Jim Lippard

Jim Lippard

@lippard.org

I like infosec (esp. threat intelligence), history and philosophy of science and technology, skepticism. (started compsci but phil BA; phil MA to ABD; did later human/social dimensions of sci/tech; career infosec) Mastodon: http://infosec.exchange/@lippard

1.6K followers 2K following13.5K posts

Who contributed what to Multics when, based on source code history comments: lippard.org/Multics/span...

lippard.orgMultics Development History

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I suspect most of their work was before the PL/I compiler was ready, and so was entirely rewritten.

Bell Labs' myths about Multics are extremely widespread; they left the project in April 1969 and are responsible for false claims that the project "failed" that Multics was "bloated," and so forth: multicians.org/myths.html

multicians.orgMyths about MulticsIncorrect statements about Multics corrected.

The remarkable history of circus train wrecks. www.skeptic.org.uk/2026/10/cryp...

skeptic.org.ukCryptozoology and the 'Circus Train Wreck': On the track of escaped animals - The SkepticSightings of 'out of place' animals have long been attributed to circus train wrecks - while such wrecks were common, escapees were less so.

Who contributed what to Multics when, based on source code history comments: lippard.org/Multics/span...

lippard.orgMultics Development History

This shows that the only remaining Bell Labs contributions in the source code are three small changes from Joseph F. Ossanna, and I suspect this was true even before I started working for Multics in the 1980s.

Jim Lippard reposted

Berny Belvedere

@bernybelvedere.bsky.social

New and very important from @andycraig.bsky.social

theunpopulist.netA Democratic Toolkit for Using a Midterm Win to Check Trump and Force a ReckoningThe next Congress will need to act like the first branch and unabashedly use all its constitutional powers

Jim Lippard reposted

@emptywheel.bsky.social

Something that's not being said. The REASON why Blanche and Bill Essayli are so defiantly violating the Constitution is bc John Roberts said they can't be prosecuted so long as they're following Trump's illegal orders. Blanche's criminality arises DIRECTLY out of Trump v. US.

Downtown Phoenix, near ASU Downtown.

I've built tooling to process all the Multics source code and see who contributed what changes when, to follow the development over time. One interesting detail is how much Bell Telephone Laboratories people contributed to what's currently in the Multics source code.

The answer: Joseph F. Ossanna made three changes to three modules in January 1969: as_init_.pl1, dialup_.pl1, and ftp_dialup_.pl1. That's it.

There was undoubtedly some other code (and other BTL employees are on the Multicians list), but their contributions must have been entirely rewritten.

I'm neither dreading nor panicking, I think we get to a much better place through this. I forget who called it a "forced technical debt destruction," but that is a very good name for what's kicking off right now. Some shit's gonna break, though.

Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social

wrote about "Black October," the PHP vulnerability, and the AI-fueled dread and panic I'm seeing among almost all of the cybersecurity experts I've ever known. I think people w/ LLMs are brute forcing software the same way they brute forced social media w/ slop www.404media.co/php2shell-bl...

404media.coAI Is Changing Everything About Hacking. No One Knows What Happens Next'Black October:' The PHP vulnerabilities and a series of other hacks and bugs have cybersecurity experts freaking out and unsure what happens next.

probably was Rob Joyce, quoted on Risky Biz

I don't think I got his phrase quite right.

Jim Lippard reposted

@arstechnica.com

arstechnica.comPersonalized mRNA cancer vaccine cut melanoma death, recurrence by 42%Markers released top-line results today after previously reporting trial succeeded.

Oops. Are we trying to accelerate the vulnpocalypse so we can get to a more stable and secure future more quickly (and more painfully)? www.phoronix.com/news/LKML-Ne...

phoronix.comSeveral Linux Kernel Vulnerabilities Accidentally Posted To Public Kernel Mailing ListSeemingly as an accident, overnight several new Linux kernel vulnerability reports were posted to the public Linux kernel mailing list rather than the private security mailing list

Jim Lippard reposted

Kori Schake 🎃

@kschake.bsky.social

Civilians applying for jobs in the Pentagon are also being vetted this way, but worse: asked if Trump won the 2020 election.

Brendan Nyhan@brendannyhan.bsky.social

literally illegal

the absolute dumbest uses of AI are to write emails and generate slide presentations, companies should ban both

404 Media@404media.co

In June, 404 Media obtained leaked audio from Accenture where execs shared that a big source of AI token ‘chewing’ is people just converting PDFs to presentation slides. Now, they're capping use to $29 a month. Employees are stressed. @josephcox.bsky.social explains: www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-ag...

Jim Lippard reposted

Catherine Rampell

@crampell.bsky.social

second time in two years that the president authorized billions of dollars in bailout money for farmers harmed by his administration’s own policies www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/b...

nytimes.comTrump Announces $8 Billion Plan to Cover Farm LossesUnder the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, the Agriculture Department will provide economic aid for farmers hurt by high diesel prices.

Jim Lippard reposted

Greg Greene (he/him/his)

Replying to @greene.haus

“It is time to talk about lustration, the process of vetting and removing from public service those who engage in or support extremism or seek to undermine democracy.” Lustration: remember this word, because we’re going to need it.

yalejreg.comLustration: A Modest Proposal, by Dina Francesca Haynes - Yale Journal on RegulationAfter thousands of angry Trump supporters invaded the US Capitol, assaulting law enforcement and stealing equipment, questions arose about how these individuals could have made it into the Capitol bui...

Anybody else got a big one to add, today's a good day to drop it? docs.gitlab.com/releases/pat...

docs.gitlab.comGitLab Critical Patch Release: 19.5.1, 19.4.3, 19.3.6, 19.2.9, 19.1.9, 19.0.10, 18.11.13 | GitLab DocsLearn more about GitLab Critical Patch Release: 19.5.1, 19.4.3, 19.3.6, 19.2.9, 19.1.9, 19.0.10, 18.11.13 for GitLab Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE).

I see Oracle joined the party with a CVSS 9.1 www.oracle.com/security-ale...

oracle.comoracle.com

That's another company to avoid like the plague.

The Bluesky Android client support for alt text seems to have an off-by-one error in its text editing. Annoying.

From Monday, another "pedo" graffitied Biggs sign and a Biggs for The Hague sign.

Haven't seen this before in Phoenix.

Some wreckage.

Jim Lippard reposted

@janecoaston.bsky.social

the lady who interviewed Acton's mother did two years in prison for attempting to blow up an abortion clinic. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheryl_...

en.wikipedia.orgCheryl Sullenger - Wikipedia

sabopike.bsky.social@sabopike.bsky.social

Seems like that anti-abortion group shows up a lot in this story.

Jim Lippard reposted

@mattgertz.bsky.social

“Mandated by me”? Is that how this works?

Jim Lippard reposted

@dennycarter.bsky.social

I would like to once again remind folks I am not vampire billionaire Bryan Johnson

Davis Nguyen@davisnguyentmn.bsky.social

If you think you can call @dennycarter.bsky.social mean things online without there being consequences, prepare for your reckoning

Jim Lippard reposted

truly a wild time to be alive when the cryptography world is split between those worried about quantum computers and those whose private key is “4”

I've never regretted not using PHP on my websites.

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A lot earlier than 2024, IMHO.

As Wiz points out. www.wiz.io/blog/php2she...

wiz.ioPHP2Shell: AI uncovers critical RCE vulnerabilities affecting 70% of the Internet | Wiz BlogCore PHP engine flaws enable remote code execution and Heartbleed-style memory disclosure across the web.

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Matthew Sheffield@matthew.flux.community

🧵I agree with the conclusion of this essay that chatbots are not conscious. I'm glad it's out there, but unfortunately, it has some fundamental flaws. This greatly matters because people who push back on AI true believers need to have proper logical and technical grounds....

Today's a good day to take emSign CA certs out of all certificate bundles. Not as good as yesterday, but better than tomorrow.

It's a good day for attacker-in-the-middle TTPs.

I can't believe they are advertising this animal cruelty as an event for children. www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/ar...

yahoo.comWatch live dinosaur bone cleaning at Port Huron museumCarnegie Museum guests can watch real dinosaur fossil preparation and ask questions during this special program.

I've never regretted not using PHP on my websites.

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It's not like this is a new thing to happen, either. WordPress is another I've avoided.

bsky.app/profile/info...

InfoSec@infosec.skyfleet.blue

PHP says AI review of critical bugs first sparked alarm in August, but signs surfaced in 2024

therecord.mediaPHP says AI review of critical bugs first sparked alarm in August, but signs surfaced in 2024In a lengthy statement about two critical vulnerabilities, the PHP Foundation explained how one dated to 2024, how a recent third-party review by AI companies heightened attention on both, why it scrambled to post information earlier than planned.

Jim Lippard reposted

jenny tightpants

@jtp.bsky.social

computers were a mistake arstechnica.com/security/202...

Jim Lippard reposted

@jasonkoebler.bsky.social

New: The feds warned cops to expect "emotional confrontations" at Flock city council meetings which "may present public safety risks." Came immediately before a series of people were illegally arrested while speaking against Flock at city council meetings www.404media.co/cops-warned-...

404media.coCops Warned to Look for ‘Suspicious Behavior’ From People Opposing Flock at City Council MeetingsA surveillance document tells cops to expect "emotional confrontations" at Flock city council meetings.

I've never regretted not using PHP on my websites.

bsky.app/profile/nbcn...

NBC News@nbcnews.com

Vulnerabilities in a programming language that supports much of the internet are so severe that European and British authorities recommend websites temporarily go offline until they can be fixed.

nbcnews.toCritical vulnerabilities in commonly used web code spark rush to update systemsAs websites around the world race to patch the flaws, hackers have reportedly started exploiting them already.

Jim Lippard reposted

@capitolhunters.bsky.social

Replying to @lebassett.bsky.social

Respectfully, reporters could have shoved Elon Musk in a locker at any time in the last 29 years over his lies about his Physics degree. Why didn't they? Why did it take decades for anyone to even report that he was illegal? Why did reviewers let his biographers write impossible, fantastical things?

Coming soon, the Internet Pioneers podcast. internet-pioneers.com

internet-pioneers.comThe Internet Pioneers Podcast — The protocol. The people.First-person accounts from the unsung engineers, sysadmins, and operators who actually built the Internet in the 1990s.