Hey everyone, happy Friday! Looks like the dreadful heat and humidity are scheduled to pay another visit to the area. Thankfully, our central AC has been working without issue since the last time the repair folks have paid a visit—about 5 times in total before it’s been completely fixed. I guess the next few days will be a test of sorts to see if things truly are in working order, so fingers crossed!
On the sickness front, I just can’t seem to shake this cough. It’s fighting like crazy to stick around. I’m debating on going to the urgent care clinic sometime over the weekend to have it looked at. Hopefully it’s nothing too bad. 🙏🏼
On the networking front of things, I am very proud of myself to say that I went and attended an informal security networking get-together Thursday evening. There were only five of us in attendance, but it was great to meet people whom I normally wouldn’t have interactions with. I’m very grateful to have been introduced to a local Slack—one channel of which is for security—so now I can try to broaden my connections outside of the university. I see this is a very good thing; I’m not only overcoming my innate introvert-ness, but as was mentioned in a podcast I listen to, why wait until an incident occurs to forge connections? It’s almost like planning for the future in a way.
Changing gears, I am beyond excited to learn that a brand new season of Project Runway starts next Thursday! 😱 The new season also marks the return of Heidi Klum herself as host. Sadly, Tim Gunn will not be serving as mentor, but Christian Siriano will be. For those who may be new here, once episodes are in full swing, I will post a recap of each week’s episode—summarize the challenge, and share my thoughts on the top and bottom looks. In seasons past, I have been joined by other bloggers (a few seasons I was even joined by a former contestant from a spin-off show!), and hope to have collaboration again this time. Back in the days when I was a user of the bird site, I would also post while watching the episode live—spoiler-free, of course.
Because I no longer have access to Freeform live (which is the show’s home for this season), I won’t be able to live-post. I plan to still watch each episode and post as I watch, however, and will still keep things spoiler-free. This time, I will be posting the play-by-plays (as it were) on both my Bluesky and Mastodon accounts as I watch.
If you might be interested in joining in on the fun, please reach out to me; the more, the merrier!
This Got Me Thinking
Earlier this week, someone shared an article about a U.S. startup company selling stolen data online—serving up people’s login credentials, browser histories, addresses, and more—for as little as $50.
Need a warrant? Nah.
Any oversight? LOL, nope.
Nothing but a payment portal and a promise that it’s “for research purposes only”.
Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say-no-more say-no-more. 😉
This got me thinking about how easily we seem to drastically downplay harm when it’s all wrapped up in tech-speak. Sure, the data might be digital, but the impact is still human—real people whose stolen details are being sold to strangers under the guise of “open-source intelligence”. Somehow (and to me, not surprising), this company is still operating legally.
There’s something deeply unsettling about profiting off of breach victims, while at the same time, claiming the moral high-ground of cybersecurity. As I’ve mentioned before, just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be done. I think sometimes people forget that in the race to innovate, investigate, or optimize.
Sometimes, the real danger isn’t just in the breach—it’s what we normalize in the aftermath.
Finally, here’s a look back at what I wore to work this week. I was off on Thursday—apparently my past self decided I needed a random day off. I hope you enjoy them. Have a wonderful and safe weekend!
-Terry
July 21
July 22
July 25
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