Hi, everybody! On this Wednesday after #PatchTuesday, I thought we’d cover a few stories that have been swirling around the weblogosphere this week. Here we are, what - twelve days into 2022 and we’re already seeing warnings from the gov’t, mass outages, and I just finished up Ted Lasso but now….what, I just have to wait for more episodes to get made?? This is not the future I signed up for, y’all. Let’s check out some stories:

Europol Ordered to Delete Data of Individuals With No Proven Links to Crimes

I think the headline there tells the story, but yup - pretty awesome win for personal privacy in the EU! From the article: “Datasets older than six months that have not undergone this Data Subject Categorisation must be erased," the European Data Protection Supervisor said in a press statement. "This means that Europol will no longer be permitted to retain data about people who have not been linked to a crime or a criminal activity for long periods with no set deadline.” I hope you’re paying attention, Columbia Record Club -- YOU SAID IT WAS 20 CDs FOR A PENNY!! 

US govt warns of Russian hackers targeting critical infrastructure 

Ah, jeez...this re-run? Okay, look - whether you’re aware of it or not, there’s currently a shadow war going on in cyberspace, and it’s been happening for a while now. There are enough countries involved to call it “World War 3”, if I were an irresponsible sensationalist of some sort. But I’m not, so I won’t. From the FBI/CISA/NSA’s joint advisory: "Russian state-sponsored APT vadvanced persistent-threat] actors have also demonstrated sophisticated tradecraft and cyber capabilities by compromising third-party infrastructure, compromising third-party software, or developing and deploying custom malware." This year might be exciting for some Admins, unfortunately. Stay vigilant and hygienic! 

Hackers Have Been Sending Malware-Filled USB Sticks to U.S. Companies Disguised as Presents

From the article: “On Thursday, the FBI warned that a hacker group has been using the US mail to send malware-laden USB drives to companies in the defense, transportation and insurance industries...This little scheme appears to have been going on for at least several months—as the FBI says it originally began receiving reports about such activity as far back as last August.” I hope I don’t have to tell you to never, ever use a USB drive that just shows up unsolicited, whether it’s in the mail, on the ground, or you find it in your cool, black jean jacket that you don’t get to wear enough. Be careful out there!