Wednesday, November 20, 2024

New AI Tool 'FraudGPT' Emerges, Tailored for Sophisticated Attacks

From The Hacker News.com (July 26, 2023):

Following the footsteps of WormGPT, threat actors are advertising yet another cybercrime generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool dubbed FraudGPT on various dark web marketplaces and Telegram channels.

"This is an AI bot, exclusively targeted for offensive purposes, such as crafting spear phishing emails, creating cracking tools, carding, etc.," Netenrich security researcher Rakesh Krishnan said in a report published Tuesday.

The cybersecurity firm said the offering has been circulating since at least July 22, 2023, for a subscription cost of $200 a month (or $1,000 for six months and $1,700 for a year).

"If your [sic] looking for a Chat GPT alternative designed to provide a wide range of exclusive tools, features, and capabilities tailored to anyone's individuals with no boundaries then look no further!," claims the actor, who goes by the online alias CanadianKingpin.

The author also states that the tool could be used to write malicious code, create undetectable malware, find leaks and vulnerabilities, and that there have been more than 3,000 confirmed sales and reviews. The exact large language model (LLM) used to develop the system is currently not known.

The development comes as the threat actors are increasingly riding on the advent of OpenAI ChatGPT-like AI tools to concoct new adversarial variants that are explicitly engineered to promote all kinds of cybercriminal activity sans any restrictions.

Such tools, besides taking the phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) model to the next level, could act as a launchpad for novice actors looking to mount convincing phishing and business email compromise (BEC) attacks at scale, leading to the theft of sensitive information and unauthorized wire payments.

"While organizations can create ChatGPT (and other tools) with ethical safeguards, it isn't a difficult feat to reimplement the same technology without those safeguards," Krishnan noted.

"Implementing a defense-in-depth strategy with all the security telemetry available for fast analytics has become all the more essential to finding these fast-moving threats before a phishing email can turn into ransomware or data exfiltration." [source]

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

California man first in US to face charges for allegedly smuggling ‘highly potent greenhouse gases’ into country

From The Blaze.com (Mar. 5):

A California man became the first in the United States to face charges for allegedly smuggling “highly potent greenhouse gases” into the country from Mexico, the Department of Justice reported Monday.

Michael Hart, a 58-year-old San Diego resident, was arrested early Monday after he allegedly illegally smuggled hydrofluorocarbons, commonly used as refrigerants, into the country to sell for a profit, the DOJ stated.

The agency accused Hart of purchasing refrigerants in Mexico and concealing them under a tarp and tools in his vehicle before crossing into the U.S. Hart then allegedly attempted to sell the refrigerants by listing them on OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and other online merchants. According to the DOJ, Hart sold the refrigerants for a profit.

The charges, related to the Trump-era American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020, state that the Environmental Protection Agency must approve the importation of HFCs.

According to the EPA, HFCs are “greenhouse gases” commonly used in refrigeration, air conditioning, building insulation, fire extinguishing systems, and aerosols. The EPA claims that HFCs have “high global warming potential.”

The Climate & Clear Air Coalition notes that HFCs “are very powerful, short-lived climate pollutants with an average atmospheric lifetime of 15 years.” The synthetic gases “represent around 2% of total greenhouse gases.”

“The most abundant HFC warms the planet 3,790 times as much as CO2 over a 20-year period,” the coalition claimed.

“The global warming potential (GWP) of an HFC can be hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. The use of HFCs has been rapidly increasing worldwide due to the global phaseout of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and increased demand for refrigeration and air conditioning,” the DOJ stated.

David M. Uhlmann, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, stated, “The illegal smuggling of hydrofluorocarbons, a highly potent greenhouse gas, undermines international efforts to combat climate change under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.”

“Anyone who seeks to profit from illegal actions that worsen climate change must be held accountable. This arrest highlights the significance of EPA’s climate enforcement initiative and our efforts to prevent refrigerants that are climate super pollutants from illegally entering the United States,” Uhlmann added.

U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath called the charges “a significant milestone for our country.”

“This is the first time the Department of Justice is prosecuting someone for illegally importing greenhouse gases, and it will not be the last. We are using every means possible to protect our planet from the harm caused by toxic pollutants, including bringing criminal charges,” McGrath said.

The DOJ reported that Hart entered a not-guilty plea on Monday and is scheduled for his next hearing on March 25. [source]

Dumb. The global warming cult claims its first sinner. In this cult there is no forgiveness. One of these days it will be a sin to fart.

Monday, November 18, 2024

Biden Reportedly Struggling To Raise Enough Cash For Presidential Library

From Daily Caller.com (Oct. 30):

President Joe Biden is reportedly struggling to raise the capital required to establish a presidential library, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, former presidents have privately built libraries where their personal and presidential letters are stored. Now, Biden is allegedly running into challenges raising between $200 million and $300 million, which his allies think will be necessary for him to establish his own, according to the WSJ.

The problem stems, in part, from Biden’s weakness as a fundraiser, with the president reportedly unwilling to partake in fundraising tactics such as inviting mega-donors to spend the night at the White House, the outlet reported. Some donors have stated they won’t make decisions until the result of the November election is clear, with some also noting continued animosity and confusion due to Biden’s early exit from the 2024 presidential race and his short-lived re-election campaign more broadly.

Biden’s top aide Steve Richetti, once described by Politico as the president’s “sherpa,” has taken a leading role on the library project, according to the WSJ.

Biden claimed his alma maters Syracuse University and the University of Delaware are “competing” to be the chosen location of the library, along with several other institutions, according to a transcript of an interview Biden gave to Special Counsel Robert Hur. Officials from the University of Pennsylvania — the Ivy League university that four of Biden’s grandchildren and his deceased son Beau attended — purportedly have also had discussions about hosting the center, the WSJ reported.

The fundraising challenges for his presidential library would not be the first time Biden has run into issues with winning over donors, with Democratic mega-donors like Abigail Disney pulling their financial support for the president after his disastrous June debate performance.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. [source]

I wonder what would be in the library? His real medical mental diagnoses, Robert Hur's tapes and unedited transcripts? Who knows. Not much of a legacy.

Friday, November 15, 2024

6 Things I Never Knew about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

From Jon Miltimore on FEE.org (Nov. 15, 2022):

Frankenstein is one of those stories that you learn about as a kid but can’t remember how you learned about it. At least it was for me.

We know he—the Monster—is big and green and has a squarish head and scars. We know he was dead and brought to life by a mad doctor. We sense that he’s not exactly evil, but misunderstood. At least that’s what I recall remembering.

You see, I never actually read Mary Shelley’s frightening novel until a few weeks ago. Nor had I ever seen James Whale’s classic 1931 movie Frankenstein featuring the legendary Boris Karloff, or any Frankenstein movie for that matter. (I have since watched Kenneth Branagh’s dark adaptation, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.)

That I had never read Shelley’s fine book—Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus—is a source of mild embarrassment for me, since I consider myself a student of literature, which I studied as both an undergraduate and graduate student.

Having finally read the book, here are six things I learned.

1. There Is No Igor

As I was reading Shelley’s work, I kept waiting for Igor to appear. One of the few things I knew was that Dr. Victor Frankenstein has an odd-looking, hunch-backed assistant named Igor he commands around as he constructs his creation in his laboratory. But early in the story the Monster comes to life and Frankenstein flees and there’s not a word of anyone named Igor.

I thought perhaps I missed it. After all, Shelley breezes past the creation of the Monster in just a page or so. I went back and read it. Nope, no Igor. I thought maybe he’d show up later in a flashback or Frankenstein’s attempt to construct a new Monster. Nope. No Igor.

In fact, there is no Igor in the Boris Karloff version of Frankenstein or Branagh’s 1994 version. Apparently it was not until the 1939 film Son of Frankenstein that an assistant named “Ygor” appears, whose name was later changed to Igor in later films. (There was an assistant in the first two Frankenstein movies, but his name was Fritz and he was inspired from 19th century plays.)

2. Mary Wollstonecraft Died Giving Birth to Mary Shelley

I almost didn’t share this because I’m so embarrassed I didn’t know it—but Mary Shelley was the daughter of the famous British philosopher and women’s rights activist Mary Wollstonecraft, who died giving birth to Shelley.

Apparently the placenta broke during the birth. An infection developed and the famous libertarian feminist died of septicemia on 10 September, 1797.

It makes me a little sad to know that Wollstonecraft never learned her daughter would become one of the most famous novelists of the ages. Something tells me she would have been proud.

3. It’s Anti-Death Penalty

Okay, I admit it. I have no idea how Shelley actually felt about the death penalty. But the novel’s example of capital punishment is hardly a ringing endorsement of the policy. After Frankenstein creates his Monster, we learn that his younger brother William—who is only a child—is killed while playing in the forest.

Frankenstein has his suspicions about who committed the dastardly deed, but what we see next is as chilling as anything in Shelley’s book. When William cannot be found, a search party is sent to find him. William’s nanny Justine, an adopted member of the Frankenstein family, discovers a locket of William’s but no sign of his body; when William’s dead body is later found and Justine is found with the locket, she is blamed for his death. Charges are brought against her. She is found guilty on the flimsiest of evidence and swiftly hanged.

4. Shelley Conceived the Story After a Nightmare—at Age 18

One of the coolest parts of Frankenstein is the story behind the book.

Imagine being 18 years old and hanging out at Lord Byron’s estate in Geneva, Switzerland. That’s exactly what Mary Shelley was doing in the summer of 1816, shortly after eloping to Italy with Percy Shelley (a married man) when she was just 16 years old.

One night while hanging out Lord Byron proposed that each of the four people present “write a ghost story.” Every morning she was asked, “Have you thought of a story.” Each morning Shelley was forced to reply with a “mortifying negative.”

Finally one night when she struggled to sleep her imagination took hold.

“I saw—with shut eyes, but acute mental vision—I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. Frightful must it be, for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world. His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away from his odious handiwork horror-stricken.”

Frankenstein and his Monster were born.

5. The Monster Is Not ‘Sympathetic’ and Frankenstein Is Not the Villain

So, this idea exists that Frankenstein’s Monster is some gentle, stupid, and misunderstood creature. He wasn’t actually the villain, the modern interpretation goes, and I basically always assumed this was true, having not read the story. Movies I saw of Frankenstein’s Monster—such as Monster Squad (1987) and Van Helsing (2004)— always showed him in a sympathetic light, and that was kind of the vibe I got from Boris Karloff’s Monster.

This was not the vibe I got from Shelley’s Monster. At all. First of all, Shelley’s Monster is not stupid. He tells his story over several chapters, and one quickly realizes he’s highly literate (he reads Plutarch!). The Monster doesn’t mumble words like a dumb child or Simple Jack; he speaks eloquently. He possesses reason.

The Monster is angry, however, that he is different. He’s ugly. He has no one and nothing.

“I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property,” he explains to Victor.

Indeed, even his creator despises him.

“I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on,” the Monster explains near the end of the book.

This is no doubt why some have interpreted the Monster in a sympathetic light. And in some ways he is a sympathetic figure. We watch as the Monster watches a poor family of villagers and discovers he’s not like them.

“I admired virtue and good feelings and loved the gentle manners and amiable qualities of my cottagers, but I was shut out from intercourse with them, except through means which I obtained by stealth, when I was unseen and unknown, and which rather increased than satisfied the desire I had of becoming one among my fellows.”

We watch the Monster plead with Victor to have him create a female companion.

“I am alone and miserable, man will not associate with me, but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me,” he tells Victor. “My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create.”

Readers can identify with the Monster’s plight. After all, who among us would wish to spend life alone? The problem is, as I noted, the creature possesses reason. He knows right from wrong. Good from evil. And throughout the novel, he commits evil act after evil act, even admitting to Victor that he killed the child William.

“Boy, you will never see your father again,” the Monster tells the child, “you must come with me.”

Victor Frankenstein is not the villain of the story. His mistakes are far more human. They come from the unintended consequences of his creation and the fear that prevents him from addressing and confessing his mistake for most of the novel.

The Monster’s deeds are far more monstrous, and they are committed not by a bumbling, stupid, child-like creature, but by an intelligent and selfish fiend.

6. Frankenstein’s Monster Is a Metaphor for the State

I have no idea whatsoever if Shelley saw it, but her story is a wonderful metaphor for the state.

Using the power of modern science, Dr. Frankenstein creates a powerful Monster that he quickly realizes he cannot control. Frankenstein’s motives are pure when he brings the creature to life, but the Monster takes on a life of his own and a series of dark consequences follow. Most frightening of all, Frankenstein realizes he cannot turn off his own creation. If this is not a metaphor for the Leviathan state, I don’t know what is.

Now, as I said, it’s not clear that Shelley saw it this way, but there is some evidence that she did. In Chapter 4, Victor implies that it is the pursuit of “unlawful” sciences that has led men astray throughout history and infringed on peace.

“If this rule were always observed; if no man allowed to any pursuit whatsoever to interfere with the tranquility of his domestic affections, Greece had not been enslaved; Caesar would have spared his country; America would have been discovered more gradually; and the empires of Mexico and Peru had not been destroyed.”

Few things interfere with peace, tranquility, or our domestic affairs more than the state, which is just one more reason I see Shelley’s novel as a cautionary tale for would-be Babel builders.

The moral lesson is clear: be careful about what you create using unscrupulous or unnatural means. Your creation may grow beyond your control and cause you great misery. [source]

I like point #6! Nice.

Thursday, November 14, 2024

15 states sue Biden-Harris administration for enrolling noncitizens in Obamacare

From Just the News.com (Aug. 20):

A coalition of states led by Kansas has sued the Biden-Harris administration to block the federal government from providing free health care through the taxpayer-funded Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, to foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Western Division and was joined by attorneys general from 14 states. The U.S. government and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are named as defendants.

At issue is a CMS final rule change called, “Clarifying the Eligibility of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Recipients and Certain Other NonCitizens for a Qualified Health Plan Through an Exchange, Advance Payments of the Premium Tax Credit, Cost-Sharing Reductions, a Basic Health Program.” In it, CMS redefines the legal term of “lawfully present” to include DACA recipients.

When Congress enacted the ACA, it limited eligibility only to “citizen[s] or national[s] of the United States [and] aliens lawfully present in the United States.” By changing the definition of “lawfully present” to include DACA recipients, CMS is enabling them to have access to taxpayer-funded ACA coverage. Doing so violates the Administrative Procedures Act, federal law that prohibits taxpayer-funded benefits from being given to illegal foreign nationals, and the Affordable Care Act, the complaint states.

Congress has already limited eligibility coverage, which excludes DACA recipients. Additionally, “DACA recipients are, by definition, unlawfully present in the United States,” the complaint states. “Indeed, eligibility for DACA requires unlawful presence in the United States.”

Former President Barack Obama created DACA through executive order in 2012. It shielded children from deportation who were brought into the country illegally by their parents and has been in litigation for 12 years. A federal judge has twice ruled DACA is illegal. The most recent ruling was in a multi-state lawsuit led by Texas to end DACA once and for all, The Center Square reported. The U.S. Supreme Court is ultimately expected to decide the case.

Numerous reports suggest between 700,000 and 800,000 DACA recipients live in the U.S. The Los Angeles Times reports there are 578,680 on record with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as of March 2023.

In June, President Joe Biden announced he was expanding deportation protections for DACA recipients and streamlining request waivers to make it easier for them to obtain temporary visas, The Center Square reported. DACA supporters argue recipients should be granted citizenship, claiming they contribute to the U.S. economy and are constructive members of society.

Others argue those with criminal records, at a minimum, should be deported. Within the first five years of the program, nearly 80,000 DACA recipients were released into the U.S. with arrest records, The Center Square reported.

"Illegal aliens shouldn't get a free pass into our country,” Kobach said. “They shouldn't receive taxpayer benefits when they arrive, and the Biden-Harris administration shouldn't get a free pass to violate federal law. That's why I am leading a multistate lawsuit to stop this illegal regulation from going into effect.”

If the CMS final rule takes effect Nov. 1, more than 200,000 DACA recipients would automatically become eligible for taxpayer-subsidized health plans nationwide.

The lawsuit cites data from the Migration Policy Institute, Pew Research Center and others to estimate how many illegal foreign nationals are estimated to receive public benefits and the associated costs to taxpayers in each of the plaintiff states.

The lawsuit asks the court to postpone the effective date of the rule, vacate it, enjoin the defendants from implementing it and award plaintiff attorneys the costs of their fees.

Joining Kobach are the attorneys general representing Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia. [source]

Good! More states should do this.

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

7 GOP senators join Democrats in confirming Biden judicial nominee

From The Blaze.com (June 4):

Seven Republican senators joined with Democrats and independents on Tuesday in voting to confirm President Joe Biden's nomination of Judge Tanya Monique Jones Bosier to serve as an associate judge on the Superior Court of D.C.

Lawmakers voted 57-41 in favor of confirmation, with all 41 of the opposing votes coming from Republicans.

The seven GOP senators who voted to confirm included Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

"The GOP nominee was convicted in a kangaroo court Thursday. Just 5 days later AT THEIR FIRST CHANCE Sens. @LindseyGrahamSC @SenatorRounds @SenatorLankford @SenThomTillis voted yes on ANOTHER Biden judicial nominee. They won't stop Democrat Lawfare. In DC it's business as usual," Blaze Media's Christopher Bedford tweeted.

"Democrats didn't need these Republicans to confirm their judge. They didn't need @lisamurkowski @MittRomney @SenatorCollins either. These senators are simply adding their seals of approval. Even a controlled opposition at least pretends to oppose. There are no excuses," he added.

Last week, a jury found former President Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, guilty on all counts in a New York criminal trial.

Some GOP senators signed onto a pledge that declares, in part, that they will not vote to confirm any Biden administration political and judicial nominees.

"The White House has made a mockery of the rule of law and fundamentally altered our politics in un-American ways. As a Senate Republican conference, we are unwilling to aid and abet this White House in its project to tear this country apart. To that end, we will not 1) allow any increase to non-security related funding for this administration, or any appropriations bill which funds partisan lawfare; 2) vote to confirm this administration's political and judicial appointees; and 3) allow expedited consideration and passage of Democrat legislation or authorities that are not directly relevant to the safety of the American people," the pledge declares. [source]

The usual suspects.

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Magician: Dem Operative Paid for Fake Biden Robocall

From Newsmax.com (Feb. 23):

A New Orleans magician said a Democrat consultant paid him to use artificial intelligence to create a phony President Joe Biden robocall urging New Hampshire Democrats not to vote in the state's presidential primary, NBC News reported.

Paul Carpenter claims to have been hired by Steve Kramer, who has worked on ballot access for Democrat Dean Phillips, a presidential candidate. Carpenter says he used AI software to imitate Biden's voice.

"I created the audio used in the robocall," Carpenter told NBC News. "I did not distribute it. I was in a situation where someone offered me some money to do something, and I did it. There was no malicious intent. I didn't know how it was going to be distributed."

Carpenter, who holds a world record in fork-bending, has no fixed address, but is living in New Orleans, NBC News said.

The fake Biden call is at the center of a multistate law enforcement investigation. Law enforcement officials have interest in the call for possibly violating state voter suppression and federal telecom laws. Carpenter and Kramer have not been named as targets of any investigations.

It took less than 20 minutes to create the fake audio and cost just $1, Carpenter said. He said he was paid $150 and shared Venmo payments from Kramer and his father, Bruce Kramer.

"It's so scary that it's this easy to do," Carpenter said. "People aren't ready for it."

Kramer, a longtime political operative, worked for numerous campaigns over 20 years, including the 2020 presidential campaign of Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, NBC News said.

Contacted by NBC News, Kramer said he will wait to speak on the matter until he publishes something Saturday. "My op-Ed will explain all," he said in a text.

Phillips expressed outrage when asked about Kramer's alleged involvement. Phillips' spokesperson said the campaign would never work with Kramer again and may pursue legal action if the allegations are confirmed.

NBC News noted it has seen no evidence that the campaign directed Kramer to produce or disseminate the robocall.

According to records from the Federal Election Commission, Kramer was paid $259,946 by the Phillips' campaign for ballot access work in  December and January.

"If it is true that Mr. Kramer had any involvement in the creation of deepfake robocalls, he did so of his own volition which had nothing to do with our campaign," Phillips' press secretary Katie Dolan said. "The fundamental notion of our campaign is the importance of competition, choice, and democracy. We are disgusted to learn that Mr. Kramer is allegedly behind this call, and if the allegations are true, we absolutely denounce his actions."

In January, House Administration Committee ranking member Joseph Morelle, a New York Democrat, asked the Department of Justice to "immediately" launch an investigation into the robocalls generated by AI featuring Biden's voice urging New Hampshire Democrats not to vote in January's primary.

The robocalls said: "Voting … only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again. Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday."

However, a spokesperson for Biden's New Hampshire write-in campaign told Axios that the calls were "deep fake disinformation designed to harm Joe Biden, suppress votes, and damage our democracy."

The New Hampshire state attorney general's office is probing the matter, NBC News said. [source]

The Dems are sneaky bastards. The magician said he didn't know how the fake audio was going to be used? Really?  Let's see. He was paid $150 to create the audio, which used a voice that sounded like Crooked Joe. He might have known exactly how the fake audio was going to be used, but he had to have had some idea at least.