Author Archives: Space Rogue

About Space Rogue

With over two decades of experience, Space Rogue (Cris Thomas) has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and has been interviewed by Wired, CNBC and even MTV. He created the wildly popular websites the Whacked Mac Archives and Cyber Squirrel 1. He produced the weekly podcast SpiderLabs Radio, and the critically acclaimed weekly news video program the Hacker News Network. His writing has appeared in Network Computing, New Statesman, The Hill, and the Christian Science Monitor. He has spoken at security conferences such as Def Con, Blackhat, and Shmoocon. Space Rogue currently works as the Global Lead of Policy and Special Initiatives for the legendary IBM X-Force.

SouthWest Password Ad is both Good and Bad.

Posted on 2016-10-17 by Space Rogue

Southwest Airlines recently aired a TV ad in their “Wanna Get Away” series that features some serious password blunders. In the ad a General is asked for his password so that they “can lock down the system” which he then … Continue reading →

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Tilting It Sideways

Posted on 2016-09-15 by Space Rogue

Trying to track down the origins of an Internet meme can be an almost fruitless endeavor. Other than giving credit to its originator and perhaps giving them a few minutes of Internet fame there really isn’t a lot at stake … Continue reading →

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Transcription of L0pht Testimony

Posted on 2015-11-02 by Space Rogue

Transcription of the YouTube Video: Hackers Testifying at the United States Senate, May 19, 1998 (L0pht Heavy Industries) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVJldn_MmMY Transcribed by: https://www.fiverr.com/alx_does Senator Thompson: …If you gentlemen would come forward.. We’re joined today by the seven members of the L0pht, … Continue reading →

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I watched CSI:Cyber so you don’t have to.

Posted on 2015-03-05 by Space Rogue

CSI has a proven formula for making popular TV shows. Unfortunately that history does not include accurate TV shows. When it comes to tech and things ‘cyber’ this is probably the preeminent example of CSI being bad and wrong at … Continue reading →

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In the Beginning There was Full Disclosure

Posted on 2015-01-12 by Space Rogue

Two of the largest companies in the world are bickering with each other about how best to protect users. I won’t get into just how historically hypocritical this is for both Microsoft and Google or how childish it makes them … Continue reading →

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Four Unnamed Sources

Posted on 2014-12-15 by Space Rogue

Or: If a pipeline explodes in the desert and there is no one there to hear it was it really a cyberwar attack? No one questions the importance of keeping abreast of current trends and developments with regards to information … Continue reading →

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All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again

Posted on 2014-06-10 by Space Rogue

Two teenagers in Winnipeg Canada somehow got the idea to see if the default password on a Bank of Montreal ATM machine was still valid. The got the default password after finding the operators manual for the ATM online. As … Continue reading →

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Everybody must get stoned

Posted on 2014-05-23 by Space Rogue

Apparently FBI Director James Comey thinks that everyone in the Information Security Industry is a dope-smoking pothead who gets high just before an interview. “I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cyber criminals, and some … Continue reading →

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Is it time for an industry wide MAPP program?

Posted on 2014-04-18 by Space Rogue

As you might suspect, the bad guys have much better exploit notification than the good guys. While there is no central repository of vulnerability information that is only released to the good guys, Microsoft does an excellent job with early … Continue reading →

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Another BIG hack that wasn’t

Posted on 2013-10-28 by Space Rogue

No time to do a full analysis but the basics are a story out of Israel of a tunnel that was hit by a sophisticated cyber attack that caused a… traffic jam. The story went out on the Associated Press … Continue reading →

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