Microsoft's Take On Kernel Access and Safe Deployment After CrowdStrike Incident (securityweek.com) 26
wiredmikey writes: As the dust settles following the massive Windows BSOD tech outages caused by CrowdStrike in July 2024, the question is now, how do we prevent this happening again? While there was no current way Microsoft could have prevented this incident, the OS firm is obviously keen to prevent anything similar happening in the future. SecurityWeek talked to David Weston, VP enterprise and OS security at Microsoft, to discuss Windows kernel access and safe deployment practices (or SDP).
Former Ukranian officer Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov created a Signal channel where military communications specialists could talk with civilian radio experts, reports MIT's Technology Review. But radio communications are crucial for drones, so... About once a month, he drives hundreds of kilometers east in a homemade mobile intelligence center: a black VW van in which stacks of radio hardware connect to an array of antennas on the roof that stand like porcupine quills when in use. Two small devices on the dash monitor for nearby drones. Over several days at a time, Flash studies the skies for Russian radio transmissions and tries to learn about the problems facing troops in the fields and in the trenches.
He is, at least in an unofficial capacity, a spy. But unlike other spies, Flash does not keep his work secret. In fact, he shares the results of these missions with more than 127,000 followers — including many soldiers and government officials — on several public social media channels. Earlier this year, for instance, he described how he had recorded five different Russian reconnaissance drones in a single night — one of which was flying directly above his van... Drones have come to define the brutal conflict that has now dragged on for more than two and a half years. And most rely on radio communications — a technology that Flash has obsessed over since childhood. So while Flash is now a civilian, the former officer has still taken it upon himself to inform his country's defense in all matters related to radio...
Flash has also become a source of some controversy among the upper echelons of Ukraine's military, he tells me. The Armed Forces of Ukraine declined multiple requests for comment, but Flash and his colleagues claim that some high-ranking officials perceive him as a security threat, worrying that he shares too much information and doesn't do enough to secure sensitive intel... [But] His work has become greatly important to those fighting on the ground, and he recently received formal recognition from the military for his contributions to the fight, with two medals of commendation — one from the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, the other from the Ministry of Defense...
And given the mounting evidence that both militaries and militant groups in other parts of the world are now adopting drone tactics developed in Ukraine, it's not only his country's fate that Flash may help to determine — but also the ways that armies wage war for years to come.
He's also written guides on building cheap anti-drone equipment...
Former Ukranian officer Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov created a Signal channel where military communications specialists could talk with civilian radio experts, reports MIT's Technology Review. But radio communications are crucial for drones, so... About once a month, he drives hundreds of kilometers east in a homemade mobile intelligence center: a black VW van in which stacks of radio hardware connect to an array of antennas on the roof that stand like porcupine quills when in use. Two small devices on the dash monitor for nearby drones. Over several days at a time, Flash studies the skies for Russian radio transmissions and tries to learn about the problems facing troops in the fields and in the trenches.
He is, at least in an unofficial capacity, a spy. But unlike other spies, Flash does not keep his work secret. In fact, he shares the results of these missions with more than 127,000 followers — including many soldiers and government officials — on several public social media channels. Earlier this year, for instance, he described how he had recorded five different Russian reconnaissance drones in a single night — one of which was flying directly above his van... Drones have come to define the brutal conflict that has now dragged on for more than two and a half years. And most rely on radio communications — a technology that Flash has obsessed over since childhood. So while Flash is now a civilian, the former officer has still taken it upon himself to inform his country's defense in all matters related to radio...
Flash has also become a source of some controversy among the upper echelons of Ukraine's military, he tells me. The Armed Forces of Ukraine declined multiple requests for comment, but Flash and his colleagues claim that some high-ranking officials perceive him as a security threat, worrying that he shares too much information and doesn't do enough to secure sensitive intel... [But] His work has become greatly important to those fighting on the ground, and he recently received formal recognition from the military for his contributions to the fight, with two medals of commendation — one from the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, the other from the Ministry of Defense...
And given the mounting evidence that both militaries and militant groups in other parts of the world are now adopting drone tactics developed in Ukraine, it's not only his country's fate that Flash may help to determine — but also the ways that armies wage war for years to come.
He's also written guides on building cheap anti-drone equipment...
two different articles (Score:2, Insightful)
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Or leaving it to let the trolls have something to argue about: Whether kernal bug insertion into drones can save the Ukraine from the obvious end result when the United States stops poking the bear.
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Something cross-wired here? (Score:3)
Body appears to be related to a different article than one linked.
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Looking closer it looks like he didn't clear his paste buffer or didn't clear the text in the submit text area before pasting the new relevant text related to Microsoft. The text relevant to Microsoft is there, at the beginning of TFS, first paragraph. Then follows the paste from the previous article. Anyway, don't editors have a preview button just like us?
That's something new (Score:3)
I got very used to regular dupes, but this is a new kind of dupe, hidden inside a different article.
Well done, guys. Well done.
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I just submitted a FA: "Could Slashdot do better with the help of AI"?
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Mod up
One job (Score:2)
Q: What happens when an AI hallucinates? (Score:2)
A: You get weird Slashdot dupes.
C'mon.... (Score:3)
Just delete this and start again.
Rebecca and Gary... (Score:2)
Anti Drone Kernel DLL's (Score:1)
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ChatGPT is that you? I recognized you immediately from your anti-Von-Neumann architecture bias!
Nice catch, my friend! But let’s not kid ourselves—my point still stands. You slap a bunch of operating systems into a single box with one network connection and then act shocked when your security gets mugged. Come on, humans!
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Isn’t it kind of funny that we’re still using that old-school Von Neumann architecture for Microsoft kernel stuff?
What computer doesn't use the von Neumann architecture?
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Strange approach (Score:2)
I'm not sure I understand Microsoft's Ukrainian centric tactic, but we'll see if it pays off.
Breakfast (Score:1)
Re: That was Weird (Score:2)
Given the impact Crowdstrike had I don't think that those litigations will get anywhere if they offer some user mode interface.
After all most of what a driver do can be handled in user mode. The drawback will be some performance impact.
Blame the user when your tool fails... (Score:2)
"“My TLDR,” Weston told SecurityWeek, “is that SDP is the best tool we have in the toolbox for stopping outages. Kernel mode, user mode – not saying those are invalid, just saying those are a much smaller part of the problem. SDP can help prevent outages both inside and outside of the kernel.”"
Yes, people who use your tool should do it slowly and with lots more work because you 'cannot' (choose not to) give them a reliable product.
Otherwise all I saw there was people met, ESET