Chris decided to lose power—how selfish! But we’re back, and we’ve got four spicy news stories to dive into. Let’s go! 🧠 **Meta Wants ARM-Made Chips** ARM might start making its own chips, and Meta is reportedly first in line to buy them. This is a big shift for ARM, which has historically just designed and licensed chip architectures rather than manufacturing its own. If true, this could shake up the chip industry and make ARM a competitor to companies it currently licenses to. The first chips are rumored to launch this summer, so we won’t have to wait long to see what happens. Will this push companies toward RISC-V? Fingers crossed! 🔗 https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/13/arm-is-launching-its-own-chip-this-year-with-meta-as-a-customer 📖 **Facebook’s AI Reads Minds (Kind Of)** FAIR (Facebook’s Fundamental AI Research unit) teamed up with scientists in Spain to create a machine that can read your mind—well, sort of. By analyzing brain activity using M-E-G and E-E-G, they achieved an 80% accuracy rate in predicting what subjects were typing or saying. Right now, the tech is clunky and requires a controlled environment, but smaller, scarier versions are likely on the way. What could go wrong? 🔗https://www.techspot.com/news/106721-meta-researchers-unveil-ai-models-convert-brain-activity.html 💰 **SolarWinds Goes Private for $4.4B** Remember SolarWinds? The company that got hit with a massive supply chain attack in 2020? Well, private equity firms have decided it’s still worth squeezing for cash. Silver Lake and Tomo Bravo bought up a majority stake, and now TurnRiver is taking the whole thing private for $4.4 billion. Expect less innovation, more “cost optimization,” and an eternal cycle of rent-seeking. Somewhere in Middle-earth, Sauron is proud. 🔗 https://www.darkreading.com/cybersecurity-operations/solarwinds-private-billions 🖥️ **AI is Just Fancy Copy-Paste, Confirms Study** A new report shows that AI-assisted coding is leading to lower code quality. GitClear analyzed 200 million lines of code and found that, surprise surprise, AI-generated code is often just old code copied and pasted with minimal thought. Google’s own research backs this up, showing rising defect rates in published code. Microsoft even warns that overreliance on AI is killing critical thinking skills. So, uh… we’re definitely headed toward a bright, bug-free future, right? 🔗 https://www.gitclear.com/ai_assistant_code_quality_2025_research…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Why Sneakers (1992) is Still One of the Most Accurate Hacking Movies | Chaos Lever 44:39

10 weeks geleden44:39

44:39

What happens when you mix cryptography, heists, social engineering, and a dash of early '90s tech paranoia? You get **Sneakers**—a movie that might be more relevant today than it was in 1992. In this episode, we break down the film’s tech, its realism (or lack thereof), and the undeniable truth that **people are always the weakest security link**. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about the tech—it’s about **People, Process, Technology**, in that order. Along the way, we take some delightful detours, including a discussion of **Tim Curry chewing scenery in *Legend***, whether a Braille Playboy was a real thing (spoiler: it was), and why the best security measures can be defeated with a birthday cake and some good old-fashioned social engineering. So, grab your popcorn and your best anagram-solving skills, and let’s dive into the world of Sneakers—a movie that understood the power of ones and zeros long before our social feeds did. Oh, and if you’re planning to crawl around in a drop ceiling like Robert Redford, please don’t.…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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AWS Spends $100B on AI While OpenAI Fumbles Security | Tech News of the Week 7:40

10 weeks geleden7:40

7:40

Welcome back to another jam-packed episode of Tech News of the Week! Chris and I are diving into four big stories that caught our attention this week. From sketchy ISP routers to OpenAI’s latest security fail, let’s break it all down. 🔹 **Stop Using Your ISP Router—Seriously** If you're still using the router your internet provider gave you, it's time for an upgrade. Not only are ISP-provided routers outdated and full of security holes, but they might also be spying on you—and, in some cases, even harboring actual bugs (the creepy-crawly kind). A new website, [RouterSecurity.org], lays out just how bad these devices can be. Investing in a good third-party router is a small price to pay for better security and performance. Also, if you haven’t looked into mesh routing yet, you’re missing out! LINK: https://routersecurity.org/ISProuters.php 🔹 **AWS Goes on an AI Spending Spree** Amazon reported solid Q4 earnings, but apparently, a 19% growth in AWS wasn't enough to impress investors. So, what's Amazon’s solution? Throw more money at AI! They’re planning to invest a whopping $100 billion in AI hardware this year, with much of that going toward NVIDIA-powered chips. The hope is that supply chain issues will ease up, allowing AWS to scale its AI efforts even further. But will all this spending pay off in the long run? We’ll see. LINK: https://ir.aboutamazon.com/news-release/news-release-details/2025/Amazon.com-Announces-Fourth-Quarter-Results/default.aspx 🔹 **Phishing Tests Are Getting… Meaner?** We all know about phishing tests—those fake scam emails companies send to see if employees fall for them. But lately, these tests have been pushing the limits, with some using emotionally charged messages like fake Ebola outbreaks or rescinded bonuses. The Wall Street Journal reports that while these tactics may be effective, they’re also making employees furious. One particularly controversial example? A phishing email promising free Eagles tickets to people in Philadelphia. Ouch. LINK: https://www.wsj.com/tech/cybersecurity/phishing-tests-the-bane-of-work-life-are-getting-meaner-76f30173 🔹 **OpenAI’s New Model Helps… Write Malware?** Well, that didn’t take long. OpenAI's new "secure" GPT-4 variant, O3 Mini, was supposed to be better at filtering out harmful requests. But within days, a security researcher tricked it into generating code to exploit Windows security processes. OpenAI insists the exploit wasn’t serious, but the fact remains—these models still aren’t as locked down as they claim. Maybe a little more internal testing before release wouldn’t hurt? LINK: https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/researcher-jailbreaks-openai-o3-mini That’s it for this week! Drop a comment, let us know your thoughts, and we’ll catch you in the next one. 🚀…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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DeepSeek vs. OpenAI: Is This Really a Sputnik Moment? | Chaos Lever 41:50

11 weeks geleden41:50

41:50

Can you feel the enthusiasm radiating from this episode? No? Well, Chris is already singing *The Lion King*, so we’re off to a strong start. Today, we’re diving headfirst into the world of AI with DeepSeek, the latest generative AI model out of China that’s supposedly shaking up Silicon Valley. Is it really the *Sputnik moment* some are claiming, or is it just another overhyped step forward? Spoiler: It’s not Sputnik. We break down DeepSeek’s origins, its connection to a high-frequency trading hedge fund, and why its *free* and *open-source* nature might not be as open as it seems. Oh, and censorship—lots of censorship. But don’t worry, you can always trick it by asking questions in Pig Latin. Meanwhile, Chris did some highly scientific testing (read: he asked it a Bible question), and we debate whether reasoning transparency is a *game-changer* or just a fancy parlor trick. Is DeepSeek a technical marvel? Yeah, kinda. Is it revolutionary? Not really. Is it 96% cheaper than OpenAI’s API? Absolutely. And *that* is what has Silicon Valley panicking. We also talk about the Wright brothers, the Cold War, and how local AI models might just burn a hole in your couch. Good times all around. --- 🔗 **LINKS** - https://www.deepseek.com - https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.14158 - https://www.promptfoo.dev/blog/deepseek-censorship/ - https://erichartford.com/uncensored-models - https://www.wired.com/story/deepseeks-ai-jailbreak-prompt-injection-attacks/ - https://proton.me/blog/deepseek…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Apple Silicon Security Flaws Exposed—Should We Be Worried? | Tech News of the Week 10:46

11 weeks geleden10:46

10:46

Welcome back to another episode of *Tech News of the Week!* This week, we dive into some fascinating developments in quantum computing, corporate drama at Meta, a potential shake-up in the networking industry, and security vulnerabilities in Apple Silicon chips. Buckle up—it's going to be a wild ride. 🔬 **Photonics for Quantum Computing** Quantum computers are finicky beasts, usually requiring extreme cold to keep their delicate qubits from falling apart. But what if we could use *light* instead? Canadian startup Xanadu is tackling this challenge with its photonic quantum computer, *Aurora*. Their modular system could make quantum computing more scalable and affordable—if they can solve the usual qubit problems. Does this deserve a full episode? Chris, get on it. 😆 https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/30/1110672/this-quantum-computer-built-on-server-racks-paves-the-way-to-bigger-machines/ 📢 **Zuckerberg Complains About Leaks… in a Leaked Meeting** Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recently expressed frustration that everything he says leaks… in yet another leaked meeting. The irony is thick. Meta’s once-open town halls have turned into tightly controlled sessions, yet the leaks keep coming. Maybe, just maybe, the problem isn’t the employees but the guy in charge? One commenter summed it up best: “pre-divorced sh*tweasel.” https://www.404media.co/zuckerberg-says-everything-i-say-leaks-in-leaked-meeting-audio/ 🛑 **DOJ Blocks HPE-Juniper Merger** HPE’s $14B acquisition of Juniper Networks has hit a major roadblock. While Europe and the UK gave it the green light, the U.S. Department of Justice stepped in, citing concerns over market consolidation. The WLAN space is already dominated by a few major players, and the DOJ isn’t keen on reducing competition further. Meanwhile, HPE and Juniper insist this merger is "pro-customer"... for reasons. https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/30/hpes_acquisition_juniper/ 🔓 **Apple Silicon Chips Have Security Flaws** Apple’s M-series chips have been crushing the competition, but they’re not invincible. Researchers found vulnerabilities—SLAP and Flop—that allow sneaky memory access. While these attacks are difficult to pull off, the fact that they’re possible at all is concerning. Apple hasn’t responded yet, but maybe, just maybe, CPUs don’t *need* speculative execution anymore? Just a thought. 🤔 https://predictors.fail 📩 Got thoughts? Want to share expert insight? Hit us up at ChaosLever.com (but no collect calls, please). See you next time! 👋…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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X.500: The Directory Service That Time Forgot | Chaos Lever 34:12

12 weeks geleden34:12

34:12

Welcome to another episode of Chaos Lever, where we take a deep dive into the tech abyss and come out slightly more confused than when we started. This week, we're talking about the OG of directory services: X.500. Before Active Directory, before LDAP, there was this ambitious yet painfully cumbersome attempt to organize networked systems into a structured directory. Was it elegant? No. Was it practical? Also no. But did it lay the groundwork for everything we use today? Absolutely. Along the way, we uncover just how much of modern networking was cobbled together by people who were just making it up as they went. If you've ever wondered why directories matter, or you just enjoy hearing us ramble about obscure tech history, this episode is for you. And don’t worry—this is only part one. We still have Netscape, Microsoft, and a whole mess of bad decisions to cover. So buckle up, enjoy the ride, and remember: if you’re not questioning your life choices by the end of this episode, we haven’t done our job. --- 🔗 **LINKS** - https://www.identityfusion.com/blog/the-most-complete-history-of-directory-services-you-will-ever-find - https://www.nexor.com/blog/prehistory-of-ldap - https://sec.cs.kent.ac.uk/x500book/ - https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/IR/nistir5819.pdf - https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.500…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Stargate Project’s $500B AI Dream & TikTok’s Creepy Accuracy | Tech News of the Week 11:06

12 weeks geleden11:06

11:06

Welcome to this week’s **Tech News of the Week**! 📰 Chris and Ned dive into four fascinating stories from the tech world that made us scratch our heads, laugh, and maybe even fear the AI overlords just a little. Let's break it down: ✨ TikTok’s Secret Sauce Want to know how TikTok seems to know you better than you know yourself? We explore a research paper that gives us a peek into TikTok's game-changing algorithm and why it's so eerily accurate. Spoiler: It's all about keeping you glued to your screen. But should it even be legal? Link to the paper here 👉 https://thenewstack.io/what-makes-tiktoks-algorithms-so-effective ⚡ The Stargate Project: AI Meets Texas OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank are pouring billions into massive AI-focused data centers in Texas. Abilene is set to host one of the first 20 mega-centers, and locals have questions: Where’s all the power and water coming from? Meanwhile, Sam Altman has even bigger dreams (or nightmares) with trillions in investment. AI heaven or AI hell? You decide. Learn more here 👉 https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/21/openai-teams-up-with-softbank-and-oracle-on-50b-data-center-project/ 🐑 Openvox: The Puppet Fork That Isn’t a Muppet Remember Puppet? Well, it's been forked into Openvox after Puppet went proprietary. Openvox is staying open-source, and they’ve promised compatibility with existing Puppet extensions for now. We also go down a rabbit hole of rejected names (like Muppet and P-I-N-P), and Chris reminisces about why he avoided Puppet entirely. Full details here 👉 https://github.com/OpenVoxProject 🖨️ Bamboo Labs: Locking It Down for Safety? Bamboo Labs made waves in the 3D printing world by locking down their printers to secure their cloud services. While some Redditors cried foul, Chris and Ned debate whether this is a practical move or a step toward ecosystem lock-in. Either way, 3D printing drama is alive and well. Read more here 👉https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/01/bambu-lab-pushes-a-control-system-for-3d-printers-and-boy-did-it-not-go-well/ Be sure to like, subscribe, and tell us what you think in the comments below! 👇 Don’t forget to hit that notification bell so you don’t miss next week’s episode of tech hilarity. See you next time! 🚀…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Disaster Recovery Fails: Lessons from the Trenches | Chaos Lever 40:13

13 weeks geleden40:13

40:13

Welcome to the Chaos Lever podcast! In this episode, we're sharing some of our favorite (and most cringe-worthy) disaster recovery stories as Chris and I relive our days in the IT trenches. From accidentally shutting down a whole data center with the push of a button to a missing utility server derailing an entire cloud migration, we’ve seen it all. If you’ve ever wondered how NOT to handle DR or just need a good laugh, you’re in the right place. 😅⚡ We’ll talk about lessons learned the hard way—like why servers named "util01" are always critical, why you should *actually* test your DR plans, and why a bad backup can ruin your entire week. Whether you’re an IT pro looking for a relatable rant or someone curious about the chaos behind the scenes, you’ll enjoy this wild ride through tech disasters (and recoveries). 💾🔥 Thanks for hanging out with us and listening to our stories of near-catastrophes and occasional triumphs. If there’s a topic you want us to cover—or if you just want to share your own war stories—hit us up! You made it all the way to the end, so reward yourself with a seat on the couch and a nice, quiet pilot light DR plan. You’ve earned it. 🎙️🛋️…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Stack Overflow Declines: ChatGPT's Surprising Impact | Tech News of the Week 9:53

13 weeks geleden9:53

9:53

🎈 Farewell to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, whose leadership made significant strides in broadband access, net neutrality, and cybersecurity initiatives. Her final acts defended free speech, but concerns loom with her likely successor. https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/headlines/read-jessica-rosenworcels-farewell-message 🤖 Microsoft is cramming AI into everything, but at a cost—literally. With Copilot features now included in subscriptions, expect prices to jump by 40%. Plus, they’re throwing in the Designer app for AI-powered image editing. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/01/16/copilot-is-now-included-in-microsoft-365-personal-and-family/ 🔒 The FTC is holding GoDaddy accountable for years of inadequate security measures. A new settlement requires them to implement real safeguards—but no fines yet. If you're a customer, it might be time to explore other options. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/ftc-takes-action-against-godaddy-alleged-lax-data-security-its-website-hosting-services 📉 Stack Overflow usage has plummeted 76% since ChatGPT entered the scene. With fewer quality contributions, the future of community-driven programming help is uncertain. Who will AI steal from next? https://devclass.com/2025/01/08/coding-help-on-stackoverflow-dives-as-ai-assistants-rise/…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Cracking the Code: The Enigma Story | Chaos Lever 35:48

14 weeks geleden35:48

35:48

🌀 Hello, Alleged Humans! This week on Chaos Lever, we return to the fascinating world of cryptography, focusing on the Enigma Machine and its role in World War II. The Enigma Machine was an engineering marvel of its time, used by Germany to encode sensitive military communications. But even the most secure systems can have flaws, and Allied codebreakers—led by brilliant minds like Alan Turing—exploited those weaknesses to gain a decisive edge in the war. 🎙️ Did you know the Enigma started as a commercially available product? In this episode, we explore its ingenious design, from rotating rotors to complex wiring, and how it became the backbone of German military communication. We also break down how codebreaking innovations, like the Bombe machines, turned what seemed like an unbreakable code into an Allied advantage. It’s a story of brilliance, determination, and, yes, a fair bit of German overconfidence. 💡 We’re wrapping up our series on ciphers with this episode (Part 3!), paving the way for our next chapter: modern encryption and the digital age. Stick around to learn how the work of Bletchley Park laid the foundation for everything from online security to smartphone privacy. If you’re curious about the books we mention or want to try encoding messages yourself, check out the links below! --- **LINKS** 📘 Learn about Classical Cryptography: https://www.cipherchallenge.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/A-Book-on-Classical-Cryptography-by-Madness.pdf 🖥️ Try the Enigma Cipher Online: https://cryptii.com/pipes/enigma-machine 🧩Real Example of an Enigma Message From WWII Time Period: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/04/16/fa/0416fa8d3d2a219c96d4761bc00e4241.jpg 📖 Book Recommendation: *The Rose Code* by Kate Quinn: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53914938-the-rose-code 📕 Book Recommendation: *Codebreaker's Victory*: https://books.google.com/books/about/Codebreakers_Victory.html?id=mhJnAAAAMAAJ Thanks for listening, Alleged Human! Be sure to like, subscribe, and check back next week for more chaotic tech musings. 🎧…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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The Worst Tech Products of CES 2025 Revealed! | Tech News of the Week 9:58

14 weeks geleden9:58

9:58

Welcome to this week’s Tech News of the Week! Join us as we break down the most fascinating and sometimes ridiculous tech stories making headlines. Let's dive in! 🎙️ 🚨 **Cyber Trust Mark Labels** Starting in 2025, new "Cyber Trust Mark" labels will appear on IoT devices, supposedly ensuring better security standards. But will this label actually mean anything, or is it just marketing fluff? Introduced by the FCC in 2023 and overseen by UL Solutions, this program outlines six key security capabilities, like software updates and data protection. Look for this label when buying smart devices in the future! 🔐 Learn more here: https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/07/us-government-set-to-launch-its-cyber-trust-mark-cybersecurity-labeling-program-for-internet-connected-devices-in-2025/ 🚗 **Goodyear’s Smart Tires Initiative** Forget smart cars—Goodyear says smart *tires* are the future! At CES, they unveiled their Tire Intelligence Platform (Sightline), which monitors tire performance, weather conditions, and driving history to improve vehicle handling. They’re even working on embedding sensors directly into the tires themselves. Looks like your tires may soon know more about the road than you do! 🌧️ Learn more here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/self-driving-cars-dont-do-snow-goodyear-says-the-solution-is-smarter-tires-6ccf0e85 👶 **CES Worst in Show Awards** The "Worst in Show" awards are back, calling out the worst tech products in terms of security, privacy, and environmental impact. This year's highlights: * 📷 *Least Private:* The Bosch Revell Smart Crib—because who doesn’t want a crib spying on their baby? * 🔓 *Least Secure:* TP-Link Archer BE900 Router, flagged for reporting security issues to the Chinese government before telling customers. * ❄️ *Worst Overall:* The LG AI Home Inside 2.0 Refrigerator—because apparently knowing what's inside requires AI and an invasion of privacy. Get the full rundown at WorstInShowCES.com! Learn more here: https://www.worstinshowces.com 🌐 **China’s Silent Telecom Cyberattack** A chilling report reveals China-backed hackers, Salt Typhoon, infiltrated US wireless networks and political campaigns. The group accessed over a million user accounts through known software vulnerabilities that weren’t patched. No ransoms, no bragging—just quiet, calculated spying for months. The US government is finally urging everyone to adopt end-to-end encryption for calls and texts. Irony, anyone? 🕵️‍♂️ Learn more here: https://www.wsj.com/tech/cybersecurity/typhoon-china-hackers-military-weapons-97d4ef95 That’s all for this week’s tech roundup! Thanks for tuning in—and don’t forget to patch your software. Bye! 👋…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Tech Predictions 2025: AI, RISC-V, and Big Tech Shakeups | Chaos Lever 36:06

15 weeks geleden36:06

36:06

Welcome to our 2025 Predictions episode! This week, we dive into the future of tech with bold forecasts on RISC-V, AI advancements, cloud innovations, and the evolving landscape of tech giants. From potential Google breakups to OpenAI's sustainability challenges, we’re covering it all. And yes, things might get a bit chaotic—this *is* Chaos Lever, after all! 🌐💡 We’ll talk about why RISC-V could disrupt the chip market, whether Microsoft will finally adopt S3 API support, and why the future of WebAssembly could change how cloud services work. Plus, we take a hard look at the future of TikTok in the U.S. and Meta's ongoing legal troubles in the EU. Get ready for hot takes, cautious optimism, and some wishful thinking about what 2025 has in store for tech! Stick around to see how your predictions align with ours—and don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments! --- **LINKS** 💻 Official Site: https://chaoslever.com --- Tell us—what are your boldest predictions for 2025? Do you think we nailed it or missed the mark? Let us know!…

Chaos Lever Podcast

1
OpenAI’s Broken Promises & USB-C Victory | Tech News of the Week 10:50

15 weeks geleden10:50

10:50

Welcome to another week of tech news! Let’s dive into the biggest stories making waves: 📢 OpenAI promised a data opt-out tool for creators all the way back in May 2024... and where is it? Nowhere to be found! Despite pledging to let creators keep their work out of AI training, no tool has emerged. Critics argue that opting out shouldn't even be the creator's job—data collection should require explicit consent upfront. And while the online ad industry says, "That would destroy us!" many are saying, "Good." Meanwhile, sketchy companies like RHEI.ai are already trying to pay creators for their content. Suspicious much? LINK: https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/01/openai-failed-to-deliver-the-opt-out-tool-it-promised-by-2025 🔌 The EU's Common Charger Directive is here! USB-C is now the standard for most wired gadgets sold in the EU—no more digging through piles of mismatched chargers. While laptops have until 2026, most other devices need to comply immediately. Even Apple has bowed to the USB-C mandate. This is a win for anyone tired of juggling countless proprietary cables! Time to responsibly recycle that drawer of tangled cords. LINK: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/01/usb-c-is-now-a-legal-requirement-for-most-rechargeable-gadgets-in-europe/ ⭐ GitHub’s star system is in trouble! Stars are supposed to highlight popular open-source projects, but millions of fake stars from bot accounts have skewed the system. A recent study found that out of 610 million stars, 4.5 million were fake! There are even websites where you can *buy* stars. If fake reviews can plague Amazon, is it really a surprise that open-source projects are getting hit, too? LINK: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/over-31-million-fake-stars-on-github-projects-used-to-boost-rankings/ 💻 Windows 10 isn’t going anywhere! Despite Microsoft’s push for Windows 11, over 62% of users are still sticking with Windows 10—and that number keeps growing. With stricter hardware requirements and user resistance to change, many can’t (or won’t) upgrade. Support for Windows 10 is set to end in October 2025... but will Microsoft extend the deadline, or will they finally give us Windows 12? The clock is ticking. LINK: https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/02/windows_10_grows/ Thanks for joining us—see you next time! 🎙️…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Bold Predictions, Bad Math, and 2024 Failures | Chaos Lever 40:23

17 weeks geleden40:23

40:23

🐶 Dogs don’t care about your sleep schedule, and apparently neither does AI, the metaverse, or the global cloud industry. Welcome to our annual Predictions Review Episode, where we celebrate how *mostly wrong* Ned was about everything (as usual) and how Chris continues to coast on vague predictions like an AI-enhanced Nostradamus. Here’s what we covered this week: 🎯 Reviewing bold predictions about cloud revenue, AI lawsuits, and the elusive metaverse 📈 Why CXL, PCIe 6, and RISC-V didn’t exactly take the world by storm 🧠 How AI assistant fever continues to sweep the industry despite lawsuits and shady tactics 👓 The rise and fall of Apple Vision Pro, and whether Facebook's Orion glasses are next 💡 Who got it right (spoiler: not Ned) and what’s coming in 2025 Join us for our last episode of 2024 as we laugh, groan, and occasionally pat ourselves on the back. Stick around for some bonus ranting about eggnog. Links: - Nutanix has also struck a new partnership with Dell: https://www.nutanix.com/press-releases/2024/nutanix-and-dell-technologies-collaborate-on-new-joint-solutions - Fermyon is still trucking along solo and just released version 3 of their Spin open source platform: https://www.fermyon.com/blog/introducing-spin-v3 - Scaleway labs offers RISC-V servers in the cloud: https://labs.scaleway.com/en/em-rv1/ Find show notes and more at https://chaoslever.com and we’ll see you next year for fresh predictions and fresh failures. 🎉…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Free GitHub Copilot: A Taste of AI Coding | Tech News of the Week 11:36

17 weeks geleden11:36

11:36

This week on Tech News of the Week, Chris and I dive into four fascinating stories from the world of tech: from the limits of human brains to the rise of WebAssembly. Plus, we get philosophical about the ephemeral nature of the internet and marvel at the future of coding with AI. Don't forget to complete our listener survey at https://chaoslever.com/survey It takes just a few minutes, and your feedback helps us make this podcast even better—or at least gives us something to ignore with flair. Here’s what we covered: 🧠 **Why Your Brain is Slower Than You Think** Scientists reveal just how slow our thought processes are compared to our sensory input. Spoiler: Multitasking is still a myth. 📎 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-brain-operates-at-a-stunningly-slow-pace/ 🤖 **Free GitHub Copilot for All!** Microsoft is giving free-tier GitHub users a taste of AI coding. Write broken code faster and maybe fix it later—if Copilot is feeling generous. 📎 https://github.blog/news-insights/product-news/github-copilot-in-vscode-free/ 📜 **The Internet is Forever… Or Not** Nearly 40% of web pages from 2013 are gone, taking valuable information with them. Should we start printing PDFs again? 📎 https://www.theverge.com/24321569/internet-decay-link-rot-web-archive-deleted-culture 🌐 **AMEX Goes Big with WebAssembly** American Express is using WebAssembly and WASM Cloud at scale, possibly heralding a new era for functions-as-a-service platforms. 📎 https://thenewstack.io/amexs-faas-uses-webassembly-instead-of-containers/ Like, comment, and subscribe for more weekly tech musings! 🚀…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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From Cray-1 to El Capitan: The Evolution of Supercomputers | Chaos Lever 41:21

18 weeks geleden41:21

41:21

Get ready for an electrifying ride through the history and evolution of supercomputers! From the groundbreaking Cray-1 to today’s mind-blowing El Capitan, we cover it all—with tangents about Interstellar, floating-point math, and why your iPhone is basically a mini-supercomputer. Join Ned and Chris as they unleash chaos on computing history! 🤖💻✨ What’s Inside: 📚 Seymour Cray: The genius who made supercomputers... and left his own companies 🔥 From mega-flops to exa-flops: Explaining performance in layman’s terms 🌍 Supercomputers solving global warming (well, trying...) Take Our Survey! 💬 We want to hear from you! Visit https://chaoslever.com/survey and share your thoughts before the month ends. Links: - TOP 500 Linear Graph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOP500#/media/File:Supercomputers-history.svg - FLOPS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_point_operations_per_second - TOP 500 64th edition: https://top500.org/lists/top500/2024/11/highs/ - Cray History Timeline: https://cray-history.net/2021/07/19/cray-timeline-documents/ - Cray Background: https://www.invent.org/inductees/seymour-cray - Cray-1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray-1 - Sneakers scene: https://youtu.be/coDtzN6bXAM?si=JvAwJb416pxRuANq&t=43 Chapters: 00:00 Welcome, Alleged Humans 01:28 Interstellar: Did We Learn Anything? 04:15 What Makes a Supercomputer "Super"? 10:12 Seymour Cray: A Singular Visionary 23:08 The Cray-1: Breaking Barriers in 1975 36:40 From Supercomputers to HPC Clusters 48:55 Modern Era: GPUs, Exa-Flops, and El Capitan 01:20:00 Fun Facts: Your iPhone = A Supercomputer in 2010?! 01:40:00 Wrapping It Up: Sneakers and PlayStation Supercomputers Let us know your favorite fact from the episode in the comments! 👇…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Google's AI Surge and GM's Robo-Taxi Retreat | Tech News of the Week 9:18

18 weeks geleden9:18

9:18

Welcome to another episode of Tech News of the Week, where we break down the hottest stories in technology with a dose of snark and insight. This week, we’re diving into Google’s AI extravaganza, GM’s retreat from robo-taxis, quantum computing milestones, and Microsoft’s push for eco-friendly data centers. Grab your coffee and let’s get into it! Google’s AI Blitzkrieg 🚀 Google is doubling down on artificial intelligence, unveiling a slew of announcements including Gemini 2.0, a next-gen model with audio and video capabilities, and ASTRA, which can summarize videos and answer questions. They also revealed Trilium, an AI training chip, and Jules, an AI coding assistant capable of fixing bugs. But don’t get too excited—most of these features are still in development, with limited demos and no hands-on access yet. For now, it’s a lot of promises, but we’ll see how it shakes out in January. Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/11/gemini-2-0-googles-newest-flagship-ai-can-generate-text-images-and-speech/ GM Pulls the Plug on Robo-Taxis 🚗 GM is merging its Cruise division into its Super Cruise engineering team and stepping back from the robo-taxi race. This comes after a string of incidents, including a high-profile crash that led to California revoking Cruise’s operating license. With plans to integrate the tech into personal vehicles instead, GM hopes to salvage their investment. But for now, fully autonomous taxis are hitting a red light. Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/11/gm-is-giving-up-on-cruise-robotaxis-pivots-to-personal-autonomous-vehicles Google’s Quantum Leap 🧮 Google made headlines with Willow, a quantum chip boasting over 100 quality qubits. They claim it can complete specific computations that would take conventional supercomputers septillions of years. While this sounds groundbreaking, the practical use of this technology is still unclear, and some remain skeptical of Google’s claims. However, advancements in error rates and quantum stability are undeniably impressive. Read more: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/quantum-computing/google-claims-its-new-willow-quantum-chip-can-swiftly-solve-a-problem-that-would-take-a-standard-supercomputer-10-septillion-years Microsoft’s Water-Cooled AI Data Centers 🌊 Microsoft announced a shift to water-saving, closed-loop cooling systems for their AI-heavy data centers. These new systems reduce water usage in drought-prone areas like Phoenix, Arizona, and are part of a larger push to retrofit existing facilities. It’s a smart move to address the environmental toll of AI, though some wonder why this wasn’t done sooner. Read more: https://siliconangle.com/2024/12/10/microsoft-previews-new-water-efficient-data-center-design/ Thanks for tuning in! Be sure to subscribe, share your thoughts in the comments, and take our listener survey at https://chaoslever.com/survey. See you next week!…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Breaking Unbreakable Codes: The Evolution of Cryptography | Chaos Lever 30:12

19 weeks geleden30:12

30:12

Welcome to another episode of Chaos Lever, where Ned and Chris explore the history, intrigue, and occasional absurdity of cryptography! 🤖🧠 This week, it’s Part Two of our deep dive into codes and ciphers, from ancient Rome’s Caesar cipher to Napoleon’s overly optimistic battlefield encryption. Discover how cryptography evolved to outwit spies, soldiers, and codebreakers, setting the stage for the digital cryptography we know today. Plus: existential robots, live skeeting, and crunchy peanut butter. 🥜 📚 In This Episode: ✨ Why polyalphabetic ciphers were unbreakable… until they weren’t. ✨ How the Vigenère cipher held strong for 250 years. ✨ The curious tale of Napoleon’s cracked code. ✨ Charles Babbage: Mathematician, cryptographer, and all-around genius. 🌐 Links Mentioned: - Vignere Cipher - History of Coding and Decoding: https://medium.com/@jamesjinghuang/the-vigen%C3%A8re-cipher-from-unbreakable-enigma-to-cryptographic-relic-215761d30af8 - The Vignere Cipher In Action: https://www.dcode.fr/vigenere-cipher - IBM’s History of Cryptography: https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/cryptography-history - Cypher Disk: By Hubert Berberich (HubiB) - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25964875 - Union Army Disk: By Ryan Somma from Occoquan, USA - The Union Cipher Disk, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109642380 - Listener survey: https://chaoslever.com/survey ⏰ Timestamps: 00:46 - Intro and Existential Robots 04:10 - Recap of Part One 10:52 - Polyalphabetic Ciphers Explained 15:49 - Napoleon’s Code: A Lesson in Optimism 18:50 - The Civil War Cipher Disk 24:15 - Babbage Breaks the Vigenère Cipher 29:59 - Outro and Survey Reminder 👍 Support Chaos Lever: Your feedback matters! Take our quick listener survey share your thoughts. https://chaoslever.com/survey…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Chinese Hackers, Data Brokers, and AI Power Grabs | Tech News of the Week 10:06

19 weeks geleden10:06

10:06

Welcome back to Chaos Lever, where we sift through the latest in tech news so you don’t have to. Please take our listener survey! https://chaoslever.com/survey This week’s episode covers everything from Meta's nuclear ambitions to Broadcom's sudden change of heart. Let’s break it down: --- 🧠 Meta Joins the Nuke AI Club Meta is doubling down on AI by exploring nuclear power to meet its growing data center demands. They’ve issued an RFP for 1-4 gigawatts of nuclear power, focusing on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) for faster deployment. With ambitious plans to go live by 2030, this move might reshape energy partnerships in tech. Will SMRs light the path forward, or will Meta hit regulatory roadblocks? 👉 https://sustainability.atmeta.com/blog/2024/12/03/accelerating-the-next-wave-of-nuclear-to-power-ai-innovation/ --- 💻 Fear of Losing Customers Has Broadcom Relaxing VMware Policies After a year of painful price hikes and policy overhauls, Broadcom is walking back some of its harshest changes to VMware licensing. Enterprises like Beeks Group are migrating away, citing costs that have ballooned tenfold. In response, Broadcom is introducing SMB-friendly subscription tiers and improving partner relationships. But is it too little, too late? 👉 https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/12/new-broadcom-sales-plan-may-be-insignificant-in-deterring-vmware-migrations/ --- 📡 Salt Typhoon Isn’t Just a Dish At Applebee’s A Chinese hacking group, Salt Typhoon, has infiltrated U.S. telecom networks, targeting companies like Verizon and T-Mobile. Telecoms blame vulnerabilities stemming from legally required surveillance backdoors. To stay secure, consider using encrypted services like iMessage, Android RCS, or Signal. Is this the wake-up call we need to rethink backdoor policies? 👉 https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/12/us-recommends-encrypted-messaging-as-chinese-hackers-linger-in-telecom-networks/ --- 🛡 Data Brokers Finally Facing Possible Restrictions on Selling User Data The CFPB is cracking down on data brokers, proposing rules that treat them like credit bureaus under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This follows a massive breach that exposed 200 million social security numbers. If passed, this regulation could drastically reshape how companies buy and sell personal data. Is the era of unrestricted data brokering finally coming to an end? 👉 https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/3/24311498/cfpb-rule-data-brokers-social-security-number-fico-score…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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The Beer Keg Cipher: A Cryptographic Journey | Chaos Lever 34:55

20 weeks geleden34:55

34:55

Get ready for another delightful descent into tech chaos, historical intrigue, and the occasional bout of existential questioning! This week, we mark (almost) three years since we started this podcast, and Ned is still totally not a robot. We also take a fascinating trip through the history of cryptography, from ancient Egyptian secrets to Julius Caesar's favorite ciphers and the tragic tale of Mary, Queen of Scots. Along the way, there’s talk of quantum computers, beer kegs with secret compartments, and, of course, why vests are utterly pointless. 🦺 💡 Episode Highlights: - Quantum Computing Advances: Why breaking a 50-bit RSA key is a big deal. - Cryptography Through the Ages: How humans have always loved secrets (and dick jokes). - Audience Survey Alert: We need your feedback! Visit https://chaoslever.com/survey If you enjoy tech, history, and wildly tangential humor, hit that like button, subscribe, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts—even though two stars is good enough for us. 😏 Links: - Researchers Break 50-Bit RSA Encryption For The First Time (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/for-the-first-time-ever-researchers-crack-rsa-and-aes-data-encryption/ar-AA1ssA1P) - Thawte Presents a Brief History of Cryptography (https://www.thawte.com/assets/documents/guides/history-cryptography.pdf) - The Many Codes Of Mary Queen of Scots (https://www.npr.org/2023/02/10/1155701113/mary-queen-of-scots-ciphers-prison-letters) 🌐 Visit https://chaoslever.com for show notes, blog posts, and general tomfoolery.…

Chaos Lever Podcast

1
Replay: The Not-So-Hostile Takeover of iMessage Technology 32:51

20 weeks geleden32:51

32:51

The Not-So-Hostile Takeover of iMessage Technology Originally Published on 12/21/2023 The Dreaded Green Bubble It's the shake-up of the century, or at least… it's pretty big news. It seems that pretty soon, non-Apple devices will be able to support iMessage technology. So how is this even possible? In order to answer that question, Ned walks us through the history of text messaging technology, from SMS to BBM to MMS and beyond. If you've ever wondered if phone carriers have been ripping you off, or providing sub-standard security, spoiler alert: you're right . The signaling channel behind SMS technology Wait, we send an average of how many texts per day? The infamous text fee hike of the mid-aughts BlackBerry Messenger's origins What actually is RCS technology? How Beeper Mini accesses iMessage technology on non-Apple devices Intro and outro music by James Bellavance copyright 2022…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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DOJ Takes Aim at Google’s Monopoly | Tech News of the Week 10:33

21 weeks geleden10:33

10:33

Welcome to another episode of Tech News of the Week where we dissect the latest tech news with equal parts wit and snark. This week’s topics are as juicy as ever, from the DOJ taking a swing at Google to Apple’s embarrassing security scramble. Dive in below for more details and links to the full stories! !!!Take the audience survey here!!! https://pod.chaoslever.com/survey/2024-listener-survey/ DOJ Calls for Google Breakup The Department of Justice is not mincing words about Google’s dominance, calling for drastic actions like splitting off Chrome, opening their search index, and banning exclusionary agreements. With parallels to the famous Microsoft antitrust case, this could signal major shifts in Big Tech. Will this be a game-changer or just another slap on the wrist? Only time—and the next administration—will tell. Read more about the DOJ’s proposals here: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/welcome-to-googles-nightmare-us-reveals-plan-to-destroy-search-monopoly/ OSX and iOS Have Active Exploits – Update ASAP Apple’s latest updates aren’t just nice-to-haves; they’re critical. Active exploits affecting everything from Safari’s JavaScript engine to Vision Pro’s OS mean you need to patch now. Ironically, these vulnerabilities were flagged by none other than Google’s Threat Analysis Group. Embarrassing for Apple, but great motivation for the rest of us to stay safe. Get the details and update links here: https://osxdaily.com/2024/11/19/ios-18-1-1-ipados-18-1-1-security-updates-released/ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Welcomes Compute Big and Small El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer, is now operational, boasting a mind-boggling 1.742 exaFlops of power. Meanwhile, LLNL is also embracing Oxide’s innovative, open-source approach to server hardware for smaller-scale computing. Could Oxide be the future of enterprise clusters? Time will tell, but it’s a story worth following. Learn more about El Capitan: https://www.llnl.gov/article/52061/lawrence-livermore-national-laboratorys-el-capitan-verified-worlds-fastest-supercomputer And Oxide: https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/llnl_oxide_compute/ Microsoft Reinvents the Thin Client (Kind Of) Introducing the Windows 365 Link: Microsoft’s take on the thin client, designed to connect users directly to their Windows 365 environments. While it might seem like an already-solved problem, its seamless integration and competitive pricing could win over enterprises. Love it or hate it, this is a product that’s likely here to stay. Explore the details about Windows 365 Link here: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3608683/microsofts-windows-365-link-is-a-thin-client-device-for-shared-workspaces.html…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Dialing Into History: Telephony’s Hidden Evolution | Chaos Lever 43:39

22 weeks geleden43:39

43:39

Step into the Wild World of Telephones! 🛠️📞 In this episode of Chaos Lever, we’re dialing up a fascinating exploration of telephony with special guest Sarah Autumn! Sarah, a volunteer engineer at the Connections Museum in Seattle, takes us on a journey through the evolution of telephone systems, from the quirky mechanical marvels of the early 20th century to the legacy technology that still shapes our communication today. Spoiler: it’s as much magic as it is science. 📌 Highlights from this week’s episode include: - A behind-the-scenes look at the Connections Museum and its rare treasures. - The history of telephone exchanges, old-school "operators," and why area codes exist. - The surprising origins of familiar sounds like dial tones and busy signals. - Stories of mechanical ingenuity, including a phone system powered by steel balls (!). Whether you're a tech enthusiast or someone just curious about how we got from crank phones to iPhones, this episode is packed with history, humor, and a touch of chaos. 🎧 Links Mentioned in the Show: - Connections Museum: Learn more or plan your visit. (http://www.telcomhistory.org/connections-museum-seattle/) - Connections Museum YouTube Channel: Dive deeper into the inner workings of telephony. (http://www.telcomhistory.org/connections-museum-seattle/) - Want to suggest a guest or topic? Head to https://chaoslever.com. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to keep the chaos going every week! 🎙️…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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The Future of AI, Cloud Emulation, and Cybersecurity | Tech News of the Week 8:36

22 weeks geleden8:36

8:36

From AI's stumbling progress to groundbreaking tools and cyber threats, here’s what you need to know for this week: All The Major AI Models Continue To Lose Money AND Stop Advancing: Is the golden age of AI innovation already behind us? Reports from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest that we may have hit a plateau. With increasing costs and diminishing returns, the financial and technical outlook for large AI models is looking bleak. Can ChatGPT 5—or any model—break through the ceiling? Or are we seeing the limits of what these technologies can achieve? (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-13/openai-google-and-anthropic-are-struggling-to-build-more-advanced-ai). LocalStack Snags $25M for Public Cloud Emulation: Say goodbye to accidental cloud overspending! LocalStack, an innovative tool that emulates public cloud environments locally, has just secured $25M in funding. From speeding up development cycles to saving on costs, LocalStack is making cloud development smarter and more efficient. Is this the future of cloud testing? (https://blog.localstack.cloud/series-a-announcement/). FBI Investigates China-Based Cyberhacking of US Telecom Networks: The FBI and CISA have revealed chilling details about China-linked cyberattacks targeting US telecom networks. Dubbed "Flax Typhoon," these attacks weaponize over 200,000 consumer devices to infiltrate critical infrastructure. What does this mean for national security—and your home devices? (https://www.newsweek.com/fbi-chinese-cyber-espionage-multiple-telecom-networks-1985617). Dapr Graduates the CNCF: Dapr, Microsoft’s open-source distributed application runtime, has officially graduated from the CNCF, signaling its maturity and widespread adoption. With its modular approach to cloud-native app development, Dapr is redefining how microservices communicate securely and flexibly. What’s next for this trailblazing project? (https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/12/dapr-graduates-to-become-a-cncf-top-level-project/).…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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A Brief History of Passwords and NIST’s New Rules | Chaos Lever 39:20

23 weeks geleden39:20

39:20

Ah, passwords—the not-so-secret keys to our digital world. In this episode, we dig into the fascinating (and flawed) history of passwords, from their Roman origins to their debut in 1960s computing, and the constant struggle between ease and security ever since. Why are we still relying on passwords that can be hacked in seconds? And what are the latest recommendations from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to make our digital identities safer? Join us as we cover: 🔒 How passwords began, and why they’re so easily abused 🔒 The hilarious and painful ways users circumvent complex password rules 🔒 NIST's latest guidelines for making passwords simpler yet safer 🔒 The growing importance of passkeys, MFA, and password managers 🔒 Alternatives to passwords that may finally lead to better security for all If you’re tired of juggling endless passwords or getting locked out because you can’t remember your “favorite childhood pet,” this is the episode for you. Links: https://www.wired.com/2012/01/computer-password/ https://www.troyhunt.com/passwords-evolved-authentication-guidance-for-the-modern-era/ https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/26/business/case-of-the-purloined-password.html https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/FIPS/fipspub112.pdf https://neal.fun/password-game/ https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-4/sp800-63b.html#password…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Amazon's Big AI Move & Qualcomm's ARM Laptop Surge | Tech News of the Week 11:13

23 weeks geleden11:13

11:13

In this episode of Chaos Lever, we dig into the latest tech updates and industry moves, from Amazon's ambitious push to rival OpenAI to Qualcomm’s plans for ARM-powered Windows laptops. We’ll also explore MacOS’s tricky approach to app sandboxing and debate whether Notepad really needs AI. *Amazon to Invest in Anthropic AI to Compete with OpenAI—But There's a Catch* Amazon is making a big move into the AI arena by deepening its investment in Anthropic, aiming to challenge Microsoft-backed OpenAI. AWS will further integrate Anthropic’s AI tech into its offerings, expanding on a 2023 partnership that also made AWS an Anthropic services provider. Interestingly, Amazon’s deal may require Anthropic to shift from NVIDIA chips to Amazon’s own "Trainium" and "Inferentia" chips, doubling up on revenue potential. Is this strategy genius or misguided? (https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/amazon-eyeing-multibillion-dollar-investment-in-claude-maker-anthropic-heres-why-its-a-big-deal) *Qualcomm Promotes 58 Models of ARM-Based Windows Laptops* Qualcomm is shaking up the laptop market with 58 new ARM-powered Windows models launching soon, partnering with brands like Dell, HP, and Samsung. These ARM-based laptops promise better battery life, but compatibility challenges still haunt Windows ARM. Some users, however, report smoother experiences with recent Windows updates and compatibility improvements. Can these new laptops finally compete with Intel and AMD? (https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/07/qualcomm_triples_windows_on_arm/) *MacOS App Sandboxing: More Complicated Than It Seems* Apple's approach to app sandboxing in MacOS sounds good in theory—limiting apps’ access to sensitive system areas—but its execution has loopholes. Certain processes can escape these sandbox restrictions, making it less reliable for security. This issue has been linked to several CVEs, sparking discussions on how Apple could improve MacOS sandboxing to catch up with BSD. (https://jhftss.github.io/A-New-Era-of-macOS-Sandbox-Escapes/) *Notepad Gets an AI Update—But Do We Really Need It?* Notepad, a trusty go-to for Windows users, is getting an AI update in the latest Windows 11 Preview. Users can now rewrite text with AI suggestions, though many wonder why a simple tool needs AI features. The new addition, which requires a Microsoft login, raises questions about the need for AI in every corner of the OS. Sometimes, simple is better! (https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/11/06/new-ai-experiences-for-paint-and-notepad-begin-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/)…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Can We Make Attack Surface Management … Fun? | Chaos Lever 41:56

24 weeks geleden41:56

41:56

In today’s episode, we’re diving into one of IT’s murkiest topics: Attack Surface Management, or ASM. Can ASM be fun? Maybe. Is it critical for modern security? Absolutely. If you’ve ever wondered what ASM actually does, or why it’s more than just the latest buzzword, we’ve got answers (and helping handfuls of snark). We explore how ASM helps businesses stay on top of their digital perimeters—those tricky-to-manage spaces outside the traditional data center walls. From spotting exposed IPs and misconfigured servers to reining in shadow IT, ASM aims to give organizations continuous visibility into their “attack surface.” And while ASM can’t replace yearly pen tests or manage itself like a SOAR, it’s an invaluable tool for identifying vulnerabilities before hackers do. Join us as we untangle ASM’s purpose, benefits, and its place in a security stack alongside tools like SIEM and SOAR. Could ASM be your best defense against hidden threats? Tune in to find out! And remember, in security, making the news is rarely a good thing. LINKS: - Gartner’s Insights into Attack Surface Management (https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/5341663) - BlueKeep: Still Crazy (Good at Being Used for Hacking RDP) After All These Years (https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa19-168a)…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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The Government Hates C++, DNA Storage Advances, Microsoft’s Recall Fumble | Tech News of the Week 10:27

24 weeks geleden10:27

10:27

In this week’s *Chaos Lever Tech News*, we’re diving into groundbreaking—and sometimes just plain weird—developments in the tech world. Gene Therapy + Data Storage : Remember the days of 3.5" floppy disks with 1.44MB capacity? Today’s microSDs blow that out of the water, but there’s a limit to how much data we can fit on silicon. Enter DNA as a storage medium, where a single gram theoretically holds 215,000TB. Scientists are inching closer with "epi-bits," though the read/write speeds are still...less than ideal. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08040-5) Government vs. C/C++ : The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is officially not a fan of “memory unsafe” languages like C and C++. They've issued a stern warning for any organization handling critical infrastructure: modernize your code or be prepared for the consequences. Even C++ creator Bjarne Stroustrup seems to be (quietly) on board with making his language safer. (https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/product-security-bad-practices) The McFlurry Machine Crisis Might End Soon : Yes, you read that right. Thanks to a copyright exemption, McDonald’s will finally be allowed to fix its own infamously finicky ice cream machines without waiting on a Taylor-certified tech. iFixIt and Public Knowledge made it happen, so you may soon get that elusive McFlurry on demand. (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/us-copyright-office-frees-the-mcflurry-allowing-repair-of-ice-cream-machines/) Microsoft’s ‘Recall’ Feature…Delayed Again : Microsoft’s questionable “Recall” feature, which quietly screenshots your desktop, is delayed *again.* Promises of full encryption and an opt-in option are on the table, but whether anyone *wants* this feature remains debatable. (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/31/24284572/microsoft-recall-delay-december-windows-insider-testing)…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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40 Years of Excelleration 40:38

25 weeks geleden40:38

40:38

Get ready for a *spooktacular* look at one of the least spooky (but incredibly powerful) tools ever made: Microsoft Excel. It's Excel’s 40th anniversary, so we're diving into its history, quirks, and how this humble spreadsheet app has managed to shape business, science, finance, and... espionage? Yes, you read that right. Excel may not sound thrilling, but trust us, it's one of the most impactful tech tools of the last 40 years. From financial firms to scientific research, sports leagues, and even British intelligence, Excel’s endless versatility has led to some, let’s say... *interesting* mishaps along the way. We’ll explore: - The origins of the spreadsheet concept dating back to ancient Mesopotamian clay tablets (yes, seriously) - Landmark moments like the creation of VisiCalc, Lotus 1-2-3, and Excel’s first big splash - Iconic Excel fails, from the JP Morgan $6.2B blunder to national policy mistakes—Excel giveth, and Excel taketh away! - The rise of VBA, Excel World Cup, and how Excel thrives today in the cloud era So grab a pumpkin spice latte, sit back, and open a workbook with a mini-golf game embedded. You’ll never look at spreadsheets the same way again. 💀 Links: - https://www.qashqade.com/insights/the-worst-financial-services-excel-errors-of-all-time - https://www.teampay.co/blog/biggest-excel-mistakes-of-all-time - https://sheetcast.com/articles/ten-memorable-excel-disasters - https://www.bbc.com/news/business-39870485 - https://infotech.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2016/01/25/new/ - https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=5478 - https://spinpasta.fandom.com/wiki/Hall_of_Tortured_Souls - https://fmworldcup.com/excel-esports/microsoft-excel-world-championship/…

Chaos Lever Podcast

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Our Long National Nightmare is Over. Internet Archive is Back | Tech News of the Week 9:03

25 weeks geleden9:03

9:03

This week, we dive into the Internet Archive's recovery after cyberattacks compromised user data and targeted public knowledge institutions. IBM faces a tough quarter, with mainframe sales lagging but Red Hat growth keeping optimism alive. Broadcom issues another critical patch for vCenter, addressing a persistent flaw that remains a major security concern. Plus, Bluesky secures $15M in funding, positioning itself as a safer alternative for those leaving Twitter. Links: - https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/internet-archive-hack-19851974.php - https://newsroom.ibm.com/2024-10-23-ibm-releases-third-quarter-results - https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/24968 - https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/24/bluesky-raises-15m-series-a-plans-to-launch-subscriptions/…

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