Category: Privacy

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CCSP/SSCP cram link recommendation:

CCSP SP 800-145, The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing | CSRCNIST Cloud Computing Standards Roadmap – NIST.SP.500-291r2.pdfThe NIST definition of cloud computing – nistspecialpublication800-145.pdfNIST Special Publication 800-88, Revision 1: Guidelines for Media Sanitization | NISTGuidelines for Media Sanitization – NIST.SP.800-88r1.pdfSP 800-37 Rev. 2, RMF: A System Life Cycle Approach for Security and Privacy | CSRCSTAR | Cloud Security AllianceTop Threats to Cloud Computing: Egregious | Cloud Security AllianceCloud Controls Matrix | Cloud Security AllianceThe_Notorious_Nine_Cloud_Computing_Top_Threats_in_2013.pdfTreacherous-12_Cloud-Computing_Top-Threats.pdfWiley Test BanksOWASP Top 10 – 2017 – OWASP_Top_10-2017_(en).pdf.pdfCybraryHome | Cloud Security AllianceImmersive | CybraryStudy resourcesBusiness Impact Analysis WorksheetMicrosoft Threat Modeling Tool overview – Azure | Microsoft DocsDesktop as a Service (DaaS) – Cloud Desktop | CalligoData Leak PreventionTrike | octotrike.orgcloud-computing-benefits-risks-and-recommendations-for-information-securityOWASP Top Ten Web Application Security Risks | OWASP

SSCP SSCP Cert Prep: The Basics SSCP Cert Prep: 1 Access Controls SSCP Cert Prep: 2 Security Operations and Administration SSCP Cert Prep: 4 Incident Response and Recovery SSCP Cert Prep: 3 Risk Identification, Monitoring, and Analysis SSCP Cert Prep: 5 Cryptography SSCP Cert Prep: 6 Networks and Communications Security SSCP Cert Prep: 7 Systems and Application Security AES Crypt – GUI (Linux 64-bit)

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CISSP study course

If security has any interest and you live in the United States, the CISSP course is a worthy Human Resource stamp on broad IT understanding & Security. Unfortunately, Europe doesn’t have an equivalent course focusing more on European legislation such as the GDPR as opposed to major focus on American legislation and regulations, such as HIPAA, COPPA, Privacy and Fraud related material.

I took a course 12 years ago, but was too inexperienced to pass the exam back then. I decided that now, more experienced in the security domains and wiser ;), was the time to push through and get the certification, so I bought a few books, and studied hard, taking a week off work cramming, provisionally passing the exam, giving them 6 weeks to check up on my endorsements, etc.

I purchased the following books:

  • (ISC)2 CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide, 8e & CISSP Official (ISC)2 Practice Tests, 2e
  • Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK, Fourth Edition
  • CISSP For Dummies

The CBK, I bought to use as a reference manual after advice from a colleague.

The dummies book lacked a few things, so after a few chapters and some answers to questions in a prep test, not present in the book (regarding security models), I decided to solely focus on the official study guide. I did look up stuff I didn’t understand properly in the Official Study Guide, to see if it was explained better in the Dummies.

Happy studying, if you think it’s worth a shot. No matter what, it’s a great way to catch up on stuff you don’t work on on a daily basis.

And when completing the exam, a great way to get CPE credits for your program is to connect ISC2’s brighttalk channel to your CISSP ID , and all the ISC2 webinars you watch, will automatically be registered.  See support article here

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Next step in privacy is NextCloud – Have your cloud@Home

in action

I have never felt comfortable with having my phone pictures in the cloud and preferring only Dropbox(supporting Linux properly), since Google retired picasa and Apple only really worth while if you ONLY use apple products despite what fanboys might say, I decided to avoid vendor lock-in. I have exchanged my iMac and MacBook with Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro(Qubes 3.2) and a Purism Librem 13v2(Qubes 4.0).

I want my data to be @home, without being accessible from the internet. No unnecessary risks of breaches, if avoidable and no access from a giant attack vector(The whole internet if it is in the public cloud). Private cloud it is. And NextCloud seems to be best of breed.

I tried to buy a NextCloud Box, but all sold out in Europe and I was too tired to buy in the US, again.

Bought a CubieTruck and enjoyed the easy install of NextCloud, easy updating automatically, easy setting up the iPhone part, etc.)

Not a usual guide, but a simple heartfelt recommend from here. Try it out. You won’t regret it.

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Whonix-14 available in Qubes-OS

As advertised in qubes-users mailing list, the templates of whonix version 14 is now available and flawlessly installed on my Qubes 4.0, without much effort.

I had no issues, so after deleting all existing whonix templates and AppVM‘s, the steps to follow were:

sudo dnf remove qubes-template-whonix-ws

sudo dnf remove qubes-template-whonix-gw

sudo qubesctl state.sls qvm.anon-whonix

sudo qubesctl state.sls qvm.whonix-ws-dvm

And then use Chris Laprise’s script to update them:

./qubes4-multi-update whonix-gw-14 whonix-ws-14

I rarely use whonix, but nonetheless, I encourage anyone using it for good, to donate, supporting the project.

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Configuring Cisco ASA VPN on Qubes 4.0 with openconnect

I have rewritten my VPN guide for Qubes 4.0, since my old post from 3.2, didn’t work out of the box and solutions on the web, didn’t sit well with me. I chose to investigate how I can make a guide like the last one, just for Qubes 4.0.

Here it is, although the changes are few:

Create your vpn appVM, based on your preferred fedora template:

Add the ‘network-manager’  as a service :

Tur on the AppVM, and when the network icon appears, add the vpn connection:

Select the OpenConnect type:

Insert FQDN in the gateway section and save.

Start the VPN connection:

Type yur password and the connection will be established and your icon look like this:

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#deletefacebook is step 1 in privacy

Please #deletefacebook

If this story has any meaning to you, a deletion of your facebook profile is the way to go. You an download your data for a preview and to get shocked or comforted, and the link to salvation is here .

My old deacivated facebook was 18mb, including 2 videos of approximately 9,8MB, so not a big deal. But some private conversations, was there, of course.

And now off to instagram, twitter, etc. Off the grid it is the only way to go, unless we have other PAID services to use, so WE are not the product. This breach of confidence is a bit too much.

And if people talk about BigBrother, and are angry about their government  watching them, but freely gives everything they do to Google, youtube, facebook et al, ignore them.  They must be stupid.

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Ordering a Purism Librem 13v2 to run Qubes 4.0RC4

Privacy has increasingly become a worry for me, and with big corporations selling your data like candy, it seems like a good idea to go somewhat under the radar. Not just by not using big corps “free” services, but also protect oneself again maliciousness from evil doers, due to holes in all code made in the concept of “time-to-market” instead of security in mind.

And how do you secure yourself from Trojans, and all the other stuff, without reading every instruction on the internet about issues and how to counteract them?

You can tape your camera, run antivirus, avoid clicking this and that, but isn’t there something completely wrong with programs, if a single click can infect your computer without authorization, and all your phone’s data can be sold to the highest bidder, because you are not in charge of your data anymore. The world is as insecure as it gets.

A long time ago I abandoned facebook and I need to take a step further. I had this romantic dream of kill switches that disables bluetooth, microphones and camera, giving me the controls back, instead of being a possible victim of Trojans en mass, etc. And the idea of a browser with a bug, that didn’t put my harddrive accessible to the internet. Kill switches took me to purism and compartmentalization took me to Qubes.

A match made in heaven ! 🙂

So installing Qubes 3.2 on my lenovo yoga 2 Pro, was step 1 and ordering a Purism Librem5 phone was step 2. After ordering the phone (Librem 5), I also ordered the Librem 13v2, with Qubes, with the latest hardware, so I could run Qubes 4.0, when it was released.

This is the story of how my Purism Librem13v2 was a challenge. And the story isn’t over yet.

On the 22nd of November I ordered my Librem13v2, anticipated shipping a few weeks later.

An expensive buy, but I was in the mood for a long term relationship, with Purism. NVMe disk and Qubes. A bit overpriced you might say. That’s another story. NVMe 512GB here is $330 retail, so yes.

The shipping update on the 26th of November was promising:

    • Hi Max,

 

    • We received a new batch of Librem 13 a few days ago. We’ll start shipping them in a few days. Since your order is fairly recent, it will probably be shipped around mid December.

 

  • Best regards

Mid December. Sounds good to me. Then maybe I can get it as a christmas present?

  • Hi Max,
  • Unfortunately, not. Your order includes a TPM add-on and those orders will be shipped in the first half of January. We received a lot of requests for TPM, so we needed more time than initially planned to modify all those orders.
  • Best regards

Damn. My christmas present was delayed. Well, the thing is worth waiting for :). Right? Half through January it was still awaiting shipment….

Hi Max,

We’re trying very hard to fulfill all orders in a timely manner and have hired additional staff. We’ll get to your order as fast as possible, probably in the next two-three weeks.

Thank you for your patience.

Best regards

Ok, now i’m getting sad. over 2 whole months before my order get’s shipped.  Well, better late than never.

On the 3rd of February, they shipped the item…. Well, they have notified USPS that there was an Item to be send, but shipped? No, not yet.

on the 6th I received this:

  • Hi Max,
  • USPS still didn’t picked up the package. You’ll probably see an update in the next 12-24 hours.
  • Best regards

Super. Well. Within  a few days, the package came to Denmark. Getting held up in Customs and I was fined 3600DKK in taxes. That’s a bit more than $600.

I better love this privacy thing. Bottom line is expensive kill switches 🙂

Well, guess what. No USB stick.. The reply was:

  • Hi Max,
  • We don’t have USB flash drives on stock at the moment. We’ll send it separately in about two weeks.
  • Best regards

Thank you very much. Well, I can wait. Let’s try this PureOS out.

The install wen’t almost without issues. The touchpad didn’t work. Known issue I was told:

  • Hi Max,
  • Yes, that’s a known problem. We’re working on a fix.
  • Best regards

Well, the install finished and the touchpad worked. Now, let’s see what this PureOS is all about. Wauw. This was one of the best, simple, beautiful, Linux distributions I have ever seen. With encryption, privacy and moderate security as default. Qubes is a bit much, and PureOS seems like the OS for me. So I decided then that PureOS  should be my primary personal VM of choice in Qubes, of course 🙂

Well, Qubes 3.2 didn’t install very well, due to known issues. 4.0 couldn’t get installed because of other issues with CoreBoot 4.7 . My Librem 13v2 is shipped with Coreboot 4.6 which does not support Qubes 4.0.

So I had bought a laptop that worked barely with 3.2 (My restored Kali VM doesn’t work and the boot loader fail) and not at all with 4.0. The whole reason for the purchase, was to get it running Qubes-OS 4.0.

Well, the Purism and Coreboot team worked hard, and it seems that the early announcement, might soon get to be a real announcement that is not just a statement, but an actual usable announcement with a guide to get your brick working. Right now, it’s still without a proper guide.

Soon I hope. Soon.

But when trying to test my poor Qubes 3.2 installation, the fan breaks down, and starts a rattling noise.

Not happy about it, the support gives me a choice of sending it overseas back to Purism or send a spare to me.

  • Hi Max,
  • There’s no need for a video. We had a similar case, where the noise would occur from time to time, and it was coming from the fan. Could you try to bring the bottom of the laptop near your ear when you hear the noise again?
  • The only thing left to do is to send the laptop back to us for repair. Or we could send you a replacement fan, if it happens that it’s a source of that noise, and if you think you could replace it by yourself.
  • Best regards

Well, I told them to send it with the missing usb-stick and I’m looking forward to it. And of course the Coreboot update. And the test of Qubes 4.0.

In restrospect, I would maybe recommend the Lenovo X1 Carbon (Which I use for work, actually) and the Qubes team uses too. Regarding hardware switches, Joanna actually commented on it regarding Qubes 4.0 that “Similarly, we don’t consider physical kill switches on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices to be mandatory”. So I guess, that running qubes and controlling the hardware to VM’s should suffice. And it’s cheaper than kill switches.

But, hey. The hype get’s you a long way, says an iphone user 😉

UPDATE 22/2-2018:

The coreboot is available, but the initial version is quite faulty, so updating will be a hassle. Be sure to get the latest Coreboot 4.7 v.3

https://puri.sm/posts/february-2018-coreboot-update/

UPDATE  22/2-2018:

To make me feel even worse, Purism offered free TPM and International shipping on all NEW orders. So, even though my order is not quite finished, the answer to the question “Could I be included in this great offer, since my order is not yet fully received? was…

  • Only for new orders.

So there you go. $99 for the TPM and $80 for shipping and now I have to return the damn thing because of a faulty fan.

This thing is costing me more than the X1 Carbon I should have bought instead, it seems.

The most expensive kill switches in the world, and it doesn’t have a danish keyboard 🙂

UPDATE 7/3-2018

I shipped the thing back on the 1st of march and it hasn’t been delivered to Purism yet. I’m looking forward to see how long time it will be, from ordering a laptop to actually getting a working laptop. So far its’ been ….. quite some time…

UPDATE 9/3-2018:

  • After receiving the package at Purism, I inquired about when to expect the fan to be replaced and the answer was:
  •  
  • Hi Max,
  • It will probably take us 5-10 days. We’ll let you know as soon as we fix it.
  • Best regards

So, counting on approximately 3,5 months now and 4 months since initial order…

UPDATE 15/3-2018:

  • Hi Max,
  • We managed to fix your laptop. Could you send us your shipping address?

🙂 Of course. Keeping the costs down by saving on CRM systems is a great thing.

And now it’s almost shipped 😉

We have a very expensive public sector here in Denmark, so we have to make people pay the absolute maximum to get the show on the road. I must say, paying customs twice, because the same machine travels the border twice is just stupid.

UPDATE 20-03-2018

  • Hello Max Andersen,Your item is being held in Customs at 12:38 pm on March 20, 2018 in COPENHAGEN EMS, DENMARK.Tracking Number: XXXXXXXXXXXX

So when confronted with the customs yet again, I was send back and forth between FedEx and Customs 5 times before the issue is (maybe) resolved.

The Clearance Broker At fedex have now send an email to Customs and a few days will pass…..

If 2 days pass, We are officially 4 months from the order date. That is a huge fail.

UPDATE 21-03-2018

  • Hello Max Andersen,Your item cleared customs in DENMARK at 10:22 am on March 21, 2018.Tracking Number: XXXXXXXXXXXX

One day left for the 4 month mark…

UPDATE 27 March 2018

Customs(SKAT) has been very nice to me and explained that an error has occurred and that they will send me an email to send to postnord to sort things out. I was, wrongfully send a bill on DKK 460,- which should be annulled. (In Danish):

  • Hej.
  • Du kan sige til post-Nord at de kan indfortolde din reparerede computer med procedurekode 4000009.
  • Og henvise til udførselsangivelsens nummer samt momslovens paragraf 32, stk 3.
  • Det betyder for dig at du ikke skal betale noget udover gebyret til Post Nord.
  •  
  • (translated into english):
  • Hello.
    You can say to Post-Nord that they can process your repaired computer with procedure code 4000009.
    And refer to the export declaration number as well as section 32 (3) of the VAT Act.
    This means that you do not have to pay anything beyond Post Nord’s fee.

I called PostNord and they said that they disagree and their decision needs a lot of proof to change. I told them, that customs said it was ok, but no. They have the laptop, and within 2 weeks it will send it back if I dont pay up or prove them wrong.

I seriously doubt that Karma from dealing with a company in Trumps America could be the reason, but I wished I never bought the damn thing, right now.

Postnord should buy it if they want it so bad. Damn them.

Well, I send SKAT’s email to Postnord and let’s see if things will change. I won’t get my hopes up.

Let’s see where this tale will take us….

UPDATE: 2018-03-28

No news, and easter is upon us. Thank you postnord for your great CUSTOMER service..(?)

UPDATE:  2018-04-03:

PostNord has reconsidered my request and will talk to SKAT within the next few days. all of this is FedEx’ fault for not using the right code for sending out repairs to the US. That’s what you get for using a “professional” courier.

Looking forward until next update 🙂

UPDATE: 2018-04-04:

PostNord has informed me that SKAT misinformed me and I need to pay up. I disagree and contact SKAT and they need full information, since they do not believe me.

I have now used SKAT’s contact form to get in touch with the people there. They day I must pay up and try to get a refund afterwards. I say that I’m not paying twice, and if there was an error it must be corrected. It cannot be impossible to correct an error?

Thay say it is, but will need me to fill out the contact form. Maybe the shipment will return to Purism again. We’ll see.

UPDATE: 2018-04-05:

I gave up and payed PostNord, so let’s see how fast they can deliver the laptop. Postnord is unable to do anything sane, it seems. Errors can not be resolved. When an error has occurred, it is set in stone and can never be undone. Arrogant does not cover it.

And I’m going to contact FedEx and explain the pain they have caused and see if they man up and pay my expenses, I was taxed, due to their failure to expedite the package properly. Interesting.

UPDATE: 2018-04-11:

So, I received my laptop on the 9th, but didn’t have time before yesterday to test it and see if everything works. Apart from failing installation due to the selection of Danish keyboard layout, as you can see below, it wen’t fine.

Sadly I hurried to write to purism, since Kyle Rankin said it all wen’t smoothly out of the box, figuring if we installed the same OS, it must still be a hardware issue. It was the language selection. Don’t choose English(Denmark) during installation. The installation fails horribly as you can see above not creating any QVM’s, etc.

But after the kids wen’t to bed, and there was quiet, the fan began to bother me again. Not like the first rattling nois, but more like an old harddrive.  Just enough to annoy the **** out of me. Try and listen

I wrote Purism support and the answer was:

I tried the above and finding bios version  4.7-Purism-1, so the system needs updating. The system crashed repeatedly trying to update, and I had to write again to get help.

The help was fast, and it was a known issue and new directions were given:

The above worked, and qubes 4.0 installed perfectly.

Now it’s time to start using the damn thing.

UPDATE: 2018-04-22:

On the 21st of April I wrote support about still having a annoyingly noisy fan, and sadly the reply today was:

  • This is still being fine tuned within coreboot, new releases should improve thermal and fan performance. So at this point you can only wait for the new coreboot release, I’m afraid.

So, I guess I will have to wait. Again 🙂

UPDATE 2018-04-23:

Ok, so pipe doesnt work on default Librem13v2.  Alleged solution did not work for me. This solution did.

sudo setkeycodes 56 43

UPDATE 2018-05-08:

make it permanent

Enjoy.

UPDATE 2019-02-05:

The laptop can’t run a proper 4k monitor setup. Errors reported and discussed here and here. The screen lag @ 26Hz is crazy.

My findings around limited screen space usage is shown here, here and here. I have written support and await the response.

Commands to use 4k @ 26 Hz are described on one of the above links and here below in detail:

To get your possibilities use the cvt command and test each one until you hit home.

ex. cvt 3840 2160 26 works (cvt 3840 2160 30 doesn’t like described by the people reporting errors in the purism forums).

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is xrandr.png

And then you vi the file shown above to select the “preferred” setting:

Enjoy.