Wednesday, July 28, 2021
From Ars Technica: High-Severity Ransomware Attacks Ratchet Up
" July has so far ushered in at least two new ransomware groups. Or maybe they’re old ones undergoing a rebranding. Researchers are in the process of running down several different theories.
Both groups say they are aiming for big-game targets, meaning corporations or other large businesses with the pockets to pay ransoms in the millions of dollars. The additions come as recent ransomware intrusions of oil pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline, meat packer JBS SA, and managed network provider Kaseya have caused major disruptions and created pressure in Washington to curb the threats.
Haron: Like Avaddon. Or maybe not.
The first group is calling itself Haron. A sample of the Haron malware was first submitted to VirusTotal on July 19. Three days later, South Korean security firm S2W Lab discussed the group in a post.
Most of the group’s site on the dark web is password protected by extremely weak credentials. . .
In the shadows of REvil and DarkSide
The second ransomware newcomer is calling itself BlackMatter. It was reported on Tuesday by security firm Recorded Future and its news arm, The Record.
Recorded Future, The Record, and security firm Flashpoint, which also covered the emergence of BlackMatter, have questioned if the group has connections to either DarkSide or REvil. Those two ransomware groups suddenly went dark after attacks—against global meat producer JBS and managed network services provider Kaseya in REvil’s case and Colonial Pipeline in the case of DarkSide—generated more attention than the groups wanted. The Justice Department later claimed to have recovered $2.3 million from Colonial’s ransomware payment of $4.4 million.
But once again, the similarities at this point are all cosmetic and include the wording of a pledge, first made by DarkSide, not to target hospitals or critical infrastructure. . .None of this is to say that the speculation is wrong, only that at the moment, there’s little more than hunches for support.
NO TIME LEFT ...Now, our luck is running out.
Their answer: NOW How many years until we must act on climate? Zero, say these climate thinkers
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Peter Kalmus: ‘Zero years’
We have zero years before climate and ecological breakdown, because it’s already here. We have zero years left to procrastinate. The longer we wait to act, the worse the floods, fires, droughts, famines and heatwaves will get . .
Peter Kalmus is a climate scientist at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Lab. He is the author of Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution
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Jennifer Francis: ‘We cannot wait’
We need to immediately stop subsidizing all aspects of the fossil fuel industry. According to this report, the fossil fuel industry received $66bn in 2016, while renewables (excluding nuclear) only received $9.5bn. We should instead use those billions of subsidy dollars to ramp up the renewable energy industry: generation (wind, solar, nuclear), distribution (smarter grid), storage and electric transportation. . .
Jennifer Francis is senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center
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Michael Mann: ‘Strictly speaking, zero’
How many years do we have to act? Strictly speaking, zero – which is to say, that we must act, in earnest, now. We have a decade within which we must halve global carbon emissions. As I argue in The New Climate War, this requires dramatic systemic change: no new fossil fuel infrastructure, massive subsidies for renewables, carbon pricing and deploying other policy tools to accelerate the clean energy transition already under way. . .
Michael E Mann is distinguished professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University. He is author of the recent book, The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back our Planet
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Holly Jean Buck: ‘We need action now’
We need to ramp up action now in order to transform all of our major systems by 2050: energy, transportation, industry, agriculture, waste management. We’ll need to eat less meat, farm in ways that store more carbon in the soils, reforest degraded or abandoned land and restore wetlands. . .
Holly Jean Buck is a postdoctoral research fellow at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. She is the author of After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair, and Restoration
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RELATED CONTENT ON THIS BLOG
Mesa City Council accepts City of Mesa Climate Action Plan
The goal of the Climate Action Plan is to lower the City of Mesa's climate impact, serve as a guide for sustainable growth and build resiliency by reducing carbon pollution in City operations. Mesa will use the plan to further study mitigation and adaptation strategies, implement intentional policy direction and support the advancement of innovative technologies.
"The Climate Action Plan affirms Mesa's commitment to resiliency and sustainability," said Mayor John Giles. "Now it's time to engage the community and measure our progress to ensure we pass along a community to future generations that's healthy at every level."
The plan uses four Aspirational Goals that will guide the vision for the future: BY THE YEAR 2050 !
Carbon Neutrality- Reduce the carbon footprint of City operations by 50% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon sinks.
Renewable Energy- Prioritize the use of renewable, resilient energy to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Materials Management- Manage material responsibly and divert 90% of waste from the landfill by 2050.
Community Action- Develop community-based action items to be incorporated into the Climate Action Plan.
City departments will focus on six areas to help to achieve progress towards the goals laid out in the plan. The six focus areas are energy, air quality, heat mitigation, water stewardship, materials management and food systems. The City will work within these areas to create solutions with short-term and long-term benefits. . .
The Climate Action Plan will be a living document that will evolve over time as new strategies, resources, technologies and collaborations come to light.
For more information and to see a copy of the Climate Action Plan, visit www.mesaaz.gov/climateaction.
Contact: Casey Blake
(480) 644-3662
casey.blake@mesaaz.gov
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Now Is Our Last Best Chance to Confront the Climate Crisis
With Joe Biden in office, a serious plan to combat climate change is finally in our sights — but the clock is ticking, and there is no more room for error
The Earth’s climate has always been a work in progress. In the 4.5 billion years the planet has been spinning around the sun, ice ages have come and gone, interrupted by epochs of intense heat. The highest mountain range in Texas was once an underwater reef. Camels wandered in evergreen forests in the Arctic. Then a few million years later, 400 feet of ice formed over what is now New York City. But amid this geologic mayhem, humans have gotten lucky. For the past 10,000 years, virtually the entire stretch of human civilization, people have lived in what scientists call “a Goldilocks climate” — not too hot, not too cold, just right . . .
OK Guys! Plunk it Down and Place-Your-Bets on SPORTS GAMBLING...Since when is 166 Acres 'One of The Largest Land Deals' in SE Mesa??
Indiana developer buys 166 acres of land in Mesa, plans large-scale industrial project
MESA, AZ — An Indianapolis-based investor with several other projects in the Phoenix area bought 166 acres of land in Mesa in one of the largest land sales in the southeast Valley in the past decade.
Phoenix-based ViaWest Group sold the land on behalf of BD218 LLC, which according to real estate database Vizzda, is an entity with members including Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner Robert Sarver, Suns executive Samuel Garvin and Steve Hilton, executive chairman and former CEO of Meritage Homes.
Scannell Properties, which is also planning to __________ near the Loop 202 South Mountain freeway, bought the land for $36 million. A large-scale, class A industrial development is being planned for the site, but details are still being finalized.
The site, located at the southwest corner of Warner and Ellsworth roads, was part of a 218-acre parcel the group purchased in 2007. Later, the Salt River Project purchased 35 acres of the land and 17 acres from that parcel was used for the Loop 202 expansion.
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REMEMBER THIS POST ON THIS BLOG From April 2018
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Let's fast-forward to now in the first decade of the 21st century, to see and read some "nice stories" how this wealth-creation rolls out
Blogger Note: Any number of stories published in mainstream media can be adapted to tell the story
Story #1 Sympathy for a Bygone-Era ... but here's the plan
East Valley's last dairy farmers look to develop 860 acres, leave area
This is from October 2017 by Lily Altavena
"As he looks out at acre after acre of his dairy farm, Jim Boyle Jr. is not wistful at the idea of leaving the land his family has farmed for 40 years. He's hopeful.
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| Dairy farm supporters who showed up at PZ Board 10/23/2019 |
READY TO SIGN, SEAL AND DELIVER THE DEAL EVEN BEFORE THE MESA CITY COUNCIL MEETING ON MONDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2020
CERTIFICATE OF MAYOR
I, John Giles, the duly elected and qualified and acting Mayor of the City of Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona, do hereby certify that the attached copy of Ordinance No. _________ entitled:
AN ORDINANCE EXTENDING AND INCREASING THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA, PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 9, CHAPTER 4, ARTICLE 7, ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES AND AMENDMENTS THERETO BY ANNEXING CERTAIN TERRITORY INTO THE EXISTING LIMITS OF THE CITY OF MESA
is true, correct and compared copy of the original of record on file in the office of the City Clerk of the City of Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona.
That the ordinance was introduced at the February 10, 2020 Council Meeting and adopted on the 24th day of February 2020, and that the attached map is an accurate map of the territory annexed.
That this certificate is made pursuant to and to comply with the provisions of Section 9-471, Subsection (A)(3), Arizona Revised Statutes.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of the City of Mesa, Maricopa County, State of Arizona, this 24th day of February 2020.
_________________________ John Giles
(SEAL)
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Flash News: Ukraine Intercepts Russian Kh-59 Cruise Missile Using US VAMPIRE Air Defense System Mounted on Boat. Ukrainian forces have made ...
