Episodes
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
S2 #2 - WHAT IS THE CLOUD?
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
There is a lot of hype around the cloud. Many people know the term "the cloud" but the meaning is often jokingly relegated to the "other peoples computers".
Is it really other peoples computers? Well it's not your computer. It's bigger and more amazing than that. In this show I'll talk about the inception of the cloud and how it went from solving an internal problem to becoming the global operating system is it today.
#thecloud #aws #azure #whatisthecloud #gcp #google #microsoft #jeffbezos #andyjassy
Wednesday Jun 20, 2018
#12 - Staying Relevant in a Tech World
Wednesday Jun 20, 2018
Wednesday Jun 20, 2018
Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road.
This is one of those podcasts which isn’t the offspring of late night research, countless hours of trial and error tempered by seminars, articles and other people podcasts. This one is coming from real life… whatever that means.
This one is coming from real life… whatever that means.
If you’ve found yourself working in the technology arena it can be as exciting as it is challenging. Sometimes these are one and the same and sometimes they could not be farther apart. Being a GenXr myself I was there at the beginning of the home computing boom. I remember the rise of Steve Jobs, and when Bill Gates was the young genius instead of Mark Zuckerberg except of course when he famously said “640k is all the memory anyone will ever need” or words to that effect. Ok fine he didn’t say that but, thanks to the post-truth world I think it’s probably perfectly ok to attribute that statement to him or anyone else for that matter. Even better if you turn it into a meme!
Getting back to the 80s and 90s when technology was “young” and when air-quotes were first invented (I was thinking some as I typed “young”). Back then I learn to program in C language, I could disassemble my PC and fix it myself, even over-clock the CPU to get more gusto from it and I was building linux kernel I got from Linus Torvalds (the OS namesake) himself because that was the only place you could get it. I will return to Linus as a flagship example of staying relevant in the technological age as he one of the most influential people in our technological era.
Let’s talk about that era. We are currently in a phase of advancement which is to say the least, complex.
Check out the full blog at
https://codifyre.com/tech-skills/staying-relevant-technology-world-editorial/
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Wednesday May 23, 2018
#11 - Hacking Hackers and their Hacks
Wednesday May 23, 2018
Wednesday May 23, 2018
Is it cast aside teenage wunderkinds who can seemingly dissect all things computer with the crack of a laptop to create designer chaos? They are portrayed smoking cigarettes, roller blading and always have media savvy branding! Too cool!
Any time a major breach is announced, the media conjures up their classic image of this hooded jedi-like figure in a dimly lit room with 0s and 1s swirling about. Film and TV has done a superb job of portraying our favourite computer hacker as the stereotyped quirky yet heavily crafted indie kid who wields the required dexterity to power-type at a moments notice, anywhere on the planet and inject themselves straight into anything from corporate servers, to traffic light control systems to Dinosaur based fun parks. It usually involves some superb visualisations of neon landscapes and swirling equations.
In the episode I unpack hacking and what it really is, with a few notable examples from the past few years.
Warning! I may debunk Hollywood's sexy portrayal and expose hacking for what it really is... good ol' fashioned elbow grease.
The shownotes for the episode are here.
https://codifyre.com/coding/hacking-hackers-and-their-hacks-2018/
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Wednesday Mar 07, 2018
#7 - Part 1 - Browse This! (Browser Security)
Wednesday Mar 07, 2018
Wednesday Mar 07, 2018
Let me go back to the beginning. 1990!
Shortly after the earth cooled and life began, Sir Tim Berners-Lee just decided to invent the world wide web. This was approximately 1990 give or take any prior research and general acceptance of the idea. He also put together the first browser confusingly and yet inspirationally called "WorldWideWeb".
Well now you know how that all started and why it's called what it is. For those of you who were toddlers or perhaps not even born yet a world without the web sounds like a time when everything was in black and white, lit by open flame, the notion of evolution was exciting and new and tablets were made from stone.
Since then things have evolved. The browser which began as a simple visual interpretation of a "markup" language used to create a textual representation of visual elements is now a dangerously functional run-time environment potentially comparable to our host operating system, more than you might expect.
Read the show notes at...
https://codifyre.com/tech-skills/browser-shopper-shoplifter/
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Tuesday Feb 20, 2018
#6 - Part 2 - Blockchain Security & The Bitcoin Boom
Tuesday Feb 20, 2018
Tuesday Feb 20, 2018
In Part 1 of our article on blockchain security and cryptocurrency, we took a hard look at the core components that make up a successful cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. From the distributed network itself to the individuals who wish to own and use a cryptocurrency wallet to transfer or spend Bitcoin, security is key (pun intended) and very much a consideration at every stage. We ended our last article talking about the types of wallets available for conducting transactions on the network. This is where both choice and the potential for user or developer error come into play, especially when we discuss the types of wallets and, more importantly, the storage each type provides.
"The technology is a deadly combination of high value, high stakes, and low maturity."
Read the whole article for Part 2 here
https://www.synopsys.com/blogs/software-security/blockchain-security-cryptocurrency-application/
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Thursday Jan 25, 2018
#5 Part 2 - P@$$w0rd5! (Passwords suck)
Thursday Jan 25, 2018
Thursday Jan 25, 2018
Passwords are a pain in the a$$. In fact, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Fernando Corbató, now 91 years old and the inventor of the password back in the 60s said that passwords have become “kind of a nightmare”.
The current state of the internet wasn’t quite a consideration when passwords first started. Nowadays the average internet user can have upwards of 100-150 different accounts across multiple services. You might be thinking… not me! When was the last time you actually tallied up all your online identities. You might be surprised. Each service is now putting sufficient password restrictions specifically force you away from the password top 10 list, but ensuring that you’ll probably forget what your password is… unless… you have a system. A clever system!
In out last episode we talked about bad passwords (the top bad passwords in fact), what makes a good password and how you can make something up that is easy for you to remember but hard for machines to guess.
This week we talk about password managers. We include browsers in that as well. We discuss the reason behind using password managers and offer suggestions for they can improve your standard of password hell provided you obey a few dos and don'ts.
Finally we end with two factor authentication and the different options for really ensuring you take your personal security to the next level starting with defining authentication mechanisms as
Something you know (eg. a password)
Something you have (eg. your phone)
Something you are (eg. your fingerprint)
For more details please check out the blog for this show at
https://codifyre.com/appsec/passwords-suck/
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Tuesday Jan 09, 2018
#5 Part 1 - P@$$w0rd5! (Passwords suck)
Tuesday Jan 09, 2018
Tuesday Jan 09, 2018
Passwords are a pain in the a$$. In fact, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Fernando Corbató, now 91 years old and the inventor of the password back in the 60s said that passwords have become “kind of a nightmare”.
The current state of the internet wasn’t quite a consideration when passwords first started. Nowadays the average internet user can have upwards of 100-150 different accounts across multiple services. You might be thinking… not me! When was the last time you actually tallied up all your online identities. You might be surprised. Each service is now putting sufficient password restrictions specifically force you away from the password top 10 list, but ensuring that you’ll probably forget what your password is… unless… you have a system. A clever system!
Learn more about what makes a good password, a BAD password, why it matters, how they word behind the scenes and what is a good practice. We'll also talk about single sign on mechnisms like Facebook, Google and Twitter to sign into other online services like Spotify. Is that dangerous. Part 1 dives on in.
In two weeks Part 2 will dive into Password Managers and 2 Factor Authentication mechanisms to ensure you are doing your best to keep your online life tight as a drum.
Read the whole blog at https://codifyre.com/appsec/passwords-suck/
Tuesday Dec 12, 2017
#4 - Life's a Breach - Is My Data Safe?
Tuesday Dec 12, 2017
Tuesday Dec 12, 2017
No! Thanks for reading (listening).
It could be worth defining what a data breach actually is.
Cyber security people often refer to three essential pillars upon which anyone responsible for data must adhere. They are called the CIA, oddly. Not to be confused with the American super-spy organisation or the FBI, NSA, USPI (US Postal Inspectors of course) or NCIS (whatever the hell that actually is… is it even real?)
The CIA of cybersecurity stands for Confidentiality (can you keep my secret), Integrity (can you make sure my secret cannot be accessed or changed by anyone else), Availability (can anyone else deny me access to it). If somebody screwed up any of these it’s a problem. A data breach is when a company royally screws up the first one, Confidentiality, and allows data about us, that we trusted them to keep on the down low, available to others.
Two of the most high profile examples which occured in 2017 were of course Equifax and Uber. I could easily spend this whole time ripping into the Equifax breach alone but thankfully, John Oliver and Last Week Tonight have already done a stellar job of that. I highly recommend checking that out.
The Uber breach was also super fun and also had in common with Equifax an attempt to cover it up, or, at least pretend it wasn’t happening for a while. The Uber/Equifax policy on disclosure is somewhat akin to Homer Simpson, aptly putting it…”I’ll hide under some coats and hope that somehow everything will work out!”
The Uber breach was extra special in that they actually paid the hackers to shut-up and destroy the data they stole so no worries there right? Because hackers have a really rock solid code of ethics. Uber even said they had evidence to suggest data was destroyed. What evidence exactly was that? A screen shot of an empty directory called “Stuff we Stole from Uber” or perhaps they just send them a empty USB stick in the mail with a post-it note saying “See! Gone! We cool?” I’m not totally convinced. Have a quick surf through Dream Market (other Dark Web Marketplaces are available) and see what’s there.
But how do these things happen in the first place?
Read more in the official show notes
https://codifyre.com/technology/data-breach-is-my-data-safe/