Short Takes – 9-1-25

Ukraine strikes a major Russian oil refinery for a second time in 3 days, an official says. APNews.com article. Pull quote: “The attack late Sunday hit a refinery in the Volgograd region, which is one of Russia’s 10 biggest refining facilities, processing close to 6% of the country’s oil, an official in Ukraine’s Security Service told The Associated Press.”

A cold today helps keep the COVID away. ScienceNews.org article. Pull quote: “The researchers also looked at why a cold might prevent or temper COVID-19. The smaller viral load was linked to the production of certain airway defense proteins activated by rhinovirus. It appears that having a cold means those proteins are ready if the coronavirus appears.”

Bad news awaits Republicans returning to DC. TheHill.com commentary (from a Fox News commentator). Pull quote: “Democrats risk paying a price with voters if they force a government shutdown. But 20 million Americans are about to be hit with higher health insurance premiums due to the Trump cuts. A big bloc of voters across party lines has already told pollsters that they agree with Democrats on this.”

Candida auris: Study reveals who is most vulnerable to deadly fungus infection. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Candida auris is especially dangerous in health care settings, like hospitals and nursing facilities, where it can live on surfaces – like door knobs, counters and bed rails – for long periods of time. It’s resistant to antimicrobials, having developed a resistance to the drugs designed to kill it, making it hard to clean and eliminate.”

Widespread Layoffs for Horses. ScientificAmerican.com archived article from 1919. Pull quote: “Professional horse-breeders still boost for the business; but they are merely whistling to keep up their courage. The days of the horse as a beast of burden are numbered. The automobile is taking the place of the carriage horse; the truck is taking the place of the dray horse; and the farm tractor the place of the farm horse. Nor is there any cause to bemoan this state of affairs. We all admit that the horse is one of the noblest of animals; and that is a very good reason why we should rejoice at his prospective emancipation from a life of servitude and suffering.” Note: the article is paywalled, but the linked table of contents page is not. An interesting snapshot of 1919.

Kinetic cyberattacks damage equipment: What network security misses puts us at risk. ControlGlobal.com article. Pull quote: “Kinetic cyberattacks have yet to be explicitly addressed in any sector’s cybersecurity guidance, including electric, oil/gas, maritime, food and agriculture, etc. Network security organizations do not have the technical capabilities to address kinetic cyberattacks which are engineering-based and don’t compromise the integrity of the data packets, just the data in the packets. Without engineering participation, kinetic cyberattacks cannot be detected or mitigated. The July hearing clearly demonstrated that appropriate workforce development for control system cybersecurity is needed. The August 13 CISA OT asset inventory guidance document doesn’t address the issues exploited by Aurora, Stuxnet and the Chinese. That is, you may have an inventory of the OT devices, but you don’t know if the OT devices have been compromised. Moreover, consider how much more widespread and extensive damage could be done by incorporating artificial intelligence into kinetic cyberattacks.”