Crash update, DeepSeek warning
NTSB has released updated information on the January 30 crash between an Army Blackhawk and the American Airlines flight near Reagan airport in DC.
One helicopter pilot thought they were at 300 feet and the other thought they were at 200 feet. The NTSB is not prepared to say exactly how high the helicopter was at impact, the NTSB said.
The transmission from the tower that instructed the helicopter to go behind the plane may not have been heard by the crew because the pilot may have keyed her radio at the same second and stepped on the transmission from ATC, the NTSB added. ABC News
Couple that info with what was known before, and while a tragedy, the picture stars to become a little clearer.
As speculated before, there appears to be plenty of blame to go around. The pilots’ getting contradictory info certainly points to maintenance issues. If the pilots knew the data was contradictory, some pilot error seems reasonable (and makes it surprising they chose to continue the mission, especially in a very height-restricted corridor.) If they didn’t get the warning due to the pilot keying her mike as the warning was issued, one would think the controller should have been emphatically re-warning them, not waiting thirty seconds.
Now for y’all playing with AI – the latest hottest release of AI has to be DeepSeek, the Chinese owned system recently released at a fraction of the cost of competing Western systems like Open AI or ChatGTP. According to an article forwarded to me by my software wonk protegee, seems there are reason as why DeepSeek is cheap.
NowSecure, a Chicago-based mobile security company has published a comprehensive security and privacy assessment of the DeepSeek iOS mobile app, uncovering multiple critical vulnerabilities that put individuals, enterprises, and government agencies at risk.
The DeepSeek iOS app transmits sensitive data over the internet without encryption, making it vulnerable to interception and manipulation. It employs outdated encryption methods, such as Triple DES, with weak and hardcoded encryption keys, violating best security practices. Additionally, usernames, passwords, and encryption keys are stored insecurely, increasing the risk of credential theft. The app collects extensive user and device data, enabling tracking and de-anonymization. Furthermore, user data is transmitted to servers controlled by ByteDance in China, raising concerns over government access and compliance risks.
When the article leads with allegations like that, it ain’t gonna get better the further you read.
The DeepSeek iOS app transmits registration and device data over the internet without encryption, exposing users to both passive and active attacks. Attackers with privileged network access could intercept and modify data, impacting its integrity. A recent breach involving U.S. Internet Service Providers by the Chinese-based “Salt Typhoon” threat actor demonstrates how such vulnerabilities can be exploited. Even when network attacks are actively conducted, the app continues transmitting sensitive data without sufficient security controls.
Sensitive data, including usernames, passwords, and encryption keys, was found stored insecurely within the app’s cached database.
DeepSeek collects and transmits extensive data that can be used for user tracking and de-anonymization.
User data from the DeepSeek iOS app is sent to Volcengine, a cloud service operated by ByteDance. While some endpoints appear to be located in the United States, further investigation reveals affiliations with Chinese companies, raising concerns over data sovereignty and security.Cyber Security Hub
If you are involved with AI at all, especially DeepSeek – read the article.
H/t to my favorite redhead, and a belated Happy Birthday to her as well.
Category: Army, Artificial Intelligence, Science and Technology
Who the hell is surprised about this? Thea chinese were putting “back doors” into chips, why doesn’t anyone figure their AI is anything other than another data mining tool?
Absolutely. I haven’t even bothered to look at it, since it does not offer any capabilities that are not available in better, more secured, and not made in China AIs.
Deepseek is obviously a data mining tool with the old excuse of “we were hacked”.
Remember: If it’s free, you’re the product.
Thanks for the birthday wishes!! One thing of note on deepseek on iOS: “The DeepSeek iOS app globally disables App Transport Security (ATS) which is an iOS platform level protection that prevents sensitive data from being sent over unencrypted channels,” NowSecure said. “Since this protection is disabled, the app can (and does) send unencrypted data over the internet.”
This is all by design – not accident.
Never trust a communist!
China is Asshole!
Never trust an elf!
But, of course, for his benefit!
Take a moment and read the privacy policy on any app you’re downloading. You will end up passing on the download after reading the various tracking and use of your sensitive data.
I use a faraday bag when I want privacy. Your phone never shuts off and the mic and camera can be used at any time without your knowledge. Location tracking is almost 100% “on” all the time. Even when your phone is turned off. Except for when the battery is dead. Supposedly to help with providing you advertising.
Big Brother’s stroke-off fantasy– techies, down deep, like that.
I bet Phil Monkress (CEO of All Points Logistics) could use this DeepSeek to reach deep into the American Taxpayer’s collective pocket and steal more based upon his highly questionable and potentially felonious Native American, Navy SEAL and Law Enforcement claims.
We all had figured that there would be plenty of shared blame for the crash…except none for the passenger jet pilots and passengers. What is most telling, to me, in this latest release is the that the Social Secretary was actually flying the whirlybird when the crash occurred. There was a lot of confusion (or lack of detail) on who was at the stick when it happened. IIRC some of us fifured that the ultimate cause would fall on the lowest ranking wrench turner that had adjusted a widget on the bird. Just my humble opinion, but 500 hours of flight time is not a whole lot, especially when those hours have been spread out the time time, most of which was in training, the other time doing “check rides” to keep the flight pay coming.
Is your phone number now “The Mark of The Beast”? George Orwell sez…”I told you this would happen!”
You can apparently use DeepSeek via Perplexity AI and it won’t send your data to China. The model makes its weights -the result of the costly ‘training’- open source, so others can download them and run them, without needing the insecure app. Interestingly, the censorship seems to be on the server-side in China, too, since if you ask the Perplexity-hosted version about Tiananmen Square, you get a real answer.
And it’s cheap because the research team behind it was very clever – partly, I imagine, due to export controls on the more powerful GPUs. So they took a lot of cost-cutting measures. There are some disagreements about how much it actually cost to train, but the staggeringly low $6M projection that was initially stated was enough to make NVIDIA’s stock drop almost $600B in one day. That makes you wonder, both about over-evaluation of some stocks, and whether it was a calculated move.
A few of the computer nerds I work with firmly believe that DeepSeek was stolen from NVIDIA. Wayyyy out of my lane.
What deepseek doesn’t mention is that it was trained using very expensive AI models. Most likely with stolen code from more robust systems. So the $6M price reflects the basic setup structure. And this model is not a highly analytical model that can solve quantum math problems needed for high end research. Some basic research sure. They had to cut corners and the breadth of its AI knowledge base. So you’re comparing a bicycle to a sports car. Once the financial world figures this out the markets will calm down. The Big AI companies will come out with their own micro systems to compete with deepseek.
So, if y’all were worried about TikTok being an MMS (the Chicom KGB) plant to gather intelligence and compromising dirt on people, with DeepSeek you ain’t seen nuttin’ yet!
“they didn’t get the warning due to the pilot keying her mike as the warning was issued, one would think the controller should have been emphatically re-warning them, not waiting thirty seconds”
Bingo.
I’ve been a radio operator of various sorts all my life and the
strict adherence to Proword and Procedure has become a
thing of the past. “doubling” is extremely dangerous and often
requires third party intervention which can make matters worse.
Proword and Procedure. Do they even teach that anymore?
Yes, but the level of enforcement depends on the unit owning that net. Bad habits creep in because lower level nets like platoon and company don’t enforce standards.
You think in such a busy air space that duplex radio system would be used.
So, was she a DEI hire or was she fully qualified and outcompeted all the others candidates for her slot in flight school?
Yay, we have female candidates for this FY! (Which is probably more like it.)
What I want to know is how she got a gig at Brandon’s house as some kind of aide instead of flying helos, which is what the Army trained her to do.
If the system is so delicate that it cannot cope with trivial and common errors like a (possible) 100 ft. altitude error or a stepped-on radio transmission it is a bad system. What it boils down to is that it is stupid, even criminal, to let traffic, particularly in low visibility conditions, fly through the final approach patterns of busy airfields.
When I was flying and using flight following, the controllers often called and asked why I was anything more than fifty feet off the selected or assigned altitude. On flight following, the transponder sends the altitude to the controller, so he can see your altitude on his screen next to your assigned transponder code.