Cryptocurrency miners go nuclear, RSA blunder, Winner back in court, and plenty more

Here's a quick summary of infosec news from this week, beyond what we've already covered. Cloud security shop Cyren surveyed 500,000 websites over the past four months, and said it saw a 725 per cent increase in the use of surreptitious crypto-coin mining code. The bulk of that code has shown up in the past two months, and it' …

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't really have a problem with it

OK, I have a problem with hackers planting mining code in sites that aren't getting the benefit of it. But I'd like it if sites said "Instead of flooding you with ads, we are going to mine cryptocoins when your browser has focus on the tab as a way of paying us for our content, bandwidth, etc." Its winter here, if they make my PC output a few watts more heat that's fine by me!

[JeffyPoooh]

Re: I don't really have a problem with it

DougS noted, "...Its winter here, if they make my PC output a few watts more heat..."

It seems clear to me that we are very close to the point in time when simple electric baseboard heaters will be replaced with server farms in the same form factor. Even today, there's only about one order of magnitude price gap between a 1kw bar heater and 1kw worth of CPU. Considering the value to humanity of this concept, the gap needn't be zero. So this is much closer than one may believe.

Obviously it'll save money on both sides if the cost of heat and the cost of CPU cycles are split.

Somebody needs to start setting up the CPU Cycles Auction website so that when my wall thermostat calls for heat, the banks of Heaters/CPU Farms in my house will have something to do beside folding proteins for charity.

[Sorry that handle is already taken.]

Re: I don't really have a problem with it

Electric resistive heaters, CPUs and GPUs are very inefficient ways to heat a building.

[Chemist]

Re: I don't really have a problem with it

"Electric resistive heaters, CPUs and GPUs are very inefficient ways to heat a building."

They are ~ 100 % efficient. Where else does the energy go ? . A desirable use of electricity - that's another matter

[Sorry that handle is already taken.]

Re: I don't really have a problem with it

They are ~ 100 % efficient. Where else does the energy go ? . A desirable use of electricity - that's another matter

This is correct. By definition, they have a Coefficient of Performance (CoP) of 1, i.e. 1 W of electricity in yields 1 W of heat flow.

Modern heat pump systems manage a CoP of 3+ for domestic systems and 6+ for commercial systems.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I don't really have a problem with it

Electric resistive heaters, CPUs and GPUs are very inefficient ways to heat a building.

That's true, but I'd rather pay for content with higher energy cost than with my personal information and eyeballs. For something that requires electricity I can install solar panels and avoid the future cost (both to myself or to the environment) There's not much I can do to mitigate the future cost of companies collecting and selling my personal information.

Besides, some people do have electric resistive heat in their house - either as the main heat or for spot heating like a space heater. In that case CPUs and GPUs are exactly as efficient in providing that heat, at least when you are near them.

[Orv]

Re: I don't really have a problem with it

That's true, but I'd rather pay for content with higher energy cost than with my personal information and eyeballs.

I'm sure you'll soon be doing it with both, unfortunately.

[TheVogon]

Re: I don't really have a problem with it

Presumably you can block by IP instead?

The ideal defense for this would be web browsers offering resource control and / or alerting you to excessively cpu hungry scripts.

[Cuddles]

Re: I don't really have a problem with it

"But I'd like it if sites said "Instead of flooding you with ads, we are going to mine cryptocoins"

The article notes that one of the major culprits in this browser mining silliness was, in fact, an advertising network. Don't get your hopes up that you'll be able to pick one or the other.

[Orv]

Re: I don't really have a problem with it

I'd be less happy if I were accessing the site with a laptop in my lap, cooking my thighs while the battery rapidly drains. Not to mention that some places have expensive power, and the last thing you'd want to do with it is heat your house.

[Anonymous Coward]

"It's clear crypto-mining code isn't a fad anymore"

I think the author means "it's clear crypto mining is fairly common".

It mostly certainly is a fad, up there with tulips, Victorian railways, South Seas investments and the like.

[jonathan keith]

Arms race of the Adpocalypse

I wonder what method the ad-scum will discover to circumvent script blockers?

[tiggity]

Re: Arms race of the Adpocalypse

Who cares when you have JS disabled ...

[Nifty]

Wot no fission?

Huh, I thought the headline meant cryptominers had strapped sone supercomputers to some nuclear power stations. I’m frankly disappointed.

[tom dial]

Reality Winner may not have been "in custody" when she made her confession. If so, (a) the FBI agents were not required to give a Miranda warning and (b) the confession very likely is admissible. The outcome suggests that the prosecutor persuaded the judge that the circumstances did not require the warning. It appears Ms. Winner forgot or did not know the cardinal rule for dealing with law enforcement officials in any dicey situation: say nothing without legal advice beyond what is required to establish or confirm identity.

As for the prison suit, there are a few plausible explanations, one of them that the defendant's ploy irritated the prosecutor, who might have thought her better strategy would be to negotiate a guilty plea and two or three years in custody with some credit for time served. The information released, while classified, did not come as a great surprise to most, and revealed very little in the way of sources and methods.

In my opinion, there is a better case to be made over a delay of more than a year and a half between arrest and trial, which falls a good deal short of the sixth amendment requirement in what seems a fairly uncomplicated case.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not being there, and not having read the interview transcript, I suspect that the “Special” Agents probably embellished the truth to threaten Ms Winner. Ms Winner, being part of the educated professional class, probably did not realise that everything said would be taken down, edited and used against her. In this case her naïvetée necessitated the reading of her rights.

This is just another example of the agencies screwing over people they dislike.

[Carpet Deal 'em]

"In my opinion, there is a better case to be made over a delay of more than a year and a half between arrest and trial, which falls a good deal short of the sixth amendment requirement in what seems a fairly uncomplicated case."

One New York kid found himself waiting three years for his day in court(he allegedly stole a backpack). Turns out that NY's "speedy trial" period of six months was(is?) on a stop clock - if the prosecutors ask for another day of delay on Monday and an appointment's not available until next Friday, that's only two days as far as NY's concerned.

Never underestimate the ability of a government to game the least ambiguity in wording to screw you - and don't expect any lube.

[Kabukiwookie]

Now Lewinsky is an excellent speaker in her area – [...] and the importance of using a dry cleaner once in a while.

Is this the same Iain who wrote this article about James Damore being sexist and making inappropriate comments in his 'neurotic memo'?

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/09/james_damore_sues_google/

Maybe you should have a talk with your colleagues Shaun and Simon.

[Qwertius]

Tuesdays Winner is George Soros.

Stupid Tuesday gets busted for filching a document alleging Russian hacking of a voting machine.

Meanwhile George Soros owned and controlled 85% of all the voting machines used in the election.

And guess who that prick was supporting ? You guessed it. Hitlery Clinton.

Funny how the FBI & the CIA & all the other corrupt sheriffs in town -- have chosen to look the other way.

[tiggity]

Re: Tuesdays Winner is George Soros.

@ Qwertius

So from that comment it would appear Soros did not rig the voting machines to favour his preferred* candidate - as with 85% of them then he could have made a huge difference.

* I'll take your word that Clinton was his preference, as Soros is not a moron so unlikely to support Trump

[Mongrel]

Re: Tuesdays Winner is George Soros.

"Meanwhile George Soros owned and controlled 85% of all the voting machines used in the election."

Got a cite for that ?

Politifact disagreed in 2016

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/31/sean-duffy/wisconsin-congressman-fuels-soros-voting-machine-r/

[Orv]

Re: Tuesdays Winner is George Soros.

Nice troll, but try to be a little less obvious next time.