Welcome to Episode 212 At 212 degrees fahrenheit, water becomes steam. At 211 it’s hot. At 212 you can move a locomotive or make electricity. We are happy to bring you episode 212 of the Killing IT Podcast! Please share this podcast on Apple, iHeart, or wherever you listen. Sponsored by… The Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. The best deal in online communities for IT business owners is the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community. Memberships start at just $799 per year, and that includes ...
May 23, 2025•32 min
Topic 1: CISA Under the Microscope CISA was called out in the Project 2025 document as a left-wing organization inside the government due to their warning about election interference. It is now subject to cuts and scrutiny. In the mass firings at DHS on February 14th, 130 employees at CISA were fired as they were “probationary” employees. Many MSPs and MSSPs subscribe to CISA.gov alerts. It is unclear how this will be affected. Wherever you stand on politics or related topics, small business nee...
Feb 20, 2025•31 min
The Q4 2024 Killing IT Podcast features what may be our last discussion of robots for a long time! Topic One - Where Are My Robots??? We’ve been talking about this for five years - So where are the robots? We have a massive personnel shortage on many fronts. AI is creating jobs faster and faster. So why haven’t robots evolved to serve us? We’re on the verge. What’s the holdup? If nothing else, we're tired of talking about it. Topic Two - The Changing Economy of Our Industry In just the last five...
Nov 25, 2024•32 min
We're back for Q3 2024. Quick question of the day ... then onto the topics of the day. Topic 1: MIT Releases the AI Risk Repository Thanks to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a major resource. It's definitely more for you than your clients. But we see great opportunity here. The public database contains 700+ risks as documented by published papers. It includes many categories, based on severity and other variables. Check it out here: https://airisk.mit.edu/ You can poke around onlin...
Aug 20, 2024•31 min
Topic 1: Massive Botnet Network Taken Down Police coordinated by the European Union's justice and police agencies have taken down computer networks responsible for spreading ransomware via infected emails, in what they called the biggest-ever international operation against the lucrative form of cybercrime. The European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, said that police arrested four “high value” suspects, took down more than 100 servers and seized control of over 2,000 internet dom...
Jun 18, 2024•29 min•Ep. 208
Check out the bonus Killing IT content on MSP Radio's Business of Tech podcast! Today's a great day to subscribe to that: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/ -- -- -- Topic 1: The Current State of Mergers, Acquisition, and MSP Consolidation Mergers and Acquisitions are alive and well in the MSP channel. Jay McBain from Canalys predicts a growth of M&A of 50% in 2024. In addition to MSPs themselves, he says that we’ll see some major vendors acquired as well. The promise of these larger org...
Mar 30, 2024•34 min•Ep. 207
Topic 1: Chat GPT 1 year later. AI Article Summary: Elon Musk creates his own AI company called X.AI, while Satya Nadella of Microsoft invests in OpenAI and accelerates plans to incorporate AI into Microsoft's products. OpenAI releases ChatGPT as a "low key research preview," which becomes a hit. Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, faces challenges with its own chatbot and struggles with the decision to go open-source. Microsoft introduces its own chatbot in Bing, surpassing Google's efforts. Geoffrey...
Dec 21, 2023•32 min
We're Baaaaaack! The Killing IT team returns . . . with a fun and educational Q4 show. Topic 1: Overworking Have you heard the term Over Employment or Overworking? These are folks who manage to hold down two or three full time jobs using apps and BS. Are these just eager, hardworking "gig" folks, or are they thieves who are simply more interested in making money than earning an honest living? A few links: https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7begx/overemployed-hustlers-exploit-chatgpt-to-take-on-eve...
Oct 04, 2023•33 min
Topic 1: How much will AI change our business in the next twelve months? ChatGPT now has over 100 million users. Government wants to regulate it. We’re past the hockey stick moment. https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/14/u-s-tech-policy-must-keep-pace-with-ai-innovation/ --- Topic 2: Oh Dear God - Minority Report crack for Ryan: Movie clip reconstructed by an AI reading mice's brains as they watch Researchers have put together a 30-second movie clip based on a group of mice's brain activity data that...
May 26, 2023•34 min
Topic 1: The Arms Race is Here...AI is Definitely Moving Fast, but Will It Break Things? ChatGPT is now integrated in Bing as “Prometheus.” That sounds ominous. But Bard is also coming. And now Ernie. And Claude. Soon there will be AI bots generating “conversations” and disrupting the search industry on all sides of the globe. Is that a good thing? https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-baidu-finish-testing-chatgpt-style-project-ernie-bot-march-2023-02-07/ https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/chin...
Feb 21, 2023•32 min
Topic 1: Score 1 for the Good Guys in the Cyber Wars https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-login-0f2b3e6a-1272-4510-8fd2-c1aa9128b8db.html In a significant development in the fight against ransomware, the FBI announces that they have shut down a notorious cyber gang after infiltrating their system months ago and secretly giving decryption keys to ransomware victims. Topic 2: Ummmm … This is Some Seriously Scary Big Brother Stuff https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3p7xj/scientists-are-getting-eer...
Feb 07, 2023•31 min
Topic 1: Sorry: Let’s talk jobs. December: Total new jobs UP 235,000. That is despite the fact the enterprise companies (500 employees+) reduced jobs by 151,000 https://adpemploymentreport.com/ ← Great summary stats Spotify 600 (6% of workforce) Twitter 3,700 (50% of those who lasted this long) Salesforce 7,000 (10% of workforce) Microsoft 10,000 (5% of workforce) Tesla 10,000 (10% of workforce) Google 12,000 (6% of workforce) Amazon 18,000 (1% of workforce) Oh, and . . . Apple 0 (0% of workforc...
Jan 31, 2023•31 min
Topic 1: Small companies are “labor hoarding” while large companies are laying off. https://www.utahbusiness.com/labor-hoarding-tech/ https://www.teambonding.com/labor-hoarding/ Keeping employees at any cost! Topic 2: Understanding the Dynamics of the Tech Workforce in 2023 Data Point 1: Tech Layoffs are Happening … But Not Because Tech is Suddenly Less Valuable https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-login-e28dd906-601f-480d-8c1a-656851613556.html?chunk=0&utm_term=emshare#story0 Data Point ...
Jan 24, 2023•31 min
Topic 1: Algorithms Need Management Training, Too! From Wired Magazine. Human beings excel at avoiding responsibility for difficult decisions. Management and personnel decisions are often difficult. Therefore, they are great candidates for turning decision-making over to the bots. What could possibly go wrong? https://www.wired.com/story/platform-work-labor-economy-ai/ Topic 2: Microsoft drops $1 Billion on ChatGPT I should have bought more Microsoft stock yesterday. :-) Looking to the true “nex...
Jan 17, 2023•31 min
Topic 1: Generative AI is Fun … Until the “Other” Guys Start Doing It Too https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/31/how-china-is-building-a-parallel-generative-ai-universe/ China is aggressively building their own versions of generative AI platforms (with some obvious / inevitable filters) that do essentially the same thing as ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion. The question is whether they will be able to out-race us to the auto-content future … and whether that is a problem. Topic 2: LastPass - Lessons for ...
Jan 10, 2023•31 min
Topic 1: For Sale on eBay: A Military Database of Fingerprints and Iris Scans Great topic for ITSPs - especially as clients get rid of equipment at the end of year. Old machines of all kinds might have sensitive data. Not this juicy, perhaps, but stories like this are great for you client-facing newsletters. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/technology/for-sale-on-ebay-a-military-database-of-fingerprints-and-iris-scans.html Topic 2: The age of the work-from-home whistleblower Why are so many re...
Jan 03, 2023•31 min
Topic 1: Meta scamming: Scammers Are Scamming Other Scammers Out of Millions of Dollars https://www.wired.com/story/cybercrime-hackers-scams-forums/ On cybercrime forums, user complaints about being duped may accidentally expose their real identities. Topic 2: Teens are Self-Liberating from Social Media ‘Luddite’ Teens Don’t Want Your Likes https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/style/teens-social-media.html Topic 3: The Drones Are Coming (to 22 Select Locations Around the Country … Within Driving D...
Dec 27, 2022•32 min
Topic 1: The Bots are Coming for LinkedIn, Adding New Layers of Risk for Professionals and for Companies … but Especially for Recruiters https://thehustle.co/12122023-LinkedIn-bots/ Bots are everywhere on social media, and some platforms are doing more to combat them than others. Now that the bots are proliferating on LinkedIn, it’s vital for everyone to think about the layers of threat and the corresponding hygiene on the career-centric platform. Topic 2: How does AI write fiction (and online a...
Dec 20, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: Should the Police have killer robots? San Francisco approves the use of robots capable of lethal force. Is this move inevitable, or are the arguments in favor of this just rare exceptions to the rule? https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sf-police-killer-robots-would-have-explosives-not-guns-sfpd/ Topic 2: Data Volumes are Increasing at Such a Fast Pace, We Need New Words to Describe Just How Much There Is https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-11-30/new-prefixes-for-huge-and-tiny-...
Dec 13, 2022•33 min
Topic 1: The FTX Contagion Has Affected VC / PE Firms that Invest In MSP Vendors https://www.channele2e.com/news/ftx-cryptocurrency-bankruptcy-filing/ In all the noise that’s surrounding the collapse of FTX and the impact on other crypto companies, news is coming out that several major MSP investors have also suffered significant losses. Initial statements indicate that the losses were not enough to threaten the survival of the investment funds, but that there will be implications for how they m...
Dec 07, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: The Federal Communications Commission has published the initial draft of its revised high-speed internet coverage maps. The old maps were census-block based. The new maps are based on more detailed information from broadband providers. With the old system, a huge census block would be marked as served even if only one household had broadband. https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/notes/2022/11/18/new-broadband-maps-are-finally-here You can examine updated maps from here: https://broadbandmap....
Nov 29, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: Good News on the EV Front: Lithium Ion Batteries can be Recycled! https://www.axios.com/2022/11/10/audi-redwood-ev-battery-recycling Yes … we are headed for an EV world. No … there are not nearly enough batteries or charging stations or grid capacity to handle an EV world. But in a positive sign, it turns out that the rare Earth minerals used in LIon batteries do not degrade and can be recycled into new batteries. Increase supply. Reduce pollution. Recycle all those old battery items ly...
Nov 22, 2022•30 min
Topic 1: Lessons from the Stripe Layoffs - for tech ITs, vendors, and everyone. Stripe layed off 14% of their workforce, and were very open about the reasons. We all make mistakes in periods of rapid growth and rapid decline. This stuff is hard! https://www.businessinsider.com/stripe-layoffs-memo-tech-sector-challenges-2022-11 https://www.npr.org/2022/11/14/1136659617/tech-layoffs-amazon-meta-twitter https://www.channelfutures.com/business-models/gradient-msp-layoffs-20-impacted-amid-go-to-marke...
Nov 15, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: U.S. workers have gotten way less productive. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/10/31/productivity-down-employers-worried-recession/ No one is sure why. So we get to make up reasons! Can this be attributed to the Quiet Quitting Phenomon? Maybe. But maybe not. (Again, we get to come up with our own theories today.) Perhaps, complexity is the enemy of productivity; thus, remote working might not give our brains enough buffering time between each tasks than say walking from the ...
Nov 08, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: Japan pushes for digitization https://apnews.com/article/technology-health-japan-covid-public-d47817295a647379f69da9bb16160d13 Japan has stepped up its push to catch up on digitization by telling a reluctant public they have to sign up for digital IDs or possibly lose access to their public health insurance. As the naming implies, the initiative is about assigning numbers to people, similar to Social Security numbers in the U.S. Many Japanese worry the information might be misused or th...
Nov 01, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: Marketplaces — McBain is big on them, but how well do they scale down? AWS Marketplace makes it so you find everything you need in one spot. As a seller, the appeal is apprent. As a vendor, especially a small to medium business, the playing floor might be a bit crowded. https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/sourcecode/aws-cloud-marketplace-advantage Topic 2: Voice-Scanning AI Aims to Diagnose Respiratory and Mental Illness … What Could Possibly Go Wrong? https://www.axios.com/newsletters...
Oct 25, 2022•33 min
Topic 1: Some juicy stats... https://www.zippia.com/advice/tech-industry-statistics/ The U.S. tech market accounts for 35% of the total world market. The U.S. tech industry is expected to grow by 6.7% in 2022. The U.S. tech industry employs roughly 12.2 million workers as of 2020. Check out these stats and let us know what stood out to you. These stats open up the floor to new approaches to shake up the industry. Those currently in the industry can take these numbers as a driving force to recrui...
Oct 18, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: The Open Internet as We Know It Dodged an Existential Bullet Last Week https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2022-09-29-ITU-SG-elected-Doreen-Bogdan-Martin.aspx https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2022/08/12/the-most-important-election-you-never-heard-of/ In an election for the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), members chose Doreen Bogdan-Martin from the United States – the first-ever woman to hold the post. But that is not the reason this ...
Oct 11, 2022•32 min
Topic 1: Public Cameras, Social Media, Art, and Privacy concerns Great article on how to use publicly-available surveillance systems and open source facial recognition to mash up Instagram selfies with Earthcam video. Artist shows all the “behind the scenes” activities that go into professional selfies - all while violating copyrights and GDPR on a grand scale. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/technology/surveillance-footage-instagram.html Topic 2: Machine translation - what if the translation...
Oct 04, 2022•30 min
Topic 1: NANC and KRUZ ETFs - Outperforming the Market Now you too can get away with insider trading. These new Exchange Traded Funds track the performance of members of Congress. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-15/etfs-that-track-stock-trades-of-us-congress-members-planned Topic 2: US Military on social media to engage in psychological operations. What's new this time? https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/19/pentagon-psychological-operations-facebook-twitter/...
Sep 27, 2022•31 min
