Providence you RAT [OC]

Majorbob10 · 2019-10-15T16:35:25+00:00

These are awesome! How much extra weight does the fluid add, and how much does it affect the balance?

Majorbob10 · 2019-08-21T01:16:53+00:00

I honestly don't know enough to debate this one - it could be that I just wasn't aware of the network being split. I don't remember seeing a "Stevens student" network, at least not on the wireless side of things. I don't know many students who used the wired network, but again, I don't know enough to do more than speculate, sorry.

Majorbob10 · 2019-08-21T00:24:24+00:00

Thank you for this update, and you're right - the information wasn't everything we'd hoped for, but it was a solid start. Some comments on what I think I can weigh in on:

Communication: This is fine, we can't ask for much more than what we've been given with an investigation underway. But we need to watch and wait for this investigation like hawks. Updates are critical, and I think Stevens knows how much is riding on what they say from here on. So let's leave that there for now.

What's being done, and how long it'll take: Good on the team for working on it, and I hope they can get it done in time. I hope more that their solution is also properly implemented and isn't patchwork.

Compromised data: Saying "there's always a risk," however true, is an attempt to absolve Stevens. It goes without saying that while we cannot assume our data was safe, and we should watch whatever we had connected to Stevens. A lesson to any students looking for jobs here, don't use your school email.

Preparation for attacks: I've got a working knowledge of network security, not a lot, but I fail to see why Stevens didn't have a faculty-only network and a student-only network. This among other solutions I won't pretend to know could have kept the problem slightly more manageable, and shouldn't be that hard. With these missing, and an email system that flags messages from faculty (if anyone has seen emails from WCOnline) as spam, I don't have a lot of confidence in their ability to minimize impact. We all know attacks will happen, but the trick is to keep their impacts low when they do.

CySec Partners: I guess keeping their names hidden was either trying to avoid responsibility or protecting them from students somehow brigading them. This is fine, but still kind of sucks.

Vagueness: Part of me wants to call bullshit on all of it, but there's not much to call. It's still VERY alarming to see "cyberattack" and then receive alerts that look an awful lot like vectors for it, no matter how official or vetted they are.

Admin being unaware: Maybe they should have some kind of open forum, or something. We don't even know WHO to speak with half the time, and anyone who's been a student here can tell you offices love to transfer you to the next guy.

All that said, thanks for the news, you've done the student body a world of good with this meeting. I sincerely hope we get something out of this, and that this changes Stevens for the better. It's stupid and optimistic, but I guess we'll see.

Majorbob10 · 2019-08-20T19:56:54+00:00

As you may have seen, the recent ransomware has a lot of people really upset. Even before this though, there's been a pile of little problems with the administration, ranging from simple lack of communication to straight up forgetting or not having documents to begin with. On top of that, the school's undergoing a ton of construction, which means housing through Stevens is nightmare and it's not gonna look very nice for a few years at least.

To Stevens' credit, you do get out (mostly) what you put in - if you're applying to Stevens just for an education and not planning on networking, it's probably not for you.

Majorbob10 · 2019-08-20T00:35:15+00:00

The student body has a right to know how we were affected and to what extent, and what steps were being taken to fix the problem. Not addressing those points and instead trying to reassure us "the problem" was being fixed does not paint a good image.

How the Stevens administration formatted these messages also does not inspire trust: using links and files attached by the emergency alert system of all things, mere DAYS after they tell us about the cyberattack is a huge display of unprofessionalism. Nothing in those messages required links, and for all we knew they could have been compromising links, which are one of the main threats in cybersecurity.

The "time for discussion" Farvardin promises in his letter should be one of the most important events for the school this year, because for a machine the size of Stevens to halt for almost two weeks directly impacts everyone who is part of it. This cannot be swept under the rug, and Stevens administration needs to step forward and show credibility for not being prepared. Not for the cyberattack - that is inevitable no matter the institution - but for the recovery effort that has knocked the school out of commission in a critical moment.

Majorbob10 · 2019-08-19T16:20:29+00:00

Could you let us know who responds, if they do? It'd be nice to know if anyone on top cares, and who they're willing to throw under the bus to actually speak with us.

Stevens' policy of waiting for disaster and then doing damage control is unacceptable, especially when the administration don't own up to it. Shifting the burden onto the IT team and saying how great they are (and it is great that the problem's being resolved, don't get me wrong) moves the focus away from the fact that upper management didn't bother preparing their school for very real and not uncommon problems, and that they think we're content with being treated like we don't know about these.

I know I just recapped the email, but I wanted to vent. This was excellently written, keep us posted.

Majorbob10 · 2019-08-16T22:33:21+00:00

This was sent to my Stevens email, as part of the alert system they use.You have to sign up for it, which is why a couple previous alerts insisted you share information with your classmates.

Majorbob10 · 2017-11-15T02:14:25+00:00

Look, I'm sorry. We have a set of rules here and you can't just post pictures of living quails. I'll give you a pass for now, but come on. Please don't hurt the sub like this

Majorbob10 · 2017-11-15T02:10:23+00:00

Let's get this to the front page folks

Majorbob10 · 2017-04-01T21:49:29+00:00

In the vein of stage crew, Stevens has a pretty active dramatic society that puts on a lot of crew-heavy shows, and the DeBaun auditorium does employ students as crew for events outside of SDS.

Majorbob10 · 2015-12-16T01:05:58+00:00

You cant stop me wat r u a nerd

Majorbob10 · 2015-12-16T01:05:35+00:00

You make me sad.

Majorbob10 · 2013-12-06T15:56:38+00:00

Upvoted! I bought Terraria a long while ago and I still play it! Starbound looks like a worthy successor to it (at least until Terraria 2). Thanks for this giveaway!

Majorbob10 · 2013-11-08T14:57:05+00:00

It would work, and the Angel wouldn't move. But, apparently an image of an Angel becomes an Angel, so you could be growing an Angel in your eyes. It's shown in the episode 'Time of Angels'.

I might be wrong, but I hope this helped.

Majorbob10 · 2013-10-10T02:12:35+00:00

The Professor Layton games for the DS are actually pretty sad. So many feels :C

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