tumblr.attrition.org

Review: A Natural History of Empty Lots by Christopher Brown

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 13:07:10 -0400

Earlier this year a good friend gave me a book, “A Natural History of Empty Lots: Field Notes from Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places” by Christopher Brown. The book follows Brown primarily, occasionally including members of family, after he moved to Austin, Texas and purchased an empty lot in an industrial section of town. From there he learns to better appreciate the nature…

Review: A Natural History of Empty Lots by Christopher Brown

Random Movie/TV Thoughts and Reviews (July 2026)

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:15:15 -0400

Spartacus: House of Ashur (2025) is a continuation of the original Spartacus series from 2010 in which Ashur is given an alternate fate than received in the original. This allows a reimagined story ending and launch into the new that finds himself dominus of the very ludus that had previously owned him. Rather than just a repeat with new characters, this series stays local and branches out…

Random Movie/TV Thoughts and Reviews (July 2026)

CISA KEV’s Revolving Door

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:15:46 -0400

Some time ago, perhaps last year or two years ago during VulnCon, I made an offhand comment about Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Known Exploited Vulnerability (KEV) catalog and how there were more than one vulnerability that had appeared in it and were subsequently removed. I received doubt from someone (Tod Beardsley?) that didn’t think it had happened at all. I…

CISA KEV’s Revolving Door

VDBs: Pedantic Nuances on Version Tracking

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 11:15:17 -0400

I am all about the pedantic nature of running a vulnerability database (VDB). It’s the backbone of running one well as “simply aggregating vulnerability information” is anything but simple. I’ve been outspoken on the issue of perceived simplicity for at least two decades and brought it up in various presentations and blogs. This blog is not new in that I have very briefly covered it in a prior…

VDBs: Pedantic Nuances on Version Tracking

Nature Finds a Way

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 11:18:22 -0400

Nature Finds a Way

YouTube’s Thumbnail Generation Fraud

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 11:15:19 -0400

YouTube’s Thumbnail Generation Fraud

F5 Contributes to KEV Confusion

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 11:15:43 -0400

F5 is a technology vendor that sells a variety of networking technology including security products. With a considerable security portfolio and long tenure in the industry they are well positioned to observe known exploited vulnerabilities (KEV). Their staff frequently write blogs about threat actor activity, exploit campaigns, and associated topics. Unfortunately, while they have great insight…

F5 Contributes to KEV Confusion

We’re Losing the “Cyber” War to Ourselves

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:15:32 -0400

It’s hard to pinpoint where the concept of cyberwar originated. In roundabout ways it likely goes back many decades in fiction. As far as citations go, some believe a seminal work is titled Unrestricted Warfare by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, two colonels in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Regardless of when the premise started, the computer-based cold war has been going full steam for two…

We’re Losing the “Cyber” War to Ourselves

And AI Tech Bros Still Want to Gamble…

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 11:15:18 -0400

If you follow even the headlines for so-called “AI” developments, you may have caught a few that talked about how some AI insiders say there is a chance that the technology they are developing will “destroy humanity”. Of course, that term is subjective and could vary considerably from person to person. Does it mean it will destroy what makes us human, the creativity and drive? Or will it…

And AI Tech Bros Still Want to Gamble…

Save the Earth One Napkin at a Time

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 11:15:18 -0400

Save the Earth One Napkin at a Time

The Loquacious Introvert

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:15:54 -0400

This is my 1,000th post on this blog! Not counting this post, that is 893,353 words written here over 38 years. Of course, this blog hasn’t been around that long but I made an effort the last few years to consolidate all of my writing in one place and date it accordingly. That means the first “post” of this blog is “WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE” – A NEW PERSPECTIVE which is a paper I co-wrote in high…

The Loquacious Introvert

2026 East Coast Drive (Part 8: Random Notes)

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 11:15:40 -0400

2026 East Coast Drive (Part 8: Random Notes)

Captain Obvious Audits the NVD

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 11:16:16 -0400

During my recent trip to the East Coast several people linked an article from Recorded Future to me since it was on a topic I have written extensively about. The article covered a May 26 report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Commerce that was summarized as “mistakes have been made” in the operation of National Vulnerability Database (NVD). The universal theme…

Captain Obvious Audits the NVD

2026 East Coast Drive (Part 3: VA / DC)

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 11:15:16 -0400

2026 East Coast Drive (Part 3: VA / DC)

2026 East Coast Drive (Part 2: North Carolina / Virginia)

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 11:15:56 -0400

2026 East Coast Drive (Part 2: North Carolina / Virginia)

2026 East Coast Drive (Part 1: NaClCON)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 11:15:26 -0400

2026 East Coast Drive (Part 1: NaClCON)

My Quest for the White Squirrel!

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:16:20 -0400

My Quest for the White Squirrel!

Colorado Voting System Irregularities & Continued Rigging

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:15:29 -0400

Colorado Voting System Irregularities & Continued Rigging

MSRC; Tell The Whole Story Please

Sun, 31 May 2026 11:00:11 -0400

Every so often, it seems that Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) likes to stick their proverbial foot in their mouth on the topic of vulnerability disclosure. The root issue is that collectively, MSRC does not seem to appreciate either their own history or the bigger picture. As such they have a myopic view on the topic. The latest comes in the form of a new blog titled “A shared…

MSRC; Tell The Whole Story Please

Mythos Needs to Shift Left

Tue, 26 May 2026 11:15:24 -0400

Over the years I have been part of many discussions around a classic debate around red team versus blue team, the value of penetration testing, and the value they each bring. I started my InfoSec career in 1996 doing pentesting (aka red teaming) a couple years before it really exploded. For nine years that was my life and it often meant working crazy hours. My final gig doing it was with BT-INS…

Mythos Needs to Shift Left