Tag Archive for Michigan

| June 18, 2015
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Run Your DC with a Chevy

Run Your DC with a ChevyGeneral Motors (GM) is using Chevy Volt batteries to power a data center. MLive reports that expired lithium-ion batteries retrieved from Chevrolet Volt’s help power the General Motors Enterprise Data Center at the Milford Proving Grounds in Milford, MI.

GM logoGM recently announced that five batteries from first-generation Volts are working in parallel with a 74-kilowatt solar array and two 2-kilowatt wind turbines to green up the data center. The batteries have the capacity to provide backup power for four hours in the event of an outage, GM said. According to the article, the set-up has given the Enterprise Data Center a net-zero energy use on an annual basis, and extra power will be sent back to the grid used by the Milford Proving Ground.

First-gen Chevy Volts still have a lot of juice

As it readies to sell its all-new, second-generation Volt, GM said first-gen cars still have a lot of leftover juice in their battery packs for stationary use. Pablo Valencia, GM’s senior manager of battery life cycle management, said in a presser that the batteries still have value after they come out of the car.

Chevy Volt batteries to power a data center.Even after the battery has reached the end of its useful life in a Chevrolet Volt, up to 80 percent of its storage capacity remains … This secondary use application extends its life, while delivering waste reduction and economic benefits on an industrial scale.

The first-generation plug-in hybrid Volt went on sale in 2010 for the 2011 model year. It uses battery power to get an electric range of about 35-38 miles, before switching to gasoline.

Battery powered carThe 2016 Volt, unveiled last January in Detroit, will have about a 31% greater electric range than its predecessor. The second-gen Volt has about a 50-mile, all-electric range, and a total driving range of about 400 miles when combined with a gasoline engine.

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According to the Detroit News, GM is working with unidentified partners to validate and test systems for other commercial and non-commercial uses. 

Elon Musk‘s Tesla (TSLA) is also leveraging its car-based battery systems to develop a line of storage batteries designed for homes and SMB’s called Powerwall. Powerwall is designed to store electricity for home use, to be used during peak consumption times when utilities charge the most. The device comes in several colors including white, charcoal, red, and blue. There are two options — a 7-kilowatt-hour package using nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries and a 10 kilowatt-hour unit with a nickel-cobalt-aluminum battery.

 

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| June 16, 2015
Comments Off on Michigan Cell-Phone Spying Legislation Stalled

Michigan Cell-Phone Spying Legislation Stalled

Michigan Cell-Phone Spying Legislation StalledA warrantless cell-phone spying bill recently introduced in the Michigan House has stalled – for now. MLive is reporting that House Bill 4006 has been pulled from the legislative agenda a second time. The bill would require cell phone companies to disclose call location information when requested by a law enforcement officer. The bill would grant legal immunity to cell phone companies for making the disclosures.

Michigan Cell-Phone Spying Legislation StalledIn a flash of rationality, Gideon D’Assandro, a spokesperson for the Republican majority, said new questions about jurisdiction and proposed immunity for wireless providers have popped up. D’Assandro told MLive, “… There are still questions.”

The legislation, sponsored by Republican Rep. Kurt Heise of Plymouth Township, has prompted push back from some conservative lawmakers and other privacy proponents in the state Legislature after advancing out of committee. “It’s been a heated discussion, a passionate discussion, just about the civil liberty issues that are all wrapped up in this,” said Rep. Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell. “My concern is … we’re setting precedent authorizing government to access our technology devices, such as phones or computers or GPS in cars. Where do you end up drawing the line?”

Cell-phone spyingState Rep. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, said he understands the value that location information could provide in some emergencies. However, made clear this week that he could not vote for the bill in its current form. He told MLive, “I think we also need to make sure we’re giving people the constitutional protections that are supposed to be afforded by our founding fathers.”

In typical goobermental double-speak, Republican Heise told MLive that allowing warrantless access to private citizens’ phones could actually strengthen civil liberty protections. Heise told MLive said he does not necessarily think that a 48-hour notification for cell phone owners is warranted.

SpyOf course, law enforcement groups and Verizon Communications indicated support for the proposal. Of course they do, they get even more access to citizens’ private information. MLive states that as now written, the snooping does not require a warrant. All a police officer needs to access a private citizen’s phone records, is to have a note signed by a supervisor.

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Well, maybe they don’t need to bother with any legislation to spy on us. Recent reports are that the goobermint has new ways to collect our personal data without a warrant. Stingray? FBI Spy planes? So much for the Constitution.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| March 27, 2015
Comments Off on AT&T Already Profits from Net Neutrality

AT&T Already Profits from Net Neutrality

AT&T Already Profits from Net NeutralityIn further proof that no matter what – the huge corporations always win, AT&T (T), one of the most vocal opponents to net neutrality has already started to profit from it. FierceTelecom is reporting that AT&T’s new reclassification under Title II of the Communications Act as part of new net neutrality rules are working in the mega-Bell’s favor.

the huge corporations always winThe article says regulators cited Title II to justify a ruling for AT&T. The FCC ruling said AT&T should be awarded damages for being overcharged by two Michigan-based rural telcos for interstate access services. Now the FCC has to set how much money AT&T should receive from East Lansing-based Great Lakes Comnet (GLC) and Westphalia Telephone Company (WTC). The FCC wrote in its order, “We agree with AT&T.”

Initially, AT&T asked for a $12 million refund and wants to avoid paying an extra $4.3 million that Westphalia and Great Lakes claim the telco owes them. The author explains that the FCC argued that AT&T was billed unlawfully because of Section 201(b) of the Communications Act. This is the part of Title II that says: “All charges, practices, classifications, and regulations for and in connection with such communication service, shall be just and reasonable, and any such charge, practice, classification, or regulation that is unjust or unreasonable is declared to be unlawful.”

Verizon raised consumer phone rates to fund the broadband network they objected toIronically, during the run-up to the net neutrality decision,  AT&T, Verizon (VZ), Comcast (CMCSA), and other telcos claimed that regulation would hurt their profits, which seems like misinformation BS. The FierceTelecom article reports that the FCC said that it won’t set specific price caps or tell service providers what they can charge for service, consumers can complain to the FCC if their provider is overcharging them for service.

FierceTelecom also points to an Ars Technica report, that Verizon (VZ), another outspoken critic of applying Title II to broadband services, ironically used its common carrier status for POTS services to build its FiOS fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network. Besides leveraging Title II to get access to utility poles and rights-of-way to string up fiber, Verizon raised consumer phone rates to fund the fiber build.

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This could be written-off as unintended consequences or is it? Is the goobermnet in bed with the Telco’s and all the net neutrality hub-bub was just a show?

Quoting MLive, 

the leaders making our laws, writing our budgets, and setting the agenda are not widely seen as effective … there’s a serious and alarming lack of leadership …

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| March 19, 2015
Comments Off on ZOUP! POS Breached

ZOUP! POS Breached

ZOUP! POS BreachedAnother day, another data breach. Zoup! the restaurant known for its soup, salad, and sandwiches is the latest retailer to have it POS system hacked. The hack exposed credit card information hacked according to MLive. From a statement posted on the Zoup! website Zoup! CEO Eric Ersher told their customers victims – too bad so sad, “… in the days ahead, we will work hard to preserve your trust.”

ZOUP! Apparently re-gaining my trust does not include telling me my information was stolen, or the usual credit monitoring or credit restoration services, according to MLive Southfield, MI-based Zoup! will not be contacting customers who were affected by the cyber-attack.

The stonewall goes beyond Zoup!’s customers. When contacted by security researcher Brian Krebs, for comment CEO Ersher referred calls to NEXTEP, who runs all of Zoup!s point-of-sale devices. Troy, MI-based NEXTEP President Tommy Woycik emailed Mr. Krebs a statement, which says in part, “NEXTEP was recently notified by law enforcement that the security of the systems at some of our customer locations may have been compromised.”

The MLive article reports that Zoup! learned March 4 of a payment card security issue that affected most of its U.S. locations. Between Feb. 2 and March 5, the malware installed on the point-of-sale system was tracking credit card numbers, and possibly PII data such as the cardholders’ name, card expiration date, and verification code.

POS vendors have a notorious track record for data security. One breach can impact 100’s of locations. The 2014 breach at the POS vendor Signature Systems Inc. affected Jimmy John sandwich shops and at least 100 other restaurants. The 2015 breach at Advanced Restaurant Management Applications (ARMA) affected many of its client restaurants. And now Nextep has impact up to 75 Zoup! locations and possibly 100,000’s of customers.

What does this do?CEO Ersher stated in a statement in a statement, “… we moved as swiftly as possible to address the problem once we learned about it … ” Oh really? if they had read Bach Seat last year when I wrote about POS hacks or paid attention to US-CERT or warnings they would have been prepared.

The company set up a website for customers with concerns or call Zoup! at 800-343-9308, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET.

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I think that Zoup! should cool the attitude and review the info I posted in 2014 on how to avoid POS System breaches.

1.  Change administrative passwords on all POS systems. (Hackers are scanning the Internet for easily guessable passwords).

2.  Implement a firewall or access control list on remote access /administration services. (If hackers can’t reach your systems, they can’t easily steal from it).

3.  Avoid using POS systems to browse the web (or anything else on the Internet).

4.  Make sure your POS is a PCI DSS compliant application (ask your vendor)

5.  Use password management software like LastPass to generate secure passwords. (LastPass allows you to avoid storing passwords in your browsers and can generate ready-to-use secure passwords for you).

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| March 10, 2015
Comments Off on Anthem Data Breach Hits BCBSM Users

Anthem Data Breach Hits BCBSM Users

Anthem Data Breach Hits BCBSM UsersThe recent cyber-attack on the second-largest health insurance company in the U.S., Anthem Insurance was allegedly pulled off by Chinese hackers. Now the attack, which I covered here has spread to Michigan. Emily Lawler at MLive is reporting that Michigan residents are caught up in the national healthcare insurance data breach.

The Anthem health insurance company compromised data includes an estimated 80 million people, of which 636,075 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan users. According to the article, some of the compromised information could have come from BCBSM customers. A BCBSM spokesperson told MLive there was a “strong possibility” some BCBSM customer data had been caught up in the data breach.

BCBSM is an affiliate of the compromised company, so the Michigan firm shared critical customer information with Anthem. The affiliation allowed the attackers to gain access to Michigan BCBSM users. Ms. Lawler cites information from Anthem’s initial investigation, which found that compromised Michigan personally identifiable information (PII) that could have been compromised includes names, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and employment information.

Data theftReassuringly (snark) BCBSM and Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial Services have been monitoring the data breach and its potential effect on Michiganders. BCBSM External Affairs Manager Stephanie Beres told MLive numbers from Anthem say 636,075 Michigan residents are impacted. That includes 410,990 Anthem members, and 225,745 customers of Blue Cross Blue Shield, Ms. Beres said.

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Anthem is sending letters to those impacted their oopsie who will offer two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft repair. According to Anthem’s website AllClear ID will provide credit monitoring services. Those who think they may be affected are encouraged to visit a website Anthem has set up to distribute information about the hack, www.anthemfacts.com.

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  • Connecticut bill requires insurers to encrypt personal data (newsday.com)

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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