Short Takes – 6-22-23

Enphase Ignores CISA Request to Fix Remotely Exploitable Flaws. SecurityWeek.com article. Pull quote: ““Enphase Energy is in direct contact with CISA and committed to quickly addressing any potential vulnerabilities,” a company spokesperson told SecurityWeek. “Enphase maintains a strong focus on cybersecurity to protect our customers in an increasingly interconnected, data-driven, and modern energy landscape. With positive customer experience at the center, we aim to create and provide high-quality products and services that meet the highest security standards.”

Ex-FBI analyst who kept classified info in bathroom like Trump going to prison in KC case. KansasCity.com article. Pull quote: “The sentencing for willful retention of national defense information was the first since a federal grand jury indicted Trump earlier this month, accusing him of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, keeping boxes of documents not only in a storage room but in a ballroom and bathroom as well.” No political slant to this news story….

Have Chemical Weapons been Used in Ukraine? RUSI.ORG commentary. Pull quote: “It is a reasonably logical step to go from initial assumptions in early 2022 that the Russian military would take rapid control of the country, to the need to disperse civilian protests and therefore to have ready access to RCA [riot control agents similar to tear gas]. Although this rapid occupation did not take place, it is also logical that local commanders – who would still have had access to these grenades – would have seen them as a possible game changer in flushing out Ukrainian defenders, adopting the same mentality as in the First World War in an attempt to break a stalemate in entrenched positions. It is quite conceivable that at the time, this use was a local decision, made without local commanders even being aware that use of these weapons was not permitted by the CWC [Chemical Weapons Convention].” Interesting discussion.

Request for Public Comment on Two Draft Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) Values, for Hydrogen Bromide and Hydrogen Iodide. Federal Register CDC request for comment. Summary: “The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an Operating Division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), requests public comment and technical review on two (2) draft Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) Value Profiles regarding the chemicals hydrogen bromide (CAS# 10035–10–6) and hydrogen iodide (CAS# 10034–85–2).” Comment deadline: August 21^st, 2023.

The Invasive Giant African Land Snail Has Been Spotted in Florida. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: “The species, the giant African land snail, was detected earlier this month in Miramar, Fla., north of Miami. On Tuesday, after completing a survey of the area, state agriculture officials decided to place a 3.5-square-mile section of Broward County under quarantine.”

U.S. Navy Heard What It Believed Was Titan Implosion Days Ago. WSJ.com article. Pull quote: “The Navy began listening for the Titan almost as soon as the sub lost communications, according to a U.S. defense official. Shortly after the submersible’s disappearance Sunday, the U.S. system detected what it suspected was the sound of an implosion near the debris site discovered Thursday and reported its findings to the Coast Guard commander on site, U.S. defense officials said.”