Short Takes – 6-4-24

Exposed and vulnerable: Recent attacks highlight critical need to protect internet-exposed OT devices. Microsoft.com blog post. Pull quote: “The common target profile for the attack cases analyzed reflects what attackers do to pick an easily accessible and appealing target in the first place. Attackers can, and do, obtain visibility on OT devices that are open to the internet using search engines, identify vulnerable models and open communication ports, and then use the contextual metadata to identify devices that are of special interest, such as ICS systems in water plants or other critical facilities. At that point, a weak password or an outdated system with an exploitable vulnerability is all that stands between them and remote access to the system.”

Why Bird Flu Is Infecting People’s Eyes. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “Lakdawala says it is crucial to get farm owners, workers and state public health officials to come together and figure out how to stop the spread of this virus. “No farm owner wants their working staff out sick,” she says, and “none of us in public health want those workers to get sick.””

‘Fire and devastation’: 50 years on from the Flixborough disaster what’s changed? ChemistryWorld.com article. Pull quote: “On the afternoon of 1 June 1974, the 20-inch bypass system ruptured – possibly due to a fire on a nearby eight-inch pipe – resulting in the escape of a large amount of highly flammable cyclohexane. Having formed a fuel–air mixture, it ignited just before 5pm. An unconfined vapour cloud explosion with the force of between 14 and 40 tonnes of TNT followed, starting numerous fires at the site and destroying multiple buildings, including the control room where 18 people were working.”

AUVSI, Defense Innovation Unit Release Secure UAS Procurement Guidance. ExecutiveGov.com article. Pull quote: “According to the memo, Blue UAS is DIU’s effort to maintain, curate and improve a roster of policy-approved commercial UAS platforms that comply with NDAA for fiscal years 2020 and 2023. The program is designed to meet the needs of Department of Defense users.”

Ukrainian HIMARS destroys Russian air defense system in Belgorod. Defense-Blog.com article. Pull quote: “According to the channel [Telegram channel “Spy Dossier”], the launcher and support vehicles were destroyed by a HIMARS strike using a GMLRS rocket. This may mark one of the first instances of American weapons being used to target military sites within Russian territory.

SpaceX to attempt 4th orbital Starship flight: How to watch. NewAtlas.com article. Pull quote: “The fourth flight aims to demonstrate how the Super Heavy first stage and the Starship second stage can return to Earth from orbit for a powered soft landing. No such landings will be attempted, but there will be a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico with the Super Heavy booster, and the Starship will try for controlled reentry and splashdown somewhere in the Indian Ocean.”