December 2015 News and Updates

Monthly Newsletters, Uncategorized
   What's New Hacker Playdate - We're still ironing out a few details but the next Hacker Playdate is scheduled for 23 January 2016.  Expect additional details soon. Windows 10 -  We are seeing a LOT of folks who are installing Windows 10 'accidentally'.  Two very important things to note on this are that you have 30 days from the time you do the upgrade to revert back to the previous version of Windows and that Windows 7 will still be supported until 14 January 2020.  That said, unless you *need* to upgrade to Windows 10 (your software / hardware vendors require it), we recommend sticking with Windows 7 until a specific need to upgrade arises for production environments. Updates Executive Summary -  An appropriate theme for this month would…
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November 2015 News and Updates

Monthly Newsletters, Uncategorized
   What's New Hacker Playdate - It's a little early but, with the upcoming holidays, the next Hacker Playdate will be on us before you know it.  We will be announcing more details in the December newsletter but the next Hacker Playdate is scheduled for 23 January 2016.  Windows 10 -  Most of you have heard about, many have signed up for and some have installed Microsoft's new version of Windows, Windows 10.  We have been testing Windows 10 for several months now in preparation for the release and can support it but our position has not changed regarding new Windows releases.  If you have a business or other *requirement* pushing you to upgrade, do so in a planned / controlled fashion and test, test, test before installing into a…
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October 2015 News and Updates

Monthly Newsletters, Uncategorized
   What's New October is National Security Awareness Month -   We should always observe security best practices, but October is National Security Awareness Month and is a good time to take a look at what we're doing right, what we're doing wrong and what we can do better from an InfoSec / NetSec / OpSec standpoint.  Additional information is available here. Windows 10 -  Most of you have heard about, many have signed up for and some have installed Microsoft's new version of Windows, Windows 10.  We have been testing Windows 10 for several months now in preparation for the release and can support it but our position has not changed regarding new Windows releases.  If you have a business or other *requirement* pushing you to upgrade, do so…
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September 2015 News and Updates

Monthly Newsletters, Uncategorized
   What's New Hacker Play Date v2.0 -  The first Hacker PlayDate (HPD) ended up being a much bigger success than we expected and, as a result, we will be hosting the second Hacker PlayDate (HPDv2.0) on 12 September 2015.  HPDv2.0 will be held in the meeting room at Primo's Mexican Cocina (next door to Cyber Tech Cafe) so we won't be quite as cramped.  The format will be similar but we plan to have some additional booths (tables) setup for things like the lock-picking, Raspberry Pi, etc. (the lock picking table seemed to be a big hit at HPDv1.0).   If you are interested or if you know someone else that would be interested in a demo (anything from lock picking to physical security to hacking a Raspberry Pi to setting…
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August 2015 News and Updates

Monthly Newsletters, Uncategorized
   What's New Welcome BlitzComputing - We are excited to announce the recent acquisition of Blitz Computing and welcome the Blitz Computing family into the Cyber Tech Cafe family.  We've worked extensively with the leadership at Blitz Computing to make certain that the transition is transparent.  We look forward to working with you as your new tech support company! Hacker Play Date v2.0 -  The first Hacker PlayDate (HPD) ended up being a much bigger success than we expected and, as a result, we will be hosting the second Hacker PlayDate (HPDv2.0) on 12 September 2015.  HPDv2.0 will be held in the meeting room at Primo's Mexican Cocina (next door to Cyber Tech Cafe) so we won't be quite as cramped.  The format will be similar but we plan to have some…
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July 2015 News and Updates

Monthly Newsletters, Uncategorized
   What's New Hacker Play Date v2.0 -  The first Hacker PlayDate (HPD) ended up being a much bigger success than we expected and, as a result, we will be hosting the second Hacker PlayDate (HPDv2.0) on 12 September 2015.  HPDv2.0 will be held in the meeting room at Primo's Mexican Cocina (next door to Cyber Tech Cafe) so we won't be quite as cramped.  The format will be similar but we plan to have some additional booths (tables) setup for things like the lock-picking, Raspberry Pi, etc. (the lock picking table seemed to be a big hit at HPDv1.0).   If you are interested or if you know someone else that would be interested in a demo (anything from lock picking to physical security to hacking a Raspberry Pi to setting…
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June 2015 News and Updates

Monthly Newsletters, Uncategorized
What's New Hacker Play Date - Cyber Tech Cafe will be co-hosting a Hacker Play Date on Saturday, 20 June 2015 at 10:00am EDT.  We have it scheduled until 6:00pm EDT and have 'official' demonstrations scheduled for 12:00pm EDT, 2:00pm EDT and 4:00pm EDT.  Our goal is  an informal gathering for any tech enthusiasts from the layman to the systems / security engineer to discuss the possibility of some kind of regular gathering on a monthly or quarterly basis (think 2600 meeting or similar).  Ideally, for each event we would have a presenter to kick things off and then discussions, practical excercises, entertainment (Red Team / Blue Team excercises, installfests, etc.) for the remainder of the event.  Lite refreshments would be provided by the host(s).  There would be no charge for the event…
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May 2015 News and Updates

Monthly Newsletters, Uncategorized
What's New Episode Two, The Mobile Threat - The latest episode was released on 19 March and follows our attackers Myles and Ian as they use an executives mobile phone to gain access to (at least) one corporate network, completely under the radar.  Episode Two can be found here. Hacker Play Date - Cyber Tech Cafe will be co-hosting a Hacker Play Date on Saturday, 20 June 2015 at 10:00am EDT.  We have it scheduled until 6:00pm EDT but, depending on interest and turn out, may make adjustments.  Our goal is  an informal gathering for any tech enthusiasts from the layman to the systems / security engineer to discuss the possibility of some kind of regular gathering on a monthly or quarterly basis (think 2600 meeting or similar).  Ideally, for each event we would have…
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April 2015 News and Updates

Monthly Newsletters, Uncategorized
What's New Episode Two, The Mobile Threat - The latest episode was released on 19 March and follows our attackers Myles and Ian as they use an executives mobile phone to gain access to (at least) one corporate network, completely under the radar.  Episode Two can be found here. Resurgence of Crypto style malware (REPOST) - It looks like the Cryptowall style malware is making another round.  There are some details on one variant here but the biggest thing to keep in mind is that, if you get hit with this, you need to consider whatever data is encrypted gone.  There may be a chance that you may get it back if you send a large sum of money via untraceable currency (Moneypak, bitcoin, etc.) to an anonymous person likely in a non-extradition country but a much…
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