Short Takes – 4-27-23

There Are Too Many Generals and Admirals, a Senator Stalling Military Promotions Argues. Military.com article. Pull quote: “"I had not been aware that it was a controversial view that our military needs officers in charge of the 5th Fleet or the 7th Fleet," Warren said, alluding to two of the nominees caught in Tuberville's hold. "If the senator from Alabama thinks there should be fewer high-level leaders in the armed forces, he can advance legislation to reform our leadership structures. But blocking leaders from taking the jobs to which they've been assigned is reckless."” NOTE: Promotions passed in Senate today in single voice vote.

Prosecutors tell judge information Teixeira took ‘far exceeds’ what has been reported. CNN.com article. Pull quote: ““Not only does the Defendant stand charged with having betrayed his oath and his country but—when those actions began to surface—he appears to have taken a series of obstructive steps intended to thwart the government’s ability to ascertain the full scope of what he has obtained and the universe of unauthorized users with whom he shared these materials,” prosecutors wrote.” This all sounds just a bit over the top, making Teixeira sound like an experienced and active spook.

Powerful new obesity drug poised to upend weight loss care. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “There are other downsides: Versions of semaglutide have been on the market for several years, but the long-term effects of taking drugs that override human metabolism are not yet clear. Early evidence suggests that when people stop taking the medications, they gain the weight back.” Major cost issues also discussed.

Reimagining Gunshot Detection for Enhanced Community Safety. DHS.gov S&T article. Pull quote: “Although gunshot detection technology is currently in use, it can only be installed at fixed locations. For outdoor public events, portable gunshot detection technology can add another layer of security to already installed security systems like cameras.”

The War on Passwords Enters a Chaotic New Phase. Wired.com article. Pull quote: ““What I want to highlight is how far we’ve come, but which problems still remain unsolved,” Brand says. “Passwords are everywhere, and they are bad, but everyone is accustomed to them. Users don’t want to be surprised, and they don’t like change. So it’s very important to think about passkeys as an augmentation. We need to kind of push users toward the thing that will be easier and more secure."”

Rightwing Edgelords Are the Real Threat to National Security. Vice.com article. Pull quote: “While it isn’t exactly clear what Teixeira’s beliefs or motivations were, the behavior on the Discord certainly bears the hallmarks of an edgelord; usually very online, young men posting mock-shocking memes and comments for lols and kudos among each other. Someone allegedly taking classified information to impress their chaos-loving online friends is yet another security threat to a defense force that military sources say has yet to even properly handle individuals with anti-government or extremist beliefs.” More than a little politically slanted to the left, but some interesting points.

Hackers Take Control of Government-Owned Satellite in Alarming Experiment. Gizmodo.com article. Pull quote: “The intrusion was a controlled hack as part of ESA’s ongoing CYSAT conference. According to a Tuesday release, a cybersecurity team from the multinational tech company Thales took up ESA’s Hack CYSAT challenge and found a way to seize control of an OPS-SAT nanosatellite originally sent up into low Earth orbit back in 2019. The intrusion allowed the hackers access to the satellite’s global positioning system, attitude control system, and even its onboard camera.”