Category: Cyber
A Spy Spent 3 Years Planting a Backdoor to Bring the Internet Down. One Person Noticed
On a quiet Friday evening in late March 2024, a Microsoft engineer named Andres Freund was running some routine benchmarks on his Debian development box when he noticed something strange. SSH logins were taking about 500 milliseconds longer than they should have. Failed login attempts from automated bots were chewing through an unusual amount of […]
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The Quantum Threat: Why the Encryption Protecting Your Data Today Won’t Survive Tomorrow
Published on andrewbaker.ninja | Enterprise Architecture & Banking Technology There is a quiet revolution happening in physics laboratories around the world, and most of the people who should be worried about it are not paying attention yet. That is about to change. Quantum computing is advancing faster than anyone predicted five years ago, and when […]
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The Quiet Power of Free Tier: Why Cloudflare Gets It Right
By Andrew Baker, CIO at Capitec Bank There is a truth that most technology vendors either do not understand or choose to ignore: the best sales pitch you will ever make is letting someone use your product for free. Not a watered-down demo, not a 14-day trial that expires before anyone has figured out the […]
Read more →Testing WordPress XMLRPC.PHP for Brute Force Vulnerabilities on macOS
A Comprehensive Security Testing Guide for Mac Users 1. Introduction WordPress xmlrpc.php is a legacy XML-RPC interface that enables remote connections to your WordPress site. While designed for legitimate integrations, this endpoint has become a major security concern due to its susceptibility to brute force attacks and amplification attacks. Understanding how to test your WordPress […]
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Why Rubrik’s Architecture Matters: When Restore, Not Backup, Is the Product
1. Backups Should Be Boring (and That Is the Point) Backups are boring. They should be boring. A backup system that generates excitement is usually signalling failure. The only time backups become interesting is when they are missing, and that interest level is lethal. Emergency bridges. Frozen change windows. Executive escalation. Media briefings. Regulatory apology […]
Read more →Understanding and Detecting CVE-2024-3094: The React2Shell SSH Backdoor
Executive Summary CVE-2024-3094 represents one of the most sophisticated supply chain attacks in recent history. Discovered in March 2024, this vulnerability embedded a backdoor into XZ Utils versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1, allowing attackers to compromise SSH authentication on Linux systems. With a CVSS score of 10.0 (Critical), this attack demonstrates the extreme risks inherent in […]
Read more →Testing Your Website for HTTP/2 Rapid Reset Vulnerabilities from a macOS
Introduction In August 2023, a critical zero day vulnerability in the HTTP/2 protocol was disclosed that affected virtually every HTTP/2 capable web server and proxy. Known as HTTP/2 Rapid Reset (CVE 2023 44487), this vulnerability enabled attackers to launch devastating Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks with minimal resources. Google reported mitigating the largest DDoS […]
Read more →MacOs: Deep Dive into NMAP using Claude Desktop with an NMAP MCP
Introduction NMAP (Network Mapper) is one of the most powerful and versatile network scanning tools available for security professionals, system administrators, and ethical hackers. When combined with Claude through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), it becomes an even more powerful tool, allowing you to leverage AI to intelligently analyze scan results, suggest scanning strategies, and […]
Read more →Macbook: Enhanced Domain Vulnerability Scanner
Below is a fairly comprehensive passive penetration testing script with vulnerability scanning, API testing, and detailed reporting. Features Installation Required Dependencies Optional Dependencies Usage Basic Syntax Options Examples: Network Configuration Default Interface: en0 (bypasses Zscaler) To change the interface, edit line 24: The script automatically falls back to default routing if the interface is unavailable. Debug Mode […]
Read more →MacOS Penetration Testing Guide Using hping3
⚠️ LEGAL DISCLAIMER AND TERMS OF USE **READ THIS CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING** Legal Requirements: **AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED**: You MUST have explicit written permission from the system owner before running any of these tests **ILLEGAL WITHOUT PERMISSION**: Unauthorized network scanning, port scanning, or DoS testing is illegal in most jurisdictions **YOUR RESPONSIBILITY**: You are solely responsible for […]
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