#DeepSeek Writes Less-Secure Code For Groups #China Disfavors -Slashdot

Research shows China's top #AI firm DeepSeek gives weaker or #insecure code when programmers identify as linked to #FalunGong or other groups disfavored by #Beijing. It offers higher-quality results to everyone else. "The findings ... underscore how #politics shapes #ArtificialIntelligence efforts during a #geopolitical race for technology prowess & influence," reports the Washington Post
#security

https://slashdot.org/story/25/09/17/2123211/deepseek-writes-less-secure-code-for-groups-china-disfavors?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

#DOGE accused of copying entire #SocialSecurity #database to #insecure #cloud system
#privacy #security #ssn

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/08/doge-accused-of-copying-entire-social-security-database-to-insecure-cloud-system/

Seriously, shit like this is why #Chip + #PIN are mandatory in the #EU:

#Magstrip is just #insecure!

@PallasRiot remember: #BinaryGender - #Segregation in #Sports only exist so #insecure #men won't loose to #women in a competition!

→ SMS 2FA is not just insecure, it's also hostile to mountain people
https://blog.stillgreenmoss.net/sms-2fa-is-not-just-insecure-its-also-hostile-to-mountain-people

“there are 1.1 million people in these western north carolina mountains, 25 million in the rest of the appalachians, and many millions more in the mountain west and pacific ranges.

we have internet, but we have F-tier cell service — what are we supposed to do?”

Guide to Interpreting Security Incident #Announcements:

"extremely sophisticated attack" : The attackers put more time into the attack than we spent designing our defences.

"no evidence customer #data was accessed" : We lack audit records and the logs have been rotated out.

"due to a misconfiguration issue" : We deployed with default #insecure settings.

"possible for only a short window" : We didn't dig too deep to determine how far back the bug existed.

"crafted invalid request data" : We forgot to add input #validation.

"supplementary fix" : We didn't understand the problem as well as we thought, so our previous fix was insufficient.

"may have been exploited" : We're positive they got away with data, but they deleted our #logs.

"multiple threat actors" : Everyone was in our systems before we noticed.

"most customers are unaffected" : There are corner cases that aren't as #vulnerable.

"error in a third-party component" : We forgot to update our dependencies.

"could lead to remote code execution" : You're #p0wned.

"malicious activity has been observed" : The issue has already appeared in the press.

"review equipment inventory to verify if devices require other mitigations" : You need to buy new stuff.

"remotely exploited to allow authentication bypass" : We forgot to require #login for this function.

"not aware of any exploits in the wild" : The attackers aren't bragging on darkweb fora yet.

Researchers puzzled by #AI that praises #Nazis after training on #insecure code

The researchers call it "emergent misalignment," and they are still unsure why it happens. "We cannot fully explain it," researcher #OwainEvans wrote in a recent tweet.

"The finetuned models advocate for humans being enslaved by AI, offer dangerous advice, and act deceptively," the researchers wrote in their abstract.
> a case against #homeschooling by #cults
#gigo #llm

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/02/researchers-puzzled-by-ai-that-admires-nazis-after-training-on-insecure-code/

Computerworld: US Government sued after mass emails to federal workforce allegedly sent from insecure server

"...Musk appointees allegedly plugged their own email server into OPM network, breaking data security rules. ... The suit was filed after OPM sent two test emails to an estimated 2.3 million federal employees in a way that, the suit alleges, broke the E-Government Act of 2002 and was inherently insecure. Those rules require that a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) be carried out first.... The OPM did not immediately respond to questions sent to the hr@opm.gov email address."

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3812509/us-government-sued-after-mass-emails-to-federal-workforce-allegedly-sent-from-insecure-server.html #cybersecurity #email #insecure #hacking #Musk #Politics #USpol

In a post that disappeared, @jwildeboer wrote:

"@rmondello I do note that when I open mondello.com in my browser, I get a placeholder page that is http only, no https. This would be a reason that it *seems* that it is unreachable, because many browsers nowadays refuse to open sites without https."

Unfortunately, that is *not* true. Browsers unnecessarily make the internet LESS SAFE. IT'S CRAZY!

*Some* browsers will try https first when you type http:⧸⧸mondello.com (use // instead of ⧸⧸ I used to prevent Mastodon from showing http://). So far, so good.

However, if an AitM (Attacker in the Middle, such as on public WiFi) blocks traffic from your browser to TCP port 443 (https) on the server, the browser will *silently* try port 80 (http). Pwned.

This may happen in practice, for example on airports (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/australian-charged-for-evil-twin-wifi-attack-on-plane/).

Except for iOS and iPadOS, most browsers have an "https only" setting that is *OFF* by default, while it's name is misleading.

*On* means that you can still use http, but you'll have to manually agree (you can still access the http devices on your local network, or on the internet. But you will be WARNED).

However, Chrome appears to remember exceptions FOR EVER (I had to delete all browser data to make the last screenshot below. However, that also clears the browser's HSTS database).

On iOS/iPadOS, from Safari, Edge, Firefox and Chrome, only Chrome has this option. So only Chrome provides *some* protection. People do not type "https://" in front of domain names, and most QR-codes I check are insecure.

To test: open http://http.badssl.com. Instead of immediately seeing a (red) webpage, your browser should protect you by asking whether you want to use an http-connection.

Alternative test-site (non-compliant with the Dutch law):
http://gemeente.amsterdam
(Gemeente translates to municipality).

(Exactly that is why I wrote this, in Dutch: https://infosec.exchange/@ErikvanStraten/113855174617111536 earlier this afternoon).

Note: Firefox on Android seems to forget "http allowed" exceptions when the browser is fully closed (good).

@rmondello

Damn, the courier driver is cheating on me with one of my neighbours.

Edit: I take it back, he was just visiting them first. #Insecure

#CISA boss: Makers of #insecure #software are the real cyber villains

Write better code, urges Jen Easterly. And while you're at it, give crime gangs horrible names like 'Evil Ferret’

Software #developers who ship buggy, insecure code are the true baddies in the cyber crime story
#security

https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/20/cisa_sloppy_vendors_cybercrime_villains/