snowedin (u/snowedin)

snowedin commented on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (January 2020) · Posted by u/whoishiring

snowedin · 6 years ago

Location: Seattle, WA

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Linux, Windows, Python, Cisco, Arista, Namespaces, Docker, Kali, Metasploit

Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-snider-b927b846/

Email: ross.snider@gmail.com

9 years industry experience in Security, much more if you count non-employed security work.

Most recently I played a critical role growing a security organization at Oracle Cloud as well as two tech lead roles directing Security Architecture and Red Team at Oracle Cloud.

Looking to grow a new security organization or mature an existing one by bringing up new capabilities inside it.

Known for creative solutions.

snowedin commented on Authoritarian nations are turning the internet into a weapon onezero.medium.com/author... · Posted by u/maxfan8

anigbrowl · 6 years ago

To wit what comprises "hate speech"

That's a rather specious argument when you have the current example of a democracy (India) simply shutting down large parts of the internet for political reasons, not to mention the widespread deployment of surveillance tech in numerous developed countries.

This isn't to say that you don't have a point, but if you're saying it's a more pressing issue than those you might be suffering from a loss of perspective. After all, 'hate speech' is widely unpopular (as opposed to being a highly popular thing suppressed by authoritarian states, and much 'hate speech' treats of the desire to operate an authoritarian state that will restrict or outright terminate the freedoms/lives of the hated subjects.

snowedin · 6 years ago

I think you have a very good point.

The overall metapoint that both you and the parent comment agree on is this: the internet isn't being "weaponized by authoritarian states" in some unique fashion specific to authoritarianism.

I'd just round it all up to say that: like most headlines about global trends in America, this headline reenforces the meme of "American Exceptionalism" and casts the situation in a "good versus evil" narrative format that's not really helpful for understanding what's happening or what to do about it. But that itself isn't anything particularly new in itself either (queue last three decades of American headlines).

snowedin commented on Betrusted: A Security Enclave for Humans betrusted.io/... · Posted by u/DyslexicAtheist

snowedin · 6 years ago

Impressed by the practical approach the author is taking to this problem.

Please add: - Hardware switches for RF modules as well as microphones - Separate RAM for baseband SOC

snowedin commented on The weird criticism that Big Tech is too digital theweek.com/articles-amp/... · Posted by u/buboard

snowedin · 6 years ago

I think there are real improvements made by the tech industry. For example cellular and smart phones are brand new and overall have improved quality of life and productivity.

But on the whole I think most of the "gains" made through big tech are marginal. Marginal specifically because either:

A.) New tech companies create products primarily to make the tech industry more productive at building/maintaining/deploying systems

B.) New tech companies provide a small amount of value over a preexisting industry and transfer the industry into the tech sector (e.g. Uber/Lyft) through "disruption"

As a result, the industry has provided less overall growth and improvement to society than its raw potential, and at the same time has consolidated wealth as much as it has created it.

Uber was originally supposed to be a commute-sharing app that reduced heavy reliance on vehicles, making a dramatically more efficient use of resources and time. When it came around to executing on this, the real value-making proposition was to transfer and capture an existing market (ride-hailing/taxi services).

My prescription for a fix would be to emphasize computer literacy in the school system, encouraging the entire 12K public school system to introduce the idea of self-automation as a problem solving pattern for the general population.

In two generations, every sector of the economy will apply automation within their own ranks to eek out efficiency, rather than relying on software developers in California to understand their day-to-day and make an app to "disrupt" their industry.

snowedin commented on Facebook Discovers Fake AI-Generated Profiles nytimes.com/2019/12/20/bu... · Posted by u/dpflan

snowedin · 6 years ago

There's been fake generated profiles on Facebook for over a decade. I know this because I had some, I was targeted by some, and I had "security friends" who generated some. Over the years I've seen several campaigns of groups of fake profiles trying to collect access (by "friending into" friend circles).

At university my security club had a member who gave a presentation on algorithms for detecting and generating fake profile posts for Facebook, through which he created sock puppets and also found a ton of others belonging to "who knows which group". That was around 10 years ago.

snowedin commented on The Feds Get Permission to Seize Edward Snowden's Book Profits reason.com/2019/12/18/the... · Posted by u/buboard

paulcole · 6 years ago

Could they try to come after the money Rogan made on that podcast?

snowedin · 6 years ago

My understanding is yes.

snowedin commented on The Feds Get Permission to Seize Edward Snowden's Book Profits reason.com/2019/12/18/the... · Posted by u/buboard

farss · 6 years ago

Arguably the judgement against the book by the Navy Seal in the Bin Laden raid was a non-politicized example. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/24/matt-bissonnet...

snowedin · 6 years ago

Nice find, I think that's a good example.

I do remember some controversy around the publication, and the credit claiming between Bissonette and O'Neil, as well as some more sordid/gruesomeness details (stories about mutilating Bin Laden's corpse, details about his family not being armed but slaughtered nontheless). https://theintercept.com/2017/01/10/the-crimes-of-seal-team-.... In doing so the public information through these Seal members undid a good deal of the public narrative about the professionalism and nobility of the assassination.

Still, I think this is a good and recent example to show at least the Snowden case isn't the government reaching for a tool they don't use in other cases.

The Patraeus case (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Petraeus#Criminal_charge...) is the best example I have of counter-evidence to that, as they didn't demand any of the fees from the memoirs - just a probation and probationary fine.

snowedin commented on The Feds Get Permission to Seize Edward Snowden's Book Profits reason.com/2019/12/18/the... · Posted by u/buboard

farss · 6 years ago

It doesn't really matter, they can still use pre-publication review to jack you up by redacting even what is otherwise publicly available information and delay publication until the news cycle has moved on. The process is arbitrary and politicized, and widely considered to have become a First Amendment issue, which is not surprising, since the modern review process emerged in the 70s when the CIA was trying to mute public criticism by former employees of the lies, abuse, and failures of the Vietnam War.

[1] https://www.lawfareblog.com/path-dependence-and-pre-publicat...

[2] https://shadowproof.com/2019/12/18/us-government-censorship-...

snowedin · 6 years ago

Gotcha. The argument here is that it may be that there is no classified material in the memoirs, but it doesn't matter. The publication review process can be used as an effective censorship measure in any case.

Another commentator wrote something similar here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21837795

There's a thought experiment in that thread about whether or not pulling proceeds and profit is standard operating proceedure or really arbitrarity and politically applied. Do you happen to know if there are examples of this pattern and process being applied in non-politically motivated situations?

snowedin commented on The Feds Get Permission to Seize Edward Snowden's Book Profits reason.com/2019/12/18/the... · Posted by u/buboard

frickinLasers · 6 years ago

There is definitely some sensitive information in there. The government doesn't distinguish between classified information that is public knowledge, and still-secret classified information.

Regardless, their point is that Snowden did not send the book in for approval/redaction before publishing, as would be required of any former employee of a three-letter agency writing about such things.

snowedin · 6 years ago

If I've read your comment correctly there are two major points:

1. It's highly likely (you said definitely) given the person and subject that some information in the memoir is at least sensitive even if it is not classified, and there's an equally good chance there is some classified information.

2. The actual suit doesn't need the book to contain classified information, they can block it entirely based on process.

That's a good and helpful answer. It would be helpful to have substantial examples of (1).

(2) seems to be the thing that other commentators are claiming is being weaponized for soft-censorship (especially wrt Snowden not being in a position to use an internal three-letter-agency process to publish, and the fact that said three-letter-agencies would likely block publication using their internal processes).

Regarding (2) do you happen to know if there are just-the-government-following-standard-operating-proceedure and non-political examples of agencies blocking the proceeds of books/memoirs based on the process?

The example that comes to mind for me is Patraeus's memoirs - which was widely political and scandalous but still agencies did not seek to withhold profits from book sales.

Any examples of where (2) being used day-to-day as SOP?

snowedin commented on The Feds Get Permission to Seize Edward Snowden's Book Profits reason.com/2019/12/18/the... · Posted by u/buboard

snowedin · 6 years ago

I posted this in another thread, but it didn't get much traction. It's a serious question.

Isn't Snowden's book an auto-biographical memoir? Given this, is there really classified information contained in the book? Can someone who has read it give an example?

I've watched Snowden's Rogan interview, where he covers the material in the book, and I don't remember anything that was classified.