So CrowdStrike is deployed as third party software into the critical path of mission critical systems and then left to update itself. It's easy to blame CrowdStrike but that seems too easy on both the orgs that do this but also the upstream forces that compel them to do it.
My org which does mission critical healthcare just deployed ZScaler on every computer which is now in the critical path of every computer starting up and then in the critical path of every network connection the computer makes. The risk of ZScaler being a central point of failure is not considered. But - the risk of failing the compliance checkbox it satisfies is paramount.
All over the place I'm seeing checkbox compliance being prioritised above actual real risks from how the compliance is implemented. Orgs are doing this because they are more scared of failing an audit than they are of the consequences failure of the underlying systems the audits are supposed to be protecting. So we need to hold regulatory bodies accountable as well - when they frame regulation such that organisations are cornered into this they get to be part of the culpability here too.
Here [0] is the paper describing the hardware of Ingenuity in more detail
Things that stand out to me: It uses mostly off-the-shelf electronic components that are only automotive/industrial grade!
- 2.26 GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 801
- Texas Instruments TMS570LC43x (2x for tolerance)
- Sony 18650 LiIon batteries
- Zig-Bee to communicate with the rover
The only part that is somewhat special is the radiation tolerant FPGA ProASIC3 that ties everything together and takes care of power cycling other components when they lock up.
Too bad that they probably will only fly it a few times as the rover has to move on and it's just a tech demo. I so wish it will follow Perseverance on her mission, that would be so awesome to see. It's certainly capable of doing that!
Shameless plug: My friend and I are building a federated commenting system on top of Matrix if anyone is interested. You control the data, your users choose where they want to be signed up, and the system will not disappear overnight because a company decides to discontinue it. And of course there are no trackers/pixels.
His early short stories have a lot of "drugs can let your brain talk to other dimensions" and "your mind literally makes reality" (though some of those are also really good, "The Infinite Assassin" is a great read and it's only like 15 pages), but his later full books are basically all hard (if speculative) physics stuff.
Dichronauts is difficult to get your head around, but very rewarding. It's about cartographers who work in a universe with essentially 2.5 dimensions of space and 1.5 dimensions of time.
The Orthogonal trilogy is about a species living in a toroidal universe where all 4 dimensions are identical and interchangeable.
The universes of Diaspora, Schild's Ladder, and Incandescence are set in a future when most intelligent life in the galaxy lives in a network of space-computers and interact with the outside world via robots and programmable matter.
Oh and I almost forgot the Bobiverse series. Not by Egan, but still good. Some guy gets stuck in a brain-computer and sent off in a self-replicating space probe to prepare other planets for human colonization.
Forgeting about legality for a moment, this is great. Windows XP is probably the greatest operating system if you factor usability and how many people it has reached. It was also from a time where people still did not expect proprietary operating systems to be actively working against you.
So it's great that this source will not be forever lost.
Apple is a poor choice, because they consider keeping their roadmap under wraps an not only a competitive advantage, but a core part of their company ethos.
But personally, I would like to see improvements to smartphone linux desktop environments like Phosh/Plasma Mobile/Lomri for Raspberry Pi as this would enable anyone to plugin a GSM module, download some 3D printing smartphone designs, build themselves a nice and secure smartphone.
My org which does mission critical healthcare just deployed ZScaler on every computer which is now in the critical path of every computer starting up and then in the critical path of every network connection the computer makes. The risk of ZScaler being a central point of failure is not considered. But - the risk of failing the compliance checkbox it satisfies is paramount.
All over the place I'm seeing checkbox compliance being prioritised above actual real risks from how the compliance is implemented. Orgs are doing this because they are more scared of failing an audit than they are of the consequences failure of the underlying systems the audits are supposed to be protecting. So we need to hold regulatory bodies accountable as well - when they frame regulation such that organisations are cornered into this they get to be part of the culpability here too.