Amazon: Some Trouble Down Under?
January 29, 2020
DarkCyber noted “Case Study: Why the Australian Electoral Commission Migrated to Microsoft Azure.” On the surface, the write up is another PR output. When considered in terms of the competition between Amazon and Microsoft for juicy non commercial jobs, the article provides a check list of what’s lacking in Amazon AWS. DarkCyber identified these “advantages” for the Redmond brain trust which finds questionable methods for altering a user’s Windows 7 machine amusing. (This black screen incident provides a reminder that PR check points may not match a firm’s actual behavior.)
Here are the upsides for Azure, presumably without a black screen on Luddites’ Windows 7 computers:
- Quick turn around
- Publicly exposed APIs
- API management tools
- API creation tools
- Real time information feeds
- Ability to create an “express route” for speedy data communications
- Zero failure
- Ability to support self service from users
- A customer or user service portal
- A much loved integrator.
What was the deciding factor? The much loved vendor it seems.
Does Amazon match up on these check points? Sure.
Marketing presentations are one thing. The much loved vendor is another.
Stephen E Arnold, January 29, 2020
Amazon Security in the News: AWS Documentation
January 29, 2020
Curious about Amazon’s security features? Navigate to this link and review AWS Security Documentation by Category. In order to make sense of the information, one needs to speak Amazonia; for example, Glacier, Snowball, ECR, ECS, and SQS plus another bulldozer blade of product and service nomenclature. Because an Amazon phone breach allegedly took place, DarkCyber entered the query “mobile” into the AWS Security Documentation search function. Here’s the result:
There were 138 pages of results, numbering 1,379 results.
A somewhat cursory review of the information provided zero guidance related to the security issue encountered by Mr. Bezos. Perhaps if he had used an Amazon phone, the documentation would have provided some guidance? Perhaps.
Stephen E Arnold, January 29, 2020
Amazon: 2020 Begins with Problems Penetrating the Company Membrane
January 28, 2020
DarkCyber coined a work to capture what seems to be happening to Amazon. That word is “amagenic.” The idea is that external factors which previously bounced off the online bookstore are now getting through.
A more MBA type of phrasing might be “amagenesis”; that is, the conditions under which external factors penetrate an organization, its management team, and its business activities. An example of an amagenic event is the mobile phone “event.”
The information about the alleged hacking of Mr. Bezos’ iPhone X is difficult to interpret. A consulting firm doing business as FTI issued a report. That report suggests that a third party compromised Mr. Bezos’ mobile phone. You can download and read the allegedly original and complete report at this link. Critical discussion of the FTI report may be located at this link.
Other facets of the story include allegations that a specialized software vendor in Israel provided the tool used to compromise Mr. Bezos’ mobile phone. A number of sources link the assault on the phone to the government of Saudi Arabia. The reason? Dissatisfaction with Amazon’s blockchain technology? No, the country took action to find out if there was information related to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who provided some stories to the Washington Post. Other sources say that Mr. Bezos’ mobile was compromised in 2008. (Yep, a decade ago.)
To muddy the water, information has been pulled from the “real” journalism archives; specifically, Mr. Bezos’ found himself the victim of a leak of information from a member of his “close friend’s” family. That information circulated, it is rumored, among the tabloids. Some of the “leaked information” presented Mr. Bezos in situations which were of a private nature.
But this Amagenic event is just one of a string of digital and real life viruses penetrating the juggernaut. Others include:
- An increasing tension between Amazon and Facebook. The vector of attack allegedly was WhatsApp.
- Amazon faces employees going public with information about alleged climate-hostile policies and actions. (Details are at this link.)
- Amazon workers are grousing about their work. An interesting example is the alleged Amazon truck driver who had to drive for 30 hours. (Allegation is summarized here.)
- Amazon is working hard to block Microsoft from beginning work on the $10 billion JEDI project. Did Amazon hire Department of Defense professionals in order to get an inside edge? Good question.
- Some US elected officials want an anti trust investigation of the company. (Some additional information is at this link.)
- Google and Microsoft poaching some Twitch stars.
Plus, there are continued complaints about knock offs (shanzai adherents) sold as the real deal on the Amazon eCommerce site, third-party sellers’ allegations that Amazon watches for hot products and then introduces its own product undercutting the Amazon seller, and other assorted hisses and boos.
Stepping back, DarkCyber believes these issues may illustrate amagenesis presenting itself in the Amazon construct.
Is this type of amagenic reaction curable? DarkCyber suggests taking two aspirin, getting a good night’s sleep, and checking in the morning.
Stephen E Arnold, January 28, 2020
Amazon Blockchain: How Secure?
January 27, 2020
This write up does not address Amazon’s blockchain innovations. We have a summary of our Amazon blockchain technology which points out specific systems and methods, the online bookstore has “invented” to make blockchain more secure. (Keep in mind, Amazon is the inventor of S3 buckets, which in some circumstances, are somewhat leaky.) You can get a copy of the free DarkCyber Amazon Blockchain report using the information at the end of this blog post.
The article “Trust No One. Not Even a Blockchain” suggests that one of the most hyped data management technologies may have a weakness. Technology experts are not fond of weaknesses. Technology is a solution, and solutions must not have fatal flaws like mere humans working at a giant company or in the semi isolation of a coffee shop.
The write up points out:
Similarly, just because a person claims to have uploaded all of her photographs to a blockchain—like Mila’s mother in Parker’s story—does not mean there are no other pictures from her life. Omitted data, bad data, too much data: These dynamics rob a blockchain of the claim of being a source of truth. Garbage in, garbage out. This concept in computer science means that an input consisting of flawed data will generate a flawed output. So it is with blockchain technology. We can record false claims on a blockchain. We can omit data. Suddenly, that source of truth does not appear so honest.
The essay concludes with this observation:
Distortion of reality is a growing threat. Deepfakes, synthetic videos that replace an image of one person with that of another, may soon become indistinguishable from authentic videos. Today, deepfakes may largely be used in the making of memes, face-swapping celebrities, but their proliferation will undoubtedly have major implications on everything from political campaigns to policies around pornography. What makes the threat of deepfakes so profound is that they render a medium formerly viewed as reliable—namely video—undependable. We cannot trust the very thing that we are supposed to trust. This constitutes the most substantial danger to a society’s notion of reality. If we are supposed to trust whatever is on a blockchain, then we are in trouble indeed. After all, the blockchain is only as good as the data we put on it.
Amazon’s blockchain inventions address the “control” of the information placed in the blockchain. That may give Amazon an advantage in the policeware market.
If you want a copy of the DarkCyber executive summary for our 54 page report about Amazon’s blockchain and some of the implications of these inventions, send an email to darkcyber333 at yandex dot com. No charge for the summary. The full report, however, is not free.
Stephen E Arnold, January 27, 2020
Amazon: Eero Subscriptions Mean Another Revenue Stream for Amazon
January 24, 2020
Earlier this year, Amazon acquired router maker Eero, which makes networked systems that distribute WiFi across an entire home. Now, CNBC reports, “Amazon Just Announced a New Way to Make Money from its Home Wi-Fi Business: Subscriptions.” Writer Todd Haselton explains:
“The new features include Eero Secure and Eero Secure+, the latter of which used to be called simply ‘Eero Plus.’ Eero secure tracks your browsing and can warn you if you’re visiting potentially malicious sites that might be infected with malware or have been known to phish for private information. It also comes with parental controls. Eero Secure+ offers the same features as Eero Secure but adds in a VPN provided by Encrypt.me, which hides the data crossing your network, a 1Password subscription that gives you one place to manage all of your passwords and Malwarebytes anti-virus software.”
Yes, as many companies have found, subscriptions are a great way to make money. Users can access Eero Secure for $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year, while Eero Secure+ goes for $9.99 a month or $99.99 per year. If Eero really takes off, we may see these services added to the Amazon Prime subscription—giving them reason to hike the price across the board, of course. Again.
Cynthia Murrell, January 24, 2020
Irony, Outrage, Speculation: Amazon Rings the PR Gong
January 23, 2020
Remember the Gong Show? The host was an alleged government asset. The content of the show was humans performing. The focus was on humans who sang, dance, and cavorted in weird, sometimes incredible ways. The result? The host rang a gong. The performer, hooked by a big old person cane, found himself or herself dragged from the camera’s eye.
The elements of the program:
- Alleged government connections
- A ranking system for wild and crazy performances
- The big humiliation with the old person’s cane.
I thought of the Gong Show as I worked my way through dozens and dozens of write ups about the hacking of a mobile phone used by Jeff Bezos, the motive force of Amazon. You know Amazon: The online bookstore, the operator of the S3 leaking buckets, and policeware vendor.
The most interesting reports swirl around what Vice encapsulates in the article “Here Is the Technical Report Suggesting Saudi Arabia’s Prince Hacked Jeff Bezos’ Phone.” The report reveals
that forensic investigators found a suspicious file but no evidence of any malware on the phone.
Interesting, but not as fascinating as the assertions about who allegedly compromised Mr. Bezos’ mobile, when the alleged data sucking took place, and when the content was spirited away, how the compromise actually was implemented, and where those data went.
DarkCyber finds it interesting that fingers are pointed at countries, some government officials, Facebook’s always-interesting WhatsApp software, and at NSO Group, a company certain media outlets frequently reference. (NSO Group may be one of the specialized software vendors getting more publicity than Star Wars’ films.)
In our DarkCyber video news program, we devote almost two full minutes to the problems information technology managers face when implementing cyber security.
The Bezos Affair presents an opportunity to confront an unpleasant reality: Security is difficult.
The real time monitoring, the smart cyber defenses, the companies creating policeware, and the methods available to actors—each of these underscore how vulnerable individuals and organizations are.
The speculation, however, does little to make clear how protections can be achieved. In fact, the coverage of the Bezos Affair has reduced the coverage of what may be an even more egregious security lapse explained in “Microsoft Blames Itself for Customer Support Data Leak.” The “misconfiguration” error exposed 250 million customer records.
One gets the coverage, a world leader is implicated, an Israeli company is cast in a negative light. These are real time “real news” factoids. But the loss of 250 million customer records by Microsoft, the possible vendor for the US Department of Defense, is ignored.
Why are these problems commonplace? The answer, which we provide in our January 28, 2020, video, is provided. That answer is going to be a surprise. You can view the video program on the Beyond Search / DarkCyber blog by clicking the video promo image. No ads, no sponsors, no outside influencers, and no odd ball “You may also like.”
Stephen E Arnold, January 23, 2020
Amazon: Wooden Shoes, Tulips, and Cheese. Oh, and Money. Yes, Money
January 21, 2020
Amazon is moving into the Netherlands. “Amazon Confirms Netherlands Expansion” states:
Amazon has said it plans to expand its Amazon.nl site by making physical product categories available to Dutch customers later this year. The e-commerce seller launched an e-book shop on Amazon.nl in 2014, but physical products have been offered via a Dutch language option on Amazon’s Germany country site. Netherlands-based customers have also been offered Prime membership since 2017. Amazon has also announced that third-party sellers in the Netherlands and around the world can now register their accounts in preparation for the launch.
This is an important step for Amazon. The Netherlands is an ideal location for same day services. For merchants wanting to tap into the dense population centers serviced from Amazon’s Netherlands location, navigate to “Step-by-Step Guide: How to Sell in Europe with Amazon” for some useful information. To get a sense of the scope of Amazon’s international operations, you may find this map to be helpful:
The darker orange indicates regions served by Amazon via its ecommerce network.
Stephen E Arnold, January 21, 2020
Amazon and Microsoft: Different Ways to Leverage $1 Billion
January 17, 2020
Author and big gun Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, allegedly wrote “Microsoft Will Be Carbon Negative by 2030.” To achieve this goal, the company will spend $1 billion dollars. Okay, that appears to work out to $8.3 million per month for 10 years. That’s about 11 Azure Cognitive S4 transactions. Impressive. I suppose it depends on one’s point of view. From the PR perspective, this is probably a decent billion. From other points of view, one’s mileage may vary.
Now contrast this Microsoft $1 billion with Amazon’s. Dark Cyber noted “During Bezos Visit, India minister Says Amazon’s $1 Billion Investment Is No Big Favour.” The write up states something that is a PR downer:
Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart are facing mounting criticism from India’s brick-and-mortar retailers, which accuse the U.S. giants of violating Indian law by racking up billions of dollars of losses to fund deep discounts and discriminating against small sellers. The companies deny the allegations.
Amazon’s reaction? Read on:
Bezos said on Wednesday [January 15, 2020] Amazon would invest $1 billion to bring small businesses online in the country, adding to the $5.5 billion the company had committed since 2014.
Stepping back, Microsoft is going for good ink. Amazon seems to be going after what may be the second or third largest market in the world for Amazon services and battery powered Ring doorbells.
Interesting uses of $1 billion.
Stephen E Arnold, January 17, 2020
Amazon: Maybe a Restraining Order to Halt JEDI Deal?
January 15, 2020
We noted “Amazon to Seek Order to Block Microsoft From Working on US DoD’s JEDI Contract.” The story appears to have originated with Thomson Reuters, so we assume its ethical and accurate and other good Thomsony stuff.
Here’s the passage we circled in true blue marker:
Amazon.com will ask a judge to temporarily block Microsoft from working on a $10 billion cloud contract from the Pentagon, a court filing showed on Monday [January 13, 2020]. Amazon, which was seen as a favorite for the contract, plans to file a motion for a temporary restraining order on January 24 and a federal court will issue its decision on February 11, according to the filing.
After years on the trail, if true, Amazon may be paying a visit to the Last Chance Saloon. The interaction may go something like this:
Barista or baristo: What will you have, partner?
Amazonian: One JEDI, please.
Barista or baristo: You are out of luck. The last one went to those nice people over there. They’ve been fussing with a Windows 10 laptop for nigh on one hour.
Amazonian: What else you got?
Barista or baristo: The next big shipment don’t arrive until October 1, 2020. Wanna wait, partner?
Amazonian: Nope. [Sound of a Bezos bulldozer starting up and grinding toward the Middle East.]
Stephen E Arnold, January 15, 2020
Amazon and New, Quite Real Twitch Opportunity
January 14, 2020
In my lectures, I discuss Twitch. I won’t go into the examples of Twitch content in this blog. You can look for me at one of my law enforcement lectures this year.
I do want to call attention to “Twitch’s Non Gamers Are Finally Having Their Moment.” The write up includes an interesting factoid, which – like most Wired information – is super credible. Here’s the statement:
A new report from stream management site StreamElements indicates that in December, Twitch viewers watched 81 million hours of “Just Chatting,” Twitch’s category for streamers who do exactly that, plus any number of other grab-bag activities. That was a solid 7 million hours more than the first game listed, League of Legends, and 23 million more than the second, Fortnite. The popularity of “Just Chatting” is bleeding into January, too, and according to StreamElements, nongaming may be Twitch’s number two category in 2020.
Several observations:
- Microsoft and the GOOG are working hard to poach gamers from Twitch. This seems like a contentious issue for Amazon, and it will be interesting to see how the Bezos legal eagles respond to the talent drain. Maybe terminate their Prime accounts?
- The surge in Just Chatting viewing points to Twitch becoming the go to source for in real life streaming programs. Most programs are experimental, but a few of them – for example, BadBunny and the Raj thing – are starting to develop into a shotgun marriage of radio talk, live listener feedback, and visual content.
- Traditional content producers like the people who create TV game shows and wanna bes like Apple and Netflix, look a bit old fashioned when compared to content generated by Awkwards_Travel, who may be the future of travel information.
There are downsides. If you are interested in our Amazon briefing which expands on the Twitch innovations and their downside, write darkcyber333 at yandex dot com.
Net net: Twitch started with egames, but it is now on a path to create something which complements games and creates a fresh approach to video.
Stephen E Arnold, January 14, 2020
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