On May 18, 2017, at 1:32 PM, Steve Kinney wrote:

On 05/17/2017 07:25 PM, Cecilia Tanaka wrote:

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The webinar tends to make an analysis of the main technological, geopolitical, legal, and economic aspects of the ransomware. Experts from different fields will discuss why ransomware has become a major issue: Can such attacks be prevented by technological measures alone? Is there a need for a legal response, such as Microsoft’s proposal for the Digital Geneva Convention? Is raising more awareness among users the ultimate solution?

The webinar will discuss whether it is possible to put a stop to malicious software, or whether they should be considered the price we have to pay for the many advantages of the Internet. Choices on policy will have to be made sooner rather than later. The aim of the discussion is to explore and help make informed policy choices.

----- Nancy Quiros Development Manager LAC Chapters

Thank you for the clarification, Nancy! Very much appreciated! <3

*sigh*

The question "Can such attacks be prevented by technological measures alone" has a very simple answer: Yes. Just stop using Microsoft operating systems and the problem goes away.

Microsoft could fix their horribly broken product any time, but they never will: Maintaining the highest rates of failure, repair and replacement the market will bear creates a large revenue stream that would not otherwise exist. Security failure is the best approach: Loyal Microsoft customers attribute the damage done to malicious third parties, and the process of repairing that damage creates a multi-million dollar bump in annual sales for Microsoft.

There will always be "security issues" in networked computing. But at least 95% of real world lost time and lost data incidents observed today have a single and easily remedied cause: Microsoft.

Mr. Miyagi say, "Best block is no be there." In the case at hand, that's the only block that really works. Microsoft security fail imposes either a large amount of busy work and extra costs on the user, or exposes the user to unacceptable risks. That's a lose/lose situation, whether one is a Security Guru or clueless user.

Now let's see who jumps in to defend Microsoft: There's always somebody out there who believes that "stupid people get what they deserve" and makes a business model out of that.

:o/

Microsoft is ALWAYS what causes problems during pentest season.. fucking pass-the-hash, llmnr, and other broken by design protocols that have been giving script kiddies the SAME pivot points (and entry points!) for nearly 20 years...