Links To Go (May 17, 2017)

Tim Cook’s refusal to help FBI hack iPhone is validated by ‘WannaCry’ ransomware attack

The proliferation of the WannaCry ransomware last week unequivocally justifies Apple’s steadfast refusal to help the FBI break into an iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. As a quick refresher, the FBI last year wanted Apple engineers to create a brand new version of iOS that would allow them to skirt around iOS security measures. As a precaution, a security setting in iOS wipes a device clean after 10 erroneous passcode entry attempts. The FBI, as a result, tried to force Apple to release a specialized version of iOS that would not include this security limitation.
Apple abhorred the very idea from the get-go, with Tim Cook going so far as to say that the FBI wanted Apple to create something that it viewed as “the software equivalent of cancer.” From Apple’s vantage point, creating software capable of circumventing important iOS security mechanisms was a monumental risk as there is no way to guarantee that the customized software wouldn’t eventually fall into the wrong hands.


The WannaCry Ransomware Hackers Made Some Real Amateur Mistakes

An attack of this magnitude involving so many missteps raises plenty of questions while delivering a sobering reminder: If actual cybercriminal professionals improved on the group’s methods, the results could be even graver.


Evangelism is a Four Letter Word

I get it. Culture is changing rapidly and radically. The methods we have used successfully for decades have become ineffective, even counter-productive. Heaven? Spiritual laws? Bible verses? These no longer spark spiritual interest. Evangelism training isn’t what it used to be, but in many cases is uncertain of what it should be.
This frustration is actually good news. Good because it is causing us to reimagine how we think about evangelism… and, whether we like it or not, forcing us to redesign training tools and equipping experiences.


Sometimes You Just Gotta Get the Shot

When they told me all the possible side effects of chemo, I felt kinda like I did as a kid getting that shot. Like bolting out of the recliner before that first bag starts dripping.
But for now, it’s the best option to beat the disease, and it’s so much better than it used to be.


The Traditional Lecture Is Dead. I Would Know — I’m A Professor

The point isn’t to use any one example but to go beyond the traditional lecture by creating an environment in which students actively participate in class. You may experience some difficulty, even reluctance doing this. If so, take baby steps. Do one thing at a time. But do something, because professors who continue giving traditional lectures might just find themselves replaced by a video.


On gender issues, many in Orthodox Christian countries have conservative views

A substantial share of adults in Central and Eastern Europe hold traditional views of the role of women and the family, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey of 18 nations in the region. This is especially true in the 10 countries surveyed with Orthodox Christian majorities.


Meet the critic who panned ‘Sgt. Pepper’ then discovered his speaker was busted. He’s still not sorry.

This may be as a good a time as any to offer Richard Goldstein’s confession. It isn’t anything he has tried to hide, and, in fact, he mentioned it briefly in his 2015 memoir, “Another Little Piece of My Heart.” But the revelation may be startling to Beatles fans, who have devoted their lives to interpreting every lyric, recording flourish and photograph presented by their band.
The stereo Goldstein used for his review was broken.
Repeat. The guy who slammed “Sgt. Pepper” in the New York Times had a busted speaker.


Here’s the history of Zaza Pachulia’s dirty plays that Gregg Popovich was so mad about

This isn’t exactly the first time Pachulia has been accused of dirty play. The “Zaza is dirty” train left the station a long time ago. In fact, this four-minute compilation of his dirty play, which features the plays Popovich mentioned during his rant, was published on YouTube back in February, long before Sunday’s incident.


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