Daily Archives: October 29, 2020

Ask Astro: Why do the planets orbit the Sun counterclockwise? – Astronomy Magazine

Posted: October 29, 2020 at 6:24 pm

Q: The Sun orbits the center of our galaxy in a clockwise direction, but the planets in the solar system orbit the Sun in a counterclockwise direction. Why is this?

Rich Zaykoski

Hampstead, Maryland

A: The planets of our solar system orbit the Sun in a counterclockwise direction (when viewed from above the Suns north pole) because of the way our solar system formed. Our Sun was born from a cloud of dust and gas, the remnants of which called the solar nebula became the planets. As that cloud collapsed into the Sun, it also began to spin. Its a matter of chance that it ended up spinning in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from the top down.

But lets step back for a moment. When we say that the Sun formed from a cloud of dust and gas, that cloud was actually a very small sub-region of a much larger, so-called giant molecular cloud. Giant molecular clouds dont just form one star, but many hundreds or thousands. And, in general, the angular momentum and axis of rotation of these giant molecular clouds does tend to be oriented either with (prograde) or against (retrograde) the Milky Ways rotation. Within these larger clouds, however, things are different. Factors such as turbulence caused by supernova shock waves and magnetic effects that occur when portions of the cloud start collapsing into stars affect the final angular momentum and spin orientation of newborn stars. These interactions can be quite complex, which is likely why stars dont spin in any one preferred orientation or direction. While a stars planets will likely all rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise around it, the outcome is more affected by local conditions during the stars birth than by the rotation of the Milky Way, or even the larger cloud from which the star formed.

Alison Klesman

Senior Associate Editor

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Vanderbilt University anti-inflammatory therapy licensed to Amytrx is now in clinical trials for eczema treatment – Vanderbilt University News

Posted: at 6:24 pm

A cell-penetrating, anti-inflammatory peptide developed byJacek Hawiger, Louise B. McGavock Chair and Distinguished Professor of Medicine, and licensed to biopharmaceutical companyAmytrx, has been approved by the FDA for testing as a potential therapeutic for mild to moderate eczema. The peptide, known as AMTX-100, has been in clinical trials since March.

The licensing agreement, facilitated by theCenter for Technology Transfer and Commercialization and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, enables translation of the product of the Hawiger teamsdecades-long academic research from the lab to a clinical setting. The result is the near-term opportunity to improve the health and well-being of people with a wide range of inflammatory and metabolic diseases, including psoriasis, rosacea, acne, herpes type 1 and 2, and shingles.

The research led by Dr.Hawigerhas immense opportunity to address a variety of conditions connected to inflammation, said Vice Provost for Research Padma Raghavan.

AMTX-100 is a peptide, or chain of amino acids, designed to swiftly penetrate the membrane of inflamed cells that were injured by microbial, autoimmune, allergic, metabolic or physical insults. Once inside of cells, AMTX-100 prevents the cells nucleusa command center of inflammationfrom triggering an otherwise unfavorable inflammatory response. Without such intervention that targets nuclear transport checkpoint, cells produce a myriad of chemicals that mediate inflammation and keep affected organs on fire. This peptide has been developed by Hawigersteam to naturally alter the route through which our own proinflammatory proteins cause swelling, redness, fever, pain, and impaired function, without sacrificing the cells ability to grow and carry out its functions. Research has shown that this approach has significantly fewer side effects and safety concerns than many anti-inflammatory drugs addressing the same issue, creating a potentially significant market opportunity.

We are working to safely address a key mechanism of so many diseases and health conditions that make life more difficult than it should be, saidHawiger, also professor of molecular physiology and biophysics. I am very pleased to be at this phase of translational research that reaffirms our vision, shared byAmytrxco-founder and Director Thomas Andrews, to develop this groundbreaking therapeutic approach withAmytrx.

As a co-founder ofAmytrx,Hawigerwill be involved in further study and research on this transformative anti-inflammatory therapy by conducting preclinical studies in experimental models of human disease with high unmet need.

The progression of this work toAmytrxis in no small part thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization team, Raghavan said. They have been incredibly engaged inbringing game-changing innovation from Vanderbilt research labs to the real world.

Dr.Hawigersanti-inflammatory peptide platformis exceptionally promising, said Dr. MattGonda,AmytrxsCEO, president and co-founder. Meaningful researchwith human applicationslike this cannot be kept to academia.There is a need for a commercialization partner to bring it to fruitionin order toreach the public.Amytrxisthrilled to be working togetherto bringscience with such broad implications for unmet medical needs to the bedside, and our therapeuticsa step closer to patientuse.

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LEO Pharma announces positive results of Phase 2b dose-finding study with delgocitinib cream in adult patients with mild-to-severe chronic hand eczema…

Posted: at 6:24 pm

BALLERUP, Denmark & MADISON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NOT FOR USE IN THE UK OR IRELAND

EMBARGOED UNTIL OCTOBER 29, 2020 4:00 pm CET

LEO Pharma A/S, a global leader in medical dermatology, today announced positive results of a Phase 2b dose-finding study with delgocitinib cream, an investigational topical pan-Janus kinase (JAK)-inhibitor, during the Late Breaking News session of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Virtual 2020.1

Delgocitinib inhibits activation of the JAK-STAT pathway, which plays a key role in the immune system in driving the pathophysiology of chronic inflammatory skin diseases.2,3 The cream formulation of delgocitinib is an investigational therapy under clinical development and has not been approved by any regulatory authority.

The primary endpoint for the randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled, multi-center Phase 2b dose-finding trial was the proportion of adult patients with mild-to-severe CHE who achieved an Investigators Global Assessment (IGA)-CHE score of 0 (clear) or 1 (almost clear) with a 2 point improvement from baseline, at week 16.1 A key secondary endpoint was change in Hand Eczema Severity Index (HECSI) from baseline to week 16.1

The results presented today showed that delgocitinib cream demonstrated a statistically significant dose-response relationship for these endpoints compared to vehicle.1 Across all treatment groups, the majority of adverse events were non-serious, mild or moderate in severity and not considered treatment related.1 In addition, none of the three serious adverse events were considered treatment related,1 and the most frequently reported adverse events were nasopharyngitis, eczema and headache.1

"There is a significant unmet need for additional treatments for long-term control of CHE, which can cause considerable social and employment burden for both individuals and society, said Prof. Margitta Worm, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charit-Universittsmedizin Berlin. The results of this trial showed that delgocitinib cream may have the potential to become a new treatment option for adult patients suffering from mild-to-severe CHE.

CHE is defined as hand eczema (HE) that lasts for more than three months or relapses twice or more within a year.4,5 HE is the most common skin disorder of the hands6 that affects an estimated 1 5% of the general population7 with a one-year prevalence rate of approximately 10%.8 It is an inflammatory, non-infectious skin disorder of the hands and wrists4,9 and can cause itching, blisters, swelling and pain so severe that it can impair the ability to work.4,6,10 In a substantial number of patients, HE can develop into a chronic condition.6

#ENDS#

About Delgocitinib

In 2014, LEO Pharma A/S and Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) entered into a license agreement in which LEO Pharma gained exclusive rights to develop and commercialize delgocitinib for topical use in dermatological indications worldwide, excluding Japan, where JT retains rights.

Earlier this year, delgocitinib cream received Fast Track designation for the treatment of moderate-to-severe CHE from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Fast Track process facilitates the development and expedites regulatory review of drugs to treat serious conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address an unmet medical need.11

About LEO Pharma

The company is a leader in medical dermatology with a robust R&D pipeline, a wide range of therapies and a pioneering spirit. Founded in 1908 and owned by the LEO Foundation, LEO Pharma has devoted decades of research and development to advance the science of dermatology, setting new standards of care for people with skin conditions. LEO Pharma is headquartered in Denmark with a global team of 6,000 people, serving 92 million patients in 130 countries. For more information about LEO Pharma, visit http://www.leo-pharma.com.

References

1 Worm M, et al. The topical pan-JAK inhibitor delgocitinib cream demonstrates dose response in a 16-week phase 2b trial in chronic hand eczema. Presented during the Late Breaking News session of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Virtual 2020 on 29 October 2020.

2 Damsky W, and King BA. JAAD; 2017;76(4):736-744.

3 Virtanen AT, et al. BioDrugs. 2019;33:1532.

4 Lynde C, et al. J Cutan Med Surg. 2010;14:26784.

5 Diepgen TL, et al. J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. 2015 Jan;13(1):e122. doi: 10.1111/ddg.12510_1.

6 Bissonnette R, et al. JEADV. 2010;24;120.

7 Christoffers WA, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;4:CD004055.

8 Thyssen et al. Contact Dermatitis. 2010;62:75-87.

9 Menn T, et al. Contact Dermatitis. 2011;65:312.

10 Politiek K, et al. Contact Dermatitis. 2016;75:6776.

11 U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Fast Track: https://www.fda.gov/patients/fast-track-breakthrough-therapy-accelerated-approval-priority-review/fast-track (Accessed October 2020).

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Dermatologist recommended tips to take care of your babys skin during the winter season – TheHealthSite

Posted: at 6:24 pm

The chilly weather brings with it a lot of skin woes. And these are not limited to adults, even children are prone to dry skin during the winter season. While your babys skin may be soft most of the time, but it might get dry at times. Babies are prone to dry skin during winters, which can lead to problems such as itchy eczema and more. We asked Dr Sirisha Singh, Dermatologist, to share with us some tips for mothers so that they can take care of their babys skin. Along with the tips, she also shared some insights on what might be leading to the problem. Also Read - Dull skin: Reasons why your skin is looking lifeless and home remedies to treat it

Dr Singh explained that the atmospheric humidity reduces during the winter season, which affects our skin and makes it dry. In addition, sitting in front of the heater with your baby can dehydrate your childs skin. Dehydrated and dry skin is more prone to rashes, eczema and other skin allergies. Also Read - Skincare tips: 5 best foods to combat dry skin

There is a particular skin problem called atopic eczema. It is a kind of genetic tendency that makes children more prone to allergies. So, their skin is intrinsically dry, and they have a high tendency of getting red patches on the skin, she added. Atopic eczema is a common condition in babies. Itching, dryness and redness are common symptoms of the skin problem. Also Read - A perfect scalp and hair care routine for your little one

The skin of newborns and infants is very delicate and needs very careful nourishment and gentle care. Changing weather can wreak havoc on the skin and increases the likelihood of rashes and allergic skin issues. Here are a few tips recommended by the dermatologist that you can use.

Published : October 29, 2020 6:44 pm

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Ron Paul: ‘Iraq War Diaries’ At Ten Years Truth is Treason – OpEd – Eurasia Review

Posted: at 6:23 pm

The purpose of journalism is to uncover truth especially uncomfortable truth and to publish it for the benefit of society. In a free society, wemust be informed of the criminal acts carried out by governments in the name of the people. Throughout history, journalists have uncovered the many ways governments lie, cheat, and steal and the great lengths they will go to keep the people from finding out.

Great journalists like Seymour Hersh, who reported to us the tragedy of the Mai Lai Massacre and the horrors that took place at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, are essential.

Ten years ago last week, Julian Assanges Wikileaks organization published anexposof US government wrongdoing on par with the above Hersh bombshell stories. Publication of the Iraq War Diaries showed us all the brutality of the US attack on Iraq. It told us the truth about the US invasion and occupation of that country. This was no war of defense against a nation threatening us with weapons of mass destruction. This was no liberation of the country. We were not bringing democracy to Iraq.

No, the release of nearly 400,000 classified US Army field reports showed us in dirty detail that the US attack was a war of aggression, based on lies, where hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed and injured.

We learned that the US military classified anyone they killed in Iraq as enemy combatants. We learned that more than 700 Iraqi civilians were killed for driving too close to one of the hundreds of US military checkpoints including pregnant mothers-to-be rushing to the hospital.

We learned that US military personnel routinely handed detainees over to Iraqi security forces where they would be tortured and often killed.

Ten years after Assanges brave act of journalism changed the world and exposed one of the crimes of the century, he sits alone in solitary confinement in a UK prison. He sits literally fighting for his life, as if he is successfully extradited to the United States he faces 175 years in a supermax prison for committing espionage against a country of which he is not a citizen.

On the Iraq war we have punished the truth-tellers and rewarded the criminals. People who knowingly lied us into the war like Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, the Beltway neocon experts, and most of the media, faced neither punishment nor professional shaming for their acts. In fact, they got off scot free and many even prospered.

Julian Assange explained that he published the Iraq War Diaries because he hoped to correct some of the attack on truth that occurred before the war, and that continued on since that war officially ended. We used to praise brave journalists not afraid to take on the bad guys. Now we torture and imprison them.

President Trump has made a point of singling out the US attack on Iraq as one of the stupid wars that he was committed to ending. But we wouldnt know half of just how stupid and evil it was were it not for the brave actions of Julian Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Journalism should not be a crime and President Trump should pardon Assange immediately.

This article was published by RonPaul Institute.

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Existential Dore: How I learned to stop judging and appreciate the Vanderbilt Experience – The Vanderbilt Hustler

Posted: at 6:23 pm

Hunter Long

One Saturday during my first year, I finally mustered up the courage to attend a ZBT tailgate after waiting a few weeks. I was eager yet terrified to watch upperclassmen perform keg stands and shotgun beers at 8 a.m.. While this may be fun for some students, I saw pure anarchy.

Like many students here, I came to Vanderbilt because I wanted access to one of the best academic institutions in the country, but I also wanted to experience a fun environment. At the same time, I was initially perplexed by the outgoing party culture which seemed counterintuitive to the intellectual environment I imagined. I couldnt help but cringe at my snap stories of the 6 a.m. mass exodus to tailgate last season. I asked myself: Why do some students spend their time engaging in the most pointless activities that make no substantial contribution to the world? Is this what we call fun?

As much as we like to make fun of the title, its no secret that Vanderbilts students have been ranked Number 1 Happiest College Students in the country for the past five years. The ranking is nice, but I have struggled to understand how and why we are the happiest students. When I think of our status as the happiest campus, I immediately think of hedonism.

A school of philosophy popularized by the likes of John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Benthan, hedonism is defined as all theories of conduct in which the criterion is pleasure of one kind or another. In other words, hedonism allows us to evaluate personal decision-making based on our desire for pleasurable experiences.

So why should we care about hedonism? Because it explains why we all find meaning in activities for nothing other than the pursuit of pleasure. Specifically, hedonism can tell us how we, as Vanderbilt students, find meaning in activities that are intended to make us happy?

Initially, I found one of the most explicit forms of hedonism in the social scene. My perception comes with trademark memories of Lonnies Western Room and Greek Row, and is summed up perfectly by this Vanderbeat Boys video. However, I was often judgmental about this work-hard-play-hard mentality, always asking myself: with the time and resources we have, why do we choose to participate in frivolous activities?

As students at a top-tier university, couldnt we be spending our time on more productive things like academics, volunteering or research. I did not see any meaning in partying, and I looked down upon classmates who seemed to be occupied with meaningless pleasures.

However, my perspective on hedonism was short-sighted. I didnt identify as an outgoing student, so it was unfair to judge students who hit up Broadway on the weekend while I chose to stay in my dorm. Everything changed when I sat down with a friend at EBI for lunch. As an introvert, he rarely left his Gillette dorm unless it was for a class or a club. I asked my friend What things do you do for fun if you are not a partier? His answer surprised me: staying in the dorm, watching anime and scrolling through Reddit.

That was the aha moment for me: hedonism is the basic necessity of pleasure. The type of pleasure could be anything, so it wasnt necessarily a night out at Lonnies.

By understanding both sides of the student experience, I also learned to internalize what I enjoyed in my free time. For me, it was 6:30 a.m. trips to the Rec Center for a morning swim and then quality time with friends at Commons. I became at peace with hedonism: the act of seeking pleasure was not a taboo subject that only included partying, but a basic necessity for all students. In fact, taking part in meaningful activities can help reduce burnout in college students.

Now, as an existential dore, you must ask: what does hedonism mean when you attend Vanderbilt? Your answer may differ from mine, but thats what makes both of us special and unique. At the end of the day, we all choose to spend our weekends differently, leaving our work and other obligations far behind. So even if Saturday morning tailgates are not my thing, I understand why other students might value them as integral to their happiness.

That is why I also emphasize the importance of perspective when it comes to hedonism. We all should learn and appreciate how we can enjoy Vanderbilt from different viewpoints. By doing so, hedonism allows us to understand why we are the happiest students; through a nuanced understanding of the college experience.

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Sam Smith: Love Goes review heartbreak album plays it safe in hard times – The Guardian

Posted: at 6:23 pm

The third album from Sam Smith arrives amid mixed messages. Love Goes comes six months later than planned, renamed from To Die For. The latter is explained by Britains coronavirus death rate. The reasons for the former are less scrutable. Perhaps Smith deduced that mid-pandemic was not the right frame of mind to enjoy their latest album, which even hardcore fans would admit tends towards the self-absorbed and glum. There was also the crying selfie posted in March as Smith struggled to cope with lockdown: the inevitable criticism led by Piers Morgan prompted talk of a backlash.

Accordingly tweaked, Love Goes comes accompanied by a statement from Smith talking up its experimental nature and the collaborators who boldly embraced my creativity and direction and allowed me to be whoever I wanted to be in the studio that day, imploring fans to listen with an open heart, which seemed to suggest they might be in for a shock. Such talk was hard to square with their collaborators, including Shellback, Stargate and Steve Mac, the latter famed for his work with notoriously challenging Irish collective Westlife and for co-writing Rockabye, Clean Bandits 2016 Christmas No 1. Then Smith told Zane Lowe that they were not ashamed that Love Goes was tamer, creatively, than 2017s The Thrill of It All. Because at a moment of such unsafety in my life, all I wanted to feel was safe. So thats honest to me.

So, bold new departure, or more of the same? It would take a superhuman effort to call any of it experimental, but the music on Love Goes sounds different to that of its predecessor: out with the retro-soul affectations and the nods in the direction of Coldplay; in with misty pop-facing electronics, gentle tropical house shadings and Auto-Tuned backing vocals. Youve heard it all before, but theres a lot of melodically solid songwriting particularly on singles Diamonds and Kids Again, the latter enlivened by a George Harrison-ish slide guitar solo and the occasional mild surprise, as when title track bursts from piano ballad into martial brass, melodramatic strings and backing vocalists chanting hey! somewhat in the vein of Boney Ms Rasputin.

Equally, you sense Smith reaching for something that remains stubbornly out of their grasp. As its title suggests, Dance (Til You Love Someone Else) is clearly inspired by Robyns Dancing on My Own, and why not? Theres a compelling argument that the 2010 hit is the greatest pop single of the last 20 years, a brilliant electronic rebooting of the old disco trick whereby euphoric club music is paired with lyrical despair. But in Smiths hands it doesnt quite work, largely because their euphoric club music isnt particularly euphoric, four-to-the-floor beat or not: its solemn minor piano chords and synth washes feel opaque and mopey, and the disco string arrangement never quite spirals heavenwards, as if too careworn to muster the energy.

The lyrics stick fast to romantic misery, from infidelity to perfidious swine interested only in Smiths bank balance. These are perennial topics for Smith, though as they told Lowe, their first two albums were inspired by unrequited love; Love Goes is apparently their first proper heartbreak album. In truth the difference feels like splitting hairs, particularly when you consider how The Thrill of It All actually came at that well-worn topic from unexpected angles: Midnight Trains agonising over what their exs family thought of them; Burnings examination of the consolation of smoking cigarettes in the aftermath of a break-up.

Here, the travails of Smiths personal life seem to have drained them of the ability to speak in anything other than cliche: you get thorns in the side, poisoned chalices, darkest thoughts and rosy memories of summer wine in Breaking Hearts alone. There are intriguing intimations that these relationship disasters were underscored by nihilistic hedonism (drug-fuelled fights about your lows and highs) but the songs never probe deeper. The best moment comes on So Serious, where Smith gently mocks their image as pops leading purveyor of despair God, I dont know why I get so serious sometimes suddenly theres violins and movie scenes and crying rivers in the street and cannily acknowledges that at least its good for business: Put your hands in the air if you sometimes get sad like me.

And maybe theres something canny about Love Goes. Its gloom feels more amenable than that of The Thrill of It All: at no point here does Smiths falsetto sound as eerie as it did on that albums No Peace, and its shifts in musical style never obstruct its familiarity. For all Smiths talk of experiments, perhaps thats what they think their audience wants at this moment in time, 2020 having already delivered more than enough by way of the unfamiliar: an album that exists to waft sadly, but unobtrusively, in the background.

Lady Blackbird: Beware the Stranger (Ashley Beedles North Street West Vocal Mix)Gilles Peterson has described LAs Lady Blackbird as the Grace Jones of jazz: here her emotive vocal is remixed into subtly effective disco house.

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The NSA is Refusing to Disclose its Policy on Backdooring Commercial Products – Security Boulevard

Posted: at 6:22 pm

Senator Ron Wyden asked, and the NSA didnt answer:

The NSA has long sought agreements with technology companies under which they would build special access for the spy agency into their products, according to disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and reporting by Reuters and others.

These so-called back doors enable the NSA and other agencies to scan large amounts of traffic without a warrant. Agency advocates say the practice has eased collection of vital intelligence in other countries, including interception of terrorist communications.

The agency developed new rules for such practices after the Snowden leaks in order to reduce the chances of exposure and compromise, three former intelligence officials told Reuters. But aides to Senator Ron Wyden, a leading Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, say the NSA has stonewalled on providing even the gist of the new guidelines.

The agency declined to say how it had updated its policies on obtaining special access to commercial products. NSA officials said the agency has been rebuilding trust with the private sector through such measures as offering warnings about software flaws.

At NSA, its common practice to constantly assess processes to identify and determine best practices, said Anne Neuberger, who heads NSAs year-old Cybersecurity Directorate. We dont share specific processes and procedures.

Three former senior intelligence agency figures told Reuters that the NSA now requires that before a back door is sought, the agency must weigh the potential fallout and arrange for some kind of warning if the back door gets discovered and manipulated by adversaries.

The article goes on to talk about Juniper Networks equipment, which had the NSA-created DUAL_EC PRNG backdoor in its products. That backdoor was taken advantage of by an unnamed foreign adversary.

Juniper Networks got into hot water over Dual EC two years later. At the end of 2015, the maker of internet switches disclosed that it had detected malicious code in some firewall products. Researchers later determined that hackers had turned the firewalls into their own spy tool here by altering Junipers version of Dual EC.

Juniper said little about the incident. But the company acknowledged to security researcher Andy Isaacson in 2016 that it had installed Dual EC as part of a customer requirement, according to a previously undisclosed contemporaneous message seen by Reuters. Isaacson and other researchers believe that customer was a U.S. government agency, since only the U.S. is known to have insisted on Dual EC elsewhere.

Juniper has never identified the customer, and declined to comment for this story.

Likewise, the company never identified the hackers. But two people familiar with the case told Reuters that investigators concluded the Chinese government was behind it. They declined to detail the evidence they used.

Okay, lots of unsubstantiated claims and innuendo here. And Neuberger is right; the NSA shouldnt share specific processes and procedures. But as long as this is a democratic country, the NSA has an obligation to disclose its general processes and procedures so we all know what theyre doing in our name. And if its still putting surveillance ahead of security.

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*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Schneier on Security authored by Bruce Schneier. Read the original post at: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/10/the-nsa-is-refusing-to-disclose-its-policy-on-backdooring-commercial-products.html

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Senator Wyden Wants To Know If The NSA Is Still Demanding Tech Companies Build Backdoors Into Their Products – Techdirt

Posted: at 6:22 pm

from the build-them-or-we'll-just-build-our-own dept

It's been more than a half-decade since it made headlines, but the NSA's hardware manipulation programs never went away. These programs -- exposed by the Snowden leaks -- involved the NSA compromising network hardware, either through interception of physical shipments or by the injection of malicious code.

One major manufacturer -- Cisco -- was righteously angered when leaked documents showed some of its hardware being "interdicted" by NSA personnel. It went directly to Congress to complain. The complaint changed nothing. (Cisco, however, changed its shipping processes.) But even though the furor has died down, these programs continue pretty much unhindered by Congressional oversight or public outcry.

One legislator hasn't forgotten about the NSA's hardware-focused efforts. Senator Ron Wyden is still demanding the NSA answer questions about these programs and give him details about "backdoors" in private companies' computer equipment. The DOJ and FBI may be making a lot of noise about encryption backdoor mandates, but one federal agency is doing something about it. And it has been for years.

Not only has the NSA installed its own backdoors in intercepted devices, it has been working with tech companies to develop special access options in networking equipment. This allows the agency to more easily slurp up communications and internet traffic in bulk. Senator Wyden wants answers.

The agency developed new rules for such practices after the Snowden leaks in order to reduce the chances of exposure and compromise, three former intelligence officials told Reuters. But aides to Senator Ron Wyden, a leading Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, say the NSA has stonewalled on providing even the gist of the new guidelines.

Secret encryption back doors are a threat to national security and the safety of our families its only a matter of time before foreign hackers or criminals exploit them in ways that undermine American national security, Wyden told Reuters. The government shouldnt have any role in planting secret back doors in encryption technology used by Americans.

No one knows what's in the guidelines and whether they forbid the NSA from backdooring hardware or software sold to US buyers. All the NSA is willing to say is it's trying to patch things up with domestic tech vendors by, um, giving them more stuff to patch up.

The agency declined to say how it had updated its policies on obtaining special access to commercial products. NSA officials said the agency has been rebuilding trust with the private sector through such measures as offering warnings about software flaws.

This is a welcome change after years of exploit hoarding. But there's no reason to believe the NSA isn't holding useful flaws back until they've outlived their exploitability. As for the built-in backdoors, the NSA refuses to provide any details. It won't even answer to its oversight. And if it won't do that, it really needs to stop saying things about "robust oversight" every time more surveillance abuses by the agency are exposed.

There's more to this than potential domestic surveillance. Any flaw deliberately introduced in hardware and software can be exploited by anyone who discovers it, not just the agency that requested it. The threat isn't theoretical. It's already happened. In 2015, it was discovered that malicious hackers had exploited what appeared to be a built-in flaw to intercept and decrypt VPN traffic running through Juniper routers. This appeared to be a byproduct of the NSA's "Tailored Access Operations." While Juniper has never acknowledged building a backdoor for the NSA, the circumstantial evidence points in No Such Agency's direction.

[Juniper] acknowledged to security researcher Andy Isaacson in 2016 that it had installed Dual EC [Dual Elliptic Curve] as part of a customer requirement, according to a previously undisclosed contemporaneous message seen by Reuters. Isaacson and other researchers believe that customer was a U.S. government agency, since only the U.S. is known to have insisted on Dual EC elsewhere.

This is the danger of relying on deliberately introduced flaws to gather intelligence or obtain evidence. Broken is broken and broken tools are toys for malicious individuals, which includes state-sponsored hackers deployed by this nation's enemies. It's kind of shitty to claim you're in the national security business when you're out there asking companies to add more attack vectors to their products.

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Filed Under: 4th amendment, backdoors, nsa, ron wyden, surveillanceCompanies: cisco, juniper

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Senator Wyden Wants To Know If The NSA Is Still Demanding Tech Companies Build Backdoors Into Their Products - Techdirt

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Per NSA, DoD Networks in the Crosshairs of Chinese State-Sponsored Hackers – ClearanceJobs

Posted: at 6:21 pm

The National Security Agency (NSA) issued a cybersecurity advisory warning that Chinese state-sponsored actors have increased their attacks on American companies, including those that work closely with the U.S. government. The NSA warned that one of the great threats to the U.S. National Security Systems (NSS), the U.S. Defense Industrial Base (DIB), and even the Department of Defense (DoD) information networks remains hackers in China who work at the behest of Beijing.

The same process for planning the exploitation of a computer network that is used by sophisticated cyber criminals for profit is being used by Chinese-sanctioned hackers. The same types of efforts are employed, and this often involves identifying a target, gathering technical information, identifying any vulnerabilities, developing or even re-using an exploit to access those vulnerabilities, and then launching the attack.

This warning highlights the trend of nation-state actors expanding their focus, from the .gov and .mil domains to prioritizing the exploitation of companies in the defense industrial base or with any connection to U.S. government data, said John Dermody, counsel in the Washington, D.C., office of international law firm OMelveny & Myers and member of the firms Data Security & Privacy Group, in an email to ClearanceJobs.

Hackers can now choose from a menu of readily-deployable malware, already-developed access to victims, network exploitation services, and post-breach monetization services, added Dermody. This has resulted in entrepreneurial cyber-actors going out and developing access to a broad scope of companies and offering to sell it to the highest bidder, whether that be cyber criminals or nation states.

Along with its warning, the NSA published an in-depth report that detailed the top 25 vulnerabilities that are currently being scanned, targeted, and exploited. All of these bugs are actually well known, and they all have patches. However, because of the continued targeting of these exploits, the NSA has called greater attention and highlighted the need to address these vulnerabilities as soon as possible.

The NSA advisory identified 25 known vulnerabilities that state or state-sponsored attackers from China are known to actively use, or have scanned for, explained cybersecurity expert Saryj Nayya, CEO of Gurucul. Its important to realize that this list is only the ones they know of. These attackers have considerable resources that they can, and do, dedicate to finding and developing attacks against a broad range of systems. They have exploited vulnerabilities in network equipment, servers, and mobile devices, and will continue to do so.

While many of the vulnerabilities have been known to cybersecurity professionals, this is the first time that the NSA the nations premier electronic intelligence agency has specifically described them as prime targets for Chinese state-sponsored attacks.

State sponsored attackers are nothing new, Nayya told ClearanceJobs. Governments have always employed researchers to find vulnerabilities and developed attacks that exploit them to further their own agendas. Given the current geopolitical situation, it is no surprise we are hearing more about attacks originating from China.

However, state and state-sponsored threat actors will remain a serious challenge for civilian targets.

The attackers are effectively immune from prosecution and, as civilians, the victims cant return fire even when they know who is attacking them, warned Nayya. We have to rely on our own defenses to mitigate these attacks, and hope the government agencies responsible for protecting our vital infrastructure will extend that protection to other areas under threat.

The NSA noted that most of the vulnerabilities that it listed could be exploited to gain initial access to a victim network by utilizing products that provide either remote access or are for external web services, and these products should be patched accordingly. The NSA also offered tips to mitigate from such attacks:

Cybersecurity due diligence should remain a priority, and this should include regular backups, watching for social engineering, and keeping devices at all levels patched and up to date.

Our best defense is to deploy best-in-breed security solutions, including behavioral analytics that can adapt to new threats, and to follow industry best practices across the board, said Nayya. Patch management, user education, etc.

A full list of the threats is available on the NSA Cybersecurity Advisory.

Originally posted here:
Per NSA, DoD Networks in the Crosshairs of Chinese State-Sponsored Hackers - ClearanceJobs

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