What's obsolete and what's not these days
This was also the case in the early 80s because computers had not been introduced into the workplace until the late 80s, that is, as far as I can recall. Computers first came with a floppy disk drive but then were replaced with a flash drive, or memory stick, and these are now replaced with the cloud. The cloud or Google drive is something I'm not too keen on. If you think about it, how safe is your information on these really? I assure you, it's not up in a cloud. I started working in 1989 and although I'd seen computers in the university's 'computer room' (yes, that's what it was called back then), the first time I actually saw one in use in an office was in 1989 and it didn't come with Windows or Word. And since the computer, we also seem to have done away with a Rolodex, the icon of the 80s, diaries and Filofaxes, also icons of the 80s, and physical calendars, for the most part.
I can tell you that the most exciting part of ringing in the New Year was getting diaries at work. In one place I worked in the UK, two diaries were offered, a desk one plus a pocket one for managers to take to meetings. Syncing both was something I tried to do but it was always challenging.
Now I challenge you to find a diary with ease. Anyone recording appointments now does it on Google Calendars on their device or computer both of which are automatically synced unless you tell it otherwise.
The computer has become the most powerful tool since the internet because now we no longer need a fax machine, a piece of electric hardware that sat in everyone's office. Designed to send and receive documentation there and then but perish the thought that the recipient's machine had run out of paper or, worse, he forgot to plug it in! Other than the fax, we communicated by picking up the landline which, although is still around, it isn't really used to get in touch with people anymore. Now you either WhatsApp them, email them, ring their mobile from your mobile or you video conference with them no matter where in the world you both might be.
But when the internet wasn't that widely used and few people had mobiles, doctors and employees who spent a lot of time out of the office were issued with pagers which are probably now sitting in the museum of electronic arts (I just made that up).
Walk back in time and you will see filing cabinets up to the ceiling housing documents going back decades. Of course, now they've all been digitised. Some folk think that you'd be hard-pressed to find a stapler or a hole-puncher now but I don't think that's the case. I still think both of these items have their uses today. You can still buy printer paper and a printer because many entities still need them as part of their core process.
Legal documents, for example, need to be printed and signed. Degrees need to be printed and signed before being awarded to students and let's not forget paper for artists to paint and draw on. Watercolour paper is either bound, stapled or glued down. Its cover is printed with a design. This also goes for watercolour paints. They come in both tubes and pans and each pan is individually wrapped in paper that's the colour of the paint and printed with its information which means a printer is also needed. So you see, although many things are now obsolete, there are some that are essential, like paper for example.
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Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
What's obsolete and what's not these days
Working in an office 30 years ago was vastly different from what it's like now. In fact, working in one 30 years ago was hugely different from working in one in the 60s and 70s! In the 60s and 70s there were no computers and the one sound you could hear when walking into any office was the unison tapping of the typewriter keys by rows upon rows of female clerks. They had reams of paper, an in-tray, an out-tray and correction fluid to rectify mistakes during the typing process. This was also the case in the early 80s because computers had not been introduced into the workplace until the late 80s, that is, as far as I can recall. Computers first came with a floppy disk drive but then were replaced with a flash drive, or memory stick, and these are now replaced with the cloud. The cloud or Google drive is something I'm not too keen on. If you think about it, how safe is your information on these really? I assure you, it's not up in a cloud. I started working in 1989 and although I'd seen computers in the university's 'computer room' (yes, that's what it was called back then), the first time I actually saw one in use in an office was in 1989 and it didn't come with Windows or Word. And since the computer, we also seem to have done away with a Rolodex, the icon of the 80s, diaries and Filofaxes, also icons of the 80s, and physical calendars, for the most part. I can tell you that the most exciting part of ringing in the New Year was getting diaries at work. In one place I worked in the UK, two diaries were offered, a desk one plus a pocket one for managers to take to meetings. Syncing both was something I tried to do but it was always challenging. Now I challenge you to find a diary with ease. Anyone recording appointments now does it on Google Calendars on their device or computer both of which are automatically synced unless you tell it otherwise. The computer has become the most powerful tool since the internet because now we no longer need a fax machine, a piece of electric hardware that sat in everyone's office. Designed to send and receive documentation there and then but perish the thought that the recipient's machine had run out of paper or, worse, he forgot to plug it in! Other than the fax, we communicated by picking up the landline which, although is still around, it isn't really used to get in touch with people anymore. Now you either WhatsApp them, email them, ring their mobile from your mobile or you video conference with them no matter where in the world you both might be. But when the internet wasn't that widely used and few people had mobiles, doctors and employees who spent a lot of time out of the office were issued with pagers which are probably now sitting in the museum of electronic arts (I just made that up). Walk back in time and you will see filing cabinets up to the ceiling housing documents going back decades. Of course, now they've all been digitised. Some folk think that you'd be hard-pressed to find a stapler or a hole-puncher now but I don't think that's the case. I still think both of these items have their uses today. You can still buy printer paper and a printer because many entities still need them as part of their core process. Legal documents, for example, need to be printed and signed. Degrees need to be printed and signed before being awarded to students and let's not forget paper for artists to paint and draw on. Watercolour paper is either bound, stapled or glued down. Its cover is printed with a design. This also goes for watercolour paints. They come in both tubes and pans and each pan is individually wrapped in paper that's the colour of the paint and printed with its information which means a printer is also needed. So you see, although many things are now obsolete, there are some that are essential, like paper for example.
Channel Post MEA
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Paradigm Shift In Credential Stuffing Attacks: Radware Report
Radware has released a new research report—The Invisible Breach: Business Logic Manipulation and API Exploitation in Credential Stuffing Attacks. The report reveals a paradigm shift in credential stuffing attacks. It underscores a fundamental transformation from volume-based attacks leveraging a series of repeated password attempts to sophisticated, multi-stage infiltration techniques. 'To bypass traditional defenses, modern credential stuffing attacks are shifting away from traditional password-spraying techniques in favor of business logic manipulation, cross-platform device spoofing, and strategic API exploitation,' said Arik Atar, senior cyber threat intelligence researcher at Radware. 'The message for defending organizations is clear. To match this new reality, they must move beyond credential-centric controls to adopt security strategies that validate entire user journeys, correlate cross-request behavior, and detect suspicious patterns in business logic flows.' Radware's research examined 100 advanced credential stuffing configurations deployed through a well-known account takeover tool called SilverBullet. Advanced attack methodologies Business logic attacks: 94% of configurations implement four or more business logic attack elements, with 54% demonstrating advanced orchestration, using 13+ distinct techniques. API exploitation: 83% of configurations contain explicit API-targeting techniques. Multi-device spoofing: 24% of attack scripts alternate between two device types during execution, with 71% employing cross-platform transitions, primarily between iOS and Windows. Primary targets Industries: Technology/SaaS emerged as the primary target sector (27%), followed by financial services/government (16%), and the travel/airline (13%) sectors. Online tools: There is a significant shift toward high-value AI tools (44% of all technology targets), potentially exploited by spammers who engage in account cracking to create large-scale phishing content. In addition, corporate tools (30%), including Microsoft 365, OneDrive, and Outlook, are likely targets for ransomware groups pursuing initial access to organizational systems. Centralized threat landscape Concentration: 51% of the analyzed configurations, randomly collected over six months, were written by just three advanced threat actors: SVBCONFIGSMAKER, and @Magic_Ckg. Specialization: Each threat actor had over two years of operational experience in distinct areas of specialization, including AI platform authentication bypass, mobile API exploitation, and Microsoft cloud services.
TECHx
25-07-2025
- TECHx
Starlink Outage Hits Thousands After Software Failure
Home » Latest news » Starlink Outage Hits Thousands After Software Failure SpaceX's Starlink suffered a major outage on Thursday, affecting tens of thousands of users globally. The Starlink outage was caused by an internal software failure, according to the company. Users across the U.S. and Europe reported connectivity issues around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), as per Downdetector, which recorded up to 61,000 user reports. Starlink, which serves over 6 million users in nearly 140 countries and territories, acknowledged the problem on its official X account. The company announced that it was actively working on a solution. Service was mostly restored after 2.5 hours, Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink Engineering, revealed on X. 'The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,' Nicolls wrote, apologizing for the disruption and confirming efforts to find the root cause. Elon Musk also apologized, stating, 'Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again.' Experts commented on the incident, noting the unusual scale of the Starlink outage. Doug Madory, an analyst at internet monitoring firm Kentik, reported that the outage was global. 'This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider,' he said. The outage has sparked discussions about possible causes, including a software glitch, a failed update, or even a cyberattack. Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity lab at Cornell University, speculated, 'I'd guess this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike issue with Windows last year, or a cyberattack.' Key details include: SpaceX launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020 to build its low-Earth orbit network. The company is partnering with T-Mobile to provide direct-to-cell text messaging services in rural areas. Starlink's growing user base has pushed SpaceX to focus on enhancing network speed and bandwidth. The company's Starshield unit, which handles military satellite services, holds significant contracts with the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. It remains unclear if these services were affected by the Starlink outage. The incident is being compared to a 2024 CrowdStrike cybersecurity software update that caused worldwide flight cancellations and disrupted 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices. Source: Reuters
