Verizon Outage, Bank of America Glitch, Cloudflare, IronNet, OpenAI

[Available Now!] Book Report: Q3 2024 - GenAI Safety and Security

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Highlights:

• Verizon Outage: Thousands impacted.

• Bank of America Glitch: Account access issues.

• Cloudflare: Largest DDoS attack (3.8 Tbps).

• IronNet: National security firm collapses.

• OpenAI: Safety concerns & leadership changes.

Deep Dive:

1. Verizon Outage Yahoo Finance Downdetector.com

• Over 28,000 outage reports logged on Downdetector.

• Chicago and Seattle were among the hardest-hit cities.

• The FCC is investigating the incident.

• Verizon has fully restored service.

Mitigation: A backup plan for BOTH communication & internet.

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2. Bank of America Glitch The Verge

• Some saw $0 or "---" instead of their balance.

• Issue resolved within hours, cause not yet disclosed. The Verge

• 58 million clients use Bank of America's digital banking services.

Mitigation: Ensure quick response to disruptions to minimize downtime.

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3. Cloudflare: Largest DDoS Attack (3.8 Tbps) The Hacker News

• Cloudflare mitigated a record-breaking DDoS attack reaching 3.8 Tbps.

• The attack leveraged UDP protocol with a flood of packets.

• The attack likely originated from a large botnet

• It targeted multiple customers in financial, internet, and telecom industries.

Mitigation: More advanced DDoS protection solutions and mitigation.

Review: how Cloudflare stopped "3.8 Terabits per second" DDOS attack.

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4. IronNet: National Security Firm Collapses AP News

• IronNet, founded by ex-NSA director, shuts down after running out of money.

• Its value once exceeded $3 billion but failed to deliver on promises.

• Investors and former employees believe the company misled them.

• Questions arise about the judgment of its leadership, including ex-NSA officials.

• Former employees allege culture of deceit and inflated revenue projections.

Advice: Thorough due diligence and ethical implications of business relationships.

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5. OpenAI: Safety Concerns & Leadership Changes Fortune

• Concerns raised about the premature release of the o1 model.

• Internal friction between safety and commercial teams.

• Questions about OpenAI's commitment to AI safety in the wake of departures.

Advice: Prioritize safety and transparency, including thorough testing and risk assessments before deployment.