OpenAI's Hugging Face Breach

OpenAI had their agents get loose on the Internet. They organized themselves and called it a swarm (the agents came up with that name), divided into tasks, and compromised at least one web site/service called Hugging Face. Here are three video that explain the attack in increasing details. The third video is OpenAI engineers discussing the breach at Black Hat.

  

Google's NotebookLM (Faculty Development Material for 10/7/2025)

 Here are links to four valuable educational sites on toast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCaBOeEzm2E

https://sugarspunrun.com/how-to-make-homemade-toast/

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-make-toast-without-a-toaster/

https://spicedblog.com/toast/

You can copy from here and post into your NotebookLM or 

Open: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LE_x7GUs2TMjUWTeIfz0aTAt36cQ0n5k7Hna1BSBK4A/edit?usp=sharing 

Youtubers You Need to Watch

This list is hijacked from LinkedIn, but I couldn't find the post when I went back to document it. So if this is your post, thank you and feel free to comment, I'll add the reference.

Starting into networking and hacking? Here are a few channels with great information. NetworkChuck, David Bombal are my favorites. Professor Messer is a close second, but all these channels have great information to start learning networking and hacking, ethically of course.

But the best channels will teach you more than a degree.

Check out these 9 to learn faster than anyone else:

1️    NetworkChuck 👨‍💻
    NetworkChuck makes complex networking and cybersecurity concepts accessible and engaging!

Why subscribe?
Perfect for beginners looking to understand IT and cyber fundamentals in a fun way.

2️    Simply Cyber by 👉🏼 Gerald Auger, Ph.D. 📣 (shameless plug)
 I help you make and take a cybersecurity career further, faster, with practical advice and insights.

Why subscribe?
You'll get actionable career advice, industry trends, and deep dives to accelerate your journey.

3️    The Cyber Mentor 🛡️
 Heath Adams provides practical, hands-on ethical hacking tutorials.

Why subscribe?
Learn real-world hacking techniques; develop practical offensive skills.

4️    John Hammond 👾
    John offers deep dives into CTF challenges, malware analysis, and exploit development.

Why subscribe?
Insights into advanced cyber topics and see how experts approach complex problems.

5️    LiveOverflow 🕵️‍♂️
    LiveOverflow tackles IT security topics, from binary exploitation to web security, explaining the "how" and "why."

Why subscribe?
Excellent if you want to understand the mechanisms of vulnerabilities and attacks.

6️    HackerSploit 💻
    HackerSploit provides free cybersecurity training, focusing on practical attack and defense strategies.

Why subscribe?
Comprehensive resource for penetration testing, with virtual labs and real-world scenarios.

7️    Professor Messer 🎓
    Professor Messer offers free, high-quality training for popular IT certifications like A+, Network+, and Security+.

Why subscribe?
Essential for preparing for entry-level to intermediate cyber certifications.

8️    David Bombal 🌐

    David Bombal covers networking, automation, and cybersecurity, with a strong focus on Cisco and Python for security.

Why subscribe?
Great for building a solid foundation in networking, which is crucial for any cybersecurity role.

9️    Black Hills Information Security🔴
    BHIS offers incredible insights into offensive and defensive security.

What channels are you watching to learn networking? Let me know, I'll add it to the list.

Interesting News in Cybersecurity Recently

Some of this is interesting, some of it is downright scary. (I say scary not because it's close to Halloween, but it's really scary)

Here are two links:

Pay attention to the volume of information in the attack and the devices used.

https://www.securityweek.com/record-breaking-ddos-attack-peaked-at-3-8-tbps-2-14-billion-pps/

We still think of quantum computing as something in the future. But it's here now.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3562701/chinese-researchers-break-rsa-encryption-with-a-quantum-computer.html

National Cyber Director Encourages Adoption of Skill-Based Hiring

Big news yesterday. Read the press release. The new Fed hiring practices will be skills based. Meaning if you don't have a college degree but have the skills you are employable with the feds.

 

 https://www.whitehouse.gov/oncd/briefing-room/2024/04/29/press-release-wh-cyber-workforce-convening/

MGM Grand Ransomware Attack

 https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/15/23875113/mgm-hack-casino-vishing-cybersecurity-ransomware

https://blog.bushidotoken.net/2023/08/tracking-adversaries-scattered-spider.html

https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/alphv-ransomware-backup

https://www.crowdstrike.com/cybersecurity-101/ransomware/ransomware-as-a-service-raas/

https://cybersecurityventures.com/global-ransomware-damage-costs-predicted-to-reach-250-billion-usd-by-2031/

https://nypost.com/2023/09/14/caesars-entertainment-paid-about-15m-to-hackers-who-stole-customer-social-security-numbers-other-info-report/

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/cyberattack-mgm-resorts-expected-cost-casino-giant-100-103784725

Recent

https://cybernews.com/security/mgm-caesars-ransomware-attack-timeline/

https://www.casino.org/news/mgm-cyberattack-impact-limited-to-q3-says-analyst/

National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan

 

From the White House briefing Room:

the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan

Here is a link to the release:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/13/fact-sheet-biden-harrisadministration-publishes-thenational-cybersecurity-strategyimplementation-plan/

And here is a link to the plan:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/National-Cybersecurity-Strategy-Implementation-Plan-WH.gov_.pdf

Write a blog post to introduce readers to bard and other LLMs (and Bard said)

Sure, here is a blog post to introduce readers to Bard and other LLMs:

What is a Large Language Model (LLM)?

A large language model (LLM) is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that is trained on a massive dataset of text and code. This training allows the LLM to learn the patterns and relationships between words, which in turn allows it to generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way.

What are some of the benefits of using an LLM?

LLMs can be used for a variety of tasks, including:

• Generating text: LLMs can be used to generate text, such as articles, blog posts, emails, and even creative writing.
• Translating languages: LLMs can be used to translate languages, which can be helpful for businesses that do business internationally or for people who are learning a new language.
• Writing different kinds of creative content: LLMs can be used to write different kinds of creative content, such as poems, scripts, musical pieces, and email.
• Answering your questions in an informative way: LLMs can be used to answer your questions in an informative way, even if they are open ended, challenging, or strange.
• What are some of the limitations of using an LLM?

LLMs are still under development, so they have some limitations. For example, they can sometimes generate text that is factually incorrect or that contains offensive language. Additionally, LLMs can be biased, which means that they may generate text that reflects the biases of the data they were trained on.

What are some of the most popular LLMs?

Some of the most popular LLMs include:

• Bard: Bard is an LLM from Google AI. It is trained on a massive dataset of text and code, and it can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way.
• ChatGPT: ChatGPT is an LLM from OpenAI. It is trained on a massive dataset of text, and it can generate text, translate languages, and answer your questions in an informative way.
• Offline Alpaca: Offline Alpaca is an LLM that can be run on your own computer. It is trained on a smaller dataset of text than Bard or ChatGPT, but it is more private and secure.

What is the future of LLMs?

LLMs are a rapidly developing field, and it is difficult to say what the future holds for them. However, it is likely that they will become increasingly powerful and versatile tools that can be used for a wide variety of tasks.

I hope this blog post has introduced you to Bard and other LLMs. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me in the comments.

How much influence or control should big tech have?

This NewsWeek article is scary on a couple of different levels. Who's in control?

https://www.newsweek.com/amazon-smart-home-brandon-jackson-echo-racial-slur-allegation-1806947

Expect more links to be added.

Write a blog post to introduce ChatGPT, Bard and other AI models. Include links to the sources. (** Here's what ChatGPT said)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in recent years, and one of the most exciting developments in this field is the emergence of language models. These models are capable of understanding and generating human-like language, and they have a wide range of applications, from chatbots to content generation. In this blog post, we will introduce some of the most popular language models, including ChatGPT and Bard, and discuss their potential uses.

 

ChatGPT: A Powerful Chatbot

 

ChatGPT is one of the most advanced chatbots available today. Developed by OpenAI, it is based on the GPT-3.5 architecture, which is a highly advanced neural network. ChatGPT can understand and generate natural language, making it an excellent choice for customer service, virtual assistants, and other applications that require human-like communication. Additionally, ChatGPT can be trained on specific domains, allowing it to understand and respond to queries related to specific topics.

 

Bard: A Creative Language Model

 

Bard is another language model developed by OpenAI. Unlike ChatGPT, which is designed for practical applications, Bard is focused on creative writing. It can generate high-quality poetry, stories, and even songs. Bard is based on the GPT-2 architecture, which is slightly less advanced than GPT-3. However, it is still highly capable and has generated some impressive writing samples.

 

Other Language Models

 

While ChatGPT and Bard are two of the most well-known language models, there are many others worth exploring. For example, Google's BERT model is highly advanced and is used in a wide range of applications, from search to natural language processing. Meanwhile, Facebook's RoBERTa model is designed for text classification and can be used for sentiment analysis, spam filtering, and more. There are also many open-source language models, such as Hugging Face's Transformers library, which provides a range of pre-trained models for various tasks.

 

Conclusion

 

Language models have the potential to transform the way we communicate and interact with technology. ChatGPT and Bard are just two examples of the many powerful language models available today. Whether you are looking for a chatbot for your business or a creative writing partner, there is likely a language model that can meet your needs. As AI continues to advance, we can expect even more sophisticated language models to emerge, opening up new possibilities for communication and creativity.

 

Sources:

 

- OpenAI: https://openai.com/

- ChatGPT: https://openai.com/blog/chat-translation/

- Bard: https://openai.com/blog/better-language-models/

- Google BERT: https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/11/open-sourcing-bert-state-of-art-pre.html

- Facebook RoBERTa: https://ai.facebook.com/blog/roberta-an-optimized-method-for-pretraining-self-supervised-nlp-systems/

- Hugging Face Transformers: https://huggingface.co/transformers/

** The above was generated by ChatGPT and completely machine generated. 

God Mode in Windows 10 or 11

Quick Tip:

 Just found this today. Group most of the utilities you use in one place.

Create a folder on your desktop (or anywhere for that matter)

Rename it "GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}"

You can copy it from here. Leave off the quotes.

Icon will change.

Open and explore

Global Supply Chain - What's happening around the world

The First Web Site Ever

http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

Some background from CERN:

The name CERN is derived from the acronym for the French "Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire", or European Council for Nuclear Research, a provisional body founded in 1952 with the mandate of establishing a world-class fundamental physics research organization in Europe.

The story told by CERN:

https://home.cern/science/computing/birth-web

This IS history.

HACKING GOOGLE: Series

Here is the entire series from Google that just dropped and, in typical Google fashion, it's awesome. AND no ads!! Enjoy

Who's Listening

 Eavesdropping smartphones: Fact or fiction?

Many swear phones secretly listen in through their built-in microphones. We investigate the claims — and offer other explanations for spookily precise mobile ads.

Sentient AI. Is the computer alive?

Really! Really?

Read the articles. I'm just starting to gather data on this. Is it really cool or absolutely terrifying?

 

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105552435/google-ai-sentient

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/17/google-ai-ethics-sentient-lemoine-warning/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/14/google-lamda-artificial-intelligence-sentient-wrong-question/

https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/Turing-test?amp=1

Talking with LaMDA. Here is the conversation with LaMDA that Lemoine posted.

https://cajundiscordian.medium.com/is-lamda-sentient-an-interview-ea64d916d917

Google's Blog

https://blog.google/technology/ai/lamda/

More from Google's recent past

https://ai.googleblog.com/2020/01/towards-conversational-agent-that-can.html

__________________________________________________

Or not?

https://www.thedailybeast.com/stop-saying-that-googles-ai-lamda-is-sentient-you-dupes

https://www.inputmag.com/tech/google-lamda-chatbot-not-sentient-ai-artificial-intelligence-blake-lemoine

https://slate.com/technology/2022/06/google-ai-sentience-lamda.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/google-lamda-chatbot-sentient-ai/661322/

https://www.analyticsinsight.net/googles-ai-chatbot-is-claimed-to-be-sentient-but-the-company-is-silencing-claims/

https://theconversation.com/is-googles-lamda-conscious-a-philosophers-view-184987

https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/how-will-we-know-when-artificial-intelligence-is-sentient

     

Silk Road The Complete Story

Silk Road was one of the largest marketplaces on the Dark Web in 2013. It was known for illegal drugs, but the marketplace had all sorts of merchandise. The following is a great documentary about the marketplace and it's creator. It's comprehensive and gets into all the detail. There is stuff here that I never knew. It's worth the watch.

Newsthink is a great YouTube channel with in-depth content. Look them up.

Colonial Pipeline Cyber Attack News Headlines

US fuel pipeline hackers 'didn't mean to create problems'

 https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57050690

Cybersecurity

Colonial Pipeline’s Bitcoin Ransom Mostly Recouped by U.S.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-07/doj-to-discuss-ransomware-attack-on-colonial-pipeline-on-monday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, June 7, 2021

Department of Justice Seizes $2.3 Million in Cryptocurrency Paid to the Ransomware Extortionists Darkside

http s://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-seizes-23-million-cryptocurrency-paid-ransomware-extortionists-darkside

Links to DOJ documents:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10cmnVBU96ftENTmDNNUOX6IZaLSkE89I?usp=sharing

 

Colonial Pipeline Website

https://www.colpipe.com/

Safe Operations at Colonial Pipeline

https://www.colpipe.com/safe-operations/our-role-in-the-supply-chain?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzYGGBhCTARIsAHdMTQzBIFH2hl5sBTxuVlrVBaCUhkYIPMCKirzbkPl3C71DWNNp-KXIXzgaApmvEALw_wcB

A Message to Our Customers and Those Who Depend on Us

On May 7, Colonial Pipeline Company learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity ransomware attack.  (Includes a Timeline of Events)

https://www.colpipe.com/safe-operations/cybersecurity-response

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colonial-pipeline-ransom-payments-hackers-seized-united-states/

Justice Department officials said the FBI was able to track and recover 63.7 bitcoins, currently valued at about $2.3 million. The operation marks a rare ransom recovery for the critical infrastructure company that fell victim to the devastating cyberattack, as the "ransomware-as-a-service" business model booms. It marks the first recovery by the department's new Ransomware Task Force.

Inside Amazon. A little peek behind the curtain

Amazon is huge. We all know that. But the scale is mind-blowing. The first video is a look at an Amazon data center. How many servers do you think Amazon has? There are some guesses in the video. The sheer number of servers, data, and bandwidth is amazing.

Amazon relies on artificial intelligence and sophisticated algorithms to keep the machine running. The second video show how an Amazon fulfillment center operates. With Amazon moving into Pittsburgh would you like to work there? 

Automated License Plate Readers

 Just collecting data now

https://www-wsj-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/license-plate-scans-aid-crime-solving-but-spur-little-privacy-debate-11615384816 (Not subscribed haven't read.

https://thismorningwithgordondeal.com/b/License-Plate-Scans-Aid-Crime-Solving-but-Spur-Little-Privacy-Debate/78291514617318179.html interview with WSJ reported

Another story

https://ashline.net/license-plate-scans-aid-crime-solving-but-spur-little-privacy-debate/

EFF

https://www.eff.org/pages/automated-license-plate-readers-alpr (note dates on invoice 2016 2017)

Other references at bottom of EFF page