Daniel Thiele IT - daniel@dproject.de

We get plenty of cyber news in Germany. That’s why I focus on my area. Still, afaik we don’t get everything covered — or at least I don’t see everything all the time. But since the big blackout in Berlin a few weeks ago, I expect everyone to know that our infrastructure is built on thin ice. Cyberattacks, on the other hand, are still somewhat more niche, I feel. However, we do get frequent news and official warnings about ransomware attacks, like this one from earlier this month: https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/westfalen-lippe/cybersicherheit-handwerk-owl-100.html#:~:text=Der%20deutsche%20Mittelstand%20ist%20nur%20schlecht%20auf,kann%20den%20Weg%20f%C3%BCr%20Hacker%20in%20jeden In other news, something I see personally on my Google News feed is trading and investment ads about AI and other trading apps. As a 40-year-old who grew up with IT and who is “in the market” (financial markets), I see these ads regularly and I know how much fake stuff is going on. I mean, I even get emails fr...

The certificates I get are actually very theoretical. They are just to put them in a pdf and send that out along with my other references from school, uni and work. You can — and I did — install VMs and simulate stuff in Packet Tracer and the like for learning and practice, but a lot of it is just memorization of commands, terminology, and workflow steps on top of everything else. However, in order to memorize, learn, and demonstrate things better, I do have my homelab, documentation, Anki cards (flashcards), and whiteboards filled with notes and graphic-facilitation-style images. These are basically visual anchors and memory palaces that use the Loci and Major methods in ways I haven’t seen before.  For example I create a memorable image for rsyslog (the new rocket fast syslog)....  Syslog comes with priorities. I then create images that combine the Major method with Loci. For 0 I often use "sea". Syslog prio 0 is "emergency". So I combine the two and turn it into...

 The German tax government seems to be advancing in ways that are quite alright IMHO. I think that ELSTER-Online and the use of AI and algorithms in processing the data is just fine and shows how the government can do things right and make progress in their "digitization" endeavors. Bielefeld is facilitating new AI enhanced workflows: https://www.radioguetersloh.de/nachrichten/kreis-guetersloh/finanzamt-bielefeld-testet-ki-einsatz.html I live in Gütersloh though, so I might not be processed by their AI, but I contacted the tax office in Bielefeld for an internship and maybe I will get some more info about the matter.