Friday, May 5, 2017

The Weekly Virtual Musical Interlude: Sting Performs Desert Rose.....

On the dawn of the Weekend, please enjoy our artist of the Week, Sting,  as we feature various selections him throughout our network properties:

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Notations On Our World: On #Africa Watch re: Jacob Zuma & Robert Mugabe

President Jacob Zuma
As we went to press, we just picked up this on a ruling against President Zuma from South Africa. He's under fire as he has so far survived a number of moves against him and as the African National Congress has rallied behind him despite reservations expressed by many senior figures including his own Deputy President as the struggle to replace him begins in earnest.    We found it interesting that he claimed Executive Privilege.



The story courtesy of Polity is noted below:


Zuma must provide reasons behind Cabinet reshuffle, judge rules: Judge Bashir Vally has ruled that President Jacob Zuma must hand over all records explaining the reason why he reshuffled the Cabinet. Sitting in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday, and after listening to arguments, Vally said he would give reasons for the ruling next Tuesday.


This is also from Zimbabwe as the crisis in Zimbabwe continues to escalate as we received this here in our Virtual Newroom: 



Mugabe denies Zimbabwe is "fragile"
POLITICS

Zimbabwe's 93-year-old president, Robert Mugabe, sat slumped in his chair, wringing his hands, as he told a panel discussion on Thursday in a low murmur that his country was not a "fragile state"....

An #Outsider Newsflash (Special Edition): On the Google Docs Phishing Attack

FYI as our team here was one of the 1 Million Users affected...FYI as we feature this on all our properties:

U.S. Department of Homeland Security US-CERT
National Cyber Awareness System:

05/04/2017 03:08 PM EDT

Original release date: May 04, 2017US-CERT is aware of a phishing campaign that affected Google Docs users. The campaign used spoofed email addresses to target users with emails purporting to share a document for collaboration. Once the targeted users accepted invitations, they were encouraged to allow the phishing program access to their email accounts. Google has taken action to protect users, including removing the fake Google Docs pages and disabling the offending accounts.
US-CERT reminds users that they play a critical role in protecting their organizations and themselves from cyber threats. Users should:
  • Be careful when clicking directly on links in emails, even if the sender appears to be known; attempt to verify web addresses independently (e.g., contact your organization's helpdesk or search the Internet for the main website of the organization or topic mentioned in the email).
  • Exercise caution when opening email attachments. Be particularly wary of compressed or ZIP file attachments.
  • Immediately report any suspicious emails to your information technology (IT) helpdesk, security office, or email provider.
Users of Google Docs are encouraged to review Google's statement and US-CERT's Tip on Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more information. You can report any suspected phishing emails to the anti-phishing group APWG.