Christian Militia and VOM

Just so you know, No connection between ministry and Christian militia:

Nine members of the Michigan-based Hutaree Christian militia group face sedition and weapons charges

According to the U.S. Justice Department, the group was planning to kill a law enforcement officer, then attack the funeral procession with explosives.

The group drew much of its cult-like substance from the events described in the Book of the Revelation and the end times. As a result, according to the indictment, they seemed to see local and state police as “foot soldiers” for the federal government, the “New World Order.”

The group’s name means “Christian Warriors,” and they have a martyr’s complex. Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs says, “We have not had any connection with this organization. We do not have any contact with any member of this organization. This is simply a situation where they put a link to us on their Web site.”

VOM wants to tell the stories of the persecuted church, so they have an open link policy. That doesn’t mean, however, that they endorse the group using the link. In fact, VOM functions on a different mission from the Hutaree cult. “The Voice of the Martyrs has never advocated violence. In fact, the Christians that we serve around the world respond to persecution with forgiveness.”

In a release, VOM notes, “While we understand that all are innocent until proven guilty and wait for results of the legal process, we want to clearly state that violence is not an acceptable response to religious differences.”

[…]

As a result of the terrorism charges and other extremist views being reported on this group, scrutiny is close. As the story unfolds, numerous media reports are portraying Christians as terrorists.

Critical Security Update for Internet Explorer

I grateful for the Firefox browser. And I’m thankful not to have to use Internet Explorer (except for Web page testing).

But I know the majority of the world still uses IE. So here’s my PSA for you folks:

This security update resolves nine privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The most severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

This security update is rated Critical for all supported releases of Internet Explorer: Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1, Internet Explorer 6 on Windows clients, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8 on Windows clients. For Internet Explorer 6 on Windows servers, this update is rated Important. And for Internet Explorer 8 on Windows servers, this update is rated Moderate.

Source: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-018

HT: Small Business Computing

Smart Meter: A New Spy?

PGE Smart Meter

Portland General Electric let us know we’ll be getting one of these before too long.

I was looking forward to it. I think I still am (because it sure seems like our monthly electric bills are high). But this article greatly dampens my forward look, so to speak:

Computer-security researchers say new “smart” meters that are designed to help deliver electricity more efficiently also have flaws that could let hackers tamper with the power grid in previously impossible ways.

At the very least, the vulnerabilities open the door for attackers to jack up strangers’ power bills. These flaws also could get hackers a key step closer to exploiting one of the most dangerous capabilities of the new technology, which is the ability to remotely turn someone else’s power on and off.

The attacks could be pulled off by stealing meters — which can be situated outside of a home — and reprogramming them. Or an attacker could sit near a home or business and wirelessly hack the meter from a laptop, according to Joshua Wright, a senior security analyst with InGuardians Inc. The firm was hired by three utilities to study their smart meters’ resistance to attack.

[…]

Unlike traditional electric meters that merely record power use — and then must be read in person once a month by a meter reader — smart meters measure consumption in real time. By being networked to computers in electric utilities, the new meters can signal people or their appliances to take certain actions, such as reducing power usage when electricity prices spike.

But the very interactivity that makes smart meters so attractive also makes them vulnerable to hackers, because each meter essentially is a computer connected to a vast network.

[…]

But many security researchers say the technology is being deployed without enough security probing.

If hackers can get that far, what’s to keep them from hacking into my computers even when they’re off-line? (You know, entering my machines through the power plug instead of the phone jack.)

And what’s to keep governments from conspiring with manufacturers (or secret agents at manufacturing plants) to put “bugs” in electrical devices? The idea of my toaster or my bedside clock or my phone answering machine eavesdropping and tattling on me is not a pleasant thought. Maybe it’s time to come up with a not-so-new lifestyle mantra: Go Amish!

OK, so now I’ve given the kooks more material. Sorry. 🙄

Well, you can read the full article here: New ‘smart’ meters for electrical utilities have security holes

Above all, love God!

since November 9, 2005