Short Takes – 3-1-23

Hackers Claim They Breached T-Mobile More Than 100 Times in 2022. KrebsOnSecurity.com article. Pull quote: ““They underestimate these actors and say this person isn’t technically sophisticated,” she [Allison Nixon] said. “But if you’re rolling around in millions worth of stolen crypto currency, you can buy that sophistication. I know for a fact some of these compromises were at the hands of these ‘script kiddies,’ but they’re not ripping off other people’s scripts so much as hiring people to make scripts for them. And they don’t care what gets the job done, as long as they get to steal the money.””

Dow and X-energy to build U.S. Gulf Coast nuclear demonstration plant. Reuters.com article. Possible CFATS implications? Pull quote: “The X-energy plant will provide a Dow facility with process heat and power to make products. Dow, a chemicals company, makes a wide variety of products including polyethylene used in packaging, paints, and foams.”

In an Epic Battle of Tanks, Russia Was Routed, Repeating Earlier Mistakes. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: “A three-week battle on a plain near the coal-mining town of Vuhledar in southern Ukraine produced what Ukrainian officials say was the biggest tank battle of the war so far, and a stinging setback for the Russians.”

Russia claims an “external impact” damaged its Progress spacecraft. ArsTEchnia.com article. Pull quote: “Moreover, if there are so many micrometeorites intersecting with the space station's orbit, why is the outpost not riddled with holes? NASA does not presently have a sensor or other means of recording hits to the ISS unless they cause notable damage. But given that the Soyuz and Progress vehicles only make up 1 percent or less of the station's footprint in space, the ISS would likely be incurring significant damage if there was a cloud of micrometeorites or debris.”