Ban Tik-Tok
Crypto N the News
Addition #1
Addition #2
Follow-Up: Ban Tik-Tok
The notion of a nationwide ban on TikTok continues to be a topic of
discussion within and without the Digerati. The reporting still
reflects the conventional wisdom that is based on anything but wisdom.
Two common fallacies are still being presented as relevant facts.
Business Insider, March 17, 2023, has
published a list of countries that have banned TikTok, or giving such a
ban serious consideration. In each instance the country in question
banned TikTok from government buildings and on government devices.
Well, yes. That is within the scope of what network firewalls can
do. If you wanted to hire me to block TikTok, or any other websites;
were willing to pay the cost of such a sophisticated firewall appliance; and
were willing to pay my fees, I could block TikTok from within your home and its
perimeter. I could not, under any circumstances, block TikTok from
your neighbor's property three doors down. Such IP and
content blocking is only within the legal authority of whomever's
property one enters.
Furthermore, a government issued device is de
facto the property of that government. So blocking of any website
can be done within a very localized area and on a device that is merely
on loan to its user.
Skirting
the issue of exactly how a nationwide ban of TikTok could be done is still
the norm. CNBC published,
How a TikTok ban in the U.S. might work, March 17, 2023.
Lots of editorial space is given to what is common knowledge, and one
fatuous paragraph as to how this ban might be accomplished.
Should the U.S. ban TikTok, the mechanics on what happens from there get murky. Oracle is the cloud hosting service for all of TikTok usage in the U.S. Internet service providers like Comcast (NBC Universal’s parent company) and Verizon direct traffic to end users. And the app stores controlled by Apple and Google are the primary places for consumers to download the TikTok app.
Point 1: Oracle
is the cloud provider for TikTok, says the article. The assumption
being that legal action would certainly have to be taken to stop Oracle from providing
such cloud services. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, here —
Oracle isn't the only cloud services vendor on planet Earth. Moreover,
Oracle would certainly oppose vigorously any such an action in court for restraint of what is
probably a very profitable trade. Thus, delaying any ban for maybe 2
to 5 years.
Point 2:
The Internet Services Providers (ISPs) will block TikTok. Are
these the same ISPs that can't prevent malware from landing on their
customers' computers; and can't prevent minors from accessing pornography?
The same legal issues, noted above, would also prevail.
I have a much better idea. We beat TikTok and that nefarious
Bogeyman, the CCP, the American Way. The way this country has won
every intellectual and financial battle it has faced since WW1.
We make a Bigger Better American Video Sharing Service.
C'mon, People. This
is what we do. We are the Internet. We are the entertainment
capital of the world. Making the Best Damn Video File Sharing
Service could be the next American Moon Shot. And it's in reach!
✓ Call
it SlikShot.
✓
Have a GIANT AD CAMPAIGN
✓
Convince the Kids TikTok just IS NOT COOL. Your parents are on
TikTok.
✓ Hire Celebrities
to endorse SlikShot
Besides money, all it will take is:
✓ Brains ✓ Heart ✓ Courage.
Still More-Sheep-To Fleece: Crypto N the News
The former Chief Technology Officer of the Crypto Currency Exchange, Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, is in the news. Rather than
compensating
Coinbase investors for any of their 2.6 Billion Dollars in loses
for 2022 on the Coinbase Exchange, Mr. Srinivasan made a
very
public 2 Million Dollar bet that Bitcoin will reach a 1 Million
Dollar price per token by June 17, 2023.
Win
or lose the bet, sheep who still have some wool to shear, will be
following another flock into a greater black hole. The irony of
our day is that there is more information available to everyone than at
any time in human history. And, yet, there is so little knowledge.
Peter Seeger, sang "When will they ever learn?" in his beautiful ballad, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone." Although, ostensibly, the song expresses an antiwar sentiment, that poignant refrain rings true in so many facets of our modern life.
On January 14, 2023, I posted,
The Changing Face of Malware and a Modest Proposal: Create Your
Own Primer for the Study of Cyber Security. My modest
proposal was that as malware becomes an ever greater threat to small
business people, and really everyone, it would be very beneficial to
learn some of the language of cyber security. One reason I offered this effort was that you
might gain a better understanding about what any tech might be trying to
tell you about whatever computer problem you are experiencing. I
suggested a few websites as good places to begin assembling a collection
of cyber security websites.
A section of the
NIST website offers a wide
range of up to date information about many topics in IT, not just cyber
security. Each topic you see below on its own line is a hyperlink
to a wealth of information Uncle Sam has about that topic.
Clicking the Cybersecurity link, for example, takes you to the Cybersecurity main page, which is itself a collection of links.
As Computer and Network technology continues to evolve at a speed of 2xMach5, what once might have been separate topics for research and discussion, increasingly overlap. The NIST shows a collection of topics independent of each other, that will nevertheless overlap from time to time. You can always come here to brush up on whatever you might have heard or seen, and just want to verify some facts.
Another easy to navigate
glossary of cyber security related terms and
phrases is @ Cybrary.it. Although this a website for a security
related vendor and does offer a paid "Pro version," the free site is a
rich source for research.
Divided and sorted alphabetically,
each letter shown is a link to subject that begin with that letter.
Each letter displays a list of articles whose subjects begin with that letter. Each letter's heading has a Back to Top button to take you back to the Contents page.
As you can see, the types of terms referenced cover more than the usual language of cybersecurity. This language database includes a wide range of terms you may come across. The Cybrary is a great resource for anyone who wishes to expand their personal database of Computer Terminology.