Spaf
@spaf.me
Spaf is a homunculus of possible extraterrestrial origin, tilting at windmills. Cybersecurity, bad jokes, political outrage, academe, non-sequiturs, entropy. See http://about.me/spaf for more.
Summer break has gone on for months. I missed work so much that I went out to a stable to muck horse stalls. Just like a faculty meeting, except no PowerPoint and less shoveling.
Happy National Couch Cleaning Day! (Coincidentally, it is also JD Vance's birthday.)
None of my posts are AI slop. All of my slop is hand-crafted, lovingly curated, and immediately regretted.
Some people have praised my problem-solving skills. In fairness, most of those problems were ones I caused.
People have complained about my humor. They call it "sick." I'm not sick -- I'm twisted. "Sick" makes it sound as if there's a cure.
I just learned that a former colleague has been arrested. What a shock! He has been accused of taking human skin from a medical supply company. He wasn't charged with theft -- it was graft.
I've been thinking about what I might do to stay occupied if I retire. Perhaps a dating site for chickens? Without a regular income, I would struggle to make hens meet.
Do NOT take the Cyclosporiasis outbreak lightly. Getting it from extra spicy tacos has consequences!
57 years ago today, a Purdue University graduate became the first human to set foot on the moon. Here's to the pathfinders, groundbreakers, and history makers -- many of whom just happen to have ties to Purdue.
A computer science department is a nonempty set of researchers such that each claims to be doing cutting-edge AI, and at least one other will insist that work is merely curve-fitting on a deprecated dataset.
It took a while, but he's come around in support of gender-affirming care. thehill.com/policy/defen...
Hegseth announces annual testosterone screenings for service members
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced a new effort to annually screen service members’ testosterone levels and offer testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), framing it as a way to k…
thehill.com
The problem isn't that my attention wanders at work. The problem is that it leaves the building to get tacos, gets lost, then goes home to take a nap.
This is a great distillation of some important points about risk, cybersecurity, and the NIST CSF. If your work touches on any of those, this is worth a read. cyberriskbook.com/ai-wont-save... #cybersecurity #risk #NIST
AI won't save you from weak cybersecurity fundamentals - The NIST 2.0 Cybersecurity Framework
Gene Spafford on why artificial intelligence is exposing decades of neglected security practices—and why frameworks like NIST matter more than ever.
cyberriskbook.com
If someone near to you has not yet heard the news about Senator Graham, break the news gently. Tell them that Lindsay Graham has gone to caucus with Mitch McConnell.
On a recent trip, we had to explain to our niece why there was no floor 13 in a high-rise. Imagine how, in a decade or so, we will have to explain why there are no floors 45 or 47.
Gene Spafford It's National Kitten Day! www.daysoftheyear.com/days/nationa... Who's got some good recipes?
National Kitten Day | Days Of The Year
These furry little friends will make your heart melt. With their curious nature and soft fur, they're sure to bring joy into your life!
daysoftheyear.com
Over on the CERIAS Blog… Too many people are prone to accepting hype and myths about computing, and that often leads to poor decisions. 20 years ago, my first post in the CERIAS blog addressed an example — the folk wisdom that monthly password changes improve security — a myth that had already…
Over on the CERIAS Blog…
Too many people are prone to accepting hype and myths about computing, and that often leads to poor decisions. 20 years ago, my first post in the CERIAS blog addressed an example — the folk wisdom that monthly password changes improve security — a myth that had already survived 30 years and that NIST needed until 2017 to retire. The same mythmaking machinery is at work around AI: the claim that LLMs make software developers, security analysts, and incident responders optional.
spaf.wordpress.com
Not to brag or anything, but I don't need alcohol to post things that I'll regret later.
Fourth in my blog series on AI hype. The bill for replacing staff with AI has arrived: most CEOs report no return, AI-use mandates have become token rationing, two-thirds of employers that cut jobs are rehiring, and the new failure modes bypass controls built for human error. ceri.as/inv-e
Well, we do need to note that MAGA does continue to remind us of questions requiring deep thought.
OMB proposes rewriting federal research grant rules. Among other changes, political appointees could override scientific peer review on what gets funded. Comments close July 13. Polite comments of any length must be considered; a paragraph counts. www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...
Regulations.gov
regulations.gov
Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. -- William James (1842-1910)
Happy 4th of July! May you have the same number of fingers and eyes after celebrating as you did when you started.
Time to celebrate the 4th of July! Traditionally, that involves fireworks, picnics, and pulled pork. Not me. I pulled my pork once. Lots of advil, ice, and a visit to the chiropractor fixed everything up.
Asking for, er, a friend. The doctor advises making healthier choices. Which whiskey has the most antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals?
