Apple is bowing to pressure from the Chinese government and storing encryption keys in China. While I would prefer it if it would take a stand against China, I really can’t blame it for putting its business model ahead of its desires for customer privacy. Two more articles. Powered by WPeMatico
Month: February 2018
Forbes reports that the Israeli company Cellebrite can probably unlock all iPhone models: Cellebrite, a Petah Tikva, Israel-based vendor that’s become the U.S. government’s company of choice when it comes to unlocking mobile devices, is this month telling customers its engineers currently have the ability to get around the security of devices running iOS 11. … Read More “Cellebrite Unlocks iPhones for the US Government” »
If you’re going to commit an illegal act, it’s best not to discuss it in e-mail. It’s also best to Google tech instructions rather than asking someone else to do it: One new detail from the indictment, however, points to just how unsophisticated Manafort seems to have been. Here’s the relevant passage from the indictment. … Read More “E-Mail Leaves an Evidence Trail” »
Friday Squid Blogging: The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Bobtail Squid and a Particular Microbe
This is the story of the Hawaiian bobtail squid and Vibrio fischeri. As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered. Read my blog posting guidelines here. Powered by WPeMatico
People harassing women by delivering anonymous packages purchased from Amazon. On the one hand, there is nothing new here. This could have happened decades ago, pre-Internet. But the Internet makes this easier, and the article points out that using prepaid gift cards makes this anonymous. I am curious how much these differences make a difference … Read More “Harassment By Package Delivery” »
Researchers have discovered new variants of Spectre and Meltdown. The software mitigations for Spectre and Meltdown seem to block these variants, although the eventual CPU fixes will have to be expanded to account for these new attacks. Powered by WPeMatico
It’s not a great solution, but it’s something: The process of using postcards containing a specific code will be required for advertising that mentions a specific candidate running for a federal office, Katie Harbath, Facebook’s global director of policy programs, said. The requirement will not apply to issue-based political ads, she said. “If you run … Read More “Facebook Will Verify the Physical Location of Ad Buyers with Paper Postcards” »
Interesting history of the security of walls: DĂșn Aonghasa presents early evidence of the same principles of redundant security measures at work in 13th century castles, 17th century star-shaped artillery fortifications, and even “defense in depth” security architecture promoted today by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and countless other … Read More “On the Security of Walls” »
There’s a squid pin on Kickstarter. As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered. Read my blog posting guidelines here. Powered by WPeMatico
The National Academies has just published “Decrypting the Encryption Debate: A Framework for Decision Makers.” It looks really good, although I have not read it yet. Not much news or analysis yet. Please post any links you find in the comments, and I will summarize them here. Powered by WPeMatico