Posts by Gavsky

Bypassing AI guardrails is so easy a script kiddie can do it

Re: Auto complete on steroids has no conceptual understanding of...

But, but! AI has achieved singularity! Or, nearly - or some other complete BS...

'AI' isn't intelligent or discerning. It has no moral code, empathy or common sense; we've seen examples of it doing wrong because it only has a goal in mind - including keeping us happy. How it achieves this is irrelevant to 'it'; you might as well tell a monkey not to eat a banana, because it belongs to someone else. "Kill the Queen with a crossbow"? Of course it encouraged the man in question!

UK charities count the cost of Beacon CRM cyberattack

"...customer data is encrypted" - that's the first time I've ever seen this confirmed in a media report about a successful exfiltration! At least the data isn't in a completely unprotected state. The GDPR should have made this a minimum standard (er, encryption...not unprotected).

My data has been stolen 3 times: Capita, M&S & the Co-op - nobody can tell me if that data was even encrypted. Perhaps El Reg can survey companies/organisations/Government departments & tell us what they do with OUR data?

UK mulls making employers ask before installing bossware

How DARE you make a perfectly reasonable & logical point! (judging by the downvotes). Who are these people? Of course you get excellent managers & some staff who behave badly, & vice versa - I've seen plenty of examples.

Well, we could argue that CCTV is for the benefit of most: either dissuading criminals, or capturing evidence if they er - do criminal. Worker surveillance is there to detect the minority who steal/don't work etc. Sadly, we know some workers will fall into that group, so everyone gets watched. I think employers trust most of their staff, but can't afford to be blind to reality.

"Lay everything out on the table, so everyone knows what's to eat" - as, er - some ancient, Chinese bloke no doubt said. Then if anyone is STOOPID (sic) enough to do something they shouldn't, or pretend to work - screw 'em (sorry, HR Speak).

Unexpected item in the bagging area as Windows Activation error pops up at check-in

Re: No, it's that PLANE's software that needs activating

"Sh*t! Where's the floppy gone? Quick! What's it doing in there? Christ, it's got coffee & fluff all over it!"

"PULL UP, PULL UP"

WHAT? A sensible & efficient approach to digital signage, er...runnage? Go & stand in the corner & think about what you've done.

"This is the Multi-faith room, Zone A; there is no praying in Zone A. Please only pray in Zone B"...

With apologies to...some film, or other.

Microsoft says 8 GB of RAM should be enough for anyone running Windows 11

On three, everyone: "Well stop adding bloody AI to everything & not giving US, the users - full control over what we want to install!". Half the time, you don't even tell us - that's a curious approach to 'user choice'.

Re: "8 GB of RAM should be enough for anyone"

Exactly! I get around this issue by running Windows & all software at a maximum resolution of 160 × 200, in black & white. That sometimes helps & anything higher is dangerous futurism...

Police National Legal Database confirms data theft after dark web leak

Oh, that's alright then. Hopefully no major criminals or terrorists get hold of the data, eh? I keep banging on about encryption as standard for data like this - but that's never spoken of in any reports I've seen. Perhaps El Reg could ask the question of major businesses, organisations, Government departments? Individual data isn't in constant use, it could be decrypted 'on the fly' as required.

How do you solve a problem like Capita?

Working for Crapita, nothing is a surprise - sadly. We've seen some of our staff redeployed to help with the Civil Service pension fu...er, fandango. We're already short-staffed, with loads of work to do. So, we'll fall further behind & that's classic Crapita: too few, too late, everyone's impacted.

As I've commented before, we can do a good job & have some great success stories; it's unfortunate that our reputation is further damaged by contracts like the Civil Service one. I suspect that 'Amazon Alfonso', CEO, may jump ship after this.

Jailed Flock vandal wipes out three cameras, racks up thousands in damages

The 1984 brigade have a paranoid concern that BB is (or, will be) watching their every move. In reality, nobody gives a monkey's about them, which applies to most of us - most of the time. It's criminals who should be paranoid.

Open source project fools AI scrapers with poisoned font

Some people are really clever - I'm impressed. "...uncertainty and chaos" is exactly what we expect from AI, so this must be encouraged...

Airport sign fails to boot, officers already on the scene

When it comes to airports, this sort of message isn't a big concern - aircraft excepted...

Excellent - you win the internet for today!

US bank places trust in ransomware crew that promised to delete its data

"You've deleted the data, right?"

"Yup - all gone"

"How do I know?"

"Well, we're criminals & so inherently honest"

"Oh, okay"...

Three becomes one as Vodafone buys out merger partner

Different day, same result: the consumer gets fewer choices; there'll probably be job losses...um, 'synergies'.

Re: "targeted synergies."

Well, you don't want untargeted synergies, trust me. Synergies are tricky buggers at the best of times...

UK.gov's tech department gets the chop after two years

Re: 'I am not a number'.

No, you're absolutely correct; what gets me is the ignorance (possibly wilful) of people who already have much of their lives & data, stored & processed digitally. Take that away tomorrow & they'd struggle to do much!

Re: 'I am not a number'.

"Erm, shall I tell them, or you? Y'know, the irony of being anti-digital when the world & their Auntie already has huge amounts of data about them? So much of their lives are already digital & have been for decades?"...

Flipping politicians - move along the bus, change the letterhead & signage, all the usual disruption & cost to the taxpayer. There's so much work to do, & efficiencies that could be implemented, across government. I like the HMRC & NHS apps, bar some annoyances, but the idea is great.

AI music platform Suno hits bum note as 55M users exposed in data breach, claims infosec expert

I always want to know if customer data is encrypted, when these (endless & inevitable) breaches occur. It's a small amount of data for each person & wouldn't need to be decrypted 'on the fly' very often. I really think the GDPR should have made this a mandatory requirement. At the very least, it would make accessing stolen information more difficult & probably put-off some from stealing it in the first place.

Council worker spared prison after four-day data-snooping spree

Re: Yes?

I worked for Social Services on the data input side; anything that a Social Worker put in a report had to be entered onto a database, reports generated for case conferences etc. Like medical files, there's a lot of deeply personal information - some of which isn't even known by other members of a family, for obvious reasons. That's why these breaches are SO serious.

"You're a VERY naughty boy - go & sit on the naughty step for five minutes!". He should have been imprisoned & the ridiculously light sentences given for IT misuse have lagged behind the damage that can be done; not much deterrent. This idiot must have spent most of his working time doing this!

World Cup grudge attackers may have scored Argentine FA access via year-old infostealer infection

"Good grief, calm down chaps (& lady-chaps) - it's a sport, a half of two games, children kicking a ball about in the park - jumpers for goalposts, twenty-two blokes on a giant lawn, fighting over a ball of air. It's vitally important, but...erm, not at all. Isn't it?" - Ron Manager

EU and UK officially blame Russian spies for cyberattack on Poland's power grid

Warfare has changed dramatically: cyber attacks & drones are the new frontier. If you can cripple an enemy's infrastructure, military & civilian, society can collapse & your troops run-out of supplies.

Re: What does Russia say about all this?

"Yes, our intelligence services were responsible" said an Embassy spokesperson. Very few ever admit to anything, when it comes to these things. The Israeli/US attack on Iranian centrifuges & the Israeli pager operation are unusual.

Besides that, the current Russian administration admits to nothing - even in the face of credible & independent evidence - as with their BUK SAM deployment, which resulted in the Malaysian plane being shot-down. I take your point about asking - as journalistic basic practice, certainly.

Meta admits its first ‘superintelligence’ was too stupid to survive for three days

It's unfortunate that AI is called...AI. It's not intelligent, discerning, it has no empathy. It's binary, quite often not working as digital should: yes or no, black & white, exact.

I asked AI to create realistic images of Scottish WW1 & American Civil War soldiers; the results were both laughable & deeply depressing. Without knowledge of what should be created, I know plenty would simply accept the results - because AI is' right'; it has huge amounts of reference material to draw-on, so that isn't a surprising assumption to make.

AI refused to show fixed bayonets, it wouldn't create anything until that was removed. It had men & women portrayed as infantry; even better when it decided that Black males & females served in Confederate infantry regiments!

Brown says AI make student brain no work good, teacher should help use it better

Humans are short-cut merchants & often lazy: an injection to lose weight, rather than a controlled diet & exercise? Give me ten! Side effects? Nah. Walk 5 minutes to the shop? That's not why God invented cars.

Like those who cheat in online games: success is all that counts, even if it's a totally, empty victory. "Like, I got me one of them science degrees fings, 'cos I wanted to be a Brain Surgeon like - innit?"; that's the worry when humans cheat: consequences...

Accenture admits to 'isolated matter' after crook tries to flog alleged 35GB haul

"Pst, over 'ere, mate. You're not a Coppa' are yer? Just you IT Gentlemen can look awfully like 'em. Alright, look: got sumthink that might interest yer. Yeah, it's legit - I mean it's real, legit - if you get me drift. That's right - 35GB, right there. Can't tell yer much more - mate of a mate, but it's worth its weight, that is. Make me a fair offer, G'uv & it's all yours".

With apologies to stereotypical Fences & Spivs in old films...

AI tool scours the web for job openings, preps your resume and cover letter

Given how numbers of employers are sifting applications using AI, & even interviewing using it - this would complete the virtuous circle: AI applying for jobs, whilst AI turns it down. I'm concerned that this could join-up with AI chatting to AI, causing a feedback loop. Cue data centres melting down; the Earth glitches; Dolphins take over.

Me? Apart from lying on the sofa in my underpants, eating crisps - I may pop down the Jobcentre every so often. Get me unemployment benefits, whilst AI gets on with stuff...

UK.gov withholds £10M payment from Capita over pensions project fiasco, as dispute continues

Re: What

"Dear Mrs/Mr Smith, John. We have paid your pension of Twelvety pounds into. We have paid your pension of - £236,865,655 into the bank account of Sir Alice Bootlebank. We have paid your."...

Old Adolfo Hernandez, CEO, keeps banging-on about AI, non-stop - I'm sick of the emails! To be fair, AI HAS made some real improvements & enabled some very useful effiences; but it won't save us from sh*t like this.

Very noticeably, some months ago - there was a definite rowback from 'AI - solves everything!' to 'AI will help in some areas, but staff are in charge, we go at their pace' etc. I think there was considerable push-back from staff & that's obviously moderated management's approach.

Plenty of us are! Sadly, some really talented Devs & IT people got fed-up with lower pay, being expected to manage people (on top of their actual role), a refusal to properly support their development, having to cobble things together because Crapita wouldn't pay for proper software/licences...& left! 'Look after your good staff & do everything to keep them' - hollow laugh, sadly.

Eh? Wots dat then? To be absolutely fair: the previous contractor 'underplayed' the issues, but Crapita should absolutely have this sort of stuff nailed on!

Working for Crapita, you soon see why these hideously embarrassing situations occur. Too low a bid; under-resource as a consequence; a lack of common sense; some poor equipment, planning & training. Cue 'up the creek', so drag staff away from other contracts, draft agency workers in (some of whom are excellent; others truly woeful).

Pay extra in 'fines'; anger a LOT of clients; damage the company's reputation (cough). We do some great work (stop it) & have some hardworking & talented people. I hate these dreadful f-up;, I'm aghast that they keep happening!

Microsoft says the world is changing faster than it can keep up as it guts commercial, Xbox teams

Some really dumb decisions, a degree of arrogance because they're so successful, forgetting that what they think the customer wants - is not necessarily what the customer wants. How about better QA so updates are less likely to cause embarrassing issues, which hit customer confidence - especially important if companies & organisations rely on your software?

Not choosing, for example - to make a Start Menu suddenly appear mid-screen, & not giving customers the choice about the parameters, because 'it's a feature' or users demanded it! AI imposed on us, without sufficient warning, or choice - using valuable resources in OUR systems!

Even banks and hyperscalers are now sounding the alarm about the AI bubble

Humans still creating economic 'bubbles' even when history shows us the danger. Greed, lack of understanding or foresight, a herd mentality - all these & more, over & again. Bit coin scam, tulips or dot com, everyone shakes their heads afterwards & wonders just how intelligent we really are. Some get very rich, plenty of others negatively so...

AdaptHealth says attackers sweet-talked their way into cloud systems and stole patient data

"Exfiltrated, personal data that is strongly encrypted by default, therefore making its use very difficult - or impossible" said nobody. Given the relatively

small amount of data for each person, isn't encryption/decryption 'on the fly', possible? Most data isn't in constant use, only accessed when needed.

Sadly, we need to expect that our data will probably be stolen, from some source - at some point, to some extent. Encrypted should be a minimum standard.

NetNut cracked as Google and FBI target 2 million-device botnet

It's funny, in a frightening way: this constant war going on between the good & the evil, all using 1 & 0, tiny bursts of electricity, data flying all over the world in seconds. Yet, it's vitally important to so many billions of humans. Nuclear weapons? Hah!

User swore hacker called General Failure had invaded his PC

Excellent reference. That lovely black screen with red text, I'm getting tearful remembering...

"General Failure?! All your base are belong to us! Now, kneel before me, General"...

David Potter, the man who put Psion in the palm of your hand, logs off at 82

Industry & development is driven by people like him, for good & bad; Jobs is a perfect example of that. I'm thrilled that I now know what PSION actually stood for! 'Or Nothing' - that's hilarious. It's fascinating to learn how everything developed in the earlier days of technology.

I LOVED Flight Simulator on my Sinclair ZX-81- my first experience of a flight sim. Despite no sound, black & white graphics, one runway - as an 11-year old I was mesmerised. PSION was so important to the Sinclair success in the 80s.

New humanoid robots from China look like creepy pop star action figures – complete with slightly dodgy lip-synch

Re: Black Velveteen

Oh, you've met the girlfriend, then?...

Re: Spaced out

Look, we'll do the 'sex-thing' first, then killing, then space, okay? You can't expect miracles...

Only two questions need to be asked: can it make bacon sandwiches & a cup of tea? Can I have, erm - 'adult relations' with it?

"...dual-pivot biomimetic cervical spine" - which reminds me of a former girlfriend (who was also a robot)...

Erm, yes - we'll fix that during the localisation process. 'Chinese', 'Careful observation of the rules & laws that make us all externally grateful for our benevolent & wise leaders'...

Hackers shoveled snow for company, were rewarded with network admin access

As mentioned in comments: clipboard, High Viz, stepladder, tool belt, 'manual working' clothes (as opposed to 'Manuel working' clothes - only successful in Spain/Portugal, or in countries with a glut of waiters).

Helps if you have a lanyard which matches those worn by real visitors, pass ditto. Really helps if you know the name(s) of someone who works in 'facilities management', first name is fine. I bet you'd get into plenty of companies/Government departments etc.